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Bread

Beer Pizza Dough

Before we continue with my Beer Pizza Dough post, you have to forgive me for the overly moody dough photos.

I was trying franticly to get them taken before I lost all of the light (damn daylight saving).

But it could be worse, see:

 That pizza dough looks like it should be listening to Radiohead and popping Xanax like Pez.

 

Anyway, that’s what happens when you try to cram way too much into one day, things tend to get away from you.

Back to the pizza dough.

I’ve been making pizza dough for years, and have yet to publicly put my name on a pizza dough recipe. This one is the best so far. I love crust, it’s the best part. If you make your way to my great little city, the best crusts can be found at Folliero’s, Mozza, Casa Bianca, and Milo & Olive.

I have also learned that if you come early in the day, when there is no rush, most pizza places will sell you some of their dough. Which is great to have on hand.

I also learned a few things in my quest to make kickass pizza at home:

The secrets of freezing pizza dough from The Kitchn

How essential it is to own and operate a pizza stone and a pizza peel (completely worth the money)

Milk, beer, and oil give the dough a depth and complexity that water doesn’t touch.

Bread flour is essential to getting a chewy crust.

Use good ingredients, grate your own cheese, add uncooked toppings (prosciutto, arugula, fresh tomatoes, herbs) after the pizza comes out of the oven to create depth and balance.

 

Beer Pizza Dough

Servings 1 lbs dough

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups bread flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 cup wheat beer
  • 1 packet 2 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast
  • 3 tablespoon whole milk
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil plus additional for bowl

Instructions
 

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the bread flour, salt and sugar, stir until well combined. In a microwave safe bowl, add the beer. Heat until 110 degrees. Add the yeast and wait 5 minutes or until the yeast foams.
  • Add the beer to the flour and stir until incorporated. Add the milk and 1 tablespoon oil, stir with the dough hook until it forms a sticky ball.
  • On a lightly floured surface, knead until smooth and no longer sticky.
  • Coat a large bowl with oil. Add the dough, cover and refrigerate for 12 hours or until doubles in size.
  • Punch down the dough and reform into a tight ball. Cover and refrigerate for another 8 to 12 hours and up to 3 days.
  • To bake, place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 425 for at least a half an hour prior to baking pizza.
  • Roll out the pizza dough to about the size of your pizza stone. Sprinkle a pizza peel with corn meal. Transfer the dough to the pizza peel. Top with your desired toppings, lots of them.
  • Open the oven and carefully transfer the pizza to the pizza stone. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Hefeweizen Honey Rolls

 I have wandered into a complete obsession with making bread. It started slowly, and really, rather timidly. When I first started, I was afraid of yeast, and a wee bit convinced that it hated me.

I threw several mounds of fail dough in the trash after it refused to rise. I learned a few things long the way that I am more than happy to share with you and save you from the "What the EFF is wrong with this damn bread!" frustrations that I suffered.

First, check the expiration date.  Yeast expires in a biblical sense, it actually dies. Yeast is a bit of a living beast, and once it reaches it’s expiration date, don’t even think about it. It’s not like that bottle of Ibuprofen in your  cabinet that expired last year but is probably still going to cure your headache. If the yeast has been in your cabinet a while, throw it out.

Salt kills yeast too. Don’t let inactive yeast come in contact with salt. I learned this the hard way when adding salt to the cream before microwaving it.

Yeast will rise between 40 and 120 degrees. Any higher than 120 and it will be killed by the heat (unless you use rapid-rise which will work until about 130), stay away from the high end of the scale in case your thermometer is a bit off. If the yeast is colder than around 90, it will take a long time to rise. At 40 degrees, it will still rise, but it will take days. 110 seems to be a bit of a sweet spot, but I live in LA, and even when the East Coast is being ravaged by Frankenstrom, it was still 85 degrees yesterday. Bread rises faster when it’s warm, slower when it’s cold. Yeast types are not interchangeable without major recipe modifications. Use the yeast the recipe calls for.

Dry milk powder is a bit of a secret weapon when it comes to bread making. I discovered this in the Secret Ingredient section of King Arthur Flour, it may be to blame for my bread making fixation.  Your bread will be softer, taller and more tender. Buy a bag just to keep on hand for Thanksgiving and Christmas rolls, because if you are going to all of the trouble to make homemade rolls, you should really pull out all the tricks in your bag.

Beer. Of course, the beer. Bread is my favorite thing to make with beer. Even if you aren’t a beer kind of girl, it gives your bread a lighter, slightly more leavened quality that makes it a perfect baking liquid. And because it’s bread, a wheat beer is a natural choice.

 

 

Hefeweizen Honey Rolls

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 envelope dry active yeast
  • 5 cups bread flour
  • 1/4 cup dry milk powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2/3 cup wheat beer room temperature
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 4 tbs unsalted butter softened to room temp

To Brush On Top:

  • 4 tbs melted butter
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1/2 tsp coarse salt

Makes 16 rolls

    Instructions
     

    • Add the cream to a microwave safe dish. Heat for 20 seconds, test temperature and repeat until cream is about 110 degrees. Add the yeast, set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes. If the yeast does not foam, it isn't good. Discard it and try again.
    • In the bowl of a stand mixer add the flour, salt and dry milk powder, mix until well combined.
    • Add the cream and the beer, mix until combined. It will look dry and shaggy.
    • Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing between additions.
    • Add the honey and butter and allow to mix until the dough forms a smooth and shiny ball that isn't sticky, about 8-10 minutes.
    • Coat the inside of large bowl with oil. Form the dough into a ball and add to prepared bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm room until doubled in size. This will take between 1 and 2 hours depending on the temperature of the room.
    • Punch the dough down, and knead lightly for about 1 minute.
    • Cut the dough in half, then cut each half in half. You will now have 4 equal size pieces. Cut each piece in half to create 8 equal sized pieces. Cut each of those in half to give you 16.
    • Roll each piece of dough into balls, place into a baking dish with a bit of space between each roll (you might need two baking pans to accommodate 16 rolls).
    • Cover and allow to rise until about doubled in size.
    • Heat oven to 400 degrees.
    • Combine the melted butter and honey. Brush the top of the rolls with honey butter mixture, sprinkle with salt.
    • Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

     

     

    Sweet Potato Beer Biscuits With Maple Sage Butter

     

     

    I didn’t grow up eating Sweet potatoes.

