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Tuesday Tips-Weigh Your Flour

Lynnae

This is the first of a series of Tuesday’s Tip of the Week.  Today’s tip is weigh your flour.  When baking, getting the right amount of flour in a recipe can be tricky.  Usually, you add the minimum amount of flour a recipe calls for and then add more, a little at a time, in order to get the right texture. 

Remember in Home Ec in school, your teacher would have you sift the flour before adding it to the recipe.   For me, it was way more effort that it was worth because I thought it was a texture thing.  Turns out that it is a volume thing. The more packed a cup of flour, the more flour you get per cup.  So, when using volume to measure, you can get widely varying amounts of flour in a recipe.  Sifting the flour first gives you a more consistent volume of measure.  However, I think there is yet a better and easier way.

A few years ago, we purchased a kitchen scale, and I started weighing our flour.  Turns out that weight is a far more consistent way to measure flour.  The conversion factor for flour should be:

1 cup flour = 4.92 ounces

Not all recipes are created equal, and you may have to play around a bit with the recipe to get the correct weight of flour, but the conversion factor is a great place to start.  Once I figure out the correct weight of the flour for a recipe, it takes out all the guess work.  I just add the correct weight of flour and the recipe turns out every time.  I don’t need to tweak anything.  It is definitely a time saver, and my recipes turn out more consistently each time.

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Etiquette-Napkins

Lynnae

Etiquette is a way to show respect for others.  It’s not a way to put on airs or think you are better than others. A few years ago, I bought a reference book called Emily Post’s Etiquette.  It covers various topics on etiquette that range from weddings, travel, communication, and of course, table manners.
  

As a family, we’ve decided we’d like to start focusing on a different aspect of table manners each week, and as an added incentive for us, I thought I’d start sharing our focus here. 

This week’s topic is using your napkin.  In a place setting, the napkin is placed to the left of the forks, under the forks, or in the center of the dinner plate.  It can be either folded or with a napkin ring around it.

Your napkin should go into your lap as soon as you sit down.  In more formal settings, you may wait until your hostess puts her napkin in her lap.  Don’t tuck the napkin under your chin or in your belt.  The napkin should stay folded in half.

You should use the napkin frequently during the meal to blot your lips.  Do not wipe.  When you get up or when the meal is over, you should put your napkin to the left side of your plate with loose folds.  If your plate has been removed, you can place it in the middle of the place setting.

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Pasta Salad

Lynnae



This pasta salad is my go to when I have to bring a salad to an event or when I’ve having a luncheon.  It’s simple, but it goes a long way and is full of flavor.

Feta is  the most flavorful cheese for this dish.  I especially like the kind that comes in a chunk in brine.  Cheddar will also work.  Olive Garden’s Italian Dressing is delicious in this, but if you want to make your own, Our Best Bites has a great recipe for Italian Dressing.

While your pasta is cooking, cut up your broccoli.  The smaller the florets, the better your salad will be.

 Rinsing the pasta after it’s drained helps to cool it down quickly and to get rid of the startch.

At this point, throw everything into a bowl and toss it together.

Pasta Salad

From the Kitchen of and Recipe by Lynnae Hymas

Ingredients:

3 quarts water

2 teaspoons salt

6 oz. Tri-color Rotini Pasta

1 small head of broccoli

15-20 pieces of pepperoni

3-4 ounces Feta cheese

1 cup Italian dressing

Boil the water and add the salt.  Add the pasta to the boiling water.  Cook for 8-10 minutes.  Drain the pasta in a strainer and rinse with cold water.  Cut the broccoli into small bite sized florets and discard the stems.  Add pasta and broccoli to a salad bowl, along with pepperoni, and crumbled Feta cheese.  Pour the Italian dressing over the top and toss together.  Serves 8-12.  
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Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza

Lynnae

 
 A couple of years ago, I went to Chicago for the first time on a girl’s trip with my daughter, sister-in-law, Katie, her mom, and my niece.  One of the first things we did was go to Giordano’s and Lou Malnati’s (Giordano’s is my favorite).  I’d never tasted Chicago style deep dish pizza before, and I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.  If you haven’t tried it before, it’s kind of an upside pizza with a flaky crust.  Trust me, it’s good!

