Breads and Grains

Ingredients

• ¹⁄₃ cup olive oil, plus more for pan
• 2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for pan
• ¹⁄₃ cup milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ¹⁄₂ pound zucchini, coarsely grated or shredded

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 375*F.  Brush 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with oil then dust with flour, tap out excess.  
2. Whisk together oil, milk, and eggs in a small boil.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, parmesan, baking powder, 1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄₄ teaspoon pepper.  Mix in zucchini, then fold in egg mixture.  Batter will be thick like a biscuit dough.  
3. Transfer batter to pan and press in gently.  Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 65 to 75 minutes.  Cook 15 minutes in pan then turn out loaf onto a rack to cool completely before serving.  

Comments

This recipe is from Martha Stewart.  I ate my slice toasted and spread with butter and I thought it was delicious.  The edges were crispy cheesy and I really enjoyed it.  This is not your standard zucchini quick bread, it’s definitely got more of a biscuit texture to it.

Ingredients

For the loaves

• 1 ¹⁄₂ cups cake flour
• 1 ¹⁄₂ cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¹⁄₄ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 ¹⁄₄ cups sugar
• 8 large eggs, at room temperature
• ¹⁄₄ cup lemon zest (from about 4 lemons)
• ¹⁄₄ cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 cups unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• ¹⁄₂ cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the lemon syrup

• ¹⁄₃ cup fresh lemon juice
• ¹⁄₃ cup sugar

For the lemon glaze

• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350*F.  Spray two 9x5-inch loaf pans with cooking spray
2. To make cakes: In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  
3. Add sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice to bowl of food processor and pulse until well combined.  With the machine running, slowly pour the butter through the feed tube until incorporated.  Add sour cream and vanilla and pulse until well combined.  
4. Transfer batter to large bowl and add flour mixture in 3 additions, folding gently to incorporate after each addition.  Mix until just combined.  
5. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans.  Bake 20 minutes then rotate the pans and reduce heat to 325*F.  Continue baking 30-35 more minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  Transfer pans to wire rack and let loaves cool 15 minutes.  
6. To make the lemon syrup: While the loaves are cooling, combine lemon juice and sugar in small saucepan.  Set over medium heat and cook until sugar is completely dissolved, then continue cooking 3 more minutes.  Remove pan from heat.  
7. Turn loaves out of pan and set on sheet pan lined with parchment paper.  Using toothpick of cake tester, poke holes in tops and sides of loaves.  Brush loaves all over with lemon syrup, let it soak in, then brush again until all syrup has been used.  Cool loaves completely.  
8. To make the lemon glaze: Whisk confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice together in small bowl until smooth and pourable.  Pour glaze over the top of each loaf, allowing it to drip down the sides.  Let glaze set 15 minutes before serving.  
9. Store loaves at room temperature, tightly wrapped in plastic.  

Comments

This recipe is from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures and even though I made it forever ago it was so amazing that I can still taste it in my mouth.  This stuff is awesome and so very lemony.  I loved every bite.  

I actually made this for dessert after having the realization that quick breads like this really make perfect desserts.  They’re also great for breakfast, of course.  Nice and versatile!

Ingredients

• 1 ¹⁄₂ cups water
• ³⁄₄ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup peanut or vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Set wire rack inside rimmed baking sheet. Bring 1 cup water and salt to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in cornmeal until no lumps remain, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 30 seconds. Transfer mixture to large bowl and whisk in remaining ¹⁄₂ cup water until smooth. Let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
2. Whisk flour and baking powder together in small bowl until combined. Whisk flour mixture and egg into cornmeal mixture until smooth.
3. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat to 350*F degrees. Drop 10 heaping tablespoons of batter into hot oil and cook until golden brown on bottom, about 2 minutes. Flip each fritter, press lightly to flatten, and continue to cook until golden brown on second side, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer to wire rack and repeat with remaining batter.

Comments

Once upon a time I was looking for something to serve with chili that wasn’t just the hushpuppies I normally make.  Somethings easier.  I found this recipe on Cook’s Country and we all loved the fritters.  They were super tasty and, indeed, very easy.  This is a keeper of a recipe.

Ingredients
1 pound Italian bread loaf
1 stick butter, melted
¹⁄₈ cup olive oil
3 teaspoon onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
3 teaspoon parsley, chopped
12 ounces cheese, shredded, such as cheddar, mozzarella, and monterey jack

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350*F. 

2. Mix melted butter, olive oil, onion, garlic, mustard, poppy seeds, and parsley in a medium bowl. 

3. Deeply score bread into cubes, being careful not to cut all the way through the bottom crust. 

4. Pour butter mixture carefully into criss cross scoring, using a spoon and making sure to get mixture into all the slices.  Work cheeses into cracks. 

