Holiday Baking Adventures, Part I

This time of year for me is one usually full of baking or the aching desire to bake. I had been craving Pannetone for quite awhile when I decided today would be the day that I fulfill that mouthwatering desire. The only card in the spoke of my baking adventure? Snow. Despite my love for snow and being snowed in, I find myself irrationally angry at the city of Pullman once I look outside and realize that my tiny little roller skate of a car will never make it on these hills until they actually REMOVE the damn snow from the road. (A little caveat here: the plows are housed across the street from my where I live, and yesterday they sat idling in the parking lot while the drivers played Wii in the office. Dude. Get out there and plow. Seriously.)

Without the ingredients to make the always lovely pannetone, I decided on a biscotti recipe for which I already had a recipe. The linked recipe below has been somewhat modified, and if you follow the linked recipe, consider adding the orange zest--it adds a very pleasant touch to an otherwise tame biscotti.




Pistachio and Cranberry Biscotti

¾ cup sugar
¼ cup olive oil
2 ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
½ tsp. almond extract
2 eggs
1 tbl. finely grated orange zest
1 ½ cups flour
¼ cup ground flax (you can omit this and increase flour to 1 ¾ cups flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
¾ cup dried orange craisins
¾ cup pistachios (if unsalted, add an additional ¼ tsp. salt to dry ingredients)

1. Preheat oven to 300. Mix together olive oil and sugar, and then beat in eggs. Add almond and vanilla extracts, and orange zest. In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients and add to wet slowly. The batter should be very stiff once the dry and wet ingredients are fully integrated, and then work nuts and cranberries evenly through batter.

2. Make two long logs out of batter (be sure to rinse your hands before touching the dough—it’s super sticky!) and arrange on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake for around 30 minutes.

3. Remove lightly browned logs from the oven and remove from parchment paper to cool on a baking rack or other surface for at least ten minutes. Cut the logs into even slices (see photo). Reduce oven heat to 200 degrees and place sliced biscotti (on their sides) back on parchment paper. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until completely dried out.








The dough is pretty stiff by the time you get to this point, so if you're like me and miss playing in the mud by the time winter rolls around, you'll dig in with your hands!











Be careful to leave enough room between the logs so when they spread out in the oven they don't bake together.











Let the logs cool before cutting to avoid the crumb factor











Cut before rearranging on parchment paper for the second baking













The finished product--ta da! I love a nice cup of coffee with these babies in the morning.

In which I eat meatloaf...again...

Classes have ended and all that's left to do is grade and fulfill some last minute duties before I can focus solely on the diss and writing projects that have been gathering dust in my office. So what's the perfect food to celebrate the end while fueling me for lingering tasks? Why, meatloaf of course!

I've raved about the culinary yumminess that is the Moscow Co-Op for some time now, and I'd have to say their meatloaves are my favorite. If I had the time, I would make my own but alas, I still do not, and husband still asks too many questions to make the dish on his own ("Honey, is this too much Worcestershire?" "Did I mix the meat enough, honey?"). This time around we tried the Gorgonzola and Sun Dried Tomato Meatloaf made from ground buffalo. Buffalo has been pretty cheap in these parts as of late, and at one point I found it was actually (on sale) cheaper than ground beef, pork or turkey.

While this meatloaf was smokier than other versions we've tried from the Co-Op, the combination of sun dried tomatoes and gorgonzola with meat was not their best. I'm still loving the Amanda's Bacon Ranch Meatloaf, which the meat manager informed us was his grandmother's recipe--they don't make 'em like they used to!

We also picked up a Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout, which was EXCELLENT. Very rich and full bodied, but with a dish like meatloaf, it paired well and the texture didn't overpower the meat. In fact, despite its stoutness, it was less filling than Guinness or this very very very rich chocolate stout I tried once. I'd definitely drink it again, despite the fact that its import price tag is a bit hefty these days.


The other reason to curl up with a nice, tall stout? Snow. Lots and lots of beautiful Palouse snow. Perhaps I'll take up that task when I'm not grading papers (Think drunk dialing is dangerous? Try DRUNK GRADING!)

Rest, comfort and about a million other things that are now foreign to me

After finally finishing what has felt like the world's longest exam period in history, yesterday I emerged exhausted but triumphant. I can now exclusively focus on my little baby, the dissertation. The days have been full of duties, some related to my own work and others related to teaching, grading, indentured servitude, etc. While normally I have a system for grading papers that is pretty foolproof, it's been difficult this semester to juggle the mounds of papers that always seem to grace my desk. After grading one pile, another appears to mock me incessantly while I struggle to get the laundry done, cook, and research/write.

