Busy Bakers

I’m thinking these pictures from today’s third grade classroom says it all.

Cooperation, measurement, science, patience, cleanliness, etc. were all required for this project that took place throughout the day. The school has never smelled better! ~~K

Happy Mardi Gras!

King Cake Recipe from Food Network Magazine

When I saw the first several lines of the King Cake recipe (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/king-cake-recipe2/index.html) I knew it would be another baking adventure with BEB!

** Prep Time: 45 min
** Inactive Prep Time: 11 hr 30 min
** Cook Time: 40 min
** Level: Difficult

I’m glad I recently read about multiple stages of dough preparation on the Brew and Bake blog so I wasn’t totally taken back by it; especially by dumping flour on top of a partial mix and then doing nothing (not even mixing it together) for 90 minutes.

I was surprised the recipe called for a food processor rather than the Kitchenaid mixer (I found out in the next steps that I wish I would have used the mixer rather than the processor). Adding the melted butter slowly certainly resulted in a sticky dough. It became so large and sticky the processor bogged down (while sounding strained) and some of the dough lodged under the blades and went up and over the shaft (I didn’t realize this last part until during the “clean-up” process).

After waiting 3 hours then kneading by hand I was again surprised by the recipe calling for another wait– now cover it and refrigerate for 8 hours (or overnight).
Wow! This Danish dough recipe is fantastic! I never worked with such a wonderful consistency of dough the next morning. Even though it had been in the refrigerator, it increased in size. Just from the feel of it still in the plastic wrap you could tell it would be light and easy to work with.
Aromas coming from the filling mixture were delicious even in the unbaked state. Directions from the recipe were carefully followed, but when I do this again I would be sure to leave a border at the short edges as well as the long edges when spreading the filling. The bottom seal was secure, but the side tuck was not (again, didn’t know this until the filling was oozing out during the baking) – it needed to be tucked without filling in the overlap, and then pinched.
Again, a waiting period after assembly– this time 2 hours – after doubling in size it was obvious this probably could serve 12; up until now the cake didn’t look large enough.

I know my oven runs on the hot side, but I was very surprised when I checked at 25 minutes and realized the cake was just about finished – there was no way it would stay in the oven 40 minutes. It was very brown, but not hard and crusty – it still had a great “spring” to the touch. I was concerned the center might be doughy, but it was great!
With just the glaze on top it was a beautiful shiny “cake”, but since it was a Mardi Gras King Cake (minus the baby, though) it needed the colored sugars. Even without green, it was just festive enough and more than delicious and rich enough to be the perfect way to celebrate Mardi Gras

Yummy! ~~K

Shoveling it in …

No snow to shovel, but plenty of food and drink. Here’s what would usually be several posts wrapped up into one:

Soup’s On
This enduring winter weather called for some long-simmering hamburger soup and warm biscuits out of the oven for lunch.

It was the first time to make this soup, which will definitely be made again. I was concerned when it called for catchup and Worcestershire sauce, but the flavor was great and I won’t change anything. The recipe was from the Sentinel-Tribune.


Custom Cooking
We were hungry for a home-grilled burger and onions and I wanted some “special” buns for them. With it just being the two of us, and the fact I’m “cheap” I couldn’t bring myself to pay the price wanted for a tasty bun. Instead I bought a loaf of roasted red pepper and onion bread. After making rectangular burgers I waited until they were cooked, then sliced the bread to the correct size for each burger.

I seldom make “Zetta-style” potatoes and onions, but since it was Valentine’s Day I felt I could splurge and go the “fried” route.

It ended up being a fairly well-balanced meal; it certainly was delicious.


Delicious Drinks
A Valentine treat for us was picking out some special beverages at the liquor store. D chose Bittburger beer which is always a treat.

Several times I’ve watched the Barefoot Contessa use "limoncello” as an after dinner drink, as an ingredient in a cheesecake, and added to a fruit salad. I was tempted by it when I was at Buca di Beppo’s . Saturday was the day for me to make the purchase and try it.

It is so refreshing! I enjoyed several “limoncella martinis” with my meal and into the evening.


Busy Baking
With D not buying peanut butter cookies lately, yet needing sweets for his morning treat, I’ve been trying to bake cookies each week. The last two weeks it’s been “Margaret’s sugar cookie” recipe; this week I tried BEB’s oatmeal/raisin recipe. I prefer putting parchment paper on the cookie sheets and tend to reuse it since it doesn’t take on a taste or burn.

I’m curious how long these will last.

Poor Man’s Pecan Pie
Really, that’s the name of this non-nut pie! Apparently this recipe was developed during the depression.

It’s basically Grandma Orange’s pecan pie recipe, but instead of pecans it uses a mixture of coconut and oats. It was surprisingly good - D and I agree I’ll bake it again.

I’ve finally come up with a way to easily protect the crust edges from becoming too brown. I cut an old foil man to size and place it over the pie instead of aluminum foil. It stays in place better than flimsy sheets of foil and it is reusable. ~~K