Irish Soda Bread

I am back working in an office. I love my co-workers and even more, I love that none of them are gluten free! So, what do I do? I take requests on what to bring in. This week, it's Irish Soda Bread. What's not to love about something that reminds me of a giant biscuit!

Dough

4 c All purpose flour

1/2 c Butter, softened

1 Egg

1 c Buttermilk

5 tbs Granulated sugar

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking soda

1 tbs Baking powder

Wash

1/4 c Buttermilk

1/4 c Butter, melted

In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients in a bowl and then cut in the butter. Stir in 1 c buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. 

Form dough into a round and place on greased baking sheet (or baking stone). Use a sharp knife to cut an 'X' on the top of the loaf.

In a small bowl, combine melted butter with 1/4 c buttermilk and brush loaf. Continue to brush with butter mixture while baking. 

Bake at 375º for 45-50 minutes. Check for doneness after 30 minutes. 

Bread & Butter Pickles

Going into Penzy's for me is like a kid going into a candy store. On my last visit, the store clerk need some help opening a jar of something she had made...bread and butter pickles. They were delicious! I had to go and make a batch of my own. 

10 cucumbers, thinly sliced

2 Medium sweet onions, thinly sliced

1 green bell peppers, diced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup salt

1 1/2 cups cider vinegar

2 cups granulated sugar

2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds

1 teaspoons celery ssalt

1/2 tablespoon ground turmeric

In a large bowl, mix together cucumbers, onions, green bell peppers, garlic and salt. Allow to stand approximately 3 hours then drain excess liquid from the cucumber mixture. Place in Jar(s).

In a large saucepan, mix the cider vinegar, white sugar, mustard seed, celery seed, whole cloves and turmeric. Bring to a boil. Pour hot vinegar over cucumber mixture in the jar(s). Seal and chill in the refrigerator until serving.

Ribbon Quiche | Zucchini & Prosciutto, dairy free!

The Pie-off: 
Everyone at the office brings in a pie. In the afternoon, all the pies are presented and tasted. Figuring that most of the office would go with sweet, I would go with savory.

I found a Ribbon Quiche on Pinterest (below) that looked beautiful and delicious. The only problem is that although I love quiche, being lactose intolerant, it doesn't really like me. 

I adjusted the recipe a little bit and have found that with this savory quiche, it's hard to tell there isn't any!

Crust
1 1/4c Flour
1/2c Shortening (or butter)
3 tbsp chilled water
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp dried Rosemary, chopped
1 tsp dried Thyme. chopped

Filling
Green and Yellow Zucchini, sliced
Prosciutto
1c coconut milk (or cream)
3 eggs
1/4 tsp garlic salt

Combine flour herbs and salt in a bowl. Scatter chilled shortening (or butter) pieces over the flour mixture and cut in. When coarse crumbs form, drizzle in water until dough becomes an evenly moist mass; not a ball. Wrap in plastic and chill. Roll out the dough and form a pie Crust and set aside.

Slice the zucchini in a mandoline and blanche the strips. Pat them dry and them begin coiling them, alternating between colors of zucchini and ham. Place coil lying flat in the pie pan and make sure there is even space between the coils.

Beat the eggs, coconut milk and garlic salt together and pour in the pie pan. Fill the pie pan, but do not over fill. If you need more or less liquid, use the ratio of 1/3c coconut milk to 1 egg. Add garlic salt to taste.

Bake at 350º for 30-40 minutes, until set.

Lobster Roll

Going to school in New England, I developed the taste for good Lobster Rolls. Until recently it was a hard thing to find when outside of the region without paying an arm and a leg. With the  food truck craze, Lobster Trucks are the easy way to get my fix of the the delicious sandwich, at an affordable price. However every so often I like to make them myself.

