Rosemary Peasant Bread

From Food Network Magazine
Found HERE.

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The Restaurant: Romano's Macaroni Grill
The Dish: Rosemary peasant bread

Almost Famous Rosemary Bread
Active: 30 minutes
Total: 5 hr (plus cooling)
Makes: 4 small loaves

1 1/4oz packet active dry yeast
2 t sugar
2 T extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing and serving
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 T dried rosemary
1 t fine salt
1/2 t kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

1. Stir the yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup warm water in a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer). Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. Add 1 T olive oil, the flour, 1 1/2 T rosemary, the fine salt and 3/4 cup warm water; stir with a wooden spoon (or with the dough hook if using a mixer)until a dough forms.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, dusting lightly with flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (or knead with the dough hook on medium-high speed, adding a little flour if the dough sticks to the bowl, about 8 minutes.)
4. Brush a large bowl with olive oil. Add the dough, cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until more than doubled, about 2 hours.
5. Brush 2 baking sheets with olive oil. Generously flour a work surface; turn the dough out onto the flour and divide into four pieces. Working with one piece at a time, sprinkle some flour on the dough, then fold the top and bottom portions into the middle. Fold in the sides to make a free-form square. Use a spatula to turn the dough over, then tuck the corners under to form a ball. Place seam-side down on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, putting two balls on each baking sheet. Let stand, uncovered, unto more than doubled, about 2 hours.
6. Preheat the oven to 400. Bake the loaves 10 minutes; brush with the remaining 1 T olive oil and sprinkle with the kosher salt and the remaining 1/2 T rosemary. Continue baking until golden brown, about 10 more minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Serve with olive oil seasoned with pepper.

Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake with Hot Chocolate Whipped Cream

Penzeys Spices Catalog

Cake:
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups unbleached flour
3/4 cup natural cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Raspberry Filling:
12 oz. frozen raspberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 T. cornstarch
1/4 cup raspberry enlightenment (I used raspberry jam.)

Hot Chocolate Whipped Cream
3 cups heavy whipping cream (I only had 2 cups but it was enough.)
3 T. water
1 1/2 tsp. unflavored gelatin
3/4 cup Hot Chocolate Mix (I found this was about six packages.)
1 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Cake: Preheat the oven to 350. Place parchment liners in the bottom of two 8 in round ungreased cake pans. In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat for two minutes on medium speed. Stir in the boiling water (batter will be very thin). Pour into the prepared pans and bake for 22-30 minutes of until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack. Don't worry if the centers fall a bit when they come out of the oven, the cake will still look and taste great!

Filling: In a medium saucepan add the raspberries, sugar, cornstarch and raspberry enlightenment. Stir to incorporate all the ingredients. Cook over medium heat until boiling; boil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat; pour into a blender, and puree. Strain into a bowl and let cool.

Frosting: Place your mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer to chill while the cake is baking. In a metal measuring cup or very small saucepan, combine the water and the gelatin. Let this sit for five minutes, and then heat over low heat for two minutes (or so) to melt the gelatin. Don't let it get too hot! Pour the cream and hot chocolate mix into your chilled bowl. With the mixer on low, drizzle the melted gelatin into the cream/chocolate mix. Add the vanilla and turn mixer to high. Continue to whip until stiff peaks form. This may take up to 5 minutes.

Assembley: Carefully cut each 8 inch cake in half (you will have four slices of cake). Place a slice of cake on your cake carrier or plate. Spread on 1/3 of the raspberry filling. Spread on some hot chocolate whipped cream.. Top with another slice of cake, spread another 1/3 of raspberry filing and cover with hot chocolate whipped cream. Top with another slice of cake. Using the last 1/3 of raspberry filling, spread evenly over the cake. Top with hot chocolate whipped cream. .Place the last slice of cake on top and frost the entire cake with the remaining hot chocolate whipped cream.

Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving for easiest slicing.

Prep time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 22-30 minutes
Serves: 16

Nutritional Information: Servings 16; Serving Size: 1 slice (137 g); Calories 360; Calories from fat 180; Total fat 21 g; Cholesterol 70mg; Sodium 260 mg; Carbohydrate 43g; Dietary Fiber 2g; Protein 4 g.

Vegan Spinach Pesto

This is from the Penzey's catalog. I think, it needs a few additions; these will be indicated in para theses next to the recipe.

10 oz baby spinach (also basil)
2 T pine nuts or walnuts (both, and 4T each)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (1/4 to 1/2 cup Parmesan and/or Romano cheese)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 t. granulated garlic
water or olive oil as needed

Place the spinach, pine nuts, yeast and olive oil in a food processor or blender and pulse until well-blended, scraping the sides as needed. Add the water or more olive oil and pulse to reach your desired consistency.

Serve on freshly cooked pasta or spread on pizza dough and top with tomato slices.

This is a beautiful shade of green and a nice change up from a tomato based sauce. I don't think it is a pesto without the basil. I do like the nuts and they would be a nice garnish as well.

Grilled Steak Pitas

Soooo good. Always love to see the Penzey's Catalog in the mail.

Yogurt Sauce:
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
1-2 T Dill Weed (to taste)
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and minced
1/2 t salt (optional, to taste)

1 1/2 lbs. skirt steak (or sandwich steak or round steak pieces pounded a bit flatter)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (juice of 2-3 lemons)
1 t Turkish oregano
1/2 t pepper
1/2 t granulated garlic powder
4 pitas, halved
2 cups arugula or soft lettuce, washed and dried
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 2 oz)
1 tomato sliced

Make the yogurt sauce first. Put the yogurt in a bowl. Rub the dill weed between your hands over the bowl, so that the dill is broken up and releases its flavor. Add the cucumber and mix well. Add salt and mix. Taste and add more Dill and salt as desired. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Combine the steak, lemon juice, oregano, pepper and garlic in a zip-top bag or other closed container. Marinate for 10-30 minutes. Pre-heat grill while steak is marinating. Remove the steak from the bag and discard the marinade. Grill the steak to desired degree of done-ness; 3-4 minutes per side over high heat is a round estimate for medium-rare. Remove from the grill and let stand for 5-10 minutes before slicing. (I broiled mine in the oven 5 minutes on each side.)

While the stead is standing, fill each pita half with a few heaping spoonfuls of yogurt sauce, feta cheese, a bunch of arugula and tomato slices. Slice the steak diagonally across the grain into thin slices. Add steak to the pita and serve.

Nutritional Information: Servings 4; Serving Size 1 pita; Calories 590; Calories from fat 350; Total fat 38g; Cholesterol 110mg; Sodium 770mg; carbohydrate 48g; Dietary Fiber 3g; Protein 52

Roasted Eggplant, Tomato, Garlic and White Bean Spread

You have to love Penzey's!

This is a great dip or sandwich spread instead of hummus.

1 medium eggplant, cute into thick chunks, peeled (I didn't peel mine. I also had a small eggplant so I also put in a zucchini.)
1 head fresh garlic, each clove individually peeled
5-6 tomatoes on the vine, quartered and seeds removed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3T. balsamic vinegar
1/2 t Kosher salt (optional)
1/3 freshly ground pepper
2 T Tuscan Sunset (I added basil and oregano instead)
1 16oz can white beans
1 t. ground Chipotle pepper
1/2 t Mexican oregano (I put regular oregano in)
2 lemon juice (juice of 1/2 lemon)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the vegetables in a shallow baking dish. Add the oil, vinegar, salt, if using, and pepper to taste and the Tuscan Sunset. Toss well to coat. Carefully spread into a single layer and place the pan in the oven. Roast for 45 minutes. (You can let the mixture rest overnight in the fridge to cool or try to let it cool before putting the the food processor.)

Rinse and drain the white beans in a colander and place in a blender with two cups of the roasted vegetable mixture. The vegetables should have exuded quite a bit of liquid so make sure to include SOME of the liquid in he two cups. Blend the beans and vegetables. Add the Chipotle pepper and oregano and the juice from the lemon. Blend well and pour into a bowl. Serve with any firm cracker.

Nutritional Information:
Servings 12; Serving Size 1/2 cup; Calories 80; Calories from fat 45; total fat 5g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 0 mg; Carbohydrate 8g; Dietary Fiber 2g; Protein 2g

New England Clam & Corn Chowder

Recipe from Family Circle January 2011.


1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups reduced-fat milk
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3 cans (6 oz each) minced clams
1 pound small red-skinned potatoes, cut into 1/2 in pieces
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 tsp. low-sodium Old Bay seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp chopped parsley

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat; add onion and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in wine and cook 1 minute; sprinkle in flour and cook 1 minute. Gradually stir in milk and chicken broth. Drain liquid from clams into measuring cup. Add 1 cup of the clam juice to the pot and reserve the clams. Add potatoes, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add reserved clams, corn, Old Bay, salt, and peper. Bring to a simmer to heat through. Turn off heat and stir in parsley. Serve with tossed salad and crusty bread, if desired.

Makes 4 servings. 381 calories,;7 g fat (2 g sat); 21 g protein; 56 g carbs, 4 g fiber; 807 mg sodium, 38 mg cholesterol.

Pork & Black Bean Soup

Recipe from Woman's Day January 2011
Thanks to my husband's birth mom and the snow outside we tried this recipe.
The only thing missing was corn chips.

6 cups chicken broth
1 large red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, plus 2 Tbsp sauce
2 tsp ground cumin
1 lb dried black beans, rinsed
1 1/2 lb boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat
Kosher salt
Sour cream
Fresh salsa (I removed seeds and chopped up two tomatoes and one jalapeno pepper)

In a 6-qt slow cooker, combine the chicken broth, onion, garlic, chiles, adobo sauce, and cumin. Add the beans and pork; cook, covered, until beans are tender and pork easily pulls apart, 8 hours on low or 6 hours on high.
Transfer pork to a bowl and, using a fork, break into large pieces. Using a handheld immersion blender, puree half the soup. (Alternateviley, puree half the soup in a standard blender and stir it back in.) Stir the pork back into the soup and season with 1 tsp salt. Serve with the sour cream and salsa.

Serves 6. Per serving: 526 cal, 42 g protein, 49 g carbs, 17 g fiber, 18 g fat (7 g sat fat), 91 mg chol, 629 mg sod.