No-Knead Focaccia Bread

This bread was so good and SO easy!  You just mix up a dough- more like a batter, but it uses yeast, and then spread the very wet dough into a 9x13 using a rubber spatula.  I live in a very humid climate, and both times I made this, I found that I did not need the whole amount of water called for.  The dough was very wet and loose even that way; if I had used the whole amount of water, I don't think this recipe would have worked.  So, just eyeball the amount of water- the dough is supposed to be wet, but not a puddle.  Lol. 

This is so quick, it literally took me about 5 minutes to mix up and spread into the pan.  It has a short rising time, too, and while it's rising, you mix up the topping.  The recipe calls for quick-rising yeast, but I only had regular on hand, and that worked fine.  The first time I made this, I had to leave the house for about 45 minutes, so it rose that whole time, and worked perfectly.  The second time I made this, I only let it rise for about 30 minutes and it was great that way too.  This recipe is so good and easy- I may never make "regular" focaccia again!  I think this would make a perfect meal with some Tomato-Basil Soup and a salad.

No-Knead Focaccia Bread
adapted from Home Cooking with Sonya

Bread:
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour (can use 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour)
1 envelope yeast (2-1/4 tsp) (active dry OR quick-rising)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3-4 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1-2/3 cup warm water- may not use all of this- I used a little over 1 cup

Topping:
2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2- 3/4 teaspoon dried onion or onion powder
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional (I did not use this)

1.  In a large bowl, add flour, sugar, salt and yeast.  While mixing, slowly pour in 2 tablespoons olive oil and warm water. Just add water until a wet, sticky dough is formed.  You may not need all the water.  Start with about 1 cup.  Mix until all ingredients are well combined. Transfer dough to a well greased 13x9 inch pan. Spread dough with a rubber spatula. Cover and let rise for 30 mins in a warm spot. (Make sure your plastic wrap has been lightly sprayed with nonstick spray so that the dough doesn't stick to it.)

2.  In a small bowl, combine seasonings and cheese. Set aside.

3.  After the first rise, poke holes in the dough with either lightly floured fingertips or a greased wooden spoon handle. Drizzle with remaining 1-2 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkles spice and cheese mixture evenly over the top. Allow dough to rise again for 15-30 minutes.

4.  While dough is rising the second time, preheat oven to 375 F or (190 C) and bake for 15-25 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack for 5-10 mins. 

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Homemade Almond Joy

Maybe I should have titled this post "What Not To Do.... When Making Homemade Almond Joys."  These would have turned out sooo well, had I just followed the directions.  (They still tasted good, just looked funky!!)  Instead, I thought I was being all smarty-pants by mixing up the coconut filling the night before and sticking it in the fridge.  That way, I thought, it'll be ready for me in the morning when I have more time!  Well.... bad idea, folks!  Even though I stuck the filling in an airtight container, it dried out and hardened pretty bad.  It was really hard to form the little "logs".  I tried adding some moisture as I was forming the logs, but it didn't really help.  They were crumbling in my hands! 

I still pressed forward, though, even though I probably should have just stopped and called it good.  Trying to dip them was just a joke... as you can see from the photo above, I only got one "good" one, out of the batch, and it's not even that good, lol!  I was getting frustrated by trying to do the rest, so I just glopped chocolate on top of the rest of the logs. 

But, I'm still putting this on my blog, because I'm sure if you follow the directions (from one of my fave bloggers, Joy the Baker), these will turn out great!  The "dough", when I first made it, was moist and perfect.  Plus, I spent quite a while on these and I liked how the pics turned out!  ;)  I need to document these!  I made this whole recipe wearing my baby on my back in my Boba baby carrier- my newest carrier, and I love it! 

PS:  Since the dippage went awry, I had a lot of leftover chocolate.  I stored it in an airtight container on the counter for a few days, and when I felt up to it, decided to make it into something else.  I took it, coconut chunks and all, and re-melted it with some peanut butter.  Then I filled tiny mini wax (or foil) muffin cups (the size of a mini Reeses pb cup) with the mixture.  The result- homemade, EASY, pb 'cups'.  They were very popular and gone in no time!  I thought I had the recipe here on my blog but I can't find it.  There's a pic of them here though (the gold foil ones).