While there are a few pizzerias outside of Chicago where you can get the stuff, I wanted to recreate the experience at home.  I found a recipe on carnaldish.com, which totally fits the bill.

The crust is not a normal pizza crust.  It includes corn meal and you fold in a layer of butter to give it a flaky texture.

Roll out the dough and spread a layer of soft butter on top

Roll it up like a cinnamon roll

Cut the roll in half, and fold in thirds to make a ball

The sauce is made caramelized onions, and slow simmered crushed tomatoes.

Use a 9″ cake pan, grease with olive oil, and line the pan with the rolled out dough.  Then, first put down the cheese, then the toppings, then the sauce.  Bake.  Serve.  YUM!

Whatever toppings you like on pizza
Toppings before sauce!

About to go in the oven

Hot out of the oven

Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza
From the Kitchen of Lynnae Hymas

Recipe adapted from Carnal Dish

Ingredients

For the dough:

  • 3¼ cups (16¼ ounces) bread flour
  • ½ cup (2¾ ounces) yellow cornmeal
  • 1½ teaspoon table salt
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
  • 1¼ cups water (10 ounces), room temperature
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted, plus 4 tablespoons, softened
  • 1 teaspoon plus 4 tablespoons olive oil

Sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup grated onion
  • ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
  • Dash of crushed red pepper
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
  • 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
  • ¼ teaspoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • Ground black pepper

Toppings:

  • 1 pound whole-milk or part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 4 cups) (see note below)
  • ½ ounce grated Parmesan cheese (about ¼ cup)
  • Your favorite pizza toppings (sausage, ham, pepperoni, bacon, pineapple, etc.)

Directions

FOR THE DOUGH:

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar and yeast together until incorporated. Using the dough hook attachment, add the water and melted butter and mix on low speed until fully combined.  Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally.  Knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
  2. Coat a large bowl with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and transfer the dough to the bowl, turning once to oil the top. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until it’s nearly doubled in size, about 45-75 minutes.

FOR THE SAUCE:

  1. Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until melted. Then add the onion,  oregano, crushed red pepper and ½ teaspoon of salt, cooking and stirring occasionally until liquid has evaporated and onion is golden.  Add the garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and sugar and bring to a simmer over high heat.  Lower the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce has reduced to 2½ cups. Remove the sauce from the stove and stir in basil and oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

TO LAMINATE THE DOUGH:

  1. Spray your work surface with non-stick cooking spray and turn the dough out onto the work surface.  Roll it into a rectangular shape about 1/4-inch thick.  Spread the softened butter over the dough but leave a ½-inch border along the edges.  Roll the dough into a tight cylinder (like a cinnamon roll).  Cut the roll in half and fold the half into thirds, pinching the seams together to form a ball. Repeat with the other half.  Place both dough balls into an oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough balls rise in the refrigerator until doubled in size, about 45-60 minutes.
  2. Heat the oven to 425°.  Oil two 9-inch round cake pans with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil each. Place 1 dough ball on a dry work surface and roll out into a 13-inch circle, about ¼-inch thick. Transfer the dough to the cake pan.  Press the dough into the pan lightly, working up the sides. Repeat with the other dough half.
  3. Sprinkle 2 cups of mozzarella over the dough for each pizza.  Place your toppings on top of the cheese (if using sausage, you can leave it raw, but make sure to bake for at least 30 minutes). Spread half of the tomato sauce on top of each pizza, then sprinkle 2 tablespoons of parmesan over the sauce. Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 25-35 minutes. Remove the pizza from the oven to rest for 5-10 minutes.
  4. Slice, serve and enjoy!

http://carnaldish.com/recipes/pizza/homemadechicago-style-deep-dish-pizza/#.VMlnDi7jeVB

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Creamy Basil Chicken

Lynnae

 
Creamy Basil Chicken is a family favorite around here.  It is frequently requested, always goes fast, and there are never left overs.  My oldest even made it once for a cook-off with some of his friends.

I actually buy my chicken breasts in bulk, as in 40 lbs at a time.  It takes a while to trim, cut, and bag it, but it’s a time saver when I’m cooking dinner.  I cut some of it into chunks, flatten some of it, and just bag the rest.  This is some that I’ve already flattened along with the other ingredients to make this meal delicious.  I think the McCormick Red Pepper and Roasted Garlic Seasoning is one of the secret ingredients that makes this dish rock!