    I never saw them on my Thanksgiving table or at Sunday dinner. They just didn’t exist in my world. Until one chilly afternoon in College when I stopped by the dorm room of a Souther friend of mine who had just pulled a Sweet potato, covered in butter and brown sugar out of the microwave. She was nuts. A Vegetable with sugar on it? I couldn’t get over how strange it was to enjoy a vegetable as if it was some kind of dessert. She offered me a bite, and my instinct to recoil was overtaken by my overwhelming curiosity. I was hooked.

    I shocked at how much I love it. It was a comfort food, and it was a vegetable. Biscuits, made from scratch, are a bit the same. Although I didn’t grow up with anything other than a biscuit from a tube with a fear inducing opening method, those always seemed amazing to me. Another incredible comfort food.

    And the beer isn’t just here for the novelty of it. Beer is a mild leavening agent, giving this biscuits a lighter, more tender texture. For this recipe, I like a Hefeweizen or a Pumpkin Ale.

    Sweet Potato Beer Biscuits With Maple Sage Butter

    Ingredients
      

    For the Biscuits:

    • 1 large sweet potato
    • 2/3 cup beer
    • 2 cups flour
    • 2 tsp baking powder
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • pinch salt
    • 1 tbs sugar
    • 1 stick butter cold, cut into small cubes
    • 1 tbs melted butter

    For the Butter:

    • 3 tbs butter room temperature
    • 1 sage leaf minced
    • 1 tsp pure maple syrup

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 425.
    • Pierce the sweet potato all over. Microwave on high until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to work with. Remove and discard skin, add sweet potato to a bowl (should be about 3/4 cup of sweet potato mash).
    • Add the beer to the sweet potatoes and using a potato masher, stir and mash until completely combined.
    • In a bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Mix to combine.
    • Add the butter cubes and using your fingers or a pastry blender, rub the butter into the flour until completely combined.
    • Add the sweet potato beer mixture and mix until just combined.
    • Form dough into a ball and place on a lightly floured surface. Form into a square, about 1 1/2 inches high, and about 1 foot long. Cut into square biscuits. Place on a baking sheet covered with a Silpat or parchment paper. Brush with melted butter.
    • Bake at 425 for 15-18 minutes.
    • In a small bowl, add the maple syrup ingredients and stir until combined.
    • Serve biscuits warm, with maple sage butter.

     

     

     

    Pizza Stuffed Pretzel Rolls

     

    I’m going unprocessed this month. Which, as my favorite byproduct of this exercise, has pushed me out of my grocery buying comfort zone and reminded me to wander into local bakeries and specialty food stores to rely on what they have to offer. I love supporting local mom & pop shops, and even though I eat a very unprocessed diet on a regular basis, this is a great way for me to double check all of my eating habits.

    When I had the idea for these stuck in my head, I wanted to make it as easy as possible for the both of us. I found out a few interesting short cuts for pizza dough. While I am working on perfecting a pizza dough recipe, I realize that good dough takes time and my pizza making cravings don’t allow me the requisite 24 hours that good dough really needs. I did learn that most pizza places will sell you raw and ready to use pizza dough if you just ask, but don’t count on them delivering. Also, look for an Italian deli, I have two really great ones in my neighborhood. They usually sell homemade pasta, home cured meats, homemade cheese AND (you guested it) raw and ready to go pizza dough. Sometimes you even get handmade recipes passed down from generation to generation shipped over from the Motherland. So much better than I could ever do myself. As much as I WANT to make everything from my own hands, even on my best day I could never top an Italian Grandmother on her worst. So, my secret to these is "store bought" dough is getting it from my local Italian deli.

    You can also look at your local regular-guy markets (Trader Joe’s, Fresh & Easy, Whole Foods) if you don’t have any Italian culinary entrepreneur  in your neighborhood. But it’s worth a Yelp search, just incase they flew under your radar, or call the nice folks at your local pizza restaurant to see if they will break you off a hunk of their dough.

     

    Pizza Stuffed Pretzel Rolls

    1 batch Pizza dough

    1/2 cup marinara sauce

    2 oz peperoni, chopped

    1/2 cup cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, whatever you want)

    1/4 cup baking soda

    2 tbs sugar

    3 tbs melted butter

    course salt

     

    Preheat oven to 350.

    Start by placing the hunk of dough on a lightly floured surface.

     

    Shape the dough into a long log. Cut into two equal halves, then cut each half in half (giving you four equal logs)

    Then cut each log in half the other way

    Now you have 8 pieces! Cut each piece in half and you are finally done with the cutting and you have 16 dough pieces ready to be filled.

    Roll each dough piece on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin. Top with about 1 to 2 tbs sauce, 2 tbs cheese and 1 tbs pepperoni.

    Wet the edges of the dough (the best way to do this is to place a small bowl of water near you and wet your fingertips) and pinch the edges tightly together.

    Place on a baking sheet, covered with a Silpat.

    Fill a large pot with water, making sure you have enough room for it to bubble up, but deep enough for the rolls to fit in. Add the 2 tbs sugar and allow to boil, add the baking soda (there will be lots of bubbling), add the buns (about 4 at a time) and allow to boil for about 30 seconds, remove with a large slotted spoon and return to baking sheet.

    Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt.

    Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until a dark golden brown.

    *Note: if you want to freeze these, allow to cool, place in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 weeks. To re-heat, bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until cooked though.

     

    Beer Braised Chicken Tacos with Beer Corn Tortillas

     

    When it seems like your entire life revolves around a food blog, small things make you really excited.

    Like making homemade tortillas with beer and realizing how much better they are than any other tortilla you’ve ever had.

    Or getting a shout out from The Cooking Channel as if they knew just how to fuel your obsession with them.

    Or realizing that because Foster Farms is willing to fly you into Napa a few days early for the National Cook-Off Finals, you get to visit the following breweries: Laguanitas, Russian River, and Bear Republic.

    And then your Aunt tells you that your Grandma and Guy Fieri’s Grandma where roommates in college, which sounds like a Mad Lib, but turns out to be true.

    Small wins that make me so excited, you’d think I won a Beer Cooking Oscar. This is what keeps us playing the Man Behind the Curtain on these little blogs we are so dedicated to. Bloggers are easily excitable, which maybe why we spend so much time on the other side of these computer. Sometimes our excitement isn’t fit for public consumption.