Homemade Almond Joy
adapted from Joy the Baker

7 ounces sweetened condensed milk

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

pinch of salt

2 1/2 cups unsweetened flaked coconut

30 almonds

about 20 ounces (a bag and a half) of good quality semi sweet chocolate chips

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, spread raw almonds onto a baking sheet and toast for about 8-10 minutes. Don't let them get too brown.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

2.  In a medium bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Stir in the unsweetened coconut. The mixture will be thick; I used my Kitchenaid. Place mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes. It’s easier to work with if it’s a little cold, but not too long- it will get too hard and dry out.

3.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the coconut mixture from the fridge. With clean hands, shape one tablespoon of coconut into a little log about 2 inches long and 3/4-inch thick. Press the logs together very well so they don’t crack when dipped. Place the log on the lined baking sheet and continue until all of the coconut mixture is gone. Rinse hands occasionally if they get too sticky. Press an almond on top of each coconut log.  It's ok if it does not completely stick. Place the baking sheet in the fridge to chill while you melt the chocolate.

4.  Place a medium pot with two inches of water over a medium flame. Bring the water to a simmer. Place chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl and place the bowl over the simmering water (a homemade double boiler). Stir the chocolate as it melts. Turn off the flame once the chocolate has melted but keep the bowl of melted chocolate over the hot water.

5.  Remove the coconut candies from the fridge. Place one coconut almond log on a fork. Use a spoon to scoop a bit of chocolate over the almond. This will help the almond stick to the candy and not fall off during dipping. Lower fork into chocolate and spoon chocolate over candy to coat. Lift fork and gently shake to release some of the chocolate. Scrape the bottom of the fork along the side of the bowl and place on the lined baking sheet. You might need a toothpick to help get the candy off the fork. Repeat until all candy is coated in chocolate. If chocolate gets thick, just turn on the flame and heat slightly.

6.  Let dipped candy harden in the fridge for 45 minutes. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. If you need to layer the candy in a container, use waxed paper to separate the layers.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/**/

Mt. Pico at Sunset

I've already shared pictures of Mt. Pico at sunrise; now, here are some sunset pictures.  (Mt. Pico, which is on another Azorean island, can be seen here hiding behind the clouds.  It's a super tall volcanic peak.)  I wish I could make these larger, but then they overlap the sidebar stuff and get all weird. 

Sometimes I forget what a beautiful place this is.  It helps when the sun comes out, which it has been doing, lately.  Darn it all, I really wish I could make these pictures larger- they are so beautiful!  :)  Click on them for a close-up.  My husband took these pictures a few months ago when we were out for a drive.  We ended up going to a restaurant for dinner on the way home because everyone was hungry and we were still too far from home.  The power ended up going out as we were eating, so we got to eat by candlelight, and the kids LOVED it!  They still talk about it and ask if we can go to that restaurant "where the power went out".

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Coconut Tres Leches Hot Chocolate

It's still hot-chocolate weather, off and on, over here.  We do get many gorgeous, sunny days where it's close to 70 degrees (F), but I can still find an excuse for hot chocolate whenever I want it.  :)  Today, for instance, it's cold and rainy outside.

The use of coconut milk makes this smooth and silky.  Full-fat coconut milk is all I can find here, so I'm sure that helped with the silkiness.  I'm sure this would be just as delicious with light coconut milk.  Trader Joe's used to make a delicious, and cheap ($.99!) light coconut milk.  Not sure if they still carry it, but I loved it! 

This was too rich for us to drink it all right away, so I refrigerated the rest and warmed it up the next day, and it was just as good.  Oh, also, some cocoa powder lumps never really incorporated fully (even with severe whisking!), so I set a small strainer over the mugs as I was pouring it out.  This caught all of the lumps.

Coconut Tres Leches Hot Chocolate
adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe
Makes 4, 1-cup servings

2 cups milk (anything from fat-free to whole milk)
1 (14-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk, light or regular
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk (about 1/2 of a 14-ounce can)
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1.  In a medium saucepan, combine the regular milk, coconut milk and sweetened condensed milk, whisking well to combine. Bring the mixture to a low simmer over medium-low heat, stirring constantly so the mixture doesn’t scorch on the bottom of the pan. Once simmering, whisk in the cocoa powder until the mixture is smooth.

