Completion of 30 Things to Make Before I Turn 30: Homemade Bread

This recipe completes my list of 30 Things to Make Before I Turn 30! I did make this bread before the big 30, I promise! I had to wait to post it until I got my pictures transferred from my old laptop to new laptop and that finally happened with the help of the brilliant minds at the Apple Store. They somehow recovered all my old photos and I'm so grateful! (Lesson learned about backing up everything on an external hard drive!)


It was a great experience completing all of the items on my list of 30 Things to Make Before 30. It definitely got me out of my cooking comfort zone (rack of lamb, for example) and challenged me to make things I never thought I would be able to - noodles from scratch, homemade english muffins, scones. It is impossible to pick a favorite because I really enjoyed each and every recipe, but I do have to say I was the most excited about the homemade marshmallows. They were so so fun and yummy and such a treat in the middle of winter! I definitely encourage you to try making your own sometime!Looking back on my list I am pretty darn proud of myself. 


Here it is:
30 Things to Make Before I Turn 30

1. Cornish Hens [Check!]

2. Homemade Salsa [Check!]

3. Oatmeal Raisin Cookies [Check!]

4.  Noodles from scratch (Recipe from Jody) [Check!]

5. Cheese Souffle [Check!]

6. Blueberry Pie [Check!]

7. Homemade Marshmallows [Check!]

8. She Crab Soup [Check!]

9. Beef Pot Roast [Check!]

10. Julia Childs' Bearnaise Sauce [Check!]

11. Monkey Bread [Check!]

12. Yeast Bread [Check!]

13. Sweet Potato Soup [Check!]

14. Julia Childs' Poulet au Porto [Check!]
15. Homemade Pretzels with Homemade Mustard Dip [Check!]

16. Scones [Check!]

17. Beer battered fish [Check!]

18. Homemade Granola [Check!]

19. Rack of lamb [Check!]

20. Pasties (Recipe from A. Chris)  [Check!]
21. Pioneer Woman's Rosemary Rolls [Check!]
22. Lasanga [Check!]
23. Eggplant Parmesean [Check!]
24. Fettucine Alfredo (Recipe from Mary) [Check!]
25. English Muffins  [Check!]
26. German Potato Salad[Check!]
27. Giada De Laurentiis's Basil Pesto Sauce [Check!]
28. Rib Eye Steak with Pan Jus [Check!]
29. Chicken Braised in Red Wine [Check!]

30. Bean Burgers (Recipe from Margaret) [Check!]

I've been asked what is next on my cooking "goals". I think that I am going to try "Meatless Mondays" where I post vegetarian meals on Mondays. I am not going to commit to every Monday, but hopefully a couple of times a month! 


Oh, I almost forgot about the bread! I found this recipe on Tasty Kitchen. I've actually made it twice now because hubby and I loved it.  It's incredibly simple and turns out beautifully golden brown, soft, fluffy, yet dense. I love using it to sop up soup and hubby likes it covered in butter. It's excellent any way you eat it!

Milk & Honey Bread
From Twinks on Tasty Kitchen
Makes 1 loaf
Printable Version


Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon honey
3 cups Bread Flour
2 1/4 teaspoon dry active yeast
3/4 teaspoons Kosher Salt


Directions
In a small saucepan melt the butter over low heat. Turn the burner off and add the milk and honey. 

Stir to combine well, then set aside. In a small bowl combine 2 cups of the flour, the yeast and salt. 
In a large bowl, or the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the milk mixture and the flour/yeast mixture. 

Mix until smooth. If mixing by hand, work in the remaining flour, then turn dough out on a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. If using an electric mixer, add about half the remaining flour, then switch to the dough hook and mix in the remaining half cup flour. Knead for 8-10 minutes on low speed.

Place dough into an oiled bowl, turning to coat on all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a draft-free location to rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a work surface and form into a loaf. Place the dough into a loaf pan that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Allow dough to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. 

