quick bread

pumpkin bread

by Patricia on November 3, 2011 · 2 comments

pumpkin bread with walnuts and cranberries

Did you watch last night’s Top Chef? You know, the new one in Texas. I recorded it then watched it this afternoon. And while I usually love Top Chef, this episode left me feeling… well, a little annoyed.

I get that they wanted to make it bigger being in Texas and all that. But shouldn’t we be starting the real competition in episode 2? I mean, come on. Instead we get 2 hours of qualifying rounds. It feels like filler to me. Maybe I’m just annoyed because I didn’t get to see who all of the finalists will be.

Maybe I’m spoiled?
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buttermilk biscuits for the soul

by Patricia on February 2, 2010 · 38 comments

biscuits

As much as chicken soup is lauded as a cure for what ails you, and is perhaps the quintessential comfort food (it even has its own series of books for goodness sake), I’d like to disagree. You see, to me soup is fine when you have the flu and are eating mostly liquids, but when your soul needs soothing, soup is a little too light duty.

I had a severe case of the blahs last week. I felt uninspired, bloated, and a couple of shades of blargh. Holly Golightly would have called it the Mean Reds. Whatever you call it, you know it is not fun. So there I was, prostrate on my couch watching Pride and Prejudice for the 4th time in 3 days when I realized I needed to eat. I had a kitchen full of vegetables and fruits and healthy options but at that moment I wanted none of it. Ten in ’10 be damned, I wanted biscuits.
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sticky buns (easy like sunday morning)

by Patricia on November 28, 2009 · 7 comments

Sticky Buns

I know I’ve written about puff pastry before (see: chocolate croissants, and easy apple tart), but I wanted to give it props one more time. Some mornings, maybe you have the wherewithal to make pancakes or biscuits or pinwheels. Other mornings, you want something warm, flaky, and delicious but easy. That’s where puff pastry comes in. It’s so easy it’s theme song should be Easy by the Commodores… [now everybody sing it with me: that's why I'm eeeeasy, easy like Sunday morning].
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An intoxicating idea: beer bread

by Patricia on February 22, 2009 · 9 comments

The other day I was catching up on what other foodies had been up to lately and saw this post from Maggie at Dog Hill Kitchen: Beer Bread Experiments and some Bean Salad. Beer bread. Hmm. At first it just sounded interesting but I’d never had it before and the recipe looked super-easy so I could not shake the curiosity. Beer bread? How does it taste? What’s the texture? And then last night it won and I baked up my very first loaf of beer bread.
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I used the recipe Maggie linked to from Zesty Cook, and a can of Murphy’s Irish Stout. I only had 1 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour on hand, so I used a little more white flour to make up the missing 1/4 cup (so used 1 1/4 cup wheat and 1 3/4 cup white instead of 1 1/2 of each called for in the recipe).

The bread smell was intoxicating. Nutty, buttery, bready. And the flavor matches the smell. It has a complex flavor and is really crumbly… and especially wonderful slathered in butter. I like Maggie’s idea of experimenting with different beers so I will be trying this recipe again sometime soon with an ale or lager. It is the easiest bread I’ve ever made; even easier than the No Knead Bread though the results are a different style. But if you love fresh bread half as much as I do, I recommend trying Zesty Cook’s beer bread.

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Cocoa-nana breakfast of champions

by Patricia on February 22, 2009 · 1 comment

cocoa-nana bread for breakfast

Last night I decided to start baking around 11:45pm. I had been reading Baking: From My Home to Yours which was one of my birthday presents last week. Do you read cookbooks? I don’t read them cover-to-cover (usually) but I do enjoy meandering my way through a good cookbook (One of my favorite reads: The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper– it is well written and has some really wonderful recipes).

So… at quarter to midnight I decided to start baking Cocoa-nana bread from page 46. I did not, however, read the entire recipe before I started. If I had, I might have waited until today because the bread needed about 75 minutes to bake so I did not get to bed until almost 2am. But when I had a nice thick slice for breakfast this morning, it was completely worth it.

I had my slice with a little Greek-style yogurt and a cup of coffee (Isn’t that a cute mug? I found it at Target yesterday and tried to resist… ). But the real treat came this afternoon when I had a slice with raspberry jam. This bread is definitely chocolatey but not too sweet, and you get just a hint of the bananas. And with raspberry jam… perfection.

(Note: I didn’t have enough unsweetened cocoa so I substituted a good hot cocoa mix and reduced the sugar, being after midnight and all I didn’t feel like running out for more cocoa…)

Cocoa-Nana Bread
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan, Baking from My Home to Yours

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used about 1/3 cup unsweetened + 2/3 cup sweetened cocoa)
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar (I reduced this to about 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup good chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli bittersweet chips)

1. Place an oven rack in the center position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan and place on an insulated baking sheet. This will keep the bottom of the loaf from overcooking.
2. Sift the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda together in a large bowl.
3. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until softened (about 1 minute). Add in the sugars and beat for another 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat after each addition. The batter may look curdled, but that’s ok.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the bananas.
5. Now add the dry ingredients in 3 additions and barely mix until they are just mixed in. While on low speed, add in the buttermilk and mix until incorporated.
6. Stir in the chopped chocolate. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.
7. Bake for 30 minutes, then cover the bread loosely with foil tented over it.

(This is where, had I read it completely before starting, I would have chosen to bake this today instead of late last night…but by the time I read this far, I was committed…)

8. Now… bake for an additional 40-45 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and allow to cool for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edges to remove from the pan, and allow to cool to room temperature.

Enjoy this bread, but my recommendation is to start it a little earlier than midnight :)

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