Artisan Bread

I made two good size loaves... and one of them is pretty much gone. Here it is complete with probably too many pictures. Best of luck, and let me know how it works out for you.

Artisan Bread

Start out with about three cups of very warm water. You want it about 90 degrees. Pour it into a medium or large bowl. I like to use ceramic bowls, it keeps the warmth in well but you can use whatever you have and it will work. Immediately add 4 Tbsp of active dry yeast. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and set it in a warm place. I turn my oven onto 400 degrees and set my bowl onto the stove top, but make sure your stove top doesn't get too hot(if it hurts to touch it, it too hot).


Let it stand for about five minutes until the yeast starts to foam a little and has a strong smell. Add 4 cups of all purpose flour and wisk together. If should be about the consistancy of cake batter. Cover bake up and let stand again until it almost doubles in size.

Remove cover and add three more cups of flour, you can combine this with a wooden spoon, or just go ahead and get dirty and use your hands. Once it is mostly combined empty the dough onto a floured cutting board or counter top. Fold the dough over until it is no longer sticky. Depending on where you live(humidity) you may need to slowly add more flour.

Cover and let rise about ten minutes. Cut the dough into two even pieces. If you have a loaf pan you can place your dough into two pans. If like me you are too cheap to go out and buy loaf pans, you can form your own loaves. This is where the creative part comes in. You can either make these into rounds, long french loaves or you can go crazy and braid the dough. Place your loaves onto a large greased sheet tray. If you want to make it look nifty take a very sharp knife and and make a few cuts along the top of your loaves, you'll see why it's cool after it's proofed.

Cover your loaves let them raise for 10 minutes and then place them in a preheated 400 degree oven. If you like your bread soft, just let in bake for thirty minutes. If you like your bread crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside bake for thirty minutes, but using a spray bottle spray about five squirts of water into the oven every ten minutes or so. Remove from oven and immediately take off of the sheet pan and place on a cooling rack or cutting board. Don't bother waiting til it cools to eat it. It's really really good hot. Let me know what you think.

To bread or not to bread.

I was tragically born without a taste for bread... or so I thought. It took me getting pregnant and having really crazy cravings(I say crazy, but for every other sane person in the world craving a sandwich on store bought bread is really not that nuts)for me to find out that I don't hate bread! I just hate the way the majority of this country produces and eats bread. I have discovered that there is not much better than a good slice of bread where the crust is so hard and flaky that it floats all kind of crumbs all over yourself (wouldn't recommend wearing any kind of low cut shirt while eating this kind of bread, unless you like crumbs in your bra) and the inside is chewy and dense. Pretty much every store I go to you squeeze the bread and it leaves a horrible indention like you just mangled a clump of play dough. So because I cannot buy such bread I've decided to go ahead and make it myself. There have been several go arounds and some of it has not turned out that great and therefore become puppy treats(sorry guys), but after a couple trys a bit of googling(is there a right way to spell that?) I've come to my very happy conclusion. Next blog... How to make awesome bread that costs next to nothing and doesn't get stuck to the room of your mouth like old gum. OK so I'll come up with a shorter title, but you get the gist.

Strawberry Cream Bread Pudding

Agriculturists predict that this years strawberry crops will be better and more abundant than they have been in a decade. Prices in the grocery store are super low and the actual fruit is really very good. This recipe marries one of my favorite desserts(Berries and Cream) with one of Chris' favorites (Bread Pudding.) It's a nod to the kind of desserts that Grandma used to make with a bit of a twist. If you have trouble finding the soft serve mix, you can either try going to your local ice cream shop and ask if they'll sell you some. Or you can just let some vanilla ice cream that you get from your grocer melt. This recipe is great served hot or cold. It's great for brunch, or a picnic. Try it out and let me know what you think.



10 slices of white bread, cut into cubes
1 cup of sliced strawberries
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
6 eggs
3/4 cup of white sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3 cups of liquid vanilla soft serve mix
1 pinch of ground nutmeg
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a medium baking dish. Spread out cut bread onto dish.

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, eggs, soft serve, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and vanilla extract. Stir well.

Spread sliced strawberries over cut bread. Pour mixture over the bread and strawberries and let set for 20 minutes, so bread can absorb the liquid.

Place in preheated oven and cook for about 30 minutes, or until dish is firm throughout.

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Recipe serves 8.

Strawberry Cream Bread Pudding.

Calling all would be cooks!

I was reading some of the top ten food trends for the year 2010, and somewhat shockingly number two is cooking at home from scratch. Growing up my mom always cooked from scratch, but then again my mom was the type who would haggle at the grocery store if she saw the opportunity. The more I get out there and talk to people the more I hear "Oh I don't cook," or as Sara Jessica Parker said "I use my oven to store sweaters, what do I need a kitchen for." Cooking at home, particularly from scratch, is now viewed as far to tedious in our text messaging, everything portable, go go go society. Being a chef and knowing how to cook is now considered a somewhat rare skill and very trendy. Need proof? Turn on your TV. The food network is one of the most highly watched channels out there. Everybody's got a favorite celebrity chef, and the theres the one who's isms drive them up the wall(Yum-O). So here is my challenge. Plan a dinner party. It can just be for your family, roommates or whoever you feel comfortable experimenting your food on. Don't make the menu too complicated. Go to the grocery store and pick out some ingredients you've never worked with but always wanted to try. If you need to find out how to cook them, I am happy to offer any advice. Or if you are more of an instant answer person(guilty) Google hasn't failed me yet. Try it out and make it fun. Make it interactive if you're not entirely convinced in your own mad skills. Do a kebab bar, or some fondue. I hope and think you'll find out that cooking and sharing it with people you like spending time with is the best. After you've tried it get on and let me know how it worked out for you, and I'll do the same. Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Beef Sopes

Chris and I first had this at a little restaurant in Branson MO. It was pretty good at the restaurant. However, being two self proclaimed foodies we get a little too much joy out of disecting recipes putting our spin on it putting it back together. Most of the time it turns out really well. Sometimes it takes a few tries though. Corn Masa (the base for the sopes) is a really fun ingredient to work with, but it took us a few tries to get it right. Basically when you mix the water and oil with the masa you need to mix it either by hand or with a fork (overmixing them can make them a bit chewy) and when your done mixing the dough it needs to be close to the consitancy of play dough, bound together but cracks a little around the edges when you smash it flat. This dish is awesome, and can be used as an entree or an appetizer. It works great for outdoor parties too. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

1 cup corn meal masa
1/2 cup + 1 cup water
3 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp pepper
1 onion chopped
1 jalapeno finely diced
shredded lettuce
shredded cheese (if they have cojita at your grocer use it, but don't run all over town looking for it, kraft mexican blend works just fine)
sour cream
2 cups vegetable oil
1 small can whole stewed tomatoes
2 lbs chuck roast
2 Tbsp olive oil

In a medium stock pot on medium high heat soften chopped onions with olive oil. Once onions begin to become transluscent add chuck roast. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp cumin, 1/2 Tbsp salt and 1 Tbsp pepper. Brown on each side.

Add can of tomatoes and 2 cups water. Reduce to a simmer and let cook for three hours.

Combine masa, 1/2 cup water, remaining cumin, salt and pepper. Stir until all is well incorporated. Let stand for 20 minutes.

Form into golfball sized pieces. Flatten with your palms and Pan fry in vegetable oil until golden brown on each side.

Once meat is finished, shred. Top masa disks with shredded meat, lettuce, cheese and sour cream.

Recipe serves eight.

Summertime is almost here.

Summertime is almost here and it's time to get out and start using the grill again. This is one of my favorite recipes to grill and it's a big wow for having guests over. The reason it is called margherita pizza is because Chef Rafaelle Esposito originally made it for queen Margherita of Italy in 1889. At the time the flatbread topped with cheese and whatever else they happened to have around was considered peasents food, but the queen liked it so much and ate it so often that the chef named the pizza after her and it is still called Margherita pizza to this day. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Grilled Margherita Pizza

1 pizza crust (rolled out and brushed with olive oil)
1 large tomato slice
1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon of dried basil
Place crust and tomatoes on grill. Cook crust until crisp on one side; flip and brush other side with olive oil. Place grilled tomatoes on crust, top with cheeses, and sprinkle entire pizza with basil.

Cook until crust is crispy and cheeses are melted. Cut into wedges.

Serves 4-6