Caramel Croissant Pudding

Normally when I have my parents come to visit, I make very detailed plans for the meals we will consume during their stay. This time, I went the other direction and tried to leave things a little more loosely planned, with suggestions instead of recipes. I laid out certain cuts of meat for the main courses, and then improvised side dishes from there.

NORMALLY, this would drive me crazy.

However, what this approach did for me was make room to add new dishes, which came in very handy when my new Thanksgiving issue of Food and Wine magazine arrived on Saturday.

See, I have a thing for bread pudding. Any kind of bread pudding. Throw caramel into the mix, and I am a goner.

See what Food and Wine did to me this month? CARAMEL CROISSANT PUDDING. Yes, they are evil. And yes, you guessed it, I went straight out in search of croissants for this pudding, which we had for dessert on Sunday night. And Monday. With vanilla ice cream on top.

This dessert was extremely easy, but what I liked best about it was the size. It is made in a ONE QUART baking dish. No 9x13 pan here. This dessert is the perfect size for a family of four, for ONE meal. And it is ideal if you just happen to have a couple of croissants leftover (which, I didn’t, but you get my point). Small ingredients, small portions, big flavor.

We all enjoyed this dish, and I’m officially putting it into the desserts rotation!

Caramel-Croissant Pudding

Ingredients
2 stale all-butter croissants, coarsely torn
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons bourbon
2 large eggs, beaten

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly butter a 1-quart shallow baking dish and arrange the croissant pieces in the dish. In a small saucepan, stir the sugar and water over moderately high heat until the sugar dissolves; wash down any crystals on the sides with a wet pastry brush. Cook without stirring until a medium amber caramel forms, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream, milk and bourbon. Cook over low heat just until any hardened caramel dissolves.

2. In a bowl, whisk the eggs. Gradually whisk in the hot caramel. Pour over the croissants and let stand for 10 minutes, pressing the croissants to keep them submerged.

3. Bake the pudding in the center of the oven for 20 minutes, until puffed and golden. Let cool for 10 minutes, then serve.

Loafing Around....

Although I consider myself to be pretty well-rounded in the kitchen, one thing I have not really experimented with very much is bread. Well, when we were preparing for Ginny's recent visit, she found two bread recipes from America's Test Kitchen that she wanted to try. And, as usual, nothing much stops us from following through with food plans, so away we went!

This is going to be a quick post with just a couple of pictures, but I think the gorgeous round loaves speak for themselves. I will say that we had a little trouble getting the dough to proof with the weather being fickle last weekend, so the bowl with the dough in it spent a little time on the warm dashboard of Ginny's car, and then the next loaf sat outside in the garden with us for awhile. Other than that, this bread was a breeze to put together. They turned out to be nice, dense loaves with a lot of flavor. I highly recommend giving it a try!

Almost No-Knead Bread with Olives, Rosemary, and Parmesan

from the Episode: Breadmaking, Simplified

An enameled cast-iron Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid yields best results, but the recipe also works in a regular cast-iron Dutch oven or heavy stockpot. (See the related information in "High-Heat Baking in a Dutch Oven" for information on converting Dutch oven handles to work safely in a hot oven.) Use a mild-flavored lager, such as Budweiser (mild non-alcoholic lager also works). The bread is best eaten the day it is baked but can be wrapped in aluminum foil and stored in a cool, dry place for up to 2 days.Makes 1 large round loaf

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (15 ounces), plus additional for dusting work surface
1/4 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
4 ounces finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 cups)
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water (7 ounces), at room temperature
1/2 cup chopped green olives (pitted)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons mild-flavored lager (3 ounces)
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

1. Whisk flour, yeast, salt, Parmesan, and rosemary in large bowl. Add water, olives, beer, and vinegar. Using rubber spatula, fold mixture, scraping up dry flour from bottom of bowl until shaggy ball forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 8 to 18 hours.

2. Lay 12- by 18-inch sheet of parchment paper inside 10-inch skillet and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and knead 10 to 15 times. Shape dough into ball by pulling edges into middle. Transfer dough, seam-side down, to parchment-lined skillet and spray surface of dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with finger, about 2 hours.

3. About 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place 6- to 8-quart heavy-bottomed Dutch oven (with lid) on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Lightly flour top of dough and, using razor blade or sharp knife, make one 6-inch-long, 1/2-inch-deep slit along top of dough. Carefully remove pot from oven and remove lid. Pick up dough by lifting parchment overhang and lower into pot (let any excess parchment hang over pot edge). Cover pot and place in oven. Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue to bake until loaf is deep brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 210 degrees, 20 to 30 minutes longer. Carefully remove bread from pot; transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.

Almost No-Knead Cranberry-Pecan Bread

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (15 ounces), plus additional for dusting work surface
1/4 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup toasted pecan halves
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water (7 ounces), at room temperature
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons mild-flavored lager (3 ounces)
1 tablespoon white vinegar

1. Whisk flour, yeast, salt, cranberries, and pecans in large bowl. Add water, beer, and vinegar. Using rubber spatula, fold mixture, scraping up dry flour from bottom of bowl until shaggy ball forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 8 to 18 hours.2. Lay 12- by 18-inch sheet of parchment paper inside 10-inch skillet and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and knead 10 to 15 times. Shape dough into ball by pulling edges into middle. Transfer dough, seam-side down, to parchment-lined skillet and spray surface of dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with finger, about 2 hours.