Filling
3 lbs Steamed Lobster, Chopped meat
1-2 tbs Mayonaise
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tsp Chopped Parsley
1.5 tsp Lemon juice
1 stalk Chopped celery
dash of ground cumin

Cover and chill lobster in the fridge for a couple hours. Lightly butter and grill bun/bread in a pan until slightly brown and spoon heaping Lobster Filling in. Enjoy with a side of kettle cooked potato chips :P

Apple Pie Cashew/Almond Butter

Back when I lived in Minnesota, I loved the peanut butter at Hell's Kitchen. When I moved back to California, I then started making my own in this style. Life was good until one day I was wandering the Brentwood farmer's market. There was a nut butter stand which mixed dried fruit in their nut butters, Banana & Chocolate (almost like a nutella) and my latest obsession Apple Pie!!!

2oz Apple Chips
1c Cashews, roasted
1/4c Almonds
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tbs Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Mace
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
2-3 tbs Grapeseed oil

Put all ingredients in the food processor and pulse until desired even smoothness.

Almond Peach Upsidedown Cake

I order CSA boxes and every week I get an assortment of seasonal fruits and vegetables. What you get in the box is always a little bit of a surprise. Summertime is the BEST because there are usually more fruits. I've been getting Peaches in the last few, so for the latest BBQ, I use a couple in an upside-down cake. 

The inspiration for this round was this picture on pinterest, which came from the blog use real butter. I liked how they laid out the peaches in a cast iron skillet but made a few adjustments to the recipe in my version.

Fruit:

4-5 Ripe Peaches, medium sized and sliced evenly

1/2 c Brown Sugar, packed

1 tbs Rum

Cake:

1/2 c Butter

3/4 c Granulated Sugar

4 Egg Yolks

1/3 c Milk

1 tsp Vanilla extract

1 1/2 tbs Almond Extract

1 c All purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tbs Cornstarch

1/4 tsp Salt

Since I buy organic fruit, I leave the skin on when cutting them into slices. Then toss the cut fruit with brown sugar and Rum in a large bowl until evenly coated. Place arrangement in the cast iron skillet and pour excess syrup over the fruit.

Cream the butter and Sugar. Add wet ingredients and stir in the dry ingredients. Pour cake batter on top of the arranged fruit. Bake at 350º for 40-50 minutes, until done.

Flip over on a plate and let cool.

Butternut Squash Polenta with Mushrooms + Leeks

Polenta
3/4 c Cornmeal
2c Chicken stock (or water and bullion)
1 c Butternut squash
1 tsp Salt
2 tbs Butter
1/4 c Parmesan cheese

1 c Mushrooms, assorted sliced
2 cloves Garlic
1 stalk Leek
1 Shallot
1 tbs Olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Rainbow Cake

While having an edible one night, a friend requested that for her upcoming birthday, she wanted a rainbow cake. I decided she needed a double rainbow cake instead. 

After the birthday, I got so many requests, here are the directions how to make it.


Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
6oz dark chocolate, 70% cocoa
1/3c heavy cream
1/4c butter, room temperature
2-3c confectioners sugar

Cake
1 box yellow cake mix, follow directions on the box to make the batter.
OR
1c butter, softened
1/2c vegetable shortening
3c granulated sugar
5 eggs
3c all purpose flour
2tsp baking powder
1/4tsp salt
1/2c whole milk, room temperature
1/2c buttermilk, room temperature
2tsp vanilla extract


For the frosting, melt chocolate in a double boiler. Add cream to make a ganache let cool to room temperature. Place ganache and butter in a stand mixer and beat until mixed well. Add sugar.

To make the cake, once you've made the batter, separate into bowls and mix with food coloring, pouring them by color into a parchment lined pan. By pouring the batter in the center, it will push the colors out and form the rings.

Bake the 2 cakes and let completely cool. Trim the top off to make cake flat before frosting. 

Lemon Bars

My grandmother had a lemon bar recipe which she would make for almost every gathering. This was her go-to dessert, but as a kid I almost never ate it. It was *shocking* too sweet for me. I've since adjusted the proportions for my taste :P

Crust
1/2 c Powdered sugar
1 c Butter
2 c All purpose flour

Filling
2/3 c Lemon juice
1 c Sugar
4 Eggs
1 tsp Baking powder
1/3 c All purpose flour

Mix the crust ingredients and press into the bottom of a 9x12 pan. Bake at 400º for 20 minutes and remove from oven.

