Have a Cashewmilk Cocktail!

My first experience with nut milks was Silk's almond milk, so when I found out they were looking for bloggers to sample their Cashewmilk, I was pretty darned excited. I love cashews even more than I love almonds. I couldn't wait to try it. The first one I tried was the original Cashewmilk, but there's also an unsweetened version.

And let's be perfectly honest. I figured it would be amazing for cocktails. So I made one.

If you pay attention while you're drinking, it definitely tastes like cashew, but not as strong as something like cashew butter. Obviously. In coffee, it adds a little flavor without hitting you in your face.

And I'm thinking it would be pretty good in butternut squash soup. I haven't had time to try that yet, but it's on the agenda.

Silk Cashewmilk is just now rolling out to stores, so you might need to look around a little bit to find it near you, but Silk has plenty of ways you can hunt them down for more information, like the Silk newsletter, the Silk Facebook page, and for more specifically about Silk Cashewmilk, there's a Pinterest board.

According to the Silk people, Silk Cashewmilk is lower in calories than your typical skim milk, and has more calcium than regular dairy milk. Not being a lab, I can't verify that for you, but that's what they say. All I know is that it seems creamier than regular milk, it has a pleasantly nutty flavor, and it makes a really great mug of hot cocoa.

Curious about that cocktail?

Cashew, Coffee, and Rum (oh my!)

1 ounce rum
1/2 ounce maple syrup
1/4 ounce cold-brewed coffee concentrate
4 ounces Silk Cashewmilk

Combine all the ingredients in a glass. Stir and serve.

Or, if you prefer, you can serve this over ice.

And remember, always garnish appropriately.

This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

Greek Salad from Ikaria: Lessons on Food, Life and Longevity from the Greek Island Where People Forget to Die

I love Greek food, so I was pretty happy to get my paws on Ikaria. The book's tagline is "Lessons of Food, Life and Longevity from the Greek Island Where People Forget to Die." But we don't need to mention that every time, do we?

On first glance, I thought it might be a difficult book to cook from. Every recipe on my short list seemed to include an ingredient I didn't think I'd find. For example, a salad that looked interesting included pickled sea fennel. But on second glance, it suggested that pickled watercress or capers could be used instead.

Well, that's easy. I have a bit of a caper fetish, so I always have those on hand. And maybe a backup jar in the pantry.

As I took my second and third browse through the book, I saw that pretty much every unusual ingredient had a suggested substitution, which made the book much more accessible.

The seafood section would still be a challenge for me, since many of the types of fish used aren't available here, and certainly not fresh or whole. But that's a small thing. And really, the same techniques and flavors could be used with other types of fish. It wouldn't be the same, but it would be close. Or, as close as someone in a land-locked mid-country state could manage.

After a third look, I decided the recipes were very accessible, and went right back to the salad. After stuffing my way through Thanksgiving, I really wanted something less ... Thankgiving-y.

I've loved Greek salads from the moment I met the very first one. I was in high school and it was my first taste of feta cheese. Which was also my first taste of that sort of fresh, crumbly cheese. I didn't love it at first, but after a few tries, I realized it was essential for the salad. And a little while later, I did fall in love with it. Even more, I loved sopping up the leftover oil and vinegar in the bottom of the bowl with a chunk of crusty bread.

So when I saw the Greek Salad recipe in Ikaria, I figured it would be fun to try. What I found most interesting was that there was no vinegar. No lemon. No acid at all, except the tomatoes. I wasn't sure how it would work, but I was committed to trying it because I bought the feta.

The recipe calls for "meaty, fleshy tomatoes in season, cut into wedges" but in late November, my choices were pretty slim. I picked up some plum tomatoes and cut them in half. I had to do some estimating to figure out how many little tomatoes equaled one large tomato, but it's salad, not cake. A little more or less shouldn't be a big deal.

I was really surprised how much I liked the salad. I'm used to making really tart dressings, but this was really great. It didn't need the lemon and vinegar that I had poised to add to the salad.

Greek Salad with an Ikarian Touch
Adapted from Ikaria by Diane Kochilas

3 large beefsteak or other in season tomatoes, cut into bite-side pieces
1 large cucumber, peeled and sliced
1 large red onion, halved and sliced
8 kalamata olives, rinsed
2 tablespoons dried oregano
4 ounces feta, cut or crumbled
1/3 cup capers, rinsed
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Put it all in a bowl toss, and serve.

