Zucchini Bread

If you're like me, you have zucchini plants multiplying at a rate you couldn't possibly consume without hating zucchini by next summer, and you're resenting your decision to "just plant two" because one couldn't possibly be enough, right? You try to give them away, but for some reason everyone but you is privvy to the squash-spitting plant's overpopulating tendencies and all your co-workers offer a polite "no, I've got my own, thanks."

Grrr.

Apparently there are 1,357,039 other bloggers (rough estimate) who are also thisclose to the edge of similar zucchini-induced madness. If I were more creative this weekend and less pressed for time, I would have stepped outside the loaf pan and come up with something more enticing than zucchini bread, but hey - it took the biggest, honkingest zucchini out of my present squash collection and I got to use my fancy new julienne peeler in the process. Of course between the three of us we couldn't finish the whole loaf, so now those same co-workers who refused my raw zucchini offerings are munching on the spoils anyway.

I found this recipe to come out a little on the dry side. Next time, I'll reduce the flour slightly and will also grate the zucchini as specified instead of julienning it - I'm curious as to whether the julienned strips released less water than the grated would have.

You will need:

2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar (packed)
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups grated fresh zucchini
2/3 cup melted unsalted butter
2 teaspoons baking soda
Pinch salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
1 cup dried cranberries or raisins (optional - I did not include)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix in the grated zucchini and melted butter. Add baking soda and salt, then the flour, a cup at a time, incorporating completely after each addition. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg and mix. Fold in the nuts and dried cranberries or raisins, if using.

Divide the batter equally between 2 buttered 5 by 9 inch loaf pans, or pour into one by loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour (check for doneness at 50 minutes) or until a wooden pick inserted in to the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks to cool thoroughly.
 
Adapted from Simply Recipes.

Homemade Hamburger Buns

As much as I like to make bread and as often as I would rather make something at home than buy it at the store, I generally have no issue with storebought bakery bread. Yesterday, though, Josh propositioned that I change it up a little, and find a recipe for burger buns and make them at home. Why not?

I turned to Annie's Eats, which I can usually count on for a pretty dead-on version of any homemade store-bought item, and once again, I wasn't let down. Unfortunately, I screwed them up the first go-round.

Generally I like to measure flour in weight, not volume. So not really thinking about it, I measured out 24 ounces of flour (3 cups). It was only after my dough turned rock-hard that I realized I'd done something wrong - volume and weight are not always exactly interchangeable. Oh well. Next time I'll do the research first. I wound up having to go to the store anyway for more bread flour and briefly considered the stupidity of the situation...I was at the store, so why didn't I just pick up a pack of burger buns?

I forged ahead though, and after deflecting the snarky "you sure come here alot" comment from the grocery cashier, I quit trying to be cool and actually followed the recipe on my second attempt. The dough came together and rose flawlessly. The buns themselves were airy and crisp, and substantial enough to hold up my drippy early summer cheeseburger.

You will need:

3 tbsp. warm milk
1 cup warm water
2 tsp. instant yeast
2½ tbsp. sugar
1½ tsp. salt
1 large egg
3 cups bread flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2½ tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

Egg wash (1 egg plus 1 tablespoon water), for adhering sesame seeds

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the milk, water, yeast, sugar, salt and egg. Mix on medium speed to combine. Add the flours to the bowl, and mix on medium speed until incorporated. Add the butter - make sure it's completely softened to avoid chunks of butter throughout the dough.

Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed for about 6-8 minutes. This is a sticky dough, so don't add extra flour. Instead, flour your hands and transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Turn the dough to coat all the dough in oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1-2 hours.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.  Turn the dough out onto a pastry mat, then divide the dough into 8 equal parts with a chef's knife.  Gently roll each portion of dough into a ball and place on the baking sheet, 2-3 inches apart.  Cover loosely with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rise again, 1-2 hours, until nearly doubled.

