Who Wants Donuts? (Or Doughnuts)

My dad is ending his two week visit to my house. He goes home tomorrow. For some reason, he loves the heck out of doughnuts. Not just any doughnuts, cake doughnuts.  What is the difference between a cake doughnut and any other type of doughnut, you ask? Glad to give you the 4-1-1. All my work experience at Dunkin' Donuts those many moons ago is coming screaming back to me now.

There are two types of doughnut dough: yeast and cake. The difference really boils down to the kind of leavening used in the dough. Yeast dough is of a fluffier, more airy consistency and the doughnuts are easily filled and frosted after they are cooked, but they take a lot longer to make due to letting the dough rise, rest, and rise again (also known as "proofing".) Usually, yeast doughnuts will take about 3 hours to make from  from start to finished product.

Cake doughnuts usually use baking powder or baking soda as  leavening and require no proofing time at all. They just go right from the mixer to being rolled out to the fryer. The resulting doughnut is a lot denser, with a crispy outside. They are more difficult to fill because of their texture, so they are usually either glazed, frosted, or dipped in powdered sugar/cinnamon sugar. If you want to get very creative, you can also dip them in glaze and then roll them in some coconut or chopped nuts and let them dry.

My family is divided on the type of doughnuts they like. Hubby prefers yeast doughnuts filled with custard and topped with chocolate frosting (AKA the Boston Creme doughnut). Daughter enjoys both but prefers yeast doughnuts with homemade chocolate frosting, and Dad loves those Old Fashioned doughnuts -- hence, the making of the cake doughnuts.

And you know I would normally post a picture, BUT.... can you believe they ate them all already? And I only just made them 2 hours ago. I guess he doesn't get to take any home with him. Heck, I'll just send him the recipe.

Now, I know you are saying "Doughnuts are not healthy cooking", and you'd be correct. However, I believe everything in moderation is always a good thing and a doughnut every once in awhile isn't going to kill you. Eating the entire batch, like my family just did, might though.

The recipe I'm about to post was passed down to me from my grandmother and it makes a helluva good cake doughnut. I experimented with them some time ago, and if you want to cut some of the fat in them, then opt for the baking directions.

Without further ado, here's the recipe:

Old Fashioned Doughnuts (yields 8-12 doughnuts plus Munchkins... ahem... doughnut holes

1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp melted butter (you can also use canola oil instead of butter if it's faster or easier)
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
6 cups Canola oil for frying*

Preheat oil to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients and roll to 1/2" thickness. Cut with doughnut cutter, setting aside doughnut holes for frying as well. Fry doughnuts and doughnut holes to golden brown on each side and set on paper towels to absorb excess grease. Let cool completely and use toppings of your choice. Or eat them plain.

* If you want to bake the doughnuts and you have a couple of doughnut pans, reduce the flour by 1 cup and pour the dough into lightly oiled pans. Bake 8-10 minutes at 325. They won't be as crispy as the fried doughnuts, but still good.

** If you don't have a deep fryer and you do have a wok, you can heat the oil up over the stove in the wok over medium heat and then check it with a candy thermometer.

If you want to make a simple glaze for topping, use 2 cups confectioner's sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tbsp butter, and start to beat with a wire whisk or mixer. Add 2 tbsp milk and continue beating. Keep adding milk gradually until the consistency of the frosting is not thick, but rather runny and the lumps are gone. (It should probably take 3-4 tbsp milk total to get it there). Dip the doughnuts in and let drip dry on a cooling rack with paper towels underneath.

OK, the pizza dough is now calling me from the bread machine, so I gotta run and get it going. If you like the doughnuts, post a comment and let me know :-)

It's Meringue Day!

Don't mind Remy in the picture... he saw the way the pie came out and had to come down to investigate and beg for a piece.

Yes, it's meringue day at my house today as my father is visiting and it's his birthday. He specifically requested a lemon meringue pie instead of a birthday cake. And the minute my child heard the word "meringue", she begged me to make her some meringue cookies. I will be posing recipes for both at the end of this narrative. P.S. These are recipes you just can't modify to make healthier, because Splenda is a vile substance and it won't incorporate into the meringue properly anyway.

Lots of people I speak with are totally intimidated by the thought of making meringue. I think it gets a bad rap. Honestly, it's really not too hard as long as you treat the meringue carefully. By using the tips below, I get a perfect meringue every time.

