Bread machine cinnamon rolls

Mmmm...how can one deny the appeal of cinnamon rolls??  Back in junior high, when I was taking cooking classes, I believe we made some from scratch in the advanced course.  This was without a bread machine, of course, thus it took quite some effort.  I now have a bread machine and love it--what a wonderful appliance!  I should use it more often, honestly, yet somehow I forget to do so.  It dawned on me that I had yet to attempt cinnamon rolls with it, thus my mission...even if I should have gotten up much earlier to start them.  Oh well, cinnamon rolls for lunch work, too, right??  :)  Anyway, the original recipe I used can be found here:
http://www.food.com/recipe/super-fantastic-cinnamon-rolls-bread-machine-recipe-203785
I followed the part for the dough and filling exactly; I made my own icing, though (I don't care for cream cheese--which I know leaves me in the minority).  The result was super tasty awesomeness!

Ingredients for dough:

1 c. warm milk (I used 2% milk at around 100°F)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 c. margarine or butter, melted (I used unsalted butter)
4 1/2 c. bread flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. white sugar
2 1/2 tsp. bread machine yeast

Ingredients for filling:

1 c. brown sugar (packed)
2 1/2 T. ground cinnamon
1/3 c. margarine or butter, softened (I used butter)

Ingredients for icing:

3 c. powdered sugar
3 T. melted butter (or margarine)
splash of vanilla extract
milk (add a little at a time until preferred thickness--I estimate I used around 3 T.)

Instructions:

1. Put all ingredients in the bread machine hopper in the order listed (or the order recommended by manufacturer, if different).  Select DOUGH cycle and press start.  Remove hopper at end of cycle.

2. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl:

3. Roll dough out on floured surface to make 16" x 24" rectangle.  Spread butter (or margarine) over rolled out dough:

4. Sprinkle evenly with cinnamon sugar mixture all over buttered dough:

5. Roll up dough (starting from longer side):

6. Cut dough into 12 pieces and place rolls in lightly greased 13" x 9" pan:

7. Preheat oven to 400°F.  Cover cinnamon rolls and let rise (in warm area if possible) for 30 minutes.  **original recipe indicated to let rise to almost double in size, which is supposedly 30 minutes--mine were not a lot bigger, but I think it's ok, probably a matter of temperature difference.**

8.  Bake rolls for 14-16 minutes:

9. While rolls are baking (or immediately after done), make the icing by blending all the icing ingredients in a bowl:

10. Spread icing over the warm rolls:

11. Enjoy!

Thai Beef Red Curry Stir Fry

Once again, found myself craving some Thai food and wanted a fairly easy, quick recipe.  Williams-Sonoma, as I've mentioned in other posts, has a wonderful collection of recipes--found one there that I adapted into this tasty treat.  Original recipe is found here: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/thai-style-beef-and-broccoli-curry.html

Here's my version :)

And here's a link to my YouTube video of preparation of this recipe: https://youtu.be/9h2w6YBUKqU

Ingredients:

1 T. canola oil
1 lb. flank steak, cut in bite size strips across grain
Kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper, to taste
1 large shallot, minced
1 1/2 T. grated fresh ginger
1 heaping Tablespoon of Thai red curry paste (you can adjust the heat with this; this amount yields a medium spicy level)
1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk, well shaken
1 T. firmly packed light brown sugar
1 T. Asian fish sauce
approx. 1/2 tsp. dried basil
splash of fresh lime juice

Directions:

1. Heat canola oil over med-high heat in a wok (or large frying pan).  Add flank steak to pan and cook until nearly all pink has disappeared.  Remove from pan, set aside.

2. Add shallot and ginger to the pan; sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.

3. Add curry paste, coconut milk, brown sugar, and fish sauce.  Stir and bring to simmer; let simmer for 2 minutes.  Return flank steak to the pan.

4. Add the dried basil and lime juice, cook for 1-2 minutes to blend flavors.

5. Serve with desired side; I chose boiled Basmati rice.

Fried Ravioli

When I used to live in the St. Louis area, I would get an order of this with carryout pizza or as an appetizer at Italian restaurants.  I never thought to make it myself for some reason.  Came across it the other day as I was having another look at one of my "cookbooklets" (basically, a thick magazine with a nice cover, not hardbound).  This recipe comes from "Cuisine At Home: Perfect Pasta"; I have very slightly adapted it.

