Next Test Kitchen

November 11th @ 7 pm

Hot or Cold Drinks &

Holiday Treats

Comfort Foods (October 2009)

Doug Beck’s Rolls

Fresh ground whole wheat
Bread flour

(Doug never measures his flour because he judges by the consistency of the dough, but to start, add 1 C of the fresh ground wheat which makes about 2 C of whole wheat flour and then 3 C of bread flour—not bleached flour)

1 C sugar (4 handfuls)
1 TB salt
½ C warm water with 2 TB yeast
½--1 cube butter
1 C milk
2 ¼ C hot water
3 large eggs

Place 2 TB yeast in the ½ C warm water with 1 TB sugar in a small bowl and let sit until frothy. (This will let you know how active your yeast is, and you can make adjustments.)

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl, add large eggs, do not mix eggs yet. Bring butter and milk to a boil and place in bowl. Add 2 ¼ C hot water to milk/butter bowl. Then pour into large bowl of dry ingredients. Mix well, then add yeast mixture. Continue to mix and add flour until dough is very moist and soft, but clings together. Pour it onto a very floured surface to knead. Add flour slowly working it in with your buttered hands. They more the dough is worked with your hands, the better it will be. After kneading, roll out the dough until about 3/8” thick and cut into circles. (The top of a drinking cup 3”-31/2” works great.) Doug says that you can tell if it is good dough if it pulls away when it is cut. Fold circles in half and place in buttered pan very close together. Let rise in warm room (Doug places his rolls in Judy’s back car window!) until they have risen to the top of the pan(usually 2 times their size).


Cook between 360-365 degrees for about 20 min. Metal pans will require a shorter amount of time. When they are done, remove them immediately from the pan so they do not sweat and become soggy.

Denece Johnson’s Rolls
Megan Bodily

In mixing bowl:
1 cup warm water
4 tablespoons yeast

In large measuring bowl:
4 cups warm milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup oil
1 tablespoon salt

4 large eggs
5 lbs flour
1-2 cups mashed potatoes (lukewarm)

In the mixing bowl, add yeast to water. Let yeast activate while preparing the milk mixture. Warm milk in the microwave, then add sugar, oil, and salt. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add milk mixture to the mixing bowl. Mix slightly. Add eggs and half the flour. Add mashed potatoes. Add flour 1 cup at a time until dough pulls from the sides of the mixing bowl. Keep mixing until the dough is smooth (it will still be a bit sticky). Place dough in a large greased bowl and let rise double (usually about 2 hours, depending on heat). Punch down and roll into ball to make rolls. Let rise again to double. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, butter tops of rolls, and let cool on wire rack.

Cinnamon rolls:
After punching down the dough, roll it out onto a greased surface, about ½ inch thick. Spread softened butter on to dough, then sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon (optional: nuts, raisins, chocolate chips). Fold into thirds, slice, twist, knot and place on greased cookie sheet. Let cinnamon rolls rise to double. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool slightly, then add icing.

Icing recipe:
1 package powdered sugar
1 cube softened butter (never melted)
1 tsp vanilla
Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time to preferred consistency

Pumpkin-Clove Pound Cake
Anne Epperson

This recipe is broken into three segments; dry, liquid and creaming

Dry
2 ¾ c. unbleached all purpose flour
¼ cup turbinado sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp vanilla powder
½ tsp salt
1 ¼ tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground allspice

(Notes: turbinado sugar is a very course sugar found in the many grocery stores. Vanilla powder can be found at Railey’s on the spice aisle. Both can be purchased online.)

Liquid
15 oz canned pumpkin
5 Tbsp heavy cream
1 Tbsp raw honey
1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Creaming
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temp
2 ½ cups + 2 Tbsp extra-fine granulated sugar
2 eggs
4 yolks

(Cold eggs work best for this recipe, do not bring them to room temp)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large bowl sift the flour, add the turbinado sugar, baking powder, vanilla powder, salt, cloves and allspice. Whisk for 10 seconds, set aside.

In another bowl add the pumpkin, heavy cream, honey and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine, set aside.

Crack eggs into bowl (this prevents shells from getting into the mix. Set aside.

