This morning I had brunch with one of my best friends ellewcee as well as thefrenemy at Prune, restaurant of Blood, Bones and Butter author Gabrielle Hamilton. We talked about television (a lot about last week’s MasterChef finale), adult relationships, friends, books, and of course, how good our brunch was.
Pictured above with her book is the classic eggs benedict from Prune and the Southwest bloody maria, with their standard Red Stripe chaser. I can’t resist a benny, and believe me, no one does eggs better than Prune at brunch.
Combine all ingredients into a bowl and set aside. The glaze should be thick and not runny. If your glaze is runny, adjust the amount of powdered sugar. If your glaze is too thick, thin it out with water, a few tsp at a time.
Directions for Donuts
Fit your stand mixer with a dough hook and set aside.
Sift together the dry ingredients and set aside.
In a small pan, melt the butter and warm the milk until it is between 110 and 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
Add the butter and milk mixture to the bowl of your stand mixer, stir in the sugar and vanilla, and sprinkle over the yeast.
Allow the yeast to activate for 6-9 minutes. You will know the yeast is activated once it has become foamy, as pictured above.
With your stand mixer on low, add in the dry ingredients a little at a time until incorporated.
Gradually increase the speed on the mixer and allow the dough to knead and mix for 8-11 minutes until a dough ball forms and the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Lightly flour your work surface and remove the dough from the mixer.
Knead the dough for 2-5 minutes or until it is smooth.
Place your dough into a well oiled bowl [vegetable oil is fine] and cover with a kitchen towel.
Allow the dough to rise in a dark, warm place for 90 minutes or until doubled in size.
Once the dough has risen, lightly flour your work surface and remove the dough from the bowl.
Gently roll out the dough until you have a medium size rectangle with about ½ inch - ¾ inch thickness.
Using a donut cutter/cookie cutter or a soup can and bottle cap, cut your donuts and donut holes.
Place the donuts and donut holes onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with a kitchen towel and allow to rise once again in a dark, warm place for 35 minutes.
During the final 10 minutes of rising, heat your oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare your glaze and spiced sugar.
Once the donuts have risen, fry them in batches, flipping once the dough is golden brown on each side (less than 1 minute per side).
Allow the donuts to cool for just a moment before glazing/tossing.
Let the donuts slightly cool on a wire rack before serving [so as to not burn your fingers and tongues].
Serve with a cup of coffee, milk, or all on their own.
This was absolutely perfect in every single way. It’s rich with flavor, slightly spicy, and a great dinner for a winter weeknight.
I will post a detailed ravioli recipe in another post – the focus of this recipe is the meat sauce.
Ingredients
1 small yellow onion, diced
5 large cloves garlic, minced
1 lb Italian chicken sausage (hot or sweet)
1 full jar tomato passata
2 cups spinach, roughly chopped
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp granulated onion
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
½ - 1 tbsp granulated sugar
Pinch red pepper flakes
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
1 lb cooked cheese ravioli
Directions
Heat a large dutch oven or pot over medium heat.
Once the pot has come to temperature, drizzle a few tbsp of olive oil into the bottom and add in the onions and garlic.
Sweat the onions and garlic until the onions become translucent. Season with salt and pepper.
Once the onions are translucent, raise the temperature to medium high and add in the chicken sausage.
Break apart the sausage using a wooden spoon, season with granulated onion and garlic and cook until browned.
As the chicken begins to brown, add in the entire jar of tomato passata [making sure to add water to the jar to add the excess], dried basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, sugar and stir. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 20 minutes, allowing the sauce to thicken.
During the final minutes of simmering, cook the ravioli, drain and reserve a small amount of pasta water.
Raise the heat to medium once again, and add in the spinach and stir.
