Buttermilk Bread

Ever buy buttermilk for a recipe and then wonder what the heck you're going to do with the rest of it? It seems to only come in unnecessarily large containers (which makes me wonder... do people actually drink buttermilk??). I mean, I love pancakes, but there are only so many I can eat. So, I looked for some alternate uses for buttermilk and came across this recipe from Cook's Illustrated. I have no expertise whatsoever when it comes to baking bread from scratch, but this was very easy to do... you just need a mixer with a dough hook to do all of the hard work for you. The buttermilk makes this a bit richer than a regular white bread, and honey adds a hint of sweetness. It was great for peanut butter sandwiches, french toast, and just smeared with butter (but what isn't good smeared with butter?).

Buttermilk American Loaf Bread
from Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups bread flour, plus extra for work surface
2 teaspoons table salt
1 cup buttermilk, cold
1/3 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons honey
1 package rapid-rise yeast (also called instant yeast)

Instructions:
1. Adjust oven rack to low position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Once oven temperature reaches 200 degrees, maintain heat 10 minutes, then turn off oven heat.
 
2. Mix flour and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with dough hook. in 1-quart Pyrex liquid measuring cup, Mix cold buttermilk and boiling water together (temperature should be about 110-degrees), add butter, honey, and yeast. Turn machine to low and slowly add liquid. When dough comes together, increase speed to medium (setting number 4 on a KitchenAid mixer) and mix until dough is smooth and satiny, stopping machine two or three times to scrape dough from hook if necessary, about 10 minutes. Turn dough onto lightly floured work surface; knead to form smooth, round ball, about 15 seconds.
  
3. Place dough in very lightly oiled bowl, rubbing dough around bowl to lightly coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; place in warm oven until dough doubles in size, 50 to 60 minutes.
  
4. Form dough into loaf by gently pressing the dough into a rectangle, one inch thick and no wider than the length of the loaf pan. Next, roll the dough firmly into a cylinder, pressing with your fingers to make sure the dough sticks to itself. Turn dough seam side up and pinch it closed. Place dough in greased 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan and press gently so dough touches all four sides of pan.
 
5. Cover with plastic wrap; set aside in warm spot until dough almost doubles in size, 20 to 30 minutes. Heat oven to 350 degrees, placing an empty loaf pan on bottom rack. Bring 2 cups water to boil.

6. Remove plastic wrap from loaf pan. Place pan in oven, immediately pouring heated water into empty loaf pan; close oven door. Bake until instant-read thermometer inserted at angle from short end just above pan rim into center of loaf reads 195 degrees, about 40 to 50 minutes. Remove bread from pan, transfer to a wire rack, and cool to room temperature. Slice and serve.

Makes one 9-inch loaf.


Download a printable recipe.
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Indoor Pulled Pork with Sweet and Tangy BBQ Sauce

At 8:30 AM on Saturday, while most normal people were sleeping or eating breakfast, John and I headed to the grocery store to pick up ingredients for our weekend food project of pulled pork. ("indoor" pulled pork, as we live in an apartment with no outdoor space). I sent John to the meat section while I groggily staggered up to the coffee bar for my caffeine fix. A few minutes later, John comes waltzing over, clearly pleased with the giant pork butt he picked out. We wandered around for about 10 more minutes looking for Liquid Smoke, finally found it by the barbecue sauce, then we checked out. And yes, we cracked inappropriate jokes about pork butt all the way home (Hahaha... "cracked"! See what I did there?). We're mature.

I call this a project because it took all day to make. Granted, most of the day,  the pork is spent either brining or cooking, so it does not require constant attention. And at the end of the day, every last minute was worth it. We could barely muster any coherent sentences as we took our first bites: "MMM. So... mmm... wow... mmm... ohmygosh... tastymmmyummm." There are so many layers of flavor: the brine infuses the meat with the liquid smoke flavor, the spice rub adds a little kick, and the homemade barbecue sauce was just ridiculously good (you mix in some of the pork cooking liquid, which I think is the key ingredient here).

This makes a lot, but a quick Google search told us that pulled pork freezes well, so you don't necessarily need to have a big crowd to help you eat it. Serve on rolls to make sandwiches, or just eat it straight up.

Indoor Pulled Pork with Sweet and Tangy BBQ Sauce
from Cook's Illustrated

Note: Sweet paprika may be substituted for smoked paprika. Covering the pork with parchment and then foil prevents the acidic mustard from eating holes in the foil. Serve the pork on hamburger rolls with pickle chips and thinly sliced onion. Instead of the sauce recipe here, you can use 2 cups of your favorite barbecue sauce thinned with ½ cup of the defatted pork cooking liquid in step 5. The shredded and sauced pork can be cooled, tightly covered, and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Reheat it gently before serving.