3. About 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place 6- to 8-quart heavy-bottomed Dutch oven (with lid) on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Lightly flour top of dough and, using razor blade or sharp knife, make one 6-inch-long, 1/2-inch-deep slit along top of dough. Carefully remove pot from oven and remove lid. Pick up dough by lifting parchment overhang and lower into pot (let any excess parchment hang over pot edge). Cover pot and place in oven. Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue to bake until loaf is deep brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 210 degrees, 20 to 30 minutes longer. Carefully remove bread from pot; transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.

A Taste for Adventure....and Nostalgia

Ok, I messed up.

I have recently joined a wonderful blogging group called Cook the Books, that feeds not only my enthusiasm for cooking and food, but my love of literature.

Unfortunately, I was convinced that I had until February to put my post up. I've had it written for weeks, but my pictures didn't turn out very well and I was waiting to re-make the recipe to post it to my blog. Apparently, I waited too long. The roundup went out yesterday, minus my submission. So, since I didn't get a chance to make another batch, you're going to get the pictures of the first attempt. One thing you must know is that the hubs and I were having a verbal pissing match while the bread was in the oven, so it got a bit overdone; and then again after it came out, so it cooled off too much and looks rather drab. However, it did taste phenomenal. So, here we go.

Reading Anik See's 'A Taste for Adventure' left me longing to travel again. In my youth, I was always determined that I would lead a life filled with travel to exotic places and faraway lands, and I started off on a journey that would shape the rest of my existence.

I didn't get very far.

Or, at least, I didn't get far very often. In the summer between my sophomore and junior years in high school, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to Spain on an exchange program. Full of the natural exuberance that is so often indigenous to the teenage humanoid species, I packed up and flew off to Spain. And landed in an entirely foreign world. I was an 'A' student in Spanish, I had prepared myself (as much as a sixteen year old midwestern catholic school girl can) for my life's first experience overseas, and felt nothing but confidence in my ability to not only mingle with the inhabitants of this new country, but to fit in just like I'd lived there my whole life. My foreign language skills were impeccable, of course.

Too bad I didn't know much about geography, or eastern european history, or the fact that Spanish isn't the only language spoken in Spain. Or, more specifically, Catalonia.

See's chapter on Russian Georgia sparked more than a memory for me, it rekindled the long forgotten flame of love and adoration I hold for the Catalan people. See describes the Georgians as 'proud' and hints at their 'victorious' nature; their many years of oppression and survival. I was immediately hurtled back in time, and reincarnated as a moderately motion sick teenager, exhausted from an overnight flight and eight hours on a bus (worthy of a nearly medievil description) in the hot Spanish countryside. I was greeted by an extremely enthusiastic couple and their young son, (minus the daughter of my own age that I was expecting to meet and bond with), speaking a language that caused my brow to furrow, my heart to pound in my chest, and prompted more than one tearful collect call back home to mom and dad.

You see, the Catalan people don't speak Spanish. That's not to say that they CAN'T speak Spanish.....they just DON'T. The Catalan suffered through persecution and regimes that forbade the teaching of their language, not to mention even SPEAKING it. They were strong, they were victorious; as even though they are not an autonomous country, they still maintain themselves as an autonomous PEOPLE.

Living in Catalonia is the period that I recognize as the beginning of my love affair with food. It was where I discovered that not all pizza comes from Little Caesar's, that seafood is a pleasure and not just a menu item at Long John Silver's, and that cooking from scratch most definitely does not equate with something that comes from a box.

During my stay, I ate a lot of "street food", went to a number of festivals, and discovered what the life of the average person in Catalonia is like. Food is fresh, quick, and (BONUS!) they drink wine with every meal. Yes, I know that is typical in most countries I don't live in, but it is also where I learned to drink socially and responsibly, without throwing myself into drunken debauchery in college, like most of my friends.

So, in honor of the proud people of Georgia and Catalonia, and my love for street food, I decided to make Khachapuri from the Georgian chapter, as it reignited my romance with Catalonia, and reminds me so much of something you might get from a street vendor there. A simple, yet luscious bread, that even I, in this little podunk American town, can find the ingredients for.

Thank you, Anik, for reminding me of my youth, my love of foreign cultures, and my passion for food. I hope you enjoy my submission for Cook the Books!

Khachapuri
(from A Taste for Adventure, page 89)

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
2 eggs
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 pound havarti cheese, grated
1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled
2 TBSP fresh mint, cilantro or parsley (I used cilantro)
1 egg, beaten with 1 TBSP water

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, salt, and butter in a large bowl and rub the mixture between your hands until crumbly (this is also easily done in a food processor or mixer - I used a pastry cutter). Add one egg and the yogurt and mix until a ball is formed. Roll out the dough into a rectangle of 1/4 inch thickness.

