Easy Bruschetta

Ripe tomatoes, fresh basil, crispy bread, yum! Bruschetta is one of my favorite hot weather meals. It is also super easy and doesn't mean being in a hot kitchen forever.

Start by cutting the tomatoes. 

Saute some garlic in olive oil until it is very lightly browned.

Add thinly sliced basil and the garlic and oil to the tomatoes.

Throw in some chopped onion, a few splashes of balsamic vinegar, some salt, and pepper

Mix it up and bask in the glory of how gorgeous it is. Let it sit in the fridge for about an hour if you have time, if not, it is ready to serve immediately too.

Heat some oil, butter, bacon grease, or whatever your fat of choice is, in a pan and saute the bread until it is crispy and golden brown.

Top the bread with the tomato mixture and enjoy before it goes soggy! We like to eat it with sausages to balance out the meal, but I would be happy to eat the bruschetta by itself.

Bruschetta

Ingredients

• 6 ripe tomatoes
• 1 small onion, red if you have it
• 5-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/4-1/2 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
• 2-4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• your favorite good, crusty bread, I used Wegmans rosemary olive oil bread
• Oil to brown the bread

Method

1. Chop the tomatoes, onion, and slice the basil
2. Lightly brown the garlic in the olive oil
3. Combine the tomatoes, onion, basil, garlic and oil in a large bowl
4. Add the balsamic, salt, and pepper. It is super important to just add a little at a time and taste it repeatedly. You don't want it too salty or vinegary. Allow the flavors to combine for about an hour in the fridge or serve right away.
5. Brown the bread in oil until golden brown and crispy.

Let Them Eat Pumpkin Pull Apart Bread!

It is September, that means fall is coming! So I am celebrating the impending death of all creeping things and the end of my seasonal allergies by baking ALL the pumpkin things! Tonight's dinner was pumpkin pull apart bread with a salted maple glaze. Yes, it is as decadent as it sounds. This one is pretty prep heavy because it is bread instead of using premade dough, but I PROMISE it is worth the time and effort. Seriously, look at all this gooey goodness.

Start by proofing your yeast. Warm water, milk, and sugar help the yeast start the epic journey to making your bread delicious. It is super important to let that yeast get all frothy and happy!

Then comes melted butter, salt, 1 egg (I used a substitute because allergies), pumpkin puree, spices, and half the flour.

Mix it up either with a spoon or the dough hook on a stand mixer. Slowly add the rest of the flour. The dough will come together and clean the sides of the bowl of the stand mixer and if you are using a spoon, you'll need to knead it to get the rest incorporated. Knead it for 5 minutes in the mixer or by hand. Put it in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise for an hour. Punch it down, break off pieces that are about the size of a tablespoon, roll them in melted butter and cinnamon sugar, and put those beauties in a greased bundt pan. Cover and let it rise for another hour.

Now preheat the oven to 350. Bake the bread for 25 minutes. Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes, flip it onto a plate, and drizzle the salted maple glaze your gorgeous ring of happiness!

Pumpkin Pull Apart Bread with Salted Maple Glaze

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup warm water (no more than 100 degrees)
• 1/4 cup warm milk (no more than 100 degrees)
• 1 1/2 active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 large egg, beaten (I used 1 tablespoon flaxmeal and 3 tablespoons water)
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 2/3 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3 1/3 cups flour

For the coating:

• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

For the gaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tsp sea salt (NOT table salt!)

Method

In a stand mixer with a dough hook or a large bowl combine the milk, water, yeast, and sugar. Let it proof for 5-10 minutes and it should look foamy on top. 

Stir in the salt, egg, butter, pumpkin, spices, and about half the flour. With the mixer on, or by hand, add the rest of the flour a little at a time. It should be a little sticky, but not really stick to your hands. Knead it for 5 minutes. Lightly grease a bowl and the dough. Cover and let it rise for 1 hour.

Mix the sugar and cinnamon for the coating in one bowl and melt the butter in another. Once the hour is up, punch the dough down. Take small pieces, about the size of a tablespoon each, dip them in the butter, then roll them in the sugar mixture. Then they go in the greased bundt pan to rise, covered, for another hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 and when the hour is up bake the bread for 25 minutes. Let it cool, in the pan, for about 10 minutes. While it is cooling, mix all the glaze ingredients. After the 10 minutes are up, put a plate on top of the pan and then flip the pan over. The bread should come out fairly easily. Drizzle the glaze over the bread and try to keep from burning your tongue because it is way too good to wait for it to cool!

