Olive Rosemary Loaves

3 or 4 years ago (?) I checked an Italian cookbook out from the library and copied a few recipes out of it, including a recipe for "olive rosemary loaves." Today I made them for the first time, and OMG they taste just like that bread they bring you at Macaroni Grill! Only kinda better, because they have olive pieces in them, which is quite nice. 

First rise.

Second rise, brushed with olive oil, slit with a serrated knife.

 

I think a crow must have got hold of this one.

So supper came together quite nicely. Olive rosemary bread dipped in cracked pepper and olive oil (a la  Macaroni Grill), spaghetti tossed with some sun-dried tomato pesto I had left over from another thing, and a simple salad with Mary's salad dressing. 

I was needing a simple salad. I made mine huge.

{ quote of the day }

ME AT THE DINNER TABLE: "It's like we're at Macaroni Grill, only we have control over the pepper mill!"

~

Olive Rosemary Loaves

1 1/2 cup warm water (105-115° F)

4 Tablespoons olive oil, plus more for oiling your baking sheet

2 packages (4 1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

2 teaspoons salt

5 cups (680 grams) bread flour 

• In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup warm water, 3 Tablespoons of the olive oil, yeast, and sugar; stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in remaining 1 cup warm water, olives, rosemary, salt, and 4 cups (544 grams) flour until combined.
• Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes, working in enough of the remaining flour (136 grams) just to keep dough from sticking.
• Shape dough into a ball; place in a greased large bowl, turning dough to grease top. Cover bowl and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Punch down dough. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut in half; cover and let rest 15 minutes for easier shaping. Grease a large cookie sheet.
• Shape each dough half into a 7.5 x 4" oval; place 3" apart on prepared cookie sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400° F. Brush tops of loaves with remaining 1 Tablespoon oil. With a serrated knife, cut three diagonal slashes across the top of each loaf. Bake until loaves are golden and have reached an internal temperature of 200° F or so, about 30 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Easter

We went to Fordyce for Easter Sunday. I made pull-apart whole wheat rolls, s'more cups, and deviled eggs {not pictured} to take.

 

We also had delicious ham, asparagus casserole, mashed potatoes, and ice cream with sugary Arkansas strawberries on top.

✴✴✴

I met a baby horse named Sunday.

 

Then Josh and I went for a walk in the woods.

Easter cathedral.

After we ate, Mom took candid shots of us sitting/tinkering/dozing off.

Culinary Capers Ingredient of the Week: Tea

So I've decided to implement a new life strategy, which involves me making homemade flour tortillas at least once a week. Also homemade refried beans with bacon grease. 

 

Anyway, the Culinary Capers ingredient of the week is tea. Interesting choice, right? I made chai-spiced fruit compote with yogurt.

 

I used dates instead of prunes and craisins instead of apricots.

It was OK-ish.

{OK I didn't like it.}

But I do like the concept of infusing fruit with chai tea and honey. I just think it would be better with fresh fruit. I don't know what fruit. Peaches maybe? Yeah, peaches. Honey-chai peaches served over frozen yogurt sprinkled with toasted almonds. That sounds nommy.

So Marta's got me thinking...

Now that we've done tea, someone needs to make coffee the ingredient of the week!

Was it the Crazy Step-Dad???

Today I made drop biscuits to freeze. 

And maple pecan cupcakes.
{Josh loves pecans, and he loves maple.}

Batter.

Cooling.

Iced.

And a couple more omelets. This time I added red pepper flakes to the egg part.

 

I also got sucked in to watching 48 Hours Mystery's take on the West Memphis 3 situation.

That whole scenario is so intriguing to me.

Now I wish I would have gone to see the big premier of Paradise Lost 3 when I had the chance.

Toast Post

Cinnamon toast is great. Especially on homemade bread.
 


 I made this whole wheat country crust bread using the special whole wheat-ifying technique I mentioned a few posts ago. It's good. It might be the tastiest loaf of bread I've made. (Not that I've made a whole lotta bread.) Anyways... In case you didn't know:

{ how to make cinnamon toast }

1. Spread some butter on some bread. 

2. Sprinkle on some cinnamon, sprinkle on some sugar, and don't be stingy with either. 

3. Toast in a 350˚ oven for 10 minutes.

Just Sayin'

I didn't graduate from college.