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Place on wire rack to cool. Note: I melted 1 tablespoon of butter on top and sprinkled a tiny bit of Kosher salt. 

30 Things to Make Before I Turn 30: Blueberry Pie

Today is my thirtieth birthday. Yikes, that's hard to say. Although it was hard to see my twenties come to an end, a friend at work gave me the best words of wisdom I've heard on turning thirty. She told me, "All the things you worked so hard for in your twenties will happen in your thirties." For my husband and I this is so true. Lots of exciting things are going to be happening in the near future and I am really looking forward to seeing all that is in store for the next chapter in our lives!

Now about that pie! It just so happens that my birthday is 3/14 which is also known to nerds and mathematicians as "Pi" Day (since Pi is 3.14). And coincidently, Blueberry Pie was the last item on my list of 30 Things to Make Before I Turn 30. (For those of you really keeping track of my list I haven't posted the yeast bread I made yet, but I have made it! It will be posted soon.) My Mom and Dad flew in this weekend to celebrate the big 3-0 and so I enlisted my Mom's help in making my very first pie crust from scratch and my Gram's delicious no bake blueberry pie.

I was adamant that the crust had to be homemade because I felt like I was sorta cheating in not baking the blueberry pie. Mom and I were nervous the whole time because neither one of us are bakers. My Grandma Hutch was an amazing baker and her pie crusts were to die for! So with a little inspiration from Grandma H and the use of her glass pie plate that I inherited, we went to work creating Better Homes and Garden's Single Pie Pastry. (Recipe to come next.) It wasn't the most beautiful, smooth pie crust in the world but it turned out perfectly golden brown and more importantly tasted flaky and was awesome with the blueberry filling. I achieved pie perfection at the ripe age of 29 years and 364 days!

No Bake Blueberry Pie

From Grandma W with a little modification by my Momma

Printable Version

Ingredients

1 baked pie shell

4 cups fresh blueberries

1 cup white granulated sugar

1 cup water

3 tablespoons corn starch

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons lemon juice

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon sugar

Directions

In a large pot heat 2 cups of berries with 1 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar over medium high heat. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

 In a small bowl mix 1/2 cup sugar with the cornstarch and salt. Take two large spoonfuls of liquid from the mixed berries and add to the cornstarch mixture. 

Stir to make a paste, then add in slowly to the pot of cooked berries. Slowly stir to thicken and add in lemon juice. Take the pot off the heat and cool slightly. 

While berries are cooling whisk together softened cream cheese and 1 tablespoon of sugar. 

Spread with a spoon in the bottom of the pie crust. (This was my Mom's modification to add a little creaminess to the pie and ensure the crust doesn't become soggy.) 

Fold in the remaining two cups of berries into the pot. 

Pour into pie shell. 

Refrigerate for at least one hour to allow pie to set. Serve with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or by itself! 

30 Things to Make Before I Turn 30: English Muffins

My 30th birthday is one week away - EEEK! English Muffins were probably one of the most intimidating items on my list of 30 Things to Make Before I Turn 30. I love English Muffins, but am not a baker! However, I have come to realize over the past year that baked goods are really not that difficult, just more time consuming and laborious. These English Muffins were no exception. They took several hours and lots of steps, but overall were not hard to make. I am really pleased with how they turned out and the fact that I will have fresh, homemade English Muffins for breakfast all week. I finished them in the afternoon, so topped my first one with a cream cheese and olive spread. I am really looking forward to topping them with eggs for breakfast. Yum!

Homemade English Muffins
From Kitchen M
Makes 8 - 10 English Muffins
Printable Version


Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons dry active yeast
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 reduced fat buttermilk
1 - 2 tablespoon water
Extra flour and cornmeal for dusting
Cooking oil (I used vegetable oil)

Directions
In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients (whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, active dry yeast, salt, and baking soda) and mix well. 

