Month: May 2016

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Tuesday Tip-Bread Flour

Lynnae

My bread and roll making took a turn for the better a few years ago when I discovered King Arthur Bread Flour.  My breads when from alright, to a highlight at the meal.  Bread flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour.  It provides more structure for breads than all-purpose flour.

I wanted to conduct an experiment to see if the brand of bread flour I used mattered.  I used Pillsbury Best, King Arthur, Gold Medal, and White Lily (which I had a hard time finding in a store but ordered from Jet.com for $2.78 for 5 lbs, delivered).

I then gave my family a blind taste test of Our Best Bites World’s Best Dinner Rolls, to see which one they preferred. (I cut the recipe in half and started with 21.5 ounces of flour).  I weighed the flour for each different brand.  The King Arthur and Gold Medal batches both needed 4 extra tablespoons of flour (approx. 1.6 ounces).  White Lily took 2 extra tablespoons (approx. 0.8 ounces), and Pillsbury worked great with the amount the recipe calls for.  Turns out, they were all pretty similar in taste and texture, except for the Pillsbury brand.  It had an aftertaste we didn’t like.  As for the other three, we had a very slight preference for King Arthur and While Lily over Gold Medal.  My rank list went as follows, but the top three were really almost a tie:

1.  King Arthur
2. White Lily
3. Gold Medal
4. Pillsbury Best

Going forward, I think we’ll be switching to White Lily because I can get it delivered to my door for almost half the price.

(Note:  These are completely my own opinions.  I did not receive any compensation from any of the brands or stores mentioned in the this post.)

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Sticky Buns

Lynnae

One of our favorite breakfast treats is sticky buns! They are super easy to make and great to take to pot lucks.

5 simple ingredients:  Rhodes Dinner Rolls, brown sugar, butterscotch cook and serve pudding, butter, and nuts.  I LOVE cashews, but pecans are also delicious.

Melt the butter and sugar together in the microwave and mix until they become a syrup.  Grease the pan, place the thawed rolls in it.  Allow them to thaw enough to cut or slice them in half. 

Sprinkle the nuts and pudding mixture over the rolls, then pour the syrup over the top.

Cover and allow the rolls to double in size.  I usually make these the night before and allow them to rise overnight.  Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes.  Cover the top with aluminum foil for the last 15 minutes.  If you don’t, you will have very well done rolls on top and raw rolls on the bottom.

 

Sticky Buns

From the Kitchen of Lynnae Hymas

Recipe by Rhodes Rolls

Ingredients

·         24 Rhodes rolls, thawed but still cold

·         ½ cup chopped pecans or cashews

·         ½ small box of non-instant butterscotch pudding mix

·         1 cup butter

·         1 cup brown sugar

Directions

Spray 9×13 pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Cut the rolls in half and place in the pan.  Sprinkle with nuts and then the pudding mix.  Melt the butter and add the brown sugar.  Heat together and mix until a syrup is formed.  Pour syrup over the rolls.  Cover with sprayed plastic wrap.

Let rise until double in size.  Remove wrap and bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes.  Cover with foil the last 15 minutes of baking.  Do not under bake.  Invert onto a serving platter if desired.  Serve immediately.

 

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Etiquette–Elbows

Lynnae

Putting your elbows on the table is frequently thought of as a no-no.  While you shouldn’t put your elbows on the table when you’re actually eating, it is perfectly acceptable to do so during a conversation.  Leaning forward and resting your elbows on the table is body language that tells other people at the table that you are intently listening to the conversation.  And as a side note, don’t fidget while you’re waiting for the meal to be served.

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Spinach Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

Lynnae

This chicken salad is to die for!  It is a beautiful, light, and nutritious meal that is highly satisfying.  Sounds great, right? 

Start with the chicken.  Marinate two boneless, skinless chicken breasts for 1-2 hours in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.  After you marinade the chicken, pound the fatter part of the chicken with a meat tenderizer (I do this is a zip lock bag), so that the chicken is of even thickness.  Use olive oil on one side of the chicken, and season with some more Kosher salt.  Grill the chicken.  Sear on each side for about two minutes to get a nice carmelization, then keep turning the chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.  This will give you a beautiful juicy chicken.  Set aside and allow to cool.  To prepare for the salad, slice it against the grain in 3/4 inch thick pieces.

Next, make the salad dressing.  Just put all of the ingredients together in a measuring cup and mix with a whisk until smooth.  You can prepare the dressing and the chicken well ahead of time.

To assemble the salad, use fresh spinach as the base, and top with craisens, cheese, almonds, and bacon bits.  Fan the chicken across the top, and drizzle the dressing across the top.


