So I am just about finished with my second 4 week class. This class was my baking class and I learned so much about bread baking. This 4 week class we have made so far is beer ranch bread, potato bread, pane toscano, chocolate chip cookies, and pita bread. We will be making sour dough bread and pie crusts later on this week.
Now the beer bread was my least favorite of the breads I have made in this 4 week class. My favorite one is a tie is between the pita bread and the pane toscano.
(Pane Toscano)
(Pita Bread)
(Potato Bread)
The breads were easy and hard depending on the day. I think the one that surprised me the most was the pita. It was so much easier than I would have ever thought it would be. I love using pita's and now that I know how to do it I will never buy them from the store.
Pita Bread Recipe
Yields: 2lbs 12oz
Tools:
Mixer with Dough Hook
Measuring Spoons
Measuring Cups
Large Bowl
Pan Spray
Parchment Paper
Cookie Sheet
Plastic Wrap
14 oz Water, warm not hot
1 oz Yeast
1 lb 4 oz Bread Flour
4 oz Whole Wheat Flour
0.5 oz Salt
0.67 oz Sugar
3 oz Yogurt, Plain
1 oz Olive Oil
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 450°F. Place cookie sheet upside down while pre-heating.
Mix the water with the yeast. Then add sugar and mix. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes. Then add the flour, salt, yogurt, and olive oil. Mix with a dough hook until combined and pulls away from the mixing bowl.
Spray the large mixing bowl with pan spray and put the dough in that bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise for 1 1/2 hours.
Punch down the dough and knead until smooth. Weigh out 7-6 oz portions and roll out as thin as possible. You will need some extra bread flour for rolling out the dough.
Place the pita dough on the parchment paper and bake for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown and puffed up. Cover the pitas once done so they will not dry out.
I had the summer off from school but really didn't cook that much. I was lacking in inspiration for food. This semester is going to be extremely busy because of class from 7:30am till 1:30pm Monday through Friday. I am going to try and write about my experiences in class and at home trying new things more often. Now lets get on with the show.
Today was the second day of class, the first of many in the kitchen lab. It was exhausting and frustrating because I felt like I was so far behind everyone. To start off I had to make 4 different salad dressings from scratch, which 2 required mayonnaise and of course I had to make that by hand as well. Its amazing something that requires little effort to go pick up in the store can be so time consuming and have that many ingredients.
But of course tomorrow is a new day and the first day of service. Yes service, did I forget to mention that? Yes the culinary program actually has a dining room that we do serve the public. So it will be interesting day tomorrow, wish me luck!
My husband and I had a grilled teriyaki chicken breast burger with pineapple at a restaurant. It was so yummy but I would have preferred it ground, just for easier eating. So I decided to make my own version of this burger at home.
Tools:
2 Mixing Bowls
Grill or Grill Pan
Knife
Cutting Board
Pineapple Corer(Optional)
Ingredients:
1 lb Ground Turkey
1 Egg
1/2 C Bread Crumbs
1/2 C Teriyaki Sauce
1 Red Bell Pepper, Sliced in rings
1 Medium Onion, Sliced in rings
1 Medium Pineapple, Cored and Cut in rings
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Black Pepper
Buns for burgers
1 Tbsp Oil, for grill
Directions:
Put 1/4 C of teriyaki sauce in mixing bowl with onions, peppers, and pineapples. Let it marinate while getting the meat together.
Put ground turkey, 1/4 C teriyaki sauce, egg, and bread crumbs in a mixing bowl. Add the salt and pepper and mix until combined, be careful to not over mix. Make into 4 to 6 patties depending on the size you want. Rest for 5 to 10 minutes before cooking so the burgers hold together.
Heat up grill or grill pan on medium high heat. Oil the grill pan and start by grilling the peppers, onions and pineapples.
Then grill the burgers until completely brown through the center, flipping only once. Then assemble the burger and serve with fries or potato wedges.
Enjoy!
I always love these candied nuts that I would get at the fair. I had always wanted to know how they made them. I saw something on the cooking channel where they were making a vanilla candied almonds. I was inspired to try and make my own version with the spices I thought they used at the fair.
Tools:
Sheet Pan
Silicon Mat or Parchment Paper
Mixing Bowl
Kitchen Aid Mixer and Bowl
Spatula
Ingredients:
4 C Whole Almonds
4 C Halved Pecans
2 Egg Whites
1 C Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
Pinch of Salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300°F. Whisk egg whites and vanilla until fluffy but not stiff. Add the nuts and coat. Then add the sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix until coated.
Pour out on covered sheet pan in a single layer. Bake for 20 minutes then cool for another 20 minutes.
Break apart and store in airtight container.
Enjoy!
I have seen these filled cookies on many shows and always wanted to try to make them. I found a recipe that called for Brandy in the recipe but not being a fan of Brandy I just decided to omit it from the recipe.
Tools:
Silicon Mats
2 Sheet Pans
Whisk
Saute Pan
Measuring Cups
Measuring Spoons
Kitchen Aid Mixer and Bowl
Dowel or Round Handle
Cooling Rack
Pastry Bag
Pastry Tip
Cookie Ingredients:
1 Stick Butter
1/4 C Sugar
1/4 C Brown Sugar
1/2 C Molasses
1 tsp Vanilla
3/4 C Flour
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Ground Ginger
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325°F and place kitchen aid mixing bowl in the fridge or freezer(for filling). Heat the butter, sugars, and molasses over medium heat until it bubbles. Cook for 1 minute then turn off the heat. Add the flour, salt, ginger, and vanilla. Stir until the flour is combined.
Use a tablespoon and pour the mixture on the covered sheet pan. 8 cookies a sheet because they spread out pretty far. Bake for 9 minutes. Cool for 2 to 3 minutes. Lift up circles one at a time. Drape them over the dowel and seal the edge. Place on cooling rack. Continue until the mixture is gone. While cookies are cooling we can make the filling.
Ingredients for Filling:
2 C Heavy Cream
1/2 C Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
Directions:
Combine all ingredients into a cold mixing bowl. Mix on high until you get stiff peaks. Place cream into pastry bag with large tip. Fill the cookies only when they are going to be consumed with in a couple hours or they get soggy.
Enjoy!
I get these cravings for certain things. Not necessarily to eat but just to make. I had never made truffles but I really wanted to try to make them. I decided to make a version of snowball truffles. These were easy to make but are messy and take some time to make but they are well worth it.
Tools:
Cutting Board
Knife
Small Sauce Pan
Medium Mixing Bowl
Sheet Pan
Parchment Paper or Silicon Mat
Measuring Cups
Measuring Spoons
Mesh Strainer
Whisk
Plate
Ingredients:
1/2 lb Bittersweet Chocolate
1/2 lb Semisweet Chocolate
1 C Heavy Cream
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 C Powdered Sugar
Directions:
Chop the chocolate into very small pieces. Place them in the mixing bowl. Heat the cream in the sauce pan until it starts to boil. Turn off the heat and cool for 30 seconds. Pour cream over the chocolate through a mesh strainer. Whisk the cream into the chocolate until completely melted. Add the vanilla and whisk to combine.
Let the mixture rest for an hour at room temperature. Spoon round balls of the mixture onto the covered sheet pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until chocolate is firm.
Roll each dollop of chocolate in your hands to smooth out any rough edges. Then roll each piece in the powdered sugar. They do need to be refrigerated but you can serve them at room temperature.
They make about 60 truffles, so you will have a ton for the coming weeks. Enjoy!
Wow! That was the fastest 8 week class I have ever taken. It was so busy, I felt like I was always gone. We ended this week with 7, I repeat 7 tests in 3 days! After doing a knife skills test, herb and spice test, then math and vocab test came the big cooking test.
I was so nervous and stressed because we did not know what we were cooking until 5 minutes before we had to cook the dish. After calming myself down and trying not to stress over it, it wasn't that bad.
I got a Roast Beef and Cheddar Wrap with Horseradish Mayo with a Macaroni Salad. The first one I had to follow the recipe then the macaroni salad I had to come up with the recipe myself. This all had to be done in 40 minutes. 40 minutes! Ha! I got this in the bag! Pffffttt... Yeah those 40 minutes.... yeah they go by a lot quicker when you are not in a small kitchen and have much more walking to do just to gather your ingredients and tools.
After getting that finished it was a huge relief to have that finished. I am glad to say I had fun and did well! I can not wait for the next semester start which sadly isn't until August but with more time on my hands I will be creating and posting much more often with recipes!