Add buttermilk and water and mix with a wooden spoon until the mixture starts forming into dough. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth, soft, and pliable. If the dough is too wet, add a little bit of flour. If it is too dry, add a little more water. Transfer the dough to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.

Sprinkle a large flat platter or a couple flat plates with cornmeal. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch. Cut the dough into 3 inch circles. I used a glass, but you could also use a 3" round cookie cutter. 

Place the circles onto the plates. Avoid working with the dough too much because it will get tough. You can gather the scrap pieces and combine to create more circles, but do not do this more than one time. Sprinkle cornmeal on top and allow to rest for 50 minutes.

Brush a large flat skillet with cooking oil. Heat to medium and place the muffins on the griddle so they are not touching. Cook on each side for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown. Flip and repeat the procedure on each side for 2 more minutes each. Remove from heat and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes. 

30 Things to Make Before I Turn 30: Cheese Souffle

I am going to just apologize upfront for the quality of these photos. I made this souffle late at night with no natural lighting so the photos really do not do this gorgeous souffle justice. I promise you it was so pretty, puffy, and golden. I was so excited that it actually set up and turned out that I really didn't try to take many photos anyway! Hubby and I just dove into it. It was so light and fluffy and cheesy. Definitely not the healthiest item on my list of 30 Things to Make Before I Turn 30, but it was over the top delicious and it was way a for us to eat eggs for dinner without my husband complaining! 

Julia Child's Cheese Souffle
Adapted on Food.com
Makes 4-6 servings
Printable Version


Ingredients
2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese
1 cup milk 
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground nutmeg
4 large egg yolks
5 large egg whites
1 cup gruyere cheese, grated (about 4 ounces)


Directions
Position oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Butter a six cup (1 1/2 quart souffle dish. Add Parmesan cheese and tilt dish, coating the bottom and sides.  

Warm milk in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk until mixture begins to foam and looses raw taste, about 3 minutes. Do not allow mixture to brown. Remove from saucepan and let stand for 1 minute. Pour in warm milk, whisking constantly until very thick, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in paprika, salt, and nutmeg.

Add egg yolks one at a time, whisking to blend after each addition. Scrape souffle base into a large bowl. Cool to lukewarm. This can be done 2 hours ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature. Using an electric mixture, beat the egg whites in another large bowl until stiff but not dry. 

Fold 1/4 of egg whites into souffle base to lighten. Fold in the remaining egg whites in two separate batches while gradually sprinkling in Gruyere cheese. Transfer batter to prepared dish. 

Place dish in oven and immediately reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake until souffle is puffed and golden brown on top and center moves only slightly when dish is shaken, about 25 minutes. Do not open oven door during first 20 minutes. Serve immediately!

30 Things to Make Before I Turn 30: Homemade Marshmallows

I don't think I've ever drank as much hot chocolate as I have in the past few days.  And that's all because of these babies.

For some reason this recipe was one of the more daunting on my 30 Things to Make Before 30 List. I'm not used to using gelatin, which is one of the main ingredients in this recipe, and I was really worried about the sugar and corn starch mixture reaching the correct temperature. I tried to make homemade caramels last month and they totally bombed - they never set up because they didn't get up to the right temperature. Thankfully these marshmallows were very kind to me. My fab new KitchenAid is undoubtedly the main reason these marshmallows were a success.  It whipped the marshmallows until until they were fluffy and perfect. 

I brought these marshmallows to school so my class and our fourth grade buddies could get together and enjoy them with hot chocolate. They were a big hit and I'm officially hooked on homemade marshmallows. Even my husband, who normally does not like marshmallows could not stop eating these. I cannot wait to make them in the summer to use on 'smores!

Homemade Marshmallows

From Smitten Kitchen

Makes about 96 1-inch marshmallows

Printable Version

Ingredients

1 cup confectioners' sugar

3 1/2 envelopes (2 tablespoons + 2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin

1 cup cold water, divided

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large egg whites

1 tablespoon vanilla (OR 1/2 of a scraped vanilla or 2 teaspoons almond or mint extract) 
**I used my Homemade Vanilla Extract, as pictured above in the Smirnoff Vodka Bottle!)

Optional: food coloring for tinting

Directions

Oil bottom and sides of a 13X9X2 inch rectangular pan and dust bottom and sides with some confectioners' sugar.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup of cold water and let stand to soften.

In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, second 1/2 cup of cold water, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 240 degrees, about 12 minutes. 

Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture. Stir until gelatin is dissolved. With standing or hand held mixer beat the mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about 6 minutes if using a stand mixer or about 10 minutes if using hand-held mixture. 

In a separate medium bowl with cleaned beater, beat egg whites until they just hold off stiff peaks. Beat egg whites and vanilla (or flavoring of choice) into sugar mixture until just combined. Pour mixture into the prepared baking pan and don't worry if you don't get every little bit out. 

Sift 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar evenly over top. Chill, uncovered until firm, at least 3 hours and up to one day. Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Lifting up one corner of inverted pan, with fingers loosen marshmallow and ease onto cutting board. Trip the edges of the marshmallows and cut into roughly one-inch cubes. Sift the remaining confectioners' sugar back into the baking pan and roll all of the marshmallows through it, so that each side is coated. Shake off the excess sugar.

Marshmallows will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for one week.

30 Things to Make Before I Turn 30: Chicken Braised in Red Wine

This recipe was on my 30 Things to Make Before I Turn 30 list because it was one of the best looking recipes in my Williams-Sonoma Bride & Groom Cookbook, a wedding gift that I have not used enough.


 I'm always drawn to really beautiful food pictures and the picture of this dish is really delicious looking in the cookbook. Also since it uses bacon and wine, I knew it would make hubby happy! :) This is a very labor intensive and time consuming dish, but it's hearty dish with a lot of wonderful flavors and it makes a ton. Thankfully the hubs doesn't mind taking leftovers for lunch. The book recommended serving this dish with caramelized Brussels sprouts, which I did and absolutely loved. I actually liked the Brussels sprouts MORE than the chicken, but hubby strongly disagrees. 








Chicken Braised in Red Wine
From Williams-Sonoma Bride & Groom Cookbook
Printable Version

Ingredients
1 bottle (24 fl oz/750 ml) fruity red wine (I used Zinfandel but you could also use Pinot Noir)
8 chicken drumsticks and thighs, with the skin
Kosher salt and pepper
1/2 cup flour, plus 2 tablespoons
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 slices thick bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 pound button mushrooms, stemmed, brushed clean, and quartered
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup brandy (I didn't have any on hand, so omitted)
2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon fresh parsley


Directions
Pour the wine into a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook until reduced by half and set aside. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Spread the 1/2 cup flour in a shallow dish and lightly dredge the chicken in the flour, shaking off any excess. In a large saute pan or cast-iron frying pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. In batches as necessary to avoid crowding, brown each piece of chicken on all sides. 

Transfer the chicken to a platter and set aside. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan, melt, and add the onion, bacon, and garlic. Saute until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes. Stir often and lower the heat to avoid browning the onion. 

Add in the mushrooms, thyme, bay leaves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a little pepper. Raise the heat to medium and saute until the mushrooms release their moisture, about 5 minutes. Add the brandy and continue cooking for another minute.

Transfer the onion and mushroom mixture to another large saucepan or Dutch oven. Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of flour over the onion and mushroom mixture, then add the stock, browned chicken pieces, and reduced brandy. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat to low, and simmer gently, uncovered, until the chicken is opaque throughout and fork-tender, and the flavors have married, about 15-20 minutes. Do not let the mixture boil or the chicken will toughen.


To serve, remove and discard the thyme sprig and bay leaves, then use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken pieces to a serving platter. Return the pan with the sauce to medium-high heat and whisk until the sauce combines and thickens. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper, if necessary. Ladle the sauce over the chicken pieces and garnish with the parsley. Serve at once.