In a stand mixer, cream the butter and extra-fine sugar on medium low for 3 minutes, this helps to aerate this dense cake.

Add one egg at a time followed by the yolks, fully incorporate after each addition.
Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl.
Add the dry ingredients alternating with the liquid in 3 – 5 additions each, start with the dry ingredients and end with the dry ingredients. Move swiftly through this process, do not wait for all to be incorporated before adding the next. This should take a total of 60 seconds.

Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl, mix on medium for 15 to 20 seconds.

Prepare the pan(s), use baking spray or liners.
Bundt pan bake for 50 – 60 minutes
Cupcakes bake for 25 – 30 minutes
9 in round bake for 30 – 55 minutes

Spoon the batter into the selected pan and smooth out, do not fill more the ¾ full. Use remaining batter for cupcakes.

The cake is done when the top does not giggle and when a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean or with very little crumbs. Place pan on a wire rack and cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let rest until cooled.

White Chunk Fudge
Becky Foulk

6 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups butter
1 1/3 cups evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
14 oz. mini marshmallows1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons salt

Combine sugar, butter, salt and milk in heavy 5 quart saucepan; bring to full boil, stirring constantly. Continue boiling 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring. Remove from heat, stir in marshmallows until melted. Add all chocolate chips and vanilla. Beat until blended. Pour into greased 10 x 16-inch baking pan. Let cool and cut into 1-inch squares.

Makes 6 pounds.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Mariah Garcia

Mix in small bowl:
2 ¼ C flour
1t baking soda
1t salt

Mix in large bowl:
1 Stick of butter
2 Eggs
1t vanilla extract
¾ C Brown sugar
¾ C Sugar
12 oz Semi sweet choc chips

Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time. I find it easier to do this by hand. Drop dough onto cookie sheet and bake at °375 for 8-10 minutes.

Pasta Fagiole (Ron Pimentel) Prep time 30 minutes
Nancy Holladay

1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
1 large onion, chopped
3 large carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
6 cubes beef bouillon in 5 cups of water
2 14.5oz cans Italian style stewed tomatoes, with juice
1 15.5oz can kidney beans, with juice
8 oz salad macaroni
6 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbls basil leaves, chopped
2 teas oregano leaves, chopped
1 teas chili powder
Parmesan cheese

Brown ground beef along with chopped onion in large Dutch oven. Drain. Add bouillon cubes, water, garlic, basil, oregano, chili powder, carrots, and celery and bring to boil. Let simmer until vegetables are nearly tender enough. Add tomatoes and kidney beans (with juice from both), and pasta. Cook until pasta is ready. Serve in bowls with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. Serves 8

1. My family doesn’t like the chunks of tomato, so I always run my stewed tomatoes through the blender before adding to the soup.
2.The soup thickens as it stands or is stored (the water is absorbed by the pasta mostly). So if you are preparing it ahead of time – you may want to wait to add the pasta when you are preparing to serve it. Or – If it gets too thick (more like a thick stew), I add more (from the blender) stewed Italian tomatoes.

Clam Chowder
Gayle Hollingshaus

2 6 ½ oz. cans minced clams or ¾ lb. fresh clams
1 qt. milk

Cut and cook:
1 C celery chopped- 1 ½ tsp salt
1 C onion chopped – ½ tsp sugar
6 C potatoes diced- pinch of pepper
Drain clams and pour juice from clams over the chopped vegetables. Add enough water just to cover. Cook until tender.

Melt ¾ C margarine and add ¾ C flour. Cook 1 min. Add milk to sauce and cook until creamy. Add to cooked vegetables and add clams and seasonings.
(3 times recipe with Costco can of clams)

Guacamole Dip
Heidi Little

Avocadoes x 3
Pico de gallo Salsa to taste
Garlic salt
Lemon juice
Sour cream
Tortilla chips

Mac-N-Cheese

Stephanie Luster

Need:

2 packages of shell pasta

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup milk

2 cups of cheese (any varieties work but always use a sharp cheddar for 1 cup)

Boil 2 packages of shell pasta as directed

Drain

Return to hot pot

Stir in 1/2 cup butter

Stir in approx. 1/3 cup milk (to desired creaminess)

Stir in 2 total cups of cheese:

Mix any 2-3 cheeses

I usually use 1 cup sharp cheddar, 1/2 cup Monterrey jack, and 1/2 cup mozzarella.

