D'Artagnan is one cool beek

Cooking again... Mexican Lasagna

I found this on Pioneer Woman's site, but I must warn you....  scale the recipe back.  You can feed the Duggar family with this as written!  Here's the link, photos to follow:
Pastor Ryan's Mexican Lasagna

When I have photos, I will tell you how it tastes, too!

Happy Memorial Day weekend, and thanks to all the veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, and to all the heroes that continue to sacrifice for us.

 

As promised, here is a photo of the finished dish.  The hubs and I each tried it, garnished with sour cream and our favorite hot sauce and we hereby declare it YUMMY!  And really...  it's in a pan that covers most of my stove top, and will easily slice into 25 or more servings.

Pretzel Rolls!

I always look forward to picking up pretzel rolls from the Bread Basket Bakery when I visit my Dad in Sierra Vista, AZ.  Unfortunately, they don't travel well and there is no Bread Basket in Lake Worth, Florida.  I have been threatening to learn to make these myself for some time now.  Finally, I have made a batch.  The recipe below is Alton Brown's, and I made a couple modifications.  First, I used unbleached whole wheat flour.  I like the effect, but I will probably stick with white flour for the next batch.  Second, as you can see from the photo, I did not twist my dough into pretzel shapes.  I divided the dough into 16 balls for rolls.  Next time, I will divide into 12 balls for larger rolls.  Hubby approves just the way they worked out, but IMHO he is somewhat biased. 

1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt 

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam.

Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes.

Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan. (If you want rolls, divide into 12 to 16 balls at this point, instead of rolling out ropes.)

Place the pretzels  (or rolls) into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving. 

   

Easter Bunnies!

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Because you can't have Easter baskets without bunnies, I stitched together some softie bunnies from materials I had on hand.  I will post the finished baskets next.  Happy Easter, Everyone! 

Easy Ciabatta Bread

There is no excuse for not having fresh bread, especially if you are fond of those artisan loaves they charge so much for at the bread chains and supermarket bakeries.  I have made a few of these loaves now, and they are very popular in our house, so here goes:


Ciabatta Bread
1/4 tsp. yeast

2 cups warm water (tap warm is fine)
4 cups of flour (I use whole wheat, but use what you want)
1/2 tsp salt

In a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water, and swish it together.  Combine flour and salt and mix in with the yeasty water.  You should have a loose dough that is about halfway between batter and dough consistency.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel and leave in a warm (not hot) location for 8 - 12 hours.  After that period of time, your dough should have roughly doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 400F and prepare your pan.  A cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat works well.  Pour the dough out onto the pan and you should have an oblong shape.  Top with your choice of topping, such as herbs and grated cheese, or leave naked.  Feel free to be imaginative here.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until done.  Remove and let cool for at least ten minutes before slicing to prevent a collapse.  Enjoy!

(The two loaves pictured are from one batch.  I divided it so I could top them differently)

Lemon Rolls

Here is the link to the recipe for those wonderful lemon rolls I made a few days ago...  I substituted whole wheat flour, which made for a slightly heavy dough, but you can follow it exactly if you like.  The whole pan disappeared pretty quickly, so I would call it a success.  Get ready for LOADS of lemony flavor!

Sticky Lemon Rolls

Buffalo Macaroni and Cheese

Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and CheeseFood Network Magazine
7 Tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the dish
Kosher salt
1 pound elbow macaroni
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup Frank's Buffalo Wing Sauce, divided
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons dry mustard
2-1/2 cups half-and-half
1 pound extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
8 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded
2/3 cup sour cream
1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9 x 13 baking dish.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes.  Drain.

Meanwhile, melt 3 Tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and celery and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the chicken and garlic and cook 2 minutes, then add 1/2 cup hot sauce and simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 more minute.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in the flour and mustard with a wooden spoon until smooth.  Whisk in the half-and-half, then add the remaining 1/4 cup hot sauce and stir until thick, about 2 minutes.  Whisk in the cheddar and pepper jack cheeses, then whisk in the sour cream until smooth.

Spread half of the macaroni in the prepared baking dish, then top with the chicken mixture and the remaining macaroni.  Pour the cheese sauce evenly on top.  Put the remaining 2 Tablespoons butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave until melted.  Stir in the panko, blue cheese and parsley.  Sprinkle over the macaroni.  Bake until bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes.  Let rest 10 minutes before serving.  Drizzle with some wing sauce for color.

Garnish with even more wing sauce, blue cheese and sour cream if you like!

I used regular old seasoned breadcrumbs, and forgot to add the sour cream.  I will let you know the verdict from Hubby.

An Early Valentine

I am working this weekend and my love will be out of town, so we are celebrating the holiday of lover's today! My sweetie brought me some luscious yummies from a latin bakery, and some beautiful flowers.  

 

Not to be outdone, I whipped up a little something for him, too! I started by ordering really cool custom M&Ms candies and stitching together a little heart softie.

 

Then I swiped a great card idea from another crafter, and got to work customizing it just for my special guy. I started by making the base card from plain card stock.  It is made from two 4"x4" square pieces and four 4"x5" pieces.  The extra inch on the 4x5s makes for one inch hinges attached to a base square.  The second square covers the seams from the hinges.

Once you have the basic card assembled, embellish with patterned papers, charms, photos, ribbons, and the perfect message.  The origami heart on the front of the card is glued down over the ribbon tie which holds it in place nicely.