Roast Garlic Bread (with Rosemary)

I didn't have rosemary the first time I made this so it turned out as a delicious garlic bread. The second time I made it was with rosemary but DBD preferred it without. The first time the dough was way too wet - made worse by the oil from the roasted garlic. The second time I put much more flour before adding the garlic...and it was better, but still too wet! The dough was floppy and did not hold it's shape.

• 1.5 t yeast
• 1 c warm water
• 2 t sugar
• 2 t salt
• 3 T e.v. olive oil
• 2.5++ c bread flour
• [1 T dried rosemary]
• 1/4 t black pepper
• 1/2 t oregano
• 1 head of roasted garlic
• olive oil, coarse sea salt

1. Roast garlic well in advance. Roast multiple heads at once for immediate and later use:
1. Slice a full head of garlic horizontally.
2. Place both halves on foil, cut side up. Drizzle olive oil generously on cut halves.
3. Sprinkle each with a pinch of kosher salt (I used regular salt)
4. Close the halves back together and quickly seal the foil, twisting it to prevent leaks.
5. Place garlic on baking sheet and roast for 1 hour at 400F/200C or until the garlic is fully soft and aromatic.
6. Let cool. Open foil and squeeze the cloves out of peel to use. Refrigerate unused cloves for later use in an airtight container.
2. In a large bowl mix yeast, water, sugar and salt. Let sit for 5-10 min until it foams.
3. Add in olive oil. Add flour and knead for about 10 min.
4. Add rosemary, black pepper and oregano. Knead another 5 min. Add in enough flour to have a somewhat stiff dough (you may need to add 1.5 c flour!).
5. Gently knead in the roasted garlic. The dough could be a bit sticky but manageable.
6. Place dough in well greased bowl, oiling all surfaces of dough. Tightly cover in cling wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour (maybe up to 2).
7. Punch down dough.
8. Shape into rounded loaf.
9. Using sharp knife, cut criss cross slits on top.
10. Place on greased baking sheet. Cover with a large bowl. Let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
11. Gently brush with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt (I used regular salt and would have preferred a milder coarser salt), and optionally a bit more rosemary.
12. Bake at 375/190 for 25-30 min. Splash water on loaf during middle of baking (or bake with tray of water).
13. Increase temperature to 425 and spray again. Bake until top is a nice golden brown.
14. Let rest for at least 5 min before slicing.

Vietnamese Style Bun (Noodles) with Pork

There aren't many Asian options here so I need to start exploring home cooking some favorite dishes. Starting with Vietnamese bun. I meant to buy pre-made spring rolls but I forgot. I didn't have any pickled daikon so used Chinese pickled radishes instead. Both BDs liked the meat.
2/2/22 Used the frozen marinated pork leftovers to make this again. This time with carrots, cucumber, lettuce, sprouts, mint and basil over pad thai noodles. Broiled the pork at 240C for 3-4 min each side.
1/8/24 Only had 1.5 cloves for marinade and omitted garlic from dipping sauce. Shredded old carrots and they went brown quickly. BDs devoured.
3/24 Doubled recipe for meat and froze more than half for ease of preparation next time. But forgot to cook the frozen spring rolls!

• 
  Marinade
  
• 3 T shallots, minced
• 1.5 T garlic, minced
• 1/4 c sugar (or scant)
• 1 T fish sauce
• 1/2 T thick soy sauce (used regular)
• 1/2 T pepper
• 3 T neutral cooking oil
• Pork Shoulder (1.5-2 lbs), sliced in 1/8" pieces
• bun noodles (~200 g for 4 people, or double for hungry adults)
• Dipping Sauce
• 6 T water
• 2 T sugar
• ~1.5 T fresh lime juice
• ~2 T fish sauce
• 1 cl garlic, minced
• optional: chili flakes
• Garnish: carrots, cucumber, crushed peanuts, pickled daikon, chopped lettuce, mint, coriander, basil, spring roll, bean sprouts

