Sweet Suppertime

heavy on the butter and sugar...

Seeding a Pomegranate

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I used to avoid any recipe that involved pomegranate.  The daunting task of seeding the finger-staining fruit was enough to make me toss out even the most tempting recipes.  That was until I discovered this method.  I found this tip in the newspaper, it was a footnote in a holiday recipe containing pomegranate seeds in the life & style section. This quick and clean method of seeding has opened up the world of pomegranates to my culinary palate.

Start with a knife, wooden spoon, and large bowl.  A larger bowl will make for less mess.

Begin by slicing the pomegranate in half.  To me the pomegranate has a top.  I am slicing this in the middle of what I would call the top and the bottom.   Yes, some of those juicy little seeds will be sacrificed in the name of ease, but they taste equally delicious in your salad or smoothie.

seeding a pomegranate sweetsuppertime

Next, hold the pomegranate over the bowl and hit it with the back side of the spoon repeatedly.

 All the delicious seeds will fall into the bowl and you’ll be left with two empty halves.
And there you have it, a mess free way to seed a pomegranate.  Enjoy using these tasty seeds in your holiday dishes!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread. . .YUMM

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Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Let’s embark on a little bread making journey.  This one involves a beautiful and delicious cinnamon swirl.  You can’t go wrong when a bread has the words “cinnamon” and “swirl” in its name.  This bread is light and tastes great by the slice, it can be frosted, streusel  topped or slathered with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Butter.  If you have leftovers, try making french toast, it is decadent!

My youngest child sometimes feels like he has 3 mothers and 4 dads.  His brothers and sisters are generous with their opinions and admonitions.  It can get heavy for the baby of the family.  On the other hand,  he reaps some pretty great rewards from being at the tail end.  For instance–getting checked out for lunch, trips to the gym, tickets to see Boston and The Doobie Brothers, awesome hand-me-downs and occasionally breakfast at Kneaders.  Kneaders serves up an incredible all-you-can-eat french toast for breakfast.  Keven, my youngest, is pretty fond of the endless breakfast meal and Kate, his older sister, is fond of Keven and so he convinces her to take him to breakfast and to pay.  He is a charmer….  

Whatever your motives might be for baking this bread–do it.  This is a dough that has plenty of rising time so plan your errands accordingly or use all the rising time to organize your pantry.  You will feel so accomplished!

Start by scalding your milk (warming until their are bubbles around the edges of the milk–do not boil) and once scalded add butter or margarine, sugar, salt and cinnamon.  When the milk mixture has cooled enough that you can comfortably poke your finger into the middle, add flour, potato flour and yeast.

cinnamon swirl bread

Turn your mixer on and mix the ingredients for about 2 minutes–the dough will pull away from the sides of the bowl.  We are going to sneak in a mini first rise here.  Turn off the mixer and let the dough stand for about 15 minutes.  Feel the dough during this time and make sure it isn’t stiff.  Remember that you will eventually (after you’ve organized your pantry and done some of your laundry) be rolling this out to a nice long 16 inch rectangle, so the dough needs to be workable.  If you feel the dough is a little stiff–toss a couple of tablespoons of warm water on the top during this first rest/rise.

After 15 minutes, turn the mixer back on and mix for 5-6 minutes, test your dough for consistency, and transfer the dough to an oiled bowl.  Brush the top of the ball of dough lightly with oil and cover with plastic wrap.   Allow dough to rise in a warm spot for about 1 1/2 hours.  The dough should double in size.  I love the color that the dough takes on since we added cinnamon to the dough and not just to the filling.  (this photo is before the rise)

Cinnamon Swirl Bread Header dough

Now–you have a few minutes.  This is a great time to take care of a couple of things.  Separate an egg and whip up the white for brushing on the dough–no butter spread here.  Next mix up your cinnamon and sugar filling.  Lastly if you are feeling ambitious and don’t want to have to soak your pan when you are all done–cut a piece of parchment to line your loaf pan.  After you have gone to all this effort it’s frustrating if the loaf doesn’t release from the pan.  No matter how tightly you try to seal your loaf for baking, inevitably some of the sugar mixture escapes and it makes a pretty nice glue.  It’s not that I am averse to soaking and washing pans–but I would like my loaf to look like a loaf and not look like monkey bread.  Mine pan looks like this:

Lining a Loaf Pan

Okay your dough has risen.  Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and roll to a 16″X 8″ rectangle.  Brush the dough with egg white and sprinkle the filling over the top evenly.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread filling

