MMMM Bread!

Nothing beats a dreary day like the smell of fresh homemade bread.

Today was one of those days.  So, I decided that a batch of Rosemary Garlic bread and cinnamon pecan roll was in order!  (Making bread also is a great stress reliever as dough must be punched and kneaded).

The first loafs up were the rosemary garlic loaves.  These babies were made with fresh garlic, rosemary, thyme and oregano from the garden and a handful of dried herbs (and a touch of pepper).

I also made a batch of brioche style dough (sweet yellow dough) to make cinnamon pecan rolls later.  Ooey goey rolls filled with pecans, melted brown sugar and butter, lots of cinnamon and drizzled with icing.  Haven't even baked them yet but my mouth is watering!
Ask nicely and I'll post the recipe.

Well off to make supper.  It will be the perfect peppered roast. (recipe follows)

Take 1 (approx 2.5 pound) round roast (or any cheap cut) thawed - best to let it sit on counter 20 minutes before cooking
Cut slits in roast and stuff with pieces of thinly sliced garlic
Cover roast with coarse ground pepper, some sea salt and rosemary.
Place in baking pan (I prefer a glass dish)
Heat oven to 500 degrees for 20 minutes
Put roast in oven and cook at 475 - 500 for 7 (seven) minutes per pound (9 mins for medium)
Turn oven OFF.
DO NOT OPEN OVEN DOOR.

Continue to let roast cook by heat left in oven for another 1.5 - 2 hours.

If your oven is gas like mine or loses heat more quickly, you can turn oven back on to lowest possible setting about 30 minutes before you take it out.

Let roast sit for 10 minutes before slicing.  Slice thin.

This method will create a restaurant quality medium/medium-rare roast.

Serve with veggies etc. cooked on stove top such as carrots, steamed broccoli or cauliflower, sauteed green beans or mashed potatoes.

To market, to market...

The best part of summer and early fall is the bounty available from the local farmer's markets!

Thursday nights are the south end farmer's market, and, with a meal idea in mind, I visited the small market to pick up some fresh baby carrots and tiny red potatoes.  They sounded like a good side to the main dish - Shallota Chicken and Brie.  (Ok my naming skills suck)  The shallots in this recipe are from my favorite farm stand, Brookland Farms (located on Butter & Egg Road, Milford Bay). 

Ingredients to feed family of 5 - 6:

• 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 wheel Brie cheese cut into thin wedges (I scrape off the white stuff because I don't like it!)
• 4 shallots (this recipe is yummiest with fresh, young shallots with green tops but aged shallots will work as well)
• Salt and pepper 
• Glaze, if desired.  (I love the Kraft Black Pepper sauce from their Chicken Caesar kit)

Slice each breast in half length-wise (do not cut right through) similar to a hot dog bun.  Place slices of Brie on one side of chicken and top with thin slices of shallot.  Sprinkle with pepper.  Fold half back over.  Sprinkle top of breast with a touch of salt and a generous dose of coarse ground black pepper (reduce if using pepper glaze).

Repeat with remaining breasts and place chicken in single layer in glass oven dish.  Bake at 400 degrees until cooked through. (approx. 30 minutes depending on size of breast).

Serve with baby carrot, fresh potatoes topped with chives and shredded cheese, asparagus or green beans.

Speaking of veggies, if you are ever in the Milford Bay area (outside Bracebridge) I strongly recommend that you stop and visit the nice people at Brookland Farms.http://www.brooklandsfarm.ca/  The produce selection is amazing and includes mulit-coloured carrots and potatoes (even purple!), bok choy, shallots, french green beans, squash, peas and many other specialty veggies I cannot even name (including a form of broccoflower - at least I think that's what it is!)

Noodles, noodles and more noodles!

After enjoying a delicious dish of Chicken Lo Mein at Rickshaw (Gravenhurst), I decided to try my hand at noodles.

For this first attempt, I used two types of store bought noodles  - 1 pkg of refrigerated chow mein yellow skinny noodles (prepare as directed) and 1 pkg of soft thicker noodles (in the grocery aisle).

I then cooked cut up chicken breast with onion (jn a touch of oil) until the chicken was cooked.  Then, I stir-fryed a plethora of veggies - broccoli, snow peas, carrots, celery until soft.

I split the chicken and veggies between the two types of noodles.  to the skinny noodles, I added 1 pkg of Sun Star chow mein seasoning (also in noodle aisle).  To the thicker noodles, I added House of Tang Szechewan sauce (note its hot!).

Overall, I preferred the thick noodles but liked both sauces.  Next time, I would use an additional pkg of chow mein seasoning or make my own.

Here are the results:

Bathing my cheesecake!

I really wanted something sweet today after a long work day so I decided on Caramilk cheesecake.

To start, one needs a basic cheesecake recipe.

I use the following for a round or square tinfoil pan (8"):

• 2 bricks of Philly cream cheese (softened to room temp)
• 2 eggs (also at room temp)
• 1/2 up white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

Mix cream cheese and sugar together till well-mixed.  Add eggs one at a time and mix in to batter.  Stir in vanilla.

You can add a base - graham cracker crust, brownie base (my fav), a shortbread crust or pecan shortbread crust (another fav).  The crustless cheesecake is yummy enough on its own!

Now add your flavour ingredients (plain cheesecake is also yummy!)

For the Caramilk cheesecake, I use half a pkg of chocolate chips (mix into batter) from a Caramilk Fondue kit (thank you Giant Tiger!). Pour it into a pan. I then drizzle the caramel (1/4 to 1/2 a bag) over the cheesecake and swirl it around using the tip of a sharp knife to drag the caramel through the batter.

I make flavours based on the desire of the moment.  Chocolate caramel is a fav - just stir  good quality melted chocolate into the batter.  For apple pecan cheesecake, top with cooked apple slices then a crumb mix of butter, flour, pecans and brown sugar and, if possible, drizzle with caramel when cooked (the pecan shortbread base is best here).  you can always use the old standby of cherry or blueberry pie filling as a topper as well or try fresh berries.

Place the cheesecake pan inside another larger pan (I use a large, beat up former cake pan)  and fill the larger pan with water to just below the edge of the batter.  This water bath allows the cheesecake to cook at an even temperature and results in a creamy, yummy cheesecake!

Bake until the centre springs back - 35 - 40 minutes?  Sadly, I bake by touch, taste and feel and rarely remember to time my recipes.

Here is the before pic.

The outdoor spit!

For the first time this year, we used the outdoor spit to spit a whole sirloin tip during Western weekend at our trailer!

I made lots of slits in the beef and inserted slices of garlic.  Then I covered the entire ball of meat with a mix of coarse ground pepper, sea sale and some rosemary.  It smelled heavenly!  Let it sit overnight.

Around 1pm, they started the charcoal.  At 2pm, the beef was spit and placed over the coals.  by 5:30, it was a perfect medium/medium-rare!

This 12.5 lb roast fed an ample crowd with lots of leftovers!  Over the next day or two, we made lots of Philly cheese steak sandwiches with beautiful carved roast, fresh peppers from the farmer's market and lots of crusty fresh bread (Walmart bakery).

An Epicurean Delight!

Due to popular request, you will soon find pictures and details about the many baked goods and meals I create.

Be sure to watch for items like enchiladas, spanakopita, butter tarts, pecan squares, brownies and so much more!