Never one to pass up a chance to celebrate a French military defeat, I made a Seven Layer Mexican Dip to share on Cinco de Mayo.
The recipe I used is the one linked above from Cooks.com. Nothing fancy, but I made the same dip last year and it was quite a hit. Plus, you can make this one the night before and it’s better the next day.
So what do two people do with four loaves of bread? Apparently they open up How To Cook Everything and make some awesome French toast!
According to Mark Bittman, French toast is best made with Brioche, but I think it turned out perfectly fine using slices of the simple French bread boules that I made yesterday. The bread’s tough crust and firm interior kept it from getting too soggy after a dip in the egg mixture.
It’s notable that this recipe includes some vanilla extract. I’ve never used that when making French toast in the past, but it is supposedly a quite common addition. I’m now a big fan.
Mark Bittman’s French Toast
2 eggs
1 cup milk
dash salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp (or slightly more) ground cinnamon
Butter as needed
Slices of firm, crusty bread (stale bread works great)
Beat eggs very lightly in a large bowl and stir in the milk, salt, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Dip bread slices in mixture (soak if you like soggy toast) and transfer to pre-heated skillet with melted butter. Cook until browned on each side, turning as necessary.
If you need to hold the toast for a while, you can keep it warm in a 200° oven for about 30 minutes.
First, let me just say that Mark Bittman rocks. If you don’t yet own How To Cook Everything, go directly to Amazon, order it, and come back when you are done. It’s the best cooking investment you’ll ever make.
Done? OK, let’s continue.
After reading about Nate’s bread baking exploits I decided I had to try to make some bread myself. So I of course opened up How To Cook Everything to the bread section, read the general information, and decided to try the Easiest and Best French Bread recipe. There was something attractive about the fact that it was a recipe for the most simple of yeast breads… flour, water, salt, yeast. Nothing more.
I’m fortunate enough to have a KitchenAid Stand Mixer with a bread hook attachment, so that made the whole process a lot easier. I basically threw the ingredients in the mixing bowl, turned it on until the dough started to pull away from the sides and form a solid, sticky lump. I ended up making four loaves, allowing them to proof (i.e. “rise”) anywhere from three to five hours. After slicing the tops and baking them for 45 minutes, I ended up with four loaves of amazingly good bread.
With a tough, thick crust and soft but slightly chewy interior, they are very similar in crust and crumb to the French baguettes served on the side at Panera Bread. Not having baguette pans, however, I baked boules instead.
Based on advice from Mr. Bittman, I used a small spray bottle to add water/steam to the oven during the initial 10 minutes of baking. Apparently steam is the secret ingredient to end up with that perfect, crusty bread that I love so much.
Easiest and Best French Bread
1 pound bread flour (I used KA bread flour with 4% protein)
2 tsp salt (kosher)
1 tsp Fleischmann’s RapidRise Yeast
1.5 cups of water (or a tiny bit less)
Place half of flour (~0.5 lb), yeast, salt, and water in the mixing bowl and turn the stand mixer on low with bread hook attachment. Add other half of flour until the mixture has become a sticky ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Remove from mixer.
Form the boule (round loaf) by shaping the dough into a ball, using as little flour as possible. Use your hands/fingers to work your way around the ball, tucking the dough down and inward into itself and stretching the top. When the top is smooth, pinch the bottom together to seal it and place in a towel-lined basket (with a bit of flour) seam-side up.
Allow to rise for 2-6 hours. Preheat oven with pizza/bread stone to 450° 30-minute prior to baking.
Spray water into oven to create steam and slide bread into oven (seam-side down). I first used the towel in the basket to flip the bread seam-side down onto a non-stick cookie sheet, and then used that to slide the bread onto the pizza stone. Spray water onto the sides of the oven a few more times during the first 10 minutes of baking to form more steam.
After 20 minutes of baking, reduce heat to 350° and continue baking until the crust is golden brown.
OK, you are just going to have to trust me on this one. It sounds less than appealing. It sure doesn’t look so good in the picture. But really, it’s quite good and well worth trying. Really. I promise.
We made the Cheeseburger Soup from Cuisine at Home’s Splendid Soups & Spectacular Sides cookbook the other night and were pleasantly surprised. I think the key is to follow the recipe as written. The shoestring fries and chopped dill pickle at the end are far more than just garnish; they really make the dish.
It’s hard to describe the flavor of this one as anything other than “It tastes like a cheeseburger.” I think it’s mostly the ketchup, mustard and pickles that trigger that thought/reaction, but it’s definitely a good flavor. And the soup, while certainly not a light dinner, isn’t as heavy as you might expect.
Be sure to use lower-fat ground sirloin for this one rather than chuck, or the soup will end up greasy.
Try it. This is the manliest soup you’ll ever make. :)
Cheeseburger Soup
1 lb. ground sirloin
1 cup onion, diced
3/4 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup carrot, diced
1 tsp garlic, minced
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups russet potatoes, peeled, diced
1 tsp dried basil
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1.5 cup whole milk
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup ketchup (Heinz!)
2 Tbsp yellow mustard (French’s!)
dill pickles
Brown beef in 1 Tbsp butter over medium heat, cooking until the meat begins to brown. Add onion, celery, carrot, and garlic. Saute for 10 minutes.
Stir in broth, potatoes, basil, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Melt 3 Tbsp butter in saucepan over medium heat, whisking in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add milk, whisking and scraping until smooth. Add mixture to soup and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer.
Add cheese, ketchup, mustard, salt, pepper, and stir until cheese is melted. Serve with shoestring fries and chopped pickles.
Shoestring Fries
Cut peeled russet potatoes into thin strips. Fry in about 1/2 inch of 350° vegetable oil until golden, drain, and sprinkle with salt.