Set a large metal pan of water on the lowest rack of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with a rack in the center. Brush the tops of the buns lightly with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Bake the buns about 15 minutes rotating halfway through baking, until the tops are golden brown. Do not overbake! Transfer to a rack to cool completely. Split and serve with your favorite burger.

Recipe from Annie's Eats.

Baked Ziti with Mini Meatballs

My neuroses surrounding events and parties and all they entail may officially be getting out of control.

This is why. All this, plus 40 different lists of things to buy/do/bake/cook, is party central. Am I hosting a dinner party? My parents' anniversary? Not quite...it's Alyssa's 9th birthday in a couple of weeks, and judging by everyone's surprise that there will be 1) a theme, 2) homemade paper goods and cake, and 3) a massive spread of party foods, I may have gone a little mental.

But you know what I say? I love the kid. I love her like she was my own. You love your kids too, I know this. But perhaps you didn't get your degree in Event Management, then after being unable to find a job in said field, rely on the occasional kid's party, work luncheon and Christmas dinner to fill up that cavernous space inside you that can only come from not doing for a living what you truly, truly want to do.

I'll tell you...that space hurts a little. So Alyssa's party is not only for her, and for the family and friends that will be joining us, but yes, it's for me too. Just tell me to shut up when I complain that I've run out of room in the fridge to house my spread the night before the party.

What that has to do with baked ziti, I don't know. It was a quick weekend meal when the party planning had gotten into full swing and I was looking forward to starting my paper crafts for the party (I made her banner myself).

You will need:

1 pound dried pasta shapes, your choice
28 ounces prepared Marinara sauce, homemade (recipe follows) or store-bought
1 pound shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 14-ounce container of Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 cloves minced garlic
Small handful fresh basil, chopped
Small handful fresh Italian parsley, chopped
2 pounds mini meatballs (recipe follows)

Boil pasta according to package directions. Drain, and pour into a casserole dish. Immediately pour Marinara sauce and stir to coat each noodle.

Combine Ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, minced garlic, basil and parsley in a bowl with salt and pepper. Dot over the top of the pasta and meatballs, and swirl into the sauce with a spoon.

Nestle prepared meatballs throughout the casserole. Sometimes I do neat rows, other times I just toss them in. You just want to make sure that every spoonful will have a few meatballs when the dish is served.

Top with shredded Mozzarella cheese and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is brown and bubbly. Serves 8-10...or 3, with plenty of freezable leftovers.

Homemade Marinara Sauce

Olive oil
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1 medium onion, diced
1 large can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes
Water
Chopped fresh basil
Chopped fresh Italian parsley
Dried oregano
Salt, pepper and sugar to taste

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Once oil starts to shimmer, add chopped onion and stir. Cook until the onions are translucent, then add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Pour in the crushed and diced tomatoes. Fill up the 14-ounce tomato can with water and add to the pot. Stir to combine, cover, and allow sauce to heat to bubbling. Once it has started to bubble, reduce heat and add basil, parsley and oregano. Season to taste with salt, pepper and sugar.

Occasionally I'll add about 4 ounces of red wine at this point, but it's completely optional. Cover the sauce and cook over medium heat for a minimum of 30 minutes - but cook it over very low heat all day if you can!

Mini Meatballs

Olive or vegetable oil for browning
2 lbs ground meat (I like a combination of 80/20 beef and ground turkey)
1 egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
2 cloves garlic, smashed
Small handful fresh parsley, chopped
Small handful fresh basil, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Note: start with the given measurements – you can always add more later. Once your mixture is combined and your oil is hot, make a tester meatball and adjust the seasonings to your taste (I usually add more cheese and salt).

In a large bowl, combine ground meats, egg, cheese, herbs and salt and pepper.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the smashed garlic cloves and heat gently, both to brown the garlic and infuse the oil slightly. Once the garlic cloves are browned, remove from oil and chop to add to ground beef. Combine well – it helps to use your hands instead of a spoon. Get them dirty!

