Little Pineapple Cakes

If you've read this blog more than once, you probably know that I absolutely love kitchen gadgets. One gadget I've looked at, but never pulled the trigger on, is a pineapple slicer gadget. I like fresh pineapple, but I'm not fond of peeling and cleaning them.

And after peeling, cleaning, and cutting a pineapple into chunks, my hands always get irritated. Which isn't fun if I've got a serious pineapple craving.

But ... I hesitated to buy a pineapple gadget. I always wondered if I'd leave too much good pineapple behind. And I wondered if it would be easy to use. And I wondered if I'd use the gadget more than once.

So when my buddies at 37 Cooks hooked up with my other buddies at Good Cook AND there was a pineapple slicer involved ... well, I had to go stock up on pineapples.

Later, I came up with a recipe. But first, I just attacked a bunch of pineapples.

And I have to say that I really like this way of cleaning a pineapple. It's not as messy as whacking at it with a knife, since the inevitable juice stays inside the pineapple shell when using this crazy gadget.

Not that I used the juice. I just drank it.

The gadget pretty easy to use - just slice the top off of the pineapple, center the gadget over the core, and start twisting to cut the spiral slices of pineapple. It was pretty quick and sort of fun. Ta da!!!

So, armed with way too much pineapple, I looked at the other things I got - a nice bowl, a spatula, and some flexible plastic cutting mats that are handy for all sorts of things. I've got the green one in the photo above.

And ... a pan for making four little loaves. Did someone say loaves?

I considered making some sort of yeast bread, but thought that dessert sounded better. So, this happened:

Pineapple Loaf Cake

1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) butter
1 cup sugar
4 pineapple rings
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Add the vanilla and continue beating until it is incorporated. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until they are thoroughly incorporated.

Add the flour in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of the buttermilk. Mix until well combined.

Cut each pineapple ring in half and arrange the halves into the bottoms of the four loaf pan wells.

Pour the batter over the pineapple slices, trying to use an equal amount for each little loaf.

Bake at 350 degrees until the cake springs back when touched, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaves comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

Let the pan cool for about five minutes in the pan, then turn them out - you can let them rest with the pineapple side up or down, depending on how you plan on serving them. I like them with the pineapple on the bottom, like a little surprise.

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Almond Espresso Cookies on a Stick

Sometimes my baking is inspired by ingredients. And sometimes it's inspired by gadgets. When I got an adorable pan for making molded flower-shaped cookies with space for adding a stick - well, it got me brainstorming.

M first thought was that they'd be really cute cookies for adorable children with big bows on their heads. But I don't have any children in stock here, with or without bows.

Then I thought they'd be really cute for a spring garden party with a bunch of ladies wearing big floppy garden hats or for a spring baby shower with the flowers decorated in baby pastel colors. But I had no plans for either of those.

Then I stopped thinking about the cute aspect and started thinking about the practical part. A cookie on a stick would be pretty darned good for dunking into hot beverages. Like coffee. So, forget the big bows, floppy hats, or pastels. I went straight for adult flavors - almond and coffee.

As far as the pan, I was really happy that the cookies popped out of the pan. Because that would have been no fun at all.

Almond Espresso Cookies on a Stick

1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
1 teaspoon almond bakery emulsion
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Spray the cookie wells with baking spray if you want a little extra insurance that the cookies will release.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using an electric and mixer, cream the butter and sugar.

Add the espresso powder, almond bakery emulsion, vanilla extract, and salt and beat until well combined.

Add the flour and mix in. If you're using an electric mixer, it might struggle, so you might want to finish mixing by hand.

Press the cookie dough into the wells of the cookie pan. Add the sticks - I used short wooden skewers - and make sure the sticks are covered by the cookie dough.

Bake at 300 degrees until the cookies are set and lightly browned.

Let the cookies cool before you pop the out of the pan - when they're warm they'll be soft, but they'll harden when they cool.

Decorate, if you like. Or serve as is.

I got the cookie pan from Good Cook in a box of assorted goodies, but I wasn't required to write about it.

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Pork Fried Rice

What do you think of when someone mentions a one-pot meal? Is it soup? A stew? Chili?

Those are great one-pot meals when you've got time for them to simmer, but there are other one-pot meals that are perfect when you don't want to spend a lot if time in front of the stove.

Like fried rice.

