Bread – Page 5 – Rosemary and the Goat

Raspberry Cheesecake Muffins

If you like cheesecake, you will love these Raspberry Cheesecake Muffins.

This was another one of those Betty Crocker days because by the time I was finished baking, I had flour all over me and my kitchen. I should have been packing for our trip tomorrow) but instead I’m de-stressing and baking. We leave on a 8 day cruise that starts in Amsterdam and ends in Barcelona and then we have 9 days to explore Barcelona, Seville and Madrid. I sure hope I come back with some new recipes ideas to blog about.

I use raspberry preserves with the seeds. I think the preserves with the seeds for some reason have more color than the seedless preserves which are usually kind of brownish.

So I found some great raspberries on sale this week. I get so excited to find raspberries on sale. Anything less than $3.00 a carton is a steal in my book. My only problem is I will buy them and they will sit in the refrigerator and start getting moldy before I think to use them. Not so with these berries. I bought a couple of packages and the first ones I used to make my Raspberry Nutella Gelato and then I remembered this Raspberry Cheesecake Muffin recipe that I have been holding on to for years and decided to give it a try.

The original recipe did not have the fresh raspberries in the batter and just called for the raspberry preserves. BUT, how could any recipe not be improved by adding fresh raspberries.

Today was one of those Texas HOT days where I just didn’t want to get out of the house. I really didn’t even want to walk to my garage to my extra refrigerator (I have two in my garage) to fetch some butter and eggs. But, I braved the heat just so I could make these muffins. I think my husband appreciated the effort since I always put the baked goods in the freezer and he can grab something on the way out to his golf game.

The cheesecake topping is fantastic on these muffins. The batter is somewhat thick since there is no milk in the recipe but there is plenty of butter and sour cream to make this a delicious treat.

August 31, 2010 By Sherry

Appetizers/ Bread/ ColdApp

Gluten-free Cheddar Crackers

Did I mention I love cheese?

About six months ago, I started trying to fine tune my diet by following the basic rules of Paleo eating. It seems like Paleo or Primal eating has been getting a lot of attention lately. This New York Times article, depicts a group of New York primal eaters as the modern day caveman, storing large amounts of protein in giant meat lockers, partaking in unconventional exercise such as leaping from boulder to boulder or mimicking sloth like movements on all fours and fasting between meals to recreate the eating patterns of early humans.

So I am not as extreme as this group and I don’t wear the goofy Vibram rubber shoes. My approach is much simpler. Eliminate processed foods from my diet, along with grains and dairy (as much as possible, I am a recovering cheese-a-holic). Eat plenty of veggies, fruit, lean meat, nuts, and seeds. Real food. Fresh, local, organic and grass fed when possible, and when the budget allows. I am human though, and stray every once in a while. If I eat like this 80% of the time I would be completely happy.

What does this have to do with crackers? Well, eliminating grains led me to search out recipes calling for other unusual flours. My new love is Almond flour, followed closely by coconut flour. Thankfully, I discovered a great cookbook The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbookby Elana Amsterdam. I do not have celiac disease or have a need to eat gluten free, but it kind of naturally occurs when eating Paleo anyways. I would highly recommend checking out this cookbook or blog for great recipes using almond flour.

These crackers are amazing. It almost fills the void left behind when I had to give up my favorite, snackable, child-like indulgence…Goldfish. I joke with my brother that I’ve been waiting for their baby to get to the age where they will always have Goldfish on hand. Thankfully, they don’t feed him Goldfish either so there is no temptation yet!

May 11, 2010 By Alexis

Bread/ Muffins

Thyme, Onion and Chive Muffins

I love making things from my herb garden and it is so beautiful this year.

There’s just nothing like going out to your own herb garden and cutting some fresh herbs to use in a dish you are preparing.

Our herb garden seems to grow bigger each year, and this year I have planted three kinds of mint, chocolate mint, grapefruit mint and peppermint. I have several kinds of oregano, rosemary, thymes, lavender, arugula (not an herb), bay leaf and some dill. They are absolutely beautiful growning in pots with some day lillies and other flowers stuck here and there around them.

Today was a beautiful sunny day and I was stuck in the house all day drinking nothing but broth and eating popsicles (yuck). So, with nothing better to do, I decided to make my husband some muffins for a special treat tonight. This is a savory muffin with lots of onion flavor and they are quick and easy to make with no rising needed. Since I couldn’t eat any food today and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to try these, I took one pan of muffins over to our neighbors and my husband is left with 6 which he will probably finish off tonight.

April 20, 2010 By Sherry

Bread/ Morning Foods/ Muffins

Mississippi Spice Muffins

M-I-SS-I-SS-I-PP-I, that is the way I learned to spell Mississippi!

Funny how some things stick in your head. I remember learning to spell Mississippi saying it kind of like a rhyme M-i-ss-i-ss-i-ppi and also h-i-p-po-pot-amus. Kind of like skipping rope to a tune, something that just sticks in your head and you don’t forget.

I grew up in a small town in Missouri that sat right on the Mississppi River. In fact, our first street is “Third Street”. I don’t really know what happened to First and Second Streets. Honestly, I don’t remember ever seeing them and this town is only about 6,000 in population. They may be there and I just overlooked them for 21 years. I was told the last time we visited family there that we do actually have a 1st and 2nd street. BUT, our first usable street that you can actually drive on is THIRD Street.

It was fun growing up in a small town and driving “the loop” was our entertainment on weekends. Having a levy that separated the town and the river was a fun place to go when it snowed to go sledding and also as teenagers and dating, seems like we drove down to the levy to look around. Back then, our pranks were (I should say this was my twin sister’s idea) was to make a dummy and have it’s arm hanging out of the trunk of our car while we drove “the loop”. We would also go out on the sand bars with our parents and brother. My dad actually make a speed boat that we would go out on and he would fish the Mississippi River and bring home lots of catfish that we enjoyed. Small towns are nice, you know everyone and everyone knows you.

April 17, 2010 By Sherry

Bread

Pita Bread

Wonderful little pockets of bread to hold all kinds of good fillings.

The pocket in pita bread is created by steam and when it flattens it leaves a pocket on the inside to hold all kinds of delicious fillings. Grilled veggies are great served in a pita. Or, you can use the pita to make individual pizzas or better yet, make hummus and use the pita for scooping out the dip.

My mother was a really good cook and she of course made homemade breads. She would make wonderful cornbread and the best homemade biscuits and yeast rolls. I remember when she use to make biscuits and my sister and I would beg her to bang the pan on the counter so they would fall (now who in the world would do that — but she did, for us) because her biscuits had a wonderful crunchy bottom and by deflating them, you had a crunchy bottom and top. Over the years I learned to appreciate high fluffy biscuits and feel guilty for taking the air out of my mother’s biscuits. Never had pita as a kid, but I’m sure my mother could have made them.

For years I have bought pita and made pita chips that I brush with cumin, butter and lemon pepper. No, I didn’t buy the pita chips that are already baked and bagged. BUT, I have never made my own pita bread until a recent www.thedaringkitchen.com challenge where we were asked to make pita, hummus and a mezza table full of wonderful Middle Eastern treats.

February 19, 2010 By Sherry

Bread

Pretzel Rolls

My first attempt at pretzel rolls (by Alexis)

This past summer when we were visiting my brother in Chicago we decided to stop at a neighborhood restaurant (Northside) for a quick lunch on the patio. Chicago’s July was much, much better than July in Texas, so we took every chance to sit outside and enjoy the nice weather. I had a BBQ sandwich served on a pretzel roll, which I had never heard of before. Pretzel roll…yum, BBQ..not so much, way to saucy. Funny thing, by the end of the weekend I noticed that pretzel rolls were a popular menu item at a lot of the restaurants we visited. I’ve been thinking about making them ever since.

Besides pizza dough, I’ve never attempted to make bread before. On Superbowl Sunday and I had high hopes to whip up tons of these babies to bring to a party. Like with most things I procrastinated and started too late, then tried to rush things. Not having a thermometer doesn’t help either, I think it is probably crucial to have the exact water temperature when activating yeast.

February 16, 2010 By Alexis

Bread/ Morning Foods

The Golden Egg Muffin

No this isn’t the golden egg that Jack found when he went up the beanstalk. But, these are the most delicious cinnamon muffins you will ever eat.

A month or so ago we were in Austin visiting our kids. My daughter-in-law and their baby Milo and I went to Sandra Bullock’s new restaurant called, Walton’s Fancy and Staple. It’s a gourmet delicatessen/bakery and cafe offering everything from one-stop floral services, catering, and delicious cuisine2go.

Along with a few other of their baked goods, we tried their Golden Egg Muffins. I have made a French Cinnamon Muffin recipe since the early 70’s that I had gotten from a friend when we lived in Iowa. They had nutmeg in them like this recipe and I always thought they couldn’t be beat until I tried the Golden Egg from Walton’s. So, to my surprise when I came home and googled Golden Egg Muffin recipe I came across this website Confections of a (closet) Master Baker (Gesine Bullock-Prado). It’s Sandra’s sister and she has a video of her Golden Egg Muffin recipe. I tried it and decided it tops my French Cinnamon Muffin Recipe any day. I may change the name to French Golden Egg eventually but for now it is the best, lightest, muffin recipe I’ve ever made.

I made this recipe twice over Thanksgiving weekend. They are the best fresh out of the oven, dipped in warm butter and then cinnamon sugar. I just happen to have a Wilton’s Egg muffin pan that I had bought years ago for Easter egg cakes. If you don’t have this pan, either line muffin pans with muffin papers (then you only dip tops) or spray non-stick pans with cooking spray and then you can dunk tops and bottoms in the butter/sugar mixture.

November 29, 2009 By Sherry

Appetizers/ Bread/ HotApp/ Morning Foods

Dijon Ham and Cream Cheese Biscuits

Dijon Ham and Cream Cheese Biscuits for holiday brunch.

I can still smell my mother’s homemade biscuits baking away in the oven. She made the best from scratch biscuits. My sister and I use to have her bang the pan on the counter so the biscuits would flatten out and you would have two crunchy sides with no middles. These days, people want big fluffy biscuits and I think, now, I prefer that type of biscuit, but what I wouldn’t give to have one of my mother’s.

A couple of years ago I was flipping through one of my food magazines and saw an advertisement for a Cream Cheese Ham Biscuit. They were $24/dozen and the first thing I thought of was “I could make those”. I love the challenge to try and make something I have tried in a restaurant or seen in a magazine.

I found these biscuits at a local store, bought some, baked them and then baked mine. Mine were really close and after tweaking the recipe I think I would rather save my $24 and make my version.

November 3, 2009 By Sherry

Appetizers/ Bread/ ColdApp/ HotApp

Garlic and Oregano Naan

Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey-ey, my first naan!

The first time I ever heard the word naan I thought of the song “Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey-ey, goodbye”. I had never tasted naan until Christmas last year. We were in Austin celebrating Christmas and awaiting the birth of our grandson. We did a lot of cooking while there for the week, but one night everyone wanted to go for Indian food.

Our kids have been trying to get us to try Indian food for years and we have always said, “we don’t like curry”. So, being Christmas and all, we gave in and went to the Clay Pit that night. We knew right away upon entering that we were going to like it. The aroma was unbelievable.

We had three kinds of naan that night. I don’t remember what they were or what we dipped in them but they were wonderful. I do remember having a coconut dish for my entree that was really good.

So this week I have decided to make Naan to go along with that, my fabulous White Bean Hummus which I like better than traditional hummus. I’ll be posting that recipe soon.

September 18, 2009 By Sherry

Bread/ Breads/Biscuits/ Morning Foods/ Pastries

Ruby Tea Biscuits

Ruby Tea Biscuits and our 40th (Ruby) Anniversary

What do Ruby tea biscuits have to do with our anniversary? Well, Ruby is the symbol of the 40th wedding anniversary and that is what we celebrated over the weekend (actual anniversary on 16th).

We met when we were around 15 and I don’t remember where. I do remember going to a baseball game and him throwing a ball over the fence to me. I remember sitting in the bleachers at a football game that he was quarterbacking, waiting for the game to be over so we could go “ride the loop” around town for a few hours.

August 11, 2009 By Sherry

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