2.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Serve. 

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Strawberry Avocado Salad

This is a lovely spring salad.  Local strawberries are not in season here yet, and won't be until about June, (and only then for a few weeks), but I'm content with imported ones to get my strawberry fix.  I love strawberries, and we get pretty good ones from Spain over here.  The local organic farm has fresh baby spinach once again, so we picked some up last Saturday and actually had this salad as an item on our St. Patrick's Day menu!  :) 

This salad is easy, pretty, delicious, quite healthy, and it's also vegan!  The vinaigrette takes no time at all to whip up.  The original recipe calls for fresh lime juice, but I only had lemons on hand, so I used those. 

Strawberry Avocado Salad
adapted from The Flourishing Foodie
Makes 4 salads- Recipe easily cut in half

4 cups baby spinach
1 avocado, diced
2 cups strawberries, halved
2 - 3 shallots, sliced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lime OR lemon juice
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
cracked pepper
1/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds

1. In a large serving bowl, add the spinach and top with avocado, strawberries, and shallots.

2. In a small jar with a lid, combine the olive oil, lime juice, sugar, mustard, salt, and pepper. Cover and shake.

3. Drizzle the dressing over the salad, and sprinkle on the almonds.

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Spring Is Here!!

I know I just made St. Patty's cupcakes and all, but I wanted to make something for the first day of Spring, and these light lemony cupcakes came to mind.  (Plus, I gave some of them away!)  I use this as a base recipe (and omit the lemon) for my go-to vanilla cupcake recipe.  I've started to use plain Greek yogurt in place of sour cream, and I absolutely love that change- it makes for lighter, fluffier cupcakes.  Today, though, I had to use up some sour cream, since I have a ton on hand and it needs used.  These are good both ways- I love this recipe!  Make sure to use fresh lemon juice and zest if you make the lemon version of these.

Lemon Cream Cupcakes
adapted from Allrecipes.com
Makes about 15 cupcakes

Cupcakes:
1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream OR plain Greek yogurt

Frosting:

1/4 cup butter, softened

3-1/3 cups confectioners' sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest

 milk, to thin, if needed

1.  Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line muffin cups with paper liners.  In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and yolk, one at a time. Add lemon zest and vanilla; mix well. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream or yogurt (batter will be thick). Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups with about 1/4 cup of batter. Bake for 15-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

2.  For frosting, cream butter and sugar in a small mixing bowl. Add lemon juice, vanilla, lemon peel and milk if needed; beat until smooth.  Frost cupcakes.  (I piped it onto cupcakes with a 1M Wilton tip).

              

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Georgian Cheese Bread

This delicious bread recipe is from the country, not the US State, of Georgia.  :)  It was sooo delicious and pretty easy to make, too, especially if you are familiar with yeast breads.  The dough was silky and smooth and easy to work with.  It has a long, slow rise (2-3 hours), so you can get it started early in the afternoon and go on with your day. 

Since the traditional cheese used to make this (sulguni) is not really easy to come by in most places, the recipe calls for a mix of Havarti and Mozzarella cheeses. 

I doubled this recipe so we could have two delicious khachapuris.  I was glad I did- the whole family loved this.  I drastically reduced the cheese on this recipe and it was still plenty cheesey.  Each loaf was supposed to have 4 oz. of each kind of cheese, making 8 oz. total per loaf.  That would have been a ton!  I shredded the cheeses, mixed them together, and then measured out 5 oz. for each loaf.  It seemed to be the perfect amount.  (The leftover shredded cheese was used for our Pi Day Pizza a few days later). 

Georgian Cheese Bread (Khachapuri)
Adapted from Gourmet
Makes one loaf; easily doubled

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (a 1/4-ounce package)

7 tablespoons warm water (105-115°F)

1 2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, divided

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 1/2 ounces shredded Havarti cheese

2 1/2 ounces shredded salted mozzarella

1 teaspoon butter, melted

1.  Sprinkle yeast over warm water and stir in 1 tablespoon flour. Let stand until foamed and creamy, about 5 minutes. (If yeast does not activate, start over with new yeast.)  Stir together salt and remaining flour in a large bowl, then stir in egg and yeast mixture to form a dough.

2.  Turn out dough onto a well-floured surface and turn to coat with flour, then knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. (I mixed & kneaded with my Kitchenaid).  Form into a ball and dust with flour. Let dough rest in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap, punching down with a wet fist every hour, at least 2 hours and up to 3.

3.  Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle.  Turn out dough onto floured pizza pan, turning to coat, then flatten with your fingers into a 7-inch disk.

4.  Toss together cheeses and press into a compact 3-inch ball with your hands. Place ball in middle of dough, then gather dough up around ball of cheese, squeezing excess dough into a topknot. Press down on topknot with a damp fist to press cheese out from center. Continue to flatten dough and distribute cheese evenly, pressing outward from center, until dough is an 11-inch disk.

5.  Cut a 6-inch X through top of dough to expose cheese. Bake until pale golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Brush surface of dough with butter and bake until golden and cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes more.  Serve cut into wedges.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day (tomorrow)!  I made these little cuppy-cakes to celebrate.  They're filled with a kind of mint ganache (it has powdered sugar though.... is that still ganache?) and topped with minty cream cheese frosting.  I cut the recipe in half, including the frosting.  I made the full amount of filling, though.  Anyway, this recipe makes a TON of frosting.  I had so much leftover.  It made twice as much as I needed.  That's ok, because I took a package of Maria Cookies and made sandwich cookies out of them, being verrrrrry generous with the frosting.  Then I added some ganache to them, too.  I tried to drizzle extra ganache over top of the frosted cupcake, but I couldn't get it to look good, so I just stopped.

The cupcake recipe is the one on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa box.  You can probably just use your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe.

Chocolate Andes Mint Cupcakes
adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe
half-recipe.... makes 12-15 cupcakes

Cupcakes:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons HERSHEY’S Cocoa
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup boiling water

Chocolate Mint Filling:
1/2 cup chocolate chips
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/3 cup powdered sugar

Mint Buttercream:
1/2 cup (1 stick; 8 tablespoons) butter, softened to room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoons peppermint extract
Green food coloring
12-15 Andes mints for garnish

1.  For the cupcakes, preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin cups with paper baking cups. In a large bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; using a handheld electric mixer or an electric stand mixer, beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water. The batter will be very thin. Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full and bake for 12-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs. Remove cupcakes from muffin tin and let cool completely on a wire rack.

2.  For the mint filling, while the cupcakes are baking, place the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a double boiler (I make my own w/a pan and heat-proof bowl) over barely simmering water. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth.  Stir in the peppermint extract and powdered sugar, whisking until smooth. Let the mixture cool to room temperature (but don’t let it get too stiff) and pour it into a squeeze bottle or a piping bag (it helps to place the bag, point down, in a tall glass while filling).  When the cupcakes are cool, insert the tip of the squeeze bottle into the center of the cupcake and press gently to fill the middle of the cupcake with the mint ganache.

3.  For the frosting, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add the heavy cream and peppermint and vanilla extracts. Beat until light and fluffy. Add green food coloring until the color you like is achieved.
Frost the cooled, filled cupcakes with frosting (using a piping bag & large star tip, like Wilton 1M) or simply spread the frosting in a large dollop with a butter knife or flat spatula. Garnish with an unwrapped Andes mint and a drizzle of leftover ganache, if desired.  Refrigerate until serving.

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Pi Day 2012!

We've celebrated another Pi Day!  Along with our usual Key Lime Pie, we had a Fruit Pizza Tart (Pie?), as requested by my husband.  For the crust/base, I used this recipe, just pressed into my tart pan.  I topped it with a Mascarpone frosting and it was sooo good!  I was also able to find fresh blueberries that actually tasted good.  (Thanks, Holland!)

Mascarpone Filling/Frosting

by What A Dish!