It's also a great way to use up leftovers. This time, I used pork, but you could use chicken, beef, or a whole lot of vegetables - whatever you have on hand, and whatever sounds good to you.

If you make this, you really do want the rice to be cold and left over - if you cook rice and add it to this fresh, the rice will want to break up and turn to mush.

Pork Fried Rice
This is definitely a recipe where you want to have everything ready to go before you start cooking, because each addition comes pretty quickly after the one before. If you want to save yourself from washing one bowl, don't crack the eggs until the zucchini goes into the pan. You've got a little cooking time then, and you can use the bowl that you had the pork or zucchini in for those eggs.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup roast pork shoulder, cut in 1/4-inch cubes
1 teaspoon 5-spice powder
1 small zucchini, cut in 1/4 inch dice
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup frozen green peas
1 14-ounce can bean sprouts
2 cups cooked long-grain white rice, chilled
2 tablespoons teriyaki or soy sauce
4 scallions, thinly sliced

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or wok or similar pan. Add the pork shoulder and 5-spice powder and cook until the pork is lightly browned - you're working with a cooked leftover roast, so you just want to warm it and brown it just a little.

Add the zucchini and cook until it's cooked through but still firm. You'll see it change color from an opaque white to slightly translucent. This doesn't take long, but this is the longest bit of cooking in the whole process. There's enough time to stop stirring and crack those eggs and give 'em a little fork-beating. Hanging the stirring spoon on the side of the pan makes sense - that's where the pot clip came in handy.

Add the eggs and stir until the eggs are cooked.

Add the green peas and bean sprouts and stir to combine.

Add the white rice and teriyaki sauce. Cook, stirring, until the rice has taken on the color of the sauce and it it warm. You should have individual grains of rice and not clumps.

Taste for seasoning and add more teriyaki, if desired.

Add the scallions, stir, and serve.

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Chickpeas, can openers, and other assorted nonsense

This is one of my favorite snacks. I have a new way to make them. More on that in a bit.

But first ... let me ramble.

As a food blogger, I get a lot of offers from companies who want me to write about their products. I say yes to some, and politely say no thanks to others.

Some offers are so bizarrely off-base that it's obvious why I say no. Car wax? Investment schemes?

But when it comes to food-related products, the products I choose to write about might not make sense to outsiders. I mean, this blog doesn't have a mission about organic food, or vegan food, or paleo food, or ... whatever. It's about what I cook and what I eat and what I like and what amuses, intrigues, or entices me.

And frankly, that can be a little ... non-rational. I love vegetables and salads and yogurt. But I've also publicly admitted my affair with Cheetos, my love of tuna noodle casserole, and my nostalgic fondness for White Castle burgers and for Twinkies.

So the things I write about might not seem consistent if you're looking for someone to make a stand about a food issue. But it's all logical to me. If I won't eat it, I won't write about it.

Well, mostly. Coconut has invaded my kitchen a few times, and although I'm not personally fond of it, I'm not morally opposed to it. So I might cook with it, if someone else wants to do the eating.

Recently, I got an offer to write about a certain product and my knee-jerk reaction was "Oh, hell no!"

And then I sat back and wondered why my reaction was that strong. I mean, usually if it's a no, it's eh, not really interesting, too busy, doesn't look fun ...

The product wasn't horrible junk-food, not-food, icky stuff. If someone served it to me, I wouldn't have a problem eating a portion. But it wasn't something I would buy for myself or serve to my husband. Just no. There's no way I was going to talk about it.

And then my second thought was that I was glad I got this offer, because every once in a while I like to think about the sorts of products I should and shouldn't write about. And why. Or why not. Because, to be perfectly honest, sometimes when someone's offering a sponsored post and my wallet is empty, the money can be tempting.

But so far, I've managed to avoid the temptation and only write about things that I really want to write about. I hope I'll always have that restraint, even if the offers get significantly enticing.

Or maybe that company that made me that recent offer wouldn't care if I took the deal and then said, "This is edible, but oh, hell no." What do you think?

But back to the snacks. I wrote about roasted chickpea snacks before, and I baked them in my oven. They were good, but getting them to cook evenly wasn't a whole lot of fun. So even though I like them a lot, I don't bother making them all that often.

