Category Archives: What’s For Dinner

More Muffins

  By skurtz | 01/31/2012 - 11:48 am | Breads, What's For Dinner
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So I made another batch and they don’t really look that different. They are a little more uniform in shape and a little flatter and just as yummy. I poked around the Internet and found the results of other people’s experiments were similar to mine. My conclusion: I will start making this on a regular basis and stop spending $2-$4 on a pack of store-bought ones.

Roly Poly

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  By skurtz | 01/30/2012 - 1:20 pm | What's For Dinner
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My sweet sister gifted me some new books to feed my hobbies. One of them was one of Peter Reinhart’s bread books. I spent the last few weeks reading all the words. I finally felt I was ready to tackle a formula. I picked English Muffins and this is what they came put looking like. They taste great. Logan and I tested them as-is and toasted with both butter and peanut butter. No complaints. This is really the fun part about baking bread – even though it’s a lengthy process with a good chance of screwing up the results (especially for a novice), there’s also a good chance the screw ups will taste pretty good too.

This first batch burned a little. And I am not sure they are supposed to look so much like rolls. So, I am trying again. Second batch is proofing now.

Gooey Butter Pear Cake

  By skurtz | 12/20/2011 - 2:15 pm | Cakes, Frostings, Fillings, Cooking, Recipes, What's For Dinner
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Gooey Butter Pear Cake

I am making this for my mom for her Christmas visit.

Ingredients

  1. 2 medium fresh pears, peeled, cored and diced
  2. 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  3. 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  4. 1/2 cup milk, room temperature
  5. 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
  6. 3 tablespoon sugar
  7. 1 teaspoon salt
  8. 1 egg
  9. 2 cups all-purpose flour
  10. 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
    12. For the Topping
  12. 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  13. 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
  14. 1 cup granulated sugar
  15. 1/2 teaspoon salt
  16. 2 eggs
  17. 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  18. 1/4 cup corn syrup
  19. 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
    21. To Finish:
  21. powdered sugar
  22. toasted sliced almonds

Instructions

  1. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
    2. To Make the Cake:
  2. In a small bowl, toss the pears with the cinnamon and nutmeg, then set aside.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the milk, yeast, sugar, salt, egg and flour. Mix on medium speed until a smooth dough forms. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and mix until fully incorporated. Repeat with the remaining butter. This should take about 6 to 8 minutes.
  4. Scrape the dough into the prepared baking dish and, using greased hands, spread over the bottom of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled. I preheat my oven to about 120, then turn it off and let the dough rise in there for at least 45 minutes, but longer if it has not doubled yet.
  5. Heat the oven to 350˚F. Sprinkle pears over the top of the dough.
    6. To Make the Topping:
  6. In the bowl of the electric mixer, cream together the butter, cream cheese, sugar and salt. One at a time, add the eggs, beating until well mixed. Stir in the vanilla and corn syrup, then mix in the flour. Dollop this mixture over the pear-covered dough.
  7. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the center is slightly set but still jiggly. Allow to cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and toasted almonds to serve. Refrigerate any leftovers.

One Last Hurrah

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  By skurtz | 12/07/2011 - 11:05 pm | What's For Dinner
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20111207-230507.jpgOperation Thanksgiving Leftovers was a huge success. The only thing I had to throw away were some mashed potatoes and turnips (which are secretly rutabagas) that didn’t even come out all that great in the first place. The reason I’m pleased is because the guest list for dinner dropped from 9 to 4 and I’m not that good at adjusting quantities on recipes. So anyway, on to the real fun – Thumbprint Cookies. Typically, these are filled with jelly or jam or preserves or whatever, but I thought they’d be a great vehicle for some leftover cranberry sauce. I was right. I puréed the sauce with a handheld immersion blender and it kinda whipped it up a bit.