Start rolling your meatballs. Of course you can make them whatever size you like, but for this recipe I like them to be about the size of a large gumball – which would equal about a tablespoon of the meat mixture. Roll them into balls and place them on a plate until you’re ready to fry. When you’re ready to go, raise the heat to medium-high and add them to the pan. If you think of your skillet as a clock, I like to start at the 6:00 position and work my way around clockwise so I always know which meatball I started with, and thus needs to be turned first. Keep them about an inch apart so they brown evenly. Do not disturbe them and in about 2 minutes, they will be browned and ready to flip with tongs (they may not be cooked all the way through, which is fine - they'll finish cooking in the oven). Work your way around the pan the same way you put them in - first in, first out.

Drain on paper towels, add to ziti and sauce, top with cheese and bake.

Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

I don't usually jump on a recipe - often, I'll see something online and let it bounce around in my head for a while before I take the time to cook whatever it may be. But having only recently acquired a bundt pan, it seemed meant to be that I would happen upon this Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake when I had a bundt pan to break in, when I was on vacation, and when Alyssa, the ultimate connoisseur of all things chocolate chip, was in my midst.

This recipe was actually adapted from a fruit and nut cake batter by Dorie Greenspan, only as Bridget over at The Way the Cookie Crumbles pointed out, the ingredients are quite similar to what a classic chocolate chip cookie would call for, so why not replace pears and walnuts with chocolate? Alyssa had multiple pieces over the weekend, so I would certainly classify this one as kid-friendly.

You will need:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups (packed) light brown sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350º F. Butter a 9- to 10-inch (12 cup) bundt pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately - add the flour in 3 additions and the buttermilk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients). Mix only until the ingredients are incorporated and scrape down the bowl as needed. With a rubber spatula, stir in the chocolate chips. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with the spatula.

Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. (If the cake looks as if it's browning too fast, cover the top loosely with a foil tent.) Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding, then cool to room temperature on the rack.

When you are ready to serve, dust the top of the cake with confectioners' sugar.

May Daring Cooks Challenge: Gumbo

As a (nearly) life long Southerner, I was ashamed to admit that I am certainly not a gumbo conoisseur, either in tasting or cooking. My roux could have cooked longer (I've heard stories of cooks standing over their roux for an hour plus), I used frozen okra (did you know that "gumbo" means "okra"?), and I did not serve my gumbo with rice, but corn bread. However, Josh brought the large crock pot full of gumbo to a work function the following morning and by the end of the day, the crock pot bowl was quite literally scraped clean.

Our May hostess, Denise of There’s a Newf in My Soup!, challenged The Daring Cooks to make Gumbo! She provided us with all the recipes we’d need from creole spices, homemade stock and Louisiana white rice, to Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo and Seafood Gumbo from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh.

You will need:

1 cup (240 ml) (230 gm) rendered chicken fat, duck fat, or canola oil

1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm) (5 oz) flour
2 large onions, diced
1 chicken (3 ½ to 4 lbs.), cut into 10 pieces
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) store-bought Creole spice blend
2 pounds (2 kilograms) spicy smoked sausage, sliced ½ inch (15mm) thick
2 stalks celery, diced
2 green bell peppers (capsicum), seeded and diced
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
3 quarts (3 liters) Basic Chicken Stock (recipe follows), or canned chicken stock
2 bay leaves
6 ounces (175 gm) andouille sausage, chopped
2 cups (480 ml) (320 gm) (11 oz) sliced fresh okra, ½ -inch (15mm) thick slices (or frozen, if fresh is not available)
1 tablespoon (15 ml) Worcestershire sauce
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Tabasco, to taste

Season the chicken pieces with about 2 tablespoons of the Creole Spices while you prepare the vegetables.

Make sure all of your vegetables are cut, diced, chopped, minced and ready to go before beginning the roux. You must stand at the stove and stir the roux continuously to prevent it from burning.