My Meringue Pointers:

1) Let your eggs come to room temperature before you separate them. Not only will it make separation easier, but the meringue will come together faster.
2) If you have a copper pot in which to whisk the meringue, all the better - the chemistry of the copper also allows the meringue to come together faster.
3) Separate the eggs one at a time, and pour the whites for each egg into a bowl immediately after separating. That way, if you screw up on egg white separation number 5 and some yolk gets in there, you don't end up wasting the other 4 whites.
4) Add the sugar gradually.... and whisk it for one minute in between additions. That gets all that sugar dissolved and incorporated.
5) If you want to use cream of tartar, you can... it's optional. The cream of tartar can provide extra stability to the meringue when finished. It's not a requirement, though.
6) The whites are ready when stiff peaks form. If you are not sure what a stiff peak looks like, it is when you can turn your whisk over and the whites are standing up straight and pointy from the whisk.
7) If you can use a mixer to do this, it will save you a lot of time - one of the many reasons I love my KitchenAid.

That being said, on to the pie recipe.

Lemon Meringue Pie

For the crust:
1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
6 tbsp melted butter

Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter, until well blended and press into an 8 or 9 inch pie plate.
Bake at 375 degrees for 7 minutes and let cool completely.

For the filling:
2 packages My-T-Fine lemon pudding mix
1 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups water (separate)

Combine pudding mix,1 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup water in saucepan. Beat with a whisk and add egg yolks and an additional cup of water. Keep whisking and cook over medium heat until boiling. Remove from heat and leave in the pan, stirring once. Pour into crust and let cool completely.

For the meringue:
4 egg whites
6 tbsp sugar
pinch cream of tartar (optional)

Beat the egg whites until foamy. Gradually add the sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, continually beating the mixture. Add cream of tartar while beating. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.

Spoon meringue over pie and cover completely, sealing the edges. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
Cool pie for 30 minutes on wire rack and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours to set.

Meringue Cookies

2 egg whites
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
(Note you an substitute different flavored extracts to make the cookies any flavor you like. If you want to make chocolate chip meringue cookies, fold in 1/4 cup crushed chocolate chips at the end before you spoon onto baking sheets).

Preheat oven to 350. Beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form and meringue is shiny. Fold in extract and any chocolate chips.

Drop with spoon onto foil lined baking sheets. Place in the oven and turn oven OFF. Leave cookies in for a minimum of 4 hours. Peel off foil when done.

Muffins, Muffins, Muffins!

Sorry that the picture of the actual results is a bit dark - I have to mess with my camera some more.

I've been on a search for awhile, looking for the perfect raisin bran muffin to make for the family. I had to modify this one to get it exactly perfect. Who am I kidding? I'm a constant recipe tweaker!

My husband loves bran muffins and takes them to work as snacks. He will eat them plain, which is something I can't do - I prefer mine heated or toasted, cut in half, with a little bit of butter on there.

Bran muffins were actually one of the dishes that Le Spouse made before we got married. The only things he knows how to cook are: pancakes, spaghetti, and raisin bran muffins. The problem with his raisin bran muffins was that he made the recipe that was printed on a box of Kellogg's Raisin Bran. And the muffins that resulted from that recipe were small, inedible, rocklike lumps that I couldn't stand to eat. No offense to the people at Kellogg's, but their recipe needs some serious updating.

I found this recipe from my go-to website, allrecipes.com. When I want to make something I've never tried before and I'm not quite sure how to go about it, this is the place I go to first. And I always, always find what I'm looking for. I found recipes for arepas (a Venezuelan corn cake that is stuffed with meat and served hot), churros (a Mexican doughnut that is made with a lot of egg, rolled in cinnamon sugar, and served warm; preferably with a cup of hot chocolate), dumplings, apple pie, and even fortune cookies. Yes, I get around in the kitchen; why do you ask?  I just believe that there is nothing that we can't make, and the internet is a great resource to find out how, if you don't know. My mother in law, for some reason, thinks that this is awesome of me. But she hates to cook.

Here is the recipe for these guys... they take a lot of prep time up front, but it's totally worth it in the end.

I'm breaking the ingredients up into groups as they are combined and used differently.

