Marble Chocolate Pumpkin Bread

Recipe: Marble Chocolate Pumpkin Bread // Serious Eats
Rating:

This was a treat. I especially like it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. We weren't finishing the loaf in a timely fashion, so I froze half of it.

Egg Salad on Italian Baguette

Recipe: Egg Salad with Pickled Celery // Smitten Kitchen
Bread Recipe: Italian Baguette // Local Breads Cookbook from Bread Alone

Rating:

I had a good time baking the bread. It was the first recipe that I've tried from this cookbook, and I'd say it was a success. I didn't use the bread machine! I did use my stand mixer to knead it, though. Even with an extra 10 minutes kneading, I never accomplished the proper "windowpane" elasticity. I moved ahead with the recipe though, because I was afraid of over-kneading it.

After meticulously following all directions, I accidentally baked it for an extra ten minutes. When the smoke alarm wouldn't stop going off, I should have taken the hint. The bottom was burned, so you can see I cut it off.

Deb's egg salad is tasty. I doubled the recipe, because who makes egg salad with only 4 eggs? I need leftovers. Mine had too much mayonnaise because I got tired of measuring. But it's still tasty. I added dry dill and skipped the salt at the end. The mustard, shallots and celery were excellent. A very hard-earned and pleasing lunch!

Chicken with White Wine, Tarragon, and Cream

Recipe: Chicken with White Wine, Tarragon, and Cream // Slow Cooker Revolution (pg 80)

Rating:

This was hearty & flavorful, but I prefer this chicken tarragon recipe. I changed all the proportions because I have a small slow cooker, and did not plan on cooking 6 split chicken breasts. The prep work was easy, the sauce was tasty. The chicken fell right off the bone, but it was a tad drier than expected. In the future, I would nook my chickens deeper in the sauce when cooking (I rested mine on top).

We had it with fresh Italian Semolina bread from The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook. I'm experimenting with bigas.

Update: we had the leftovers the next day, and I enjoyed this even less the second time around. I doubt I'll be making it again anytime soon. I bumped the rating down to two kitties. Seth seems to like it, though.

Burgers & Fries

Recipe: Burgers with Shallots & Blue Cheese on Hamburger Buns // Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (burgers), Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook (buns)
Side Recipe: Baked Potato French Fries // Vegan Richa
Rating:  

I used the bread machine to make dough for hamburger buns this morning--all I had to do is shape the dough and bake them. The burgers were simply put together with an egg & salt and pepper. I splurged on crispy shallots & blue cheese treat. This was an excellent meal (although not the healthiest). The fries took the longest--around 30 or 40 minutes.

Bagels

Recipe: Egg Bagels // The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook (page 88)

Rating:

Made the dough in my beloved bread machine. Seth and I shaped them, then boiled and they puffed up HUGE. They immediately shriveled again when we put them on the baking pan. I was discouraged, but they puffed up again a little when baked. You can see they look a little wrinkly in the photo. I'm not sure how to fix this.

Ours never sunk in the boiling water, so perhaps we let them rise too long. In any case, they tasted just fine. The crust was crispy and the inside soft just the way a bagel should be. One or two smaller bagels did not seem to be completely cooked through.

Serious Eats recommends adding malt syrup during the boiling process, so maybe we need to try that next time.

Also, I would like to try a with a cinnamon sugar topping!