Rustic Olive Flatbread

I’ve made a lot of King Arthur Flour recipes, and often there’s a special ingredient or flavoring that is noted as optional. I usually don’t have that ingredient, so I skip it and the recipe is still delicious. This recipe, which Michele told me about, uses King Arthur Flour’s Olive Artisan Bread Flavor, and not as an optional ingredient. The flavor mix includes flour with black olives, garlic, olive oil, rosemary, and oregano – all flavors that I like, so I ordered some to give it a try.

And the verdict is…this is a tasty flatbread! The flavor mix, plus olive oil and salt on top, is delicious. I’ve made other similar recipes and have liked them all, so it’s not required to buy special ingredients to make this kind of bread. But it turned out great and I’m looking forward to trying the flavoring in other recipes. This flatbread takes a full cup of the flavor mix, but they recommend adding just 1/4 to 1/2 cup to other bread recipes. I plan to try it in pizza crust – why not have some olives in the crust as well as on top of the pizza?

This is another recipe that Michele and I baked together (virtually speaking), and she posted about it today too, so be sure to check out her thoughts on the flatbread.

If you want to give this a try, you can get the recipe here on King Arthur Flour’s site. Did you know that you can view their online recipes in Volume, Ounces, or Grams? I appreciate that feature every time I use a King Arthur Flour recipe!

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Tangerine-Orange-Clementine Sorbet

One upside to winter is the abundance of citrus fruit. I’ve eaten countless clementines and oranges this winter, and although I’m a peel-and-eat type, when I saw this recipe in David Lebovitz’s March newsletter, I started slicing and juicing. This sorbet is beautiful to look at and fresh tasting – just the thing for an end-of-winter dessert.

The original recipe calls for all tangerine juice, but I used a combination of tangerines, oranges, and clementines, since that’s what I had on hand and I needed a lot of fruit to get enough juice (I lost count of how many pieces I used). The recipe also states that the addition of champagne is optional; I’m going to go ahead and call it required.

Tangerine (and orange and clementine) Sorbet
adapted from David Lebovitz, who adapted it from a recipe in his upcoming book, My Paris Kitchen

3 cups freshly squeezed juice, any combination of tangerine, orange, and clementine
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup champagne or sparkling wine (I used brut, which is fairly dry)

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar with 1 cup of the juice. Heat and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Combine the sugar/juice mixture with the rest of the juice and chill thoroughly.

Just before churning, stir in the champagne. Churn and freeze, following your ice cream maker’s instructions. Remove from freezer about 10 minutes before serving to allow it to soften before scooping.

Sweet-and-Sour Potluck Meatballs

Have you heard of Amy Thielen and her book, The New Midwestern Table? I enjoyed watching the first season of her show, Heartland Table, on the Food Network. I haven’t made any of the recipes she made on the show, but when I saw this meatball recipe, it went on my short list of new recipes to try.

They aren’t going to win a beauty contest, but you won’t care about that when you start popping them into your mouth. The peanuts, scallions, and carrots add a nice texture to the meatballs, and the tangy Asian flavors in the sauce keep you coming back for more. With only two of us in the house, we were eating meatballs for days, but we didn’t get tired of them, and I plan to make them again soon.

I made a few changes based on my preferences. My version was delicious, and I have no doubt that the original version is also fantastic.

Sweet-and-Sour Potluck Meatballs

Adapted from Amy Thielen’s recipe here

Note: Make sure that the crushed/chopped/minced items are very small; the meatballs are small, so you want to avoid large pieces of ingredients.

1 pound (16 oz) lean ground pork
1/2 pound (8 oz) extra-lean ground turkey
1/3 cup crushed dry-roasted peanuts
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 large egg
1 loosely-packed cup parsley (including stems), finely chopped
4 scallions, green and white parts, minced
3/4 cup finely grated carrots
3 Tablespoons soy sauce, divided
Fine sea salt and fresh ground pepper
1 Tablespoon canola oil
2 Tablespoons grated, peeled fresh ginger
1 28-ounce can whole plum tomatoes, with juice
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Asian chili-garlic sauce
1 Tablespoon fish sauce
3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

Preheat oven to 375º F.

Mix in a large bowl with your hands: pork, turkey, peanuts, panko, egg, parsley, carrots, scallions, 1 Tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Roll into Tablespoon-sized meatballs and arrange on baking sheets, leaving a little space between the meatballs. You should get about 45-50 meatballs. Bake about 15 minutes, until the meatballs are firm and cooked through.

While the meatballs are cooking, pour the tomatoes with their juice into a food processor and process until smooth. In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the ginger and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the pureed tomatoes, 3/4 cup water, the brown sugar, chili-garlic sauce, the remaining 2 Tbsp. of soy sauce and the fish sauce. Simmer, stirring often, and scraping the sides, until the sauce has reduced by about half, 5 to 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the lime juice and season with salt.

Add the meatballs to the sauce and cook, stirring often, over medium-high heat until the meatballs are glazed with the sauce, 10 to 15 minutes. (At this point you can keep the meatballs warm in a crock pot.) Serve with toothpicks.

My Most Popular Post: Grand Marnier Bundt Cake

When I looked at my 2013 annual report from WordPress, I was not surpised to see that my Grand Marnier Bundt Cake post was the most viewed post this year. The post is actually from 2009, and a lot of people seem to be searching for a Grand Marnier bundt cake recipe. Search no more, because this is an awesome cake.

I’ve made this cake countless times, including just the other day, and it never disappoints. The original post shows mini-bundts. The slice in the photo above is from a cake baked in a 6-cup bundt pan. It’s great as-is, but you can make it prettier by garnishing with some whipped cream, or drizzling some chocolate sauce on the plate and putting the cake on top.

