Cranberry-Orange Muffins

|
By
|
10 comments

In the past couple weeks, I’ve seen fresh cranberries popping up in my neighborhood grocery stores. I love fresh cranberries – their color, their tarntness, stringing them with popcorn to make tree garland! I couldn’t resist picking up a couple bags.

Cranberry and orange has always been one of my favorite flavor combinations. So, I thought it would be fun to incorporate those into a muffin. Muffins are one of our favorite go-to breaksfast item around here.

With the morning rush of getting the boys up and dressed, lunches made, and Drew off to school – something that we can just grab and go with is a sheer savior sometimes. I think these would be a great easy treat to have on Thanksgiving morning as well. Enough to fill you up, but light enough to leave plenty of room for an early dinner!

Cranberry Orange Muffins

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup milk
zest from 1 orange
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup cranberries, coarsley chopped

For streusel topping:
3 Tbsp flour
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Set aside.

To make the streusel topping, combine the flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Mix to combine. Using two forks, cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in sliced almonds.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.

In another bowl combine egg, milk, zest, orange juice, vanilla, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir to combine until just moistened, batter should be lumpy. Fold in cranberries.

Divide the batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full. Sprinkle streusel topping over muffin batter in cups. Bake in preheated oven, for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in muffin cups on wire rack for 5 minutes before removing.

Makes 12 muffins

Source: adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

Beef Stroganoff

|
By
|
5 comments

With being back from vacation, and in preparation for the Holidays, I’ve been trying to make an effort to put healthier meals on our menu. But, with the coldness really setting in here in the Mid-Atlantic, I can’t help but crave comfort foods. Last week I really wasn’t feeling what I had on the menu that night, so I rummaged through the freezer to see what I could come up with. There were 2 lonely filets that I’d bought on sale, not enough to make a meal out of on their own – but certainly plenty when mixed in with some veggies thrown over some rice or pasta.

I’ve always thought it was kind of wasteful to use a cut of beef like filet, to use for something that’s cut apart and simmered – like stroganoff. When I’ve made it in the past, I’ve used top sirloin. Much more economical, and just as good. It’s a great weeknight meal too – you’re eating in about 30 minutes. Which, is great with the time change. It gets dark so early, I feel like we should be eating at 4 PM!

Beef Stroganoff

8 Tbsp butter (1 stick)
1 pound beef tenderloin, cut into 1/2-inch strips
2 whole shallots, peeled and minced
1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup beef broth
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 tsp dried dill (optional)
1 cup of sour cream at room temperature

Season beef strips with 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper. Heat 4 Tbsp butter in a large saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef strips in a single layer and brown well on one side before flipping and browning other. About 3 minutes on each side. Remove beef from pan, and set aside.

Add the remaining butter to the pan and let melt, then add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are starting to brown and release their liquid. Add the shallots to the pan, and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the flour, stirring constantly, until flour has cooked a bit – about 3 minutes. Slowly pour in the white wine or beef broth, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens. Reduce heat to low, and stir in the sour cream, nutmeg, and dill. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Return beef to the pan, along with any accumulated juices and stir to combine. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over egg noodles.

Homemade Rye Bread

|
By
|
10 comments

When it comes to breads to use for sandwiches, rye bread is at the top of my list. That chewy interior, a crusty exterior – flavorful caraway seeds studded throughout. I just love it. When I saw Tara make a homemade version several months ago, I added the necessary ingredients to my next King Arthur order. But, I never got around to actually making it.

Last week while we were stuck inside with Hurricane Sandy’s wrath outside, I decided to give it a go, and finally make the rye bread. I actually had gone to buy a loaf before the storm, but the only thing left was wheat bread. Which, by the way – people were walking by as if it weren’t even an option. You’d rather have no bread than wheat bread? Sometimes I just want to hit people in the head with a stick! So yeah, I came home and threw together the sponge for the bread. Then a few hours later I was putting the bread into the oven.

It turned out so well. Like, the best rye bread I’ve ever had in my life kind of “well”. I made the 2 smaller loaves, but I think the one big loaf would be better for sandwiches. We enjoyed one loaf with chicken & rice soup that night during the storm, and then we made sandwiches with the other. Turkey, swiss, avocado, sprouts, and spicy mustard on the slightly toasted rye. Wowzers, it was good!

If you live in a city, you can probably find most of these ingredients at Whole Foods or a specialty bake shop. But, if you don’t – King Arthur Flour has everything you need, and much more! Any excuse I have to order from them, I do. I’ve gotten more into bread baking this year, and they really have been an indispensable resource.

Homemade Rye Bread

For the sponge:
2 tsp rye bread flavor (optional)
2 3/4 cups water, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tbsp honey
3 cups (15 oz) all-purpose flour

For the dough:
1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 oz) all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups rye flour
2 tbsp caraway seeds
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp table salt
cornmeal for sprinkling on the baking sheet

For the glaze:
1 egg white
1 tbsp milk

Mix water, yeast, honey, rye bread improver, and flour in the large mixing bowl of a heavy-duty mixer to form a thick batter. Cover with plastic wrap, and let sit until bubbles form over entire surface, at least 2 1/2 hours. (Can stand at room temperature overnight.)

Add all-purpose flour, 3 1/4 cups rye flour, caraway seeds, oil, and salt into the sponge. Stir to combine. With machine fitted with dough hook and set on speed 2, knead dough, adding the remaining 1/4 cup rye flour once the dough becomes cohesive; knead until smooth yet sticky, about 5 minutes. With moistened hands, transfer dough to a well-floured counter, knead it into a smooth ball, then place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at warm room temperature until doubled in size, 1 1/4 to 2 hours.

Generously sprinkle cornmeal on a large baking sheet. Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface and press dough into 12×9-inch rectangle. (For 2 smaller loaves, halve the dough, pressing each portion into a 9×6 1/2-inch rectangle.) With one of the long sides facing you, roll dough into a 12-inch (or 9-inch) log, seam side up. Pinch seam with fingertips to seal. Turn dough seam side down, and with fingertips, seal ends by tucking dough into the loaf. Carefully transfer shaped loaf (or loaves) to prepared baking sheet, cover loosely with greased plastic wrap, and let proof until dough looks bloated and dimply, and starts to spread out, 60 to 75 minutes. Adjust oven rack to lower center position and heat oven to 425 degrees.

Whisk egg white and milk together and brush over sides and top of loaf (loaves). Make 6 or 7 slashes, 1/2-inch-deep, on dough top(s) with a serrated knife. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in center of the loaf registers 200 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes for small loaves and 25 to 30 for larger loaf. Transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Slice and serve.

Source:  Baking Illustrated by America’s Test Kitchen; via Smells Like Home

Porcini & Pumpkin Ale Mac & Cheese

|
By
|
8 comments

The first time I tired a beer mac & cheese, it was bad – reaaaaaallly bad. I used a hoppy pale ale, which in retrospect, was definitely not the best choice. That was about a year ago now, and a recent trip to Dogfish Head’s Brewpub got me thinking about the concept again. They have a delicious porcini macaroni and cheese on the menu there. We’d been planning a trip there for about a month now, but keep having to put it off for one reason or another – sickness, hurricanes, whatever. So, I made my own version at home this week – adding in a bit of our home brewed pumpkin ale, and it turned out absolutely incredible. Maybe even better than the original!

It’s really no more effort than a standard macaroni and cheese recipe, aside from soaking the porcini mushrooms before hand. It never ceases to amaze me the flavor punch that those little dried mushrooms contain. Love, love, love them! I’ve already added it to our menu for next week, this one is most definitely a winner!

Porcini and Pumpkin Ale Mac & Cheese

1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
1 cup cremini mushrooms, chopped
1 shallot, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound (16 oz.) small pasta shape, such as shells
6 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup Pumpkin ale (such as Dogfish Head’s Punkin Ale)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup Fontina cheese, grated
1 cup breadcrumbs or panko
kosher salt

Boil water and 1 tbsp kosher salt in a large stockpot. Once boiling, add pasta and cook for 5 minutes. Drain, rinsing pasta with cold water, and set aside until ready to use.

Place the dried mushrooms in a microwavable-safe bowl and cover with water. Cook on high for 30 seconds, and let sit and rehydrate for 10 minutes. Strain, and rougly chop.

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, melt 6 tablespoons of the butter. Add the cremini mushroom and shallot, and saute for about 3 minutes, until starting to brown on the edge. Add the garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the flour, and let cook, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in the beer, as well as the milk, scraping the bottom of the pan to release any browned bits. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens. Add in cheese and chopped porcini mushrooms, and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add pasta to the saucepan with the cheese sauce, and mix to combine. Place in 2 quart cassarole dish, sprinkle the breadcrumbs on the top, and bake for 1 hour or until browned and bubbly.

Source: inspired by Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats