English Muffin Bread

My family really likes English muffins so when I ran across this recipe for English Muffin Bread in my Cook's Country magazine, I decided to give it a try. 

English Muffin Bread

cornmeal

5 cups bread flour

4 1/2 teaspoons yeast

1 Tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/2 cups whole milk, heated to 120 degrees

Grease 2 loaf pans and sprinkle with cornmeal.  

Combine flour, yeast, sugar, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.  

Stir in hot milk until combined.  

Cover dough with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.  Stir dough and divide between loaf pans.   (I kneaded mine a few times to make it more cohesive.)

Cover pans with plastic wrap and let rise 30 minutes longer.  

Heat oven to 375. Bake bread for 30 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking.

Cool on wire racks. 

This bread was good warm out of the oven but it really stands out when it's toasted.

And it's even better when it's served with homemade strawberry jam!  (Check for that recipe on tomorrow's blog.)

This bread was cooling on the counter when my daughter came home from school one day last week.  The 2 of us ate 1/2 a loaf!  It was so good - we just couldn't stop eating it.  This recipe could be dangerous.  I turned the last couple of pieces of bread into french toast for breakfast.  It makes really yummy french toast too.  Enjoy!

Ciao!

Chicken Saltimbocca

Last week, I needed a quick weeknight chicken dinner and I was in the mood to try something new so I turned to my favorite recipe website for inspiration.  (Williamssonoma.com)  The website did not disappoint - I found lots of yummy looking chicken dinners but I finally settled on this recipe for Chicken Saltimbocca for my family.

Chicken Saltimbocca

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves,
    each about 6 oz., lightly pounded to an even
    thickness
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh sage or 1 tsp. dried sage,
    plus 4 sage leaves for garnish (optional)
• 2 large slices prosciutto, not paper-thin,
    trimmed to fit chicken breasts
• 1/4 lb. fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced and
    trimmed to fit chicken breasts
• 3/4 cup dry white wine such as Pinot Grigio or
    Sauvignon Blanc

Directions:

Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Spread the flour on a plate and dredge each breast, coating evenly and shaking off the excess. Set aside.

In a large fry pan or sauté pan over medium-high heat, melt 1 Tbs. of the butter with the olive oil until very hot. Add the chicken breasts and cook until the undersides are golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn the chicken breasts over and continue to cook until they feel firm when pressed in the centers, 4 to 6 minutes more.  (I had to cook mine in 2 batches.)

 

 

Reduce the heat to very low. Sprinkle the breasts evenly with the chopped fresh sage. 

I headed out to my garden in search of fresh sage where I have 2 different kinds of sage growing.

Please send me a comment if I get the names wrong but I think the sage on the left is called purple sage and the one on the right is Russian sage.  I picked some of each because I really didn't know which one I wanted to add to my chicken dinner.  After several minutes of debate and intense sniffing, I decided to use the Russian sage.  (I think I made the right choice because it was the perfect seasoning for this dish.)

Top each breast with a piece of prosciutto.



Divide the cheese slices evenly among the breasts. 

 

Cover the pan tightly and cook until the cheese is melted, about 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and tent with aluminum foil, being careful not to allow the foil to touch the cheese.  Increase the heat to high. When the pan is sizzling, add the wine and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape up any browned bits stuck on the pan bottom. Boil until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the remaining 1 Tbs. butter.

Spoon an equal amount of the sauce over each breast. Serve immediately.  

Serves 4.

 This chicken saltimbocca was delicious.

Ciao!

Blueberry Pie

It's Spring Break!

I don't know who is more excited about Spring Break - me or the kids?  I'm pretty psyched about having them home all week. 

We started our break off in style on Saturday with a fabulous cookout at a friends' house.  My contribution to the party was a blueberry pie.  I love fruit pies and I tend to make pies in stages.  I make a ton of them in a couple of weeks and then I don't make another one for months.  (I really don't know why.) 

Blueberry Pie
Pastry for double crust                            6 cups blueberries           
1 Granny Smith apple (grated)                2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 teaspoons lemon juice                          ¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons instant tapioca (ground)       2 Tablespoons butter
1 egg

Heat oven to 400 with a baking sheet inside.  Place 3 cups blueberries in a saucepan and cook 15 minutes or reduced to 1½ cups.  Cool slightly.

Place grated apple in paper towels and wring dry.

 

Transfer apple to a large bowl.  Add remaining 3 cups berries, lemon zest, sugar, and salt.

 

Grind tapioca and add to bowl.  I use a coffee grinder to get my tapioca ground to a fine powder. 







Add cooked berries to the bowl.

 

Transfer mixture to a lined pie shell and dot with butter.

Top with another pie crust.

 

Flute edges and cut vents in top.  I'm not very creative when it comes to my pie vents but they do the trick.  I've seen much more creative pie vents so do some research if you want your pie to look a little more professional. 

Brush top of pie with egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water.

Bake on heated baking sheet for 30 minutes.  Reduce temperature to 350 and bake another 30-40 minutes.

Cool at least 4 hours before slicing.

To find out how I make my homemade pie crust - check out my post on pie crust making. 

Ciao!