But I did graduate from the envelope to the bottle.

Drop Biscuits

This recipe is a gem because it's so easy, so convenient, and so impressive.

I mean, aren't you impressed? By easy I mean you get all the glory of homemade biscuits from scratch, without the hassle of rolling or cutting. By convenient I mean they freeze beautifully. I popped these two out of the freezer and baked them all by themselves. Just for me. I like them with honey or grape jelly. 

Drop Biscuits
(adapted from The Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook)

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 3/4 cup cold butter
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk (or 1 cup milk)
• 1/4 cup whipping cream

Prep

• In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cream of tartar. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add buttermilk and whipping cream all at once. Using a fork, stir just until moistened.

• Drop dough by spoonfuls onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. (You have to use the parchment paper or they won't do right.) Bake in a 450° oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden. Remove biscuits from baking sheet and serve immediately.

~

If freezing, freeze the dropped dough overnight on a baking sheet covered with plastic wrap. Then, transfer the frozen biscuits to a plastic freezer bag the next day. Increase bake time to 15 minutes (or until golden) for frozen biscuits.

The original recipe says it makes 12 biscuits, but I make mine small, so it's more like 24. One of my small biscuits is approximately 150 calories.

Homemade Corn Tortillas

Today I made homemade tortillas for the first time.

I used The Homesick Texan's recipe from her new cookbook.

 

I have been so excited to use this tortilla press I borrowed from my mom.

Masa balls.

My first tortilla!!!

They were smaller than what I expected. At first I didn't think they would be flexible enough to fold over for tacos; but as I kept stacking the finished ones under this towel, the steam made them more pliable. 

One of my tacos. I didn't get enough fixins on this one. Although the tortillas are small, they are dense, and so require lots of fixins.

Josh's lunch tacos for tomorrow, doused with his beloved Cholula sauce. 

P.S. I'm so into my hair today. It's so calm.

Cast Iron Kills It

I love to cook with my cast iron skillet. I like cast iron's rustic charm, and the fact that it can go from the stove-top to the oven, even when the oven is set to "broil". This simple, healthy, and delicious asparagus frittata recipe (from Simply Recipes) makes good use of cast iron's special capabilities.

I started making my own pie crusts pretty recently, and I've been using the crusts in cast iron skillet dishes. I've made two Southern Living pies (apple and pecan) that call for the use of a skillet in place of a conventional pie dish, and a dill-icious skillet chicken potpie from Country Living. For the sweet pies I used a crust recipe that calls for white flour and a mixture of butter and shortening for the fat. For the savory pie I used a similar crust recipe that calls for a mixture of white and whole wheat flours. Both recipes (plus detailed crust-handling instructions) can be found in my beloved baking resource, Country Baking.

And now, a visual journey through the making of the pecan pie.




My skillet awaits. (It's waiting for my pie crust dough to chill in the fridge so I can roll it out.)



The crust. It's not wanting to stay together around the edges. Maybe I didn't add enough ice water?



It was a bit of a rough ride, but we made it into the bottom of the skillet.



This is why it's important to plan your baking adventures ahead of time and read the recipe the night before. It might call for something wacky, like "1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled to room temperature". I have no idea how long it took for the melted butter to re-harden, but it ain't my problem 'cause I just let it sit overnight. (You like how I did the butter in a tiny cast iron skillet?)



My little baby before hitting the oven.



And after.

This is a weird recipe because it doesn't call for Karo. Josh was totally pissed when he found out about that. He is the ultimate pecan pie purist. We'll see how we like it. We're taking it to my mom's for dinner later this evening.

So the moral of the story is this: Just because a recipe calls for a store-bought pie crust, that doesn't mean you can't make your own.

I made the following changes to Country Living's chicken potpie recipe: I used 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, 1/4 cup of heavy cream, and 1 cup of chicken broth.