April Daring Cooks' Challenge - Create Your Own Recipe!

Things are a little hectic around here. Between birthdays and parties, active toddlers and busy big kids, and to take advantage of any warm weather that peeks through the clouds and chill, well, it's been hectic.

So when the April Daring Cooks' Challenge was announced, I had really high hopes.

Our April 2012 Daring Cooks hosts were David & Karen from Twenty-Fingered Cooking. They presented us with a very daring and unique challenge of forming our own recipes by using a set list of ingredients!

I mean, how different and interesting is that? They gave us three lists, each containing three ingredients, and we each had to create a meal using (at least) one ingredient from each list.

The lists were as follows:

• List 1: Parsnips, Eggplant (aubergine), Cauliflower
• List 2: Balsamic Vinegar, Goat Cheese, Chipotle peppers
• List 3: Maple Syrup, Instant Coffee, Bananas

The possibilities are interesting, sometime weird, and completely endless. 

My first idea hit me almost immediately, so I got started right away.

The combination of balsamic and vinegar and maple syrup sounded delicious to me, so I immediately thought to create a marinade for some pork chops using just that. I used a 2:1 ratio of maple syrup to balsamic vinegar. 

And, seeing as this is pork, I chose to tie it all together with apple cider. Mix everything up right in the measuring cup with a bit of garlic powder...

...and pour over some pork chops in the crock pot.

Meanwhile, I still needed to tackle an ingredient from list 1 - the list of vegetables. And then it hit me - mashed cauliflower. I have heard of mashed cauliflower being a good substitute for mashed potatoes, and mashed potatoes go so well with pork chops, so why not give the cauliflower version a try here??

I simple boiled a head of cauliflower until it was tender, drained the water, then hit it with the immersion blender until it was nice and smooth!

Before serving the pork chops, I removed them from the crock pot, basted them in some more of my maple-balsamic mixture and put them under the broiler for just a minute.


The results?

Delicious. 


As a side, I made sweet potato fries that I seasoned to complement the pork - with a drizzle of maple syrup and balsamic vinegar! The taste was subtle, but worked really well.


I had full well intended to try other combinations, but the month completely got away from me. But I love playing with different ingredients and flavor combinations, so I look forward to trying my hand at some new recipes really soon.


To see the other creative recipes cooked up in the Daring Kitchen this month, check them out here.




Maple-Balsamic Pork Chops with Mashed Cauliflower
(my very own recipe!)


5 pork chops
1 cup apple cider
1/8 cup (2 tablespoons) balsamic vinegar + 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup maple syrup + 1/4 maple syrup
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 medium head cauliflower


In a small bowl (or a measuring cup), combine the cider, 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup maple syrup and garlic powder.
Place pork chops in stoneware of your slow cooker and pour the cider mixture over them.
Cook on low heat for about 6 hours.


To make mashed cauliflower, cut the cauliflower into florets, off of the center stem, and boil or steam until it is very tender. Mash the cauliflower with immersion blender (or potato masher) until smooth and creamy. You can add salt and pepper to taste if you choose.


Prior to serving the pork chops, combine the remaining 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar and 1/4 cup maple syrup in a small bowl. Remove the chops from the slow cooker and place them onto a baking sheet or into a roasting pan. Baste the cooked chops with the vinegar/maple mixture and broil the chops for a minute or two.


Serve the pork over the mashed cauliflower and enjoy!

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Quick and Easy Chocolate Cake

Today was a very exciting day in the C family house - today was little miss's birthday! How in the world can my baby girl be six already?? Most of the way through kindergarten, losing teeth, reading, writing... Where has my baby gone???

In our house, birthdays are rarely single-day celebrations. Little miss's birthday celebration started yesterday, actually. And while we weren't doing the whole favorite-dinner-big-dessert thing tonight, you can't pass up the actual day of the birthday without cake, right??

So I decided to make a chocolate (of course) cake for today, but, seeing as we did a big celebration yesterday and that we're having the big party this weekend (as well as a smaller family get together...), I went simple. I found this quick and easy chocolate cake recipe after a quick google search and it sounded simple, delicious and intriguing.

This cake truly is quick and easy, and comes together unlike most other cakes I have ever seen. And has a rather interesting secret ingredient.

For starters, don't bother with a bowl.

Just mix the dry ingredients right in the cake pan (8" x 8" square).

Then mix the wet ingredients, which include neither egg nor milk, making this a good option for any vegans out there, in a measuring cup, and just pour them right on top.

Then, if you anything like me, once the batter is mixed together, throw in a whole bunch of chocolate chips.

And, as we're going simple here, once the cake has baked and cooled a bit, simply dust the top with a generous sprinkling of powdered sugar.

I know it's not the fanciest looking thing, but add a few candles on top and sing a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday" and it certainly makes for a fun evening!

And the best part?

It was delicious.

Dark, totally chocolatey, a bit gooey, and totally, deliciously cakey. 

We all ate every bite. And had to fight against going back for seconds.

Quick, easy, and something we will definitely be making again.

Quick and Easy Chocolate Cake

(from The Splattered Apron)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

4 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons canola oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 cup cold water

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (If making the cake vegan, either omit or use vegan chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In an ungreased 8×8 metal pan, mix all of the dry ingredients. 

Mix all of the wet ingredients in a measuring cup.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until combined. 

Fold in chocolate chips (if using).

Bake in preheated oven, 35-40 minutes, until it tests done in the center.

Enjoy!

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Blueberry-Strawberry Pie

Earlier this week, we had quiche for dinner. 

No, this post isn't about quiche.

But when I made the pie crust for the quiche, I used the whole recipe. Which makes enough dough for a double crust. Which means that I had enough pastry left for another single-crust pie.

And I had no idea what I wanted to make.

So I went to the produce stand, hoping for some inspiration.

Inspiration hit in the form of berries. Beautiful, early season, decently priced blueberries and strawberries. Yum.

Now, there are lots of recipes for berry pies out there, some with one crust, some with two, some in which the fruit is cooked, some in which it isn't.  After looking through several (and by several, I mean LOTS), I decided that I liked the sound of this one (I mean, it's called Topless Blueberry Pie - a name that fun to say, it has to be yummy, right??), and decided to adapt it to include strawberries.

I started by mixing together water, sugar, cornstarch, a pinch of salt, and some of the blueberries together in a saucepan, and got everything started cooking.

As the mixture cooked, I slowly added more berries, alternating between more blueberries and some diced strawberries.

And as it cooked, it thickened and turned an absolutely beautiful color.

And once everything was done, I poured it into my pre-cooked (blind baked) pie crust.

(See how flaky it is?? Love this pie crust.) 


The I popped the pie into the fridge to chill fully, and waited until it was time for dessert.


And let me just say, it was worth the wait.

Everyone loved it. The filling held together really well, and the berries were delicious and fresh.


And with a touch of whipped cream on top?

Perfect.






Blueberry-Strawberry Pie
(slightly adapted from allrecipes)

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup water
• 1 pound fresh blueberries
• 1/2 pound fresh strawberries, diced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked (I used half of this recipe, blind baked)
• 
  
• In a saucepan, combine water, sugar, cornstarch and salt. 
• Stir in 1 cup of blueberries. Cook and stir over medium heat, until thick, approximately 8 to 10 minutes, adding in more berries every couple of minutes, until they are all incorporated.
• Add butter and let cool about 5 minutes.
• Pour into baked pie shell and cool in the refrigerator for at least 2 to 4 hours.

Enjoy!

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Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sorry about the delay in posting - little man has been a bit under the weather, so I haven't been as timely with my posting as usual. But now that he's feeling a bit better, I have a chance to share with you these delicious cookies that I made last week.

As you have undoubtedly noticed, I have a slight fascination with my sourdough starter, and with seeing how many awesome things I can make with it. So when we recently had a craving for chocolate chip cookies, I knew exactly where to turn.  You see, my sourdough partner in crime, Jenni, once posted about some sourdough cookies that she made, using a recipe that she created herself. Seemed like the perfect opportunity to try them out!

The recipe starts out similarly to "regular" chocolate chip cookies. Dry ingredients are whisked together...

...and butter is creamed together with sugar and brown sugar.

And then you stir in a cup of sourdough starter.

And then you continue just like "normal" cookies again! Beat in an egg and vanilla, incorporate the dry ingredients, then fold in the chips. Easy peasy.

Using a regular teaspoon, I dropped spoonfuls onto my cookie sheet, and we were ready to bake.

Can I just tell you how good these cookies were? And making them a little small, they were perfect snacking size.

The best part is that everyone loved them. Everyone including those members of my family who are starting to get wary of anything sourdough. Even the littlest member of the family.

These cookies are a little softer than classic chocolate chip cookies - almost a bit cakey, and they have the perfect amount of sweet with a slight tang from the sourdough. I can't wait to try using different mix-ins, too - dried fruit? Maybe even swap out some of the flour for oatmeal? The possibilities are endless. And so very delicious.




Sourdough Cookies of Awesomeness 
(only the teeniest bit adapted from The Gingered Whisk)

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup sourdough starter
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 ounces chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degree.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar.
Turn the mixer off, and with a wooden spoon gently mix in the starter until combined.
Add the egg (you can turn your mixer back on now) and the vanilla.
Slowly add the flour mixture into the mixer, until just combined.
Fold in the chocolate chips.
Drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes, or until starting to turn golden brown around the edges.



Enjoy!

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Oatmeal Sourdough Bread

Remember that overnight oatmeal I made last week? In searching for something fun and creative to do with the leftovers, I came across the perfect recipe - Oatmeal Sourdough Bread. I mean, what could be better - a delicious bread that uses not only my leftover steel cut oats, but sourdough as well? Perfect!

This recipe was actually super easy.

It starts with the two main ingredients - leftover cooked steel-cut oats and sourdough starter.

Then, right in the bow of my stand mixer, I added water, salt, oil and maple syrup (the recipe called for molasses or honey, but I used maple syrup to match the flavoring in the oatmeal).

Then, as that mixed with the dough hook, it was time to add the flour. The recipe called for three and a half to four cups, but I needed almost another full cup in order for the dough to come together nicely.

I then kneaded the dough by hand for a few minutes. I was amazed at how smooth the dough was. I mean, other the pieces of oatmeal you could see throughout the dough. And then we were ready for the first rise.

Now, this being sourdough, the key ingredient is time. The first rise is supposed to be a minimum or four hours. I chose to let mine rise overnight. And considering that I started the dough in the afternoon, that "overnight" turned into almost 16 hours.


The good news is that I learned that my sourdough starter is nice and healthy. Because man did this dough rise!

I actually hadn't expected to see quite this much dough - I'd only expected to make one loaf. But there was plenty to make two good sized loaves.

Which then rested for another couple of hours.


The hardest part of the process was deciding what pattern I was going to slash into the top of the loaves before popping them into the oven.  The dough was so soft, though, that, in the end, I went simple.

It was interesting to see how the two loaves baked up. I'd intended to rotate the pans halfway through the baking, but got busy playing with the kiddos and forgot.  So the crusts baked up a little unevenly... the loaf on the top rack darkened much more than the one on the bottom...

But I was more curious to see the inside.

Holy holes! 

And it tasted delicious. It was a really interesting combination of sweet, from the oatmeal and maple syrup, and tangy, from the sourdough.

And with the crisp crust and airy crumb, this bread made a great side for soup or base for sandwiches.  I will definitely be making this again.

Oatmeal Sourdough Bread

(slightly adapted from Baking Bites)

1 cup sourdough starter

1 cup cooked oatmeal (steel cut are recommended)

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon salt

3 1/2 - 4 cups bread flour (I needed almost a cup more)

Combine starter, oats, water, syrup and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. With mixer on low, slowly add the flour until the dough comes together in a ball. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, adding extra flour if necessary. Knead until dough is smooth and somewhat firm.

Place the ball of dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for at least four hours, or overnight.

Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a floured surface. Gently deflate the dough and shape it into a round loaf (I made two). Transfer the loaf (loaves) onto a parchment lined baking sheet (or two...) and cover loosely with plastic wrap (I sprayed my plastic wrap with non-stick spray so that it wouldn't stick to the dough). Allow loaf (loaves) to rise for 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Just before baking, slash the top(s) of the loaf (loaves) with a sharp knife.

Bake for 40 minutes. When the bread is done, it will sound hollow when tapped.

Allow bread to cool completely before slicing.

Enjoy!

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March Daring Bakers' Challenge - Dutch Crunch Bread

This month's Daring Bakers' Challenge was an interesting one for me - a combination of new and not so new, and of simple and creative.

Sara and Erica of Baking JDs were our March 2012 Daring Baker hostesses! Sara & Erica challenged us to make Dutch Crunch bread, a delicious sandwich bread with a unique, crunchy topping. Sara and Erica also challenged us to create a one of a kind sandwich with our bread!

I had never actually heard of Dutch Crunch bread before (thus, new) and the pictures associated with the challenge were truly intriguing. The required recipe for this challenge was not for bread - we could use any bread recipe we wanted to (thus, old... for me, at least...). Rather, the recipe we were each required to use to fulfill this month's challenge was for a topping with which to coat our unbaked breads. This topping, once baked, gives the rolls or loaves a unique and very beautiful crackled look.

As luck would have it, I was in the position of needing to bake bread when the challenge was announced So I got to work right away.

I prepared my usual white bread recipe, but rather than shape the dough into two loaves, as I usually do, I made one loaf, and, with the other half of the dough, six rolls. Right before shaping the dough, I prepared the topping, which is very simple.

Combine all ingredients in one bowl:



Whisk together to form a paste:



As you can see above, mine started out a little thicker and clumpier than a paste, so I added a tiny bit of extra water (a tablespoon or two, no more), and continued to whisk. I soon had a thick but not clumpy paste.



I set the prepared topping aside to rest as I shaped my bread dough. Then, after 15 minutes or resting, I went to grab the topping to coat the bread, and was amazed to see how much it had grown so quickly!



While it might not show in the photo, I put a nice thick coating of the topping onto the loaf...

...and onto the six rolls.



I have to say, this was one of those times that I wished I had a window into my oven. I couldn't wait to see what these would look like.

But let me tell you - the wait was well worth it.



How cool do those look? The color, the crackling pattern - it looked just like the pictures I'd seen online! (yes, I googled for images when the challenge was announced - remember - I'd never heard of this before, and wanted to know what to expect!)

Even the loaf came out looking cool.



Very, very exciting.

But the challenge was only half complete.

You see, Dutch Crunch bread is considered a sandwich bread. So once the bread was made, we were challenged to use it as inspiration for a delicious sandwich.

In our family, daddy is the master sandwich maker, so I let him take the lead on this second half of the challenge.

He used pretty much everything he could think of - ham, turkey, muenster cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, mustard, onion... Layered everything right up on those beautiful rolls.



And it tasted delicious.

Here's the thing... I think the sandwich would have been delicious no matter what roll it was on. The Dutch Crunch roll just made it a lot more beautiful to look at.

And I am going to be honest. Some members of the family didn't care for the topping... Which meant that other members of the family (ahem... me...) ate an awful lot of Dutch Crunch bread that week.

Funny enough, my favorite sandwich that I had on the bread during the week was a simple grilled ham and muenster.



Delicious.

Sara and Erica, thank you so much for this fun challenge - it was really fun to try something new and to bake up such beautiful bread right in my own kitchen!

To see the other cool breads and sandwiches crafted in the kitchen this month, check them out here.



Dutch Crunch Topping (for bread or rolls)
(from Baking JDs, March 2012 Daring Bakers' Challenge)

2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105-115º F)
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used sesame oil, and I really liked the results)
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups rice flour (white or brown; NOT sweet or glutinous rice flour)Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat with a whisk; beat hard to combine. The consistency should be like stiff royal icing – spreadable, but not too runny. Add more water or rice flour as necessary. Let stand 15 minutes.
Coat the top of each shaped but not yet baked loaf or roll (any bread recipe you choose) with a thick layer of topping. It works best just to use your fingers or a spoon to spread the topping onto the dough. You should err on the side of applying too much topping – a thin layer will not crack properly.
Let stand, uncovered, for any additional time your recipe recommends (I applied the topping about 15 minutes into a 30 minute final proofing time for my bread. You can apply it sooner, or just prior to putting the bread into the oven. Different bakers saw different results, depending on the amount of time between applying the topping and putting the bread into the oven.)
When baking, place pans on a rack in the center of the oven and bake your bread as you ordinarily would. The Dutch Cruch topping should crack and turn a nice golden-brown color.

Enjoy!

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Overnight Pumpkin Oatmeal

One of the benefits of afternoon kindergarten is the morning play-date.

One of the challenges of the morning play-date, however, is what to serve. See, I like to provide snacks, and usually of the homemade variety, when having people over to our house. But when having people over for breakfast, that either means waking up way earlier than I want to or preparing things ahead of time.

For today's play-date, I found something that I could prepare ahead of time, but that would still provide something warm and delicious - pumpkin oatmeal that you make in the crockpot.  How cool is that?

Now, you probably know by now that my preference is always for buying and eating my foods as fresh as possible. Unfortunately, finding fresh pumpkin is a little difficult in March. So I made due with canned.

The other interesting ingredient for these was the oats. Not that oats are new or odd, but for oats that you plan to cook for such a long time, the best ones to use are steel cut, rather than the old fashioned rolled oats I already have. I had never actually seen steel cut oats before, and found them quite fascinating when I opened the container.

The preparation was pretty much as easy as could be. Take all ingredients and put them into the crock pot.

A quick stir, put on the lid, set the cooker to low, then go to sleep.


Doesn't get much easier than that.


When I went into the kitchen in the morning, it smelled pretty darn good. So I took the lid off of the slow cooker, gave the contents a quick stir, and here's what we had, all ready for breakfast with our friends:

Okay, okay, I'll admit that it didn't look all that extraordinary all in the pot tucked in the corner, but the smell was heavenly, and it plated up beautifully.

And the best part? Everyone liked it! Little miss said it tasted like pumpkin pie. My friend and I thought it was delicious. The highest complement? Even little man liked it! Score!
The only downside is that it makes a huge batch, and oatmeal generally doesn't re-heat well out of the fridge, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it... like... tomorrow morning... 




Overnight Pumpkin Oatmeal
(slightly adapted from Laa Loosh)


1 15 oz can of canned pumpkin
5 cups water
1 1/2 cups steel-cut oats
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 (scant) teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
optional -  garnish with a few dried cranberries, for a fabulous taste and dislpay

Combine all ingredients (except dried cranberries) in slow cooker. Cook on low for six hours. Stir well before serving.  Sprinkle dried cranberries on top of each serving, if desired.


Enjoy!

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