Pork:
1 cup plus 2 teaspoons table salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons liquid smoke
1 boneless pork butt (about 5 pounds), cut in half horizontally (see step by step below)
1/4 cup yellow mustard
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons smoked paprika (see note)
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Sweet and Tangy Barbecue Sauce:
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup light or mild molasses
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions:
1. FOR THE PORK: Dissolve 1 cup salt, 1/2 cup sugar, and 3 tablespoons liquid smoke in 4 quarts cold water in large container. Submerge pork in brine, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

 2. While pork brines, combine mustard and remaining 2 teaspoons liquid smoke in small bowl; set aside. Combine black pepper, paprika, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, remaining 2 teaspoons salt, and cayenne in second small bowl; set aside. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.

3. Remove pork from brine and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Rub mustard mixture over entire surface of each piece of pork. Sprinkle entire surface of each piece with spice mixture. Place pork on wire rack set inside foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Place piece of parchment paper over pork, then cover with sheet of aluminum foil, sealing edges to prevent moisture from escaping. Roast pork for 3 hours.

 4. Remove pork from oven; remove and discard foil and parchment. Carefully pour off liquid in bottom of baking sheet into fat separator and reserve for sauce. Return pork to oven and cook, uncovered, until well browned, tender, and internal temperature registers 200 degrees on instant-read thermometer, about 1½ hours. Transfer pork to serving dish, tent loosely with foil, and let rest for 20 minutes.

5. FOR THE SAUCE: While pork rests, pour 1/2 cup of defatted cooking liquid from fat separator into medium bowl; whisk in sauce ingredients.

6. TO SERVE: Using 2 forks, shred pork into bite-sized pieces. Toss with 1 cup sauce and season with salt and pepper. Serve, passing remaining sauce separately.

 

 Makes 6 to 8 servings.


Download a printable recipe.
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Maple-Ginger Glazed Chicken Breasts

I'm not entirely sure why, but lately I've become obsessed with things that are glazed. Savory things, too, not just cakes and donuts. I went through some cookbooks as well as my favorite recipe websites and just typed in "glazed", and came across a lot of interesting recipes. I settled on these glazed chicken breasts for dinner this week because they were easy and I had all of the ingredients on hand. The glaze had a lot of flavor for not having a lot of ingredients, and was a nice way to dress up an otherwise pretty boring piece of chicken. Maple syrup adds sweetness, soy sauce adds a savory component, and ginger and cayenne add a little kick.

Maple-Ginger Glazed Chicken Breasts
from America's Test Kitchen Fast & Fresh Recipe Card Collection

Ingredients:
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (NOT pancake syrup!)
1 tbs. soy sauce
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1 tbs. vegetable oil

Directions:
1. Combine syrup, soy sauce, ginger, and cayenne in a small bowl. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side.

2. Reduce heat to medium-low and add syrup mixture to skillet. Simmer, turning chicken once or twice to coat, until glaze is slightly thickened and chicken is cooked through, 2 to 4 minutes. Serve.

Download a printable recipe.
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Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cheese

 

The employees at my local Quizno's know my order. If I don't come in for awhile, they ask where I've been. I'm pretty sure the owner wants to set my friend up with her son. It's very sweet, but probably an indication that I was eating lunch out a tad too often.

In an effort to kick that habit, I try to make a big batch of something-or-other at the beginning of the week so that I have leftovers for a few days. Baked pasta dishes are always awesome when reheated, so I thought I'd give this recipe a try. I printed it out in January when I was on my Cooking Light rampage, but never got around to making it (probably because John had just gotten his pasta maker and was cranking out homemade ravioli... mmm!).

This was definitely a good choice... it was just as good for lunch as it was for dinner. The only change we made was using mild Italian turkey sausage, rather than the hot.

Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cheese
from Cooking Light

Ingredients:
1 (1-pound) package uncooked ziti (short tube-shaped pasta)
1 pound hot turkey Italian sausage links
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 (14.5-ounce) cans petite-diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Cooking spray
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain the pasta, and set aside.

Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage, onion, and garlic in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Add the tomato paste, salt, pepper, and tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Combine cooked pasta, sausage mixture, and basil. Place half of the pasta mixture in a 4-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Top with half of mozzarella and half of Parmesan. Repeat layers. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

Yield: 8 servings

 Download a printable recipe.
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