The first day of Fall slipped quietly by. I barely noticed. The climate, where I live, usually brings warm and beautiful weather-- but, then it can change to be overcast and cool. My garden is so confused. So it my palate.
This is the time of year when I still want to grill summer veggies, and yet my yearning for home baked bread and soups starts to kick into gear.
I had an itch for Corn Chowder and home baked bread that needed to be scratched. I've made Ina Garten's Cheddar Corn Chowder, but I wanted to try a different version. I had bookmarked a version from Cook's Illustrated, a while ago, because it had many positive reviews. Soup and bread is hard to resist, so I decided to make one of my husband's favorite bread recipes-- Buttered Rosemary Skillet Rolls. The rolls are adapted from (gasp) "The Pioneer Woman". Ree's original recipe uses frozen bread dough. I make my own, and these rolls are one of the easiest-- and most faithful-- recipes you'll ever use. Just look at the pool of melted butter! Doesn't it make you swoon? (Paula Deen has nothing on me, with these rolls.) I am not ashamed.
I've lost count on how many times I've made these rolls. I use instant yeast, and it takes about 10 minutes for me to make the dough, using a stand mixer with a dough hook. The dough rises, perfectly, in about 45 minutes. Once shaped into rolls, the second rise takes about 20 minutes. TIP: I turn my oven to WARM, then turn it off. This acts as an "incubator" for my dough, and speeds up the process of proofing the dough. The rolls bake in about 25 minutes. (I bake them in my beloved cast iron skillet). You can use a cake pan, if you wish.
What's missing in this post?I'll tell you. My typical step-by-step photos are! I hadn't planned on blogging about the soup, nor the rolls. I really just wanted to re-shoot the rolls, as the finished shots on my original post didn't turn out right. (This is what happens when you don't check your lens, and you've smeared melted butter all over it.) Fortunately, I automatically photograph most anything I eat. My friends are used to it, now. I'm glad that I did, because the soup recipe is worth sharing with you.
VERDICT: I have to tell you that the Corn Chowder definitely scratched my itch. I have to share it with you. I owe it to you. It was creamy, and I did not miss adding cheese to it-- as Ina's recipe does. Some of the corn kernels are reserved, and added towards the very end of the cooking time. This gives the soup a texture of creamy, with some crunchy al dente texture of fresh corn. I loved it. I didn't have salt pork, so I used regular bacon-- and that worked just fine. I did add some finely chopped red bell pepper, to the recipe. I liked the color, and the flavor, that it contributed to the soup. As for the bread...
...well, who can beat the smell of fresh baked bread? The rolls turned out, once again, to be very tender.
I love this recipe. There's something about sea salt & fresh rosemary that makes these rolls very addicting.
This meal represented the flavors of summer corn, and the promise of home-baked bread, with fall weather. Both of these recipes will remain in my regular rotation file. They're both that good! You can see step-by-step photos on how to make these rolls here. (Printable recipe cards are at the end of this post.)
When my son was in first grade, we used to spend time at lot of time at the Border's Book Store at our local shopping center. There was a quiet little man who had a cart stand, where he'd sell freshly made Belgian Waffles. He'd take a square of dough and make a fresh, hot "Liege Belgian Waffle" and my son would happily receive it with a hop, skip and a jump. As the mother of an only child, the price was worth the smile on my son's face as he chewed on this special treat. I remember that I was a divorced mom at that time, so affording this treat meant that I wouldn't buy one for myself. My son would give me a bite, and I remember that the waffle had a rich taste of butter, with a hint of vanilla. The caramelized sugar left a chewy and sweet mouth feel. One day, we realized that the man with the cart no longer set up business at the shopping mall-- sadly, we never saw him again. Every so often my son-- who is now 22 years old-- would ask me if I remembered those delicious waffles. Yes, I did, but my memories are more connected to that sweet little boy who delighted in his special treat. I miss those years, but I don't miss those teen years!