But the other day, I got a can opener from Good Cook and I was on the phone with Carla, who works there, and she was asking me what I thought of the can opener.  I stalled. "Uh, it's white, and it opens bottles, and it's got this can ring beak-thing, and it's got this widget for opening bottles ... and uh ... *rooting around for a can to open* and it's got this spinning handle ... and uh ... chickpeas!"

I don't use a lot of canned goods. I'm not opposed to them, but it's not like back in the day when mom had an electric can opener on her counter because she used it all the time. But I had a can of chickpeas. I was planning to use them in a salad, but I figured I'd give the can opener a spin and then roast them instead.

The can opener worked fine. It's a can opener. It's one of those clean-cutting types that goes around the rim rather than cutting the lid itself. It's not the sturdiest can opener on the planet, but not the cheapest, either. For the number of cans I open, it ought to last a good long time, unless some tragic accident befalls it.

Then I decided to use my Phillips Airfryer to cook the chickpeas. I reviewed this thing a while back, and it's been on my counter ever since. It's great for cooking potatoes, and I've been trying other things, like roasted cauliflower (yum!) so I figured I'd toss the chickpeas in there and see what happened.

I rinsed the chickpeas, dumped them into the Airfryer basket, and drizzled a tiny bit of olive oil on top. Teeny bit of oil. I gave them a little shimmy-shake in the pan, set the heat for the neighborhood of 320 degrees, and set the time for 20 minutes. I checked on them a few times during cooking.

At 20 minutes, they needed just a tad more time, so I put them back for another 5 minutes and they were done. Crisp-crunchy and evenly browned.

Well, now. This was a better result than oven baking. They probably could have cooked in a little less time if I hadn't checked on them so many times, but since this was the first time I cooked them this way, I figured I should watch them.

The funny thing about the Airfryer is that it's one of those things where I get a lot of flack from people about how "no one needs it" or that I can't possibly like it, or that the can do the "exact same thing" with some other device.

Yeah, I can make chickpeas in the oven. But these came out better. More evenly cooked. No need to heat up the oven. And when I baked chickpeas in the oven, it took about 45 minutes, so this took about half the time, which is a bonus.

Would I buy an Airfryer just for making chickpeas? Well, no, it's not like I have a super-chickpea habit. But just like a lot of other kitchen gadgets that show up here, this one has been used a lot more than testing would require, and I'm continuing to use it, even after the review is done. There's something about potatoes cooked in this thing ... they're just really really good.

As far as that can opener? It opens cans. It's hard to get excited about that. But it does its (boring) job, so it will be hanging around here for quite a while, too.

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Gadgets: Pot Clips - No, not that kind!

You must know by now that I have a cooking gadget fetish. Every time I go to the store, I cruise past the gadget section to see if there's anything new. Like a shark sniffing for new prey...

On a recent visit, I picked up a Utensil Pot Clip made by Good Cook ($4.99) because I'd been itching to try one out. Shortly after, Good Cook sent me another pot clip with a different design ($7.49) than the one I bought. Note: It wasn't sent specifically for review here.

The point of the clip is to attach it to the rim of a pot, then use it to hold a spoon or spatula out of the hot pot. It makes a lot of sense. I have some spoons and spatulas that I can leave in a hot pot, but I have many with melt or burn marks on the handles from letting them rest on the rim of a hot pot or pan.

Of course, the other choice is to put the spoon on the counter or on a spoon rest, but it makes more sense to just let the utensil hover over the pot where it's handy and not making a mess. It's also useful when I've got multiple pots cooking, so each spoon stays with its own pot.

So, since I had competing versions of the same concept, I thought a bit of comparison was in order. The first clip is made from metal with silicone grips. The spring-grip function is achieved by means of bent metal. The new clip is made from hard plastic and silcone, and has a metal spring mechanism.

On first glance, the larger opening on the first clip seemed like it would be more useful for a wider variety of handle sizes, but in reality, the bendiness of the second clip allowed it to grasp pretty much every spoon and spatula I normally use.

The wider opening on the first clip made it slightly easier to get a spoon in there, but the smaller hole on the second clip grabbed the utensil a little more securely.

The major difference between the two clips was that the first clip tends to angle outwards from the pot it is secured to, while the second remains slightly more upright. This slight difference means that in order to keep a spoon angled with the stirring end down (to keep drips from traveling towards the handle) you need the clip needs to grab farther up the handle with the first clip.