Smoky Cheddar Drop Biscuits

I love a good biscuit, but sometimes they are a huge pain. With all the rolling and cutting, I just don't have the patience for that. The solution: drop biscuits. No rolling, no cutting, just drop them on the pan and go! This recipe was born from a lack of parmesan cheese. I wanted to make biscuits to go with the smoked sausage skillet, but my go to recipe calls for parmesan cheese. Imagine my dismay when there was none in my fridge. Suddenly, my eyes fell on the family pack of cheddar sitting in the bottom drawer. It was like a 2x4 smacked me upside the head and I thought, "SMOKY CHEDDAR BISCUITS!!!" All I had to do was make a couple adjustments and these beauties were born. Light, fluffy, easy, and full of smoky, cheesy flavor.

Pardon the mess, a few things still don't quite have homes. Here are the ingredients.

Preheat the oven to 400, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, and then start by mixing the cheese and dry ingredients

Then, grate (yes, grate, not cut) the butter. This makes sure that it gets evenly spread and the biscuits have that perfect flakiness

Use a pastry cutter or two forks to incorporate the butter fully. It should look about like this

Finally, add the milk and mix until it is a sticky mess

For some reason, I didn't get pictures of it on the baking sheet before or after baking. Sorry about that. Use two large spoons to dollop about 1/3 cup for each biscuit. Stick those lovely things in the oven for 15-20 minutes and then try to refrain from burning all your taste buds by eating them as soon as they come out of the oven.

Smoky Cheddar Drop Biscuits

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika, not regular or it won't have the smoky flavor
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon italian seasoning or oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons or 1/4 pound) salted butter
• 1 cup milk

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
2. Mix the flour, cheese, paprika, baking powder, sugar, garlic powder, salt, and italian seasoning in a large bowl
3. Use the small holes of a grater to grate the butter directly into the bowl
4. Combine the butter with the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter or two forks until it resembles large crumbs
5. Add the milk and stir combine, add more milk if it looks dry
6. Use two large spoons to scoop the dough onto the baking sheet
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned on the top

Homemade Bread: It's Not as Scary as You Think

Show of hands, who loves homemade bread? I'll just assume that every single one of you raised your hand because, really, is there anything better than a big slice of warm bread slathered in melty butter and jam? Maybe, but I find that claim to be dubious. Making your own bread can be scary. I know, I've been there, but this recipe is easy, awesome, and very much not scary. It is the gateway to all kinds of bread baking adventures. Once you go homemade, you may never want to go back.

This is the full ingredient list. This is it. Super easy.

First, mix the water, milk, and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Then add the yeast and stir a little to help it integrate.

Let it sit for about 10 minutes until it is frothy on top. See the difference? That is the yeast starting to do it's thing.

Don't let not having a stand mixer stop you from making this bread. It is 100% possible to do it without one! Mix the flour and the salt in a stand mixer or large bowl.

Mix on speed 2 and slowly add the water. If using a bowl and spoon, just mix it like you would anything else. 

The dough will look shaggy at first, that is normal. If you are doing this by hand, sprinkle some flour on the counter and knead that dough for 7 minutes. It is an arm workout and a great stress reliever. For stand mixers: knead the dough on speed 2 for 7 minutes.

It will clean the sides of the bowl and be smooth and just a little sticky at the end of the kneading.

Form a ball and put it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover it with a towel and let that beautiful dough rise for 1 hour.

After the hour is over, punch the dough down and divide it in half.

Put it in two lightly greased loaf pans, cover it with a towel, and let it rise for another hour. While it is rising, preheat your oven to 365 degrees fahrenheit, 180 celsius.

After the second rise, put the pans in the oven and let them cook undisturbed for 27-30 minutes, resist the urge to peek at them unless you have an oven window. They should look like these beauties. Get them out of the pans as soon as you can so that the bottoms don't overcook. Make sure you let them cool at least 15 minutes before slicing. It may feel like an eternity, but it is important to let the bread rest. Once that 15 minutes it up, slice off a chunk and chow down on the amazingness that is homemade bread.

Never Fail White Bread

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 tablespoons warm milk
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons yeast
• 6 cups all-purpose white flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

Recipe

1. Pour the water and milk into a bowl and stir in the sugar .
2. Sprinkle the yeast on top, stir very lightly, and leave to bloom for around 10 minutes, until foamy.
3. Add the flour and salt into your stand mixer with the dough hook attached or a large bowl.
4. Pour the yeast water into the mixer and knead until a dough begins to form. Continue mixing for an additional 7 minutes either by hand or in the stand mixer.
5. Use your hand to work the dough into a ball and return it to a lightly greased mixing bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and leave to rise in a warm place for around 1 hour or until doubled in size.
6. Punch the dough down and divide it into two. Form each bit into the shape of a loaf and place into two greased pans.
7. Cover with a kitchen towel and leave to rise again until doubled in size.
8. Bake at 365F/180C for 27-30 or until slightly golden on top.
9. Tip out onto a wire rack and leave to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

Recipe adapted from Pink Recipe Box