In a large cast-iron or heavy-bottomed pan, heat the chicken fat, duck fat, or canola oil over high heat. Whisk the flour into the hot oil – it will start to sizzle. Reduce the heat to moderate, and continue whisking until the roux becomes deep brown in color, about 15 minutes.

Add the onions. Switch to a wooden spoon and stir the onions into the roux. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue stirring until the roux becomes a glossy dark brown, about 10 minutes.

Add the chicken to the pot; raise the heat to moderate, and cook, turning the pieces until slightly browned, about 10 minutes.

Add the sliced smoked sausage and stir for about a minute.

Add the celery, bell peppers, tomato, and garlic, and continue stirring for about 3 minutes.

Add the thyme, chicken stock, and bay leaves. Bring the gumbo to a boil, stirring occasionally.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, skimming off the fat from the surface of the gumbo every so often.

Add the chopped andouille, okra, and Worcestershire. Season with salt and pepper and Tabasco, all to taste.

Simmer for another 45 minutes, continuing to skim the fat from the surface of the gumbo. Remove the bay leaves and serve in bowls over rice.

Challenge post here.

Linguine with White Clam Sauce

I have no witty stories or anecdotes for this recipe - I just happened to remember a can of cherrystone clams in my pantry, and Josh wasn't going to be home for dinner (meaning I didn't have to prepare a side of chicken to fulfill his daily meat quota). I grew up on red clam sauce, but this evening I wanted white. That is all.

I've never made white clam sauce before and honestly wasn't terribly sure where to start. After a quite a bit of trial and error and fixing some mistakes I made along the way, I was quite pleased with this different, satisfying, meatless weeknight meal.

You will need:

4 ounces of dry linguine or fettucine, cooked according to package directions, 1/4 to 1/2 cup cooking water reserved
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons chopped onions
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon flour
1 can cherrystone or other clams, minced, juice reserved
1 ounce dry sherry
2-3 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, to taste

Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook for another minute until it begins to soften. Sprinkle flour over the top, and whisk until smooth. Pour in clam juice and sherry, increase heat to medium-high, and continue to whisk. Add pasta water and sour cream based on your preference: if you like your sauce thicker, add more sour cream. If you like it thinner, add more water. Season to taste with salt and pepper, sprinkle in parsley and right before serving add in minced clams.

Drain pasta and add to pan, toss to coat. Top each dish with parmesan cheese. Serves 2.

Homemade Dog Treats

I often mention the two-legged people I live with, but I've neglected to mention the other occupants of this house:

Wowzer (on the right), is the manliest dog you'll ever meet. He is fiercely protective of his home and his people, and ripples with muscles and testosterone. However, the tutu he's rocking in this picture is representative of the prissy, whiny-baby side that emerges when he refuses to get his feet wet during a rainstorm, and especially whenever Josh leaves a room.

Dizzy is a fluffy bundle of spunk who believes wholeheartedly that it's ok to plop in a stranger's lap and that everybody she meets must have her slobbery kisses. She is easily frightened by the mildest of noises and runs to the opposite end of the house when any of the following items appear: a roll of packing tape, a blender, or Josh weilding an electric drill. Despite that, she holds her own when Wowzer attacks her in play and can let loose with some grown man-sized, wall-shaking belches when she's finished her kibble.

Like any other dog, these two won't leave my side when I'm in the kitchen. I could only imagine their delight when I pulled these treats out of the oven - not only were they going to get a taste, but the whole tray was just for them!

You will need:

1/2 cup of peanut butter

1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon olive oil or melted unsalted butter
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together peanut butter, honey, oil and chicken broth. In a separate bowl, combine flours and oatmeal. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Place dough on flour dusted surface. Roll or press dough out to about 1/4” inch thick.

My dogs are 10 and 15 pounds, so I used a small cookie cutter to cut out cookies. If your dog is bigger, you can use a bigger cookie cutter. Roll out leftover scraps and cut out as many as possible (or freeze extra batter for another time). Put cut out cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 14-16 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely before feeding to your dog. Cookies will keep for up to two weeks when properly sealed.