Friday was another experiment day, but my dad's been in town, so this is the first chance I've had to blog about it. A while ago, I found a recipe for homemade soft pretzels. I wanted to try it, but at the time I didn't have enough time, and I kind of forgot about it after that. Anyway, I found it again last week, and I tried it, and it worked wonderfully. I do have a couple of hints that I should share, though.
#1--When you boil the pretzels, do so in a tall pot with a narrow opening. I boiled mine in a frying pan, and I think there was just too much room. I would recommend using a 2 quart sauce pan.
#2--Bake them until they turn kind of orangy-brown. I baked them as long as the recipe said to, and maybe my oven's not as hot as it says it is, because they were tan, but they didn't have the right texture for soft pretzels. I put them back in for a few minutes, and they came out looking over-done but tasting perfect.
So without further ado, here's the recipe!
Soft Pretzels
Makes 12-24 pretzels, depending on size
1-1/2 tbsp. yeast
2 c. warm water
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tbsp. salt
4-5 c. bread flour
4 t. baking soda
2 egg whites
coarse salt (for topping)
cinnamon-sugar (for topping)
Dissolve yeast in warm water and let stand for 10 minutes. Add sugar, salt, and flour and knead well, about 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl and let rise for about 45 minutes, or until double.
Divide into 12-24 pieces, depending on how big you want your pretzels. Roll into a long, narrow rope (about 18 inches) and twist into pretzel shape. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Combine 4 c. water and the baking soda in a 2 qt. saucepan and bring to a boil.
In a small bowl, combine egg whites and 2 tbsp. water.
Drop pretzels in baking soda water one at a time and boil for about one minute. Place on a rack to drain.
Brush tops of pretzels with egg white and top with either coarse salt or cinnamon sugar. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake at 450 degrees F. for 12 minutes, or until shiny and brown.
Original recipe came from Basic Food Preparation: A User's Guide, by Janet C. Stocks.
Monday, February 27
Tuesday, February 14
Another Wonderful Dinner Idea: Duca d'Alba (fillets of beef in mushroom sauce)
Just because Valentine's Day has come and gone doesn't mean it's too late to cook something special for the ones you love. I found a recipe for "Duca d'Alba" (fillets of beef in a mushroom sauce) in an old Great Recipes from Great Restaurants cookbook that my grandma gave me ages ago. It's from Frank Zani's French restaurant (though why the name of the recipe is Italian I'll never know), the "Villa Victor." I don't know if the place exists anymore, but this Duca d'Alba is fantastic.
The dinner was surprisingly simple to make. If I hadn't been trying to satisfy a hungry baby, folding fancy dinner napkins, and digging our China out of storage all at the same time, it would have been a very low-key dinner. I served our Duca d'Alba with mashed potatoes, because the sauce is an excellent gravy. The original recipe calls for 1/2 c. Madeira wine, but my husband and I are LDS, so I substituted diluted red wine vinegar and it tasted delicious. So, without further ado, here is the recipe!
Duca d'Alba
Serves 6
6-1/2 tbsp. butter
1-1/2 tbsp. flour
2 c. beef broth
6 fillets (steaks) of beef, cut 1-1/2 inches thick
1 lb. sliced mushrooms
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
1/4 c. red wine vinegar diluted with 1/4 c. water
1 shallot, chopped, or 2 tsp. chopped onions
Melt 1-1/2 tbsp. butter in a small saucepan; blend in 1-1/2 tbsp. flour until brown. Gradually add the broth, stirring steadily to the boiling point. Reduce heat to low; cook on low for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a large skillet. Quickly brown the fillets in the butter and remove. Saute the mushrooms in the remaining butter for 5 minutes. Return the fillets and add the salt, pepper, vinegar, onion, and brown sauce. Cook over low heat until your beef is as rare or well-done as you like it.
