You Voted: I Made....well.....

There was a tie, so I asked a friend (BB) to break the tie.  The Roasted chicken, Brie, and Pear Panini won.


Since I am now hooked on cooking/baking and purchased some new tools, I thought maybe I should start at the beginning of a sandwich - the bread.
After a quick search of the internet, I found that there are two breads that are recommended/used in many of the panini recipes I found: ciabatta or foccacia.  It seems foccacia  would be the easiest bread for a beginner-bread-maker, so I set about searching for a good basic recipe.

Not having a bread book for basics (I have bread books for sweet breads like pumpkin and zucchini) I looked online and decided on Easy Foccacia Recipe because of the added flavor from the recipe. Now for the tools ....I put a bread/pizza peel and plastic 6-qt lidded container in my shopping cart...then I talked to a friend who makes bread and to my surprise he told me I had everything I needed :)


Today's players:
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 (.25 ounce) pkg  instant yeast
1 1/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese


After determining the difference between instant yeast and active yeast (subtract 1/4 liquid from the recipe, since you need 1/4 cup water/liquid to proof the active dry yeast (ady), I combine the 2 different flours in the bottom of my kitchen aid mixer and made a well.  I then put the yeast and sugar in the well, pouring  the 1 1/3 cup water (minus the 1/4 cup for the yeast difference) on top.  Let stand for 5 minutes to allow the yeast to proof.  Before stirring, pour 1 1/2 tbsp into the well. Stir with a wooden spoon starting in the middle and working outwards to pick up all the flour in the bowl.  Cover and allow to rise/double for 30-45 minutes.


Have a snack, do some laundry, go back and look - it didn't double :(


So I set about looking for a recipe that uses ady to start with instead of messing with the conversion again.


I found this recipe from Bobby Flay Fabulous Focaccia Recipe


I started with putting the ady yeast to the (cleaned) bowl of my stand mixer and then adding in the warm water and sugar.  I waited 3 minutes and no bubbles :(


I received a method from a fellow bread maker (WL) to try proofing the yeast, so I will try that tomorrow.


Sadly the only bread I had in the house was plain old regular white bread....not what I want for a panini....so I will have the husband pick up some wheat bread on his way home tomorrow.


note: I was informed before dinner that my husband abhors brie, so I will be making the panini with fontina cheese when it gets made.

Just thinkin

Timbuk2 Bags - Hidden Tote - Recycled PET Fabric  as I am out and about and need to get groceries I remembered this bag.  It will take up far less space in my purse thank my current reusable bag with the plastic bottom.  And the fact that it's made from recycled PET is just icing on the cake...mmmmmmmmmmm cake

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(Un)necessary Tools/Toys

Thanks to a friend *cough* mentioning composting ..... I am trying to invest non-Christmas money on a compost pail for the kitchen and a composter so that I can avoid any future disposal issues while making sure the intestinal system of my dog doesn't put my husband and I in the poor house.

Now if I can just convince the husband the items are worth the cost.

Apples and Oranges and Pork....Oh My!

$200 and an admonition from my plumber later,  I'm back to cooking :)

My husband requested a break from chicken after last week's two chicken trials so I'm tackling a pork roast today. I started with the Orange-Apple Pork Roast recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Simple Slow Cooker Recipes  and improvised :)

The ingredients

Today's players:
1 2-2.5 lb pork loin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp cooking oil - I used veg oil
1 16 oz bag baby carrots
1/2 of medium white onion - diced
1 1/2 cups applesauce
1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate- thawed
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp quick cooking tapioca
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme - crushed

1.  Trim fat (if any) from meat.  If necessary the meat to fit into 3 1/2 or 4 quart slow cooker base.  Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper on all sides (I had originally planned on using McCormick®'s Roasting Rub - Savory Herb, but I got a late start and forgot). In a large skillet , sear the meat on all sides then transfer to crock.  Add the carrots (and onion) on top.

