Sunday afternoon Schiacciata

One of my enjoyable Sunday afternoon pastimes is baking yeast bread. That and the crossword puzzle. With luck the yeast bread is a type of sweet bread that makes a good Sunday evening supper with scrambled eggs and bacon. This week I should have quit the crossword earlier! As I bake through the Kansas Wheat Commission's 2011 Recipe Book, the recipe for "Tart Cherry Schiacciata" caught my eye, "a schiacciata (pronounced skee-ah-tah) is an Italian flat bread or focaccia which can be sweet or savory. The winning baker was from Troy, Ohio, and developed this recipe after a trip to Italy. The recipe was one of the winners of the National Festival of Breads so it had to be good! And it is good, just time consuming. We ended up with different supper and some schiacciata for a bedtime snack.

This recipe is worth the time however. I didn't have brandy as called for but did have brandy extract. To make the 'fake brandy', put 4 teaspoons of extract in a measuring cup, add water to make 1/3 cup and then add 2 more teaspoons water. Also, the almond paste wasn't at our local grocery store or even the city's Target store - just keep looking, I found it at a larger Dillon's store. The cherries I used were the frozen fruit the church sells (again, love that fruit order). 3 1/2 cups is 1 pound, just how I'd packaged them for the freezer. I thawed them slightly in a colander under running warm water and sliced them while partly frozen. Then let them set, they will thaw by time to add them to the bread.

Tart Cherry Schiacciata
3 1/2 cups unsweetened frozen tart cherries, thawed
2 teaspoons brandy (or 'fake brandy')
1 cup warm water (100-110 degrees)
1 (1/4 oz) package active dry yeast
1/3 cup granulated sugar for sponge
2 large eggs, room temperature, beaten
4 -4 1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose flour, divided (the National Festival of Breads is partly sponsored by King Arthur flour, so of course all recipes call for King A. But I do think it makes a better product. Not available at my local store either, keep shopping!)
3/4 cup sugar for almond sugar
4 ounces almond paste
2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
1 teaspoon almond extract, divided
1/3 cup brandy (or 'fake brandy')
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter, softened, divided
4 tablespoons sliced almonds, divided

1. Cut cherries into halves. Marinate cherries in 2 teaspoons brandy.
2. In mixer bowl, add water, yeast, and 1/3 cup sugar; let stand 10 minutes. Add eggs and 2 cups flour; beat 2 minutes on low speed. Scrape down sides of bowl. Cover; let rise 30 - 45 minutes; until bubbly.
3. In food processor bowl with knife blade, add 3/4 cup sugar, almond paste, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Pulse the mixture until the almond paste is cut finely into the sugar. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
4. To prepare dough, blend into flour mixture 1/3 cup brandy, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Gradually add the remaining 2 cups flour and salt until thoroughly blended.
5. Add the butter, cut into small pieces. Once the butter is incorporated, switch to the kneading hook. Knead on medium low speed 5 minutes. If needed gradually add enough of the remaining 1/4 cup flour to make a moderately soft dough. (this dough is really soft, forget about kneading by hand - perhaps you could do it with a big wooden spoon if you don't have a dough hook)
6. Place in greased bowl. Lightly spray surface of dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover and let rise in warm place until double, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (a good rising place is the microwave oven after you've heated 1 cup of water for a couple of minutes. Remove the water and set the dough bowl in the mw and close the door. If you will want to use the mw in this 2 hours, another place is the oven - preheat to 200 degrees and turn it off! When it cools some, place the dough bowl in the oven. If it seems too warm leave the door open a bit for a little while. Dough needs a warm place to rise and in the winter or summer with air conditioning, our kitchens are often too cool for dough - but comfortable for us)
7. Drain cherries thoroughly. Grease two 17 x 11-inch sheet pans.
8. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface, but do not punch down. Divide dough into four equal pieces. Stretch one-fourth into a 10 x 7-inch rectangle. Move to pan, forming a rectangle. (I found it easies to tape a flexible plastic cutting sheet to the counter, stretch the dough out on that, then untape and invert it over the pan to peel the dough sheet off with a dough scraper) Stretch the second 1/4 portion and put into the second pan.Sprinkle each with 1/4 of the almond sugar mixture and 1/4 of the drained cherries.
9. Shape/stretch the other 2 portions of dough. Cut 6 half-inch slits to release steam. Lay these on top of the first layers and pinch edges. Top each evenly with the remaining half of the cherries. Cover; let rise until puffy, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
10. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir the sliced almonds into the remaining almond sugar. Sprinkle half over top of each bread. Bake 20 to 24 minutes until golden. Place pans on a rack and cool 10 minutes in the pan. Remove from pan to wire rack and cool slightly.

Each loaf makes 16-24 slices. With the 16-servings, each slice = 163 calories; 3 g protein; 23 g carbohydrate; 1 g dietary fiber; 6 g fat; 22 mg cholesterol; 36 mcg folate; 1 mg iron and 44 mg sodium.

As I said, it took all afternoon/evening, but was well worth it. Very tasty. And with all that waiting & rising time, there was time to go back to the Sunday crossword!

Valentines Day = Chocolate

Chocolate is the favorite flavor, after vanilla, for those of us in the Western hemisphere. This ancient food is now the first flavor choice of over half of American adults. If you gave or received a food or gift of chocolate this week for Valentine's Day, you're among the many who make Valentine's Day the second largest candy holiday, after Halloween!
The chocolate of choice for our Valentine's dinner here on the ranch (too far/expensive/busy/etc to go out to eat!) was Chocolate Molten Cake. This has become a popular recipe, appearing in several magazines. I tried it after it was a clear favorite on a cruise we were on a few years ago. Its surprising how easy it is to make!

Molten Chocolate Cake

4 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate

½ cup (1 stick) butter

1 tbsp. red wine

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

6 tbsp. flour

¼ tsp. cinnamon (Saigon)

¼ tsp. ground ginger

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwavable bowl on high for 1 minute or until butter is melted. Stir with wire whisk until chocolate is completely melted, Stir in wine, vanilla and sugar until well blended. Stir in eggs and yolk. Stir in flour and spices. Pour batter evenly into 4 (6 oz) buttered custard cups or soufflé dishes. Place on baking sheet.

Bake in preheated 425 degree oven 13 – 15 minutes or until sides are firm but centers are soft. Let stand 1 minute. Carefully loosen edges with knife. Invert onto serving plates. Sprinkle with additional confectioners’ sugar. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

Here are two of the finished cakes. The one on the left was unmolded but lost it's heart shape. We served the cakes with vanilla ice cream - just like on a cruise ship!

Here are some tips on ingredients and preparation:

* Semi-sweet baking chocolate and bittersweet baking chocolate can be used interchangeably in most recipes. Baking chocolate is made from "chocolate liquor" which is the liquid produced when roasted cacao beans are crushed and ground. No alcohol is involved, 'liquor' means liquid. To make baking chocolate, sugar, vanilla, lecithin, and cocoa butter are added to the chocolate liquor. 

* Butter - most people agree that butter is more flavorful than margarine, and I try to use the product that is recommended by the original recipe. For baking, the best flavor comes from unsalted butter. 

* Spices - store your spices in a cool, dry place (not above the stove or sink). Date the new ones and toss the older ones. We in the U.S. have been used to cassia cinnamon which is grown in Indonesia, but Saigon or Vietnamese cinnamon has become very popular. It has a stronger, bolder taste without seeming harsh. 

* Eggs - Use large eggs unless a recipe calls for another size. This increases the richness and moistness of the product. In this cake, whisk the eggs and egg yolk until thick and lemon colored to add air and volume to the product. 

* Confectioners' sugar is powdered sugar. It is very fine sugar. We used to need to sift before measuring but this isn't usually done now, just 'fluff' and measure lightly. 

* Wine - I didn't have wine so I used ginger ale. That worked fine, so feel free to substitute a light soft drink instead of wine. 

and a Warm Dessert

I like to end the meal with dessert! Many of us do, but that's what we often have to leave off if we're watching calories. So my solution is to make it a fruit dessert. In the summer we enjoy fresh fruit and yogurt, but in the winter a warm dessert is more tasty and comforting. We enjoy fruit cobblers and I've found an easy cobbler-like recipe called "Rhubarb Dump Cake". I've adapted it to use with other fruits and other flavors of gelatin (Jello). Also, I find that a half recipe in a 9x9-inch pan is a better size for us and that makes about 9 reasonable sized servings. Use kitchen scales to weigh the cake mix and dry Jello and save the other half for another dessert later.
The Rhubarb with strawberry Jello is good. I've also made it with raspberries and blackberries mixed together and raspberry Jello. The latest one I made was peaches with peach Jello. I use frozen fruit and the Jello thickens the juice so it isn't runny. Other adaptations I make are to reduce the amount of sugar and butter and use the original amount of fruit in the halved recipe. We like it warm, topped with a dollop of low-fat vanilla yogurt. So, with a healthier version, you can enjoy dessert to end the meal.   Remember, adults should have 1 1/2 - 2 cups of fruit each day - Focus on Fruit!
Here's the original recipe:

Rhubarb Dump Cake

1 lb. fresh (or frozen) rhubarb fruit, chopped (about 4 cups)

½ cup sugar

1 package (3 oz) strawberry gelatin

1 package (2-layer size) white or yellow cake mix

1 cup water

1/3 cup butter, melted

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place rhubarb in 13x9-inch greased baking dish; sprinkle with sugar and dry gelatin mix.

Beat cake mix, water and butter with whisk until well blended. Pour over rhubarb; spread to completely cover rhubarb.

Bake 45 minutes or until golden brow. Serve warm with whipped topping. 

A Hotdish for A Cold Day

Winter has settled in and I often think February is the longest month of the year, regardless of what the calendar says! We've been lucky this year with a milder than usual winter, but this week's temps of 11-20 degrees have me looking for meals that make us feel warn and cozy

Casseroles are favorites for convenience and taste, as well as fitting the need of an easy hot dish. If you've seen "Church Basement Ladies" you know that a "Hotdish" to those in Minnesota and the upper midwest is what "casserole" is to the rest of us. Its a language custom, like whether you call the evening meal "supper" or "dinner". A Hotdish, or casserole, is a baked dish with a mixture that usually contains a starch, a meat or other protein, and a canned or frozen vegetable. Often it is mixed together with a canned soup. It is cooked and served hot in the same dish.

Here's a favorite recipe of mine that I designed after using a convenience mix from an entrepreneur friend who was selling a popular line of cooking mixes. This uses ingredients that I usually have around and it quick to put together.

Corn bread Casserole

1 ½ pound ground beef

1 envelope taco seasoning

corn bread mix (7 oz. box)

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 can cream style corn

1 can green chilies

Brown ground beef with taco seasoning. Combine cornbread mix, eggs, and milk. Stir until well blended and smooth. Add seasoned beef, 1 cup cheese, corn and chilies. Stir to combine well. Put in 9” x 13” greased pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Return to the oven for 5 minutes.