Cinnamon-Swirl Chocolate Chip Bread

Let's end the year on a sweet note. In an effort to keep my apartment warm during this early onslaught of winter, I have actually been baking a bit more. Unfortunately, you readers haven't gotten to see the fruits of my labor, because editing photos is taxing and I've discovered I like to relax on weekends. Perhaps 2014 will bring more blogging motivation, especially since I have a few more things to share. This bread is incredibly simple and makes your home smell exactly like it should at this time of year. Warm, inviting, and incredibly cinnamon-y. It's a great treat to have on a Sunday afternoon curled up on the couch with a mug of tea and a favorite movie or to share with friends at a holiday party or with your coworkers. My point is, make this bread. Make it now and thank me later.



I hope you all have a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season. I'm looking forward to what is to come in the new year!

One year ago: Holiday Gift Guide
Two years ago: Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Three years ago: Little Ethiopia
Four years ago: Kale Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing
Five years ago: Parmesan Thyme Crackers

Cinnamon-Swirl Chocolate Chip Bread
(Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction)

Makes 1 9x5-inch loaf


For the cinnamon-swirl:
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup granulated sugar
For the bread:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 large egg at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup buttermilk at room temperature
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.

Make the cinnamon-swirl by mixing the cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl. Set aside.

To make the bread:
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together. Add the chocolate chips and stir until well-combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.

Slow pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Be careful not to overmix the batter.

Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the batter with 3/4 of the cinnamon sugar in an even layer. Top the cinnamon sugar with the remaining batter. Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon sugar evenly over the top of the batter.

Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. Allow the bread to cool completely in the pan set on a rack before cutting.

Printable Recipe

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Bourbon Vanilla Sauce

I recently became a part of an on going supper club called Dinner at Eight. The focus is mostly Southern food with our own California twist. When trying to decide what to make for the next supper, I was tasked with coming up with dessert. Nothing says fall quite like pumpkin and longtime readers know I love me some pumpkin (just as long as it's not in pie). This bread pudding is simple to make. It's warmly spiced and comforting and the bourbon vanilla sauce pushes it over the top! This coming Sunday's dinner is sold out, but keep checking the website to find out about future dinners.





One year ago: Great Los Angeles Walk 2010
Two years ago: Osteria Mozza: Amaro Bar Menu
Three years ago: Pumpkin Oatmeal




Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Bourbon Vanilla Sauce
(Adapted from Use Real Butter and Smitten Kitchen)

Makes 6-8 servings

For the sauce:
1 cup milk
1 cup cream
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 tablespoons sugar
6 egg yolks
2 tablespoons - 1/4 cup bourbon (depending on your taste)

For the bread pudding:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
5 cups day old bread (I used a semi-fresh challah, but a baguette or similar crusty bread would work), cut into 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch ground cloves
2 tablespoons bourbon

To make the sauce:
Heat the milk and cream in a medium saucepan until boiling. Remove the pan from the heat. Scrape the vanilla seeds into the pan and add the pod. Cover and let steep for an hour.

Remove the vanilla pod from the pan and reheat the cream and milk mixture. Whisk the sugar and eggs together. Remove the cream/milk from the heat. Whisk some of the cream/milk into the yolks, a few tablespoons at a time to temper the yolks, until you have incorporated about half of the cream.

Whisk the yolk mixture into the cream and milk. Stir over medium heat until the custard thickens. Remove the pan from the heat and strain to remove any lumps. Let cool. Slowly stir in the bourbon until it reaches your preferred flavor.

To make the bread pudding:
Place the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, toss the melted butter together with the bread cubes. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, milk, sugar, eggs, egg yolk, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, and bourbon. Pour this liquid mixture over the bread cubes and toss to coat well. Pour into an 8x8 baking dish and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the custard sets. If you make this in individual ramekins, check them after 15 minutes. Serve the pudding with the bourbon vanilla sauce.

