Category: bread
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Banana Bread with Spiced Walnut Topping
March 22, 2016
For when you just didn't get to those bunch of bananas...if they are brown and soft and you don't have time for this recipe, throw them in the freezer. Just be sure to defrost them before you make the bread. The additional of sour cream makes it EXTRA moist, and the spiced nut topping was inspired by one of my fav @CIAGreystone Instructors, Chef Paul. You may remember him by the now infamous Chef Paul's Mushroom Salad. You can trim the calories and fat in this recipe by using low-fat sour cream and/or a plant-based butter, such as Earth Balance.
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Gluten Free Pie Crust
January 19, 2016
Recently I've been getting requests for gluten free (GF) pizza and pie crusts recipes. Since I didn't have one, I thought I'd take the challenge. In culinary school, I became very comfortable using @CupForCup because a very good friend and classmate, Liz (@LizelleTomorrow), is gluten intolerant. Cup4Cup's motto, "gluten free but you'd never know it," is pretty spot on. Classmates scoffed when I told them I made GF lemon bars with it, but the next time when I made brownies and only told Liz on the side they were GF, no one knew the difference and scarfed them up!
That's why I was elated when I attended the Fancy Food Show (@craftcarejoy) in San Fran yesterday and first saw their booth, then found out it was created at The French Laundry (@_TFL_) just down the road in Yountville! Unfortunately, though, when I bought GF flour for this recipe Cup4Cup wasn't availability in my local grocery store so I used @KingArthurFlour's version. The results were pretty solid - not as flaky as I had hoped, but buttery for sure.
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Chilled Tomato Cucumber Soup
August 24, 2015
Enjoy the best of the summer without heating up the kitchen! Tomatoes, cucumbers and garlic macerate with EVOO and sherry vinegar for this hearty entree soup. Cut and fry extra croutons to use on other soups and salads all week long.
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Kerrie’s Cornbread
August 4, 2015
A "Submit Your Recipe" make-over for summer from @KerrieKelly of Sacramento, CA, this cornbread packs flavor while cutting down on sugar, fat, carbs, and cholesterol - and it's gluten-free! After replacing the white flour with a mix of rice flour and masa, then cutting down on the butter and eggs and adding milk for moisture, and I dared to omit all the cheese. The final flavor boost came from roasted corn and poblano peppers as well as chili powder. What was the nutritional transformation you ask?! Phenomenal...96% decrease in calories, 140% decrease in fat, 280% decrease in saturated fat, 45% decrease in carbs, 24% decrease in sodium, and a crazy 640% decrease in cholesterol. I'm virtually patting myself on the back right now!
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Whole Wheat Chinese Scallion Pancakes
February 4, 2015
A white flour version of this very dish is my earliest food memory. I was nine - 4th grade Catholic school. We had an International Food Day, and I remember sitting at a small table taking my first bite of a pancake - chewy, crunchy, salty, mind blown! Thank you, God - literally! Using whole wheat flour boosts the fiber from essentially nil to 3g per pancake making it a "Good Source" of fiber. It is also "Low In" Saturated Fat and Cholesterol.
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Puffy Pancake
October 14, 2014
I was watching an old "Good Eats" and Alton was cooking popovers. It made me think about the Puffy Pancake my beau's mom makes, which uses a popover-like dough (basically a very wet one). You may also know this as a Dutch Baby. This traditional one is a sweet and sour version with powdered sugar and lemon butter, but with a neutral batter like this, the possibilities are only limited by your own creativity. The first few ideas that come to mind are topping with Sloppy Joes, Pumpkin Chili, Tofu Cacciatore, or Tandoori Vegetables. Bonus nutrition - one serving is "High In" Riboflavin and Thiamin and "Low In" Sodium.
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Rosemary Grissini
October 6, 2013
Grissini are Italian breadsticks whose origin dates back to the 17th century. I thought they'd be a fun Sunday project. They take some time, but as with most breads, not much of it is active time (especially if you use a bread machine, like I did!). In this version I mixed the dough with fresh rosemary and then rolled them in kosher salt. I made some as twists and others I rolled into cylinders. For a Halloween or The Walking Dead adaptation, you could make these smaller, maybe a bit fatter, and paint the ends ("finger nails") to make severed fingers!
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Flaxseed Baguettes
February 24, 2013
A great lazy Sunday afternoon project - making bread! These golden loaves are studded with flaxseeds to add extra texture as well as those Omega-3s everyone talks about. Flaxseeds are one of the best sources of vegetarian Omega-3 fatty acids (many are derived from fish). Flax plants have been cultivated for more than 5,000 years with recent studies showing that its seeds may reduce risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and stroke.
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Mini-Christmas Muffins
December 16, 2012
Germany is the land of Christmas, and in Christmas-land there is a sweet, fruit and nut bread called stollen (pronounced shhto-len). It's akin to Italian panettone, but a bit denser, baked in a loaf and is topped with powdered sugar. I read the first recipe reference to this holiday favorite from Dresden was in the early 1300s. Here I gave in to the mini-muffin/cupcake craze and turned them into bite-sized treats that you could serve along holiday cookies and bars.
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Mushroom Rosemary Parmesan Breakfast Muffins
April 15, 2012
Think you can't get in veggies before 8am? Try making a savory breakfast muffin over the weekend and have a grab-n-go treat every morning for weeks. This combo is sherry mushrooms, fresh rosemary and grated parmesan, but the sky's the limit here. Try spinach and feta, faux sausage and mozz, sage and mushrooms, scallions and red pepper - get creative and then get to work with a healthy breakfast in your belly!
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Spicy Pumpkin Bread
October 16, 2011
Even though it's still 80 degrees in NorCal, I wanted Fall so I pulled out some pumpkin puree I froze last year to make this spicy pumpkin bread. It comes together quickly so get the oven going immediately. You could use canned pumpkin puree, but it's thicker than roasted, pureed, fresh pumpkin so you may need to back off on the dry ingredients here. It's great toasted with jam or butter for breakfast.
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Roasted Garlic Rosemary Rolls
November 21, 2010
I have been making these dreamy rolls for the past three or four Thanksgivings now. They are most easily done with a bread machine, but a stand mixer with both paddle and dough hook attachments will get the job done. Serve these hot with lots of butter. They will perfectly compliment all your holiday dishes.
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Smoked Mozzarella & Sage Pumpkin Muffins
October 31, 2010
Michael gave me a great idea to turn pumpkin muffins upside down by making them savory. Paired with fresh sage and smoked mozzarella, this is a trick for a yummy Halloween treat. Serve with a warming, fall soup or just pop a few for an afternoon snack. And they can even show your San Francisco Giants pride!
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Polish Easter Babka
April 4, 2010
Half of my heritage is Polish - coming from my dad. There weren't many Polish food traditions growing up so I tried to create this one for Easter. I learned about babka (pronounced 'bob-ka') when I went to Greenpoint, the Polish neighborhood in Brooklyn, to explore the grocery and candy stores and delis. I came back excited to hear from my dad if he had babka at Easter growing up and how it was made. Similar to the Italian panettone or the German stollen served at Christmas, this Polish version is a yeast bread with citrus and raisins that has many different variations - some with nuts, some sweeter, different icings, etc. He said his mother made it very plainly with a simple lemon icing. And that's the way I've been doing my Polish Easter Babka ever since. I've modified this recipe slightly cutting down on the 10 egg yolks (yes, 10!), butter and sugar to lighten it and make it at least a bit more healthy (but don't fool yourself, this is no health food). The double rise is time-consuming, but absolutely critical for a fluffy, buttery texture. Enjoy this bread as you would a coffee cake after Easter dinner or toast it for breakfast.
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Orange Almond Bread
January 10, 2010
I make fruit breads for Michael's breakfast, mostly to get him to eat fruit, but also because he loves the warm, moist treat as a nice alternative to yogurt in the morning - and for him it goes great with coffee. A co-worker brought in about two dozen oranges from her yard and I gladly took them off her hands. This is high citrus season in Northern California and even your casual acquaintances will try to dump lemons, oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, pomelos and others off on you lest they rot and become a nuisance in their yards. With a great number of them I'm making a very simple orange marmalade, but I also thought I'd make Michael a new variety of breakfast bread. I had almonds on hand, but you could use any of your favorite nuts or omit them altogether.
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Zucchini “Brake”
August 2, 2009
A colleague from work, Lee O., gave me this family recipe for when the summer zucchini is overflowing. She says they call it "brake" because it's a cross between bread and cake - a great dense consistency with a sweet bite. I'm calling it a dessert - perhaps an icing is in order?! It's terribly easy to put together. Just plan to bake in the morning or late at night - this recipe calls for a 350 degree oven for an hour.
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Whole Wheat Scottish Bap
May 17, 2009
I was first introduced to the bap during my summer college internship in London. A slightly flatter, denser version of a burger bun, it actually originated in Scotland. Good with my "Chicken" Salad, Southwest Pinto Burgers, Smoked Cheddar Stuffed Lentil Burgers, or Egg Salad.