How much easier could that be?

I received this book from the publisher at no cost to me.

Cheese Ball Bread with Virtual Potluck

You want this bread.

I'm so excited that my friends from Virtual Potluck agreed to help promote my book. And that so many generous sponsors offered up such terrific prizes.

While the bloggers were busy working on recipes from the book, I went into the kitchen and whipped up a new recipe just for this promotion. This is made in the Make-Ahead style, with all the work done the day before, and the bread baked later.

I waffled on what to name this, since it's made sort of like a monkey bread or a pull-apart loaf, but I intended it to be a sliced bread. The balls of dough are coated with cheese before they're placed in the pan, so each slice has random ribbons of cheese running through them.

So, they're balls ... coated with cheese. Not like balls of cheese.

The cheese will show up better if you use a yellow cheese, but use whatever you like. Or grate up all those leftover nubs of cheese you have on hand. Add more or less, to taste. The only thing I'd suggest is that you try not to get too much cheese on the bottom of the pan, since it tends to brown the most there, and could verge on burning. If a little bit falls to the bottom, it's not a big deal, but you don't want to coat the bottom of the pan with cheese.

Cheese Ball Bread

The bread is looking moody here. Can you see the lines of white cheese? 

1 1/4 cups water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (Red Star yeast is preferred, otherwise let it proof for a few minutes before mixing)
2 tablespoons sugar
3 cups (13 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1/4 cup instant mashed potato flakes
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup grated cheese (or more, as desired)

Combine all ingredients (except the cheese) in the bowl of your stand mixer (or mix in a bowl, then knead by hand) and knead until it's smooth and elastic.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside until the dough has doubled in size, about an hour. This is the important rise. If it rises faster, then continue sooner. If it needs more time, then let it wait longer.

When the dough has doubled, flour your work surface and turn out the dough. Flatten it gently. We're not kneading, and there's not need to pull out a rolling pin. Just use your hands to flatten the dough for easier cutting.

Need to grate cheese? 12 winners are getting this Microplane cube grater. I reviewed it here. 

If you're using a hard cheese, you could also use the zester, also from Microplane, that all 12 winners will receive.

Have a 9x5 bread pan standing by, sprayed with baking spray for foolproof bread removal.

Pretty pan, right? We're giving away a whole set in the winner's choice of red or blue!

Use a sharp knife, like this one that I received from WÜSTHOF ...

... Or pizza cutter, like this one I received from Microplane, to slice the bread into at least 24 pieces. More is better. They don't need to be even - random is just fine.

Place your grated cheese in a shallow bowl, or if you prefer, sprinkle it on your work surface. Dip the bread lumps (you could make actual round balls, but it's not necessary) into the cheese so that it sticks to one surface, and start placing the dough into the bread pan, cheese side up.

Alternatively, you could just put a layer of dough balls into the pan and sprinkle the cheese on top. Whichever you prefer. Continue placing cheese-coated dough lumps into the pan - or sprinkle cheese on top as you add uncoated dough. The distribution of the cheese doesn't need to be perfectly even. This is all about the randomness, so if you have some spots with extra cheese, that's perfectly fine. Unleash your inner child, and be messy.

Attempt to place the dough into the pan in a loaf-shaped formation, but again it doesn't need to be perfect. It's going to be lumpy.

The finished bread is lumpy, but in an interesting way!

Sprinkle any extra cheese on top of the loaf, then cover it with plastic wrap (or you can put the whole pan in a large plastic bag) and let it rest in the refrigerator. It will rise overnight. Magically. See, you don't have to wait around for a second rise. Just let it take a chill-nap, and it will be ready for baking when you want it.

When you're ready to bake - at least 8 hours later is good, 24 hours later is great, and you're probably safe up to 48 hours later - heat the oven to 350 degrees (let it have about 30 minutes to warm up) and take the pan out of the refrigerator.

When the oven is heated, remove the plastic from the pan and place the pan in the oven. Bake until the top is nicely browned and the loaf is fully cooked. You can use a thermometer to check internal temperature (195-200 degrees), or thump the loaf, or use whatever method you're comfortable with. It should take about 50 minutes.

Remove the loaf from the oven and let it cool completely on a rack before slicing.

See that knife? We're giving one away!

Want more breads like this? My book, Make Ahead Bread, is available for sale on Amazon. If you'd like an autographed copy, you can order one from Barbed Wire Books.

