Cranberry Walnut Multi Grain Bread

1 1/2 cups warm water (105-110 degrees, esp. not over 120 degrees - kills yeast!)
1/3 cup molasses, pref. unsulfured. (I use regular)
1 T. rapid rise yeast
3 cups total bread flour , divided
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup rye flour
1/2 cup while wheat flour
3 T. cocoa powder, sieved
3 T. vital wheat gluten (IMPORATANT_NEED- makes bread rise) Store in fridge
2 tsp. espresso powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup good quality dried cranberries (should be pliable not hard nuggets)
1 cup chopped walnuts (or your favorite nut)
2 generous T. walnut oil (store in fridge- will go bad)
Cornmeal for dusting


Put dough hook on mixing bowl. Place warm water, molasses and yeast in the mixing bowl. Let stand until mixture is foamy.
Meanwhile, combine 2 1/2 of bread flour with whole wheat, cornmeal, rye, wheat gluten, espresso, cocoa and salt. Whisk well.
Add four mixture to yeast mixture & mix on speed 2 ~ 2 min.
Add the cranberries, walnuts, and oil & mix on speed 3 for another 2 min.or until mixed. Con't on speed 3, add rest of the flour- 1/2 cup- a little at a time until a dough ball forms.
Knead in the bowl speed 2 for 4 minutes.
Put in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap- not a towel to preserve heat. Let rise in a draft free place x 2 hours or so.
Knead in, gently, any stray berries or nuts. shape into a 13 x 4 loaf. Place on a large bake sheet covered with parchment paper. Spray lightly with Pam and sprinkle cornmeal for dusting.
Cover again with plastic and let it rise 40 min.
Preheat oven 350 degrees. Cut 5 diagonal slices across the top. Bake on center rack so bottom doesn't burn. Bake 35-45 min. (Until center temp 205). The bread should sound hollow when tapped. Transfer to a wire rack and cool.

Double Orange Blossom Honey Butter

Whip 1 stick unsalted softened butter until fluffy. Beat in 2 T. good orange blossom honey or more, to taste. Add 1/8 tsp. orange oil or 1/2 - 1 tsp. orange extract.
Makes a wonderful combination
This recipe was from Rita Heikenfeld's Gifts from the Kitchen Class.You could easily make smaller loaves. This also makes great sandwich bread. Mmmmm sliced turkey, a light cheese.....enjoy.
Rita says "It doesn't matter where the recipe came from, it only matters where it's going"

Easy Chicken & Rice Casserole

This recipe smells as good as it tastes. The yeast in the wine, as it bakes, makes the house smell like fresh baked bread. My sister in love, Melinda, gave us this recipe when the twins were born. We've loved it since!

Chicken & Rice Casserole
1 can each of cream of: celery,chicken & mushroom
1 cup of uncooked rise
1 cup of milk (skim works fine)
1 soup can full (or I use 1 small bottle from a 4 pack) of good white wine
1 pack of uncooked chicken tenderloins (or slice up a few breasts)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix everything but the chicken in a 2 quart casserole dish & lay the chicken on top. Cover & bake for 1 hour with lid on, then stir a few times. Remove the lid and bake another hour.(Kind of a tease for the family at the 1 hour mark.) Serving fresh baked rolls with this does help your brain adapt for what your nose has been telling it is happening. It's great aroma therapy and EASY! A family favorite.

Cranberry Almond Cake

Cranberry Almond Cake
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
8 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature
7 oz. almond paste (found in the baking aisle- not marzipan)
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs , room temp.
1 tsp. vanilla extract (never imitation!)
1/4 cup milk at room temp.
1 1/2 fresh cranberries (you can buy these around the holidays and freeze them)- picked through & coarsely chopped
Confectioner's sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350.
You can do this in a buttered & floured bundt pan (recommended), loaf pans or even cupcakes
Sift together flour, salt & baking powder. Set aside. Beat together butter & almond paste. Add the sugar & beat until light & fluffy ~ 2 min. longer.Beat the eggs in 1 at a time, scraping down between each addition. Beat in vanilla.With mixer on low speed alt. flour mixture with milk, Stop and scrape down as needed.Fold in cranberries.
Transfer to pan and smooth with a spatula. Bake 45-50 min. (less for cupcakes) Consider checking at 42 min. with a wooden skewer to test doneness- should come out clean. Cool for 15 min. in pan, then invert on a wire rack. Once cool, dust with confectioner's sugar.
Do Ahead: I bake this and then slice, freezing the slices.

