In my house it was always hard boiled eggs topped with horseradish, kielbasa with spicy brown mustard, and soft subltly sweet babka covered in butter for Easter breakfast. Nowadays I can't seem to find that same quality babka we used to get, so I worked at coming up with my own … [Read more...]
Challah Bread
Ingredients: 5 tsp instant or active dry yeast (2 pkgs) 1 cup (8 oz) warm water ½ cup (4 oz) sugar 3 large eggs 4 ½ - 5 cups (22 ½ - 25 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour 2 tsp salt ½ cup (4 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature In a large bowl dissolve … [Read more...]
Ciabatta Bread
Ciabatta bread is a very high hydration dough and this makes it particularly hard to work with, especially if you try to make it by hand versus stand mixer. I would recommend using your stand mixer if you own one. If you don't though you can still make this bread you just have … [Read more...]
Ricotta Bread
Ricotta Bread is a soft enriched bread that is baked free-from on a baking stone for the best crust development. The interior crumb is fairly tight and even, which makes it great for sandwiches, french toast and just regular toast. I have to say though, that my favorite part of … [Read more...]
My Favorite Pie Crust
The key to both flavorful and flaky pie crust is the use of both shortening and butter. The butter imparts richness, flakiness, and a wonderful flavor, while the shortening adds tenderness. Use very cold ingredients and you will be rewarded with a great flaky pie crust. I use a … [Read more...]
Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt
I love just about anything when you add poppy seeds to it, and this lemon poppy seed cake is no exception. Sometimes when I really want the poppy flavor to come through I double the quantity of seeds to a quarter of a cup. This recipe makes a very large cake, which makes me … [Read more...]
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza
There is a local pizzeria that makes a great pizza topped with grilled chicken, bacon, and tomatoes, but when we moved to a new town it became too out of the way to order. So, I had to start making my own version to satisfy my husband and me. I use my standard pizza dough recipe … [Read more...]
Cranberry Pecan Boule
A toasted slice of this cranberry pecan boule was one of my favorite things to eat for breakfast in the early days of my pregnancy. It has a light heartiness and a wonderful sweetness from the cranberries and pecans. I used to make two to three loaves a week and would enjoy them … [Read more...]
Hearty Honey Oat Bread
This recipe came to me from one of my favorite students. She was having trouble getting this dough to rise up fully during the final rise. The problem was purely aesthetics, because the flavor was delicious and well received by everyone she fed it to. So I told her I would … [Read more...]
Rustic Country Bread
This rustic country bread is a cross between a ciabatta bread and a country French loaf. It has a thicker crust that ciabatta, but a nice open and glistening interior crumb. This bread is great sliced and topped with a bruschetta topping or fine cheese. The addition of wheat … [Read more...]
Strawberry Cream Muffins
Strawberries are my favorite berry, when I was growing up my grandmother grew tons of them and I would in turn eat tons of them. So, especially in the late spring and early summer I am always looking for ways to use strawberries, and this recipe is so easy and delicious that you … [Read more...]
New York Crumb Cake
My mom always used to have an Entenmann's crumb cake on the counter or in the freezer in case a spontaneous guest arrived. I loved the powdery sugar topping and the thick layer of crumb topping versus cake. Most recipes I come across though a bit too heavy and dry, but this … [Read more...]
Hummus
Hummus is so easy to prepare and I almost always have the ingredients to make it on hand. It is also really versatile because it isn't an overpowering base flavor so you can really play around with it and make it in all sorts of flavors. Roasted garlic and roasted red pepper … [Read more...]
Herb Toasted Pita Chips
Herb toasted pita chips are so easy to make and they are even better when you make your own homemade pita breads. I recommend trying them with a garlic infused oil for an extra depth of flavor. Ingredients: 2 tsp. dried thyme 1 TB finely minced fresh parsley 2 tsp … [Read more...]
Pita Bread Recipe
Store bought pita bread just doesn't compare to a warm out of the oven fresh pita. I love them because they are so versatile. You can fill them just like you would a sandwich or cut them into wedges and place them next to a bowl of hummus. They definitely take a bit of practice … [Read more...]
Focaccia
Focaccia to me is like a cross between a loaf of nice Italian bread and pizza. I like to top it minimally and let the flavor of the dough come through without competing with a multitude of different flavors. Ingredients: 1 ¼ cups (10.6 oz, 300g) water (room … [Read more...]
Gruyere and Roasted Garlic Loaves
I love roasted garlic! I love the aroma in my home, I love how it spreads like butter on my toasted baguette slices, and I love how it is mild and sweet, yet distinctive all at the same time. These gruyere and roasted garlic loaves are kind of large rolls (each one will probably … [Read more...]
Cranberry Orange Tea Bread
It is always during the fall that I go to the grocery store and see all the bags of fresh cranberries, and I think to myself what can I do with them? I also then begin to get panicky because their season is short and I have to get my fill before they are all gone, so what is my … [Read more...]
Italian Almond Cookies
These Italian cookies or Bon Bons are traditionally made with anise flavoring, but since it is not one of my favorites, I decided to substitute almond and vanilla extract for the anise. If you prefer the anise version I would use 1 tsp of anise in place of the almond … [Read more...]
Pancakes
My favorite childhood friend had the best dad out of all my friends. If you got the chance to sleep over their house you were sure to be rewarded with the best pancakes ever! Now, looking back I am pretty sure that they were just Bisquick, but it was the whole experience that … [Read more...]
Cranberry Almond Biscotti
My mother-in-law loves this cranberry almond biscotti recipe. For me good biscotti is not supposed to be overly sweet and it should not be so hard that I feel that I am going to break a tooth biting down onto it. I know that it is supposed to be a hard cookie that is made for … [Read more...]
Banana Bread
I really only like banana bread the day it is baked, after that it gets too strong in banana flavor for my liking. Luckily my husband likes it better a day or two later so it never goes to waste. This is adapted from my parent's old version of The Joy of Cooking. It is a simple … [Read more...]
Roasted Zucchini Bruschetta
This roasted zucchini bruschetta is very different from what I always thought was the only way to have bruschetta, which was tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. And before I came up with this recipe my husband had not had any type of toppings on his bread … [Read more...]
Apricot Danish
Apricots are a very mild flavored fruit and so they do not overpower this recipe. I also like to fill them with a bit of cheese filling that I use in my raspberry cheese danish as well as the apricot, because then you get a nice balance of sweet and creamy. If you don't want … [Read more...]