Give the Grand Marnier Bundt Cake recipe a try!

Applesauce Baked in the Oven from the Barefoot Contessa

I saw this applesauce on an episode of the Barefoot Contessa, and it went on my “make it soon” list. I did make it soon, and I’m glad I did. This recipe is a keeper!

There’s some peeling and coring to be done, but this is easy to make. Lemon and orange zest and juice add a citrus zip to the apples, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and allspice. Some red apple peel is included to add some color during baking. All the ingredients go into an oven-proof, covered pot and it bakes for 1 1/2 hours. And oh, the aroma while it’s baking – it put me in the holiday mood!

My friend Michele from Veggie Num Nums has been baking some recipes with me; be sure to stop by her blog – she added rum to her applesauce!

Recipe notes:

• You can find the recipe here on the Food Network website.
• I made half a batch, and used both Granny Smith and Macintosh apples.
• I put in long pieces of peel, but after cooking, they broke down and were difficult to remove. Not a big deal, though, it was very soft and I don’t mind a little peel.

Pretzel Rolls

This year, I was asked to bring pretzel rolls for Thanksgiving dinner. I’ve never made pretzel rolls before, but I was up for the challenge, and I knew that King Arthur Flour would come through with a good recipe.

I made a trial-run batch and was happy that they weren’t as much of a hassle as I expected: the dough rises for an hour, then it’s formed into rolls that rise for 15 minutes. After that they get a quick boil in a water-baking soda-salt bath, then a couple of slashes on top and a sprinkle of salt before heading into the oven.

Voilá! Rolls with a golden, chewy, pretzel crust. These are best served warm, so pop them in the oven for 5-7 minutes at 325-350º to warm them up and crisp the crust before serving.

The recipe is for “sandwich bun” size, so when I made them on Thanksgiving Day, I divided the dough into 15 rolls instead of the 10 that the recipe specifies. The smaller size was perfect for a dinner roll.

I’m so happy that Michele made these with me and is posting them on her blog today. Hers look fantastic, and she even provides information for making a vegan version.

If you’re ready to expand your roll-making horizons, give King Arthur Flour’s Pretzel Sandwich Buns a try.

Hazelnut-Fig Quick Bread

I clipped this recipe out of a Cooking Light magazine in March 1999 and finally made it in November 2013. I don’t know why this one took so long to get to, but I’m glad I held on to the recipe. The combination of figs and orange (orange juice + zest) make this especially delicious for breakfast.

Unlike a lot of quick breads, the nuts are on top rather than mixed in. It’s nice to get a few really nutty bites along with some no-nut bites.

It took a while to get to this recipe, but I won’t wait 14 years to make it again!

I baked this in two mini loaf pans (5.75 x 3″) rather than in one pan. You can find the recipe here on My Recipes.

Artichoke-Olive Dip

It’s green!

I’ve made this recipe twice: once as crostini, as the original recipe is written, and another time as a dip served with pita chips. Either way, it tastes great. And it’s crazy-quick to make! Olives, artichoke hearts, capers, garlic, and olive oil go into the food processor, and a couple of pulses later, it’s ready to eat. I used pimento-stuffed olives; the little red bits add some nice color.

If you’re looking for a quick, easy snack or appetizer, the recipe is here on Smitten Kitchen.

Banana and Chocolate Chip Upside-Down Cake

An upside-down cake may sound daunting, but this is one is easy to make. The few extra minutes it takes to melt the brown sugar and layer the bananas on the bottom of the pan is more than made up for by the simple mix-by-hand cake batter.

Surprisingly, this cake is low fat. I’m not going to call it health food, but I bake enough to know that 2 Tablespoons of butter, 1 1/2 eggs, and 1/2 cup of low-fat sour cream means that this is a heck of a lot less sinful than a lot of other cakes. But with caramelized bananas on top and chocolate chips throughout, you don’t feel like you’re missing out on anything. If you’re a banana lover, this is a must-try recipe!

Recipe notes:

• You can find the recipe here on David Lebovitz’s website.
• For the topping, he gives an option of water or butter – I used water.
• For the cake, he gives an option of regular or low-fat sour cream – I used low fat.
• There’s also an option for chopped chocolate or chocolate chips. I used regular-size chocolate chips. I don’t recommend using mini-chips or tiny pieces of chopped chocolate though  – a substantial bite of chocolate really adds something to the texture and taste of the cake.
• I made the cake the day before and served it at room temperature. The recipe suggests serving it warm and adding whipped cream or ice cream, all of which sound wonderful.

Sourdough Bread Stuffing

I’ve eaten plenty of stuffing over the years, but I don’t think I’d ever made it before. When I was deciding on recipes for an early Thanksgiving dinner with my in-laws, I decided to wing it and try a new recipe rather than asking my mom or in-laws for their recipes.

And, sigh of relief, this recipe was a big hit. The sourdough bread adds a nice tang, the onions, celery, sage, and thyme add what I consider to be the classic stuffing flavors, and the mushrooms are a welcome addition to the other elements. And just like that, I have a go-to recipe the next time I need to make stuffing.

Recipe notes

• The recipe for Sourdough Bread Stuffing is here on the Food Network’s website.
• To get a jump on things, I cubed and toasted the bread and chopped the vegetables the night before. With the prep done, it was easy to finish and bake the stuffing after I put the turkey in the oven.
• I cut way back on the butter. The recipe calls for 8 Tablespoons of butter, which sounded excessive to me. Instead, I sauteed the mushrooms in a little olive oil, then added 2 Tablespoons of butter with the onions and celery, and 1 Tablespoon of butter with the sage. I can’t compare my version to the full-butter version, but I thought it was plenty tasty with only 3 Tablespoons of butter.