Mix together the second egg, cheeses, and herbs and spread out over half the dough. Fold the dough over the cheese mixture to cover it and seal the edges by crimping them with a fork or your fingers. Beat the remaining egg and water together and brush the dough with it.Bake on a greased baking sheet for about an hour, until the dough is golden brown.

(yes, this is a shameless shot of the interior of my new oven)

Let the bread cool slightly. Cut into wedges or squares and serve while still warm.Makes one square, to serve 6 to 8 as a snack or part of a meal.

The Litmus Test

When I received a package of White Whole Wheat flour from the King Arthur Flour company last week, I wanted to be sure I gave the product a good, thorough test. If you missed the first installment of this test, it is part of my participation in BloggerAid Changing the Face of Famine's View and Review program. My first recipe was a savory one from the King Arthur website and was definitely a winner in my book. I also plan to do a "sweet" recipe (maybe pancakes or cinnamon rolls or something), but in my mind, if you're going to truly rate a flour on any scale, the best way to do it is in the raw (or as close to raw as you can get) to catch the flavor, texture, and quality at its most blatant....and in my book, that is by baking bread. I call that, the Litmus Test.

Now, I am not a baker. Not even close. I commonly equate cooking and baking to the subjects in which I excelled or was dismally poor at during my school years. To me, cooking is like an art....a little of this, a little of that, add some color for flair, and give it a personality. I was good at the arts. Baking, on the other hand, reminds me of science and math. Measurements, quantity, temperature, time, and you need to be accurate. Science and Math were not my strong suits (and that's putting it mildly).

On that note, I want to send a big thanks out to PJH from the King Arthur Flour company for leaving a comment on my last post, suggesting their No Knead 100% Whole Wheat Bread recipe for my first effort in yeast breads. This recipe could not have been easier. Still, I was nervous. Serious baking has always intimidated me. I don't even get along very well with bread machines, and that's cheating.

So, let me start with the recipe, and then I'll tell you how it went.

No-Knead 100% Whole Wheat Bread

1 cup lukewarm water
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
3 tablespoons molasses, maple syrup, dark corn syrup, or brown sugar corn syrup (I used maple syrup)
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/4 cup Baker's Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 cups King Arthur whole wheat flour, white whole wheat preferred
Directions
1) Heavily grease an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan. This loaf tends to stick, so be sure to grease the pan thoroughly with non-stick vegetable oil spray.
2) Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Beat the mixture vigorously for about 3 minutes; an electric mixer set on high speed works well here. You should have a very sticky dough. It won't be pourable, but neither will it be kneadable. Scoop it into the prepared pan.
3) Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and let it rise for 60 to 90 minutes; it should just about rise to the rim of the pan, perhaps just barely cresting over the rim. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
4) Uncover the bread, and bake it for about 40 to 45 minutes, tenting it with aluminum foil after 20 minutes. The bread is done when it's golden brown on top, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers between 190°F and 195°F. Remove it from the oven, and after 5 minutes turn it out onto a rack. Brush with melted butter, if desired; this will keep the crust soft. Cool the bread completely before cutting it.Notes: Since I am new to baking, I made sure to follow the recipe to the letter. I timed and measured everything carefully, tented the loaf after exactly 20 minutes, and used my instant read thermometer to make sure it also hit the right internal temperature (don't mind the probe sticking out of the loaf in the pictures!).

Who can argue with a recipe that just says, "Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl"? That prospect won me over from step one. My only thought is that I should have let the yeast bloom a bit in the lukewarm water before adding the other ingredients, as my bread didn't really rise much. I even made sure I bought fresh yeast for the project.

Now, that being said, this bread was great.

My main curiosity with the White Whole Wheat flour was whether or not it would be dramatically different from traditional whole wheat flours. So many of them produce doughs that are either dry or gritty (in my opinion), not that I mind some texture in my breads, but the whole point here is that it should be smoother and milder (in theory, to pass a healthier version on to my picky eaters).

And it worked.

Now, granted, I did not blind fold anyone (come on, like I'm going to take the time to do that when the house smells like freshly baked bread? Please, you're lucky I held off on inhaling the lovely golden stuff long enough to take pictures), but I don't think you could pass this off as white bread. On the other hand, its absolutely nothing like any whole wheat breads I've ever had, either. It had a lovely, somewhat dense consistency, without being heavy, and a texture that was neither airy nor tough. The loaf was moist, but strong. It held up to buttering, and manhandling by my son, who, as you can see, gobbled it up like it was a chocolate chip muffin.

(yeah, I know, there's a lot of butter on that piece of bread, I got a little carried away)The hubs even tried it willingly and enthused that it was really good. Not that I needed any extra positive reinforcement after that, but the girls at work really enjoyed it this morning, as well.
So, how would I rate King Arthur Flour's White Whole Wheat Flour? And, I will be baking bread again. My loaf is gone and I want more.
Don't change that station, folks! I've got one more recipe up my sleeve - I hope to have it out to you later this week!

On a side note, we are also the proud owners of a pretty spiffy new charcoal grill. The hubs has been wanting to start smoking his own meats, and we were looking at something a little fancier, but we ended up going with a basic, but heavy duty model. Here's the proud papa grillin' away after 3 measly hours of assembly time.