Beef Teriyaki - Just the Recipe

With the warmer days ahead you will want to spend as little time in a hot kitchen as possible. This easy and tasty stir fry dish can be whipped up in about half a hour.

Beef Teriyaki

1 lb. boneless beef sirloin steak ¾” thick
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1-3/4 cups beef stock
2 tbsp. soya sauce
¼ cup teriyaki sauce (optional)*
1 tbsp. packed brown sugar
¼ tsp. garlic powder or 1 tsp. fresh
4 cups broccoli flowerets
1 red pepper, slices
5 thinly sliced mushrooms
4 cups hot cooked rice

Slice the beef into very thin strips. If the beef steak is slightly frozen it is easier to slice.
Set aside. In a bowl mix cornstarch, broth soya, stir-fry sauce, sugar and garlic. Set aside.

Stir-fry beef in a nonstick skillet or wok until browned and juices evaporate. Add broccoli, red pepper and mushrooms and cornstarch mixture. Cook until mixture boils and thickens, stirring. Serve over rice.

Note: I use 2-1/2 cups Uncle Ben’s converted rice cooked in 5 cups of boiling water.

Blooming Coffee Cake Ring

It is well past the middle of April and although spring has officially arrived you would never know it. Cold temperatures continue with howling cold winds and yes it was snowing just this past weekend. My poor tulips are still in tight buds with no sign of blooming anytime soon and so it seems that the only thing blooming around here is my coffee cake.

But this is where I stop carrying on about our dreary spring and write about this wonderful coffee cake that I have been baking every Christmas and Easter for probably the last twenty years.

It has become a tradition to have this for breakfast on these special occasions and also to have it on our dessert table along with other goodies.

This coffee cake ring is filled with sugar, brown sugar, chopped walnuts and cinnamon. The recipe also has raisins in it but I omit them because hubby doesn't like them. Many years ago when my children were very young I use to make another version of this bread that was filled with apples, nuts, sugar and cinnamon. My children don't remember this bread ever being filled with apples but my nephew Robb (with two b's) who was probably seven or eight years old at the time does. When I began making it without the apples my clever nephew began referring to this bread as the Appleless Apple Coffee Cake and almost twenty years later he still does.

It is a delicious sweet bread that isn't terribly difficult to make. It takes a little more effort than just shaping into a loaf but in the end you are rewarded with a handsome yeasty coffee cake.

I bake them ahead of time and store them in the freezer and on Easter morning I drizzle them with a vanilla icing.

Happy Easter.

Yeastspotted.

Blooming Coffee Cake Rings

Makes 2 rings
Sweet-Roll Dough

2 pkg. dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
1 cup milk, warmed
½ cup sugar
2 tsp. salt
½ cup butter, softened
3 eggs
5¼ to 5-¾ cups all purpose flour

Note: If eggs are refrigerator cold, pour hot water over them and let stand for several minutes to warm before cracking.
Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a small cup or bowl, stir, and let stand for a minute of so to dissolve. Combine the milk, sugar, salt, butter, and eggs in a large mixing bowl, and beat well. Stir in the dissolved yeast. Add 2-1/2 cups of the flour, and beat until smooth and well blended. Add 2-1/2 cups more flour and beat until the dough holds together in a rough, shaggy mass. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute or two. Let rest for 10 minutes.

Resume kneading for 8 to 10 minutes more, gradually sprinkling on a little more flour if the dough sticks to your hands, until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk.

Punch the risen dough down, and it is ready to be formed and baked according to other recipes which call for Sweet-Roll Dough. You can also freeze the dough at this point, or store in the refrigerator for a few days in a tightly covered container.

Filling

½ cup sugar (100 gr.)
½ cup brown sugar (95 gr.)
1 tbsp. cinnamon (10 gr.)
1 cup chopped walnuts (110 gr.)
¼ cup melted butter
1 cup raisins
Boiling Water

Place the raisins in a small bowl and pour boiling water over them to cover, if using. In another bowl, combine the granulated and brown sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, and nuts, mixing well.