Spinach Chicken Salad

From the Kitchen of Lynnae Hymas
Chicken Marinade
·         ¼ cup oil
·         ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
·         Salt and pepper to taste
Ingredients
·         2 Grilled and marinated chicken breasts
·         1 pound Spinach
·         ¼ cup Roasted Almonds
·         ¼ cup Craisins
·         ¼ cup Blue Cheese Crumbles
·         1/8 cup Bacon Bits
Directions
Mix the oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper together.  Marinate chicken breast in marinade 1-2 hours before cooking.  Grill the chicken until the internal temperature reaches 165°.  Cut into small ¾ inch strips and allow to cool to room temperature.  Add all other ingredients to a salad bowl and toss.  Add chicken and serve with honey mustard salad dressing. Serves 4.

Spinach Chicken Salad PDF

Honey Mustard Dressing

From the Kitchen of Lynnae Hymas
Ingredients
·         ½ cup mayonnaise
·         2 tablespoons honey
·         2 tablespoons yellow mustard
·         2 tablespoons milk
·         2 teaspoon lemon juice
·         ¼ teaspoon coriander
Directions
Mix all ingredients together in a measuring cup with a whisk.
Honey Mustard Dressing PDF

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Tuesday Tips-Oven Bake Your Bacon

Lynnae

I LOVE bacon, but I hate to fry it on the stove top.  It makes a huge mess and the bacon smell just sticks to me.  So, I started baking my bacon in the oven.  I cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil (I use the 18″ width kind for this job), spray it with non-stick spray, and spread the bacon in a single layer across the pan.  The non-stick spray really is an important step.  I know bacon has plenty of fat in it, but the bacon sticks if I don’t spray it first.  Bake at 425 degrees for 15-23 minutes, depending on how crispy you like it and how thick your bacon is.  I like my bacon thick and crispy!

 

After it’s done cooking, I fold one hot pad in half and set the pan on it and a flat one so that it create a tilt. 

Place the pan on the folded hot pad as well as a flat one for the other end.  I push the bacon to the top half and let the grease run down to the bottom.

Remove the bacon and place on paper towels to absorb any extra grease.  Once the pan cools a bit, I put a couple of paper towels down to soak up/contain the grease, fold the foil up into a neat little packet, and throw it in the garbage.  No mess no fuss.  If I cooked any extra bacon, I crumble it up and store it in the fridge for bacon bits.

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Barb’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Lynnae

Several years ago, one of my co-workers and good friends, Barbara, would bring the most amazing chocolate chip cookies to work to share.  They were soft and rich, and I could easily eat half a dozen in one sitting.  Give them a try.  You won’t be disappointed. 

One amazing tip I’ve learned is to cream your eggs and butter together to create beautiful, creamy emulsion.  See the picture below.  It takes a while, so don’t panic.  The cookies bake differently when I do this and when I don’t. This picture shows the whip attachment for the mixure, but I prefer to use the paddle attachment.

After the eggs and butter cream together, I add the sugars, cream, and extracts and mix, then switch to my dough hook.  Next, I add the dry ingredients that I mixed together in a separate bowl, and lastly, the chocolate chips, about 1 1/2 bags.  Guittard Milk Chocolate Chips are my favorite.  I’d definitely use a high quality chocolate chip in these.  Milk and semi-sweet both work great.  Use your favorite!

Next, drop them onto a cookie sheet.  Don’t flatten them.  I recently started using silicone baking liners, and I love them!  Another tip is don’t bake too many at a time.  I only cook a dozen at a time.

Bake at 350 degrees for 9-12 minutes.  Do NOT over bake them.  They will get hard and crunchy if you do.  The best way to tell is by looking at the bottom of the cookie.  They should be on the very light end of turning brown.  I like to leave them on the cookie sheet for an extra minute or two before I transfer them to the cooling rack.  They cook just a tiny bit more and are a little easier to handle after they have cooled for a moment.

They are the best when served with a tall glass of milk!  After they have completely cooled, store them in an air tight container so they will stay fresh and soft.

Barb’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

From the Kitchen of Lynnae Hymas

Recipe adapted from Barbara Leonhardt

Ingredients

  •          1 ½ c. butter
  •          3 eggs
  •          2 c. brown sugar
  •          1 ½ c. sugar
  •          1 ½ tsp vanilla
  •          1 ½ tsp coconut extract (don’t leave this out!)
  •          ¾ c. cream

Dry Ingredients

  •          4 ½ c oatmeal flour (17 ounces)
  •          4 ½ c. flour (22.15 ounces)
  •          1 ½ tsp baking powder
  •          1 ½ tsp baking soda
  •          ¾ tsp salt
  •          3 c. chocolate chips

Directions

Cream the eggs and butter together until emulsified.  Preheat oven to 350° F.  Cream the sugar.  Mix in extracts and cream.  Blend oats in blender until flour.  Combine dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and then add to sugar, butter, and egg mixture.  Combine together, then add chocolate chips.  Drop balls onto a cookie sheet and then bake for 9-12 minutes.  Allow to cool on the pan for a minute or two. Remove from pan and allow to cool on cooling rack.  Makes approx. 6 dozen cookies.

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