And don't feel compelled to tell your family that you didn't slave over a hot stove all day long. :)
The dinner was surprisingly simple to make. If I hadn't been trying to satisfy a hungry baby, folding fancy dinner napkins, and digging our China out of storage all at the same time, it would have been a very low-key dinner. I served our Duca d'Alba with mashed potatoes, because the sauce is an excellent gravy. The original recipe calls for 1/2 c. Madeira wine, but my husband and I are LDS, so I substituted diluted red wine vinegar and it tasted delicious. So, without further ado, here is the recipe!
Duca d'Alba
Serves 6
6-1/2 tbsp. butter
1-1/2 tbsp. flour
2 c. beef broth
6 fillets (steaks) of beef, cut 1-1/2 inches thick
1 lb. sliced mushrooms
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
1/4 c. red wine vinegar diluted with 1/4 c. water
1 shallot, chopped, or 2 tsp. chopped onions
Melt 1-1/2 tbsp. butter in a small saucepan; blend in 1-1/2 tbsp. flour until brown. Gradually add the broth, stirring steadily to the boiling point. Reduce heat to low; cook on low for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a large skillet. Quickly brown the fillets in the butter and remove. Saute the mushrooms in the remaining butter for 5 minutes. Return the fillets and add the salt, pepper, vinegar, onion, and brown sauce. Cook over low heat until your beef is as rare or well-done as you like it.
And don't feel compelled to tell your family that you didn't slave over a hot stove all day long. :)
Monday, February 13
Easy Dinner Recipe and a Request
Hey out there!
First, I'd like to start off by making a request:
I'm looking for an English Muffin recipe.
I tried one over the weekend, but it wound up tasting like ordinary dinner rolls. So if you have one you like, or you have one you've never tried but would like tested, leave a comment and let me know. Thanks!
Now, I'll get to the good stuff. I know we're all after ideas for dinners that are easy and quick, so I'll share one of my old standbys. This recipe came from my mother-in-law, and my husband and I love it. I had a really hard time at first getting the meatballs to keep their shape, but I discovered that if you add about 1/2 cup of water to the skillet as you fry them, it helps keep them from sticking and the water boils off so in the end, you just have nice, meatball-shaped meatballs.
Grandma Ebert's Swiss Meatballs
Serves 5-6
1 lb. hamburger
1/2 onion, diced
1 egg
1/2 c. bread crumbs (or 1 heel of bread, soaked, drained, and mashed)
1 can of mushrooms, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 soup can of water
Dash Kitchen Bouquet (it's a brown meat-seasoning, used to add color and flavor. It's optional, if you can't find it or don't want to buy it.
Cooked egg noodles or rice
Mix hamburger, onion, egg, and bread crumbs. Form into meatballs and fry until well browned. Drain off fat.
Add soup, 1/2 can of water, mushrooms, and a dash of Kitchen Bouquet. Stir gently to mix and cook on low until sauce is the desired consistency. Serve over egg noodles or rice.
First, I'd like to start off by making a request:
I'm looking for an English Muffin recipe.
I tried one over the weekend, but it wound up tasting like ordinary dinner rolls. So if you have one you like, or you have one you've never tried but would like tested, leave a comment and let me know. Thanks!
Now, I'll get to the good stuff. I know we're all after ideas for dinners that are easy and quick, so I'll share one of my old standbys. This recipe came from my mother-in-law, and my husband and I love it. I had a really hard time at first getting the meatballs to keep their shape, but I discovered that if you add about 1/2 cup of water to the skillet as you fry them, it helps keep them from sticking and the water boils off so in the end, you just have nice, meatball-shaped meatballs.
Grandma Ebert's Swiss Meatballs
Serves 5-6
1 lb. hamburger
1/2 onion, diced
1 egg
1/2 c. bread crumbs (or 1 heel of bread, soaked, drained, and mashed)
1 can of mushrooms, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 soup can of water
Dash Kitchen Bouquet (it's a brown meat-seasoning, used to add color and flavor. It's optional, if you can't find it or don't want to buy it.
Cooked egg noodles or rice
Mix hamburger, onion, egg, and bread crumbs. Form into meatballs and fry until well browned. Drain off fat.
