Tender Potato Bread

I've joined The Daring Bakers. And April will be my first Daring Baker Challenge. I very much enjoy reading the Daring Baker Blog Roll going through the list one by one and I'm already up to the "Js"! I hope I can live up to the challenge every month but after seeing the fabulous Perfect Party Cakes from the March Challenge, now I'm not so sure.

So to get into the swing of things I decided to make Tender Potato Bread which was the November '07 Daring Baker Challenge. The recipe is long and involved although not difficult at all. But instead of posting it I will direct you to one of my favorite blogs, My Kitchen in Half Cups and the Tender Potato Bread Recipe.





The potato bread was fun to make and it went together very easily. The recipe is large and I made 2 regular sized loaves of bread and 12 Hamburger Buns! I topped the loaves with sesame seeds and Pepitos which are my current favorite quick snack!!

The Tender Potato Bread was just delicious! And yesterday we finished off 1 loaf and 5 of the hamburger buns!





All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog

Spring is in the Air?

But Friday I awoke to the aftermath of an all night blizzard and almost 3" of snow and it's the end of March!

Geesh, I hope this does not continue too much longer, I'm tired of snow and need to see green grass again...soon!


So I made Strawberry Shortcake to remind me of warm days ahead.






Strawberry Shortcake
Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour

Biscuits
3 1/2 cups (14 7/8 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup dried buttermilk powder*
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) butter or margarine, or1/2 cup shortening
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 large egg
1 cup (8 ounces) milk*

Shortcake
2 quarts hulled strawberries
1 TBL sugar
Pinch of Cardamon
1 cup (8 ounces, 1/2 pint ) whipping cream

*Or substitute 1 cup buttermilk for the buttermilk powder and milk.

The Biscuits: Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Whisk together the dry ingredients, and cut in the cold butter, margarine or shortening. Whisk the vanilla and egg with the milk, then add all at once to the dry ingredients and stir until the liquid is absorbed. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times, just until it holds together. Pat the dough out until it's about 1/2 to 3/4 inches thick, and cut it into circles (using a sharp cutter for the highest rising biscuits). Place the biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet, brush the tops with milk or egg white for a shiny surface, sprinkle with sugar if desired, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before serving. Yield: 9 biscuits.

To Assemble Shortcake: Mash 2 cups of the strawberries. Slice the remaining strawberries, and mix all of the berries with the sugar and cardamon. Let rest 1 hour. Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Just before serving, split open the biscuits, spoon half the berries and whipped cream on the bottom half, top with remaining biscuit halves, and spoon on remaining berries and cream.


All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog

Market Day

I love grocery shopping and look forward to it once a week or twice a week or whatever I need to go! But I did not always enjoy grocery shopping until one day when my husband came home from work and said he had stopped by a new grocery store. He kept talking about how nice it was and how reasonable the prices were. Well, it was a month or 2 before I decided to give it a try.

OH MY...the first time I walked through the door of Valli Produce I was absolutely floored at the wonderful fruit and produce. But this store get extremely busy and I would avoid Saturdays...it's like rock'em sock'em bumper cars in there...not fun at all!

This is a shot as you enter the produce section. Don't you love the murals on the walls!




I call this the "weird vegetable aisle". I'm still not familiar with some of the items.




Fruit...fruit...fruit and more fruit! Did I mention they had a nice selection of fruit? Notice the 20 and 40 lb bags of rice and flour displayed on the shelf under the fruit bins. And they do stock Ceresota in 20 lb bags....love it.








The mighty vegetable aisles...aren't they gorgeous and it smells so good!








And my one of my favorites...ONION KNOBS!!! Oh my are they good!





Every time I'm at the store I spend at least 10 minutes in the Olive Oil aisle. It's absolutely mesmerizing and I seem to get lost. So lost that I forgot to take a picture of the vinegar and cheese aisles and the deli!




Hope you enjoyed the tour of my market!!

Sew what's for Dinner!

Have you clicked yet?



Sorry guys this post is closed for comments.


All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog

It's Snowing inside and out!!

A few months ago I received a surcie, a surprise package, from my friend Marigene and included in it was "Cookie Craft" by Valerie Peterson and Janice Fryer. It is an excellent book full of ideas for decorating cookies and I've read the entire book, cover to cover. I love baking fancy cookies, so there could not be a more perfect book for me! I've been unable to make any decorated cookies since my surgery, but due to an early Spring blizzard, I thought I might try doing a bit of simple cookie decorating today and bring some of the snowflakes inside!! And oh boy did I have fun!