1) 1 cup flour
3 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt

Combine all of the above in a mixing bowl and set aside.

2) 3/4 cup milk. Put this in a microwave safe bowl and heat it up for 1 minute. Then add:
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla and whisk it. Then add:
3/4c raisins

Let this sit covered for 10 minutes. Then:

3) melt 8 tbsp of shortening or butter and add it to the milk mixuture. Stir in:
2 cups bran (I shred regular bran flakes for the bran and it works).

Let this sit covered for 10 more minutes. Then:

Take the flour mixture and stir in the bran/raisin/milk mixture. While mixing, add:
2 eggs
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp corn syrup

And mix til moistened. You can make giant muffins (6) or a dozen small ones. Make sure you grease the pans first!

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. (20-25 minutes for the dozen smaller ones, 25-30 minutes for 6 huge ones). They are done when a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove to baking rack and cool for an additional 30.

Yum!

Banana Coffee Bread - Yum!

Does your household suffer from bananas going bad syndrome? This is what I usually make when our bananas reach the stage where they are getting freckles, and on the path to turning full blown brown and no good to anyone.

Now, here is a weird little secret about me: I hate bananas. But I will eat this coffee bread because it's so darn good. Honestly, I think it's a texture thing from childhood because my mother, God love her, used to cook vegetables within inches of their lives until they were limp and colorless, so anything that is mushy is an immediate no-go for me. Which probably explains why I'm not a big fan of fruit - most of it is mushy and stringy and I just can't handle the texture. Anyway, it's rainy and cold here in Southern California, so it's a great day to be baking this - plus we have two bananas that are definitely on their way South.

So, without further ado, here is the banana coffee bread recipe. I must thank my good friend and old boss, Jill Guabello, for sharing this recipe. It's moist and delicious. I have played with it a bit, and based on my experiments with it, you can substitute any nuts you want for the walnuts. I've had success using ground almonds, ground hazelnuts, and ground pecans with this and all options were great. You can also opt not to use nuts at all - my family prefers nuts and it brings the protein in the bread up a notch, so I always use some. It's up to you. I've also substituted applesauce to cut down on the sugar while experimenting, but remember that doing this will increase the baking time to about 45 minutes if you opt for it.

1/2 cup shortening (I use butter-flavored Crisco because it is better than butter cholesterol-wise and seems to have a more stable texture. It also doesn't have such a low scorching point).
1 cup sugar (or 1 cup applesauce)
2 eggs (egg substitute also works here)
3/4 cup ripe mashed banana (about 1 huge or 2 smaller ones)
1 1/4c sifted all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or nuts of your choice)

Preheat the oven to 350. Cream together shortening and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in banana. Sift together dry ingredients and add to the banana mixture, beating well. Pour into greased 9x9x2 inch pan. This is important - you cannot use a loaf pan for this recipe. It doesn't bake all the way through and burns on top if you do. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until the middle doesn't jiggle when you pull out the pan. Top should be golden brown and bread should be set. Toothpick should come out clean when inserted. Cool and slice into approximately 12 squares.

I went on to Fitday to see the calorie cost for this one. As listed, the cake per slice contains 230 calories, 11 grams of fat, 29 grams carbohydrate, 3.2 grams of protein. If you opt to substitute applesauce for the sugar, you will save some calories and carbs. Brings it to: 175 per slice, fat doesn't change, 15 grams carbohydrates, and protein also doesn't change.

Later, oatmeal raisin cookies. Because it's a baking kind of a day.

Hot Cross Buns!

Hey, it's almost Easter time, and you know what that means: hot cross buns, people!!!

OK, folks, you need to try these if you like breads. The recipe is from Cooking Light magazine, April issue. Pretty easy to follow, and the resulting buns are really quite tasty. They have the texture of a good panettone, and you can taste just a slight hint of the orange/cinnamon/nutmeg combination. The frosting is super-sweet, but there's only a little bit of it and it offsets the other flavors.

Recipe link: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/hot-cross-buns-50400000120213/

This is a definite keeper, and will make this again (and again). I changed the recipe a bit, as my family doesn't do well with fruit rind or currants. So I doubled the amount of golden raisins, and it worked out just fine. I also didn't use the quick rise yeast the recipe calls for, as I despise using any kind of quick rise yeast in any bread recipes - that stuff makes the dough consistency too dense, the dough tends to rise fast and then flop with no hope of recovery, resulting in a very weird texture, and it will make your bread bake unevenly.