1/3-1/2 cup Mascarpone cheese, to taste

2 Tablespoons sour cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

splash milk

splash lemon juice

1.  Mix ingredients together until smooth.  Spread over baked & cooled tart crust.  Top with fresh fruit.

We also enjoyed pizza, of course!!  We had copycat Pizza Hut Pan Pizza- a family favorite.  I made one 9x13 size and one in my 10-inch cast-iron skillet.  Definitely good times!!

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Day in the Big City

Well, as "big" as any city can be here on this tiny island, anyway.  On my mom's last day visiting here, my husband took the day off.  While the big kids were in school, my mom, my husband, my baby and I walked around the largest city here.  It was a beautiful, beautiful day.  Sunny and warm.  Here are some shots from that day.
I love the blue church, above.  I don't know exactly what is going on with the building in the picture below, but it looks cool.

I love marinas.  They're so beautiful.  Maybe it's all the boats lined up and the ocean beyond (although, you can't see the ocean in this pic). 

We visited this bakery.  It's one I had heard a lot about, but hadn't ever found before.  Well, we finally found it!  We didn't buy anything though, because we were on our way to lunch at our favorite restaurant on the island. (Will post about that later- what a gem!)  Anyway, we will have to go back to this bakery ASAP and take the kids.  I love how the pic shows all the typical Portuguese pastries, especially on the top level.  They have a TON of little tarts and are heavy on the egg usage.  Actually, this bakery is the one who supplied the pastries I talked about at this festival.  (PS:  That's my arm in the right side of the photo!  Scandal!)

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com **

Homemade Yeast Raised Doughnuts

We had homemade doughnuts at our house!!!  While my mom was here visiting, we were talking about fun things we could make.  We were going to try making Churros, but we also wanted to try doughnuts, and since we could only allow so much deep-frying to go on, we had to pick one.  Donuts seemed a bit friendlier to make, so we chose those.  They were SO FUN!!

While I was taking care of the baby, my mom mixed up the dough.  She did it by hand, but I bet it would mix up wonderfully in a stand mixer, as well.  Then we had to go somewhere, so the dough rose nicely in the oven (a cold oven with the oven light turned on) for about 2 hours.  When we got back, we punched it down, rolled it out, and cut the doughnuts.  Since I don't have a doughnut cutter, we used a large drinking glass, and for the hole in the middle, we used the top of a sprinkles bottle.  :)  (And took the shaker top out, of course).  A few days ago, I ordered this from Amazon, so I'll have appropriate cutters next time.  Not that I forsee myself making doughnuts very often, but I do want to try old-fashioned cake ones next.  :)

The doughnuts had to rise again after cutting, and then it was time to fry.  Frying was not nearly as scary as I imagined.  The oil remained calm.  :)  It went pretty smoothly.  These fry fast!  Don't let them get too brown.  We did, at first, but they still tasted good.

This was only the second time either of us had ever made doughnuts.  The first time was also together, about 15 years ago!!  In high school (I think it was during HS; I actually can't remember) we made doughnuts together once.  I think my sister also helped.  It was fun back then, too.  I remember making a ton back then.  This recipe made about 16 or so, which was perfect for us.  We all ate some fresh, and then had enough for breakfast the next day.  Unfortunately, my daughter was keeping a health log for Health class last week.  Darn it.  "Homemade glazed doughnut" isn't the healthiest breakfast, but at least she had milk, too! 

PS: Make the glaze listed with the recipe... it's so good!  I think it's a bit unusual for a glaze, using butter and all, but it's delicious! 

Homemade Yeast Raised Doughnuts
adapted from Allrecipes

2 (.25 ounce) envelopes active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)

1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1/3 cup shortening (we used organic- no trans fats)

5 cups all-purpose flour

1 quart vegetable oil for frying (we needed about double this to make the oil deep enough)

1/3 cup butter

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

4 tablespoons hot water, or as needed

1.  Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water, and let stand for 5 minutes, or until foamy.               

2.  In a large bowl, mix together the yeast mixture, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups of the flour.  Mix for a few minutes at low speed, or stirring with a wooden spoon.  Beat in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl.  Knead for about 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic.  Place the dough into a greased bowl, and cover.  Set in a warm place to rise until double.  Dough is ready if you touch it, and the indention remains.  (An hour and a half to two hours should do the trick). 