Stir until butter and cheese are melted. Place in a baking dish and sprinkle salt and pepper if desired. Broil until cheese on top is brown and slightly crispy. Serve.

Lentil Soup
Stephanie Luster

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1cup chopped carrot
1 cup of a big leafy green (chard, kale, etc), rinsed well, deveined, finely chopped
3/4 pound lentils, picked and rinsed
1 jar salsa
7 cups of water
6 tsp of Knorr chicken bouillon
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon cumin

Directions:
Place the olive oil into a large 6-quart Dutch oven and set over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion, carrot, kale and 1 cup water to sweat until the onions are translucent, approximately 6 to 7 minutes. Add the lentils, salsa, remaining water, bouillon, chili powder, and cumin and stir to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook at a low simmer until the lentils are tender, approximately 35 to 40 minutes. Serve immediately.

Notes: You can add more water/bouillon if you want it soupier. Also, you can puree it if you prefer.

I serve the soup with white corn tortilla chips when it’s hot. I save the leftovers and put it in the fridge to thicken up. I then serve the cold, thick leftovers with a dallop of sour cream as a dip with tortilla chips

Chinese Buns
Melanie Mak

INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup warm water
2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 cup warm milk
3 tablespoons oil
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup white sugar

DIRECTIONS
Mix together 2 teaspoons yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/3 cup warm water. Allow to stand for 5 minutes.
Mix in 1 cup warm milk, flour, 3 tablespoons oil, 4 cups flour, and 1/3 cup sugar. Knead until dough surface is smooth and elastic. Roll over in a greased bowl, and let stand until double in size, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Punch down dough, and spread out on a floured board. Roll dough into long line like a snake about 1 ½ inches thick.
Use a knife to cut every ½ to ¾ inches. Place each piece that you cut on a wax paper square and put them into the cookies sheet. Let stand covered until double, about 30 minutes.

Bring water to a boil in a steamer. Transfer as many buns on wax paper as will comfortably fit into steamer leaving 1 inch between the buns. Cover steamer with lid. Steam buns over boiling water for 10 minutes.
REMOVE LID BEFORE you turn off heat, or else water will drip back onto bun surface and produce yellowish "blisters" on bun surfaces. Continue steaming batches of buns until all are cooked.
Put them on the cookies rack to cool.
Take out the wax paper at the button of the buns when they are cool and deep-fried them.
Serve with sweet condensed milk.

Note: For those who don’t like deep-fried food, you can eat the buns with sweet condensed milk without deep fried them.

German Chocolate Spice Cake
Wendy and Czarina Pellissier

1 box German Chocolate cake mix
follow ingredients on back of box

add 1 t. cinnamon
and 1/2 t. nutmeg

Bake in Bundt pan at 350 for approx. 40 min.
Cool 10 min. and then invert on platter

Bean Dip
Jessica Skubal

1 small can of refried beans
1 small can of Chili
¼ of a yellow onion
½ block of Cream cheese
1 cup or so of Cheese
Green Taco Sauce-La Victoria
Pace Picante Sauce
Sour cream
Tomatoes
Garlic salt

Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl and stir very well. Then heat up in microwave until cheese is melted and hot. Then put in last 3 ingredients. Serve with Chips or flour tortillas.

Crab Pasta Salad
Cathy Taylor

Salad:
8 oz. uncooked macaroni, or similar pasta
16 oz. crumbled "crab" meat (I use imitation crab meat.)
2 ribs of celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 of a green pepper, chopped
1/4 C. of parsley (or about 2 Tbsp. of the dry stuff)

Dressing:
3/4 C. Mayonnaise
3/4 C. Plain Yogurt (I like to use full fat yogurt, but you can also use Greek Style.)
1/3 C. Chili Sauce
3 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard.

Cook and drain macaroni/pasta. Combine all salad ingredients. Mix together dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Stir to combine.

Disclaimer: I guess-ti-mate all ingredient measures