English Muffins
Purists insist that you should never slice open an English Muffin to toast it. Instead cut a sliver in the side and toast it whole. When done, poke butter in through the slit and savor the muffin with your morning cup of tea.
INGREDIENTS
¼ Cup Warm Water (110° F)
Pinch of Sugar
1 Envelope Active Dry Yeast
1 ½ Cups Warm Milk (110° F)
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Cut Into Bits & Softened
1 Tablespoon Honey
5 ¼ Cups Unbleached Flour
1 ¼ Teaspoons Salt
Cornmeal
In a small bowl, combine the warm water and sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over the top and let stand until the yeast dissolves and becomes foamy (for about 10 minutes). Meanwhile, butter a large bowl. With an electric mixer combine the milk, butter and honey. Combine until the butter is almost melted. Stir in 2 ½ cups flour and the yeats mixture. Beat at high speed for 3 minutes or until well combined. Cover the dough with a tea towel and let it rise in a warm place, away from drafts, until it is doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Butter a 4 quart mixing bowl and set aside. Stir the salt into the dough. With a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour so the dough forms a ball. Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic – about 8 to 10 minutes – adding enough of the remaining flour to keep the dough from sticking. Transfer the dough to the prepared bowl, turning it once to coat the top of the dough with butter.
Cover the dough with a tea towel and let it rest in a warm place, away from drafts, until it is doubled in volume (about 45 minutes). Punch the dough down and divide it in half. Sprinkle a bread board generously with the cornmeal. Place half of the dough on a board and sprinkle more cornmeal over the top of the dough. Gently roll the dough out into a ½ inch thick round. Cut out the English muffins with a floured 3 inch biscuit cutter. Repeat with the remaining dough. Arrange the dough rounds 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Knead, reroll, and cut the dough scraps once. Cover the muffins with a tea towel and let them rise in a warm place, away from drafts, until they are doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Heat a lightly oiled nonstick griddle or skillet over medium high heat. Lift some of the dough rounds with a spatula onto the griddle. Cook for 2 minutes on each side, and then reduce heat to medium and cook, turning every few minutes, for about 13 to 18 minutes, until done in the center. Cool muffins on wire racks while you cook the remaining muffins. Serve with butter, jam or honey. Makes 10 to 12 muffins
Scones With Jam & Cream
INGREDIENTS
2 Cups Unbleached Flour
¼ Cups Sugar
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/8 Teaspoon Salt
1/3 Cup Cold Unsalted Butter
Zest of 1 Lemon or Orange
1 Large Lightly Beaten Egg
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
½ Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
¼ Cup Jam or Preserves
Egg Mixture For Brushing Tops
1 Slightly Beaten Egg
1 Tablespoon Heavy Cream
Garnish
Devon Cream or Lightly Whipped Heavy Cream
Preheat the oven to 425° F and place the rack on the middle of the oven. Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut the butter into small pieces and mix with a pastry blender. If you don’t have a pastry blender you can use two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Stir in the lemon or orange zest. In a small measuring cup combine the whipping cream, beaten egg and vanilla. Add this mixture to the flour mixture. Combine, but do not over mix.
Transfer to a lightly floured surface and gently knead dough four or five times. Roll it into a ¾ inch thick round. Cut out the scones with a floured 2 inch cookie cutter. Arrange the scones on the parchment paper about 1 inch apart. Brush tops with egg mixture. Bake the scones for 12 to 15 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden and the bottom sound hollow when tapped. Serve the scones on a platter with the jam of your choosing and Devon cream or whipping cream on the side.
Date Nut Bread
Serve this Date Nut Bread with butter or cream cheese. You will love it!
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ Cups Chopped Pitted Dates
6 Tablespoons Butter – Cut Into Pieces
1 ¼ Cups Boiling Water
2 Cups Unbleached Flour
¾ Cups Sugar
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
½ Teaspoon Salt
1 Large Lightly Beaten Egg
1 Cup Coarsely Chopped Walnuts
In a medium bowl, combine dates, butter and boiling water. Let stand until cool. Preheat the oven to 325° F and grease a 9×5 inch metal loaf pan. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Sir the egg into the cooled date mixture. Stir date mixture into the flour mixture just until the flour is moistened. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool completely on a rack. Makes 1 loaf (16 Slices)
Zucchini Bread
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ Cups Unbleached Flour
¾ Cups Sugar
2 ¼ Teaspoons Baking Powder
½ Teaspoon Cinnamon
½ Teaspoon Salt
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
2 Large Eggs
1 ½ Cups Shredded Zucchini
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease an 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch metal loaf pan. In a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a medium bowl mix together oil, eggs and zucchini. Stir wet mixture into flour mixture just until flour is moistened. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack. Makes 1 loaf – Approximately 12 slices
Blood Orange Mimosas
INGREDIENTS
2 Cups Chilled Fresh Blood Orange Juice
1 Bottle (750ml) Chilled Dry & Good Quality Prosecco
Fresh Blood Orange Slices For Garnish
Into each of 8 champagne flutes, pour ¼ cup blood orange juice. Top off each glass with Prosecco and a slice of blood orange. Make sure that both juice and Prosecco are super chilled. Serves 8
Biscuits & Gravy
INGREDIENTS
Biscuits
2 Cups Unbleached Flour
4 Teaspoons Baking Powder
¼ Teaspoon Baking Soda
¼ Teaspoon Salt
3 Ounces Diced Cold Butter
8 Ounces Buttermilk
Combine the dry ingredients. Gently knead in the butter. Add the buttermilk and knead on a floured surface just enough to bring the dough together. Do not knead more than is necessary to prevent the biscuits from becoming tough. Roll the dough out and cut out biscuits with a biscuit cutter. Place on parchment paper on a baking pan and bake in a preheated 400° F oven. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Start gravy immediately.