I am experimenting with sugar cookie recipes and choose 2 different Sugar Cookie recipes for my Snowflakes. I've had the first 2 recipes for a long time now and I have no idea where I found them. The 1st recipe was actually pretty good, but I did not care for the 2nd recipe and won't be making it again. So far my favorite Sugar Cookie Recipe is one from Martha Stewart and I will post it below.


Sugar Cookie #1

1 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon red food coloring

Place butter in mixer and beat until light and fluffy and add vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and powdered sugar. Slowly add the flour and sugar to the butter, mixing on low. With all the flour and sugar added, the dough won't completely come together in the mixture, so you will need to finish it off by hand. Pull together the dough and form into a ball, pounding the dough with the palm of one hand. Once the dough is a consistent ball, use a knife to divide the dough in half. Return one half of the dough to the mixing bowl and add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of food coloring—your hands will stain less if you do the initial mixing of coloring in the blender. Run the mixer for a minute to help incorporate the coloring. The dough will crumble, so finish kneading by hand until color is more uniform.Wrap each dough half in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Don't over chill or else the dough will crumble and you will need to warm it by kneading.


Sugar Cookies #2

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture. Roll out to about
1/2" thick and cut into shapes. Bake for about 15 minutes.


My Favorite Sugar Cookie
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until combined. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture; mix just until combined (do not overmix).

Cookies can be rolled out and cut or rolled into a ball and crisscrossed with a fork.





All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog

Ooey, gooey and Peanut

I was looking for something ooey gooey and I happened to have Dorie Greenspan's, "Baking: From my Home to Yours" handy and found a recipe that just sounded too good!

Believe me when I tell you how I would love to join the group, Tuesdays with Dorie. But with the house in what now seems like never-ending construction, 2 puppies under 6 mos old and me still healing from surgery...commitment to anything is not in the cards. Today is what I call a Free Day and I can do whatever I want. Oops forgot I had to run 2 errands but they did not take too long so it's an almost Free Day!

Carmel-Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake
Recipe adapted from "Baking: From my Home to Yours"

1 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick butter, cut into 8 pieces
5 oz bittersweet chocolate, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 large eggs
1/2 light brown sugar
1/4 sugar
3 TBL light corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla

For the topping:

2 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
1 1/2 TBL light corn syrup
2/3 c. heavy cream
2 TBL butter, at room temperature
1 c. salted peanuts

To Make the Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8" springform pan and cut a piece of parchment paper to fit bottom. Tap out the excess flour. Place the springform pan on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper.

2. Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.

3. In a heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering water, put the butter and chocolate in the bowl and heat, stirring occasionally, until the ingredients are just melted. DO NOT over heat or else the butter will separate the chocolate. Remove the bowl from the heat.

4. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugars together until blended.

5. Whisk in the corn syrup and vanilla.

6. Whisk in the melted butter and chocolate.

7. Whisk in the dry ingredients a little at a time. Mixing ONLY until the chocolate mixture and dry ingredients are blended. You will have a thick, smooth, shiny batter.

8. Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan. Giggle the pan a bit to remove any air bubbles.

9. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a thin knife inserted in the center comes out ALMOST clean with just a few moist crumbs clinging to the blade.

10. Transfer pan to a rack and cool for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen cake and remove sides of the pan. Cool on a rack until cake reaches room temperature.

The cake may have risen to the top of the pan which is just fine. Don't be concerned if the center collapses a bit or forms a small crater in the center.

11. When the cake is completely cool, invert it and remove the bottom and the piece of parchment. Wash and dry the springform pan and return cake to it right side up. Refasten the sides around the cake.

To Make the Topping:

12. Put the sugar, water and corn syrup in a medium heavy saucepan, stir just to combine the ingredients and then put the pan over medium high heat. Heat, without stirring, until the caramel turns a deep amber 5-10 minutes (mine took about 20 minutes). To test the color of the sugar just drop a bit on a plate. If the syrup is too light it will lack flavor so you want it deeper then say the color of honey.

13. When the syrup has reached the correct color, turn down the heat, stand back a bit and add the butter and cream. The syrup will spatter and bubble up quite a bit so be careful. When the spatters have calmed down stir in the peanuts. Pour the caramel and peanuts into a pyrex measuring cup or heat-proof bowl.

