Basic Sweet Dough

This one is a no-brainer: it's a recipe from America's Test Kitchen (foolproof), it's easy (thankyouverymuch), and it is perfect for any sweet dough application, like sticky buns, cinnamon rolls, hot cross buns, or Entenmann's-like danish. Oh, the deliciousness.

This basic recipe makes enough dough for three Entenmann's-sized danishes. My favorites are cream cheese and cinnamon (additional recipes to follow).

But here's where it all begins...

Basic Sweet Dough

3/4 c. buttermilk (or clabbered milk), warm
6 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled until just warm
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 envelope (2 1/4 tsp.) yeast
1 tsp. salt

Whisk together the buttermilk, butter, and eggs.

In a large bowl, whisk together 4 cups of flour, the sugar, yeast, and salt. Add the buttermilk mixture and mix until the dough comes together. (I use a stand mixer for this, but if you don't have one, you can always do it by hand--it'll just mean more kneading)

Let your stand mixer mix the dough on medium-low for 10 minutes, or knead by hand for 10-15 minutes, adding flour as needed.

Knead the dough by hand on a floured counter top until it's smooth and elastic--about 1 minute. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

How you proceed depends on what you're making next; I divide it into three even portions when I'm making danishes/coffee cakes, but use the whole recipe of dough to make a 9x13 pan of sticky buns or cinnamon rolls.

Quick and Easy Donuts

Don't they look scrumptious?

A few years ago, Vicki, a woman from church, told me that sometimes, on Saturday mornings, she makes homemade donuts for her family. Vicki is one of those women you just secretly loathe, just because she's pretty AND nice AND talented AND organized AND has perfect children AND AND AND. You know the type. So anyway, I figured she had some old family recipe that she slaved over every Saturday morning in the name of love. But then she told me that she uses buttermilk biscuits...from a can. In that moment, I loathed her a little less. Because how can you loathe anyone who introduces you to the ease and magic of making donuts at home using a 35-cent can of biscuits? I made them this morning for my kids, and it took all of 5 minutes, start-to-finish.


Quick and Easy Donuts

1 can refrigerated buttermilk donuts
vegetable oil or shortening

Optional toppings:
sugar, powdered sugar, cinnamon, chocolate frosting, sprinkles...the sky's the limit!

Pour vegetable oil about 1/2 inch deep in a skillet. Place over medium heat. Splash a few drops of water into the cold oil. As the oil heats, the water will pop. when the water droplets have about stopped popping, your oil is ready to use.

Separate the biscuits and poke a hole in the middle of each to give it that classic donut shape and also to make sure it gets cooked evenly. Drop donuts into the hot oil (I always try one by itself first to make certain the oil is the right temperature), frying for about 45 seconds on one side, flipping, and frying about 45 seconds on the other side. It really will be to your advantage to do a test donut first to gauge how hot your oil is running. Your time may be slightly different. In any case, don't walk away, because these little gems cook up FAST!

When the donuts are a deep golden brown, remove and drain on a cooling rack. When the donuts have cooled to the touch, toss them with powdered sugar, plain sugar, or a cinnamon-sugar mixture. Or melt a small amount of frosting in the microwave and twirl the tops of your donuts in the frosting, topping with nonpareil sprinkles. Or mix powdered sugar and a little bit of milk for glazed donuts--twirl donuts in the glaze mixture or drizzle over top. Use your imagination! Ooh...I bet if you didn't put the hole in the middle, you could use a food syringe and fill the donuts with jelly or pudding or custard! I've never tried it, but I bet it would work.

I buy my biscuits from Aldi, and they really are about 35 cents. For ten hot, homemade donuts, that's not bad!

Refried Beans

I am always repulsed by the refried beans from the can. I mean, I love the flavor, but there's something about prying the strangely-gelatinous pink mass from its metal home that sets me ill-at-ease. Perhaps it looks too much like pet food? Or perhaps it just smells too much like pet food? The sad thing is that I LOVE the taste of refried beans. And I LOVE bean dip, especially out at a restaurant. But are my options really that I have to go to a restaurant to get good refried beans or tolerate the glop from a can? There must be a better way.

So one Saturday morning, I happen to catch America's Test Kitchen on PBS. THey were making huevos rancheros, I believe, and were having the same bean trouble I was. So they figured out how to make refried beans at home without having to first cook the beans and all that. It was quick, easy, and according to them, it was much tastier than the tin-can counterpart. I thought it was worth a try.