3.  Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and gently roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a floured doughnut cutter, and place on large floured cutting boards, if desired.  If you use the cutting boards, it is easier to transport the doughnuts over to the hot oil to fry.  Let doughnuts sit out to rise again until double. Cover loosely with a cloth, if desired.  We did without the cloth.

4.  Make the Glaze: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in hot water one tablespoon at a time until the icing is somewhat thin, but not watery. Set glaze aside.              

5.  Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large heavy pot to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). (Oil should be about 2 inches deep, or so.  We needed much more than one quart.)  Carefully slide doughnuts into the hot oil using a wide spatula. Turn doughnuts over as they rise to the surface or turn golden brown on the bottom.  (Large tongs work well for flipping).  Fry doughnuts on each side until golden brown. Remove from hot oil, to drain on a wire rack.  (A wooden or metal skewer works well for removing doughnuts from oil).  Dip doughnuts into the glaze while still hot, and set onto wire racks to drain off excess. Keep a cookie sheet or tray under racks for easier clean up.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com **

German Rouladen

It's fun having my mom here visiting, and I especially love it when she cooks for us!  A few days ago, she made a special German dish;  Beef Rouladen.  In Germany (and even here!) one can buy special Rouladen beef- it's cut thin and long and is meant for this dish.  If you live Stateside or another place where Rouladen beef is unavailable, you can use a tougher cut of meat, such as round steak or flank steak, sliced very thinly (I'd ask your butcher, instead of trying to do this yourself!).  It needs to be thin and long enough to be rolled around some other ingredients. 

This dish is so good and flavorful.  It's great with mashed potatoes.  The gravy you can make with this is wonderful!  This was so delicious!

German Rouladen
from my Mom
Serves 6

6 thinly sliced pieces of beef, such as round or flank steak (or Rouladen meat if you can find it) about 1/4-inch thick, and about 7-8 inches long
salt and pepper, to taste
Dijon mustard, to taste
6 slices bacon
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
1 large dill pickle, sliced into 6 long wedges
oil, for browning
1 can (14.5 oz) can reduced-sodium beef broth
flour & water slurry for thickening, if desired

1.  For each Rouladen, lay the steak out onto a clean cutting board or plate.  Sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste.  Spread mustard on in a thin layer, covering the whole Rouladen.  Lay the bacon on top of the Rouladen, length-wise.  Lay a wedge of onion and a wedge of pickle on the Rouladen, width-wise.  Roll up each Rouladen and secure with a wooden toothpick. 

2.  Heat oil in one or two skillets.  Brown Rouladens, and then pour in the broth.  (If using two pans, divide the broth between them).  Bring broth to a simmer and cover, cooking for 90 minutes.  Turn Rouladens over once or twice during the cooking time.

3.  If desired, thicken juices to make gravy.  Combine flour and cold water in a small jar and shake to combine.  Whisk mixture into hot broth and cook until thickened.  (If using two pans to cook Rouladen, combine the juices into one pan for ease).

4.  Serve Rouladen covered with gravy.

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Lemon Crinkles

It seems like I never have time to blog anymore!  I made these cookies weeks ago.  They were very good- simple, but full of flavor with a great texture.  I love anything lemon.  I used my smallest cookie scoop to form these and it produced tiny, perfect cookies. 

My mom is visiting and we're having fun cooking, and playing with baby.  :) 

Lemon Crinkles
adapted from Mels Kitchen Cafe
Makes about 2-3 dozen

1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1-2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, from about 1/2 lemon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly coat with cooking spray.

2.  In a large bowl, (I used my Kitchenaid), cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, egg, lemon zest and juice and mix well, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the dry ingredients (except the powdered sugar) and mix until just combined. Place the powdered sugar in a large plate or shallow pie dish. Roll tablespoon-size balls of dough in the powdered sugar to coat. Place on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.

3.  Bake the cookies for 7-11 minutes. The cookies will not be browned on the edges but they will have lost a bit of their shininess on top. Do not overbake! Cool the cookies on a cooling rack and store in an airtight container, or eat immediately.

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