Beginning with the short end, roll the dough tightly towards the other end.  Pinch the edges together including the ends.  You are trying to keep all the filling inside of the loaf.  Place the loaf inside the baking pan, lightly grease the top with oil, cover with plastic wrap and set aside for final rise.  This usually takes about an hour.  Sometimes if I think it’s being a little slow I set the loaf on my stove top and turn my oven on for a few minutes to generate some heat near the dough.  When you feel that the dough has crowned above the rim of the pan place the loaf in a 350° preheated oven and bake for about 40 minutes.  During the last 15 minutes of baking I like place a tinfoil “tent” over the loaf to keep it from browning too much.

Allow the loaf to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan.  This is where you will be happy that you have lined the pan with parchment. Once removed, cool for a few more minutes before serving .  Way to go!  (psst–save some for french toast)

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

 

 

Cinnamon Swirl Bread
 
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If you have leftovers you can make the MOST delicious french toast with this bread!
Author:
Recipe type: Sweet Bread
Serves: 1 1loaf
Ingredients
  • 1 cup scalded milk, cooled
  • 4 tablespoons butter or margarine
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1½ teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 cups flour
  • ¼ cup potato flour
  • 2½ teaspoons instant yeast
    Cinnamon Filling
  • 1 egg white beaten (for brushing on the dough)
  • ⅓ cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
  1. Scald milk and remove from heat.
  2. Add butter or margarine, sugar, cinnamon and salt.
  3. Set aside to cool.
  4. In your stand mixer combine flour, potato flour and yeast.
  5. When the milk mixture is cool enough to stick your finger in (technical term), add to the flour mixture and mix for 2 minutes or until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.
  6. Turn off the mixer and let the dough rest/rise for 15 minutes. If the dough feels stiff at this point add a tablespoon or two of water to the dough and allow it to just sit with the dough as it completes this first rise. Dough needs to be manageable but not stiff. You are going to need to roll this into a 16 inch length. It shouldn't stick to your hand but it should want to 🙂
  7. Continue to knead for 5-6 minutes.
  8. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, bushing the top of the dough with oil as well.
  9. Cover with plastic wrap and set it aside to rise for 1½ hours until it has doubled in bulk.
  10. When the dough has doubled transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll the dough into a rectangle that measures about 16" X 8".
  11. Combine Cinnamon Filling ingredients in a small bowl.
  12. Brush rolled dough with egg white.
  13. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar filling on the dough evenly.
  14. Starting with the short edge, roll the dough into a loaf.
  15. Pinch the side seam and the ends closed. This keeps the filling inside.
  16. Place the rolled dough in to a lightly greased of parchment lined 8½" X 4½" loaf pan and brush the top with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise 1 hour, watching for the dough to crown over the top of the rim of the loaf pan.
  17. During the last 15 minutes of the rise preheat oven to 350°.
  18. Bake at 350° for about 40 minutes, tenting the top of the loaf with foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent the loaf from browning too much.
  19. Allow to cool 5 minutes in the pan before removing.
  20. Remove from pan.
  21. Cool an additional 5 minutes before attempting to slice.
  22. Serve warm with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Butter or hope for leftovers to make french toast. Either way it's a great endeavor!

 

Best Buttermilk Syrup

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Buttermilk Syrup Header

In years past the local high school football team held a community breakfast as a fundraiser.  In all honesty, the french toast served in large quantities was a bit lackluster, but  the syrup—that was a whole different story.  I remember showing up to our first football breakfast with 6 little kids in tow, long before my first son put on the pads and starting cracking helmets.  We made our way to the front of the line and I handed each child their flimsy white paper plate loaded with french toast and filled with syrup. As hard as we tried to not drip too much syrup off the sides and onto the floor it was in vain.  But it seemed we weren’t the only ones who had a hard time keeping the syrup on our plates, judging from how our feet kept sticking to the cafeteria floor as we walked along to find a table.  Local restaurant owner Doc Magelby himself was kind enough to wander around to the tables and pour us a bit of extra syrup if we wanted it.  We definitely wanted it.

Years passed and soon it was my own boys that were selling tickets to this fundraiser.  Each year the plates were always flimsy, the floor was always sticky, and the syrup was always delicious.  It wasn’t until I was down to my last football player that I thought I might like to add this recipe to my own archive.  We use this recipe to add a little extra sweetness to breakfast while stirring up a few crisp fall football memories.  What will your memories be?

**  A few words of caution; don’t expect a clean floor when you are done and make sure you start with a LARGE pot.  We will make the cinnamon swirl bread on Thursday!

buttermilk syrup 2

Best Buttermilk Syrup
 
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This unique breakfast syrup adds a bit of country charm to breakfast. It's not bad on ice cream either...
Author:
Ingredients
  • LARGE POT
  • 6 tablespoons butter--not margarine
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • 1 tablespoon corn syrup
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. In a large pot, melt butter over low heat.
  2. Add sugar, buttermilk, corn syrup, baking soda and salt and increase heat- bringing the mixture to a boil.
  3. Reduce heat as low as you can to keep the mixture at a low boil. This can vary depending on your pan and your stove top.
  4. Boil 5 minutes.
  5. Remove from heat and when the mixture has calmed down, add vanilla.
  6. Refrigerate unused syrup. It goes pretty thick in the fridge but warms up nicely in a pot or in the microwave.
    If you choose to double this recipe, do yourself a big favor and use a very large pot because it foams up quite a bit while boiling.

 

Molasses Friendship Cookies with Lemon Drizzle

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I love this recipe.  I have fond memories of sitting with my father and eating ginger snap cookies.  You know– the ones in the brown homely bag that you walk by at the store and wonder if anyone ever really buys them.  They do.  I actually like them.  In fact there isn’t a molasses/ginger cookie that I don’t like.  But I LOVE this recipe.

These cookies are soft and packed with all the right spices.  We make these cookies year round but when the weather turns crisp and leaves billow and dance around the backyard I always reach for the molasses.  I love that these are called “friendship cookies”, and every time I pull a batch out of the oven and breath in the smell of them and look at how pretty they turn out I am reminded why.  I automatically think “I should take a few of these to ____”.   If I can get them on to a plate or in to a bag fast enough, I do just that.  Otherwise I just pour the milk and watch them disappear.

Recently my daughter Lacey needed to make invitations for a church function where ladies would be invited to share traditions.  We decided to make our traditional “friendship cookies” into the invitation.  We made the cookies smallish and put them in little bags which were then delivered around her neighborhood.  It was a fun day baking together.  These are easy to make and fun to share.  Let’s make cookies friends!

Cream together everything except the flour.  Yup, it’s all in there at once.  Rebel.

Ingredients Molasses Cookies

Beat in your mixer for 1 minute, on low, scraping down the bowl once.  Add the flour and continue to mix until incorporated about 2 minutes, again scraping down the bowl so that nothing gets left out of the mix and mingling of ingredients.

Ingredients plus flour

Roll dough into walnut size balls and roll in sugar.  Here they are just rolling around in all that happy sugar.

Rolling around in sugar

Place the cookie dough on a parchment lined or greased cookie sheet.  Since we made smallish cookies, the size of an acorn, the baking sheet you see here is loaded up with 30 cookies.

Molasses Cookies on Baking Sheet

Bake at 350° for approximately 10 minutes, checking after 8 minutes.   Cool on a wire rack.

rows of cookies

Decide if you want to glaze them with a little drizzle of lemon glaze.  Not necessary, but pretty and delicious.

Molasses Lemon Iced

If you decide to drizzle glaze on them use 1 cup of powdered sugar with one tablespoon of lemon juice and  one tablespoon of water mixed together until smooth.  Line all the cookies up nice and snug together on a cookie sheet and drizzle the glazing to your hearts content.  Oh– and here’s a photo of how Lacey’s invitations turned out!

Molasses Invitations

Molasses Friendship Cookies with Lemon Glaze
 
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I love the way these cookies bake up with the beautiful textured breaks along the top.
Ingredients
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • ¾ cup shortening
  • ¼ cup molasses
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups all flour
    LEMON GLAZE FOR DRIZZLING
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°
  2. Cream together all ingredients EXCEPT flour, mixing on low speed for 1 minute, scraping down the sides once.
  3. Add flour and mix an additional 2 minutes, again scraping down the sides of the bowl.
  4. Roll the dough into walnut size balls ( or smaller) and dip them in sugar to coat.
  5. Bake on parchment or a lightly greased cookie sheet for approximately 10 minutes. You want them to be soft, so do not over bake.
  6. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
  7. When the cookies have cooled, line them all up close together and drizzle lightly with lemon glaze.
    LEMON GLAZE
  8. Combine powdered sugar, lemon juice and water and stir until smooth.

 

 

 

Creamy Tortilla Soup Salsa Style

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Creamy Tortilla Soup

 

This soup has a lot of relatives.  And for the most part you can’t go wrong with any of them.  This soup is filled with flavor and festive colors.  You can make it as mild or as spicy as you like.  The other night I made one batch to take to a church function and the other one I made for my family.  The one I made to leave at home was made with a pretty good kick, because the folks around my house are kind of a spicy group.    This is an easy soup to throw together and it always gets great reviews.  If you are feeling industrious, prepare your beans from scratch and do the same with your salsa.  If you need to make dinner in a hurry, grab your can opener and save yourself some time.  No one will really know the difference.  Let’s make soup!

Creamy Tortilla Soup Pin

 

 

Creamy Tortilla Soup Salsa Style
 
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This is such a versatile and colorful soup filled with rich textures and flavors. Make it as spicy as you want depending on the style of salsa that you use. Around here I like to make it with Pace Picante Sauce--hot.
Author:
Ingredients
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic ( 1 large clove)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 cups water
  • 6 chicken bouillon cubes
  • 1 quart half and half or cream
  • 1 small jar of salsa or 2 cups ( mild if you like things mellow, hot if you are ready for a little spice)
  • 4 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
  • 2 15 oz cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 15 oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1½ cups frozen corn
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon coriander
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • *optional: 1 can cream of chicken soup to create a thicker soup
  • Garnish as desired with sour cream, tortilla strips, cilantro,cheese and/or avocado.
Instructions
  1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat.
  2. Add the onion and saute until softened, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add garlic and continue on medium heat for 1 more minute.
  4. Sprinkle flour over the sauteed garlic and onions, reduce heat to low and stir for 1 minute longer.
  5. Add water and bouillon cubes. (Of course you can use broth if you want to open more cans)
  6. Return heat to medium and bring mixture to a simmer.
  7. Add beans, corn, salsa, chicken and all spices, once again bringing the soup to a slow simmer.
  8. Continue to simmer for 15 minutes, or toss it in a crock pot and leave it on low for a few hours.
  9. Just before serving add 1 can of cream of chicken soup (optional).
  10. Whisk until incorporated.
  11. Add half and half (or cream) and bring back up to a slow simmer.
  12. Remove from heat and serve.
  13. Garnish as desired.
Notes
Adding a can of cream of chicken soup near the end of the cooking time will thicken this soup up nicely.

 

 

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Butter

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Brown Sugar Cinnamon Butter

Well if you are tired of wading through wordy descriptions and far too many photos, today is your lucky day.  One photo.  Short description.  You want to make this butter.  You want to make it and you want to slather it on french toast, toast, pancakes, muffins, rolls, pumpkin bread and of course–cinnamon bread.  Whip it up in no time and eat it in even less!

5.0 from 1 reviews
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Butter
 
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Spread this on anything from pumpkin bread to french toast to add a little something special. This is great to take along to a party with your homemade bread.
Author:
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup butter, softened
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • Sprinkle of cinnamon as garnish
Instructions
  1. Soften ½ cup butter
  2. In a mixer or with your muscles, whip butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until it is smooth and creamy.
  3. If you are feeling extra domestic pipe it into a dish using a decorating bag.
  4. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
  5. Store leftover portion in the refrigerator, if there is any 🙂

 

Steakhouse Brown Bread

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Steakhouse Brown Bread

There was a time, many moons ago, when I was expecting my last child.   I craved steak, salad and bread from the Outback Steakhouse.  I wanted it, I needed it and so my dear husband ordered takeout (quite often) for me.  He became friends with people at this well known establishment and often they would give him a complimentary Coke as he waited for the order to be filled.  Lovely Outback Steakhouse.  At a time when I was confined to bed rest and had plenty of time to conjure up cravings, they became the object of my culinary desire.  To this day I love going to the Outback Steakhouse.  I love the bread so much that I have searched for a recipe that might come close to their delicious appetizer.  This is what I have come up with.  Keep in mind, this is not a whole wheat bread.  It gets its color and flavor from molasses with some help from cocoa powder.  Don’t judge.

Here’s the ingredients you will need.  Not pictured is the egg white you will brush on to the raised loaves to help the oats stick to the bread.

Ingedients for Steakhouse Brown Bread

Preheat your oven to 200°.  Measure 1 3/4 cups warm water into a bowl or better yet, save yourself a dirty dish and do it all in your glass measuring cup.  Add 1 package of active dry yeast and 2 tablespoons of sugar.  Give it a stir and set it aside.  If you are working with a large package of yeast just remember that 2 1/4 teaspoons usually equals a packet of yeast.  Set this aside for 6-7 minutes or until the yeast is nice a foamy.

proofing yeast

Pour the yeast mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder (weird huh?), 1/4 cup molasses, 3 1/2 cups bread flour, 1 cup rye flour, 2 tablespoons softened butter and 2 teaspoons of salt.  At this point we have reserved 1 cup of bread flour to add later.   Mix ingredients in a stand mixer on medium speed for 5 minutes.  Now we are going to add that last cup of flour a little at a time, with the mixer running, until the dough pulls away from the bowl.  I usually end up using the entire cup, but you don’t want a stiff dough here.  It will be a bit sticky.

Turn the kneaded dough onto a floured surface.

Brown Bread on floured surface

Form dough into desired shape.  You can make one large loaf, several small loaves or rolls.  I like to make two loaves.  This bread does not require a first rise before forming so jump right in.  Lightly grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place your loaves on the baking sheet.  Spray the top of the loaves with cooking spray or lightly brush with cooking oil.

shaped loaves Steakhouse Brown Bread

Turn off your preheated oven and place the baking sheet in the oven for rising.  And can we say how well I cropped this photo so that none of you are any the wiser about my less than pristine oven?

Steakhouse Brown Bread in the Oven

Allow the loaves to rise in the oven for 25 minutes or until they have doubled in size.  Remove them from the oven.  Increase the temperature of the oven to 350°.  While the oven is coming up to temperature carefully brush the top of the raised loaves with egg white (whisked) and sprinkle with uncooked oats.  Go ahead and dab extra egg white on top of some of the oats to make them good and sticky.  It looks so pretty when it comes out of the oven.

Steakhouse Brown Bread with Oats

When the oven reaches the desired temperature slip the loaves in and bake them for 25 to 30 minutes.  Remove them from the oven and place on a wire cooling rack.  Brush with melted butter.  Serve warm.

Can I just say that making bread is something you can get good at?  In general it requires few ingredients and with a little practice you can enjoy a home filled with a wonderful aroma and the memorable taste of fresh homemade bread.  Don’t give up!


 steakhouse brown bread finished loaves

 

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Steakhouse Brown Bread

This bread gets it's dark color from the molasses and cocoa powder. Not to worry, it doesn't taste like chocolate but the cocoa powder adds a unique richness to the bread. Add a tablespoon of caraway seeds for a lovely Rye Bread variation.

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups warm water (95°-115°)
  • 1 packet active dry yeast (this equals approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons)
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 4 1/2 cups bread flour
  • 1 cup rye flour
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons melted or softened butter
  • 1 egg white for brushing raised bread
  • Sprinkling of uncooked oats
  • additional butter for brushing the loaves after they are done

Instructions

  1. Begin by preheating your oven to 200°.
  2. Stir together water (somewhere between 95° and 115° it should be very warm, but not hot), yeast and sugar. Just a light stir to bring the yeast in contact with the sugar and water. Set aside for 6-7 minutes or until the yeast is nice and foamy.
  3. Pour yeast mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and add cocoa, molasses, 3 1/2 cups of the 4 1/2 cups required flour, rye flour, 2 tablespoons softened butter and salt. With dough hook in place mix all ingredients for 5 minutes in your stand mixer. Add the last cup of flour to the dough as it mixes until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. The dough for this bread should be slightly sticky. Most of the time I end up using the entire last cup of flour. 🙂
  4. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and shape the dough into desired shape. I like to make mine in to two separate loaves but it works great to put the dough into a large oval pan as well. Place the dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet and coat the top of the dough lightly with cooking spray.
  5. Turn your preheating oven off and place the loaves into the oven. Allow the loaves to raise for 25 minutes or until the loaves have doubled in size.
  6. Remove the loaves and preheat the oven to 350°.
  7. While the oven is preheating, carefully brush the tops of the rising loaves with egg white and sprinkle uncooked oats over the top. I like to wet the sprinkled oats with a little bit more egg white to make sure they stick during the cooking process.
  8. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes.
  9. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack. Brush with butter.
  10. Serve warm.
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