Printable Recipe

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

I'm having another fabulous summer in Los Angeles. My weekends have been filled with birthday parties, urban hikes, and several outings to one of my favorite places, the Hollywood Bowl. Last week we decided to send a friend off to law school in style by having one of our epic picnics before seeing Michael Feinstein and the Singing Stars at the Bowl. Everyone pitched in and we got stuffed before hiking up the hill to catch the show. This bread was my contribution. I should have looked at the recipe before I started baking. It's not difficult, but requires a lot of rising time and since I was in a hurry, I got a little worried. It came out great though, despite being crooked since I was impatient and just shoved the dough into the pan instead of stacking it as stated in the recipe. It's sort of french-toast in taste, but makes an excellent dessert. Plus, your home is filled with the amazing smells of brown butter and cinnamon baking. I was in heaven making this!

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread
(Adapted from Annie's Eats)

Makes 1 9x5-inch loaf

For the dough:
For the dough:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (1 packet)
1/2  teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs

For the filling:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

To make the dough, mix together the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Combine the milk and butter in a small saucepan and heat over low heat just until the butter is melted. If necessary, set aside to cool until the mixture registers 115-125 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Add the milk mixture, water, vanilla, and eggs to the mixer bowl. Mix on low speed until a cohesive dough forms. Knead in the bowl until the mixture is smooth and elastic, adding additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time if necessary, until the dough clears the sides of the bowl an is tacky, but not sticky. Knead for about 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat, and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

While the dough is rising, add the butter to a small saucepan and melt until browned. Set aside. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and gently punch it down to deflate it. Roll the dough ino a bowl, cover with a clean towel and let it rest for 5 minutes. Roll the dough out into a 12x20-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the browned butter and sprinkle it evenly with all of the cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Lightly grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Slice the dough vertically into 6 even strips. Stack the strips on top of each other and cut again into 6 equal slices. Stack all of the square on top of each other and set into the prepared loaf pan. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the loaf for 30-35 minutes until the top is golden brown. If the top is browning too quickly, cover the pan with tin foil and remove the foil about 5 minutes before the loaf is done baking. Remove the pan from the oven and let the loaf rest in the pan for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the loaf to loosen and carefully turn the loaf out onto a serving plate. Serve warm.

Printable Recipe

English Muffins

It's been a long while since I've posted a recipe. I haven't been cooking much and the little cooking I have been doing has been some old favorites. Hardly anything worth sharing again. However, I've been holding out on you readers. I made these English muffins over a month ago and I'm just now getting around to sharing them. These should definitely be shared. They are so simple to make and it's a fun process to "fry" them up before you bake them. I didn't quite get the desired "nooks and crannies", but the flavor was spot on. It was great to change up my breakfasts for a week with the endless combinations of toppings. I can't wait to make English muffins again. Pizza muffins? Sandwich muffins? The possibilities are endless!!



English Muffins
(From The Bread Baker's Apprentice)

Makes 6 muffins

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup to 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
Cornmeal for dusting

Stir the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast together in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer. On low speed, using the paddle attachment add the butter and 3/4 cup of the buttermilk until the mixture forms a ball. If there is still loose flour, stir in the remaining 1/4 cup of milk. The dough should be soft and pliable.

Sprinkle some flour onto a work surface. Turn the dough out to the surface and knead for about 10 minutes. Alternately, you can switch to the dough hook on the mixture and knead the dough for about 8 minutes. The dough should be tacky, but not sticky and should pass the windowpane test. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to cover it in oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes or until the dough doubles in size.
Transfer the dough to a clean counter. Divide the dough into six equal pieces, about 3 ounces each. Shape the pieces into round rolls. Line a baking pan with parchment paper and mist the parchment lightly with spray oil and dust with cornmeal. Transfer the dough balls to the pan and mist the tops of the balls with spray oil and sprinkle the tops with cornmeal. Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap or a towel.

Proof at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes or until the pieces double in size and swell both up and out.