Of course, I used their recipe as a guideline, but didn't have all of the ingredients they called for. So with some improvisation, this is what I came up with. I've made it several times since then, and I come dangerously close to gluttony when I have a warm bowl of these beans and some good tortilla chips.

Give it a try--you might be surprised!!

Refried Beans

1 lg. can pinto beans, drained, liquid reserved
1 small onion, diced finely
4 strips of bacon (OR 1-2 Tbsp. bacon fat, if you've got some)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 4 oz. can green chilies, chopped as finely as desired
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt (or to taste)

In a saute pan over medium heat, render the fat from the bacon. Then eat the bacon, leaving the fat in the pan. Cooking does have its perks! To the drippings, add the onion, and saute until it begins to soften. Then add the chilies and garlic, and also the cumin and salt. Saute until fragrant, about a minute or two.

Meanwhile, toss the pinto beans into a food processor or blender, then add the onion/chile mixture on top. Pulse until the beans are as smooth as you like them, adding the reserved liquid until they're your preferred consistency.

Heat olive oil in that same saute pan, and transfer beans to warm pan. Cook over medium high heat until warmed through, just to combine flavors.

Sit down in a comfy chair with these beans and a fresh bag of tortilla chips and sigh contentedly. Then consume the whole bowl. Makes about 2 cups.

ALTERNATELY, you can use these in a Mexican layer dip, or spooned over deluxe nachos, or tucked inside tacos and burritos...I'm just saying, the possibilities are practically endless.

Uncle Abe's Soft Pretzels

Okay, this one needs no story. This is just a recipe that is an amalgam of recipes claiming to be similar to "Mall" pretzels (you know the kind). I made these for the first time yesterday, and Abe thinks they're spot-on. I think they could use a bit more chewiness, so I've added in a bit of bread flour into the recipe. But if you don't have bread flour, don't sweat it--I used all all-purpose yesterday, and they still turned out really well. I ate four of them.

Soft Pretzels

4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tsp. white sugar
1 1/4 c. warm water

1 c. bread flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
all-purpose flour *

1/4 c. baking soda
2 c. hot water

kosher or sea salt, or pretzel salt, if you've got it
3 Tbsp. melted butter

FIRST, mix together the yeast, 1 tsp. sugar, and 1 1/4 c. warm water, and set aside for 5 minutes to let the yeast get foamy. When it has, add in the oil.

Then, in a large bowl, combine the bread flour, sugar, and salt. Mix in the yeast mixture, *and then continue to add all-purpose flour until it makes a soft dough. (approx. 3-4 cups.) Turn dough onto a well-floured counter top, and knead in more flour until the dough is smooth and elastic. Transfer to an oiled bowl, turn to coat with oil, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about an hour).

In a large bowl, dissolve the baking soda in the hot water.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Dump the dough out onto the counter top and flatten slightly. Then, using a knife or pizza cutter, cut off a strip that is approximately 1/12th of the total dough. Roll it on the counter until it is about 16 inches long. Then, twist into the classic pretzel shape, dunk in the baking soda/water mixture, and transfer to a parchment-lined cookie sheet, or a cookie sheet that is well-greased. Repeat until all of the pretzels are twisted. You'll need two cookie sheets.

Then, sprinkle lightly with the salt, and pop into the hot oven. Bake for 4 minutes, then rotate baking sheets top-to-bottom and front-to-back. Bake until the pretzels are golden brown.

Remove from oven and brush with lots of melted butter. Enjoy!

Makes 12 pretzels.

Naan (Indian Flatbread)

Generally speaking, I like to prepare things that my husband will enjoy eating. The kids, after all, are at that stage where they don't really care about food enjoyment--if it's not candy, it's only good to sustain life. (Unless we're talking about McNuggets, which is a different story.) Anyway, I happen to know that one of my husband's all-time favorite sandwiches is a Chicken Pesto sandwich from a local restaurant. I've had the sandwich, and it's good, but it's basic--nothing that couldn't be re-created at home. So this week, I sought out to do that very thing.

The sandwich consists of grilled chicken, pesto, salad greens, and diced tomatoes (which my husband skips), all sandwiched between two pieces of flatbread. Well, grilled chicken is easy enough. Salad greens? Just snip some from the garden. As for pesto? Well, see this other post. I added thin slices of fresh mozzarella, and sliced tomatoes (for me and for the kids), because you can't go wrong with the mozzarella/tomato/pesto combination. That left the flatbread.