1. Mix marinade ingredients until sugar dissolves. Add pork. Leave in fridge overnight for best results, otherwise at minimum 1 hour. (If making a double batch, transfer half to freezer for use another day.)
2. Preheat the oven to 375F/190C.
3. Make the dipping sauce.
1. Put water in small bowl. Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
2. Add lime juice to desired taste (aim for limeade).
3. Add fish sauce - taste - it should be strong since it will be muted by noodles.
4. Stir in optional garlic and chili if using.
4. Lay pork on foil lined tray and bake for 10 minutes until pork is about 80% cooked.
5. Set to broiler, at least 200C until browned, flip and brown other side. Watch closely to prevent burning!
6. Cook the noodles according to the instructions (ie boil for 8 minutes). Distribute to bowls.
7. Prepare the garnish.
8. Serve: Spoon desired amount of dipping sauce over noodles, stir. Top with garnish. Enjoy!

Ginger Molasses Cookies - soft and chewy

Despite the weird Dutch ingredients, these actually turned out soft and chewy even though they spread flat. In North America this might make a thicker cookie as it's meant to be. A bit too much clove for my taste, but otherwise good. This makes a very large amount of cookies, which is fine if you have people to share with. If not, might be good to cut the recipe in half. Mine all spread very quickly in the baking process but rose, and then deflated when taken out of the oven. I tried adding more flour to reduce spread but it was hard to mix in once it was chilled.

• 1.5 c butter, room temperature
• 1 c sugar (Dutch fine)
• 1 c brown sugar (Dutch basterd suiker - lichte and donkere mixed)
• 1/2 c unsulfured molasses
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 4.5 c (639 g) flour, or more
• 4 t baking soda (yes this is a lot)
• 1 T ginger
• 2 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t cloves (reduced from 1 t)
• 1 t salt
• dip: sugar (Dutch regular, bigger than fijn)

1. In a medium bowl sift the flour, soda, spices and salt.
2. In a large bowl cream the butter and sugars.
3. Mix in the eggs one at a time and then the molasses.
4. Gradually add in the flour mixture until it is combined. If it is too sticky, add more flour.
5. Cover tightly and rest in fridge for at least 2 hours.
6. Preheat oven to 350F/175C. 
7. Roll into small balls, about 1" diameter. Roll in sugar and place on parchment lined baking tray. Chill until oven is ready.
8. Bake for 8-10 min until the cookies start to crack on top (mine never cracked, so just baked before they were fully cooked). Cool on tray for 4-5 min, then transfer to rack. (Or if overbaked, transfer right away).
9. Can be kept on counter in sealed container for 4 days or frozen for 3 months.

Peach Cobbler

I had a pile of ripe peaches to use up so found this recipe to use. Increased the butter and cornstarch from the original and used a pie plate instead of 8x8 dish. Came out delicious!
8/13/21 Used 12 peaches and increased sugars to 1/3 c each, 3 T cornstarch, and did 1.5 the cobbler topping in a 9x13 dish. Delicious for a big party.
6/5/22 Continues to be a raging hit at parties. Made in a 9x13 dish again as above. Used mix of peaches and nectarines. Could use less sugar if fruit is ripe.
8/19/23 Bought 8 ripe peaches from the fruit shop to bring this to J's dinner with A+T.

• 
  8 ripe peaches
• 1/4 c sugar
  
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 2 T cornstarch
• 1/4 t cinnamon
• 1/8 t nutmeg
• 1 t lemon juice
• 1 c flour
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 7 T butter, chilled
• 1/4 c boiling water
• topping: 3 T sugar, 1 t cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 425F/220C.
2. Boil a small pot of water. Fill a bowl with ice water.
3. Dip peaches in boiling water for 1 minute. Immediately place in ice water. Do this in batches, as size of pan allows.
4. Peel peaches (the skin should slide right off because of previous steps). Slice into large bowl.
5. Add 1/4 c sugar, 1/4 c brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice. Mix well. Pour into pie plate or 8x8 dish. Bake for 10 min.
6. While baking, combine flour, sugars, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Cut chilled butter into mixture. Mix with pastry blender or fingers until coarse. Stir in boiling water just until combined.
7. Drop spoonfuls of the dough onto the hot peaches.
8. Sprinkle with topping ingredients.
9. Bake until golden, about 30 min.

Peach Pie Filling ***

March 2023 Made this pie filling for mini pies, but it was too sweet and not enough cinnamon. Would recommend using the above ratios instead. 1 peach per 5" mini pie pan.

• 1 large can peach halves (4 peaches), 1/4" slices (or 4 fresh ripe)
• scant 1/2 t vanilla
• 1 1/4 T lemon juice
• 2.5 T cornstarch
• 1/3 c sugar
• 1/3 c brown sugar
• 1/8 t cinnamon
• 1/2 c water

1. In a medium saucepan, combine everything but the peaches. Whisk until smooth.
2. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Let thicken for 2-3 min.
3. Add the peaches and cook for 3 minutes (canned) - 7 minutes (fresh) to soften slightly.
4. Let cool and then use as pie filling.

Chocolate Pear Galette des Rois

Someone in the neighborhood was selling homemade galette des rois, which I'd never heard of. They looked so beautiful I wanted to try it myself. Plus there was the fun aspect of finding out who would be king for a day. I misread the instructions and missed 1/3 of the nuts in the mixture and the filling oozed out of the crust and came out boiling in butter. However, despite the ugly appearance it tasted delicious and I would make it again with adjustments (following the right ratio as well as changing the baking temperature). It was very fun to see who would be king of the day - it came down to the 11th slice out of 11 to find out! XBD and DBD each made a crown for the winner, who proudly wore it on the 3rd and 4th days.

I used 2 different recipes - 1 for the puff pastry and 1 for the filling. They each had different baking temperatures - next time I would follow the higher temperature as advised by the pastry recipe. The higher temperature is supposed to help the butter steam and make it puff up. The lower temperature just melts the butter slowly and doesn't puff up.

Puff Pastry

• 2 c flour
• 1 t salt
• 1.25 c butter (2.5 sticks) - cold
• 1/2 c - 3/4 c cold water

Filling

• 2 pears, peeled
• tiny amount of coconut oil
• 60 g of dark chocolate (70%+)
• 150 g of almond flour or cashew meal
• 150g butter (or replace up to 100 g applesauce)
• 2 eggs + 1 egg for topping

1. Prepare the pastry: 
1. In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt.
2. Slice in the butter in 1/4" chunks, coating with flour.
3. Stir in the water minimally until a thick dough forms. Do not overmix - just until the flour comes together. The butter should still be in chunks.
4. Shape into a ball and flatten. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour in the fridge (or 30 min in the freezer).
2. Form layers in the pastry:
   
1. Place dough on floured surface. Roll into rectangle shape.
2. Fold in thirds. Turn 90 degrees, roll and fold in thirds again.
3. 
   Repeat 4 times.
4. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill overnight (or at minimum 2 hours)
3. Make the filling:
1. Slice each pear into 8-12 pieces.
2. Heat the coconut oil in a pan and saute the pear for several minutes.
3. Add a small amount of sugar to caramelise them, cooking additional minutes.
4. Set aside.
5. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and butter (and optional applesauce).
6. Add the almond/cashew meal and 2 eggs, mixing until combined.
4. Assemble the galette:
1. Divide the pastry into 2 pieces (slightly uneven is ok). Put one back in the fridge.
2. Roll one piece into a circle. Place on parchment paper on baking sheet.
3. Spread the filling in the middle, leaving 1.5 inches clear around the edge.
   
4. Place a whole almond near the filling edge.
5. Place pears on top.
6. Sprinkle with the chocolate chunks. Place in fridge.
7. Take out the other half of the pastry and roll into a circle.
8. take out the bottom and water the edge lightly to help the pastry stick. Place the second half on top and seal the edges, to close it up firmly. Press down on the edges with a fork to ensure it's fully closed.
9. Beat the last egg and brush on top. Use a sharp knife to score a decorative pattern in the pastry. Place in fridge.
5. Bake the galette:
1. Original recipe calls for baking 20-30 min at 350F. However, I would instead try:
2. Preheat oven to 400F. 
3. Take the prepared tray straight from the fridge and into the preheated oven. Bake for 10 min at 400 and then reduce heat to 375 until done.
4. Cool on wire rack. 
5. Serve immediately and save leftovers on the counter for a day, or in the fridge for a couple days. Whoever gets the almond is king for a day!

Gingerbread House

I've bought a kit the past few times we've put together gingerbread houses but with so much extra time at home I figured I'd try making them from scratch. This is a multi-day project. Day 1 make the dough. Day 2 bake the shapes. Day 3+ build and decorate. This was enough to make 4 small houses and 3 cookie people.

12/25/21 Day 1 made half batch of dough (did not have allspice so used nutmeg instead, forgot to add the lemon zest). Day 2 cut shapes for 2 houses and 2 people and 1 snowman, baked - overcooked first batch again - lowered temperature for next batch and was just right. Adjusting below as I recall the first time the first batch burned as well. Made mortar using 1 egg white, 1.5 c powdered sugar, and 1/8 t cream of tartar. Kids and I assembled and decorated. Ate cookies for dessert. 
Jan '23 Made 3 houses and cookies. Used something labeled as blackstrap molasses, but it did not come out as awful as the internet said it would for not being regular molasses. It came from the UK.

• 6.5-7 c flour
• 1 heaping T ginger
  
• 1 heaping T cinnamon
• 2 dashes of allspice
• 3/4 t baking soda
• 1/4 t baking powder
• 1/4 t salt
• 2 sticks butter, room temp (1 cup = 227 g)
• 1.25 c dark brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 c molasses
• 1 lemon's zest
• Icing: room temperature egg whites, confectioner's sugar, cream of tartar
• Decorations: candy, sprinkles, chocolate chips, shredded coconut, nuts, wafers

1. In a side bowl, combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, soda, powder and salt.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar (at least 5 min).
3. Add eggs, 1 at a time. Add molasses.
4. Add half the flour mixture and mix until combined. Add half the remaining and combine again. Add the remainder. Sprinkle zest in and stir, adding more flour to reduce stickiness until the right consistency.
5. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Day 2

1. Cut the dough into thirds (or halves or quarters, depending on the size of your house). Roll each piece to 1/4" thick (no more than 1/3" thick), between 2 pieces of parchment (or parchment and the plastic wrap). 
2. Use a template and cut out two of each: sides, front, roof. Place on parchment paper on cookie sheet. [I explored several templates and decided to try a medium-small size]
3. Bake at 350 for 17-20 min until done 325F/160C for 15-18 min until done.
4. Transfer the parchment paper to a cooling rack. If the shapes have spread or have uneven sides, slice them right away while still soft. Continue to cool on rack. 
5. Repeat with remaining pieces for each house. Roll out any remaining dough into cookies and bake for slightly less (house pieces bake for longer to ensure they are nice and sturdy). 
6. Store on flat surface, separated by parchment paper to continue to dry out overnight.

Day 3 (or 4, 5, 6)

1. Make the mortar icing.
2. If you don't have a tray that isn't needed for a week+, then wrap a piece of cardboard in aluminum foil as a base.
3. Brace yourself and then assemble the pieces using the icing on the tray/base.
4. Decorate with candy and sprinkles (or do this on a later day).   

Garlic Lemon Shrimp

I had a giant lemon and used the juice from all of it - and so this came out super lemony. I think it would have been nice with just a tablespoon of lemon juice instead of what probably amounted to 1/3 of a cup or so. 

• 
  454 g (1 lb) of deveined shrimp (or up to 1.5 pounds)
  
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 stick of butter (half a cup, divided)
• salt + pepper
• 1/4 c chicken broth
• some fresh lemon juice (1/2-1 small lemon)

1. Thaw the shrimp and peel, leaving tail on (optional, for extra flavor). 
2. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in pan. Add shrimp. Salt and pepper. Cook for 2-2.5 min until pink, flipping after 1 min. Remove to bowl.
3. Add 1 more tablespoon of butter and saute the garlic until aromatic. Add the lemon juice and broth. Bring to boil then simmer until reduced. Add remaining butter 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until incorporated.
4. Add shrimp back to pan and stir. Garnish with fresh or dried parsley.
5. Serve with pasta and vegetables.