Heat a skillet or griddle over medium heat. Also, preheat the oven to 350 degrees with the oven rack on the middle shelf.

Brush the pan with vegetable oil. Gently transfer the muffin rounds to the pan with a spatula. Space the rounds at least 1 inch apart. You can do this in batches, keeping the remaining rounds covered. The dough that is being cooked will flatten and spread in the pan. Cook the pieces for 5-8 minutes per side until each side is golden brown. Immediately transfer the pieces to a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 5-8 minutes so that the muffins cook through. Meanwhile, cook the remaning uncooked pieces the same as the first round.

Transfer the baked muffins to a cooling rack and cool for 30 minutes before slicing or serving.

Printable Recipe

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!!!!



Hot Cross Bun recipe found on Pioneer Woman

Sticky Meyer Lemon Rolls

A while back I was drooling over this coffee cake. Before I even got a chance to make it, the wonderful folks at The Kitchn found a way to make it even better. I've only had breakfast rolls in the cinnamon variety so this fruit version was intriguing. Plus, I got to use the last of the Meyer lemons gifted to me by Mary. These rolls are amazing, sticky, sweet (but not too sweet) and so decadent. The lemon flavor isn't overwhelming and there are enough spices to balance it out. Next time I will for sure bake up the whole batch to share with my greedy coworkers instead of hoarding it all to myself...I mean, sharing with my neighbors. Now I have to go to the gym because we all know where these rolls will go straight to.



I liked these so much, I couldn't stop photographing them



Sticky Meyer Lemon Rolls
(Adapted from The Kitchn)



Makes 6-8 rolls

Lemon Roll Dough
1 1/4 teaspoons yeast
 (not fast acting)
6 tablespoons milk, warmed to about 100 degrees
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Scant 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Zest of 1 lemon
1 egg

Sticky Lemon Filling
1/2 cup sugar
Dash of ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
1 lemon zested and juiced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Zest of 1/2 lemon

To make the dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer sprinkle the yeast over the warmed milk and let it sit for a couple minutes. With the mixer paddle, stir in the softened butter, sugar, vanilla, and 1/2 cup of the flour. Stir in the salt, nutmeg, and lemon zest. Stir in the eggs and enough of the remaining flour to make a soft yet sticky dough.

Switch to the dough hook and knead for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is elastic and pliable.

Spray the top of the dough with vegetable oil, and turn the dough over so it is coated in oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a towel and let the dough rise until nearly doubled, about an hour.

To make the lemon filling:
In a small bowl, mix the sugar with the nutmeg and ginger, and butter.

Lightly grease an 8x8 inch baking dish with baking spray or butter. On a floured surface pat the dough out into a large yet still thick rectangle. Spread evenly with the butter-lemon mixture. Roll the dough up tightly, starting from the top long end. Cut the long dough roll into even rolls, about 2-inched wide, and place them, cut side up, in the prepared baking dish.

Cover the rolls with a towel and let them rise for an hour or until puffy and nearly doubled. If you want to prepare these ahead of time, place them in the refrigerator, then let them rise at room temperature for an hour before you want to bake them.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the rolls in the oven and bake for 25-35 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into a center roll reads 190 degrees.

While the rolls are baking, prepare the glaze. With a mixer or by hand, whip the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the lemon juice and blend until well combined. Add the powdered sugar and blend until smooth and creamy.

When the rolls are done and slightly cooled, smear them with the cream cheese glaze, and sprinkle the zest of 1/2 a lemon over top to garnish. Serve while warm.

Printable Recipe

Pumpkin Bread with Cinnamon Cheesecake Layer

Over the last year plus of food blogging and two plus years of reading food blogs, I have saved A LOT of recipes. Sometimes, they fall by the wayside never to return again and sometimes, I just can't get them out of my head. This is one of the ones I couldn't get out of my head. I'm almost embarrassed to admit how lazy I was this past weekend. It was one of the first weekends in recent memory, I had no responsibilities with work and all the rain and the fact that I finally (briefly) had heat in my apartment made me not want to leave besides going to the gym. I wasn't a total hermit all weekend. I managed to get out and socialize for a bit on Saturday night and then returned home to the warmth in my apartment...before the pilot light went out again. Anyway, I baked up this bread before I went out and it's just like heaven in a bread pan. It takes about two minutes to whip everything together and you really don't need to use a stand mixer, but it sure makes life even easier. The bread is moist and not too dense and the cinnamon cream cheese is swoon worthy. Like the greedy pig I can be, I wanted to eat the whole thing myself, but out of the goodness of my heart, I shared it with my work friends...I can be generous like that.

Pumpkin Bread with a Cinnamon Cheesecake Layer
(Adapted from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody)



Cheesecake Layer:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
Scant 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon (approximately) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon flour
1 large egg

Pumpkin Bread:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine all the cheesecake ingredients; beat until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.

Place pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl of an electric stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat for about 1 minute, until fully combined. Add flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture and mix just until combined.

Pour half of the pumpkin bread batter into the loaf pan. Spoon cream cheese mixture on top of pumpkin batter layer and then pour on the remaining pumpkin batter.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool bread in pans for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pans and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Serve at room temperature or cool.

Printable Recipe

Herbed Bread

I'm sorry it took so long for me to share this bread with you. It's really good and I don't know why I have been hiding it. It's also spectacularly simple to make in the stand mixer, but I think it would be pretty simple done by hand. It just requires a bit more arm work. I used thyme as my herb of choice and let me tell you, this bread makes an excellent grilled cheese sandwich. I didn't get the bloom I had hoped for, but even with the all-purpose flour, this was a nice, light loaf. Light in terms of weight...with a stick of butter in the mix and topped with olive oil, this is not a recipe I will be making every week, but it is definitely a nice, fast replacement for my regular no knead recipe.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend. I am off to get ready for (another) wedding. Have a good one!





Herbed Bread
(From The Pioneer Woman Cooks)

20 ounces all-purpose flour (use bread flour if you have it)
8 ounces water
4 ounces melted butter with chopped herbs (I used about 2 tablespoons of thyme)
2 teaspoons salt, plus more for sprinkling
1 teaspoon instant yeast
Extra-virgin olive oil

Combine all of the ingredients in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. You can also do this by hand in a large bowl. Mix or knead for about 10 minutes until you achieve a windowpane with the dough.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it sit 1-4 hours until it has doubled in size. Once the dough has doubled, knead for 1-2 minutes to let the yeast redistribute.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat the dough with olive oil and sprinkle the top with extra kosher salt. Cut a large "X" into the top of the dough. Bake in a covered cast iron pan* for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and cook an additional 15-20 minutes until browned.

*I used a stainless steel dutch oven since I don't have a cast iron (my birthday is coming up though, wink).

Printable Recipe

Honey Wheat Bread

This week, I find myself baking my own loaves of bread from scratch. Luckily, I also have a pretty well-stocked pantry and I have been wanting to perfect my bread making skills so it was nice to try out this bread. In terms of texture, I am not sure I got it exactly right. It was dense, but not heavy feeling once I ate it and the honey gave it a wonderful flavor, but I am just not sure it rose as much as it should have. Also, I took the lazy person option and let my stand mixer do the kneading instead of releasing my frustrations into the loaf of bread. Either way, it was still delicious (which in the end, isn't that the point), and it made a fabulous sandwich that I will tell you more about later.

Honey Wheat Bread
(Adapted from All Recipes)

Makes 1 loaf

1 cup warm water (110 degrees Farenheit/45 degrees Celsius)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add honey, and stir well. Mix in whole wheat flour, salt, and vegetable oil. Work all-purpose flour in gradually. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for at least 10 to 15 minutes (I used a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook). When dough is smooth and elastic, place it in a well oiled bowl. Turn it several times in the bowl to coat the surface of the dough, and cover with a damp cloth. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.

Punch down the dough. Shape into a loaf, and place into a well greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Allow to rise until dough is 1 to 1 1/2 inches above pans.

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes.

Calamari Stew with Garlic Toast

One of the things on my 101 list was to cook with other seafoods besides shrimp. I really like a lot of different kinds of seafood, but shrimp is so accessible and relatively affordable for me which is why I use it so much. However, the last few weeks, I noticed the seafood vendor at the farmers market has been carrying cleaned calamari for about 5 bucks a pound. I couldn't pass it up. When I was young, the thought of eating calamari really grossed me out. I think it's because we had to dissect them in biology class. Luckily, I grew out of that and now I really enjoy it. Of course, I love the fried appetizer, but in the interest of keeping things lighter, I wanted to go with a recipe where the calamari wasn't fried. I found a few recipes that looked interesting, but as I was watching Food Network on Saturday (which is becoming increasingly infuriating with all the lame new hosts), I saw this recipe on a repeat of Giada that I knew I wanted to try first. This is a very simple recipe and really fast. It's actually probably a good idea to make the toasts first so that they are ready by the time the stew is done which is less than 10 minutes. I used a jarred roasted garlic tomato sauce which I had leftover from the turkey meatballs, so I didn't spend too much time trying to infuse garlic into the oil because there was already so much garlic flavor in the sauce. As I said, this is really delicious, but I am glad I am not eating it today. I just learned from Jaden that it's bad luck to eat squid on the Chinese New Year. Wait until tomorrow to try this!

Calamari Stew with Garlic Toast
(Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)

For the stew:
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, cut in 1/2
3/4 cups tomato sauce
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Small pinch salt
Small pinch freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound calamari (squid), bodies thinly sliced and tentacles whole

For the toast:

2 slices of bread
Olive oil, for brushing
1 clove garlic

For the Calamari Stew: Warm the olive oil over medium heat in a medium pot. Add the garlic and let cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove the garlic. Add the tomato sauce, white wine, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Add the calamari and stir to combine. Continue to cook until the mixture comes back up to a simmer, about 2 more minutes. Serve immediately with the Garlic Toasts.

For the Garlic Toast: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (I used the toaster oven).

Meanwhile, brush the bread slices with olive oil. Toast until the bread is crisp and turning golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and rub the top of the toasts with whole garlic cloves. Serve immediately with the Calamari Stew.

Mini Burgers

Finally, last weekend, the stars aligned and I was able to purchase some beef from the guy who sells grass fed beef at the farmers market. Raulito picked up some fillet mignon and I got some ground chuck. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with it, but as we were walking home, I got the idea to do mini burgers. Anyone who has read this blog for a while knows that I am completely in love with Chaya Brasserie which is just down the street from my apartment and my go-to spot for drinks. I am actually going this afternoon for happy hour. My favorite thing to order from Chaya's happy hour menu is the mini burgers, but their regular sized burger is a site to behold. I have only had it twice, but each time it leaves me with fond memories and a strong desire to create something similar on my own so that I don't have to pay Chaya's prices. Here are the basics of a Chaya burger: beef (duh), caramelized onions, spicy mayo, and a nice cheddar. I decided to make something comparable to Chaya's full size burger, but in miniature form. I wasn't really in the mood to purchase a bunch of mini buns since I found a recipe that was quite simple. I mixed everything together in my handy dandy mixer, but it is a recipe that can be done just as easily by hand. I went with Martha's recipe for the "best beef burger" and I must say, it was really good. The burger part actually reminded me more of the burger from the Village Idiot (another favorite burger of mine), and it went really well with all of the other ingredients. I used some nice aged Vermont cheddar and caramelized some onions in the pan for about 40 minutes. I was actually interested in trying the recent LA Times recipe for caramelized onions, but I went to a movie in the afternoon so I really didn't have four hours to spend caramelizing onions. I'll save that for another day. For the spicy mayo, I just added some cayenne to some mayonnaise. After the work of making my own buns and burgers, I decided to save some time (and calories) so instead of serving these with homemade french fries, I went with some popped potato chips. Although, I must admit, that by the time the burgers were ready, I was so starving that I scarfed down a couple of burgers and completely skipped the chips. Good thing they are just as good on their own. These are really, insanely good burgers that despite the time, are easy to prepare. The recipes below are just more of a method than recipes because the toppings are completely up to you depending on your preferences, but wow these sure went well with the toppings I picked. Happy Sunday! Don't you wish every weekend was a three day weekend?


*UPDATE* I have changed the title of this post because according to A Hamurger Today, these are mini burgers and not the "appropriate" definition of a slider :)

Mini Burgers

For the buns:
(Adapted from King Arthur)

3-4 ounces lukewarm water
1 tablespoon softened butter
1 egg
1 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients—by hand, mixer, or bread machine—to make a soft, smooth dough. Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 hour, or until it's doubled in bulk.

Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round about 1 1/2-inches across and 3/4-inch tall (more or less). Place the buns on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about an hour, until very puffy.

If desired, brush buns lightly with egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water), and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake the buns in a preheated 375 F oven for 12 to 15 minutes, till golden. Cool on a rack.



For the burgers
(Adapted from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast)

1 pound ground chuck
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Toppings:
Cheese slices
Tomato slices
Lettuce
Caramelized onions
Mayonnaise
Ketchup

Heat the grill to high. In a medium bowl, use a fork to gently combine the meat, Dijon, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Gently form the mixture into balls about 1 1/4 inches in diameter. Pat down until 1/4-1/2 inch thickness.

Place the patties on the grill and sear until browned, about 3-4 minutes per side.

Split the buns and toast of the grill if you like; place a burger on each bun and serve with the desired accompaniments.

Tomato Quinoa Bread

A recent post on Andrea's Cooking Books reminded me that I still had yet to try the tomato quinoa bread that I have been thinking about for months. I saw this on Kitchen Confit over the summer and saved it for when I got my mixer. Making bread is so easy with that thing! I usually have most of the ingredients lying around minus the vegetable juice which was quickly solved by my trip to Trader Joes yesterday. I'm not sure that I made this recipe entirely correctly. I put the dough in the fridge in the morning and when I took it out 8 hours later, it was not quite doubled, but I kept on going because I didn't have all day. The flavor of this bread can't be beat. It's soooo good and it was the perfect vessel for a bacon, spinach, and slow roasted tomato sandwich. There is really not a recipe for the sandwich, just a slice or two of bacon, a couple slow roasted tomatoes and some spinach. Simple and insanely delicious. Hope you're having an excellent day off!



Tomato Quinoa Bread
(From Vegetable Harvest: Vegetables at the Center of the Plate
as found on Kitchen Confit and Cooking Books)

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 cup seasoned vegetable juice
1/2 cup quinoa (uncooked)
3 3/4 cups (1 pound) all-purpose flour

Mix the yeast, sugar and water together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Let stand for 5 minutes, until foamy then stir in the oil, salt, juice and quinoa.

Fit your stand mixer with the dough hook, set it on medium-low speed and add the flour in a little at a time. Mix until most of the flour is incorporated and the dough comes together in a ball. Continue to mix for 4-5 minutes more, until the dough becomes soft and shiny, but still firm. If the dough is too sticky, add a bit more flour.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the dough has doubled or tripled in size, this should take 8 to 12 hours. The dough may also be left in the refrigerator for up to two days, but you may need to punch it down a few times as it doubles.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator and punch it down. Form the dough into a ball, return to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to double once again, this should take about an hour.

Punch the dough down one more time, then form it into a tight rectangle. Place the dough into a rectangular bread pan, cover with a cloth and let rise until double in size. One more hour.

