Soft Yogurt Sandwich Rolls, Revisited

Another recipe I revisited over the weekend. This was my contribution to our unconventional Easter feast. We were staying with my parents and instead of the usual ham we had grilled vegetables, baked potatoes, and roasted salmon. And this salad (minus the feta- still spectacular) and these yogurt rolls. They didn't rise as high as I remembered but they were still unbelievably silky soft and perfectly sweet. They pair well with a pat of butter and spoonful of jelly, yet are also divine in their naked state.

4/1/09: This recipe is a keeper! It makes comforting, pillow-soft rolls that have the slightest hint of honey. I found these yogurt rolls on Baking Bites and made a few small changes: used part white whole wheat flour, olive oil instead of vegetable, and turned down the oven temp to make sure they cooked through before turning too brown. It must be the yogurt that gives them their silky smooth texture and moist middle. The original recipe says it yields 10 rolls, which if you are going to be making sandwiches might be appropriate (but they will be quite large and need lots of room to expand). For more normal dinner-sized rolls you should easily be able to get more out of a batch.

I was tearing off steaming pieces of hot rolls before I had even pulled them out of the oven and couldn't stop eating them all night long. This morning I've already taken several trips back to the freezer...each time telling myself I'll just have one more! Too much of a good thing definitely does not exist in this case. Don't let me prevent you from making them in fear of eating a whole pan (although doing so in one sitting is never recommended). You can sleep easy (with a tummy full of soft yummy rolls), knowing that they are almost fat free, have a minimal amount of natural sugar, and are completely whole grain (nutritious, essential carbs)!

Soft Yogurt Sandwich Rolls

INGREDIENTS

3 1/2-4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used half all-purpose and half white whole wheat flour)

1 Tbsp. active dry yeast

3 Tbsp. honey

1 cup warm water (110-112 F)

1 cup plain yogurt (nonfat is fine, so is Greek)

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup flour, the active dry yeast, the honey and the warm water. Stir well and let sit for 10 minutes, until slightly foamy. Stir in yogurt, oil, salt and 2 cups of the remaining flour. Gradually stir in more flour until you have a soft dough that sticks together pulls away from the sides of the bowl (This can all be done in a stand mixer with the dough-hook attached as well).

2. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding additional flour if necessary to prevent sticking, until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

3. Turn risen dough out of bowl and onto a lightly floured surface. Gently deflate, pressing into a rectangle. Divide dough into a dozen even pieces. Shape each piece into a round roll. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or coated with cooking spray. Cover with a clean dish towel and let rise for 25 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until rolls are golden on the top and the bottom. Cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container or in the freezer.

Makes a dozen + rolls.

(Recipe adapted from Baking Bites)

Browned Butter Blueberry Muffins, Revisited

Since I'm feeling drastically better (up and walking half normally), I've been baking again. My appetite for all foods has improved, but I still have a pregnancy sharpened sweet tooth. So I chose these favorite muffins to accompany us to our neighborhood Easter egg hunt and brunch over the weekend. I couldn't believe it had been 2 1/2 years since I first made them, because I could remember clearly how dense and moist and sweet these plump blueberry cakes taste. Good thing I stashed a few away before sharing because they disappeared instantly. (I did use frozen blueberries this go-round and still had fantastic results.)

8/16/09: Oh, my my my. These are good. But my conscience won't let me recommend them to you without a disclaimer: they are nothing but dessert! So sweet and sinful (and butter-full) that I can't justify them as anything else. But go ahead, devour them anyway. You shouldn't be having browned butter blueberry muffins for breakfast every day. But once can't hurt, right?!

I had never browned butter before. And it scared me a little. I kept a close watch on the saucepan, and, after what seemed like too long, voila!, the butter turned brown! A glorious golden brown with an astonishing aroma. It gives these cupcakes muffins a distinguished taste.

I'm not sure how well frozen berries would hold up in this recipe. I do have one trick to share: before adding your berries to the batter, dust them lightly with flour. This prevents them from sinking to the bottom. You will have picture perfect muffins with evenly distributed blueberries!

Browned Butter Blueberry Muffins

INGREDIENTS
7 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/3 cup whole milk or buttermilk (or low-fat milk works, too)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2 cups fresh blueberries (frozen in a pinch)

Crumb topping (makes more than you'll need):
3 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, but into tiny cubes
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 1/2 Tbsp. sugar

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Keep an eye on the butter. Melt and cook down the butter until little brown bits appear in the pan. The crackling will subside and butter will begin to brown fairly quickly after that. Keep a close eye. Remove from heat.

3. Whisk milk, egg, yolk and vanilla until combined. Add the brown butter and stir to combine.

4. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl Add milk and butter mixture all at one and stir gently to combine. Gently but thoroughly fold in the blueberries.

5. Divide the batter among muffin cups and spread evenly.

6. To make the topping combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the batter in the cups.

7. Bake until golden and crisp and a wooden pick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack for 15 minutes then remove from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 1 dozen muffins.

(Adapted from Joy the Baker)

Spinach Mandarin Poppy Seed Salad

I love salads. But I hate when they're ruined by a ridiculously sugary dressing. Salad is not meant to be dessert. It's meant to be healthy. And you don't need a cup-full of sugar to make it taste good. (Or technically any at all, but a little can be quite pleasing.) So when I come across a dressing that calls for an obscene amount of sugar, it usually doesn't stop me from trying it- I just know I have to do a little tweaking. Such was the case with this recipe. With avocado and bacon and mandarins- it instantly caught my attention. But something had to be done about the dressing. I decreased the sugar content drastically, and you know what? It's still plenty sweet. And it doesn't overpower the brightness of the citrus, the real show-stopper here.  

Spinach Mandarin Poppy Seed Salad

INGREDIENTS
8 oz. spinach
2-3 romaine hearts, chopped
2 avocados, peeled, pitted, and diced
8-10 mandarin oranges, peeled and segmented with knife
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
handful swiss or gruyere, shredded
8-10 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled

Poppy Seed Dressing:
2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 tsp. stone ground mustard
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp. poppy seeds
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. To make the dressing, whisk to combine vinegar, mustard, and sugar in a small bowl. Slowly stream in the oil while whisking constantly to emulsify. Whisk in the poppy seeds and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

2. In a large serving bowl combine the spinach, romaine, avocado, orange, onion, cheese, and bacon. Drizzle with the dressing. Toss and serve.

Serves 8-10.

(Adapted from Our Best Bites)

Lemon Sticky Rolls

Despite my difficulty getting around lately, I've been determined to do two main things: buy stuff for the baby (accomplished thanks to Amazon and a surprising number of stores that provide free wheelchairs/motorized carts- which is only mildly embarrassing) and make a few treats. By treats I mean anything homemade. Because we don't get much of that around here lately. Over the weekend I managed to serve brunch, highlighted by these fresh-from-my-own-oven sticky rolls. It doesn't get more homey. I used my mom's foolproof sweet roll dough recipe (featured in our favorite cinnamon rolls), just dressed a bit differently. Lemon and nutmeg dusted throughout the rolls, lemon and nutmeg and ginger in the filling, and even more lemon and cream cheese in the glaze. The lemon is bright and sweet, not overpowering. And the spices provide just a hint of flavor in the background.

I'm also excited to announce that since Tuesday, I've been officially removed from bedrest! I've reached the 35-week mark and after reassuring ultrasound results (baby is looking big and healthy), my doctor told me I'm allowed to do whatever activity I can manage comfortably. For an unknown reason (the baby is still dropped just as low and my signs of labor have actually progressed further), I'm feeling and moving better by the day. Less pain + less laying around = happier me. But I'm definitely still taking it easy- the intense discomfort could quickly return or I could be delivering a baby any day!

Lemon Sticky Rolls

INGREDIENTS
Dough:
6-8 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. instant yeast
2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sugar
zest of 2 lemons (reserve the juice for using in the glaze below*)
3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, whisked
2 1/4 cups warm milk

Filling:
1 1/2 cups sugar
heaping 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 tsp. ground ginger
zest and juice of 2 lemons
6 Tbsp. butter, melted

Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
*juice of 2 lemons
2 cups powdered sugar
extra lemon zest for sprinkling on top

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large bowl combine 3 cups flour, yeast, salt, sugar, lemon zest, and nutmeg. Whisk to combine. Pour in wet ingredients (butter, eggs, and milk). Stir until it is a thick paste. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until it comes together into a ball.

2. Lightly flour a flat surface, and knead the dough, adding more flour to prevent sticking, 8-10 minutes, until smooth. Spray the inside of a bowl with cooking spray, place the dough inside, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

3. To make the filling, in a small bowl combine the sugar, nutmeg, ginger, and lemon zest. Slowly add the lemon juice, mixing with your fingers or a fork, until the mixture resembles wet sand (you will probably not need to use all of the juice).

4. Punch down the dough and divide in half. Roll out each half into a large rectangle. Brush melted butter over the surface of the dough. Spread half of the prepared filling over each rectangle of dough. Roll up lengthwise. Cut each log into 12 evenly sized pinwheels. Place into lightly greased 9x13 baking pans. Cover each pan and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

5. Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake rolls in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, until golden on top. (DO NOT over-bake. Soft and doughy is better than browned.) Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.

6. While the rolls are baking, prepare the glaze. Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer unti light and fluffy. Beat in the lemon juice and powdered sugar until light and smooth.

7. Spread the glaze over the hot rolls, dividing it among the two pans. Sprinkle with extra lemon zest. Serve warm.

Fills 2 9x13 pans (about 24 rolls).

(Dough from here, Lemon Sticky Rolls adapted from The Kitchn)

Hiccup

Things had been going so well... I was eating and cooking and wanting to try new recipes again. And excited that I had a few more months to get back to posting before I became a momma. And then last week we had a little (or rather big) hiccup. It started with a little pain in the butt that progressed to I can't stand or walk or roll over without feeling like my pelvis is being torn apart. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when the doctor acted like this wasn't completely normal (at 33 1/2 weeks). She sent me up to L&D where we discovered I was effacing and contracting regularly and in other words in pre-term labor. Baby's head has dropped down onto my posterior pelvis and she is engaged as if ready to come out! (Hence the misery.) After a two day hospital stay the contractions were under control and baby was prepped with some steroids in case she decides to come right away. And so I'm home with orders for partial bedrest and narcotics and "keeping her in there a week or two longer, please".

And it would be hard to comply if I wasn't in so much pain. Getting to the fridge for a snack is a feat... preparing a meal, just about impossible. Sorry, no more trips to the grocery store. (Not to mention all the shopping I still needed to do for baby gear. I have hardly anything!) Thankfully, baby's doing great and we're honestly not worried. At this point I'm just excited to have her here... and hoping I don't have to wait six more weeks in this state (as long as she's healthy and ready, of course). I'll be thrilled if I find a way to make something new to share, but the odds aren't looking good. And so now we wait...

*Speaking of hiccups, literally, baby girl has them non-stop. And since her head is jammed into the bottom of my pelvis I'll let you guess where I feel this fun sensation!

Grilled Pineapple Chicken Sandwiches, Revisited

I've updated this recipe with a few variations. This time instead of using a Hawaiian marinade, I coated the chicken in barbecue sauce before grilling. The flavor from the marinade does a better job of permeating the meat, but I liked the barbecue version just as well. You can top it with gouda or cheddar or mozzarella (go for smoked) and choose from mustard or mayo or honey-mustard (my favorite). Then add the grilled pineapple and crisp bacon. And of course, the lettuce, tomato, and onion. I promise it'll make a juicy delicious mess.

6/10/10: When I stopped buying apples last month (They are, after all, a Fall fruit. And I want to be able to appreciate them more when they come in season again.), I had to find other fruits to replace them. I think that's when my pineapple craze began. Pineapples are sweet and tart and juicy and rather large. A single piece of fruit that will last you all week. I've had no trouble finding creative new recipes to use pineapple in. This one I invented myself. I used a Hawaiian-style marinade (posted here last year) for chicken breast that is grilled right alongside sliced rounds of fresh pineapple. The chicken is topped with melted smokey gouda, lettuce, tomato, and onion and it's all piled together on a sesame-seed bun (which can be found here as well).

Grilled Pineapple Chicken Sandwiches

INGREDIENTS
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, pounded to an even thickness
Hawaiian marinade (recipe below) OR favorite barbecue sauce
4 whole wheat sandwich rolls or hamburger buns
smoked gouda, cheddar or mozzarella, thinly sliced
fresh pineapple, thinly sliced
lettuce
tomato, thinly sliced
red onion, thinly sliced (optional)
bacon, cooked until crisp (optional)
mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, or honey-mustard (I use honey-mustard)

Hawaiian Marinade:
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. fresh minced ginger
1 tsp. fresh minced garlic

DIRECTIONS
1. If using the marinade, whisk to combine the marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Place the chicken in a resealable plastic bag and pour the marinade over the chicken. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours (I let mine sit for about 8 hours and it was amazingly juicy and flavorful!).

2. Preheat an outdoor grill or indoor grill pan to medium-high heat. Discard the marinade (if using) or brush the chicken with barbecue sauce. Lightly grease the grill with cooking spray and cook the chicken until the juices run clear. Top chicken with the sliced cheese several minutes before it is done cooking to allow the cheese to melt. Meanwhile, grill the pineapple several minutes on each side.

3. Place the grilled chicken (with melted cheese) on a bun (spread with mayo, Dijon, or honey-mustard- all optional) and top with lettuce, tomato, onion (optional), bacon (optional) and pineapple.

Makes 4 sandwiches.

(Marinade adapted from All Recipes)

Barbecue Chicken Pizza, Revisited

I know I've posted this pizza twice before. But it deserves the repeat mention, since I'm sure I've made it more than any other recipe on this blog. And it's awesome every time. Never grows old. My go-to meal for pleasing husbands, kids, family, and friends. Trust me that making your own dough makes all the difference (and it's easier than you think). If you follow the "pizza dough" link I've written detailed instructions on the process. Don't be intimidated by yeast. A little bit of fungus can do wondrous things.

1/31/09: This is my favorite pizza in the entire world. Not exaggerating. Using a high quality barbecue sauce makes a huge difference. (Our current favorite comes from Trader Joes.) The smoked Gouda also sets this recipe apart from its ordinary imitators. When my brother left for Ukraine this pizza was his parting dinner request and he recently wrote telling me he misses it and is going to try making his own foreign version! I'm warning you it's addicting. I always make extra, hoping there will be leftovers for lunches the rest of the week.

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

INGREDIENTS

1 recipe pizza dough
3/4 cup your favorite barbecue sauce

about 1/2 cup smoked Gouda

about 2 cups mozzarella

1 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast half, diced or shredded (see note on preparing chicken)

red onion, thinly sliced (to taste)

fresh cilantro, chopped (to taste)

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare dough according to recipe directions. While dough is rising you can bake your chicken breast and prep your other ingredients.

NOTE: For tender juicy chicken that won't dry out while you are baking your pizza, I suggest the following coking method: Preheat oven to 350 F. Season the chicken breast with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Loosely wrap it in aluminum foil and place it (directly on the rack is fine) in the the preheated oven and bake for 30-40 minutes until the juices run clear. After removing it from the oven let it sit for at least 10 minutes to cool and to let the juices settle before shredding or dicing it. At this point you want to use 1/4 cup of the barbecue sauce to cover the chicken with. This will also help keep it moist and impart more of that delicious bbq flavor! If you are cooking your chicken ahead of time it will keep well in the fridge.

2. See post on pizza dough for instructions on preheating your pizza stone and baking the pizza.

3. Top prepared dough with 1/2 cup bbq sauce, then chicken, red onions, mozzarella, and Gouda.

4. Bake in 450 degree oven for 8-10 minutes until crust is lightly browned and cheese is bubbly.

5. Remove from the oven and let rest a few minutes before slicing. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Makes 1 pizza.

(Inspired by California Pizza Kitchen)

Pineapple Pulled Pork Sandwiches

This was the main event in our family dinner Sunday. Something I could throw together the night before and have on the table with the littlest of effort the next day. My sister declared it her favorite pulled pork ever. And I'd have to agree that the flavors here are pretty perfect. Just a bit smokey. Ever-so-slightly sweet. Even spicy if you up the pepper flakes (I was conservative in this regard because baby-on-the-way doesn't appreciate heat). Served with this salad and these sweet potatoes.

Pineapple Pulled Pork Sandwiches

INGREDIENTS
3-4 lbs. pork shoulder (Boston butt), cut into 2-inch cubes
1 onion, diced
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. sweet paprika
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. crushed red pepper (or more to taste)
20 oz. can crushed pineapple

soft wheat sandwich rolls, for serving

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine all ingredients in a large slower cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours until tender.

2. Remove the pork from the liquid and let the liquid cool before skimming the fat off the top. Meanwhile, remove the bones and gristle and shred the pork with two forks. Return the pork and some of the juices to the slower cooker to keep rewarm. Serve on soft wheat sandwich rolls.

Serves 6-8.

(Adapted from What's Gaby Cooking)