Just use two shallow bowls for the milk and bread crumb mixture.  I go straight from the bread crumbs to the frying pan.

I find it works best to brown one side of the chicken in 2 Tbs. melted butter, pull the chicken from the pan, melt 2 Tbs. of butter, and brown the other side of the chicken.

When the chicken is browned, pull it out and bake it in the oven, then add the chicken broth directly to the pan to soak up all those delicious flavors.

After adding the sauce ingredients, including the Parmesean cheese, I thicken it with a corn starch surrey.

Pull the chicken from the oven and serve it all over a bed of your favorite pasta.  I like fettuccine best!

 Creamy Basil Chicken

From the Kitchen of and Recipe by Lynnae Hymas
Ingredients

  •          1 c. milk
  •          3 large chicken breasts
  •          4 Tbs. butter

Breading

  •          1 c. Panko bread crumbs
  •          1 Tbs. basil
  •          1 tsp. garlic salt
  •          1 tsp. McCormick Red Pepper and Roasted Garlic Seasoning
Sauce
  •          1 c. chicken broth
  •          2 c. heavy cream
  •          1 tsp. basil
  •          1 tsp. salt
  •          ½ tsp. pepper
  •          1 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  •          2 Tbs. corn starch
  •          4 Tbs. cold water
Directions
Cut each chicken breast in half crosswise.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Using a meat tenderizer, pound each chicken breast until it’s about a ½ inch thick.  Set aside.
Mix together the Panko bread crumbs, 1 Tbs. basil, garlic salt, and McCormick Red Pepper and Roasted Garlic Seasoning in a shallow bowl.  Pour milk into another shallow bowl.  Dip chicken in the milk and then the breading mixture.  In a large frying pan over medium heat, melt 2 Tbs. butter.  Add the chicken to the pan and brown one side.  Remove the chicken from the pan and melt the other 2 Tbs. of butter.  Brown the other side of the chicken.  Remove from the pan and put in a 9×13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.   
Sauce:  Deglaze the pan with the chicken broth.  Add the cream, basil, salt, and pepper.  Add 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese and stir until melted.  Mix the corn starch and water together in a separate bowl.  Add a little at a time to the sauce and stir until desired thickness is reached.  Place chicken on your favorite pasta and then cover with sauce.

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Blueberry Sauce

Lynnae
We left our blueberry picking adventure with a booklet of recipes to make with our blueberries.  This recipe for blueberry sauce is good on anything from pancakes to ice cream.
Blueberry Sauce 
From the Kitchen of Lynnae Hymas 
Adapted from a recipe by the Couturier Blueberry Farm 

Ingredients 

• ¼ cup sugar 
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch 
• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries 
• ½ cup water or fruit juice 

Directions 

In a medium sized saucepan, combine the sugar and cornstarch. Add the blueberries to the pan and mash them with a potato masher and combine them with the sugar mixture. Gradually stir in the water and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil until the sauce is thick.

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Individual Fruit Tart

Lynnae

For Father’s Day this year, the men at church each received an individual fruit tart.  Turns out they are one of my husband’s favorite desserts.  Who knew?  After our Ludington, MI blueberry picking adventure, he asked me to make him a batch.  No surprise here, but they went fast.  This recipe is adapted from Our Best Bites fruit pizza, and the fruit glaze is a recipe from Heather Brown.
Raw Ingredients
Creamed Butter and Egg
Frosted Cookies
Glazed Fruit
Finished Product
Individual Fruit Tarts
From the Kitchen of Lynnae Hymas
Crust
·         1 cup real butter (no substitutions!)
·         1 cup white sugar
·         1 egg
·         1 teaspoon almond extract
·         3 cups all-purpose flour
·         1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
·         ½ teaspoon table salt