Thanks to the great bloggers who are helping me send my book into the world in a big way. You'll find more bread recipes here:

Theresa from Foodhunters Guide to Cuisine

Rachel from Rachel Cooks

Marnely from Cooking with Books
Jay from Bite and Booze
Shelby from Diabetic Foodie

Heather from Farmgirl Gourmet
Milisa from Miss in the Kitchen
Vanessa from Groovy Foody
Matt from Thyme in Our Kitchen

Tara from Foodie

Susan from 30a Eats
You are here now on Cookistry
AND! One more recipe from my book HERE, straight from the pages of my book!

For the giveaway, we'd like to thank our sponsors who generously offered some fantastic prizes:

• Taunton Press, the publisher of my book, is supplying a total of 12 copies of Make Ahead Bread, one to each winner.
• Magimix is giving one winner a Magimix 3200XL 12-Cup Food Processor in Brushed Chrome. I have this same model, and it's a BEAST. And the brushed chrome is really pretty. I reviewed it here. The winner is going to be very very happy!
• WÜSTHOF is giving one winner a CLASSIC 9-inch Double Serrated Bread Knife. I absolutely LOVE this knife. It really makes a difference, particularly when slicing challenging breads.
• SilverStone is giving one winner a 5-piece set of bakeware (11x17 cookie pan, 10x15 cookie pan, 9x13 covered baking pan, 9x5 loaf pan and 9-inch cake pan) in the winner's choice of red or blue. I received two of these pans to work with, and I love them! And the colors are so pretty!
• King Arthur Flour is giving one winner a rye bread baking kit. I'm a big fan of King Arthur Flour, and I love their rye flours. And you get a pan!
• Duralex is giving one winner a 9-piece set of mixing bowls. I don't have these bowls in particular, but I have other Duralex products that I love. This is a really nice set of nesting bowls, and since they're clear glass, you can see how your rising bread is doing without having to peek in from above.
• Harold Import Company is giving three winners a made-in-the-USA hardwood baker’s rolling pin (It's the baker's pin, with no handles.) I adore this pin, and I'll probably buy it for myself soon - it's so perfect for baking, and it's made in the USA, which is always a plus.
• Microplane is giving each of the 12 winners an Elite Zester, Cube Grater, and Spiral Cutter. These are totally fun products, and I really love the new design of the zester.
• GIR is giving each of the 12 winners a silicone scraper. I got a chance to test this before they were released to the public, and it's a really nice scraper with a lot of curves, contours, and edges for scraping bowls of just about any shape.
• King Arthur Flour is giving each of the 12 winners a coupon for a bag of flour of your choice (good at your local supermarket) and a plastic bench scraper. If you're going to bake bread, you're going to need flour. And you need a bench scraper, too. I've accumulated a few of them, and they're handy to have on hand.
• Walker's Shortbread is supplying cookies to three winners. Because you need something to munch on. Besides, cookie crumbs can be used for baking. Use them with cinnamon and sugar inside your swirl loaf to add texture and make the cinnamon layer more substantial.

There are more details (and larger photos!) of the giveaway items here.

An Extra Thanks to Our Sponsors
In addition to supplying items for the giveaway, a special thanks to Taunton Press, SilverStone, Microplane and WÜSTHOF for supplying products for all the bloggers to work with.

Each blogger was given a choice of one of several knives to use (because we wanted to make sure they got one they didn't already have) including the totally awesome bread knife that we're giving away.

Besides a choice of knives, each blogger received a SilverStone loaf pan and covered 9x13 baking pan, as as well as an Elite grater, cube grater, and pizza cutter from Microplane. Each blogger also received a copy of my book, Make Ahead Bread.

Yup, when you come to my party, you go home with party favors!

Do you want to know more about the sponsors? You can find them on their websites and social media, here:

Taunton on Twitter and Facebook.
Magimix on Twitter and Facebook.
WÜSTHOF on Twitter and Facebook.
SilverStone would like you to follow Pots and Pans on Twitter and Facebook.
Duralex on Twitter and Facebook.
GIR on Twitter and Facebook.
Harold Import Company on Twitter and Facebook.
Microplane on Twitter and Facebook.
King Arthur Flour on Twitter and Facebook.
Walker's Shortbread on Facebook.

This event is sponsored by multiple companies, all listed above. I want to sincerely thank them for their amazing generosity.

Note: It might take a while for the Rafflecopter to load, so give it a chance! It's worth it!

a Rafflecopter giveaway