Divide the dough in half. Roll one half on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 8 inches wide and 20 inches long. If the dough is difficult to roll and constantly springs back, let it rest for a few minutes, then continue rolling. Brush the surface of the dough with 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Sprinkle half the sugar-nut mixture evenly over the dough. Drain the raisins is using and pat them dry with paper towels. Sprinkle half the raisins over the dough. Gently press the filling into the dough with our fingers. Roll u the long way, to seal. Turn the dough so the seam is on the bottom. Form the dough into a circle by bringing the ends together, overlapping them lightly, and pressing firmly to seal. Roll out, fill, and shape the second coffee cake the same way. Grease one large or two smaller cookie sheets – if you have a sheet about 14 x 18 inches, you can fit both rings on one. Transfer the cakes to the baking sheet or sheets. With a pair of scissors, or sharp knife make twelve to fourteen deep cuts all around the outside of each ring. Turn each out slightly to expose the cross-section. Cover and let rise for about an hour, until puffy and swollen, but not quite double in bulk.

Bake in a preheated 375 F oven for 25 to 30 minutes (reversing the sheets form top to bottom and front to back if you are baking on both racks), until nicely browned. Remove from the oven and slide rings onto racks and cool completely.

To make the glaze: Combine the confectioners’ sugar and water, and mix until perfectly smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the warm cakes.

Buttery Chocolate Chip Cake

As soon as I saw this cake on Rose Levy Beranbaum's site today I promptly headed out to the grocery store to pick up some ingredients so that I could make it for dessert today. This is my kind of cake, easy to make, packed with flavour and studded with chocolate chips that would satisfy the chocoholics in my family. This delicious cake is the creation of Lisa Yockelson and it is a keeper.

The cake is made with butter, sugar, eggs, and egg yolk, vanilla, flour, baking powder, salt and plenty of miniature chocolate chips and moistened with half and half which give the cake a lovely richness and tender crumb. The batter whips up beautifully and it is poured into a prepared bundt pan. After baking for one hour it has risen well over the top of the pan and is golden and ready. After ten minutes it is inverted onto a rack to cool.

It is sprinkled generously with icing sugar after it has completely cooled.

After dinner we all had a slice and it was devoured. It was given rave reviews by everyone and there is no doubt in my mind that this cake will be made again many times. It is the perfect snacking cake, the kind you serve with a good cup of coffee or a large cold glass of milk.

Buttery Chocolate Chip Cake

Lisa Yockelson

3 cups flour

2 1/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

2 1/3 cups miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs plus 1 extra yolk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup half-and-half

Confectioners' sugar (for sprinkling)

1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch Bundt pan. Dust the pan with flour, tapping out the excess.

2. In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt to blend them.

3. In another bowl, toss the chips with 2 tablespoons of the flour mixture.

4. In an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed for 3 minutes. Add the granulated sugar in 3 additions, beating 1 minute after each. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the extra yolk.

5. With the mixer set on low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions alternately with the half-and-half, beginning and ending with flour. Scrape down the bowl often with a rubber spatula.

6. Remove the bowl form the mixer stand. With a large spatula, stir in the chips.

7. Spoon the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake the cake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake is clean when withdrawn, and the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan.

8. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Carefully invert the cake onto the rack to cool completely.

9. Dust the top of the cake with confectioners' sugar.

Basic Hearth Bread - Multi Grain Version

I hadn't made a multi grain bread in a while and I thought it was high time to whip up a few loaves, one for now and a couple for the freezer for a later date or to give away. I turned to a favourite recipe that I found on Rose Levy Beranbaum's site a while ago and that I have made several times. This recipe appears on Harvest King Flour bags but the recipe on her site has extra tips and variations which you can find here http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2006/11/harvest_king_flour_tips_and_re.html.

I increased the recipe by 50% so that I could have the extra loaves. For the grains I added 10-grain cereal mix, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and flax seeds that I purchased at the bulk food store. Although the recipe did not specify to soak the grains, I did by mixing a half cup of warm water and the grains (not the seeds) in a bowl and let them sit for about half an hour. I just had to decrease the water in the recipe by half a cup and proceed with the recipe. The dough mixes up beautifully and looks lovely speckled with all the healthy grains and seeds. My machine struggled a bit because of the extra dough but it managed to mix for the specified time of seven minutes.

After two risings I divided the dough and decided to shape them in long free form loaves each weighing about 440 grams.

The kitchen was cool so they doubled in about an hour and a half and then they were ready for the hot 450 F. oven. I sprayed them with water and threw in some ice cubes on the cast iron tray on the floor of my oven for steam. After ten minutes I lowered the oven to 425 F. and continued baking for another 25 minutes.

They baked up beautifully golden and after removing them from the oven they crackled so I knew they were done. I allowed them to cool for about an hour before having a slice with butter.

This bread is really good and I can hardly wait for breakfast to have a couple of slices with jam.

Yeastspotted.

Granola - Just the Recipe

For a really good and satisfying breakfast mix some of this healthy granola with plain yogurt. For a special breakfast presentation layer yogurt and granola in parfait glasses.

Granola

Active time: 10 min start to finish: 50 minutes

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2½ cups sliced almonds (½ lb)
1 cup chopped pecans
1½ cups sweetened flaked coconut
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup honey
½ tsp vanilla
1 cup dried cranberries (5 oz)
1 cup golden raisins (5½ oz)
½ cup dried blueberries

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 300°F. Line a large shallow baking pan with foil and oil foil.

Toss together oats, almonds, pecans and coconut, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together oil, honey and vanilla, then stir into oat mixture until well coated. Spread mixture in baking pan and bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and stir the mixture around and return to oven for another 20 minutes until golden brown. Stir in cranberries, raisins and blueberries, then cool completely in pan on a rack.

White Shrimp Pasta - Just the Recipe

A very tasty pasta dish that can be prepared in the time that it takes to boil the water and cook the linguine.

White Shrimp Sauce

2 tbs. butter
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
pinch sage
2 oz. white wine
1 cup whipping cream
2 oz. chicken stock
1 lb. small or medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 lb. linguine, cooked and drained

In a saucepan or wok on medium heat melt the butter and add the garlic, onion, and shallot and sauté for a few minutes until the onion is softened.

Add the sage, wine, cream and chicken stock and simmer for 10 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp turn pink, about 3 minutes.

Add the cooked linguine to the pan and toss to coat. Allow to sit for a few minutes, then toss the linguine again and serve.

Pandoro Bread Pudding

I think bread pudding served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is probably my favourite comfort food. And yet until the last couple of years bread pudding was not something I ever had and now I feel that I may have missed out all those years. As a matter of fact the thought of a pudding made with bread really didn't do much for me but over the years I became curious about this concoction that I would hear others rave about so I thought that I would like to at least give it a try. I came across a recipe for Panettone Bread Pudding in the food section of the Globe and Mail newspaper a couple of years ago by Lucy Waverman, cookbook author, food writer for the Globe and Mail and cook extraordinaire who lives here in Toronto. Mmm I thought, panettone was right up my alley, being raised in an Italian family and having an uncle who owned an Italian bakery in Little Italy, who made panettone regularly, not just for Christmas, I was practically weened on it.

I was quite excited to try this recipe, after all panettone, studded with plump sweet raisins, and candied peel and flavoured with lemon peel and vanilla, is no regular bread. So using panettone and all these flavours that I was familiar with, instead of plain bread, suddenly made this sweet dish sound more appealing to me.


Putting it all together is simple enough. Panettone is cut into cubes and put into a large bowl, eggs are beaten with the cream and milk, salt and vanilla are added and poured over the bread and mixed until moistened. This is poured into a buttered baking dish and baked in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. In the oven it puffs up and the wonderful sweet scent fills the kitchen.

I can still remember when I first tasted this incredible bread pudding, I knew I was hooked for good. In the article Lucy Waverman described this as the best version she had made over the years and all I can say thank you for this wonderful recipe. I may have missed out all those years but now I can make up for it by making it whenever I can get my hands on panettone.


For this version I adapted her recipe but substituted Pandoro for the Panettone and added about half a cup of sultana and golden raisins. I can honestly say it is just as good.

Nowadays it seems you can only get panettone and pandoro at Christmas time so I buy a few boxes and since it has a long best before date I store them in my cold cellar just for making bread pudding.

Submitted to YeastSpotting.

Panettone Bread Pudding


Serve with softly whipped cream and marinated fruit salad.

1 panettone
6 eggs
1 cup whipping cream
2 cups milk
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Butter a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and set aside.

Cut panettone into 2-inch cubes and remove dark brown crusts. You will need about 10 cups. Place in a large bowl.

Whisk together eggs, whipping cream, milk, sugar and vanilla.

Pour over panettone and toss to coat. Transfer panettone and custard to prepared baking dish, squishing the pieces around to absorb custard and to fill pan in an even layer.

Set aside for at least 45 minutes or wrap well and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Bake bread pudding for 35 to 40 minutes or until deep golden brown and puffed.

Cut into pieces and serve warm or at room temperature. Serves 6 with leftovers.



Pandoro Bread Pudding

6 eggs
1 cup whipping cream
2 cups milk
2/3 of a Pandoro
½ cup of a mixture of sultana raisins and golden raisins.
1/3 to ½ cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Proceed as above.

When I made this I only used about 2/3 of the Pandoro because it was quite large. If you have a large crowd and want to use the entire pandoro you can increase the recipe by 1/3 to 1/2 and it should still work out.

Pecan & Molasses Scones with Vanilla Glaze

It's kind of funny how I have come across three different scone recipes in the last few weeks and all from different sources. It's not like they are seasonal, like say strawberry shortcake in June, where you would expect a deluge of recipes for the dessert. Nor did I seek these recipes. The first, Dried Cranberry Scones, was featured in the food section of the National Post, the second, Scones Two Ways, was posted on Marie Wolf's blog Breadbasketcase that I follow, and the third, Pecan & Molasses Scones with Vanilla Glaze was in the new Food & Drink, a free magazine put out by our LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario).

I made all of them slightly altering them one way or another to suit my taste but keeping the body of the recipe intact. For the Dried Cranberry Scones I followed the recipe almost exactly except that I added grated orange peel. I was very happy with how they turned out, until I tried the Cream Scones (Scones Two Ways) using cranberries and orange peel instead of dried apricots or nuts as Marie did. Also instead of using a food processor I made these the conventional way in a bowl. They were far better than the first I made and I think the whipping cream in this recipe, instead of milk used in the last recipe made all the difference. When I saw the photo for the Pecan & Molasses Scones in Food & Drink and seeing as I was in a scone making phase how could I but not make these. By now I had made scones using milk and scones using cream and I was confident that substituting some of the milk with the cream in this recipe would only enhance the flavour and produce a lighter textured scone.

Dried Cranberry Scones - National Post

Cream Scones with Cranberries and Grated Orange Peel (Scones Two Ways - Breadbasketcase)

The method is the same for all of them; cut butter into flour, baking powder and salt mixture, add nuts or dried fruit and bind together with cream and flavourings. Once you gather the mass into a ball, flatten into a circle and cut into wedges but this particular recipe instructs to divide the dough into two and form each into a circle, folding in half, then in half again and finally patting the dough into a circle and cutting into six wedges.




So I carried my altering tendency to the instructions as well and instead formed the entire dough into a rectangle instead of two circles, folding it in half, then in half again and finally patting the dough into a rectangle again about 9 by 6 inches and a scant inch thick.


Then I cut the dough into six equal pieces forming squares and then

cut each square on the diagonal to form twelve wedges. These are then transferred onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

Into a 425 degree oven they go and about 12 to 14 minutes later they have risen by almost double.

While they are warm they are topped with a spoonful of vanilla glaze and sprinkled with chopped pecans. The texture was light and flaky so I was glad I used the cream, and the molasses and pecans are a nice combination. At first I thought I might skip the glaze so as to not add more sugar but in the end I decided to stay true to the recipe and I was glad I did because the glaze added some sweetness to these scones that are not overly sweet. Besides they did look nice with the glaze melting over the tops and sides.

These were very good and I would certainly recommend them. I especially liked the folding method which I think helps the scones rise so high. But I have to admit that my all time favourite flavour for scones is a combination of cranberries and orange. All I need now is to find a place near by that sells clotted cream so that I can slather my scones with a generous dollop.

Pecan & Molasses Scones with Vanilla Glaze

by Marilyn Bentz-Crowley

Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tbsp. granulated sugar

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup cold unsalted butter

3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. milk

2 tbsp. fancy molasses

3/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Glaze

1/2 cup icing sugar

1 to 2 tbsp. cream, preferably whipping

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup pecans, finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, stir flour with sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Coarsely grate or cut in butter; toss to coat with flour. Make a well.

3. Measure milk; add molasses. Stir to dissolve molasses. Add milk mixture and pecans to flour mixture. Stir with a rubber spatula just until dough forms. Turn out onto lightly floured surface.

4. Divide into half. Lightly sprinkle each half with a bit of additional flour. Pat each half into a round about 1 inch thick. fold each in half and then into quarters. Again pat each mound of dough into a round a scant inch thick. Cut each round into 6 wedges. Place on a lined baking sheet at least 1 inch apart.

5. Bake in centre of oven for 11 to 14 minutes or until firm to touch and lightly browned. (If making ahead for freezing or for another day, cool completely before storing in airtight container. Warm in a moderate oven for 5 minutes before glazing.)

6. Meanwhile stir icing sugar with 1 tbsp. of cream and vanilla. Stir in remaining cream as needed to have a thick almost pourable glaze. Transfer hot scones to a cooling rack. Immediately coat tops with glaze and sprinkle with finely chopped pecans. Serve warm.

Makes 12