Chiabatta Rolls

If I was a professional bread baker - I think I would weigh 300 pounds.  I have absolutely zero will power against the sweet aroma of bread baking in the oven.  I can't tell you how many times I have burned my mouth because I tried to eat a piece of bread - straight out of a 450 degree oven.  It seems like it takes an eternity for it to cool so I guess I figure it's worth the risk the third degree burns on my tongue and bite right into it.

It really doesn't even matter what kind of bread it is.  I like all almost all kinds.  Whole wheat, multigrain, white, french, baguettes, you name it.  The only thing that really doesn't excite me is sourdough bread.

I've been so focused on cakes lately that I haven't had much time for bread making.  That all changed when I found this recipe Chewy Italian Rolls in the King Arthur catalog.  I doubled the recipe because really, what's the point in making just a dozen rolls?

Chewy Italian Rolls
Biga
3 cups flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon yeast

Dough
5 cups flour
1 cup water
4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon yeast

For the biga: Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl.  Cover and let reset at room temperature 12-20 hours.

For the dough: Mix the biga with remaining ingredients in stand mixer.  Knead for 4 minutes.  Place in a greasaed bowl, cover and let rest 1-2 hours.

 Turn dough out onto floured countertop.

Shape into a rectangle.

Use a knife to cut dough into 3 inch squares.

Place squares on a silpat lined baking sheet, cover and let rise 45 mintues.

Bake 13 minutes at 450.

WAIT for them to cool (that was for my benefit) and enjoy.

 I'm hungry from more bread just from typing this blog post.  Lucky for me, its already cool.

Ciao!

Roasted Tomatoes

I'm normally the neighbor who's asking everyone if they have extra tomatoes but this year, I've got so many that I'm the girl who's handing them out as gifts to anyone who happens to walk past our house.  (Would it be wrong to hand out tomatoes as party favors?  I'm not above that.) 

I have been making salsa with a lot of my extra tomatoes but I thought I would try roasting a few also.  I dug out an old Cooking Light recipe from 2012 and decided to give it a whirl.  Much to my surprise, the recipe called for roasting the tomatoes in the oven for 7 hours!  SEVEN HOURS!   My tomatoes didn't quite make it that long in the oven and I had to pull them out a couple of times to bake cakes so they roasted about 5 1/2 hours. 

Roasted Tomatoes
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 pounds tomatoes

Preheat oven to 200.  Combine sugar, oil, salt, basil, oregano and pepper.

Slice tomatoes into thick slices.

Brush oil mixture over tomatoes.  Place on foil lined baking sheet. 

Roast 7-8 hours. 

These tomatoes were really tasty.  The sweetness of the fruit really came out during the long, slow roasting.  I think I will try slicing them thin next time and see if I can roast them a little quicker.  Seven hours is a long time to have the oven on the in kitchen in the middle of August.

Ciao!

Creamy Italian Dressing

I am definitely a "dressing on the side" kind of girl.   It get so mad at myself when I order a salad at a restaurant and I forget to say "dressing on the side" because it's usually way to overdressed for my taste.  I really don't like a bowl of lettuce and vegetables that are swimming in dressing.

My rules for dressing a salad are simple.  Start with a great bowl of lettuce and vegetables.

 

Add a few drops of dressing.  

 Mix it in and voila - a perfectly dressed salad.

Now compare the two salads.   I know that some of you will prefer the salad on the left with much more dressing but as for me, I'll stick to the salad on the right.   (I will admit that the picture on the left does lend itself much better to a blog post about salad dressing though.)

 Whether you like a little or a lot, this creamy Italian dressing is delicious. 

I adapted this recipe from frugalbites.com.

Creamy Italian Dressing

Ingredients

• ½ C. mayonnaise
• ¼ C. grated Parmesan cheese
• ¼ C. buttermilk
• 1½ tsp. minced garlic
• ½ tsp. minced fresh parsley
• ½ tsp. lemon juice

- See more at: http://frugalbites.com/copycat-recipe-carrabbas-italian-grill-salad-dressing/#sthash.EbObha3R.dpuf

1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon lemon juice
fresh parsley  (I overdid it on the parsley because my dressing came out a little green.)

Combine ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Yum.  I love the Parmesan cheese in this dressing.  (I'm assuming that's what makes this an Italian dressing instead of a ranch.) Drizzle on a little or a lot - I think you'll agree that it's really yummy.

Ciao!

Grilled Chicken

I can't say that I wasn't warned but good grief - senior activities have taken over our life this month.  How in the world did graduating from high school turn into an all consuming month long schedule of events for the entire family?  Don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining because I am enjoying every moment of it but I will say that our meals have suffered a little bit lately due to lack of time.

I found a great QUICK recipe for grilled chicken in my fresh and fabulous magazine a couple weeks ago that was perfect for our hectic schedule this month.  It requires no marinating, it used ingredients that I already had on hand AND my family loved it.  This one is definitely a keeper.

Grilled Chicken 
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 Tablespoon shallots, minced
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon minced thyme
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
1/3 cup crumbled queso fresco
4  chicken breasts
1 Tablespoon olive oil

Combine vinegar, shallots, sugar, thyme and dijon in a bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.

Whisk in 3 T. oil.   Stir in tomatoes and cheese.
 

Brush chicken with 1 T. oil and season with salt and pepper.











Grill chicken.

Drizzle with vinaigrette.

 Serve with grilled veggies - drizzled with the same vinaigrette.

This was a super yummy dinner - even on the busiest of weeknights.  Both kids ate this up too - even without scraping off the vinaigrette.  (Wonders never cease.)

Ciao!