The only issue other people may have with the recipe is the prep time. Make sure you have 3 hours to do these in because that is approximately how long they will take. The end result is worth it, though; I promise!

Two things that I have found over the years that help my breads (any breads, not just the buns): I will only use King Arthur brand flour. I don't know what those folks in Vermont are doing with their milling processes, but it is superior stuff for smooth, consistent breads every time. Yes, I know it costs more, but it's really worth it as you will see from the results you get each and every time you use it in bread recipes. And pizza dough!

I will also only use Fleischmann's yeast - not the rapid rise type, though. Fleishmann's has consistently active cultures and I've never had a problem with it. Another good idea is to keep yeast in the refrigerator, as it stays fresher for longer periods of time than if you keep it at room temperature. The cold retards the active cultures and puts them into a dormant state until you're ready to use the yeast. I've even frozen yeast I've bought in bulk at Sam's Club or Costco and it works great once defrosted.

This recipe rates a solid 5 out of 5 stars for me. I'm not usually a big bread eating person, but I enjoyed these. Good texture, not overpowering flavor, slightly sweet, spicy and fruity. Spring-season tastes!

My family will love these - but Le Spouse is the Big Bread-o-Phile in this household. I sent him a picture of the finished buns, and I could literally feel the drool through the smartphone. He's probably panting to get home and try some. I anticipate a major dent in the 24 buns this recipe yields by bedtime tonight.

Hope you like the recipe, and the picture above is what my results looked like. Oh, the only thing I'd be careful of is the cooking spray in the muffin tins - I'm not sure if it's my oven that did this or what, but the bottoms of the buns are slightly burnt which I don't like. I suspect it's my oven, though - it is newer and I'm still adjusting to its quirks.

I'm currently working on getting a food truck together, so stay tuned - I am finally going to begin the business that I've been dreaming about for years and years.

It's a Jersey Thing

I'm deviating from my normal food blog containing recipes today to talk about something that is a staple in New Jersey households: Taylor Ham. Or, Taylor Pork Roll. What you call it depends on where in NJ you reside - northern NJ-ers say "Taylor Ham" and southern NJ-ers say "Pork Roll".

It's a Jersey Thing. Now, how can I describe it to you?

It's rolled pork - but it's not ham, not bacon, not Canadian bacon, and not Spam. It's a salty, hammy, bacon-y, porky tasting delicious piece of meat that I miss terribly. To call it Spam would be to imply that it's fatty, which it isn't. To call it bacon would imply that it has smokiness - which it doesn't. It is a mad, flavorful combination of everything that is good from a pig, with salt added to it.

I'm on this rant today about it because my good friend from many years ago, Joanne, sent me a care package containing TWO GIANT ROLLS of the stuff. I'm hoarding one roll in my freezer and I sliced up the second roll this morning and cooked some of it for breakfast.

Normally, people in NJ/NY/PA will eat it on a Kaiser roll with cheese and a fried egg. Some people will also put ketchup on it, but to me that's an abomination. I'd rather taste the ingredients all dancing together on the roll without the ketchup, thanks. You should too, if you are a Taylor Ham Virgin and haven't tried it yet. Then add ketchup later if you really want to put that stuff on your eggs.

People where I reside now in California think I am Taylor Ham Obsessed. Actually, my child does, too. How can I explain my Passion for the Porkiness?

I grew up eating it - it's a childhood memory. Do you remember that scene from the animated movie "Ratatouille" where Remy makes the ratatouille for Anton Ego and he takes one bite and is instantly transported to the farmhouse kitchen of his youth? That's exactly how I feel about Taylor Ham. Great food like this will always give you an out of body experience that transports you somewhere. If it doesn't, it's not worth eating. This is probably why I'm fat, by the way. Waaay too many out of body experiences for my own good.

I picked up the box from my mailbox yesterday and was literally drooling on the way to the car. DD asked me what I was so freaking happy about and I had to tell her it was because this was a giant box of delectable porky goodness and we were going to slice it up and make it last for awhile. She still thinks I'm nuts. And I actually shared two precious slices with her this morning. I AM nuts, I know.