5. Wrap loaf with foil, sealing sides, and bake 15 to 20 minutes.  Remove from oven, unwrap loaf, and bake another 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and gooey. 

Photo

Comments
This recipe is from Food Wanderings in Asia.  This is an amazingly decadent and delicious version of garlic bread and I can’t wait to revisit this recipe to get a picture since I don’t think I took one initially!

Ingredients
¹⁄₂ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried herb mix, such as Sandwich Sprinkle
2 cans Pillsbury Grands  Flaky Layers biscuit dough, each biscuit cut into quarters
³⁄₄ cup butter
8 - 10 cloves garlic, minced

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350*F.  Spray bundt pan with cooking spray. 

2. Combine grated Parmesan, salt, pepper, and herb mix in large ziptop bag.  Add biscuits to bag and shake well to coat.  Place biscuit pieces into bundt pan. 

3. Put butter and garlic in small microwavable bowl.  Microwave 1 to 2 minutes or until butter has melted.  Stir with fork them drizzle evenly over biscuit dough. 

4. Bake 35 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool 10 minutes then place plate on top of pan, invert, and remove pan. The bread should slide out nicely.  Serve warm. 

Comments
This recipe is from Pillsbury.  The original recipe calls for 4 tubes of biscuits, but that seemed like it had to be a typo!  I used two tubes and that worked out perfectly.  I thought these were very tasty, but I think I might cut back on the butter next time, perhaps just half a cup would do the trick?

Ingredients
8 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup whole milk
1 bay leaf
¹⁄₂ teaspoon kosher salt
¹⁄₄ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
12 ounces gruyere cheese, shredded
8 slices sandwich bread of your choice
8 to 12 slices deli ham
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 eggs
Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Heat broiler. 

2. To make béchamel sauce melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat.  Whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly, until flour begins to color.  Stir in milk then add bay leaf.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens, about 10 to 12 minutes.  Remove bay leaf and stir in salt and Parmesan and gruyere.  Let cool until ready to use. 

2. Arrange 4 slices of bread on flat surface.  Top each with 2 to 3 slices of ham.  Spread a spoonful of sauce on top of each sandwich then top with remaining slices of bread. 

3. Heat 3 tablespoons butter in large skillet.  Add two sandwiches and brown on one side, about 2 minute.  Flip sandwiches and brown on other side, about 2 more minutes.  Transfer to baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Repeat process with remaining 3 tablespoons butter and 2 sandwiches. 

4. Split the remaining béchamel sauce over top of 4 sandwiches then transfer baking sheet to broiler.  Broil until the tops of sandwiches brown, 2 to 5 minutes. 

5. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in skillet and fry the eggs to desired doneness.  Place one egg on top of each sandwich then serve. 

Comments
This recipe is from Kitchenette.  I first heard about Croque Madames in high school French class.  You can remember the difference between Croque Madames and Croque Monsieurs because women have eggs.  Bad joke, right?  But it works! 

Lance and I really enjoyed these sandwiches but they were super filling.  Next time, I would omit the top slice of bread and make these as open face half sandwiches.  I.e., bread, ham, béchamel, and fried egg.  I’m not sure if I’d toast the bread first or if I’d give it a few minutes in the skillet with nothing on top of it.

Ingredients
1 ¹⁄₂ cups wheat berries
2 tablespoons plus ¹⁄₂ cup olive oil
2 cups frozen corn kernels
2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¹⁄₄ cup lemon juice
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 handful basil leaves, thinly sliced
6 large tomatoes, diced, or 3 cups small tomatoes, halved
²⁄₃ cup Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded

Instructions
1. Place wheat berries in dry skillet over medium-high heat.  Toast, stirring constantly, until the grains pop and deepen in color, about 4 minutes. 

2. Place wheat berries in rice cooker bowl and cover with hot water; let soak in machine for 1 hour.  Drain wheat berries and return them to rice cooked.  Add 3 cups water, 1 pinch salt and stir to combine.  Close machine and set for brown rice or regular cycle. 

3. When machine finishes cooking, let wheat berries steam in cooker for 15 minutes then transfer to sieve to drain. 

4. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add corn and pinch of salt.  Stir corn occasionally and cook until a bit browned, about 10 minutes.  Transfer corn to large bowl. 

5. Add another tablespoon olive oil to skillet and cook sliced zucchini, stirring often, until tender, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Transfer zucchini to bowl with corn. 

6. Pour ¹⁄₂ cup olive oil into immersion blender cup and add lemon juice, garlic, salt, black pepper, and half of basil leaves.  Blend until smooth. 

7. Transfer wheat berries to bowl with corn and zucchini.  Add dressing, Parmesan, tomatoes, and remaining basil.  Stir to combine and season with extra salt and pepper if necessary. 

Comments
This recipe is from The Flour Sack.  I feel like I made it forever ago so I don’t remember much about it, only that it was tasty and we enjoyed it.  Fresh corn kernels would probably be better, but I don’t always have the patience for that! This was a good way to use up lots of in season veggies, though.  The original recipe called for barley, but I’ve got a ton of wheat berries and I’m happy to say that they worked super well. 

Shown here with some roast that I have no recipe for.

Ingredients
Butter, for the baking dish
8 ounce loaf of bread, cut into ¹⁄₂-inch cubes
¹⁄₂ cup olive oil
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 ¹⁄₂ cups Parmesan cheese, grated
7 large eggs
1 cup whole milk

Instructions
1. Heat the oven to 375*F.

2. Butter a 9 by 12-inch glass baking dish. Add the bread cubes and set aside.

3. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄₄ teaspoon pepper. Cook 2 minutes, until slightly soft. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the basil.

4. Pour the tomato mixture over the bread cubes, add Parmesan, and combine well.

5. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, milk, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄₂ teaspoon pepper until smooth. Pour the custard over the bread mixture and gently toss to coat.

6. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until slightly puffed and golden. Cool 5 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve.

Comments
This recipe is from Weeknights with Giada.  I picked it because I had a bunch of leftover little tomatoes that I thought this would use up nicely.  This was a very tasty dish, a nice and savory strata type of thing.  The basil was lovely and all the flavors worked very well together.  Yet again, Giada delivers. 

Shown here with Mom’s Chicken.

Weeknights with Giada

Ingredients
3 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon yeast
1 ¹⁄₃ cups cold water
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for brushing

Instructions
1. Combine flour, sugar, salt and yeast in food processor.  Pulse until combined.  With machine running, add the cold water and process until the dough is combined and all dry ingredients are incorporated, about 10 seconds.  Let dough rest for 10 minutes. 

2. Add oil to the dough.  Process until the dough forms a smooth, tacky ball that clears the sides of the bowl, about 30 to 60 seconds. 

3. Remove dough from the bowl, knead briefly on a lightly floured surface, about 1 minute.  Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days.  (After this refrigeration you can wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 months.  To use frozen dough, thaw in refrigerator for 8 hours before proceeding.) 

4. One hour before baking pizza, place pizza stone in oven and heat oven to 500*F.  Remove dough from refrigerator and divide in half.  Form each half into a ball and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet.  Let dough rest at room temperature for 1 hour. 

5. Flatten each dough ball into an 8-inch disk and then roll or stretch into a 12-inch circle.  Transfer each circle to sheet of parchment paper.  Lightly brush top of each crust with olive oil then transfer one to pizza stone using parchment paper as a sling.  Bake 5 to 8 minutes, until crust starts to firm up. 

6. Remove crust from oven then top with desired toppings.  Return to oven and bake until toppings are bubbling and slightly browned, another 8 to 10 minutes.  Let cool about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.  Repeat process with remaining pizza crust. 

Comments
This recipe is from One Lovely Life.  Lance put in a request for pizza quite some time ago, and I finally got around to making it.  This recipe is super easy and makes enough dough for 2 12-inch pizzas.  I doubled it with no problems to make four pizzas.  I did one plain cheese, one with sautéed mushrooms, one with sautéed bacon, and the last with pepperoni. 

This dough met with Lance’s approval although he said I could have made them a bit thicker.  Transferring the dough on and off the pizza stone with parchment paper makes the pizza making process so much easier.  I highly recommend this method!  I used Classico’s pizza sauce and was quite happy with the flavors.  I look forward to using this dough recipe for other pizzas in the future.

Internet - One Lovely Life

Ingredients
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons salt
¹⁄₄ cup sugar
12 ounces beer (choose your favorite!)
¹⁄₄ cup butter, melted

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 375*F.  

2. Mix together flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar.  Pour in beer and mix until incorporated.  Pour batter into loaf pan then top with melted butter. 

3. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean and the top is browned.  Cool 5 to 10 minutes in pan before serving. 

No photo

Comments
This recipe is from The Pastry Affair, but I’ve been seeing various beer quick breads bouncing around the blogosphere for a while now.  Sadly, I used some random beer Art picked up once and, well, it sucked.  The bread was horrible and we ended up throwing it away after trying a slice.  I think I’ll try this again with a nice, mild beer.

Internet - The Pastry Affair