Maple-Glazed Roasted Chicken with Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients for Chicken
1 whole chicken
Seasoning blend [may or may not use all of it]: 6 tbsp kosher salt, 6 tbsp ground black pepper, 2 tbsp Herbes de Provence, 1 tbsp ground rosemary, 1 tbsp granulated lemon, 1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
½ cup barbecue sauce (I used Williams-Sonoma Honey Chipotle barbecue sauce)
1 tbsp honey
½ tbsp kosher salt
Ingredients for Mashed Sweet Potatoes
3 large sweet potatoes, diced into medium chunks
1 ½ tbsp chili powder
¼ cup raw honey
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp cinnamon
½ cup +/- heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions for Chicken
Preheat your oven to 430 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the oven has preheated to the correct temperature, heat a cast iron pan for 25 minutes.
To prepare your chicken, dry the skin with paper towels – a dried surface ensures that the skin will become crispy in the oven.
Generously rub olive oil all over the bird and season liberally, the inside and outside.
If you are using aromatics, stuff them inside of the bird along with the seasoning and tie the legs together with wet kitchen twine.
NOTE: Soaking the kitchen twine in water a few minutes before using ensures that it will not burn in the oven.
Once the cast iron is preheated, quickly place the bird into the pan and return to the oven for about 50 minutes or until the breast meat registers 150 degrees Fahrenheit internally.
Once the breast meat registers 150 degrees internally, turn your oven to broil.
Generously glaze the chicken and broil for 1 minute.
Apply one more coating of glaze and broil until skin is caramelized.
Allow chicken to rest until breast meat comes to temperature (165 degrees Fahrenheit).
Directions for Maple Glaze
In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and adjust to your preferred taste.
Directions for Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the potatoes until tender.
Once the potatoes are tender, drain them and return them to the pot.
Add in the seasonings. Mash the potatoes.
Adjust to your taste before adding the heavy cream.
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 large zucchini, cut into bite-sized cubes
Seasoning blend (for both chicken and zucchini) - ½ tbsp Herbs de Provence, ½ tbsp dried basil, ½ tbsp dried oregano, 1 tsp lemon granules, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp ground black pepper, 2 tsp granulated onion, 2 tsp granulated garlic, and a pinch of red pepper flakes.
2 cups pasta sauce of your choice
Olive oil
1 - 1 ½ cups cheese of your choice (I used parmesan)
Directions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook your rigatoni noodles so that they are 2 minutes from being cooked to al dente.
In two small bowls, toss your chicken and your zucchini with olive oil and the seasoning blend
In a pan/skillet, heat a tbsp or two of olive oil over medium heat.
Cook the chicken thighs over medium heat until they are fully cooked.
Remove from pan into a large bowl.
Par-cook/soften the zucchini in a tbsp of olive oil.
Remove from pan into the same large bowl.
Once the pasta is 2 minutes from being al dente, drain and rinse under cold water.
In the same large bowl, combine the pasta with the chicken and zucchini and incorporate the sauce.
NOTE: Use as much or as little sauce as you would like.
In a baking dish or cast iron pan, layer the pasta, layer the cheese, layer the pasta, and finish with a layer of cheese.
Allow the pasta to bake for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees and in the last minute or two, turn your broiler on high and allow the cheese to completely melt.
Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving.
I know that it has been a very long time since my last post, but please know that I haven’t abandoned this site. It has always been such a labor of love, but my attention has been focused elsewhere for quite a while, as I’m in a different space in life. While I plan to return in the coming weeks/months, I thank all of you that keep the love circulating. Thank you for sharing my posts. Thank you fort testing my recipes for your families and friends. Thank you for the warm messages, I promise to respond in due time. Hello to everyone that is new here and a hello to everyone that’s been here.
I hope to return to you soon, but luckily, I left so many recipes behind to tide you over in my absence.
A quick pasta recipe that I shared via Instagram stories two weeks ago. This was quick and simple and so delicious. Grilled some chicken, boiled some tagliatelle pasta, sautéed some beautiful grape tomatoes with garlic and shallots. Everything came together with a lovely Puttanesca sauce purchased from Home Goods. This was amazing. Once I remake the dish, I’ll post a full recipe!
Late Post – for Labor Day, I decided to make an array of wings because, why not? I leaned toward the sweet & spicy combination with both flavors because there is something very satisfying about sticky sauce coating your fingers.
Honey Chipotle BBQ
Sweet Sesame Sambal
Wings were made using a variation of this recipe (x). Full recipes coming soon.