So, to make a proper Taylor Ham sandwich, here is what you need to do:

1) You must find the right roll. I've noticed as I get older, I'm getting more picky about how my food tastes and how it's cooked, or maybe that's just the chef in me coming out. I am disappointed in the rolls out here in the west. You can't find good rolls here. You can find rolls, don't misunderstand me, but the textures are wrong.

Anyway, NJ Kaiser rolls are a wonderful taste experience - a proper one is pretty huge, and has a buttery, flaky crust with poppy seeds baked into it. When you cut into the roll, the inside is a ball of chewy deliciousness. The crust crackles and flakes off when you cut it. I don't know how they do it. I've been trying to duplicate it here for years, and suspect it has to do with the humidity level difference and having a proofer to use when making the dough. I've come close, but I still haven't succeeded in getting it exactly right. I'm seriously considering finding a resource so I can import them.

2) The cheese must be the deli style fresh cheese. None of that processed shit, please, or I'll have to hunt you down and kill you. It must be cheddar cheese, preferably a slice of deli style yellow American. Two slices on the sandwich.

3) Fry the egg over medium - you don't want yolk running all over the place, but if you prefer your eggs like that, go for it. I don't like the mess. Salt and pepper the egg very lightly.

4) In order to cook the Taylor Ham, you need to cut 4 little notches around the edges. If you don't, the center will puff up in the pan and the slices will look like little hammy hats. Which is cute, but then your meat isn't cooking properly. They should be lightly browned.

Assemble the sandwich on said Kaiser roll, slice it in half and serve it hot.

Oh my, a little slice of Heaven.

Now go forth and find yourself some of this stuff. DO IT! DO IT NOW!

Split Pea Soup

Maybe not the most dietetic thing in the world, and now I'm actually going to visit Fitday to do a calorie count, but this is what I made today in the good old reliable crock pot. It's the recipe my Grandmother always made, in the days before crock pots. The whole house smells wonderful all day, and then getting to eat it is like a small slice of heaven to me.

She was my mother's mother, and she lived with us when I was a kid. We had a mother-daughter house and I could go and visit Grandma anytime I wanted just by opening a door into her attached apartment. The woman was a FANTASTIC cook. She was one of those old-fashioned ladies that made everything from scratch, used real butter and real buttermilk (she used to drink it - said it gave her glossy hair), and could just pouf up a delicious meal off the top of her head. She lived through the Great Depression, so she knew how to make a meal that could last for a week, and she really knew what to do with leftovers. She was amazing.

God, I miss her. I don't think I appreciated her when she was alive, and I regret that. She was a wonderful lady.

Her recipe also yields a heck of a lot of soup. I just filled up three huge Tupperware containers of it, and put two in the freezer. I know there is no way I'm getting The Daughter to eat anything green, and husband took one look at it and the fact that it had ham hocks in it for flavor and said, "You're not going to make me eat that, are you?" Nope.

MORE FOR ME! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....they don't know what they are missing.

I'm posting the recipe here in case anyone wants to try it. I just looked it up on Fitday, and the entire thing is hefty in calories and carbs - divided by the number of cups it yields, though - it's really not bad at all.
I'm going to say this recipe yields around 15 servings.

Per serving: 254 calories, 5 grams of fat, 33 grams carbs, 19.5g protein. Calorie and fat-wise, not too shabby --- except the carb count is what's killing me. Figures, because I love it.

Anyway:

2 ham hocks
2 small bags of split peas
5 whole cloves
4 cans of low sodium chicken broth
1 large whole white onion, finely diced
5-6 large carrots, also finely diced

Pre-soak the split peas by bringing them to a rolling boil for 10 minutes, then turning off the heat and leaving them in the pot with the water, covered, for 2 hours. Drain.

In a crock pot combine everything, adding the soaked peas to the other ingredients and cook on low for 8 hours. (If you want a thicker soup, use slightly less chicken broth).

Remove the ham hocks and discard. Remove the cloves and discard. Take the remaining soup and puree in a food processor. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with home made croutons, if desired.

Mine made so much I am set for lunches for the next month.

Until next time... who knows what I'm making tomorrow night, since it's a work day/packing day... and we find out about our mortgage commitment tomorrow as well.
Fingers crossed... enjoy your food!