    Back to these tortillas. Homemade tortillas are a completely different animal from those cardboard disks they sell in supermarkets. Soft, slightly sweet, and they only take 5 minutes to make. To use a beer analogy fit for an SAT exam:

    Coors Light is to Pliny as Store Bought Tortillas are to Homemade Tortillas

    I’m not kidding, that much different. If you don’t believe me, and really, why should you, I’m just the overly excited girl behind the screen, try it and report back. I really think you’ll be amazed.

    For this recipe, I used Lagunaitas IPA. And like I’ve mentioned before, IPA’s give you a huge punch of beer flavor. If you want a milder beer flavor, grab a traditional Pale Ale, a Blonde or a Wheat Beer.

     

     

    Beer Braised Chicken Tacos with Beer Corn Tortillas

    Ingredients
      

    For the Tortillas

    • 2 cup Masa
    • ½ tsp salt
    • 1 1/4 cup room temperature beer
    • 2 Tbs melted butter or olive oil

    For the Chicken

    • 4 boneless skinless chicken thigh fillets
    • 1 tsp garlic powder
    • 1 tsp black pepper
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 1/2 tsp chili powder
    • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
    • 2 tbs olive oil
    • 1 cup beer

    Recommended Garnishes

    • 1/4 cup chopped onion
    • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
    • 1 avocado chopped

    Instructions
     

    • Chop Chicken thighs into small, bite sized pieces. In a bowl, place all spices and mix well. Add the chicken pieces and toss to coat.
    • Heat olive oil in a dutch oven. Add the pieces and sear quickly. Reduce heat, add beer, cover and cook until cooked through, about 10 to 15 minutes.
    • In a large bowl, add the Masa and the salt, stir to combine.
    • Add the beer and butter, stir to combine. If the dough is too dry to hold together, add additional beer or water. If it is too wet, add more Masa.
    • Form into balls a bit larger than golf balls.
    • Prepare a tortillas press by wrapping in plastic wrap or covering with parchment paper (you can place tortilla ball between two sheets of parchment and use a rolling pin). Place one ball in the center.
    • Press, rotate and press again until thin.
    • Heat a griddle (or cast iron skillet) to a medium high heat (about 350 for electric griddles).
    • Cook until slightly brown on the bottom (about 30 seconds to a minute) flip and cook on the other side. Don’t overcook.
    • Fill tortillas with chicken, garnish and serve.

     

     

    Coconut Oat French Toast (Dairy Free)


    I told you all about my plan to try and limit my dairy intake. There are, however, some things that I will never part with, like goat cheese. I might crawl across broken glass for goat cheese. And homemade whipped cream, especially Candy Cane Whipped Cream, is a joy I will indulge in for the rest of my life.

    But milk, I could take it or leave it. In fact, most of the time I would rather leave it. Not just because the idea of drinking a tall glass of un-manipulated milk makes me want to gag, but because I have found so many alternatives that I enjoy so much more.

    Coconut milk is an amazing substitute for milk, and the flavor is beautiful. Almond milk adds a new dimension to dishes that I adore.

    For now, I will be making my french toast with coconut milk, I loved the way it tasted.

    Coconut Oat French Toast

    1 can light coconut milk

    1/4 cup brown sugar, plus additional 1/4 cup divided

    1 tsp vanilla

    2 eggs

    12 slices of bread

    1 cup quick oats

    Add the coconut milk, 1/4 cup brown sugar, vanilla and eggs to a bowl, whisk until well combined.

    Place the oats and remaining brown sugar on a plate or in a shallow dish, stir until well combined.

    Heat a skillet (with a lid), sprayed with butter flavored cooking spry,  over medium high heat until hot but not smoking.

    Two at a time, soak the bread in the coconut milk mixture for about a minute. Remove from the milk and allow excess to drain off, place on the oat plate, turn to coat.

    Add the french toast to the hot pan, replace the lid and cook for two minutes. Turn the french toast, replace the lid and cook for an additional two minutes, or until cooked through. Turn the heat down on the pan if the oats start to brown too quickly.

    Top with fresh fruit, if desired.

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    Beer Tortillas

     

    Tortillas are one of those glorious foods that I have found myself continuing to make from scratch. It wasn’t an epiphany that wakened me from my supermarket tortilla grabbing slumber, it was a gradual process. Tortillas are easy, and you probably have all of the ingredients in your kitchen already. And the end product will finally convince you that you no longer need that plastic bag full or pre-made taco vessels.

    So why the beer? Beer is a leavening agent, mild in a way that is the perfect strength to lightly leaven a tortilla. And a beer with bread, wheat of notes of crackers will add a fuller flavor then the typical baking powder that is called for in most homemade tortilla recipes.

    You only need a few ingredients to make these, so you need to choose carefully. Most people use lard, and this tends to give the best results. After I cook bacon (a weekly occurrence) I pour the rendered fat into an air tight container and store it in the fridge. Once it cools and solidifies, I use this to make tortillas with. If you are vegetarian or vegan, vegetable shorting makes a great stand in.

    The beer you choose needs to be carefully considers as well. Because it has a slight cracker like taste, I use Hair Of The Dog’s Ruth. Choose a beer that has notes of yeast, bread or crackers. A wheat beer would also work well.

    Beer Tortillas

    Servings 6 to 8 tortillas

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 1/2 cups flour
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1/2 cup fat lard, vegetable shortening, rendered and cooled bacon fat
    • 3/4 cup warm beer Plus 3 additional tbs

    Instructions
     

    • In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the fat and rub it into the flour with your hands until it forms course crumbs and all the fat has been distributed.
    • Addr 3/4 of a cup warm beer into the flour mixture, mixing with a fork until all of the flour has been moistened (adding the additional 3 tbs if needed). Knead for about 3-5 minutes or until the dough becomes shiny and slightly stiff but not firm.
    • Pull off pieces of the dough just smaller than a golf ball. Roll into balls and place on a plate, continue for the remaining dough. Cover the plate with a towel and allow to rest for about 30 minutes.
    • Heat a griddle or cast iron skillet over medium high heat.
    • Roll the tortillas out until they are thin enough to see through. On a lightly floured surface, flatten a ball of dough with the rolling pin, then roll forward and back across it; rotate a sixth of a turn and roll forward and back again; continue rotating and rolling until you reach a very thin consistency. Alternately, you can use a tortilla press.
    • Throw onto the griddle and allow to cook until lightly brown, about 1 minute per side. Don't over cook or your tortillas will be crispy.