Rita's Pepperoni Bread

PEPPERONI BREAD
3 c. all purpose flour, unbleached, plus
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
more if needed
1 T. sugar
1 pkg. dry yeast (equals about 2T.)
1 tsp. salt
1 c. pepperoni, chopped
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 small clove of garlic, minced
1 1/4 c. water
Optional glaze: 1 egg yolk - small amt. of milk to mix with egg yolk
In an electric mixer bowl, combine flour, yeast, and oregano. In a small saucepan,
heat garlic, water, olive oil, sugar and salt to 115 degrees (any hotter can kill the
yeast). Stir to dissolve the sugar and salt. Add wet mixture to the dry mixture and
combine with a wooden spoon. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Gently stir the
pepperoni in with the paddle attachment on low speed. Add more flour if you need to
so dough is pliable. Switch to dough hook and knead on #2 speed. You may need to
add even more flour. You want the dough to pull away from the sides.(Or you can do
by hand on a floured surface, adding pepperoni, then flour to make the dough smooth
and elastic.) The dough shouldn't be sticky. Place in an oiled bowl, flip once so the
top is oily. Cover with saran wrap in a draft free area. Allow it to rise until doubled,
about 45 minutes. Punch down the dough and form into 1 large round loaf (or 2 smaller loaves, adjust baking time). Place on a cookie sheet that has been lightly oiled
and dusted with cornmeal. Let it rise again for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375
degrees. Bake for 30 minutes (maybe less for smaller loaves). For a new glaze brush
egg/milk mixture onto the bread about 18-20 minutes into the baking.
Note: Don't cut the bread while it's hot. It will mash down. This is wonderful served
with Rita's white bean Italian soup! Heck this is wonderful served with anything!
Do Ahead: You can freeze the dough as soon as it is made (no rising!) OR bake it to finish and freeze the individual slices. We just pull out a slice from the freezer and toast lightly. Great with soup.

PUMPKIN SOUP

PUMPKIN SOUP Haitian Recipe
1 lb. beef stew meat
1 onion, cut up
1 lb. chicken
3 medium turnips, cubed
1/4 quart water
1 hot pimento, whole with stem
1 T. lemon or lime juice
1/4 lb. pasta or vermicelli
3 cloves, whole (I'd tie in cheesecloth)
1 c. flour
1/2 lb. cabbage, chopped
2 T. baking powder
1 lb. pumpkin (joumou), cubed
pinch of salt
2 large carrots, cut up
2 T. unsalted butter
1/4 c. celery stalks and leaves, cut up
cold water
3 medium potatoes, cubed
Use a large kettle and boil the beef and chicken in water with cloves (tied in
cheesecloth) and lime juice for 20 minutes. Remove froth as it forms. Add all of the
vegetables (except the pimento) Boil 35-40 minutes longer, until tender. You can
remove meat and cloves (or fish out 3 cloves) and puree veggies with an immersion
blender if you wish for a creamier base. Return meat and pimento to soup (make sure
pimento is not broken it is added for more aroma, than flavor). Add pasta and cook
until tender. This can be served with dumplings as well. Dumplings: Cut butter into
flour until it forms pea-sized lumps. Gradually add water until it is the consistency of
non-sticky pizza dough. Form into finger-like shapes. Cook in soup 5-10 minutes.
Note: New Year Day is a holiday observed in Haiti. The Christians pray till midnight,
sing to the Lord and wish each other ‘Happy New Year’ afterward. Then they go
home and eat pumpkin soup. To learn more go here

SAUSAGE, CHEESE & ROASTED RED PEPPER CALZONE

Everything that one should learn about Italian cooking should come from Jungle Jim's Carol Tabone! Call the Jungle and schedule a class~ Here's Carol's Calzones:


SAUSAGE, CHEESE, AND ROASTED RED PEPPER CALZONE
1 1/2 c. warm water 105-110 degrees 1 lb. red onion, sliced thin
1 envelope dry yeast 4 sweet Italian sausages, castings removed
2 T. olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt 3 c. mozzarella cheese, grated
4 c. flour, divided 12 oz. ricotta cheese, drained 1 hour
1 large red bell pepper 3 tsp. dried oregano
2 T. olive oil
Pour warm water into a large bowl and stir in yeast. Let stand about 5 minutes until
yeast dissolves. Mix in salt and oil. Add 3 3/4 cups flour (do 1/2 cup at a time),
stirring until blended. Transfer to a floured surface and knead dough (you may not
need all of the 1/2 cup reserved flour for this). You want it smooth and elastic, but not
sticky. Rub inside a large bowl with oil and place dough in the bowl. Flip the dough
over (oily side up) and cover with saran wrap in a draft free place for 1 hour, 15 min.
The dose has risen when 2 fingers indentations remain. Filling: Place a red pepper on
a baking sheet and set the oven to broil. Roast the pepper until all of the sides are
black. Transfer to a bowl and cover with saran wrap for 10 minutes. The steam will
help shed the skin. Peel, seed and slice into thin strips. Set aside. In a large skillet,
heat olive oil, over medium high heat. Cook red onions until brown (25 minutes.)
Remove onions to a bowl and cook sausage, breaking it into small bits, until done. Set
aside. In a bowl, mix together the mozzarella, ricotta and oregano. Season to taste
with salt and pepper. Place oven racks in the top 1/3 and bottom 1/3 of the oven.
Preheat to 400 degrees. Brush 2 cookie sheets with olive oil and dust with cornmeal.
Punch down the dough. Knead on a floured surface for 1 minute. Divide dough into 4
equal portions,shaping each into a ball. Roll each into a 9 inch round. I transfer it to the bake sheet before assembly.) Spread 1/3 cup of the cheese mixture over half of each round, leaving a 3/4 inch border. Place 1/4 of the onions, another 1/3 cup cheese mixture, 1/4 of the sausage, 1/3 cup of the cheese mixture, and 1/4 of the peppers.
Fold dough over forming a half circle and seal edges firmly, so nothing leaks out.
Pierce top of calzone a few times with a sharp knife so steam can escape while
baking. Repeat with 3 other calzones, 2 per bake sheet. Bake 15 minutes, reverse
sheets and bake 15 more minutes, until golden brown. Makes 4 HUGE calzones.
Note: You can be creative with the fillings. I recommend making sure everything is
cooked going into the calzones. 4 calzones can easily feed 8 people. I'd also consider adding garlic flavored melted butter to brush on as it comes out of the oven.
Do Ahead: Freeze the dough just after you mix it- Thaw it in a warm greased, covered bowl.

BUTTERED PECAN FROSTING

This recipe appeared in the local paper back in the 1970s and my Grandma Ada made it and loved it. We have been making it at Christmas since then. A delicious 3 layer cake. You can slice and freeze this by the slice,too!



BUTTERED PECAN FROSTING
(Use with Nutty Butter Cream Cheese Cake or Carrot
Muffins Recipe)

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature DIVIDED
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 1/2 c. pecans, chopped
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1-2 T. evaporated milk

In a medium saucepan, melt 3 T. butter and add pecans. Brown the pecans. Allow the
pecans to cool. (I spread out on a cookie sheet. Cream together 5 T. butter, cream
cheese, and powdered sugar. Add milk to bring frosting to desired creaminess. Ice the
cakes as you normally would. Be generous between the layers, as you usually have
leftover icing. Layer the cakes (it's a 3 layer cake).
Take the cooled pecans and lay
them on the outside, pushing into the frosting, but not the top of the icing, so that it's coated all around with buttered pecans. Keep in a cool area.
Note: I make this at Christmas or any "special occasion".