Add soup, 1/2 can of water, mushrooms, and a dash of Kitchen Bouquet. Stir gently to mix and cook on low until sauce is the desired consistency. Serve over egg noodles or rice.
Tuesday, February 7
Homemade Bagel-y Goodness!
I'm so excited about this recipe! I found a recipe for plain bagels last week, and I've been dying to try making bagels since I failed miserably in high school. I made a batch of the plain ones, and they were delicious!! Being the sometimes health-nut that I am, I decided that I'd try and adjust the recipe from corn syrup and white flour to something a little more healthy, and here's what I came up with. I hope you enjoy making (and eating!) these bagels as much as I am!
Honey & Wheat Bagels ala Lindsay
Makes 10 bagels
1 tbsp. yeast
2 c. warm water
3 tbsp. honey
3 tbsp. molasses
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oil
3 c. whole wheat flour
2-1/2 to 3 c. white flour (bread flour works well)
3 tbsp. sugar (for boiling bagels)
corn meal for baking
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add honey and molasses, and let sit for a while until you can see that the yeast is alive and bubbling. In a large mixing bowl, combine yeast, salt, and oil. Add flours alternately a cup at a time (so one cup wheat, one cup white) until you have a dough that adheres to itself. Turn dough out onto a well-floured countertop and knead for 7-9 minutes, adding flour as necessary, until dough is elastic and not tacky. The longer you knead, the better the texture of your bagels.
Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and turn once to coat. Let rise for about 40 minutes, until dough is double the size. Divide dough into 10 pieces and shape into round discs. Poke a hole in the middle of each one, and pull gently until you have a 1-1/2 (or so) inch hole in the center. Place bagels on a greased baking sheet and let rise again until nearly double (about 20-30 minutes).
When bagels have about 10 minutes left, preheat oven to 400 degrees F and get a sauce pan and fill it about 2/3 full of hot water. Add sugar and bring to a boil. Add bagels, one or two at a time, cover, and boil for 20 seconds. Flip bagels and boil for another 20 seconds. Remove bagels with a slotted spatula and let drain for about 10 seconds before placing them on a VERY WELL CORN-MEALED baking sheet. When you've boiled all the bagels, place them in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until nice and golden brown.
If you have trouble getting them off the baking sheet, wait until they cool down. The bottoms of the bagels pull away from the baking sheet as they cool.
Enjoy!!
Honey & Wheat Bagels ala Lindsay
Makes 10 bagels
1 tbsp. yeast
2 c. warm water
3 tbsp. honey
3 tbsp. molasses
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oil
3 c. whole wheat flour
2-1/2 to 3 c. white flour (bread flour works well)
3 tbsp. sugar (for boiling bagels)
corn meal for baking
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add honey and molasses, and let sit for a while until you can see that the yeast is alive and bubbling. In a large mixing bowl, combine yeast, salt, and oil. Add flours alternately a cup at a time (so one cup wheat, one cup white) until you have a dough that adheres to itself. Turn dough out onto a well-floured countertop and knead for 7-9 minutes, adding flour as necessary, until dough is elastic and not tacky. The longer you knead, the better the texture of your bagels.
Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and turn once to coat. Let rise for about 40 minutes, until dough is double the size. Divide dough into 10 pieces and shape into round discs. Poke a hole in the middle of each one, and pull gently until you have a 1-1/2 (or so) inch hole in the center. Place bagels on a greased baking sheet and let rise again until nearly double (about 20-30 minutes).
When bagels have about 10 minutes left, preheat oven to 400 degrees F and get a sauce pan and fill it about 2/3 full of hot water. Add sugar and bring to a boil. Add bagels, one or two at a time, cover, and boil for 20 seconds. Flip bagels and boil for another 20 seconds. Remove bagels with a slotted spatula and let drain for about 10 seconds before placing them on a VERY WELL CORN-MEALED baking sheet. When you've boiled all the bagels, place them in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until nice and golden brown.
If you have trouble getting them off the baking sheet, wait until they cool down. The bottoms of the bagels pull away from the baking sheet as they cool.
Enjoy!!
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