I didn't want to purchase flatbread because HELLO, have you seen the prices on that sort of thing? Besides, how hard can it be to make? I remembered a recipe I had tried back in the day from a very old Fleischman's Yeast promotional recipe booklet--called "Arab Bread," it was the nearest thing I've ever had to a flatbread I ate while on a missions trip to the Dominican Republic in high school. It was good, but I thought that it might be a bit too thick and dense for a sandwich. Then I thought of Naan. I'd seen it in the grocery store, and I knew that it is traditionally served with Indian cuisine (which I don't like). It looked thin, but substantial enough to hold together for a sandwich--in short, perfect for this application. The main drawback, again, was that it was so blooming expensive, I couldn't justify purchasing it. I'd have to try to make it.

I went online to Allrecipes.com, my go-to for recipe basics, and sorted Naan recipes by rating. The recipe I chose to try was the highest rated recipe, which even readers from Naan-eating countries deemed closest to the real thing. I made the dough on Tuesday for Grilled Pizza and liked it so much, I made it again on Thursday for my Grilled Chicken Pesto Sandwiches. The long and the short of it is this: Abe actually thought this sandwich was better than its restaurant-originated counterpart, due in large part to the bread. As a matter of fact, as I was finishing up this post, Abe came home from work, rummaged furiously through the fridge and asked, "Do we have any more of that bread??"

I do not take a compliment from Abe very lightly. This recipe is a keeper! It's also EASY, even if you don't have a mixer suitable for making bread--the dough is very soft and pliable, very easy to work with. And the cooking time is brief--the bread cooks on the stove top, so there's no need to heat your oven or your house. For me, this is a big plus in summertime! So there you have it. I don't like Indian food, except for Naan. Please give this wonderful flatbread a try! It's super for sandwiches, for grilled pizza, or just for eating with spreads like hummus, if you like that sort of thing. Go forth with confidence.

Note: I've just looked over the instructions, and man, am I WORDY. But read through it, and you'll see that even though I used a lot of words to describe the process, it's still really simple. Don't be put off my my inability to self-edit.

Naan
adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 pkg. yeast (approx. 2 1/4 tsp)
1 c. warm water
1/4 c. sugar, divided (1 Tbsp. and 3 Tbsp.)
3 Tbsp. milk
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
approx. 4 1/2 c. bread flour*
melted butter
1 tsp. garlic powder

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the warm water and the sugar. Sprinkle yeast over surface of water to moisten, and wait about 5-10 minutes for it to "proof," or get foamy. If it doesn't get foamy, try again--this means your yeast has DIED. RIP.

In the meantime, whisk together the milk and the egg. Combine the remaining 3 Tbsp. sugar, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl. When the yeast is done proofing, dump in the milk mixture and combine, then dump in the sugar mixture, and stir to combine. Then begin adding flour. *I don't even measure the flour at this point, because the important thing is just to add in flour until the mixture forms a dough and pulls away from the side of the bowl. I seriously doubt I use 4 1/2 cups, as the recipe calls for, but you'll want to have this much on hand just in case, I suppose.

When you've stirred in as much flour as it will incorporate, knead the dough a few times on the counter just to get it smooth and not sticky. Transfer to an oiled bowl and turn to coat (or just brush it with a little oil). Let it rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 1 hour, or until it's doubled in size. [I like to fill a 2 c. measuring cup with water and bring it to a boil in the microwave, then put the dough into the micro. with the hot water, and let it rise there--using this method, I only let it rise 45 minutes, and it's already doubled]

After it has doubled, turn it out on a floured countertop and flatten it, then divide it into 6-8 pieces (depending on how large you want your bread). Shape the pieces into balls, spray with a bit of oil or non-stick spray, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise for about 30 minutes.

Right before you're ready to cook the bread, melt the butter and mix in the garlic powder.

Now, the fun part: heat up a griddle or a large non-stick skillet to medium-high heat. Stretch your dough into flatbreads--make them very thin, because they'll puff up quite a bit! Toss the bread right onto the griddle or pan, cook for about 2-3 minutes, then flip, and cook for 2-3 more. Most of the dough will still be very light in color, but it will have darker spots where it bubbled and had contact with the pan. Remove from the pan and brush with the butter. Repeat as needed.