    Make a batch of Chipotle Stout Braised Beef and make Tacos.

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    Cheddar Beer Bread Muffins

    I’ve noticed something about you.

    You seem to have no interest in healthy beer recipes. You want your beer recipes to be a flagrant indulgence of full-flavored stimulation. You want chocolate and bacon and sugar and whatever else I can manage to squeeze into your meal.

    I like that about you.

    No "semi-homemade" or "skinny" versions will do for your beer baking, you want it to be bold and extravagant, diet repercussions be damned. You also have no problem with my recipes that take hours, making Bacon Beer Jam with delighted voracity.

    So it is by pure accident that I offer to you a recipe that only takes 5 minutes to throw together and less than 20 to bake, allowing you to get a fully flavored beer muffin on your table in less than a half an hour.

    Although I know you would have been more than willing to spend much longer. I appreciate your tenacity.

    For these Beer Bread Muffins, I used Lagunitas Red, a special release that’s just so fun to drink.

    Beer Bread Muffins

    Cheddar Beer Bread Muffins

    Servings 8 muffins

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 1/2 cups flour
    • 1 tbs sugar
    • 2 tsp baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese plus additional for topping, if desired
    • 2 tbs chopped green onions
    • 1/4 cup melted butter plus 2 additional tbs, divided
    • 3/4 cup beer

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 350. Spray muffin tins with cooking spray.
    • In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cheese and onions, stir until well combined. Pour in 1/4 a cup of melted butter plus the 6 oz of beer, stir until just combined.
    • Pour batter into muffin tins until each well is about 1/2 full. Pour remaining 2 tbs of butter onto the tops of the muffins, dividing evenly between each muffin. Top with additional cheese, if desired.
    • Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes or until the muffins have puffed and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Serve immediately, these are best right out of the oven.

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    Jalapeno Pale Ale Cornbread

    The past few weeks I’ve been craving summer. I live in Los Angeles, so feel free to laugh at my inability to cope with a mild seasonal chill. It isn’t so much the weather of the Summer months that I miss, but the culture of the season. Backyard barbecues, a slower life pace, vacations and water related activities. There is something about the way that summer feels in my bones, the feeling of endless possibilities that the days bring that I miss. Cornbread is an epicurean reminder of what I’m missing out on, and brings a comfort that the Summer isn’t too far away.

    Beer is a great way to add a new dimension to cornbread. Not only is it a leavening agent, insuring that your bread won’t be overly dense, it is also a preservative, giving you a few extra days to consume it. But I don’t think you’ll need them.

    I chose Stone 11.11.11 Vertical Epic Ale because it has a beautiful chili flavor, without the heat, a hard thing to accomplish. It also has a bit of a cinnamon and spice finish that pairs very well with a recipe that runs the line between savory and sweet.

    If you can’t get your hands on this beer, look for a pale ale with strong, bold flavors of chili and spice.

    Jalapeno Pale Ale Cornbread 

    Jalapeno Pale Ale Cornbread

    Ingredients
      

    • 3 tbs unsalted butter
    • 1 tbs chopped fresh jalapenos seeds removed
    • ¾ cup whole milk
    • ¾ cup dry polenta course corn meal
    • ¾ cup flour
    • 2 tsp baking powder
    • ½ tsp baking soda
    • ½ cup brown sugar
    • ½ tsp salt
    • ¾ cup pale ale with notes of spice I used Stone 11.11.11 Vertical Epic Ale
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 tbs raw honey
    • 1 cup corn kernels fresh is better. If you use frozen, make sure they are thawed
    • 2 tbs melted unsalted butter

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 350.
    • Spray a large, deep dish loaf pan generously with butter flavored cooking spray.
    • In a sauce pan over medium/heat, add the butter and the jalapenos and cook until just starting to soften, about 3 minutes.
    • Add the milk and polenta and stir until the milk starts to bubble and is well combined with the polenta. Cover and remove from heat, allowing to rest for about 20 minutes.
    • In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and salt.
    • In another bowl, whisk the eggs and the honey until well combined.
    • Add the egg mixture to the polenta pan and stir. Add the dry ingredients and stir until incorperated. Add the beer and the corn kernels, stirring until just combined.
    • Add to the prepared baking dish and pour the 2 tbs of melted butter over the top.
    • Bake at 350 until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 45-55 minutes.

    Bacon Fat Biscuits

    I’m a bit of a bacon fat hoarder. I make excessive amounts of bacon on weekends, straining and storing the bacon fat that gets left behind into small containers that are now littering my fridge. 

    I have to find ways to use it. I make tortillas with bacon fat, which are delightful and this past weekend biscuits were also made in an attempt to decrease my ever-growing stash. 

    Bacon and biscuits. Saturday Breakfast Indulgence at its best. 

    Bacon Fat Biscuits 

    1 cups cake flour 

    1 cup all-purpose  

    1 tsp baking powder

    1/2 tsp baking soda 

    1/2 tsp salt

    1 tsp sugar

    5 tbs bacon fat

    2/3 buttermilk, plus an additional 1/4 cup, divided 

    1 tbs melted butter 

    Preheat oven to 450

    In a food processor, combine both types of flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. Give a quick pulse until combined. Add the bacon fat and process until the flour and bacon fat are well combined and look like course crumbs. Add 2/3 cup milk and pulse until just barely combined. Add additional milk, a bit at a time until all of the dough has been dampened and pulls away from the sides of the food processor. Don’t over process or your biscuits will be tough. 

    Remove from food processor and place on a floured surface. Form into a long rectangle and cut into squares with a sharp knife. This will give you square biscuits without any waste. Since over worked dough becomes tough, "scraps" left over from cutting out round biscuits can’t really be re-rolled and used, they should be discarded. Forming the dough into a long rectangle and cutting with a sharp knife will allow you to use all the dough as biscuits without any waste. 

    Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, then place the biscuits on the sheet. Brush with melted butter. 

    Bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. 

    Quinoa Carrot Cake Breakfast Muffins

    I’m a breakfast girl. It isn’t possible for me to go the 16 hours between dinner and lunch the following day without eating. I become a crazy person when I’m hungry. Like the plant from Little Shop of Horrors yelling "FEED MEEE!!!" at random strangers. If I ever get stuck on a deserted island, or in a plane crash in the Andes, don’t pray for me, pray for which ever poor soul has to deal with the hungry version of me. Not pretty. Plus I just make bad decisions when I’m hungry, which results in me coming to the conclusion that an entire jumbo sized bag of Jalapeno Kettle Chips is just one snack, and it’s totally fine for me to eat the entire thing. 

    Because of this, I must eat breakfast. And besides my long standing love with Saturday Morning Breakfast indulgences, I want a super healthy breakfast 6 days a week. 

    And you are probably sick of all the quinoa, but I’m not. Not yet. It SO good for you, and if you cook it the right way, it has a great flavor and texture. Don’t cook it the same way you cook rice or it will be mushy.  

    My Morning Magical Quinoa Muffin Stats, calculated by Spark People Recipe Calorie Calculator:

    191 Calories

    3 grams of fiber

    4.3 grams of protein 

    Plus a healthy dose of Calcium, Vitamins A, B-6 & C

    Only .5 grams of the bad Saturated Fat

    Not too bad. And an easy thing to grab on your way out the door in the morning. 

    So that you can conquer the world without being a whiney and unreasonable. Or maybe that’s just me. 


    Quinoa Carrot Cake Breakfast Muffins

    Ingredients

    • 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
    • 1/3 cup cooked quinoa (You need to cook your quinoa with 1 part quinoa to 1.5 parts water, too much water makes it mushy)
    • 1/3 cup sugar
    • 1 tsp cinnamon
    • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • 1/2 cup fat free sour cream
    • 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
    • 2 tbs raw honey
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • 1 egg
    • 3/4 cup carrots, peeled and finely grated (place between sheets of paper towels to remove excess water)
    • 1/4 cup of raisins
    • 2 tbs chopped walnuts

    (Makes 6 muffins)

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350.
    2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, quinoa, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking powder. Make a well in the ingredients. In another bowl, combine the sour cream, apple sauce, honey, egg and vanilla until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the well you made in the dry ingredients. Stir until just barely combined, a few lumps is fine. If you over mix, your muffins will be tough. Add the carrots, raisins and walnuts and stir until just combined.
    3. Grease 6 wells of a muffin tin (or line with muffin papers). Pour evenly into the 6 wells, about 2/3 full.
    4. Bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes or until the top springs back when touched.


    Chocolate, Bacon & Porter Muffins

    There is something mysterious and alluring about Alaska. Beautiful landscapes pushing past a transcendental, white washed façade. I’ll even forgive her the birth of ignorant, poorly spoken, female politicians to glimpse the majesty of the Aurora Borealis. It just may be because of this enchanted terrain that the beer seems to have a prestigious eminence. The water is clearer and more ethereal, giving rise to a superior scaffolding for the detailed flavors put forth in Alaskan craft beer.

    The Alaskan Brewing Smoked Porter has a bold, creamy, smoked profile that bridges the flavors of bacon and chocolate in these muffins. The savory sweet interplay works well for breakfast or dessert, or anytime in between.

    Chocolate, Bacon & Porter Muffins

    Chocolate, Bacon & Porter Muffins

    Servings 8

    Ingredients
      

    • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 1 cup flour
    • 3/4 cup sugar
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • 1/4 tsp salt
    • 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
    • 1 egg
    • 1/4 cup canola oil
    • 3/4 cup Smoked Porter
    • 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
    • 3 strips of bacon cooked, chopped
    • Preheat oven to 400.

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 400.
    • In a large bowl, combine the cocoa powder, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and smoked paprika, whisk until well combined.
    • In a separate bowl, beat the egg and the oil. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the egg/oil, chocolate chips and the beer. Stir until combined.
    • Spray muffin tins with butter flavored cooking spray (or line with muffin papers). Add the batter to the muffin tins until about 2/3 full. Top with the chopped bacon, evenly distributed between the muffin tins.
    • Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the top springs back when touched.

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    Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

    Balance. That’s my resolution. One word. 

    I think a lot of resolutions come down to that, finding a balance by remembering the things that you have allowed to unbalance in your life. 

    Most problems in life come down to too much, or not enough, of one thing or another. This is where I am, right at this moment. 

    I care too much about what others think about me, my blog and my recipes. I worry too much about how many Twitter followers or Facebook likes I get. I’m much too hard on myself about not being further along in my quest to work full time in the world of food. I am much too self-deprecating too often. 

    I don’t allow myself enough space and time to grow and learn. I don’t give myself enough credit for my accomplishments. 

    In the name of balance:

    I am grateful. I am a hard worker. I am a fast learner. I push myself. (That is the start of my resolution, balance the bad thoughts with good ones.)

    More than anything I want to teach these things to my Daughter. This thing called "balance" that we all find so hard.

    My promise to my little girl, just a year and a half into her life, is this: 

    I will try as hard as I can to show you how to love yourself, by loving myself. The world will teach you enough self-loathing, I will not model it for you. I will be the example of how to push yourself towards your goals, while still enjoying your life. And while every little girl in the world, at some point, will say, "I wanna be like my Momma!" I promise to try and be worthy of that statement. I will do my best to teach you how to put your self-worth into your SELF not into others. How to be in a relationship, not defined by it. How to set a goal and reach it, while still giving space to fail and get back up. 

    Cinnamon Rolls where my resolution two year ago, when I was pregnant. I called my sister in a pregnancy induced semi-panic over Christmas Traditions. We didn’t have any Holiday traditions growing up and I wanted, no, NEEDED to have some for my own family. Where do I start? What do I do?? My sister, who has always been a strong force in  my life, as well as a great example of balance, reminded me that my fetal child had no current need for holiday pageantry and I had time for decision making. I told her that I wanted to make cinnamon rolls from scratch on Christmas Morning. She said that was a great place to start.

    A few weeks later, on my birthday, a Cinnamon Roll pan from King Arthur Flour showed up at my house. I cried. I decided right then that my Holiday Traditions would revolve around being together as a family, like a Traditional Christmas Morning breakfast with Cinnamon Rolls. I resolved to spend more time with people I love. 