Creamy Topping
·         1 8-once package cream cheese (light cream cheese is fine)
·         ¼ cup brown sugar
·         1 cup whipping cream
·         ½ cup powdered sugar
Pizza Topping
·         1 pint strawberries, washed, hulled, sliced, and patted dry
·         1 pint blueberries, washed and patted dry
Clear Fruit Glaze
·         ½ cup Sugar
·         1 cup water or pineapple juice
·         2 tablespoon cornstarch
·         2 tablespoon corn syrup
Directions
For the crust, using a mixer, cream the butter and egg until light and fluffy.  The butter and egg should be room temperature—it’ll take about 5-7 minutes.  Add sugar and extract and cream together.
In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.  Spoon the flour into the cup and then level it off with a knife.  Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until completely combined.
Roll out the dough to about ¼ of an inch thick.  Using a biscuit cutter or  even a quart jar lid ring, cut the dough into individual circles and put on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or silicon baking mat.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. 
Bake at 350°F for 8-12 minutes.  If you like them really soft and slightly chewy, about 8-9 minutes does it. If you like them slightly crisp and buttery, then go for 10-12. Allow to cool completely.
While the crust is cooling, start making the clear fruit glaze.  Bring ½ cup sugar to a boil with ½ cup of the water or juice.  Dissolve corn starch in ½ cup of the water or juice and add it to the sugar mixture.  Cook stirring until mixture thickens and clears.  Stir in corn syrup.  Bring to a boil and then remove from heat.  Cool.
When the crust is almost cool, use an electric mixer to combine the cream cheese, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whip the cream and powdered sugar until medium peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture and combine well.
Spread the cream cheese mixture over the cooled crust. Arrange the berries as desired over the creamy topping. Using a pastry brush, brush the fruit with the clear fruit glaze. 
Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 24 tarts.
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Streusel-Topped Blueberry Muffins

Lynnae

It’s blueberry season here in Michigan.  We spent last weekend in Lundington, MI, and found the most amazing u-pick blueberry farm, Couturier Blueberry Farm.  We came home with at least 30 pounds of the most beautiful blueberries.  
We froze most of them to enjoy during the winter months, but, I found myself on a quest for the perfect blueberry muffins.   Of course, I didn’t have to look too far, because the girls at Our Best Bites never disappoint.  Here is Kate’s delicious recipe:


Streusel-Topped Blueberry Muffins
Recipe from Our Best Bites 
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon, divided
2 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoons table salt
½ cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon, divided
2 teaspoon grated orange or lemon peel
1 large egg
¾ cup buttermilk
⅓ cup canola oil
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon sugar
Streusel Topping
¼ cup sugar
2 ½ tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ tablespoon butter
Preheat the oven to 400°F.  Prepare your muffin tins with liners or coat with shortening and flour. Add the 1 ¾ cups flour, baking powder, salt, 1/2 cup sugar, and peel into a bowl.  Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it with a knife to ensure the correct volume of flour.   Make a well in the center of mixture.  In another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg, and oil.  Add to the dry ingredient well and stir until moistened.
In a separate bowl, combine 1 tablespoon flour and 1 tablespoon of sugar.  Toss the berries in the mixture until well coated.  Fold the berries into the batter and spoon the batter into the muffin tin, filling each cup ⅔ full.  
Mix the streusel topping by combining the sugar, flour, and cinnamon.  Cut the butter into the mixture with a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture is crumbly.  Sprinkle over the top of each muffin cup.  Put the muffin tin into the pre-heated oven and bake for about 18 minutes, until the tops are a golden brown.  You can test the muffins by inserting a toothpick into the center of one of the muffins. If it comes out clean, they are done.  Allow to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes and then cool them on a cooling rack.  Makes 12 muffins.
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Greek Yogurt

Lynnae

I love Greek yogurt. Not too long ago, I tried this amazing Chobani Flip Greek yogurt cup and swore I could never go back to normal yogurt. But, the treat is expensive, and my kids love it as much as I do, so, we made our own version.

First, pour a gallon of whole milk into a heavy pot.  The way the milk is processed can affect the outcome of the yogurt.  I used to use Kroger milk, and then all of the sudden my yogurt started coming out with a funny texture.  I finally switched to slightly more expensive brand of milk and the yogurt came out great again.

I use my enameled Dutch oven. The heavier the pot, the less scalding of milk you will get. Then, heat the milk to 185 degrees F over medium to medium high heat. Once you reach that temperature, cool the mixture back down to about a 120 degrees F.