14. You will have more caramel then you need, so spoon out the peanuts and place on top of the cake. After you've removed all the peanuts, spread a another layer of the caramel over the peanuts.

Let the topping set a room temperature about 20 minutes before serving. I reheated the left over caramel, put it in a small glass pitcher and my guests could add a bit more caramel if they wanted. Caramel will keep in the refrigerator and can be reheated in the microwave. It is an excellent topping for ice cream or apple pie.

15. At serving time run a knife between the caramel and the pan and simply remove the sides of the pan. Bring the entire cake to the table so that people can say "Ahhhhh"!


My Review: Well some might go "ahhhhh" but I was disappointed in the cake. The topping was wonderful but the cake could have been much richer. If I was making this dessert again I would use the Mascarpone Brownie recipe and top it with the caramelized peanuts....now that would be out-of-this-world spectacular!

All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog

UPDATE...UPDATE...UPDATE !

My Carpenter was here today working on our interior trim and he said my cake was "excellent" and he repeated it several times. So I sent home a BIG piece for his wife too. I am very good to the guys helping to build my home! :))


All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog

A Rainbow of Fortune

I finally did it! I finally figured out how to make Fortune Cookies and they were fun to make too. I even typed up my own personalized messages for each cookie! My nieces are going to love these!

I tried several recipes and found one that was easier to work with and it was the only one I tried that used corn starch in the batter. And I found a wonderful list of Helpful Hints for Making Fortune Cookies. Make sure that you use the recommended White Cotton Gloves when forming the cookies!

I am entering my Rainbow of Fortune in Sugar High Friday, March theme "Sweet Gifts" hosted by Danielle of Habeas Brulee.






Fortune Cookies
Recipe adapted from About.com

2 large egg whites, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 teaspoons water (I had to add an additional 2 tsp of water)

Note: Directions have been altered according to my own baking experience.

1. Write fortunes on pieces of paper that are 3 1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

I used my Silpat Baking Sheet and had no problems what-so-ever. I tried parchment paper but the hot cookies were difficult to remove.

2. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the egg white, vanilla extract, almond extract and vegetable oil until frothy, but not stiff.

3. Sift the flour, cornstarch, salt and sugar into a separate bowl. Stir the water into the flour mixture.

4. Add the flour into the egg white mixture and stir until you have a smooth batter. The batter should be the consistency of thin pancake batter. I had to add an additional 2 tsp of water. If you want to color the cookies now is the time to add the food coloring.

I divided up the batter into prep bowls and dyed each bowl of batter a different color.

5. Place 2 tsp of batter per cookie on baking sheet, spacing them at least 3 inches apart. I only baked 2 cookies at a time. Gently tilt the baking sheet back and forth and from side to side so that each cookie forms into a circle 4 inches in diameter.

6. Bake until cookie is firm not sticky on the surface and the edges should not be browned.

7. Working quickly and wearing a pair of white cotton gloves, remove the cookie with a spatula and flip it over in your hand. Place a fortune in the middle of a cookie. To form the fortune cookie shape, fold the cookie in half, then gently pull the edges downward over the rim of a mixing bowl.

8. When the cookie has dried enough to hold it's shape. Place the cookie into a mini tart mold or a cupcake tin with the folded edge down.

9. To crisp up the cookies, place the tart mold or cupcake tin in a 300 degree oven for 4-5 minutes. Cookies will soften a bit during the crisping so you can gently reform if necessary. Remove and cool.






All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog

A Rose in the Hands of an Angel

OH my...I've wanted to make this cake for so long. And had planned on making it for Easter but then my plans changed. But this morning when I got up, I knew I was going to make the Angel Food Cake with Rosewater. Doesn't it sound just heavenly!

I adapted Alton Brown's Angel Food Cake recipe as I've made it before and I knew it could be easily be changed to what I needed. And the new cake turned out exactly how I imagined!







Angel Food Cake with Rosewater
Recipe developed in the kitchen of Big-Black-Dog

1 3/4 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 c. cake flour
1/4 c. almond meal
12 egg whites, room temperature
1/3 c. rose water
3/4 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a food processor spin sugar about 2 minutes until it is superfine.

Sift half of the sugar with the salt, almond meal and cake flour, setting the remaining sugar aside.

In a large bowl, use a balloon whisk to thoroughly combine egg whites, rosewater, vanilla extract, and cream of tartar. After 2 minutes, switch to a hand mixer.