None of the differences between the clips are dealbreakers - I've been using both clips - but I do like the design of the second one better, and it feels sturdier, as well.

As far as the price difference, I'm sure that will disappear as soon as the new version hits all the retail markets. Even better, grocery stores tend to discount this brand often, with buy-one-get-one offers on a regular basis.

This was previously published on Serious Eats.

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Pancake Bowls with Scrambled Eggs

I am such a sucker for baking pans. If I see one in a shape I don't have, I want it.

There's probably a name for this sickness, but I'm not looking for a cure - it's just too much fun. I just love seeing the looks on people's faces when I've baked something ... weird different.

The Bake-a-Bowl from Good Cook is feeding my addiction, for sure. You use it to bake single-serving BOWLS. Like brownie bowls or bread bowls or potato bowls or cookie bowls.

Or in this case, pancake bowls.

Yup, pancakes.

Now, let me admit one thing here. I like waffles much more than I like pancakes. I like the crisp crust on waffles more than I like the softness of pancakes. BUT ... I figured that the Bake-a-Bowl would add some crispness to my pancakes as they baked. No divots and wells, but a nice crisp outside.

And I was right.

Since this was all about the shape, I used Krusteaz pancake mix to make the bowls. I'm sure other brands would work, but I happen to like this one - If you use something else, just follow package instructions. Or, of course you can use your own recipe.

Pancake Bowls with Scrambled Eggs

For the bowls:
2 cups Krusteaz pancake mix
1 1/2 cups water
For the egg filling (per egg):
1 teaspoon butter
2 tablespoons diced red and green bell peppers
1 tablespoon diced onion
1 large egg
1 tablespoon milk or cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
Several grinds black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spray the inside of the Bake-a-Bowl cups and the undersides of the top piece with baking spray. In a small bowl, combine the pancake mix and water. Divide the batter among the six Bake-a-Bowl cups.

Place the top on the Bake-a-Bowl, and make sure it's seated evenly - there will be a gap between the top and bottom pieces, so don't worry about that. Bake at 350 degrees until the bowls are cooked through and nicely browned, about 30 minutes.

Flip the pan upside-down and remove the bottom pan. Wait about five minutes, then remove the bowls from the pan. Serve warm with the egg filling.

While the bowls are resting for that five minutes, make the eggs:

Heat the butter in a nonstick pan and add the peppers and onions. Cook until the vegetables are softened.

In a suitably-sized bowl (depending on how many servings you're making), whisk the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Add this to the cooked vegetables, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggs are done to your liking.

Fill the warm pancake cups with the egg mixture. Serve immediately.

For something sweeter to go with your pancakes:

I filled some pancake cups with yogurt and strawberries, but there are soooo many more options. Maple syrup and lightly cooked apples would also be great - or fresh peaches, raspberry syrup, and whipped cream - or anything that you'd serve with pancakes or waffles.

Give them a try!

Tips for using the Bake-a-Bowl 

I've been playing around with this pan a lot since I've started using it - it's just so much fun - and I've got some handy tips for you. I hope you'll find them helpful.

• Make sure you spray the bowls and the undersides of the top piece with baking spray, or whatever you use on cake pans - the Bake-a-Bowl pan is nonstick, but you want extra insurance.
• To get perfectly even bowl tops, make sure your oven rack is level. It's not terrible if they're a little uneven - it makes it more obvious that you made the bowls and didn't buy them.
• Batters are not all the same - some rise more than others, so if the size of the bowls is critical, you might want to bake a few test batches to see how much batter you really need. There's a fill line inside the cups, and that's a good place to start.
• You don't have to bake full-size bowls, if you want smaller servings. Just use less batter in each bowl.
• If you're not sure how much your batter is going to rise, place the Bake-a-Bowl on a baking sheet or on a sheet of aluminum foil during baking to catch any drips.
• The bowls tend to brown more on the bottoms than on top, so if that top browning is important, you can remove the top piece after the bowl shape is set and continue baking.
• You can bake in the top part of the Bake-a-Bowl, either to make fillings for the bowls, or to use up extra batter or make dome-shaped baked goods for other uses.
• For baked goods that rise aggressively, like bread, you might want to weight the top of the Bake-a-Bowl during rising and baking. Anything oven-safe will work, like a cast iron frying pan, a grill press, or even a clean brick.
• The Bake-a-Bowl can be used for things other than batter or dough, like meat mixtures or vegetable "nests." You can also use it to form already-cooked products, like waffles or tortillas.
• Think outside the oven - you don't have to use this for baking - you could also use it for molding Rice Krispies treats, for example.
• If you're baking something like meatloaf in the pan, after the meat is baked well enough to hold its shape, you can turn the Bake-a-Bowl upside down on a baking sheet to finish baking while draining excess fat from the bowls. Be careful! It's hot!
• A bowl is not always a bowl - it can also be a dome. For example, you can bake cake bowls, fill the centers with ice cream, then serve the bowls upside-down so the ice cream center is hidden. Surprise!
• A bowl isn't always hollow. You can use the Bake-a-Bowl like a standard baking pan, without the top that creates the hollow. It's not quite as impressive as a bowl, but it's still a unique shape.
• Have fun and be creative! This is a unique pan, so some of your experiments might not work, but the ones that do work will be pretty impressive.

I received the Bake-a-bowl from Good Cook at no cost to me.

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Right before the oven died

So, the day started with cookies. That's a good start, right?

Then bread. That's pretty normal around here

Ugh. Of all the things to happen. I was in the middle of baking a loaf of bread ... The bread was at the point where I'd normally spin it around to make sure it's browning evenly ... and it was completely pale.

So I waited a while, and it was the same color. The oven didn't seem as warm as it should be. I used my infrared thermometer to check the oven temperature, and it was only about 230 degrees. Ugh.

Turns out I need new heating element in the oven. The part is on order and I should be back in business soon.

BUT - right before I baked the bread, the cookies worked out pretty well.

I'd just gotten a box full of different mixes from Krusteaz, and I was anxious to try the molten deep dish cookies. I mean, seriously. Cookies. Molten. Deep dish. How could any of that be wrong?

I also had a new dessert bar pan from Good Cook that seemed the perfect match. The basic instructions for the cookies said to bake them in a muffin pan, but I thought the square cookies would be interesting.

So I gave it a try.

First, the cookies fit into the pan perfectly. They were flatter and wider than they would have been in muffin pans. They rose more along the edges and fell in the center.

The good news was that the came out of the pan cleanly. See the pan in the background? That's how it looked after the cookies came out. Of course, I sprayed it with baking spray for extra insurance. But that's not always foolproof. So I was really happy when they slid right out of the pan.

I thought they could have been less brown along the edges - when I think of sugar cookies, I think of something that's slightly browned, but still a little pale. But, no matter what, I really liked them. They were crunchy on the edges and chewy in the middle, with a gooey chocolate center.

And that browning, as well as the odd rising and falling, might have been a hint from the oven that it was about to quit. It's possible it got hotter before it went cold. I really don't know for sure. Or maybe it's because they were an entirely different shape and size than the recipe called for. Or maybe it was a high altitude issue.

But, in the end, that didn't really matter. If you didn't know they weren't supposed to look like that, you'd never think twice. And that divot would be a great place for a tiny scoop of ice cream.

Don't they look good? 

You want a bite, don't you?

I'm going to make another batch the same way after I get the oven fixed - that chocolate cookie with the molten caramel interior sounds pretty darned good. And I'll watch the time a little more carefully.

What do you think? Would you try them?

Disclaimer: I received the box mixes and the baking pan from their respective companies. I was not required to write a post about either.

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Chocolate Not-Chip Cookie Bars

Cookies: Success!

So, I kind of fell in love with the silicone bark molds from Good Cook.

At Christmas, I used the Christmas-themed ones to make cashew brittle, peanut brittle, and peanut butter shale candy.

Then, I got the spring-themed mold and made polenta.

Yup, it's not just for sweets. I was thinking about making a frittata as well, but changed my mind.

I wanted cookies.

My first try was fair, but not great. Not the fault of the mold. The cookies were edible, but not blog-worthy.

Then I started thinking about chocolate chip cookies. I mean, you can bake those as bars, so why not use the mold?

Then I thought about taking the chips out of the cookies and using the chocolate a different way.

So, I started with the basic Toll House Cookie recipe that's on the back of every bag. But I left out the chocolate chips. And I didn't add nuts.

Here's the spring bark mold from Good Cook.

I suppose I could have added the nuts to the batter, but ... well, I just didn't. Which is crazy because I love nuts.

Birds of a feather, and all that stuff.

I baked the whole batch of cookie dough in the mold. All went well, except that there was a little bit of run-over as the cookie dough rose a little too far and spilled over the edges of the pan. I'm not sure if that would happen at sea level, but here at high altitude, sometimes baked goods have attitude.

But no big deal. While the dough was warm, I sliced off the extra. And, well, I ATE those pieces. Have you ever baked a chocolate chip cookie without the chips? They're a pretty good cookie. And those slightly-overcooked bits that I cut off were crisp and had a wonderful caramel flavor. Oh yeah. That's a snack!

If you're planning on doing this, you might consider not filling the mold as full as I did. Bake a few cookies. That way, you're sure it won't overflow the pan. It wouldn't hurt for them to be a little bit thinner than what I made. I mean, you can always just do what I did and cut off the overflow, but you could also just bake a few cookies and hide those for yourself, too.

So I let the baked, trimmed cookies cool completely in the pan, then turned the whole thing out onto a cooling rack for holding. I didn't care about the design baked into the cookies - the only reason I baked them in the mold was so I could put them back into the mold after I added the chocolate.

I melted 2 cups of chocolate chips and spread that evenly in the pan, then I put the baked, cooled cookie-bar thing back on top of the chocolate.

I let that sit around for a couple hours to make sure the chocolate had hardened, then I popped it out of the mold, cut the bars into pieces, and that was that.

Easy peasy.

Although the chocolate-to-cookie ratio is the same as you'd get in a regular chocolate chip cookie, since the chocolate is in a thick layer it seems like a much bigger punch of chocolate. Whether or not you think that's a good thing is totally up to you.

If you wanted to, you could use a bit less chocolate. But who's gonna do that, huh?

If you want to get a spring bark mold of your own, or any of the other Sweet Creations spring cooking tools, you can get 25% your order with the promo code SpringFling.

I received the bark mold and spatula as part of the Kitchen Experts program. This post was not required. I just wanted cookies.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Cheesy Fried Polenta

I love grits. And polenta. Either or both. Love 'em.

I usually make soft polenta, but once in a while I let it chill, then I fry it a bit to brown it. So, when I got silicone mold from Good Cook with spring designs for their Spring Fling promotion, I thought it would be perfect for polenta - the size was just right for a batch of nice, thick squares.

Did I mention that this recipe is really cheesy? You might think I got just a tad carried away, but I don't think so. I like cheese. If you're not that much of a cheese fan, you can cut back.

I served this several different ways - as a simple side dish, and as lunch along with a chunky tomato sauce loaded with vegetables. And, I served it alongside eggs for breakfast.

Some of the designs looked better than others after browning, but no big deal there. No one's really looking for designs on their polenta, so any sort of design is a bonus.

You could also brown the bottom rather than the design side if you wanted to. The designs are easily visible without the browning.

When you're shopping for polenta to cook (as opposed to the already-cooked stuff) look for it in the baking section near the oddball grains. It might be labeled as polenta or as corn grits. You're not looking for the finer cornmeal that you'd use for cornbread.

Cheesy Fried Polenta

6 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups polenta
8 ounces grated mild cheddar cheese

Heat the water to boiling along with the salt. Add the polenta slowly, stirring or whisking as you go so you don't end up with lumps.

Turn down the heat so you have an energetic simmer, stirring as needed to keep it from sticking and burning, unless the polenta is very thick.

Give it a taste and see if you like the consistency. I like it fairly soft - still a teeny bit of chew, but no hard or crunchy bits. If the polenta is very thick, but you'd like to cook it longer to soften it a bit more, then add a bit more water.

When it's juuuust right, start adding the cheese a little bit at a time, stirring it in after each addition. It should all melt int the polenta.

Pour the polenta into the silicone mold. Or, if you don't have a silicone mold, you can use a baking pan or glass baking dish. Smooth the top. An small offset spatula - the type you'd use for icing a cake - works well.

Cover and refrigerate the polenta until it's firm. I usually make it the day before I need it.

When you're ready to serve, unmold the polenta and cut it into serving-sized pieces.

Heat some butter or olive oil (or a mix) in a frying pan. Brown the polenta on one side or both - whatever you like - and until the polenta is warmed through.

Serve warm.

I received the silicone pan from Good Cook at no cost to me.

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Make Ahead Bread ... The Good Cook blogger event!

You might have noticed that I took a few days off from blogging in the last couple weeks. That's because the second half of my book was due to the publisher on February 1, and I was busy finishing a lot of little things.

Now that it's turned in, I can take a few deep breaths and get back to cooking, blogging, writing, and baking.

But meanwhile, my book, Make Ahead Bread is already up for sale on Amazon. SQUeeeeeee!

Okay, now that I've got that out of my system, it's time to get back to work, I guess.

Want something FREE?

But first, I have a little something for you. Or, more accurately, my good friends at Good Cook have a deal for you. If you pre-order my book on Amazon before Feb 28, Good Cook will send you a free loaf pan. Just like that. No winning or raffling or choosing. Just pre-order, fill out this form, and a loaf pan will get sent to you from Good Cook.

To get the pan, fill out the form HERE.

The theme of Make Ahead Bread is breaking the bread-baking process into several steps so that you can fit the prep work and baking into your schedule. For most of the recipes, on the day you want to bake, you just preheat the oven and bake.

There are also recipes for sauces, compound butters, and some fun recipes for using left over bread. Many of the recipes are very simple, so even new bakers should get a good result.

The following recipe was published previously on this blog, and you might say it's a precursor to the methods used in the book. It's not quite the same, but it's still a recipe that's designed to be easy, even for non-bakers.

The Simplest White Bread Ever

2 1/2 cups (11 1/4 oz) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 cup lukewarm water
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 package) yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil

Add the sugar and yeast to the water in your measuring cup and stir to combine. If you're using anything except an instant yeast, let it sit for 5-10 minutes, or until the mixture is lively and bubbly. If it's instant yeast, you can continue without proofing, or let it proof to ease your mind that the yeast is alive - your choice.

Put the flour and salt into a medium bowl, and stir to distribute salt.

Add the water/yeast mixture to the the bowl with the flour, and stir to combine all the ingredients.

Sprinkle some flour on your countertop and dump the dough mixture onto the counter. Knead for a minute or two, adding flour as necessary to keep it from sticking. You don't need to knead until the dough is stretchy and elastic - just knead until it's a nice cohesive mixture and not a lumpy, sticky, blobby mess. Form it into a ball.

Drizzle the olive oil into a zip-top bag and plop the dough into the bag. Make sure the dough is completely coated with olive oil, zip the top, and stash it in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, take the bag out of the fridge and massage it a bit, still in the bag, to mash out all the bubbles in the dough. You may need to open the bag to let the air out, but reseal it after.

Leave the bag on the countertop until the dough has come to room temperature, about an hour. It will rise and expand a bit during that time.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle some cornmeal on the bottom of a loaf pan.

Sprinkle some flour on your countertop, and dump the dough onto the counter. You don't need to squeeze every bit of olive oil out of the bag, but don't try to hold it back, either.

Knead and fold it a bit to incorporate the olive oil into the dough, then form the dough into a log that will fit into your loaf pan.

Put the loaf into the pan, cover the pan with plastic wrap, and let it rise until it has at least doubled in size. I used an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 pan and let it rise until it was slightly higher than the pan.

Remove the plastic wrap and slash the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, until the bread is golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

Let it rest in the pan for about 5 minutes, then place it on a rack to cool completely before slicing.

And now for a blogger event!

You probably have noticed that I've gone quite a number of posts featuring Good Cook products. Now, they're featuring ME in a blogger event. A bunch of the Good Cook Kitchen Experts will be making some of my recipes, blogging about it, and telling their readers about the loaf pan offer. Check out the linky below for their awesome bread creations!

Thanks to Good Cook for all the awesome support, and for putting together the first blogger event featuring my book.

And here's a link to an article on the Good Cook site featuring my book. Awesome, right?

And thanks to everyone who pre-ordered the book! If you ordered before the free loaf pans were offered, you can fill out the form and get your loaf pan. Isn't that awesome?

DISCOUNT!

You can get 25% off your order at Good Cook with the promo code BAKEBREAD. I suggest you go buy some loaf pans. Just because.

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It's LIVE! Make Ahead Bread!

Well, how about that. My book, Make Ahead Bread is available for pre-order on Amazon!

To help me celebrate, my friends at Good Cook have a sweet (yeasty) offer for you.

If you pre-order the book by February 28 and fill out this Google Doc, Good Cook will send you a loaf pan.

Trust me, you're going to knead one. Er, I mean need ...

This is not a contest sort of giveaway - no winning required. Just order the book and fill out the form, and the pan is yours. It will take 8-10 weeks for delivery, so it will be ready and waiting when your book arrives.

Thanks so much to Carla at Good Cook for making this awesome offer!

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Mini Pancakes with Creme Fraiche

There's this football game coming, right? And people like to nosh on things, so when my buddy Carla at Good Cook posted a challenge to make some sort of appetizer, well, duh. I'd better be posting some kind of recipe, right?

After some not-so-serious thinking and an accidentally large bowl of mashed potatoes (I like peeling potatoes, so I often end up with more than I need) I decided to turn those spuds into some thing more nibble-worthy.

My first thought was some kind of deep-fried potato balls, but that sounded messy. So I went a flatter route, making little potato pancakes. These can be made ahead of time and warmed right before serving.

Traditionally, I serve potato pancakes with either sour cream or with applesauce, but these could be topped with all sorts of things - salsa, guacamole, more cheese, slices of sausage ... whatever makes you happy.

I used home made creme fraiche. You can find my recipe here.

They can be served as individual bite-size pieces, or stack 'em up and stick 'em with a toothpick. Use two, with a filling between. Whatever makes you happy.

I used leftover mashed potatoes (obviously) but you can make and mash potatoes just for this dish, if you like.

I suggest mixing, then making one little pancake, then taste-testing and then adjusting the flavors. You might need salt, but maybe not, if you're using leftover mashed potatoes.

Mini Pancakes with Creme Fraiche

1 cup mashed potatoes, chilled or at room temperature
2 eggs
1 tablespoon dried chives
3 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
Oil or butter, for cooking
Creme Fraiche, for garnish

Combine the potatoes, eggs, chives and cheese in a medium bowl. Heat butter or oil (your choice) in a frying pan or griddle. If you've got a super-nonstick pan, you might not need any butter or oil for cooking , but I like a little bit for the flavor it adds.

Use a small scoop or a spoon to form small balls of dough and place them in the pan with plenty of space between them. Use a fork to flatten the balls.

Cook until the first time is browned, then use a spatula to flip and cook on the second side. Transfer to a dish and keep warm while you continue to make more little pancakes.

Serve with creme fraiche as a garnish.

This post is sponsored by Good Cook as part of the Kitchen Experts program. 

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Peanut Butter Shale Candy - revised

A while back, I posted a recipe for peanut butter shale candy. I was perfectly happy with it, but that doesn't mean I was done fiddling with the recipe.

This is a larger batch than the previous recipe. Might as well ... it's pretty darned good stuff. And I made a few other changes as well.

This candy is very similar to the previous one, with one change. That shale was a little harder, while this one is a little more .. fragile. It reminds me a lot of the filling inside a Butterfingers candy bar - sort of shattery. It breaks apart easily, and you can see layers in it when it breaks.

It's also just a little crumbly.

I made large pieces using a silicone mold that I bought right before Christmas, but smaller pieces would be great coated in chocolate.

I used a raw cane sugar, but white sugar would be fine, too. Normally I use unsalted butter for cooking, hut this time I opted for salted, to add just that tiny bit of salt to the candy.

Peanut Butter Shale

2 cups raw cane sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1 stick (8 tablespoons, 1/4 pound) salted butter
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter

Have a cookie sheet standing ready, lined with a silicone baking mat.. Or use a silicone mold. Or butter a baking sheet.

Combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a large saucepan (nonstick makes cleanup easier, but it's not necessary). Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the butter.

Attach a candy thermometer to the pot to measure the temperature of the hot sugar.

Continue cooking on medium heat until the temperature reaches 305 degrees. Don't be impatient and heat it too quickly, or the sugar can burn before it reaches the proper temperature.

Add the baking soda and the peanut butter, and stir to combine the peanut butter with the candy. The baking soda will cause it to foam up - that's normal.

Pour the candy onto the prepared baking sheet or into the mold. Spread it out as desired, using a heatproof spatula.

Let it cool completely, then break apart.

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