Gravy
½ Pound Ground Breakfast Sausage
2 Tablespoons Butter
4 Tablespoons Unbleached Flour
3 Cups Cold Milk
¼ Teaspoon Salt
¼ Teaspoon Pepper
In a medium sized skillet sauté the sausage until it is cooked and has released as much fat as possible. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon. Do NOT drain the grease as you will need it to make a roux. Add the butter to the grease and melt it. Next add the flour a little at a time over medium heat. Constantly whisk the roux and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the cold milk a bit at a time while continuing to whisk. Add the sausage into the roux mixture and cook for 3 minutes. Add the salt and pepper.
Remove biscuits from oven. Cut the biscuits in half and pour the gravy over them. Makes 8 to 10
Chocolate Waffles
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ Cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa
2 Cups Unbleached Flour
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
2 Tablespoons Sugar
½ Teaspoon Salt
4 Separated Eggs
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Cups Milk
Preheat waffle iron. Sift flour, cocoa and baking powder into a medium sized bowl. Mix in the sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the egg yolks, oil and milk. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and gently combine. In a clean, dry bowl, beat the egg whites with a mixer until they form soft peaks. Fold the beaten egg whites into the batter. Next mix in the chocolate chips. Ladle 1/3 of the batter onto the center of the waffle iron. Close the top and cook until the waffle is crispy on both sides. Serve immediately with the toppings of your choice. Serves 6
Asparagus In Vinaigrette
I learned how to make this dish while living in France. It is so easy and tasty!
INGREDIENTS
2 Pounds Trimmed Fresh Asparagus
1 Minced Garlic Clove
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
¾ Teaspoon Salt
¼ Fresh Ground Pepper
Place trimmed asparagus in a steamer basket. Place in a saucepan over 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Cover and steam for 6 to 8 minutes or until crisp and tender. Do not overcook! Rinse with cold water and drain well. Set aside.
In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour over asparagus and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Makes a great side dish. Serves 8
Sfingi
St. Joseph’s Day Zeppole
INGREDIENTS
Ricotta Cream Filling
One 15 Ounce Container Ricotta
¾ Cup Confectioners’ Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
¼ Cup Mini Chocolate Chips
1 Tablespoon Finely Chopped Candied Citron Or Orange Peel
Dough
1 Cup Water
4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) Unsalted Butter
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Unbleached Flour
4 Large Eggs
Vegetable Oil For Frying
Candied Cherries – Cut In Half For Garnish
2 Tablespoons Chopped Unsalted Pistachios For Garnish (Optional)
Confectioners’ Sugar
In a medium Bowl, whisk the ricotta, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips and candied fruit. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight.
To make the puffs, bring the water, the butter and the salt to a boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat, add the flour all at once and stir well with a wooden spoon until the flour is completely incorporated.
Return the saucepan to medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly and turning the dough often, until the dough begins to leave a thin film on the bottom of the saucepan (about 3 minutes). This dries the dough so the puffs will be crisp. With a rubber spatula, scrape the dough into a large bowl. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Continue to beat until smooth – about 2 minutes more.
In a deep heavy saucepan or deep fryer, heat about 3 inches of oil until the temperature reaches 375° F on a deep frying thermometer or until a small bit of the dough dropped into the oil sizzles and turns brown in 1 minute. With a tablespoon, scoop up a rounded spoonful of batter and with another spoon, carefully push the dough into the oil so that it doesn’t splash. Continue to add the dough by the spoonfuls without crowding the pan. The dough will puff up and double in size to do not add too many at one time or they will stick together. Cook, turning them often, until the dough breaks open – about 4 minutes. Continue to cook 1 to 2 minute more or until crisp and golden brown. Remove the fritters with a slotted spoon or skimmer and place them on paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining dough. Let cool slightly.
With a small knife, split fritter partway open. Spoon the cream inside, allowing it to show through the split. Press a cherry half into the cream and sprinkle with pistachios (optional). (If it is not St. Joseph’s Day, you can just shake these, without the filling in a bag with confectioners’ sugar and serve like donuts).
Dust the sfingi with confectioners’ sugar. These are best right after they are made. Makes 12
Asparagus & Prosciutto Rolls
INGREDIENTS
18 Thick & Trimmed Asparagus Spears
2 Teaspoons Salt
6 Slices Imported Italian Prosciutto (such as Prosciutto di Parma)
4 Ounces Fontina Cheese – Cut Into Thin Slices
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter – Melted
Freshly Ground Pepper
Bring about 2 inches of water to a boil in a large shallow pan. Add the asparagus and salt. Cook until the asparagus are partially tender when pierced with a fork (about 4 minutes – depending on their thickness). Do NOT overcook. Drain the asparagus and rinse them under cool water. Pat dry with paper towels.
Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter a large baking dish. Make 6 bundles of 3 asparagus each. Wrap a slice of prosciutto around the center of each bundle. Place the bundles in the baking dish. Lay the pieces of cheese on top of the prosciutto. Brush the butter over the asparagus. Sprinkle with pepper. Bake 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the asparagus are tender. Serve hot. Serves 6