Last night, I made a fruit tart using my recipe (x). I made a new cream recipe that I will gladly post once I have finished working with it. I just wanted to drop off some beautiful photos for you all to enjoy! Hope that everyone is having an amazing Thursday.
Hey! I have missed all of you so much. Though I’m not returning with a full start to finish recipe, I did some cooking, and I definitely waned to share with all of you – especially since I brought my camera out. I also wanted to let all of you know that I regularly update my instagram. My profile is bakingwithbooks.
Ingredients
1.5 lb skin-on salmon cut into three portions
Seasoning blend for salmon: kosher salt, black pepper, Herbs de Provence, smoked paprika, hot paprika
One pint mixed (orange and red) cherry tomatoes, rinsed and stems removed
Olive oil
½ large shallot, sliced or roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
Fresh parsley, roughly chopped
Kosher salt and pepper
Strawberry balsamic dressing (found at Whole Foods)
Directions
In a large cast iron skillet over medium heat, drizzle a fair amount of olive oil and add in the shallots and garlic and let them sweat and infuse into the oil.
After about 1 minute, add in the tomatoes, season generously with salt and pepper and allow them to blister for about 3 minutes.
Remove tomatoes to a bowl.
Add a little more olive oil to the pan and place the salmon skin-side down into the pan, searing for about 2 minutes.
Flip and continue cooking for about 4-5 minutes.
Add back in the tomatoes and add in a small amount of strawberry balsamic.
Remove from heat when salmon is finished (should be moist and still slightly pink).
Hey friends. I know it’s been a while since my last post, but I wanted to bring you all something simple. This isn’t really a recipe, but just something quick and delicious.
Veggie Flatbread
Stonefire flatbread topped with Simply Balanced organic pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese, spinach, mushrooms, red onions, assorted bell peppers, sliced tomatoes, and herbs.
Chicken Flatbread
Stonefire flatbread topped with Simply Balanced organic pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, sliced tomatoes, and spinach.
Instructions
Both baked at 415 degrees for about 15 minutes until flatbread was toasted and cheese was completely melted.
Because a freshly baked cake can put a smile on anyone’s face.
Ingredients for Cake
2 ½ cups + 3 tbsp all purpose flour
1 stick (8 tbsp) softened butter
2 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs, brought to room temperature
½ cup canola oil
½ cup whole milk + ½ cup almond milk (or 1 full cup of either)
1 ½ tsp baking soda + 1 tsp cornstarch
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of kosher salt
½ cup whole almonds, processed
Directions for Cake
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Grease and flour two round cake pans and set aside.
In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or a large bowl using a whisk/hand mixer), cream together the butter and sugar for 5 minutes until creamed.
One at a time, add in the eggs, incorporating them into the batter.
Add in the vanilla and oil, mix and set aside.
In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.
Alternating between the egg mixture and milk, combine the wet ingredients with the wet – until the batter has come together.
Evenly divide the batter into the two cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the centers are produce clean crumbs when stuck with a toothpick.
Once the cakes are finished baking, remove from oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, remove cakes from pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
Ingredients for Caramel Buttercream
¼ cup half and half
8 tbsp butter, cubed
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 cups powdered sugar
Additional half and half (if necessary to thin frosting)
Directions for Caramel Buttercream
In a small sauce pan over low heat, melt together the butter, sugar and half & half while gently stirring.
Once the brown sugar dissolves, increase the heat to medium-high and allow the mixture to bubble until it turns an amber color.
Once the caramel has turned an amber color, remove it from the heat, stir in the vanilla extract and salt and set aside to cool to room temperature.
Once cooled, mix the caramel with the powdered sugar until the desired consistency is reached.
![ramenhaven:[Homemade] Spicy Miso Ramen with Duck by /u/Skipperrutts](https://64.media.tumblr.com/1f2bb43bbda6abf7484ad16ad844f063/c78aa1c378499c33-6b/s1280x1920/a1ae96d1d711818c1793db44d4e0229099032620.jpg "ramenhaven:[Homemade] Spicy Miso Ramen with Duck by /u/Skipperrutts")