Meanwhile, mix all filling ingredients in a bowl. When the crust is ready, pour ingredients on top and place back in the oven at 350º for another 30-40 minutes, until set. Remove from oven and let fully cool at room temperature before cutting. Sprinkle with powdered sugar after the bars have been cut.

Double Double Cake

I have a friend who LOVES box cake. To go with her non-traditional wedding, she had mentioned that all she would want is a yellow cake with chocolate frosting, But they were going to forego cake all together. So, at the non-traditional bridal shower...We played laser tag and went out for lunch and had this---->


CAKE  
1x Yellow Cake box mix; follow box directions
1x Devils Food Cake box mix; follow box directions
1/2 tsp Sesame Seeds

FROSTING
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
6oz dark chocolate, 70% cocoa
1/3c heavy cream
1/4c butter, room temperature
2-3c confectioners sugar

White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
6 oz white chocolate
1/3c heavy cream
1/4c butter, room temperature
2-3c confectioners sugar

Bake both cake mixes into 9" round cake pans. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top of one of the yellow cake mixes.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler, add cream and stir. Put ganache in a stand mixer, with paddle attachment, and butter. Add powdered sugar, set aside.

Melt white chocolate in a double boiler, add cream and stir.
Put ganache in a stand mixer, with paddle attachment, and butter. Add powdered sugar. Stir in green food coloring. put in a pastry bag and set aside.

Leave the sesame layer as is, this will be the top bun. Take the other cooled cake and cut in half. Alternate yellow cake and chocolate cake, Stacking each layer with chocolate Frosting on the bottom. When you get to the final chocolate cake, pipe out green frosting on top. Place 'bun' layer on top.

Blue Cheese Shortbread Cookies

4 oz Butter, softened
6 oz blue cheese, softened
1/3 C granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 C flour

Blend blue cheese, butter, sugar and salt until creamy. Add flour until mixture just starts to come together and forms a clump. Gather dough and place on a piece of plastic. Roll into a log and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, 2-3 hours. 

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat. Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator. Slice the log. Transfer to the baking sheets. You want the dough to remain cold, so work quickly.

Bake for about 15 to 18 minutes or until the edges just start to turn golden. 

Flourless Chocolate Cake

1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup white sugar
18oz bittersweet chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter
6 eggs

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease a 10 inch round cake pan and set aside (or line with parchment).

In a small saucepan over medium heat combine the water, salt and sugar. Stir until completely dissolved and set aside.
In a double boiler, melt the bittersweet chocolate. Pour the chocolate into the bowl of an electric mixer.
Cut the butter into pieces and beat the butter into the chocolate, 1 piece at a time. Beat in the hot sugar-water. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Have a pan larger than the cake pan ready, put the cake pan in the larger pan and fill the pan with boiling water halfway up the sides of the cake pan.

Bake cake in the water bath at 300 degrees F for 45 minutes. The center will still look wet. Chill cake overnight in the pan. To unmold, dip the bottom of the cake pan in hot water for 10 seconds and invert onto a serving plate. Dust with confectioners sugar.

Lemony Greek Yogurt Cheesecake

I've discovered the best way to eat this is at breakfast. It's basically just eggs, yogurt and fruit! I've also discovered that the type of yogurt you use makes a WORLD of difference. I like Wallaby with the sugar or Greek Gods Honey Vanilla and cut down the additional sugar. As an alternative to the regular graham cracker Crust, I've also began to add ginger powder for a twist on the taste.

Graham Cracker Crust:
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs (6-8 whole cookies)
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup melted butter (plus 1-2 tsp for preparing pan)

Lemon Greek Yogurt Filling:
4 eggs
¾ cup sugar
1 tbs. cornstarch
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups plain Greek Yogurt
1 tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon zest
Preheat oven to 350° F. Break graham crackers and place in food processor.* Pulse until ground into medium-fine crumbs. Put into medium mixing bowl, and stir in butter and sugar. Turn out into a buttered nine-inch springform pan and, using your fingers, press mixture into an even crust along the bottom. You can also use a buttered glass pie plate and form the crumbs into a traditional crust along the bottom and up the sides. Bake for 10-15 minutes until firm and dry. Remove from oven and set on a wire rack.

Beat eggs in a medium bowl. Whisk in sugar, cornstarch, salt, vanilla, and yogurt until light and slightly bubbly. Add lemon and lemon zest and pulse or beat briefly to incorporate. Pour mixture into prepared crust (it's fine if the crust is still warm).

Place in center of oven. Start checking cheesecake after 50 minutes and then every 5-10 minutes after that. Shake pan gently. The filling should look creamy but firm at the edges, and still appear slightly jiggly in the center. It will firm up as it cools. Remove from oven and set on a wire rack. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or overnight) before serving.

Optional topping: 3 cups sliced strawberries, raspberries, blackberries or mixed berries tossed with two tablespoons sugar. Let mixture sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour so the berries get nice and juicy. Spoon desired amount of topping over a slice of cheesecake before serving.

Carrot Cake

I am an avid juicer and recently I had a new blend in my line-up; carrot, coconut and lime. The downside, lots of leftover carrot pulp?! What to do with it? The upside...Carrot Cake!!!

In this version, I happened to be making ricotta cheese and consequently had a lot of extra whey around. So, I added the carrot juice moisture back in the form of whey. In other words, the carrots used for shreds produced made 3/4c carrot juice, thus I added 3/4c whey to the batter.




Cake
1 3/4 c all-purpose flour 
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 1/4 c light brown sugar
3/4 c vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups shredded carrots 
2/3 cups dried currants & raisins, soaked overnight in rum and strained.

Frosting
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 c butter (1 stick), room temperature
3 c confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c pecan pieces


Pre-heat oven to 350º and set rack to the middle of the oven.

Whisk all wet ingredients together. Then stir in dry ingredients adding the flour last. Pour batter into parchment lined a half sheet jelly roll pan and spread evenly. Bake for about 15 minutes until the center is firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack, leaving the parchment side down.

While cake is cooling, toast the pecans and chop coarsely, set aside.
Use paddle attachment on an electric mixer and beat all remaining frosting ingredients.

To finish, cut the cooled cake into quarters. Place your first piece of cake on a plate 
(or cardboard bottom) and spread approximately 1/2c of frosting evenly with an offset spatula. Repeat with 2 more layers. Frost the sides of the cake with your remaining frosting. Gently press the chopped pecans onto the side of your cake. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Cinnamon Pull-apart Bread

I love monkey bread just about as much as unicorns love rainbows. Over the holidays it's a tradition at Brunch. Instead of using the traditional bunt pan, I made a smaller batch in the form or pull apart bread! 


Dough
1/4 oz active dry yeast
1/4 c warm water
1/4 c scalded milk
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 3/4 c All-Purpose Flour

Cinnamon spread
3 tbs light brown sugar
3 tbs granulated sugar
2 tbs butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbs cocoa powder (optional)

Glaze
1-2 tbs whole milk
1 tbs butter
1/2 c powdered sugar

In a large bowl, whisk together four cups of flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt together the butter and milk on medium heat until the butter is just melted. Remove from heat and add the water and vanilla extract. Let mixture cool for 2 minutes. 

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula. Add the eggs and continue to stir until the eggs are incorporated into the batter. The batter will be quite sticky at this point.

Add the remaining cup and a half of flour and continue to mix with a spatula for an additional 2 minutes, until ingredients are well combined. The dough will still be a little sticky. Place the dough is a large, greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise, until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Once the dough has risen, punch the dough and knead the remaining four tablespoons of flour into the dough. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for the filling. Butter the bread loafs. Cut the dough into two equal pieces, and place one piece back into a bowl and cover with the towel. Working on a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of dough to about 1/4 inch thick.

Use a brush to generously spread melted butter across the dough. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture. Cut the dough vertically into six equal strips. Stack the strips one on top of another and slice the stack into six equal slices. You should have six stacks of six squares.

 

Place the squares into the prepared bread loafs, so that they are standing up. Repeat with the second piece of dough.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. (180ºC). Cover both loaf pans with a kitchen towel and allow to rise for 30-45 minutes, until doubled in size.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown. The center will be a bit soft. Drizzle glaze on top. Allow to cool for 20 minutes before serving.