When the milk temperature drops below 130, I like to add my sugars and flavorings because they help to further cool the milk. Flavorings and sugars are completely optional, but I will give you my favorites. I use 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons of coconut extract, and 1 cup of sugar. If you prefer it plain, leave these out.

Next, you’ll add your yogurt starter. This is usually cold and can cool the batch below 120 degrees. Don’t panic. I’ve never had a problem as long as it’s around that temperature. You will get your starter from an existing batch of yogurt. It does NOT need to be Greek. You can start with some plain yogurt purchased at the store. Not all yogurts are created equal, so stick with the higher quality brands. I prefer to use four Yoplait Vanilla single serving cups. I like the Yoplait start best of all the kinds I’ve tried. (After you have established a batch, you can use a start from the previous batch you made, saving money. I fill up a pint sized jar with the yogurt before processing to use for a new batch in lieu of the containers of yogurt. However, it seems to turn out creamiest using a fresh start from the store).

At this point, I fill the bottom of a medium sized cooler with the hottest water I can get from my sink, which is around that magic 120 degree number. Be careful not to fill it too high. You want to be able to put your jars of yogurt in without covering the lids with water.

Next, fill your jars with the yogurt. I found the easiest way to do this is with a ladle and a large mouth funnel. I also like to strain the yogurt through a fine mesh strainer to get any milk skim out, but that is an optional step. 

Finally, put the lids on the jars and put them in the warmed up cooler to incubate for 3-6 hours. The less time, the less sour the taste will be. I have found 4 hours to be ideal for us. Refrigerate overnight and you have yogurt.

Now the fun part, turning it into Greek. Line your colander with the cloth and set them inside a larger bowl. Then, empty 2-3 quart jars (depending on how much room you have) of the yogurt into the cloth to allow about the whey to drain off, stirring occasionally. Drain off about 40%-50% of the original volume until you have the creamy consistency you dream of. The lower bowl will be full of whey, which I currently just dispose of. Return the yogurt to a jar and keep refrigerated. Repeat with the remaining jars of yogurt, reserving a pint sized jar if you are planning on using it for the start for your next batch.

Greek Yogurt
From the Kitchen of Lynnae Hymas

 Supplies


·          Cooler
·          Large heavy pot
·          5 quart jars and 1 pint jar and lids
·          Small, fine meshed strainer
·          Large mouth funnel
·          Ladle
·          Thermometer
·          Colander
·          Bowl
·          Tightly woven cheese cloth or similar cloth

Ingredients

·         1 gallon milk
·         4 small containers Yoplait vanilla yogurt
·         1 c. granulated sugar
·         1 tsp vanilla extract
·         2 tsp coconut extract

Directions

Heat the milk in a heavy sauce pan to 185 degrees.  Cool to 120 degrees.  Add sugar, extracts, and Yoplait yogurt.  Using the ladle, strain the yogurt into the quart jars through the fine mesh strainer, using the large mouth funnel.  You can fill a pint jar to use as a start for your next batch of yogurt instead of the Yoplait,  Fill the bottom of a large ice chest with 120 degree water.   Incubate the yogurt for 4 hours.  Refrigerate overnight. 

Using a colander lined with a cloth and resting on another bowl, strain off about 40% to 50% of the whey and return the yogurt to a quart jar.


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Pizza Dough

Lynnae

We’ve experimented with a few difference pizza dough recipes around here.  This is now my go to.  I adapted Bobby Flay’s recipe just a titch.  Enjoy!

2 1/2 to 3 c bread flour (King Arthur is the best, seriously)
1 c cake flour
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. yeast
2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 c. warm water
2 tbsp. olive oil

Combine flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Add the water and the oil while the mixer is running.  If the dough is stick, add more flour, one tablespoon at a time.  If too dry, add 1 tbsp. of  water at a time.  It should form a soft ball.  Allow to rise one hour (I often skip this step with pizza dough, and it still turns out, but letting it rise is best).

Divide dough into to equal pieces.  Roll out and top with your favorite pizza sauce, cheese and toppings.  I usually make and freeze one of the pizzas on a cardboard cake plate.  Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes.