Sourdough Pretzels

I baked bread for the first time last week, and it miraculously turned out very well. So, I decided to take my daring a step further and attempt sourdough pretzels. BOY did these turn out well. I especially like my onion-topped pretzels, with just a dash of garlic salt. They're exactly how pretzels should be, though a bit smaller than I'm used to seeing. The original recipe makes 20 pretzels, so I cut all amounts in half since that seemed a bit much for two people. My boyfriend has requested I make these the next time he throws a football party, and that is testament to how good they are. --AnglophileLV

Sourdough pretzels

makes 10 pretzels, about 4 to 5 inches across, hard crust, soft center.

Ingredients:

3/4 cups proofed starter

1/2 cup hot water

1 tablespoons butter

1.5 tablespoons sugar (1/2 Tb = 1 and ½ tsp)

1 teaspoons salt

1/2 packet yeast

2 3/4ths cups all purpose flour

Toppings could include:

Kosher or sea salt

garlic salt

chopped onions

Directions:

1. Let all ingredients and utensils come to room temperature

2. Add the 1 tablespoon butter, the 1.5 tablespoons sugar, and the 1 tsp salt to the cup of hot water. Cool to lukewarm.

3. Put the proofed starter and 1/2 packet yeast into a bowl. Add the warm water mixture. Make sure the water is not hot because that will kill the yeast.

4. Add 2 cups of flour, 1/4 cup at a time, stirring after each addition.

5. Turn out onto a floured board and knead in approximately 3/4 cups more of the flour.

The dough will be very stiff.

6. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turn over, and cover with a damp paper towel and a dish towel - you don't want the dough to dry out. Let rise for 2 hours. It helps if you put the dough in a warm place. I preheat the oven and place the bowl on top of the stove which seems to work well.

7. Break off pieces of the dough about the size of a large egg. Roll each piece out with the palm of your hands until it is about 18 inches long and about 1/2 inch in diameter. Twist into the shape of a pretzel.

8. Bring a pot of water to a rapid boil. Drop as many pretzels as will fit without touching into the water and cook about 30 seconds after they have risen to the top. (Or longer, if you like a chewier pretzel.)

9. Remove to a baking sheet and sprinkle with coarse salt.

10. Bake in a preheated 425*F oven for 15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove and cool on wire racks.

Butternut Squash and Sage pasta for two

This dish smelled so good that I kinda did a rush job with the photography. I threw this together last night out of odds and ends in the fridge and a ClosetCooking recipe search. This is one of his recipes, much modified by me, and it turned out incredibly good. He went through a sage, onion, squash phase recently, and I'm going through the same phase now. The Hotlinks are actually a very complimentary flavor, so don’t be afraid of them. --AnglophileLV

Butternut squash and sage pasta for two

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil
1/3rd onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic chopped)
2 tablespoons fresh sage (chopped)
1/2 tsp allspice (nutmeg will also work)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Hotlink sausage (chopped) links
1 generous splash white wine
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups butternut squash cubed
enough pasta for two – rottini or penne work well
¼ cup heavy cream
½ Tb flour
parmigiano reggiano to taste

For crispy fried sage leaves:
1 handful whole sage leaves
1 Tb butter

Instructions:
1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the onion and garlic. Saute until onions are partially carmelized and garlic is crispy.
3. Add sage and allspice, sauté until fragrant.
4. Add the chopped sausage.
5. Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan.
6. Add the chicken stock and squash. Simmer until the squash is tender, about 15 minutes.
7. Cook your pasta.
8. When the squash is cooked, remove the vegetables from the pan leaving the juice. Put the vegetables aside for now.
9. Brown 1 Tb butter in a pan, then add the whole sage leaves and fry until crispy.
10. Blend the cream and flour together and mix with the juice, then add the parmesan to taste. Pour in the browned butter from the sage pan, reserving the crispy sage for a garnish. Stir in well.
11. Plate the cooked pasta, pour the sauce over, then top with the squash/onion/sage mix. Garnish generously with the crispy fried sage leaves.

Polka Dot Cookies

My boyfriend went on a Cookie spree today. I woke to the the smell of baking cookies and the sound of him singing Christmas carols along with Dean Martin and Bing Crosby. Between us, we filled three tins and two plastic baggies with peanut butter cookies, sourdough chocolate chip cookies, and these delicious Polka Dot Cookies. Santa is going to gain ten pounds at our apartment alone with all these goodies. --AnglophileLV


Polka Dot Cookies
Ingredients (Original Recipe Yields around 50 cookies)

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups white chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Fold in the white chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10-12 minutes in the preheated oven, until cookies are set.

Leftover Turkey Risotto

Every time I make risotto, it gets easier. The first time, I was all intimidated, envisioning centuries of Italian grandmothers ready to whack me with wooden spoons if I didn’t keep stirring in a clockwise (or was it counter-clockwise?) direction. Well, after making risotto for a while, the niceties get thrown out the window.

Here is the easy risotto recipe I made with the leftovers of the leftovers from Thanksgiving. All I had on hand was turkey, thyme, an onion and mushrooms. And a bit of Parmesan. That is vital. -- AnglophileLV

Leftover Turkey Risotto: serves 4

Ingredients:
1 can chicken stock
½ C white wine (or a generous dash, enough to reach all the risotto grains in the pan)
1 cup Arborio rice
Butter or olive oil
½ onion, chopped into small pieces
5-10 mushrooms
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 handful turkey bite-sized turkey chunks
½ cup parmesan
Turmeric (optional)

You’ll need 2 skillets for this operation, or one pot for the mushrooms and one skillet for the risotto.

1. Melt 1 Tb butter in the skillet. Add the onions and let them cook down. Add the Arborio rice and stir until it is more golden than white on LOW heat. This can take a while, but you don’t want the rice to burn. If you’re new to risotto, stir constantly. Otherwise, you can let it rest a bit while you’re doing other stuff and let instinct guide you.

2. Heat the chicken stock in the microwave for 2 minutes. Most recipes say to keep it boiling on the stove, but that uses another pot.

3. Add a generous dash of wine (about ½ cup) to the risotto. The wine releases the starches in the rice that will make it creamy later on. When the wine has soaked in, start adding the chicken stock little by little. Add some, wait until it soaks in, then add some more. Stir constantly, make sure the heat is low.

4. Melt butter in a small pot and add thickly chopped mushrooms. Let them sauté down a little, then add 1 tsp of the fresh thyme. Let sauté a little longer, and then add a dash of white wine. Toss in the turkey with the rest of the thyme and stir around.

5. Add the juice that’s accumulating in the mushroom pot to the risotto. 1 can of chicken broth isn’t quite enough, but this little bit of extra liquid seems to do the trick and marry the flavors rather well.

6. When the rice is creamy and not crunchy, add the parmesan, stir, and toss in the mushroom turkey mixture. Salt and pepper to taste (though I found that the chicken stock and parmesan were plenty salty enough).


This is a Wanderfood Wednesday post.

Butternut squash with caramelized onions and crispy fried sage

It's the time of year to give thanks, and I'd like to give an extra big helping of Thanks to Closet Cooking. I got the two recipes I made for Thanksgiving this year from Closet Cooking, and they both turned out amazingly well. I hate to go around nailing the leftovers of another food blog (pun intended), but this is what I've been cooking lately, so that's what I'm blogging about.

Incidentally, I will be creating my own leftover turkey risotto recipe tonight, so I haven't thrown originality out the window quite yet.

--AnglophileLV

But for now, bask in the glory that is butternut squash with caramelized onions, crispy fried sage and gorgonzola.

Ingredients:
2 cups butternut squash (cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion (sliced)
1 clove garlic (chopped)
1 tablespoon butter
1 handful sage leaves
1/4 cup gorgonzola dolce (crumbled)

Directions:
1. Toss the butternut squash with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
2. Roast the squash in a preheated 350F oven until tender, about 30-40 minutes and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil and melt the butter in a pan.
4. Add the onion and cook on low until caramelized, about 40-60 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and saute for a few minutes and set aside.
6. Melt the butter in a pan and let it brown.
7. Add the sage leaves and saute until crispy, about 2-3 minutes.
8. Add everything to the pan and toss in the browned butter to coat and remove from heat when the gorgonzola starts to melt.