    For the rest of my life, I’ll be making these on Christmas Morning. Sometimes resolutions do stick with you. 

    This is food Networks attempt to re-create the carefully guarded secret recipe of Cinnabon’s Cinnamon Rolls. It’s amazing, which is why this is the recipe that I have decided to use as my Christmas Tradition and not attempting to create my own, although slight alterations have been made. 

    Almost Famous Cinnamon Rolls

    (Adapted from The Food Network)

    For the Dough:

    • 1 cup whole milk
    • 1 1/4-ounce packet active dry yeast
    • 1/4 cup plus 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
    • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the bowl
    • 1 large egg yolk
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more if needed
    • 1/4 cup Dry Milk
    • 3/4 teaspoon salt
    • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

    For the Filling:

    • All-purpose flour, for dusting
    • 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan
    • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
    • 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
    • 1 tsp fresh ground nutmeg

    For the Glaze:

    • 2 cups confectioners' sugar
    • 1/3 cup heavy cream
    • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

    Directions

    Make the dough: Warm the milk in a medium saucepan over low heat until it reaches about 100 (you can also use the microwave, and test every 20 seconds. I keep a digital people thermometer from the drug store in the kitchen to use when I heat up liquid to proof yeast. It’s cheap and accurate). Remove from the heat and sprinkle in the yeast and 1/4 teaspoon sugar (don’t stir). Set aside until foamy, 5 minutes. Whisk in the melted butter, egg yolk and vanilla.

    Whisk the flour, the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, dry milk, the salt and nutmeg in the bowl of a stand mixer. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeast mixture. Mix on low speed with the dough hook until thick and slightly sticky. Knead on medium speed until the dough gathers around the hook, 6 minutes. (Add up to 2 more tablespoons flour if necessary.)

    Remove the dough and shape into a ball. Butter the mixer bowl and return the dough to the bowl, turning to coat with butter (those are the Food Network instructions, I use a large glass bowl that I spray with butter flavored cooking spray). Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, 1 hour 15 minutes.

    Roll out the dough, fill and cut into buns (see instructions below). Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan; place the buns cut-side down in the pan, leaving space between each. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, 40 minutes. If you are making this the night before, this is a good place to stop. Instead of allow to rise until double in size on your counter top, place the buns in a cold fridge. It should take about 6-8 hours for the second rise to happen in a cold fridge, instead of 40 minutes at room temp. 

    Preheat the oven to 325.

    Bake the buns until golden brown, about 35 minutes. Cool in the pan 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the glaze: Sift the confectioners' sugar into a bowl, then whisk in the cream and melted butter. Transfer the buns to a rack and spoon the glaze on top while still warm.

    How to Form Cinnamon Buns

    1. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 12-by-14-inch rectangle with the longer side facing you.

    2. Spread with the softened butter, leaving a 1/2-inch border on the far long edge. Mix the sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the butter.

    3. Brush the unbuttered far edge with water. Roll the dough away from you into a tight cylinder and press on the long edge to seal.

    4. Cut the cylinder with a sharp knife to make 6-9 equal-size buns.

    Black Garlic Brioche Rolls

    I have a pretty serious garlic addiction. Which turns out, is a good thing. A great thing even, garlic has a ton of health benefits. (Here is the part where I spew a bunch or nearly useless facts like the true food geek that I am). 

    First of all, it protects you from cold and flu viruses. When I as pregnant with Tater and I was feelin that sick feelin come on, I was too scared to take any medicine. I was completely nuts about everything I ate, CONVINCED if I made one wrong move, it would destroy my adorable, growing fetus-child (for more on that story, you can read this). I roasted 3 heads of garlic and ate them spread all over a loaf of crusty bread. I stunk for 3 days, but I didn’t get sick. 

    Not only that, but it also helps lower cholesterol, manage blood pressure and it even has antibiotic qualities. Wheeew! So glad that’s over!

    The second I heard about Black Garlic, I wasn’t able to focus on the rest of my life until I bought some. 

    SO I did. And I offically have a new addiction. 

    Black garlic has a sweeter flavor, and the texture of black licorice. It can’t always be used in the same way, but it has a beautiful flavor that works well baked. 

    I strongly recommend ordering some (click here), and trying to see what you can make out of it. Let me know how it goes. 

    Salted Black Garlic Brioche Rolls

    1/2 cup room temp milk

    1 envelope of dry active yeast (1/4 oz)

    2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

    2 tablespoons sugar

    1 teaspoons salt,

    3 large eggs

    1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

    5 cloves garlic, chopped

    1 tbs Fresh Rosemary, minced

    Topping:
    1 tbs melted butter
    1-2 tbs course salt

    Add the milk to a microwave safe container, heat in the microwave for 10 seconds, test the temperature (you want it between 105 and 110) and repeat until the desired temperature is reached. Put the milk in the bowl of a stand mixer.
    Sprinkle the yeast on top and allow it to get foamy, about 5 minutes.
    Add the flour, salt and sugar and mix on low with the dough hook attachment until shaggy, flaky lumps form (about 1 1/2 minutes).
    Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined.
    Add the softened butter (softened is important), beat until the dough gathers around the hook and is smooth and shiny. Add the garlic and the rosemary and beat until just combined.
    Coat the inside of a bowl with olive oil and place the dough ball in inside.
    Wrap with plastic wrap leave in a warm place until it’s double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
    Grab the dough at the sides until it has deflated.
    Allow to rise a second time at room temperature, until it has doubled in size, deflating every 15 minutes by grabbing the sides, about 45 minutes.

    (If you need to make this the night before, this is a good place to stop. Place in a very cold fridge, below 40 degrees, take out of the fridge the next day and continue. Note that if the dough is cold, the next rise will take longer.)

    Remove from the bowl and place on a floured surface, shape into a long log, about 4 inches wide and 1 foot long.
    Using a sharp knife, cut in 3 equal sized pieces.
    Then cut each of those pieces in half (you will now have 6 pieces.)
    Now cut each of those pieces in half and you will have 12 equal sized pieces.
    Each of these pieces will be a roll, but you have to make some more cuts first.
    Cut each slice into 3 equal sized pieces, rolling each into a ball and placing all three into the same well of a greased muffin tin. Repeat for each slice.
    Cover with plastic wrap, and allow to double in size at room temperature, about 30 minutes. 
    Brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle generously with course salt. This is when you break out the fanciest salt you have. Or buy some just for the occasion.
    Preheat the oven to 400. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until golden brown.

    Printable:Salted Black Garlic Brioche Rolls

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    Vanilla Bourbon Cranberry Sauce & 3 Ways to Use the Leftovers

    Of all the Thanksgiving foods that I am asking you to make from scratch, and not out of a can, cranberry sauce is by far the fastest and easiest. It takes almost as much time to try and slop that phallic shaped, hideously ridges gelatinous mass onto a crystal serving dish as it does to throw a few ingredients in a pot and let it simmer. You have no excuse. Put down your reservations, and your can opener and give it a try. You can do it. I believe in you. 

    As for those leftovers, that best part of that Black Friday, you have so many options. Cranberry sauce is the one thing that freezes super well, so you can put it in tupperware and save it for a week when you aren’t so double stuffed. Maybe there is a Christmas/Hanukkah party coming up and you signed up to bring the cupcakes? You are in luck. Freeze the leftover sauce, make the Cranberry Cream Cheese frosting below and you will have a cupcake hit on your hands. 

    First, we’ll start with the recipe that gets us to these fine leftovers fit for transformations.

    Vanilla Bourbon Cranberry Sauce

    1/2 vanilla bean

    4 cups of fresh cranberries

    3/4 cup of water

    2 tbs bourbon (good quality)

    1 tsp real vanilla extract

    1 cup of sugar


    Slice the vanilla bean down the center the long way and scrape out the insides with the back of a knife. Place the vanilla scrapings, and the rest of the ingredients in a pot over medium/high heat. Allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until thickened. The longer you allow the sauce to cook, the thicker it will become.  

    *all the alcohol burns off once heated, so this is safe to serve to minors. 

    As I said before, cranberry sauce freezes well. You can save your leftovers for future use. 


    Cranberry Cream Cheese Frosting

    2 3/4 cups cream cheese (softened)

    1 1/4 cups butter (softened)

    1/2 cup cranberry sauce

    3/4 cup powdered sugar

    Cream cheese frosting is super, super easy to make and about a billion times better than that crap in a plastic can, as long as you follow the rules. Seriously, if you try to cheat this you will end up with a mixing bowl full of lumps that give your frosting the consistency of ground beef. The biggest rule: everything needs to be room temperature. Sounds wrong, but it’s true. Leave your butter and cream cheese on the counter for a few hours to let them soften. Here are a few acceptable shortcuts to get your ingredients to room temperature, since you may have patience issues, or lack of time issues, like I do.

    1. If you are baking and the oven is on, place your sticks of butter and cream cheese (still wrapped) on top of the warm oven. That is, if you have an oven that gets warm. Turn them every 8-10 minutes to warm all sides. In about 30 minutes, they should be softened. 

    2. Microwave. The problem with this is that you really don’t want anything melted, and since cream cheese is almost always wrapped in foil, this just works for butter. Put your wrapped butter on a microwave safe plate and microwave on high for 8 seconds. Turn one quarter turn and then repeat. do this until it is softened, but not melted. 

    3. Cut everything into cubes and leave at room temp for about 30 minutes, should do the trick, unless your house is freezing cold. 

    Put your softened cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high for about 3 minutes. This will allow it to blend with the butter better and prevent any clumps. Add the softened butter and beat on high until well combined. Add the cranberry sauce and mix again until well combined. Turn off the mixer and add the powdered sugar. I don’t like my frosting super sweet, but if you do, add more powdered sugar. Mix on low speed until the powdered sugar is mixed into the cream cheese mixture. 

    Cranberry Walnut Muffins

    1 stick unsalted butter

    1 cup sugar

    2 eggs

    1 tsp vanilla extract

    3/4 cup sour cream

    1 cup cranberry sauce

    2 cups all-purpose flour

    1 teaspoon baking powder

    ½ teaspoon baking soda

    ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

    1 tsp cinnamon

    ¼ teaspoon salt

    ½ cup walnuts, chopped

    Makes 12

    Preheat oven to 400.

    In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, then the vanilla; mix well between each addition. While the mixer is on low, add the sour cream and then the cranberry sauce, mixing until well combined. In a separate bowl, Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. With the mixer still on a low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the cranberry mixture. Mix until just combined, don’t over beat. Stir in the walnuts. Add cupcake papers to a muffin tins.  Fill each paper until about 2/3 full.

    Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched.

    Allow to cool. 

    Cranberry Pancake Syrup


    1 cup cranberry sauce

    1/4 cup maple syrup

    Put both in a bowl, stir well, heat in the microwave for 20 seconds. Serve over pancakes.

     

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    Salted Hefeweizen Brioche Rolls

    Napa SmithWheat is a perfect baking beer. It has crisp, clean flavors, sweetness and bold tones that hold up to the oven. A smooth wheat beer with citrus and peach notes.

    I enjoyed this beer, the baking, the drinking, the flavors. It was an easy beer to enjoy and gave me a sense of the brewery. Relaxed, comfortable and welcoming. I’ve lived in California most of my life, and traveled all over the world and I have a firm believe that Napa is a place that needs to be experienced, a beautiful escape from the rest of reality. Winding along the back roads of  Napa county, meeting locals, sampling the local food, drinks, produce…You’ll feel like you are living in a distant land far away from the life you know. In Napa, people love to eat, drink and cook with only local ingredients. It’s charming, as if Napa could exist all on it’s own. A little bubble, a snow globe of a world, swirling around itself filled with fresh-baked bread, handmade pies and locally sourced beer.

     Salted Hefeweizen Brioche Rolls

    1/2 cup room temperature Hefeweizen Beer (Napa Smith Wheat Preferred)

    1 envelope of dry active yeast (1/4 oz)

    2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

    2 tablespoons sugar

    1 teaspoons sea salt,

    3 large eggs

    1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

    Topping:

    1 tbs melted butter

    1 tbs sea salt

    1. Add the beer to a microwave safe container heat in the microwave for 10 seconds, test the temperature (you want it between 105 and 110) and repeat until the desired temperature is reached. Put the beer in the bowl of a stand mixer.
    2. Sprinkle the yeast on top and allow it to get foamy, about 5 minutes.
    3. Add the flour, salt and sugar and mix on low with the dough hook attachment until shaggy, flaky lumps form (about 1 1/2 minutes).
    4. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined.
    5. Add the softened butter (softened is important), beat until the dough gathers around the hook and is smooth and shiny.
    6. Coat the inside of a bowl with olive oil and place the dough ball in inside.
    7. Wrap with plastic wrap leave in a warm place until it’s double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
    8. Grab the dough at the sides until it has deflated.
    9. Allow to rise a second time at room temperature, until it has doubled in size, deflating every 15 minutes by grabbing the sides, about 45 minutes.
    10. Remove from the bowl and place on a floured surface, shape into a long log, about 4 inches wide and 1 foot long.
    11. Using a sharp knife, cut in 3 equal sized pieces.
    12. Then cut each of those pieces in half (you will now have 6 pieces.)
    13. Now cut each of those pieces in half and you will have 12 equal sized pieces.
    14. Each of these pieces will be a roll, but you have to make some more cuts first.
    15. Cut each slice into 3 equal sized pieces, rolling each into a ball and placing all three into the same well of a greased muffin tin. Repeat for each slice.
    16. Cover with plastic wrap, place in the fridge and allow to double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
    17. Brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle generously with sea salt. This is when you break out the fanciest salt you have. Or buy some just for the occasion.
    18. Preheat the oven to 400. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until golden brown.
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    Gingerbread Ale Beer Bread

    Beer bread is simple. A few ingredients creates a soft, but dense bread. The basic principle is to use the beer as the yeast. Although beer is great in this capacity, adding a leavening agent like baking soda, or self rising flour, is important to help keep the bread from becoming too dense. The simple ingredients open the possibility to so many different types of flavorings. Beer bread can be sweet or savory.

    I got my hands on a few bottles of the Gingerbread Ale from Bison Brewery for this batch of beer bread. The gingerbread flavors worked so well with the recipe, leaving a mild but distinct flavors of ginger and beer.

    Gingerbread Beer Bread

    3 cups all purpose flour

    2/3 cup brown sugar

    2 tsp baking powder

    1 tsp cinamon

    1/2 tsp nutmeg

    1/2 tsp ginger

    1/2 cup chopped pecans

    12 oz Bison Gingerbread Ale

    TOPPING:

    2 tbs melted butter

    2 tbs brown sugar

     

    Preheat oven to 375. Spray a large loaf pan with butter flavored cooking spray.

    In a large bowl, combine the flour, 2/3 cup brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and pecans. Stir until well combined.  Add the beer all at once. It will foam up. Stir quickly to combine. Don’t worry about lumps, thats normal.

    Add to your batter greased loaf pan. Pour the melted butter on top of your loaf and sprinkle with the brown sugar.

    Bake for 40 minutes or until the butter has completely absorbed into your loaf and a wooden skewer inserted into the center of your loaf comes out clean.


    How To: Make Bacon (or Vegan) Tortillas


    Every time that Mr. Fits, Tater and I are all home, lucky enough to wake up with no place to go, I make breakfast. I love this ritual, and I hope that it continues well into my old, old age (I do plan on living past 100, cooking the entire way, aided by a Rascal Scooter if necessary). Most of these breakfast involve bacon. For the past few months I have been saving the rendered bacon fat by pouring it through a mesh strainer into a small container and storing it in the fridge, waiting for brilliance to strike. I found the homemade tortilla recipe of the fabulous Rick Bayless (who is on my "Culinary Crush" list) and the bacon finally had a grand purpose.  If you are kosher, vegetarian or watching your saturated fat intake, or just crazy enough not to like bacon, you can use vegetable shortening, Smart Balance Light (it’s actually vegan), butter or oil.  Although the flavor won’t be the same if you use another fat and you will have to watch the ratios since these fats all behave differently. But if you can, save bacon drippings and try the bacon flavored tortillas, so incredible.

    Bacon Fat Flour Tortillas

    (Adapted From Rick Bayless)

    Makes 12 tortillas

    INGREDIENTS

    2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus a little extra for rolling the tortillas

    5 tablespoons of fat (bacon fat, vegetable shortening, etc)

    3/4 teaspoon salt

    about 3/4 cup very warm tap water

    DIRECTIONS

    As I mentioned previously, save your bacon grease by pouring it through a fine mesh strainer into a container with a tight lid (just pour the next round on the top of the previous) and keeping it in the fridge. This stuff is liquid gold, don’t pour it down the drain.

    1.   Combine the flour and fat (I used 5 tbs bacon fat) in a large mixing bowl, working in the fat with your fingers, until completely incorporated.

    2. Dissolve the salt in the water, pour about 2/3 cup of it over the dry ingredients and immediately work it in with a fork.

    The dough will be in large clumps rather than a homogeneous mass.

    If all the dry ingredients haven’t been dampened, add the rest of the liquid (plus a little more, if necessary).

    3. Scoop the dough onto your floured work surface

    and knead until smooth.

    It should be medium-stiff consistency — definitely not firm, but not quite as soft as most bread dough either. Cover with a towel and allow to rest for 30 minutes to an hour.

    4.   Rest the dough.  Divide the dough into 12 portions and roll each into a ball.  Set them on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and let rest at least 30 minutes (to make the dough less springy, easier to roll).

    5.  You can either press your tortillas using a tortilla press lined with parchment paper to prevent sticking, which I used

    or you can roll them with a rolling pin using this method:

    On a lightly floured surface, roll out a portion of the dough into an even 7-inch circle:  Flatten a ball of dough, flour it, then roll forward and back across it; rotate a sixth of a turn and roll forward and back again; continue rotating and rolling until you reach a 7-inch circle, lightly flouring the tortilla and work surface from time to time.

    Make sure the tortillas are very thin, almost thinner than you think they should be.

    6. Heat an ungreased griddle or heavy skillet over medium to medium-high heat.  

Lay the tortilla on the hot griddle (you should hear a faint sizzle and see an almost immediate bubbling across the surface).

    After 30 to 45 seconds, when there are browned splotches underneath, flip it over. You will know it is time to flip when the edges look dry and lighter in color.  Bake 30 to 45 seconds more, until the other side is browned; don’t overbake the tortilla or it will become crisp.  Remove and wrap in a cloth napkin placed in a tortilla warmer.  Roll or press and then griddle-bake the remaining tortillas in the same manner and stacking them one on top of the other.