Ingredients:
1 c. fresh bread crumbs
1/4 c. grated Parmesan
1 T. paprika
3 eggs
3 T. milk

25 frozen meat-filled ravioli
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
4 c. vegetable oil

shredded Parmesan
chopped fresh parsley or dried parsley (I used the latter)
marinara sauce (I used Classico Tomato & Basil)

Instructions:

1. Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan, and paprika in a plastic bag:

 
2. Beat eggs and milk together in a bowl:

3. Dredge ravioli first in flour, then dip in the mixture and coat in the crumbs.  **I made it like an assembly line and used a fork to dip in the flour and eggs, did about 3 at a time.**

 

4. Arrange on a rack and refrigerate 15 minutes; heat vegetable oil to 360°F in high sided pot (I used a fry daddy).

5. Fry ravioli in batches for 2-3 minutes (I did 2 1/2 minutes, which was just after they started floating in the fryer).

6. Drain on a paper towel on a rack:

7. Garnish ravioli with the shredded Parmesan and parsley.  Serve with marinara sauce and enjoy!

Cherry Limeade Pound Cake

I'm back!  I recently took a vacation to Europe with my wonderful mother (which was AWESOME), thus my time preparing for it and then going meant no blog posts for a couple of weeks.  And yes, I do miss cooking when I go away, or when my schedule gets too busy for me to do it...very happy to be getting back to it :)

Mmmm cake.  I love cake.  I had a tough time deciding what cake exactly I wanted to make this time; very glad I took the time to end up discovering this tasty one!  I used the recipe from this blog page (you have to scroll down a bit to get to the recipe):
http://www.theslowroasteditalian.com/2014/04/cherry-limeade-pound-cake-recipe.html

I followed the recipe exactly and it tastes exactly as one would expect--a cake version of a good cherry limeade.  It's also quite easy to make!

Ingredients for cake:
3 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 T. fresh grated lime zest
5 large eggs, room temperature
3 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. Cherry 7-Up (or regular 7-Up with splash of Maraschino cherry juice)
2 (10 oz. size) jars Maraschino cherries, drained--set aside 10 for use in glaze

for Glaze:
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
10 Maraschino cherries, chopped
2 T. Cherry 7-Up
1 T. fresh grated lime zest

Instructions for cake:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.

2. Butter and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan.

3. In large bowl, use electric mixer to cream butter and sugar:

4. Mix in the lime zest, then begin mixing in the eggs one at a time:

5. Add salt to flour, then mix in 1 cup at at a time, alternating with 1/4 c. of Cherry 7-up after each addition:

6. Add Maraschino cherries, fold in to mixture with wooden spoon until evenly mixed.

7. Pour batter into prepared pan:

8. Tap pan on counter several times to remove any air bubbles.  Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes or until knife inserted near middle of cake (halfway between center flute and pan outer edge) comes out clean.  **I used a fork to test, and baked for closer to 1 hour 25 min.

9. Cool cake on wire rack for 20-30 minutes (this pic was just after removing from oven, actually):

10. Invert cake onto a plate to finish cooling completely.  **I had to use a knife to help 'coax' the cake out gently.

Glaze instructions:

1. Add all ingredients to a medium mixing bowl.

2. Beat ingredients until glaze forms (add slightly more powdered sugar (1 T. at a time) if consistency is too runny):

3. Pour over cake:

Grab a glass of milk and enjoy!!

Bucatini with Mushroom Medley

I've made this recipe too many times to count--it's just so very delicious...well, if you love mushrooms, anyway :)  When I made it this time, I made 1 1/2 times the recipe, thus my photos reflect the larger version.  If you cannot find bucatini pasta, linguine would be a good substitute.
Original recipe is on this website (I listed original quantities below):
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/bucatini-with-mushrooms
My instructions are just slightly different from the original recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. dried porcini mushrooms (1/2 ounce)
2/3 c. boiling water
1/4 c. reserved strained soaking water

8 oz. uncooked bucatini pasta
1/4 c. reserved cooking water (from when the pasta is drained)
3 1/4 tsp. salt, divided
1 T. canola oil
1/4 c. minced shallots
8 oz. exotic mushroom blend, coarsely chopped (if cannot be found, baby bellas and/or shiitakes are great substitute)
1 tsp. bottled minced garlic
2 T. dry sherry
2 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated, divided
1/4 c. heavy cream
1 tsp. finely chopped fresh sage (I use around the same amount, only dried)
1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
1 tsp. black truffle oil** (yes, this is a pricey ingredient, but well worth it!  You can omit, but it will not be quite the same dish)

Directions:

1. Combine the dried porcini and the 2/3 c. boiling water in a bowl.  Cover and let soak at least 20 minutes:

At the end of the 20 minutes, strain mushrooms and reserve the liquid that strains out.

2. Cook pasta with 1 T. salt in boiling water, with time according to package directions for 'al dente'.  Drain in a colander over a bowl so that you can catch some of the cooking water to use in a later step.

3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add shallots, mushroom blend, and garlic.  Sauté 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

4. Add strained porcini mushrooms, sherry, and 1/4 tsp. salt.  Cook 1 minute or until liquid has nearly evaporated:

5. Reduce the heat to medium.  Stir in the cooked pasta, 1/4 c. reserved pasta cooking water, 1/4 c. reserved porcini soaking water, half of the Parmigiano-Reggiano, heavy cream, sage, pepper, and the truffle oil:

6. Serve in pasta bowl, top with additional cheese from the remaining half of it and enjoy!

Lamb Chops with Red Wine Sauce

This is the recipe I was talking about in the last entry, where I posted the side dish I made to accompany this.  I don't know where I got this recipe from; I've made it a few times now and loved it every single time:

Ingredients:
4 lamb loin chops, about 1 1/2 inches thick
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 T. olive oil, divided
2 small shallots, peeled, minced
1 T. tomato paste
3/4 c. port wine or favorite red wine (I used a Valpolicella this time, but I have used Cabernet Sauvignon in the past)
1/2 c. fat-free, less sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme, minced
1 1/2 tsp. fresh rosemary, minced
1 T. balsamic vinegar
1 T. unsalted butter

Instructions:
1. Pat the lamb chops dry and season with salt and pepper. In a skillet large enough to hold all 4 chops, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chops and cook until nicely browned on each side, about 3-4 minutes for each side for medium-rare:

2. Remove the chops from the skillet and place on platter. Tent with foil to keep them warm:

3. In the same skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive over medium heat and add the shallots. Cook about 2 minutes.

4. Stir in the tomato paste and cook until beginning to brown, about 1 minute.

5. Stir in the wine, broth and thyme. Simmer, scraping up any browned bits, until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes:

6. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook about 2 minutes:

7. Remove from the heat, strain if desired (I do not), and whisk in the butter and any accumulated lamb chop juices on the platter. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the chops drizzled with desired amount of pan sauce:

Seasoned Yukon Gold Potato Wedges

A few days ago, I decided that I'd to make a dish I've done before but it has been at least a year since I last made it.  This dish will be posted in the next entry.  For now, I'm going to post the side dish first, which I came across just looking for an easy recipe for oven roasted potatoes that would use yukon gold ones (as that is what I had and wanted to use up).  This recipe is very similar in the spice combination that is used in another of my favorites, Parmesan diced potatoes (to be posted eventually!).  This was a hit--will be making more in the future, as it's so simple!

Original recipe is from this website:
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/seasoned-yukon-gold-wedges
I used 1 1/2 times the amount of potatoes and doubled everything else, thus this could be halved for lesser servings.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 lb. yukon gold potatoes, cut into wedges
2 T. olive oil
1/2 c. panko (or dry bread crumbs)
1 T. paprika
1/2 T. salt
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. In a large bowl, toss potatoes with oil:

3. Combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl:

4. Sprinkle the combined ingredients over the potatoes, then toss to coat:

5. Spray a large baking sheet (15x10x1 or larger) with cooking spray.  Arrange potatoes in a single layer on the pan (or as close as you can get, as I did below):

6. Bake for 40-45 minutes (or until tender).  Enjoy: