Easter Bread Bread Pudding

So this evening while cleaning the kitchen while cooking dinner, I lamented over the thought of throwing away an entire loaf of this weekend's Easter bread, now stale. As I opened the trash I thought "gee, what a waste".  Then it hit me.  A beautiful, but simple, fantastic, and exciting revelation: Bread pudding.

One of the amazing things about bread putting is that it takes something that otherwise wouldn't be used and makes it into something beautiful delicious.  Not only does my husband love Easter bread, but he loves bread pudding.  Major wife bonus points.  (Especially since dinner was only going to be pasta.)

Unfortunately, there aren't any pictures of the prep.  Such is the case of things that have been turning out quite well lately- I never know what to expect of them. And all the things I expect to share with you, documenting along the way, turn out acceptable, but not share-worthy.

So needless to say, here is the recipe, without any pictures of the process.

Easter Bread Bread Pudding

Makes one 8x8 pan bread pudding

Ingredients

1 Nine-inch loaf easter bread, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 eggs

2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

2 cups milk

2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Whisk together the eggs, butter, milk, sugar, and vanilla.  (If you do it in this order it will keep your butter from seizing.  However, it will still be delicious if you don't and your butter seizes.  Not like I did that or anything...)

Place one layer of cubes snugly into an 8x8 baking dish.  Pour egg mixture over top until just covered.  if you have more egg mixture and more bread, add another layer of bread and pour more egg mixture over top.  For me this ratio was just about perfect.  The egg mixture shouldn't be way over the top of the bread, so if your loaf is smaller, use less egg mixture.

Bake for about an hour, until the top is browned and the mixture has soaked in a good bit.  I used a clear baking dish that allowed me to see that the sides were browning as well as some of the custard soaked in and cooked.

I severed my bread pudding with a Jack Daniels sauce, but I think in the future I would make a Grand Marnier sauce to serve with it.

Easter Bread Bread Pudding
It may not look beautiful, but there is a beauty in keeping something from going to waste.

How do you like to 'upcycle' leftovers?

Carrot Cake Pancakes

So a couple weeks ago I bought some baby carrots wholeheartedly believing I'd enjoy them dipped in hummus as a healthy snack.  (I was so wrong).  So rather than admit that I was wrong to my husband who questioned my purchase of three pounds of baby carrots, I set out to use them up.

Carrot Cake Pancakes- a sweet idea for Easter breakfast!

These pancakes we had for dinner (I'm a huge advocate for breakfast at dinner...or breakfast for breakfast...you know, whenever I make the time to make breakfast...) were inspired by a menu item I saw at work. (I think we're in for a lot of food inspiration now that I work at a food service company...you know, in addition to living on a produce farm.  All I think about is food now.  It's fun!).  I pulled the recipe from here.  These pancakes are not very sweet so I'd definitely serve them with the cream cheese mixture and consider adding the raisins to the batter in the future as well.

I loved the carrot shredding tip from Cookie + Kate's version of this recipe.  I'll never again dread making carrot cake because this was so easy.  And yes, I'd much rather wash the food processor than shred carrots (along with my fingers) on a box grater.

Grate carrots using the shredder plate.

Then switch to the normal blade.

Ta-da! Finely grated carrots!

Wet ingredients, dry ingredients, and carrots.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, then mix.  Do not mix thoroughly.  Some flour showing is okay.
Then add the carrots.

Let rest for five minutes.

Thankful for my griddle which has saved many pancakes from burning.

Carrot Cake Pancakes

Makes about 15 small pancakes

Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of ginger

freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional, I used this)

raisins (optional, I did not use them, but would if I made it again to add some sweetness)

1 large egg

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups shredded carrots (about 1 pound of carrots)

Directions:

In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, walnuts (if using) and raisins (if using).

In a separate bowl, mix the egg, brown sugar, buttermilk, and vanilla extract together.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and combine.  Add the carrots and mix to combine.  Let sit for five minutes.

While batter is resting, preheat a griddle (or a cast iron pan).  Grease with butter or oil and spoon small pancakes onto the preheated surface.  These take a little longer to cook than traditional pancakes and there is less sugar in them than a normal pancake so they won't burn so quickly either.  I let mine sit for probably 3-4 minutes on each side, but it will vary if you're using a different surface or temperature.

Cream Cheese Filling
Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) butter, room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

Beat the cream cheese and butter together.  Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth.  Add vanilla and milk and beat.

Roasted Garlic Pierogi

Marrying into a Catholic family and being part Polish means one thing during lent:

Pierogi on Friday.

Whether you call them pierogi or pirohy, these delightful, potato-filled dumplings are a staple to lent in Youngstown, Ohio.

Running into a couple unexpected days off last week, I used an afternoon to make some pierogi.  While these are a favorite, I did forget how much work goes into these, especially if you're working alone.  This is a great project if you have some friends who want to spend some time together or if you have some little hands able to help.

I apologize in advance for the horrible lack of pictures.  Clearly I need to figure out how to take pictures while using two hands to demonstrate...I'll work on growing a third (or fourth) hand...

Roasted Garlic Pierogi

Dough:

2 cups flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling dough
1/2 teaspoon iodized salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter, softened and cut into small pieces

-Mix together the flour and salt.

-Beat the egg, then add to the flour mixture with the sour cream and butter.  Work the dough until it absorbs all of the flour mixure and loses the stickiness (add more flour if necessary).

-Wrap and plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight.  Dough can be kept in the refrigerator for 2 days.

Filling:

About 2 pounds red skinned russet potatoes (4 large)
2 heads garlic
1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 teaspoon iodized salt
1/2 cup shredded cheddar

Pictures aren't worth as many words as smells...

-Preheat oven to 400.  Cut the tops off the garlic.  Place on aluminum foil, drizzle with oil, and wrap into a packet.  Place into preheated oven and roast for about a half hour, or until browned and soft.

-While garlic is roasting, peel, dice, and boil potatoes (in salted water- see dear, I listen!).  Once potatoes are soft, drain and push through potato ricer.

-In mixing bowl, add roasted garlic to riced potatoes.  If garlic is still too hot to handle, you can hold it using a paper towel.  Turn on mixer and add sour cream, salt, and cheddar cheese.  Mix until smooth.  If your potatoes are not smooth and creamy, feel free to add more sour cream, some heavy cream, or some butter.

To make pierogi:

-Bring a pot of water to boil.

-Roll dough.  If using a pasta roller, follow instructions.  I typically roll mine with the attachment for my KitchenAid.  Following the instructions, I roll to a thickness of 4 or 5.  If you are using a rolling pin, roll to about 1/16 inch thick.  Cut into 4" circles.

-Place a small portion of filling onto the dough.  I use a portion scoop to help me make uniform pierogi.  For this size dough, I use a size 70 scoop.  (The size refers to how many portions per quart the scoop gives, so the smaller the number, the larger the portion and vice versa.)

-Envelop the filling with the dough.  You may need to squish the filling to help fill the portion evenly.  Pinch the dough.  If the dough doesn't stick together easily, before pinching the dough together, you can dip your fingers in some warm water and run it around the inside of the dough.  It will act like a 'glue' to help them stick together.  I typically use this method to ensure the pierogi will not stick.  This also helps if your dough dries a little between rolling/cutting and filling/sealing.

-Boil pierogi in smaller batches (I boil about 8 at a time in a 3 quart sauce pot) for about 3 minutes (until they float for a minute or so).  If you want to freeze extra pierogi freeze them in a freezer bag at this point.  When you want to prepare them, proceed from this point.

-After pierogi are boiled, saute in butter and serve.

My husband said: "They don't even need bacon!"  I consider that a major victory!

Roasted Rosemary Sage Chicken

Warning: this recipe is not for the calorie-conscious.

Today we're working on conquering my fears.  Fear of what? Whole chickens.  (Well, my husband would say salt and seasoning too, but that's a story for another day)

What also scares me about chicken is that most packages look like this:

Notice anything missing?  Like...chicken?

So we've been purchasing fryer chickens from Catullo Prime Meats who gets their chicken from Lamppost Farms.  Fresh, local, and...well...chicken.  The fryers are reasonably priced and a good size for just the two of us.

I'd never worked with a whole chicken before, so last week my husband walked me through breaking down and roasting a chicken.

Under his careful instructions, I made a flavorful, moist, and tender roasted chicken.  His reaction: "It's probably better than any chicken I ever made."

So I bought another chicken with the goal of doing it solo.  His advice: "It was perfect last time. So don't mess it up."

No pressure.

I had a little trouble breaking down the chicken, so he helped me again, then I proceeded to prepare the chicken on my own.

Yes, two sticks of butter.  Don't say I didn't warn you...
About how delicious it will be...

Chiffonade the sage

 

Stack the leaves               then roll               .

and make thin slices along the roll

Destem and chop the rosemary.  (I did not chop the rosemary but found myself picking some of it off as I ate because eating whole pieces of rosemary is just awkward.)


Sweat the diced shallot over low heat.  Add the roasted garlic, mash the roasted garlic and mix together.  Then add the white wine.  Cook for a minute more, remove from heat to cool.

Make the herbed butter mixture.  Add the herbs and pepper, mix until combined.  Once the shallot mixture is cooled, add to the butter mixture and combine.

Spread the butter mixture over the chicken.  Start by working some of the herbed butter between the meat and the skin.

 Then spread the remaining mixture over the tops of the pieces.

Place on a rack on a sheet pan and roast until the temperature reaches 165.

Roasted Rosemary-Sage Chicken

Ingredients:

1 chicken, in halves
Kosher salt
Pepper
1/2 clove roasted garlic
1 scallion, diced
1 oz white wine
2 sticks butter, softened
Fresh rosemary, destemmed (I used about 4 sprigs and would chop it next time)
Fresh sage, sliced into a chiffonade  (I used about 4 sprigs)

Instructions:

-Lay out the chicken, pat dry, and season with salt and pepper.

-Preheat oven to 400.

-Sweat the scallions with some kosher salt in a small saute pan over low heat.  Once the scallions are soft, add the roasted garlic and smash the roasted garlic until smooth.  Add the white wine to deglaze the pan.  Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

-In the meantime, in a small bowl combine the butter, rosemary, sage, and some pepper.  Mix until combined.  Once the scallion mixture is cooled, add to the butter mixture and mix until combined.

-Rub the butter mixture on the chicken.  Start with where you can get under the skin and massage some of the butter into the meat, leaving some of the seasonings and butter in between the meat and the skin.  Smear the remaining butter over the top of the skin.

-Place on a rack on a baking sheet (so you don't get all that butter pooling at the base of your chicken).  Bake for about an hour to an hour and a half, or until you reach a safe internal temperature (165 degrees).  Check the temperature at more than one place as the thigh and breast won't bake evenly.

-Once the chicken has reached 165 degrees, remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.  Allowing the chicken to rest prevents loss of the moisture as well as providing a couple extra degrees for carry-over cooking.

Roasted Chicken: worthy of the farmer's table.