Slowly sift the reserved sugar, beating continuously at medium speed.

Once you have achieved medium peaks, sift enough of the flour mixture in to dust the top of the foam. Using a spatula fold in gently. Continue until all of the flour mixture is incorporated. Making sure that all dry ingredients are thoroughly mixed.

Carefully spoon mixture into an ungreased tube pan. Bake for 35 minutes before checking for doneness with a wooden skewer. (When inserted halfway between the inner and outer wall, the skewer should come out dry).

Cool upside down on cooling rack for at least 2 hours before removing from pan.

I garnished with fresh strawberries and a drizzle of my home-canned Rose Hip Jam.





All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog

The Easter Ham Controversy

I dearly love to bake ham. I love using my imagination when mixing the glaze and try something new each and every time I make it! I do not think there is a more creative piece of meat then a Smoked Ham. You can use jams, fruit juice, honey or molasses, fresh, canned or dried fruit, spices or maybe even a bit of beer, wine or champagne.

BUT I do not like to eat ham and herein lies the problem.

I wanted to have ham for Easter Dinner but my dear husband, Joe, said "No, we still have ham from last Easter in the freezer. And you spend too much money on things for the glaze any how." We debated ham for almost a week and I finally relented.

I thought the week's menu was settled but Thursday Joe came home with a huge ham. Well, the we have a house rule "You buy it. You cook it." So the ham was his deal now.

This morning himself comes into my office, stands there looking sort of lost and says "I can't find the cloves, do we have any?" Cloves!! Good lord, what's he doing in my spice cabinet??? He says he going to cook the ham with cloves...well he might be cooking it with cloves, but I know he is not going to like it. So I asked, "Do you want me to cook the ham?" "Yes" was his answer.

HA...HA...he has no idea what I put up last year during canning season. I've got apples and peaches in the freezer, brandied cherries in the pantry. I had everything I needed, plus some extras to play with, except I had no champagne. I use champagne as the base for my ham glaze. Hmmmmm...what do I use now? I was at the Dollar Store last week and picked up several bottles of Sparkling Apple Cider..sounds good to me!

Well, we just finished our Pre-Easter Ham dinner and you know, it was pretty darn good! It's better with the champagne but the Sparkling Apple Cider was a good substitute.





Ham Glaze in a Pinch
Recipe developed in the kitchen of Big-Black-Dog

2-3 c. Sparkling Apple Cider
2 heaping TBL of Lingonberry Jam **See Note
1 c. unsweetened pomegranate juice
2 TBL grainy mustard
1 apple peeled and cut up into bit sized pieces
1/2 pt brandied sweet cherries
1/2 pt fresh frozen peaches
1 c. pineapple juice
1/4 c. brown sugar


Put first 8 ingredients in either a blender or food processor and process until well blended. In a sauce pan heat glaze and add brown sugar. When brown sugar is dissolved you can start basting the ham. Bake ham according to directions and bast with the glaze about every 1/2 hour or so.

Note: I do genealogy and discovered on my Dad's side we are Swedish. Being that we are mostly English on both my Mom and Dad's sides, the Swedish tie-in was huge!!! I was very excited to research Swedish Recipes and in the process discovered Lingonberry Jam. My entire immediate family is now addicted to Lingonberry Jam and every chance I get I try to include it in my recipes. Gawd, that stuff is so good!


All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog

Easter Cookies and Safe Packaging

I have 3 Nieces that I love to bake for, but they live near Columbus, OH so I must mail my baked goods to them. Knowing how careful the USPS is with parcels, I limit my baking to things I know will arrive intact. Thin, crispy cookies such a Pizzelles have a far less chance of arriving safely then soft, cake-like cookies like Chocolate Chip or Sugar Cookies. Cookies topped with a Powdered Sugar Icing can arrive smudged, but Ganache is no problem. Most cookie confections like nonperils, jimmies or sanding sugar travel very well.

I am entering my Tutti-Fruitti Chocolate Nest Cookies in the Master Baker March Easter Candy Challenge hosted by Nikki at Cracy Delicious Food.

If you're adding chopped nuts: Before baking, roll cookie dough into a small ball and dip in slightly whipped egg white and then roll in chopped nuts and bake. And if your topping with candies, like Jelly Beans, paint a bit of ganache on the Jelly Bean and then attach to the cookie. Both the egg white and the ganache act like a glue!




I've developed some tips to insure safe delivery.

1. Small box. Only send small boxes of cookies, probably no bigger then 12" by 12" by 6" is as big as you should pack. And you can get at least 4 dozen cookies in this size box which is plenty.

2. Single Layer Packing. Pack cookies in a single layer in large zip lock bags and squeeze as much air out as you can.

3. Bubble Wrap...Bubble Wrap...Bubble Wrap. Line inside of box, top, bottom and sides, with Bubble Wrap and place a layer of Bubble Wrap in between each Bag of cookies. Pack the box full so no movement can occur. Turn the box over in ever direction and if you hear any movement inside the box, you will need to add some bubble wrap or another bag of cookies!



Chocolate Cookies
Recipe adapted from Hersey's Kitchens

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg, separated
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts
VANILLA FILLING (recipe follows)

Toppings: 1st cookie - Coconut and Jelly Beans and Dark Chocolate Ganache; 2nd cookie - Milk Chocolates Kisses and chopped walnuts and White Ganache

1. Beat butter, sugar, egg yolk, milk and vanilla in medium bowl until fluffy. Stir together flour, cocoa and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Refrigerate dough at least 1 hour or until firm enough to handle.

2. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. With fork, beat egg white slightly. Dip each ball into egg white; roll in nuts. Place on prepared cookie sheet. Press thumb gently in center of each cookie.

3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Meanwhile, prepare VANILLA FILLING. Remove wrappers from chocolate pieces. Remove cookies from cookie sheet to wire rack; cool 5 minutes. Spoon about 1/4 teaspoon filling into each thumbprint. Gently press chocolate piece in center of each cookie. Cool completely. About 2 dozen cookies.

VANILLA FILLING: Combine 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon softened butter or margarine, 2 teaspoons milk and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract in small bowl; beat until smooth.

VARIATION: Omit egg white and chopped nuts. Roll balls in granulated sugar. Bake as directed. Top with VANILLA FILLING and pecan or walnut half.


My Notes:

If you are mailing instead of the Vanilla Filling make White Chocolate Ganache and I will post the recipe below.

For the Tutti-Fruitti Chocolate Nest Cookies. Roll dough into balls and press flat with palm of hand. When done baking and cooling. Puddle Dark or Milk Chocolate Ganache on top of cookie and sprinkle shredded coconut. To attach Jelly Bean Eggs, paint a dot of ganache on each jelly bean and attach to coconut nest. Let dry and you're all set.



White or Dark Chocolate Ganache

3/4 cup heavy cream
8 oz white, dark or milk chocolate, coarsely chopped or use a bag of chips

Heat the cream almost to a boil in a small saucepan over low heat. Place the chocolate in a large bowl. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth.

Refrigerate remaining ganache for later use and just reheat in the microwave when needed.

Festa Italiana!!!

I have 2 good friends, Lucy and Maryanne, that happen to be excellent cooks and ITALIAN...am I fortunate or what!!! I am constantly picking their brains for ideas and even though I am English with a bit of a French twist, I do make a mean pasta dish every once in a while.

I have wanted to try a pasta dish with balsamic vinegar forever and last night I set about experimenting. I adapted my own pasta sauce recipe and it turned out outrageously good. I rarely ever use a full lb of pasta but I did last night and there was not a strand left nor any sauce.

I am very excited to enter "Festa Italiana" hosted by Maryann of Finding La Dolce Vita and Marie of Proud Italian Cook, 2 of my very favorite bloggers!! Oh my, I've spent hours reading their blogs and enjoyed every minute.





Linguine with Chicken and Balsamic Vinegar
Recipe developed in the kitchen of Big-Black-Dog with a little help from my "pack"

2 deboned chicken breasts
1-28 oz can of Marconi Italian Plum Peeled Tomatoes
1 lb. linguine
2 TBL butter
1/2 c. plus abt 2 TBL EVOO
5-6 cloves of fresh garlic
1 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 tsp hot Hungarian paprika
1 TBL dried basil
2 TBL Balsamic Vinegar
1/8 tsp anchovy paste
1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning or Pinch of oregano/marjoram/sage/rosemary
1/2 c. minced fresh parsley or 2 TBL dried parsley
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Heat butter in heavy bottomed pot. When butter is bubbly but not brown, add a splash of EVOO and saute chicken pieces until lightly browned. Remove chicken.

2. Using the heavy pot that you cooked the chicken in add 1/2 c. EVOO and turn the burner down to low. Add whole garlic cloves to EVOO and simmer on low heat until golden brown and soft. Turn the burner off and remove garlic cloves but retain pot with EVOO for Step 4.

With a fork mash garlic cloves and mix in anchovy paste until well blended.

3. Start your pasta water, abt 8 cups, and bring it to a boil. Add a shake or 2 of salt and I always add a splash of EVOO. Add linguine and cook to package directions.

4. While your pasta water is heating, drain whole tomatoes but reserve juice. Heat heavy pot with EVOO and add whole tomatoes and break apart with a fork. Add chicken, tarragon, paprika, basil, Italian Seasoning, fresh pepper and garlic/anchovy mix and about 1/2 the reserved tomato juice and simmer for about 8 minutes.

5. If you want a thinner sauce you can add the remaining tomato juice at this time.

6. At the last minute add parsley and balsamic vinegar to sauce gravy and stir.

7. Top linguine with sauce gravy and serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.


All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog

Today I made Dog Biscuits

I've owned Rottweilers since 1978 and at that time everyone thought they were fat Dobermans!

In 1986 for our 2nd anniversary my husband presented me with a new Rottweiler puppy and we named him Watson. He was and still is the best dog I've ever owned and believe me I've owned many good dogs. But Watson was that special once-in-a-lifetime dog and I will never forget him.

Not long after we got Watson, I started fooling around with dog biscuit recipes. I finally hit the jackpot with one. Watson loved the darn things and used to lay in front of the oven while they were baking!

So I present to you, my very own recipe that I developed for my very special Watson!





Watson's Biscuits
Recipe developed in the Kitchen of Big-Black-Dog

1 lb. of beef liver
1 tsp minced garlic or onion
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. yellow corn meal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

When the liver is partially thawed, I cut it into bit sized pieces and put it in my food processor.


Process the liver until it is thoroughly minced actually it will be like liver mush. Add garlic or onion, flour and cornmeal and process until well mixed.

On a well greased cookie sheet or 8"by11" pan spread out the liver mixture about 1/4" thick. The above recipe will only make about half a pan, so don't worry about filling the entire pan or sheet. If you want to totally fill the pan double the recipe.


Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. The biscuits bake quickly so keep an eye on them.

When the biscuits are done but still warm, cut into bit-sized pieces. If you wait until they are cooled it is much more difficult to cut.

Since the biscuits are mainly beef, they will spoil. I freeze the majority of the biscuits and keep a baggie full in the refrigerator for daily treats and defrost as necessary.






All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog

Chocolate Beer Bread! WOW!!

I was wandering around Trader Joe's a month or so ago and I had time to leisurely walk down the aisles. I spent quite a bit of time in the beer section and ended up with a bottle of Young's Double Chocolate Stout in my cart. I thought I might use it in Cook's Illustrated's Almost No-Knead Bread that had been recently published.

We're celebrating St. Patrick's day early this year so I baked the Stout Bread yesterday. My loaf turned out not only gorgeous but the taste is too-die-for good! And although the stout is chocolate there is no sweet taste just a nice mild malt flavor.

And I am excited to enter my Stout Bread in the March 2008 Bread Baking Day event hosted by Susan of Wild Yeast.







Almost No-Knead Chocolate Stout Bread
Recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated

3 c. unbleached AP flour, plus additional for dusting work surface
1/4 tsp yeast
1 1/2 tsp table salt
3/4 c. plus 2 TBL water, at room temperature **See My Changes
1/4 c. plus 2 TBL mild-flavored lager **See My Changes
1 TBL white vinegar

My Changes:
1/2 c. water, room temperature
1/2 c. plus 4 TBL Young's Double Chocolate Stout
1 egg whipped with 1 TBL water (brush on top of bread before baking and then sprinkle
2 TBL sesame seeds

1. Whisk flour, yeast, and salt in large bowl. Add water, beer, and vinegar. Using rubber spatula, fold mixture, scraping up dry flour from bottom of bowl until shaggy ball forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 8 to 18 hours.


2. Lay 12- by 18-inch sheet of parchment paper inside 10-inch skillet and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and knead 10 to 15 times. Shape dough into ball by pulling edges into middle. Transfer dough, seam-side down, to parchment-lined skillet and spray surface of dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with finger, about 2 hours.


3. About 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place 6- to 8-quart heavy-bottomed Dutch oven (with lid) on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Lightly flour top of dough and, using razor blade or sharp knife, make one 6-inch-long, 1/2-inch-deep slit along top of dough. Carefully remove pot from oven and remove lid. Pick up dough by lifting parchment overhang and lower into pot (let any excess parchment hang over pot edge). Cover pot and place in oven. Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue to bake until loaf is deep brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 210 degrees, 20 to 30 minutes longer. Carefully remove bread from pot; transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.



I bake my No-knead bread a bit differently, instead of the recommended Dutch Oven, I use a raw clay chicken roaster that I bought on Ebay for $5. I love it and not only is it too cute, it works beautifully for the No-Knead Bread!!


All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog

My best Apple Pie EVER

I made an apple pie yesterday and OMG and if I do say so myself, it is the best pie I've ever made!

And I'm entering my Apple Pie in the St. Paddy's Day Pub Crawl 2008 hosted by Sugar Plum!






I don't really use a recipe for my apple pie filling. I just wing it and I like to keep it simple with lots of apples and usually use a mix of 3 different varieties of apples.





My Apple Pie Recipe

5-6 large apples, a mix of 3 varieties such as Granny Smith, MacIntosh, Cortland or Gala
1 c. sugar
1 heavy tsp cinnamon

Slice apples into bit sized pieces, I leave the skins on as they add quite a bit of flavor. Mix sugar and cinnamon and mix with apples until the apples are well coated.

When you dump the apples into the pie pan the amount of apples will pile up well above the edge of the pie plate which is just fine. The apples do cook down a bit and I think an apple pie should be thick and juicy...after all it is Apple Pie!



Foolproof Pie Dough For a Single-Crust Pie
Recipe adapted from Cook's Illustrated

1 1/4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour (6 1/4 ounces)
1/2 tsp table salt
1 TBL sugar
6 TBL cold unsalted butter (3/4 stick), cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 c. chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into 2 pieces
2 TBL vodka, cold
2 TBL cold water (I skip the water)

**See My Notes for:
Abt 1 TBL Semolina Flour for dusting bottom crust
Abt 2 TBL cream for finishing crust

For a 2-crust pie just double the recipe. But I still skip the 2 T. of water.

1. Process 3/4 cups flour, salt, and sugar together in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 10 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds with some very small pieces of butter remaining, but there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining 1/2 cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Flatten dough into 4-inch disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days. Also freezes very well.
3. Sprinkle your pastry cloth with flour. I like to use semolina flour for rolling out pie crust. Roll the dough until it is about 1/8" thick and several inches larger then your pie pan.
4. Transfer dough to pie pan and press to fit pan. Crimp edges.
5. Poke holes in the bottom crust, careful to make some holes around the edges.


My Notes: Sprinkle some semolina flour on the bottom crust before adding the apple filling. This helps soak up any moisture from the filling and keeps the bottom crust nice and crisp. I brush the upper crust with a little bit of cream before baking.



Cider Bourbon Sauce
Recipe adapted from Epicurious

5 cups apple cider (I used apple juice)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons bourbon **See My Note

Boil apple cider in heavy medium saucepan until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 45 minutes. Add butter and sugar and whisk until butter melts. Boil 3 minutes, whisking occasionally. Remove from heat. Whisk in bourbon. Cool sauce completely before serving.

My Note: I topped the Whipped Cream with a drizzle of Cider Bourbon Sauce. But if I was making the sauce again, I would use brandy as I thought the bourbon was a bit harsh for my apple pie.


All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog

It's my Birthday!

It was a gorgeous, sunny day today and I did not even wear a coat outside!!!

I slept in until 9:30 am then played with my new puppies a little bit. And then before I knew it the sun was setting and it was time for dinner.

We're not going out to dinner tonight because I still can not wear shoes...I tried yesterday and it is still too painful. But I'm optimistic and hopefully I will be able to tolerate shoes next week, so we'll just celebrate some other time.

But I did get some wonderful gifts. My Mom sent $$$$$ which is always nice and I'm saving this for something for my garden. And I received 2 new cookbooks to add to my personal library, a cupcake necklace, a charm for my phone and a small display plate for my mini cupcakes.

Oops I almost forgot I got a new frog for my kitchen!

All in all I had a great day!!

And here's the latest picture of one of my puppies, Archie at 4 mos! Isn't he gorgeous!