Banana Coconut Nut Muffins

Prepared by Jen

Recipe coming soon

Warming Up with Soup, Bread and Salad ...

Taste Tempters is bringing in the new year with a Soup, Bread and Salad theme. It's been below zero temperatures the last few days so what better way to bring in the new year with some warm soups, homemade bread and salad.

Our Menu for tonight:

• Pear Salad with Raspberry Cream Dressing
• Cheddar French Bread
• Olive-Rosemary Dinner Rolls
• Baked Potato Soup
• Wonton Soup
• Chipotle Chicken and Tomato Soup
• Sweet Potato Soup

Recipes will be posted later this week!

Olive Rosemary Dinner Rolls

Prepared by Debbie

This Olive Rosemary Bread recipe is from one my favorite food blogs, All That Splatters - be sure to check out this blog for the most scrumptious recipes!

Basic dough:
1 teaspoon dry active yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (240ml) lukewarm whole milk
2 ½ cups (350g) all purpose flour (I used bread flour)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Olive-Rosemary Dinner Rolls Ingredients:
1 quantity basic dough
generous 1/2 cup black olives
1-1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves
flour, for kneading
olive oil, for brushing

Preparation:
Place the yeast, sugar and milk in a bowl and mix to combine. Set aside in a warm place for 5 minutes or until bubbles appear on the surface.

Add the flour, salt and oil to the yeast mixture and mix until a smooth dough forms. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic, adding a little extra flour if the dough becomes too sticky. Cover with plastic wrap, set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Brush sixteen 1/2 cup (120ml) capacity pans with oil or cooking spray.

Press down the olives with the palm of your hand to remove the stones, then tear the olives into pieces. Knead the olives and rosemary leaves into the dough on a generously floured surface, incorporating extra flour to compensate for the wetness of the olives. Divide into 16 pieces and roll into balls. Place in prepared pans, cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 45 minutes or until the dough is doubled in size. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Brush with the oil and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

Makes 16
Note: "These reheat really well." (they really do!)

Cheddar French Bread

Prepared by Debbie

This is a variation of All That Splatter's Cheddar Jalapeno Bread...basically I prepared the recipe the same as hers except I eliminated the Jalapeno peppers and added a bit more cheddar cheese than what the recipe calls for.

Note: Don't let the preparation steps intimidate you - it looks more complicated than what it really is ... making bread is quite easy.

Ingredients:
3-1/2 cups bread flour
2-1/2 teaspoons (note: 1 packet of yeast is usually 2-1/4 teaspoons)
2 teaspoons salt
1-1/3 cups cold water, plus additional 1/3 cup cold water
4 ounces cheddar cheese
optional: 2 fresh jalapeno peppers, minced, or 4 tablespoons pickled jalapeno peppers, minced

Preparation:
Place the flour, yeast and salt in the bowl of the food process (I used my kitchen aid). Pulse to mix. Add 1-1/3 cups of water and process until the dough comes together. If the dough doesn't form a ball, add a little of the extra water. Process for about 60 seconds, turn off machine and let dough rest for 5 minutes.

Turn on the machine again and rotate the dough about 30 times under the cover, and then remove it to a lightly floured work surface. it should be fairly smooth and quite firm.

Let the dough rest for 2 minutes and then knead roughly and vigorously. The final dough should not stick to your hands as you knead (although it will stick if you pinch and hold a piece); it should be smooth and elastic and, when you hold it up between your hands and stretch it down, it should hold together smoothly.

Preliminary rise - 40 to 60 minutes at around 75°F. Place the dough into a clean dry bowl, (do not grease the bowl), cover with plastic wrap, and set in a warm place free from drafts. (Note the French do not grease the bowl because they believe the dough needs a seat to push up from.) This first rise is sufficient when the dough has definitely started to rise and is about 1-1/2 times its original volume.

Turn the dough onto your lightly floured work surface roughly and firmly pat and push it out into a 14-inch rectangle. Fold one of the long sides over toward the middle, and the other long side over to cover it, making a 3 layer cushion. Repeat the operation. This important step redistributes the yeast throughout the dough, for a strong second rise. Return the dough smooth side up the bowl; cover with plastic wrap and again set to rise.

Second rise in the bowl - about 1 to 1-1/2 hours or longer. The bread should be 2-1/2 to 3 times its original bulk. It is the amount of rise that is important here, not the timing. (very important step...this step took longer than the time indicated...about 2 hours..it depends on how warm your house is, etc.)

Cut the dough in half. Set one piece aside and cover with a towel. On a lightly floured work surface pat the dough into a 14-inch rectangle, squaring it up as evenly as you can. Distribute half of the cheese and the jalapenos (if using) and press lightly into dough. Lengthwise, roll dough up, pinching to seal the long edge and the ends. Curl the dough around itself, snail-like, pinching the end of the dough to the loaf. Flatten slightly. Repeat with other half of dough.

Last rise - Cover dough with plastic wrap or loosely with a towel and let rise to more than double again at about 75°f.

Place baking stone in oven and preheat oven to 500 F. Place on the hot stone. Immediately toss a number of ice cubes on to the bottom on the oven to create steam. Bake until bread is golden brown and has an interior temp of 200°F. Takes about 20 - 30 minutes.

Note on baking: I baked mine at 350 degrees for the first 10 minutes then turned the oven to 500 degrees and baked 15 more minutes. (I did this to prevent burning)

~Enjoy!

Cornbread

Recipe from Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, Prepared by Kelly

Ingredients:

* 1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 3/4 cup flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 cup buttermilk
* 2 eggs, slightly beaten
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
* 1/4 cup melted butter
* 2 tablespoons honey

Directions:

1. Set the oven at 350 degrees F, Grease an 8 by 8-inch baking pan with shortening. Pop the pan in the oven to heat while you're mixing up the corn bread.
2. Mix the cornmeal, sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
3. Whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and melted butter in another bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and give them a good stir, just til everything is moistened. Pull the hot greased pan from the oven and pour in the batter.
4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or til a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Take the corn bread out of the oven and brush the top with honey.
5. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan before cutting into squares.

Makes 9 servings

Irish Soda Bread

This is a cake-like soda bread. It is more like a scone.

Prepared By Debbie. Recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 pint sour cream
1 cup raisins

Preparation:
1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease two 8x4 inch loaf pans.
2.Mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, sour cream and raisins and mix until just combined. Distribute batter evenly between the two pans.
3.Bake loaves at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 1 hour.

Category: Irish Night, Carol's Place March 2008