I’ve found that it’s hard to go wrong with recipes from Cuisine at Home. This recipe for Chicken Pappardelle with Sun-dried Tomatoes from the February 2008 issue was no exception. It’s basically chicken and pasta with a cream sauce made with sun-dried tomatoes and bacon, but it is topped with a Tomato-Broccolini Salad. Odd, but quite tasty.
I couldn’t find pappardelle at my grocery store so I substituted fettuccine instead and it worked out just fine. I also ended up substituting regular broccoli for the broccolini.
The final dish had a strong bacon flavor, but that’s OK by me. I’d definitely make this one again. Like the article said, it’s the perfect comfort food for a cold winter night.
Chicken Pappardelle with Sun-dried Tomatoes
8 oz. dry pappardelle
2 strips thick bacon, diced
1/3 cup sin-dried tomatoes, packed in oil, drained, minced
3 cups cooked chicken, sliced (12 oz.)
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
Cook pasta in salted, boiling water, drain, and set aside.
Saute bacon and tomatoes in a large nonstick skillet for about 3 minutes, or until the bacon browns. Add the chicken, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook together for about 1 minute.
Deglaze the skillet with the white wine, scraping the bottom. Add the chicken broth, cream, and cooked pasta, stirring and bringing to a simmer. Continue cooking for about 3 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. Season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with tomato-broccolini salad.
Tomato-Broccolini Salad
4 oz. broccolini
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1.5 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
Cook broccolini in a large pot of salted boiling water until tender. Drain, chop, and set aside.
Whisk the vinegar, oil, honey, and mustard together and season with salt to make a vinaigrette.
Toss tomatoes and broccolini in vinaigrette before serving.
I hadn’t ever made bread before last night. I wanted to use a really easy recipe and not get too fancy about ingredients so I would ensure success on my first outing. I also was out of bread, and I needed some.
I was looking different recipes online and ran across this one. The ingredients were simple and the prep seemed doable so I gave it a shot. It ended up being wonderful bread.
The only substitutions I made were Margarine for the butter, soy milk for the milk and bread flour for the all purpose. It’s quite good if I do say so myself.
I usually buy Healthy Choice brand pasta sauce, just because it is so easy to just twist the lid and go when making pasta, but sometimes we want a sauce with a little more character.
This is a spicy zesty sauce. I recommend a whole wheat pasta to complement the flavors.
Bell Pepper and Mushroom Pasta Sauce
3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tsp of Oregano
2 Tsp Minced Garlic
1 Tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1 Chopped Green Bell Pepper
6 Large Sliced White Musrooms
2 Cans Diced Tomatoes
Black Pepper to taste
In a medium skillet, heat oil and minced garlic. Add bell pepper, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Saute until the peppers become very fragrant. Add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms turn brown. Add two cans of diced tomatoes and simmer until sauce is throughly heated, About 20 minutes.
Serves 4.
When I graduated from college, my family put together a “cookbook” for me that included a recipe from each person. This recipe was the one contributed by my Aunt Ida. It’s an interesting twist on the typical mustard and ketchup sloppy joe (typically just called “barbeque” if you live north of the Mason-Dixon). This one includes paprika, chili powder, and a generous amount of Worcestershire sauce.
I normally double this recipe when making it. It reheats extremely well and it’s almost better a day or two after you’ve made it. Recommended side dishes include chips (preferably Martin’s Kettle Cooked), apple sauce, and/or coleslaw.
Aunt Ida’s Sloppy Joes
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1.5 cup ketchup
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp chili powder
Season ground beef with salt and pepper and brown with onion, stirring often and breaking up any large pieces. After browned, drain excess fat/grease. Combine other ingredients in a bowl, mixing well. Add mixture to ground beef and simmer for at least 30 minutes.
Serves about 4.
I picked up this recipe for Hearty Tomato Soup with Lemon and Rosemary from the Apres Ski episode of Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis.
Not being a fan of tomato soup usually, I was a little skeptical when I made this. The final product, however, was amazingly good. The beans add sufficient body to the soup to make it hearty without imparting any odd “bean” flavor to it, and the red pepper provides enough zing to keep the soup from being bland.
As for the garnish, you might have trouble finding creme fraiche at your local grocery store. I ended up just using a dollop of sour cream instead, which seemed to work just fine.
Finally… tomato soup for people who don’t like tomato soup!
2 lbs. ground chuck
3 tablespoons oil
2 medium onions
2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 dashes crushed hot peppers
1/2 teaspoon mace
3/4 teaspoon allspice
2 tablespoons dry mustard
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 lb. can whole tomatoes
3 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons flour
Saute chopped onions. Brown ground beef. Drain fat. Add flour and mix well. Add all above spices and ingredients. Add enough water to cover and bring to a boil. Turn down to simmer, 1 1/2 to 2 hours with lid slightly askew. Stir occasionally and add beef stock if desired. Taste frequently. Add more spices to your taste.
Willie’s Chili is a family recipe passed down from my grandpa. We usually just call it “chili spaghetti”, because it’s meant to be served as a topping with spaghetti. Growing up, it was served with regular old spaghetti. I usually serve mine with angel hair pasta, or sometimes with macaroni or rice. You’ll see Cincinnati-style chili also served with cheddar cheese, onions or even beans. Bleh. I just like the straight up chili + spaghetti, maybe with some fresh grated parmesan if the mood strikes.
I rarely follow the stock recipe. You can mix up the meat base, using ground turkey or even some vegetarian meat-substitute, but I find that ground beef works best for the richest flavor. I like to use diced tomatoes instead of whole. I’m also a garlic fan, so some fresh chopped cloves will find their way into the pot.