Beer Bread

• 
  
• Prep Time: 3 mins
  
• Total Time: 1 hr min
  
• Serves: 6 -8
  

About This Recipe

"There are a few recipes for Beer Bread out there, but none as simple (and tasty!) as this one. You can even mix it in the baking pan for easy clean up. This is sensational when served with soups or just as a snack, but don't expect it to be around very long when your family gets a taste of it! Be sure to use a sheet pan on the shelf below the pan to catch any excess butter that may drip during cooking."

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour ( sifted)
  
• 3 teaspoons baking powder ( omit if using Self-Rising Flour)
  
• 1 teaspoon salt ( omit if using Self-Rising Flour)
  
• 1/4 cup sugar
  
• 1 (12 ounce) cans beer
  
• 1/2 cup melted butter ( 1/4 cup will do just fine)
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
   
2. Mix dry ingredients and beer.
   
3. Pour into a greased loaf pan.
   
4. Pour melted butter over mixture.
   
5. Bake 1 hour, remove from pan and cool for at least 15 minutes.
   
6. UPDATED NOTES: This recipe makes a very hearty bread with a crunchy, buttery crust. If you prefer a softer crust (like a traditional bread) mix the butter into the batter instead of pouring it over the top.
   
7. Sifting flour for bread recipes is a must-do. Most people just scoop the 1 cup measure in the flour canister and level it off. That compacts the flour and will turn your bread into a "hard biscuit" as some have described. That's because they aren't sifting their flour! If you do not have a sifter, use a spoon to spoon the flour into the 1 cup measure. Try it once the "correct" way and you will see an amazing difference in the end product.
   

No Knead Bread

No Knead Bread Recipe

No Knead Bread Recipe is adapted from Mark Bittman of NY Times who got it from Sullivan Street Bakery. When the recipe first came out, it was the blogging community who took the bread to new heights, especially Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of The Bread Bible. I followed Rose's experiments through the weeks and learned from her recipe adjustments and the why's of how this bread works.

Yield: one 1 lb loaf

3 cups bread flour (I like Harvest King bread flour)
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
3/4 tablespoon kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon table salt)
1 1/2 cups warm water

Covered pot (five-quart or larger cast iron, Pyrex, ceramic, enamel…something that can go into a 450F oven.)

1. Mix dough: The night before, combine all ingredients in a big bowl with a wooden spoon until the dough just comes together. It will be a shaggy, doughy mess. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 12-20 hours on countertop.

2. Shape & preheat: The dough will now be wet, sticky and bubbly. With a wet spatula, dump the dough on a floured surface. Fold ends of dough over a few times with the spatula and nudge it into a ball shape. You can use your hands if you like, just keep your hands wet so that the dough does not stick. Generously dust a cotton towel (not terrycloth) with flour. Set dough seam side down on top of towel. Fold towel over the dough. Let it nap for 2 hours. When you've got about a half hour left, slip your covered pot into the oven and preheat to 450F.

3. Bake: Your dough should have doubled in size. Remove pot from oven.  Holding towel, dump wobbly dough into pot. Doesn't matter which way it lands. Shake to even dough out. Cover. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover, bake another 15-20 minutes or until the crust is beautifully golden and middle of loaf is 210F. Remove and let cool on wired rack. If not eating right away, you can re-crisp crust in 350F oven for 10 minutes. Best way to eat it? Smear a warm slice with some good butter (Kerrygold and Lurpac are both found in your grocery stores, usually on top shelf)

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German Oven Pancakes

1/2 cup of all-purpose flour, sifted

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon of salt

Preheat oven to 450F. If you have a convection oven, set it at 425F - the pancakes rise even higher on the convection setting.

Lightly beat eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the milk, melted butter, salt and sugar. Gradually add flour to egg mixture, a spoonful at a time. Have your child help you by spooning the flour in while you whisk by hand. Make sure the flour is well incorporated in the batter with no lumps, but do not over-mix, as you want to keep the pancake light.

Lightly spray a 9″-11″ oven-safe skillet with cooking spray. Pour batter in the skillet. Bake 12-18 minutes, just until the edges are golden. Check your pancake at the 12 minute mark. It's fun to turn on the oven light and watch the pancake form!

Note: Try experimenting with different pans and skillets - just as long as you use something at least 9″ wide and oven-safe. You could also divide the batter into two smaller pans and have them bake side by side and see which one rises higher. Just make sure that your oven rack is in the middle position or lower. Top with fruit granola, yogurt, powdered sugar, syrup, toasted almonds or fruit butters. Drizzle with caramel, chocolate syrup, honey or maple syrup.

Touch of Grace Biscuits

Shirley Corriher's "Touch of Grace" Southern Biscuits

 

If you can't find Southern self-rising flour, or if you don't have time to wait for the mail, you can also try this: instead, combine 1 1/3 cups national-brand self-rising flour, 2/3 cup Wondra flour, and one heaping ½ teaspoon baking powder. That's a decent substitute, although not quite as light. You also might need to add a touch more buttermilk to get the right consistency.

Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups Southern self-rising flour, such as White Lily
½ tsp. salt
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup vegetable shortening
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup all-purpose flour, for shaping biscuits (do not use self-rising for this)
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit, and spray an 8" round cake pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine the self-rising flour, salt, and sugar and whisk to mix well. Add the shortening and, using your fingers, rub it into the flour mixture until there are no lumps bigger than a large pea.

Stir in the heavy cream and buttermilk, taking care not to over mix. Let stand for 2-3 minutes. The dough will be very wet, resembling large-curd cottage cheese.

Pour the all-purpose flour into a shallow bowl or pie plate. Rub your hands in the flour to dust them well. Using a ¼-cup measuring scoop or something of similar size, spoon a lump of wet dough into the flour, and sprinkle some flour over it to coat well. Gently pick it up and shape it into a soft round. I do this by cradling it in the cupped palm of one hand and gently shaking it, letting the excess flour fall through my fingers. You can also toss the dough softly - very softly - back and forth from cupped palm to cupped palm: it should feel similar to a water balloon. Place biscuit in pan and repeat with remaining dough, pushing biscuits tightly against one another so that they will rise up and not spread out.

Brush with melted butter and bake until set and lightly browned, 15-20 minutes. Cool for a minute or two, then dump out and break apart into individual biscuits.

Serve immediately.

Yield: 12-14 medium biscuits

 
 

 

Snake Bites

Snake BitesPrep Time: 15 min Cook Time: 25 min Serves: 10 servings

Ingredients

• 1 can crescent rolls
  
• Flour, for dusting
  
• 4 tablespoons spicy mustard
  
• 10 ounces thinly sliced ham
  
• 10 ounces thinly sliced salami
  
• 10 ounces bologna
  
• 12 ounces Monterey Jack, grated
  
• Liquid food coloring
  
• 3 egg yolks
  
• 2 whole cloves
  
• Toothpicks
  
• 2 small pimiento-stuffed olives
  
• 1 (1-inch) strips jarred roasted red peppers
  

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Line a cookie sheet with foil. Grease the foil and set aside.

Dust a flat surface lightly with flour. Spread out the crescent dough — do not separate. Pinch together the seams so that you have 1 piece of dough. Roll out to make a large rectangle. Make sure the dough is not stuck to the surface at all.

Brush the dough with the mustard, leaving a 1-inch border. Layer the meats down the center of the rectangle, leaving a 1-inch border on either end. You can feel free to use your favorite cold cuts.

Top the meats with the cheese. Fold 1 side of the dough over the filling, lengthwise. Then, fold the other 1/2 over and press the seal the filling inside. Take 1 egg yolk, and beat lightly with a fork. Brush the egg yolk over the top of the dough. The yolk will act as the glue to hold. Fold the dough in 1/2 again lengthwise. Pinch the seam with your fingers to seal. Press the outside of the dough to make sure everything is sealed tight and to make an even thickness for the body of your snake. Taper 1 end of the dough to form a tail shape. Form the other end into a head shape.

Beat the 2 remaining egg yolks together. Transfer to 3 separate small bowls. Add some food coloring to each bowl — whatever colors you like! Using a clean paintbrush, "paint" the snake with the egg yolk/food coloring mixture.

Transfer the snake to the foil lined sheet tray. Form into an "s" shape so it looks like the snake is slithering. Insert 2 cloves into the head to look like nostrils and 2 stuffed olives for eyes. Create a mouth or tongue with the roasted red peppers. Bake the snake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.

Corn Bread

This is a basic Southern-style unsweetened cornbread, and it's delicious with beans, greens, or chili. If you like a sweet cornbread, feel free to add 3 to 4 tablespoons of sugar.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups stone ground cornmeal
  
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
  
• 1/3 cup canola oil
  
• 1 large egg
  

Preparation:

Grease a 9-inch square baking pan. Heat oven to 350°. combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl or large cup, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, and egg. Combine the two mixtures until blended and spread in the prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until lightly browned.

Pan Seared Rib Eye

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Prep Time:

10 min

Inactive Prep Time:

--

Cook Time:

5 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

1 to 2 servings

Ingredients

• 1 boneless rib eye steak, 1 1/2-inch thick
  
• Canola oil to coat
  
• Kosher salt and ground black pepper
  

Directions

Place 10 to 12-inch cast iron skillet in oven and heat oven to 500 degrees. Bring steak(s) to room temperature.

When oven reaches temperature, remove pan and place on range over high heat. Coat steak lightly with oil and season both sides with a generous pinch of salt. Grind on black pepper to taste.

Immediately place steak in the middle of hot, dry pan. Cook 30 seconds without moving. Turn with tongs and cook another 30 seconds, then put the pan straight into the oven for 2 minutes. Flip steak and cook for another 2 minutes. (This time is for medium rare steaks. If you prefer medium, add a minute to both of the oven turns.)

Remove steak from pan, cover loosely with foil, and rest for 2 minutes. Serve whole or slice thin and fan onto plate.