NOW. Last night, I only used half the dough, used the grill side of my griddle pan, and made four nearly dinner plate-sized breads, which I folded in half for the sandwiches. It took all of 10 minutes to cook the bread, and we served it warm. If you're using it for a crowd or for pizza, go ahead and use all the dough--even when I only used 3/4 of the recipe, it made 3 large pizzas. But it's so yummy, you may want to make it all, because then you can snack on it. It's that good.

Best Ever Banana Bread

Here's another recipe that was the result of a years-long search for a recipe that was what I thought it should be. I can honestly tell you that I tried dozens of recipes for banana bread, ranging from easy, Bisquick-based recipes to more complicated, superlative-laden recipes. This is the first time I've ever made a recipe that labeled itself "Best Ever" and ended up believing that the recipe authors were telling the truth.

For me, banana bread has to meet a few criteria to make the grade. It must first of all be moist, because, hey--no one likes a dry bread, really. It should be dense, but light; nothing too fru-fru for me, please, but I'd prefer it not also be suitable as a doorstop. And it should be addicting.

I believe this last point is what made my banana bread quest so daunting: there are plenty of Just Fine banana bread recipes out there, but few Really Good, Really Addicting ones. There are so few breads that make you guiltily slink back to the loaf promising yourself just one more little sliver--for the third time. The ultimate test of the addiction factor comes when I put it in front of my family: if they all feel they must sneak a bite or two when I'm not looking and end up eating the whole thing in a day, well, that's a pass. Then there are recipes like the coffee cake I tried last week: it was okay, but it took us four days to finish the thing. That's a fail.

Now, I realize that most superlatives are subjective. And this banana bread might not fit the bill for your family. That's okay. All I'm saying is, this banana bread never lasts more than six or seven hours in our house, and that's something, when you consider that two of our family members weigh about 30 pounds and have stomachs the size of a walnut.

One more note before you try this recipe: Sometimes, I get a little decadent and mix up a streusel-type substance to put in the middle. It usually involves brown sugar, a dash of cinnamon, ground nuts, and melted butter, but I've never even attempted to write down any sort of recipe for it. So if streusel sounds good to you, find another recipe somewhere that has streusel in it, and just steal it away and insert it into this recipe. I'll never tell.

Oh, and I take back that other thing about that last paragraph being the last one. I have one more thing to say: use rrrriiiipppe bananas--I mean, bananas so ripe, they're nearly black and too smooshy to eat. They'll make the most flavorful bread for you.

Thank you. The End.

Best Ever Banana Bread
from The Complete Guide to Country Cooking, a Taste of Home book

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. white sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 c. mashed banana (2 or 3 medium)
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. plus 1 Tbsp. buttermilk *
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease (I use cooking spray) and flour a 9x5x3 loaf pan. (Actually, I use a bundt pan, because it bakes up a bit more quickly and makes for a prettier bread. But use what you've got!)

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt with a wire whisk. In another bowl, mix together the eggs, banana, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture, and stir just until moistened. (Seriously, don't go overboard with the stirring.) Fold in the nuts, if you're using them.

Add batter to loaf or bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour (less--ore like 45 minutes--for a bundt), or until loaf tests done. (That's what they say in the recipe. Here's what I say: Insert a toothpick, and if it comes out clean, the bread is done. Also, if the edges of the loaf are pulling away from the sides of the pan, that's a good indication of doneness, too.)

Remove from oven, and cool for 10 minutes in pan before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

This bread is a better-the-next-day bread, so I usually bake it at night. When it's cool, wrap it in plastic wrap, and it'll be so moist and tasty the next day, you won't believe it. In fact, don't even try to eat it the same day, because you'll probably be disappointed, and you'll want to rename it Pretty Average Banana Bread and never make it again.

*Buttermilk: I never purchase buttermilk. Instead, for this recipe, I put a teaspoon of lemon juice in the bottom of a 1/3 cup measure, and then fill it not quite to the top with milk. Give it a good stir, let it sit for about five minutes, and you've got the thickness and tang of buttermilk without the added expense of it. For other recipes requiring more buttermilk, use this formula: 1 Tbsp. lemon juice or vinegar, plus enough milk to measure 1 cup total.

Salsa 101

I mentioned in last week's Menu Plan post that I was making fresh salsa to take to the Super Bowl festivities. Well, it was very well received. I think that fresh, homemade salsa is something many people don't ever think of attempting to make--and they have no idea what they're missing out on. It's so easy, so fresh and bright, and has nothing to do with anything you'd ever find on a shelf in a bottle. It's best when all of the fresh ingredients are in season, but even in the dead of winter, it's still better than bottled stuff. I know this because early in my pregnancy, I had a fierce craving for fresh salsa, made the recipe, and ate it all myself without even looking back. Give it a try!! (not the eating it all yourself thing--I don't necessarily recommend that.)