Oven preheated to 450, slash the top of the loaf with a very sharp knife so that it can expand properly and place on the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 45 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and it sounds hollow when tapped. Turn the loaf out on a wrack to cool and wait at least 1 hour before slicing (it will continue to cook while cooling).

Rosemary Foccacia

For the last couple of months, I have been baking loaves of faster no knead bread almost every week. I have done it so often, I don't even need to look at the recipe anymore. However, I have been noticing other recipes for breads that I wanted to try. Natalie of the amazing blog Hot Off the Garlic Press, recently posted this delicious post-Thanksgiving sandwich, but the bread recipe is what really caught my eye. Yesterday was the perfect day for cooking and baking. It was cool and gloomy and rain was threatened. I really like staying in and baking on days like that. To me, it feels more like the holidays than the eighty plus degree weather that's expected in a couple of days. I know, I shouldn't be complaining...I'm going to Hawaii for Christmas, but still. Anyway, I cooked up a bunch of things and have some easy recipes coming up for holiday entertaining. I feel like the holiday parties just sneak up on you and then all of a sudden you have like four parties in one day. It's tough being so popular, but I manage ;) Back to the bread. It's a really simple and delicious recipe. I only modified it slightly by using some whole wheat flour and sprinkling the top with some kosher salt. It didn't get quite as brown as I wanted it so I think next time, I may play around with the cooking time. Focaccia is really an easy bread to make and takes way less time than even the faster no knead bread. If you haven't tried it, you should really whip up a batch soon.



Rosemary Foccacia
(Adapted slightly from Hot Off the Garlic Press)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped (or 1 tablespoon dried)

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 package active yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup very warm water

1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

In a small bowl, mix together the white and whole wheat flours. In a large bowl, mix 1 cup of the flour, the rosemary, the sugar, salt, and yeast in a large bowl. Add 3 tablespoons

of the olive oil and the warm water. Beat on medium speed 3 minutes. Stir in enough of the remaining flour until dough is soft, and leaves the sides of the bowl.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 5-8 minutes, or until dough is smooth and springy. Take the first bowl and spray it lightly with cooking spray, then place the dough back in to rise. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until almost double, about 30 minutes. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.

Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Gently deflate dough. Make the dough into a big circle. Brush the remaining olive oil across the dough, while using your fingers, make little dents all the way across the dough allowing the oil seep in. Let the dough rise once more, about another 30 minutes. Heat oven to 400 and bake 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Grate the cheese on top right as it comes out of the oven.

Faster No Knead Bread

This week is the week of me making things I have never made before. I have been wanting to make a bread for a while and of course I have seen the recipe for No Knead Bread, but I didn't have two days (well, 18 hours) to prepare for it. I got home from Disneyland the other day knowing I wanted to make this, but didn't really feel like starting bread at 11:00 at night. Then Mark Bittman posted this recipe that changed my life. That may be a slight exaggeration (I am known to exaggerate once in a while), but it was the perfect solution. As much as I enjoy kneading (releases the tension developed from dealing with annoying actors), this was a recipe with a minimum effort for maximum result. All it really involved was stirring the dough and folding it over after it sat out for 4 hours. It's a really sticky dough, so the folding over was actually a bit more involved than I thought I would be, but overall this is a really easy recipe for bread which is something I often find myself wanting, but not something that regularly appears on my grocery list. It was so good with a nice crusty outside and a soft, chewy inside. I can't go through an entire loaf of bread myself within a week so I froze the rest to use for a later time.

Faster No Knead Bread

(From Mark Bittman)

3 cups bread flour (I used all-purpose with excellent results)
1 packet (1/4 ounce) instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Oil as needed

Combine flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups water and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest about 4 hours at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

Lightly oil a work surface and place dough on it; fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes more.

At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under dough and put it into pot, seam side up. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes.

Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.