OLIVE OIL & ROSEMARY ROLLS

OLIVE OIL & ROSEMARY ROLLS

If you begin these rolls early in the day, you'll just need tend to them every now and then and you'll have freshly baked rolls at dinner.

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
3 1/4 cups bread flour
1 3/4 teaspoons sea salt or kosher salt
extra flour for dusting
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
nonstick spray

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small bowl, combine olive oil and rosemary; let marinate for at least 30 minutes.

2. Pour yeast into 1 cup of warm water (about 105 to 110 degrees… no warmer). Stir to dissolve the yeast and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Mixture should foam and bubble (a sign that the yeast is still good).

3. Insert paddle attachment into your stand mixer. Pour water/yeast mixture into the mixing bowl. Add 1/2 cup of flour and the salt and mix on low speed until incorporated. Keep adding 1/2 cups of flour until all flour is used up and incorporated. Remove the paddle attachment and replace it with a dough hook. Knead on low and slowly pour in the olive oil/rosemary. Increase to speed 3 and let the machine knead for about 2 minutes.

4. Remove the dough and shape quickly into a ball. Dust lightly with flour and place in a zip bag, pressing out air and sealing. Place on a cutting board and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size (about 1 hour). Punch down inside the bag and let rise again for an additional hour.

5. Punch the dough to deflate and let rest 10 minutes. Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Divide dough into 12 equal-sized pieces. Shape each piece of dough into a ball and transfer to the prepared baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature for about 1 hour (until almost doubled). They’ll continue to rise as they bake, so don’t worry too much if they don’t look large enough.

6. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Remove plastic wrap and lightly brush each roll with melted butter. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until browned and hollow sounding when tapped. Remove to wire rack to cool.

http://www.recipegirl.com/2007/03/20/olive-oil-rosemary-rolls/

Thanksgiving 2014

I made a new dinner roll recipe which I liked better than my standard recipe:
http://divascancook.com/sweet-dinner-rolls-recipe-without-bread-machine-scratch/

Pumpkin Pie from the Cook's Illustrated Baking Book
http://www.thedeliciouslife.com/pumpkin-pie-recipe-cooks-illustrated/

My First Kimchi

Really Moist Lemon Cupcakes

I made these delicious cupcakes with lemons from our tree. I made the frosting super lemony and they were out of this world.

http://alchemybaking.blogspot.com/2013/03/really-moist-lemon-cupcakes-for-lemon.html

Grilled lamb, beet salad, potato pancakes

Guerrero Passover 

Doesn't this look wonderful? We had grilled lamb lollipops with yogurt sauce, pistacios and mint (replictaed from a dish I had in London at one of Jamie Olivers restaurants). Potatoe pancakes with rosemary and a touch of horseradish. The big find of the meal was haroset (the recipe calls it beet and apple salad but it is the same as traditional haroset) but this one was amazing with beets and celery root. Although the fresh mint was meant for the lamb, it tasted wonderful with the haroset. I would put it right in the salad next time. 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-symon/beet-and-apple-salad-recipe.html

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-symon/crispy-potato-horseradish-cakes-recipe.html   

The Shelf Battle

Day 1: Seepo enjoys her favorite spot on the shelf

Day 2: Koof joins in

Day 3: Felix the hornary gets mad

the doctor is not pleased that koof and zap are zonked out on the shelf

he is barking, trying to leap up there and bap them and of course they are fighting back

causing all kinds of rukus on Jimmy's desk

we might have to put another shelf up there to avoid world war 3

Day 4: Total Rukus

Slow Cooker Lasagna

Ingredients

	1 pound(s) uncooked 93% lean ground beef
	1 small uncooked onion(s), chopped
	1 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced
	28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
	15 oz canned tomato sauce
	1 tsp table salt
	1 tsp dried oregano
	1/2 tsp dried basil
	1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
	1 cup(s) part-skim ricotta cheese
	1 1/2 cup(s) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
	6 item(s) uncooked lasagna noodles, no-cook
	1/2 cup(s) shredded parmesan cheese, strong-flavored like Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano

Instructions

• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef, onion and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes; simmer 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
  
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together ricotta cheese and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
  
• Spoon 1/3 of beef mixture into a 5-quart slow cooker. Break 3 lasagna sheets in half and arrange over beef mixture; top with half of ricotta mixture. Repeat with another layer and finish with remaining 1/3 of beef mixture.
  
• Cover slow cooker and cook on low setting for 4 to 6 hours. Remove cover; turn off heat and season to taste, if desired.
  
• In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese; sprinkle over beef mixture. Cover and set aside until cheese melts and lasagna firms up, about 10 minutes. Yields 1/6th of dish per serving.

Notes

• To boost your vegetable intake, add sliced fresh mushrooms to the beef mixture (could affect PointsPlusvalues).

Weight Watchers recipe