Salsa 101

5-6 ripe plum tomatoes, cored and diced
1/2 of 1 large red onion, diced finely
3 jalapeños, seeded and diced finely
fistful of fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 1/2 lime
ground sea salt to taste

I feel I may have already said too much with the instructions in the ingredients list, because there's little left to say. Simply chop up the tomatoes, onion, jalapeños and cilantro as instructed, toss together in a large bowl, squeeze the lime over top, and stir. Sprinkle with salt and taste test it with a few chips to make sure you've got the salt just right.

And that's about it.

Fresh salsa doesn't keep long--plan to use it that same day, or the day after, at the latest. And jalapeños very in heat somewhat, so start out with 1 1/2-2 jalapeños, taste, and then decide if you want more heat. And if you really want to knock up the heat a bit, leave the seeds in the jalapeños, because that's where a lot of the heat resides.

Go forth and conquer!

BBQ Cola Smokies

Yay, April! As the first (and only) to respond, you have earned yourself a prize! Email me with your mailing address, and I'll get it out to you right away!

Okay, so April suggested I post the recipe for BBQ Cola Smokies, which I'll be making for Super Bowl Sunday. I first came upon this recipe when looking for family-friendly appetizers to serve at Judah's First Birthday party. The original recipe was actually for BBQ Cola meatballs, and included a recipe for those as well. Opting for ease, I used pre-made frozen meatballs instead. Let me tell you--these little babies, which simmered away unattended all morning in the crock pot, were by far the biggest hit of the party. People were practically drinking the sauce on its own.

Of course, tomorrow's appetizer will be a bit different; I'll be using Hillshire Farms Li'l Smokies, because they were BOGO this week at the grocery store. And I am out of regular cola, so I'll be using cherry cola instead. I'm sure they'll still turn out to be yummy. Even so, here's the original recipe for you, including the from-scratch meatballs.


BBQ Cola Meatballs
adapted from allrecipes.com

Meatballs
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 1/4 c. dry bread crumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 Tbsp. grated onion
1 (1 oz.) pkg. dry Ranch dressing mix

Sauce
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 Tbsp. butter
1 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup cola
1 tsp. seasoning salt (such as Lawry's)
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix together the ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, grated onion, and ranch dressing mix. Shape into 1-in. meatballs, and place on a pan with sides. Bake for 30 minutes, turning halfway through.

In the meantime, prepare the sauce: saute the onion in the butter until translucent. In the bowl of a slow cooker, combine the ketchup, vinegar, cola, seasoning salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Add the onions, and stir to combine.

Add meatballs to sauce, stirring gently to coat all of the meatballs. Cover and cook on Low for 3 hours. Remove the lid, and allow to cook for a while longer (30 min-however long you'll be serving them) so the sauce can thicken a bit.

Ranch Oyster Crackers

I had the classic City Grandparents/Country Grandparents arrangement growing up. My dad was raised in the city, and visiting his parents meant Pepsi and Pringles and takeout pizza. Visiting my mom's parents out in the country meant corn on the cob fresh from the field, popcorn popped on the stove, and these oyster crackers. At the time, I probably preferred the City Pepsi and Pringles. But now, looking back, I have exceptionally fond memories of the Country fare, especially these crackers, which grandma kept in a huge yellow Tupperware bowl that seemed to have no bottom.

They take about 30 seconds to prepare, and they are delicious--and amazingly addictive! I now bring them to my husband's Family Christmas every year, and they go fast. They've become a family favorite of a whole new family. Give them a try!

Ranch Oyster Crackers

2 (12 oz.) bags oyster crackers
2/3 c. vegetable oil
1 envelope dry Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
1 tsp. dill
1/2 tsp. garlic powder (NOT garlic salt)
1 tsp. celery seed (optional)

Dump crackers into a gallon Ziploc bag. Pour oil over top, close bag, and shake bag to distribute oil. Open bag, dump in herbs and dressing mix, seal bag, and toss around until all of the crackers are coated.

These are great right away, but even better after the flavors have had a chance to combine. They keep for a super long time in your cupboard, but don't expect them to last that long!