Needless to say, there hasn't been much time for cooking beyond the generic frozen veggie/chicken breast/potato combo, and I'm excited to cease eating the same meal over and over and...you get the picture. The other upside to finishing the PhD exams? I don't have to eat snacks out of bags any longer. Whew.

I'd been eyeing this recipe for pumpkin lasagna for quite awhile, and I finally had the time this evening to accomplish more than boil water. After having used up all the pumpkin I bought for Thanksgiving dinner (one more post is coming on that front), I decided to make a lasagna to use up my leftover butternut squash.

The recipe called for sugar pumpkin puree, and since I began with uncooked, cubed butternut squash, I somewhat rearranged the directions. Beginning with some olive oil, I added garlic, then the squash, then about 1/2 cup of liquid to a pan, and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Once the mixture cooled, I blended the mixture (straining most of the liquid out since cooked squash retains a lot of water) and then added honey and brown sugar to the mixture (no measurements--just eyed it). While assembling the lasagna, I realized I'd need a bit more of the ricotta mixture than was called for since I adore ricotta, and ended up increasing the ricotta to a full cup.

This turned out awesome, and despite the fact I was bummed that I couldn't use pumpkin, I'm glad I substituted butternut squash. It's one of my favorite flavors!! Thanks for the recipe, Jessica!!

Using and reusing the innards....

....er, of a pumpkin, folks. I love Thanksgiving, and I love fall recipes that call for pumpkin puree, but I'm often frustrated with the fact that it often means not using up a full can from the supermarket, or alternatively, a full batch from a REAL pumpkin. For Thanksgiving I made a pumpkin roll that actually rocked, but I had a lot of pumpkin left over. I AM NOT A BIG FAN OF WASTING FOOD. So pumpkin bread it is!! The following is a recipe for Paula Deen's Pumpkin Roll and a less celebrity driven Pumpkin Bread that tastes like heaven. Enjoy!!




From foodnetwork.com, courtesy of Paula Deen

Pumpkin Roll Cake
Please note: I didn't use the caramel sauce. It wasn't really necessary.

* 3/4 cup cake flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
* 3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
* 6 large eggs, separated
* 1/3 cup granulated sugar
* 1/3 cup golden brown sugar, packed
* 2/3 cup canned pumpkin, packed
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* Powdered sugar

Filling:

* 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
* 2 tablespoons dark rum
* 1 cup whipping cream, chilled
* 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
* 6 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup English toffee pieces for garnish
* Additional powdered sugar, for garnish
* 1 1/2 cups purchased caramel sauce, warmed, for garnish

Directions

For the cake: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Line a 15 by 10 by 1-inch baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray the parchment with nonstick cooking spray.

Sift the flour, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice into a small bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until very thick. Add the pumpkin to the egg mixture and combine at a low speed until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and beat at a low speed until mixed. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until stiff but not dry. Fold into the cake batter, stirring with a spatula, until most of the white streaks are gone.

Spread the batter onto a baking sheet and smooth out. Transfer baking sheet to the oven and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 15 to 18 minutes. While the cake is hot, dust generously with powdered sugar. Loosen the edges and turn the cake out onto a kitchen towel. Fold the towel over the edge of the cake and roll up. Cool completely, edge down, for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

For the filling: Soften the gelatin in the rum. Stir over low heat until the gelatin dissolves. Cool. Beat the chilled whipping cream and powdered sugar in a large bowl until peaks form. Fold in the gelatin and 6 tablespoons English toffee pieces.

To assemble, unroll the cake and sprinkle with 4 tablespoons of English toffee pieces. Spread the filling over the toffee. Start at 1 long side of the cake roll and, using the towel as an aid, roll up the cake to encase the filling. Place the cake, seam-side down, on a platter.

Trim the ends of the cake at a slight diagonal. Dust the cake with powdered sugar. Spoon some warm caramel sauce and the remaining toffee chips over the top of the cake. To serve, use a serrated knife to cut the cake crosswise into 1-inch thick slices. Drizzle more sauce on each slice and serve.






Pumpkin Bread, adapted from this recipe

* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 cup whole wheat flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 3/4 cup brown sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1/2 cup raisins
* 1/3 cup orange juice
* 1 cup pumpkin puree

My topping:
2 tbl. brown sugar
1 tbl butter, softened
1 teaspoon finely chopped pecans
Instructions: um, mix???

1. Mix together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, allspice and nutmeg. In a large bowl, beat together vegetable oil, brown sugar, eggs, orange juice and pumpkin. Stir flour mixture into pumpkin mixture until just combined. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
2. Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.