Before turning the crockpot on

2.  In a bowl combine applesauce (I used chunky), orange juice concentrate, tapioca, thyme, and water.

3. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or high for 4 to 5 hours.

4.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat and carrots to a serving dish.  Spoon some of the juice over the the pork and carrots.

The final tasty product

The pork was a touch dry and my husband complained that the carrots were not cooked long enough, but I like them with a little crunch to them.  All in all a good dish :)

I put the remaining orange juice concentrate in an ice cube tray and put it back in the freezer for future use :)

Beef, Bean, and Pasta Soup

I just recently found Rachael Ray's show Week in a Day and this recipe looked fantastic...Hearty and Healthy 3 Bean Minestrone but my husband requested I add some meat to the soup.   So decided to add 1 lb of 92% lean ground beef to the recipe which made me think of Olive Garden's® Paste E Fagioli (which I absolutely LOVE.  quite remarkable since I'm not a big soup person).

Wow, what a big cooking day for me!!  3 out of 4 burners were used as was the oven!!

Since I (somehow) only have one sheet pan - a situation that I plan to remedy very soon - I started roasting the 24 tomatoes at 10 am on my one pan.

I set the oven to 500 and had my coffee while I waited for it to pre-heat and drained 2 15oz-can each red kidney, garbanzo and cannelini beans and put them in a bowl.  I then arranged 24 the tomatoes and 24-odd cloves of garlic on the pan and drizzled the whole thing with extra virgin olive oil.

I roasted the tomatoes for 40 minutes (my oven is a little off with the temperature, so I always add time to recipes).  While they were roasting I emptied 8 cups (2 boxes) of chicken stock into a stock pot on my front right burner (1).  I tied together a couple sprigs of thyme, rosemary, and parsely and tossed them into the pot. I followed that with 1 onion, peeled and quartered, 2 stalks of celery (halved), and 2 carrots (halved), two dried bay leaves, and the rinds of two chunks of parmesan cheese; I simmered the stock for 1 hour.

I added some extra virgin olive oil to a skillet on my front right burner (2)  and then added 6 slices of prosciutto and 1/2 of a medium-large onion and cooked it until the onion was just translucent.
I moved the onion-prosciutto mixture to my crockpot base and put my 1 lb of 92% lean ground beef to the skillet; cooking it until it was just brown and turned the burner off.

I decided to use Barilla's® Ditalini pasta for the soup, so I boiled 4 qts of water on my back left burner (3) and cooked the little tubes for 10 minutes. While the pasta was cooking I poured the beans on top of the prosciutto-onion mixture. Next I added 2 carrots and 2 stalks of celery, cut into slices diagonally to the crock.  I turned the pasta off and drizzled some extra virgin olive oil over the top and stirred...to keep the pasta separated.  By this point the aroma from the stock is amazing.

At this point I realized that my 4 qt crockpot wouldn't hold the recipe which I foolishly decided to to double on my first try.  So I rescue the stock pot from the sink and do my best to split the broth, vegetables, and beans between the crock pot and the stockpot.  I remove the now roasted tomatoes from the oven - noting that next time I don't need as much olive oil. I split the pasta, beef, and roasted tomato/garlic between the two pots.  Then I realized I was supposed to remove the skins from the tomatoes before adding them to the pot....lucky for me all the tomatoes are still on top :)

After removing the skins I stir both pots, making sure to bring the beans up from the bottom and set them to simmer for 1 hour. (Turned the crock pot onto it's "Low/8 hr" setting.)

Looking back at the original recipe, I wasn't supposed to add the pasta to the soup pot and then cook...I was supposed to add the pasta to the soup when I serve it.  So it was ok for tonight's meal, but will probably be beyond mushy tomorrow.

Disappointing result: the soup, while filling, had little to no flavor :(  Maybe I should have sprinkled salt and pepper on the tomatoes before roasting.

So my lesson from this meal is whenever trying something new, don't double it :)  And I discovered that I need a REAL roasting pan and a 8+ quart stockpot.