Best Coffee Cake EVER

I think this is a Martha Stewart recipe, but I'm not positive. I found it online at some point and it's my go-to coffee cake recipe!

2 c flour
1 T baking powder
3/4 c white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter
3/4 c milk
1 egg
2 T melted butter
2 T white sugar
2 tsp each cinnamon and nutmeg

1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
2. Cut in butter using pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Move 1/2 c of the mixture to separate bowl, and add sugar and spices (this is the topping).
4. Add milk and egg, stir gently until blended.
5. Pour batter into 8x8 greased baking dish. Top batter with melted butter, and then cover with topping.

Bake 35 minutes at 350.

Sourdough Pancakes

Finally getting around to posting our favorite pancake recipe - we've lost and rediscovered it numerous times over the past few years. It does require that you have a sourdough starter, which I do not have a recipe for, because we were lucky enough to be given starter. It's the gift that keeps on giving! We've also learned that the more often you use the starter, the more sour (and tastier) the pancakes become.

Night before:
Dump starter in a bowl. Add 2 1/2c flour, 2c warm water. Stir Gently. Cover with towel or non airtight lid and let sit overnight.

In the morning, take out 1/4-1/2c of the mixture to replace the starter, and return to fridge.

To remaining mixture, fold the following into the batter softly:
1 egg
1/4c buttermilk
2 T oil

In a separate bowl, mix:
1tsp salt
2 T sugar
1 tsp baking soda (or baking powder)

Add dry mixture to wet mixture. Beat batter LIGHTLY using a fork. Let sit for 3-4 minutes.
Cook on VERY hot ungreased griddle.

I've learned to be patient when cooking these - similar to regular pancakes, it's important to let them cook fully before flipping.

Cranberry Oat Scones

I should preface this by saying that Brad doesn't consider these "real" scones. They are not as crispy on the outside - have a slightly sponge-like consistency, especially if they're not eaten fresh out of the oven.

1 3/4 cups  flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter cold and cut into small pieces
3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Zest of one  orange
2/3 cup buttermilk

Egg wash: 1 large egg, beaten together with 1T milk/cream

Preheat to 375; Makes 8 scones

1. In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
2. Cut in butter using pastry blender, until it resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Add the rolled oats, dried cranberries and zest.  Mix until combined.
4. Stir in the buttermilk (adding more if necessary) and mix just until the dough comes together.
5. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough four or five times and then pat/roll dough into a circle that is 7" round and about 1 1/2" thick.  Cut this circle into 8 triangular sections.
6. Place the scones on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with egg wash; can sprinkle w/ sugar.
7. Bake for about 15 - 18 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.


Optional:
To add glaze: Mix 1/2 c confectioner's sugar w/ 4 tsp OJ, drizzle over the scones.

Dressing and Candied Nuts recipes

Here are few recipes I've been meaning to post for quite some time. My favorite dressing recipes for any salad that includes fruit & nuts, as well as a couple of my favorite recipes for candied nuts:

Balsamic Candied Nuts:
1/4c brown sugar
1 T olive oil
1T balsamic
1 c pecans, walnuts etc.

Chile-Spiced Pecans:
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup pecans

Dressings:
Balsamic Vinaigrette
2tsp lemon juice
1 tsp balsamic
1/2 tsp dijon
3 T olive oil

Maple-cider Vinaigrette
3T apple cider vinegar (if you don't have this, just omit it and combine the other 3 ingredients - it's still delicious)
2 T lemon juice
2 T olive oil
1-2 T maple syrup

At a recent visit to Hurd's Orchards, they introduced us to the idea of using preserves in their salad dressings. I recently tried this and it was delicious! I don't know the exact ratios so you'll just have to taste test:
1-2 T favorite preserves (I made this with Peach-pear-pecan preserves from Hurd's)
1-2 T olive oil
1-2 T white wine vinegar
1-2 T maple syrup (depending on how sweet you want it)

Buffalo Jackfruit Pizza

We'd like to introduce you to our new vegetarian staple: jackfruit. We discovered this at a vegan restaurant in Kansas City, and it is amazing! The texture is perfect for recipes that call for shredded meat, like pulled pork, tacos, reubens etc. You should be able to find it at your local Asian market/grocer. Most jackfruit comes in brine as opposed to water, so you do need to rinse it a few times. I usually let it soak in water for 5-10minutes to make sure there's no lingering brine flavor.

Buffalo Sauce:
-1 stick butter
-1 c (plus a few extra shakes) Frank's Red Hot
-2 tsp cayanne pepper

Mix in sauce pan and cook over low-med heat until butter is melted.

Pizza:
- 1-2 cans jackfruit (in water or brine - NOT in syrup)
- 1pkg shredded mozzarella
- chives, chopped
- 1-2 tomatoes, diced
- your favorite pizza dough

1. Prepare jackfruit as follows: Drain the brine. Rinse/soak in water. Squeeze out all excess liquid. Break/shred jackfruit into small chunks.
2. Pour buffalo sauce over jackfruit and mix until evenly covered. Optional: marinade 2-3hrs to allow the flavor to soak in.
3. Prepare crust.
4. Add small layer of cheese to crust. Top with tomatoes, chives, buffalo jackfruit, and cover with remaining cheese.
5. Bake according to crust instructions.
6. Serve with a side of blue cheese dressing.

Note: I made 3 cans of jackfruit, which seemed to be the right ratio for this amount of Buffalo sauce. We ended up only using a little more than 1/3 of the jackfruit on the pizza, which was the size of a large cookie-sheet. So, if you don't want leftover jackfruit, I would recommend cutting the sauce recipe by 1/3-1/2. We froze the leftover jackfruit and made a buffalo dip and buffalo wraps the following week.

Hmm, what are these bright green spots on the soda bread we made?

Ochef rules!

http://www.ochef.com/1267.htm