This waffle is different from our traditional American Waffles. The Belgian Sugar (or “Liege” Waffle) is a popular street-food across Europe. Served warm, plain or garnished with chocolate, Nutella, fruit, ice-cream or whipped cream, it is enjoyed by thousands of shoppers and sight-seers. I decided to do a little internet research on the history of the Liege Waffle and this story is consistently shared:
"According to legend, it was invented in the 18th Century by the Prince of Liège's cook. At the Prince's request, he experimented with cooking a kind of bun by adding polished sugar to the dough. Seduced by the appetising odour of vanilla that emanated during the cooking, the Prince fell for the new cake's charm." Source
I did most of my Christmas shopping on Amazon, and I stumbled across this Belgian Pearl Sugar. Since I qualified for free shipping I decided it was time to see if I could recreate a childhood memory for my son. After looking at several different recipes, I decided to use the one on the very back of the box of pearl sugar. You might wonder if you can just crush sugar cubes. You could, but I wanted to be authentic. Having read other recipes, I'm told that there's something special about this Belgian Pearl Sugar. You really want the sugar to melt, and get that wonderful caramelization, don't you? The ingredients are: milk, yeast, eggs, butter, flour, salt, vanilla and eggs. Cinnamon is optional, but I decided to skip that.
For those of you who are afraid of working yeast, this is a great beginner recipe. I used Rapid-Rise Yeast. They key is that you don't heat the milk to be scalding hot. Using my beloved therma-pen, you can see that 96 degrees was just right. You also want the butter and eggs to be at room temperature. Yeast likes warmth! Begin by dissolving the yeast in the milk. That's easy enough, right?
Gradually add all the ingredients to the flour, except for the pearl sugar. (My stand mixer works great to do this.)
Let the dough double in size (about 30 minutes). I let mine sit for about an hour. (Bottom right corner photo.) NOTE: I turn my oven on to WARM for a few minutes, then turn it off. I cover the dough in a bowl, and place it into the warm and cozy oven to help proof the dough.
Gently flatten the dough into a rectangle and add the pearl sugar.
Fold the dough over, in thirds (my own technique to distribute the sugar throughout).
Divide the dough into small patties, about 3-4 oz each.
NOTE: To be more traditional, Liege waffles are shaped into a rectangle.
I have an inexpensive non-stick Belgian waffle maker. Yes, there are special waffle irons for this, but I didn't want to invest in one. To prepare: Bake in a greased and heated waffle iron. Be very careful, as the sugar will caramelize and can be extremely hot. Allow them to cook for a few minutes, before biting into them.
I presented these to my son and waited as he bit in. Ah! That beautiful smile of his grew wide, and he said that these were exactly as he remembered!
TASTING NOTES: The are rich and buttery. You need to be careful to not eat them the very second that you remove them from the waffle iron. The sugar has melted and can be very hot. I tasted vanilla and the yeast is very subtle. The texture is moist, a little dense and did I mention how rich these are? I ate a half of one, and my son polished off two-- and my other half. So, what was I supposed to do with the remaining five pieces of dough?
SOLUTION: I figured that if that cart vendor could pull out a package of dough and make fresh waffles, then he must prepare them in advance. I wrapped each piece in plastic wrap and refrigerated them. The next day, I brought them to room temperature (about 30 minutes).
I greased the waffle iron and watched the steam as the sugar began to melt...
Does this picture need words? Really? Look at that bubbling sugar!
...and these were delicious! In fact, I think they tasted even better! Of course, I only took one bite (this time, because I'm cutting back on my sweets to lose weight). My son loved these. I made the rest on Day #3, and they turned out perfectly.
VERDICT: I can see why Liege Belgian waffles are a special treat. I can't imagine adding anything extra to these, but go for it if you want ice cream, or nutella, or fresh whipped cream. I recommend a fresh cup of coffee. A cup of Belgian Hot Chocolate would be even better!
I'll make these again as a special treat for my boy grown son. Something tells me that when he's older, and married and has started a family of his own (in about 20 years) -- that I can lure him over to visit mom with the promise of these treats.
Whatever happened to my childhood Christmas time-line? As a kid, it seemed as though that special day of our family gathering to celebrate on Christmas Eve would never come. Being of German descent, my mother would make a traditional German dinner and then the kids would disappear into our bedrooms. We couldn't come out until we heard Mutti ringing a bell to signal that the "Krist Kindlein" (Christ Child) had come. Our parents weren't particularly well-to-do, but my memories were that gifts were abundant.
Now that my parents are gone, I try to carry on the traditions to my own son and niece. German Stollen is very much a part of my Christmas childhood memories. I've never made my own Stollen, and it's been my Recipe Bucket List for several Christmas's past. In the meantime, I have resorted to buying German Stollen's from Trader Joe's. They're not bad, as long as you eat a slice with a cup of coffee. A few days ago, I spotted King Arthur Flour's recipe for their Easiest Stollen. Traditional Stollen is made with yeast; this version uses ricotta cheese and baking powder. I was intrigued, and grateful, to find a short-cut since December 23rd was the first-- and only-- day that I had to bake something to give as gifts.
There are two ingredients that King Arthur recommends to make this recipe-- Buttery Sweet Dough Flavor and Lemon Oil. I fell in-love with the Buttery Sweet Dough flavor, about a year ago. It smells like yellow cake batter, and it gives a special flavor to any of your baked goods. Trust me, this is one of my favorite products that I order from King Arthur Flour's website (yes, I pay for it... I'm not given this for free). The lemon oil is a great product, because it's a natural product, made from the lemon rind (unlike lemon extract). Is it required that you use these? No. The lemon oil is a shortcut from having to zest lemons, and I think it packs a great punch of lemon citrus. Of course, you need pure vanilla.
As you can see, I shop, often, online at KAF-- I bought this European candied mix peel, last Christmas. It was destined to become Stollen. It never happened, so I used half to make an Easter Ricotta Pie. The other half was exactly enough to make this stollen recipe-- and it was still good to go! You can use any kind of dried fruit-- cranberries, raisins... whatever you like. If I didn't have this fruit, I would have chosen golden raisins because they are very traditional.
Almonds are the traditional nut to add to Stollen. I didn't have slivered almonds, but I always keep a bag of sliced almonds on hand. These are already toasted, which really brings out the flavor.
For the dry ingredients, we need flour, salt, baking powder and salt...
For the wet ingredients, we need ricotta cheese, vanilla. Add lemon zest or use the optional lemon oil and Buttery Sweet Dough Flavor...
...give it whisk and smell. Wow! The aroma smells so good with the vanilla, lemon and emulsion!
The dry ingredients are whisked together, and then the nuts and dried fruit is added...
Now, we need COLD butter.
My shortcut is to grate cold (or frozen) butter. It works great!
Time to make dough!
With a stand-mixer, it takes a minute or two (or, you can do this by hand).
Perfect!
Now, we add the wet ingredients...
...and mix until the flour is just moistened. Don't overwork it!
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead it two or three times, until it holds together.
Cut the dough in half. In my case, I cut the dough into thirds. I was going to give two away, and keep one for "us".
My own "twist" to this recipe was to add a very traditional ingredient-- Marzipan. I love it. Skip it if you don't like it...
I decided to make one Stollen without marzipan and two with (guess which one is for "us"?) Now fold the Stollen in half, leaving the top half a little short of the edge. (I have read that the shape is to symbolize the Baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes.)
These are baked at 325F for about 40 minutes. Because these are smaller (at 3 Stollen), I set my timer for 25 minutes. They are perfect and smell really great! To me, they seemed more like a large cookie..but I carried on with the next few steps:
Remove the stollen from the oven, and transfer to a rack. Brush them each with 2 to 3 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle heavily with confectioners’ sugar.
Allow the stollen to cool, then brush with butter again, and sprinkle with sugar again. I know this appears to be a bit excessive, but trust me-- it's how the German's roll (said with affection).
Now, for the moment of truth...
VERDICT: This recipe gets the O-M-G rating from me! The stollen reminds me of Biscotti, without the crunch of a second bake. The outside texture is a little crunchy, which isn't how must authentic stollens are. However, the inside is moist and has just the right amount of density to it. The flavor... (rolls eyes). I think the Buttery Sweet Dough flavor is something you have to experience. The flavor tastes like vanilla, lemon and butter. The fruit is just the right amount. The powdered sugar coating give just the right amount of balance. I'm beginning to have my first pangs of greed selfishness.
One Stollen was devoured by my husband and son. They love it! I set one Stollen on the table, unsliced. Is this a subliminal message "look, but don't eat"?
The next day, I unwrap the third Stollen, and give it a fresh dusting of powdered sugar.
VERDICT #2: I think these taste better after a day...or two. The spirit of giving is alive and well! OK, so I didn't give these away. I shared them. This is a new Christmas tradition for me to make, only I'll quadruple how much I make. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I like this recipe better than the yeast type of bread. Seriously. I don't think I'll wait an entire year to make this again. A slice, or two, of this with a hot cup of coffee brings back memories of watching my Mutti dunk hers with glee.
I used Random.Org to choose a number so that I could announce the winner of my Tate's Bake Shop Giveaway. The number was 21, which goes to:
It's a toss up between chocolate chip and frosted sugar cookies!! I keep seeing the Tate's cookies everywhere but have yet to try them. Yum!
Congrats, and please email me at foodiewife (at) gmail.com so that I can forward your mailing address to the nice folks at Tate's Bake Shop.
In closing, I'm amazed that my goal of exercise, and cutting back on eating the treats I've been baking-- well, I've lost nine pounds since December 1st! Now that the holidays are over, I'm going to start posting some of the recipes I've been making that are not loaded with as much butter and heavy cream as I'd fallen into a habit of eating.
My mother was born and raised in Bavaria. She met my father, who was stationed in Salzburg, Austria. They married in Salzburg in1954, and she moved to America. My mom became a US Citizen in 1957, but she hung on to her Bavarian heritage with pride. She came from a lineage of great cooks, and her grandmother owned a successful restaurant in Bad Reichennhall, Bavarian. I can remember my mother, at a very young age, teaching me how to make our family's favorite recipes. My mother passed on October 13, 2002. Since then, I have started a family tradition, of hosting an Oktoberfest dinner in memory of my "Mutti".
I don't need written recipes, because I can make them from memory. (One of the reasons I started my blog was to recreate these recipes so that they won't be lost). Yesterday was our 7th Oktoberfest, so Craig put on Bavarian Oom-Pa-Pa music, to start the festive mood. At first, I could feel a big lump in my throat as I rolled up my sleeves and started making her dishes. Mutti is gone, but I felt a sense of her presence as I spent the next six hours making her Austrian Goulash, German Potato Salad, Spaetzle, and Red Cabbage. Of course, we had traditional sausages-- but just a few. The Goulash is my personal favorite dish. It's a stew with a rich sauce of tomato sauce and paprika.
To keep the carbs coming, I decided I wanted to make Bavarian "Bretzen"... otherwise known as Soft Pretzels, in America. Thanks to my lovely blogger friend, Monica, of "Lick the Bowl Good" I found the perfect recipe. Her stellar photos showed how to shape the dough into the pretzel twist. She promised they were fast and easy-- and I needed that. I had been in the kitchen for almost five hours and I had 90 minutes until the guests arrived-- could it be done by then? The answer is "yes"! I didn't photograph each step, because I was running out of time and energy. The steps were simple, and you can find a printable recipe at the bottom of this post. You start with warm water, sugar, salt and a packet of dry yeast. In five minutes it was foamy. Using my Kitchen Aid Stand mixer, and the dough hook, I added flour, and melted butter. That's it! In one hour, the dough had doubled...
The dough was divided into 8 pieces and rolled into a 24" coil. Shaping them was easy, thanks to Monica's great photos . I was in a rush, so I didn't have time to photograph the steps (click here, if you want to see Monica's). The fun part was dipping them into a pot of boiling water, with baking soda. That took 30 seconds, each. I brushed them with an egg wash and sprinkled kosher salt on them.
The aroma is intoxicating! The Bretzen were ready, just as our guests arrived. Traditionally, Bavarians like to slice this in half and butter them.
VERDICT: Fool-proof to make. Seriously fast and easy. They are fun to make. Kids would have fun rolling the dough. The flavor-- oh, Bavaria! Slightly crunch on the outside. Soft and chewy on the inside. I like being able to adjust how much salt I want on them. They are outstanding! I'm making more today. Yes, I am!
Craig and I prefer the with beer. Yeah, it's like that...
It was a labor of love, to present traditional and authentic German Oktoberfest dishes. If only my mom was alive to see this. Somehow, I can feel a sense of closeness to her when I am making her recipes. If you like German food, I hope you enjoy trying them. My mother would be pleased.
Prost, Mutti!
I'm submitting this recipe to "Yeastspotting". Now that the weather is cooler, I'll be baking more breads. This blog has a tempting array of beautiful photos and recipes.
. Since I qualified for free shipping I decided it was time to see if I could recreate a childhood memory for my son. After looking at several different recipes, I decided to use the one on the very back of the box of pearl sugar. You might wonder if you can just crush sugar cubes. You could, but I wanted to be authentic. Having read other recipes, I'm told that there's something special about this Belgian Pearl Sugar. You really want the sugar to melt, and get that wonderful caramelization, don't you? The ingredients are: milk, yeast, eggs, butter, flour, salt, vanilla and eggs. Cinnamon is optional, but I decided to skip that. 
, you can see that 96 degrees was just right. You also want the butter and eggs to be at room temperature. Yeast likes warmth!
