Recipes

Bread

Bread

Dinner Rolls

Ingredients

Preparation - Dough

  1. Pour the water into the bowl of a stand mixer.
  2. Stir in the yeast and 2 tbsp sugar, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 10 minutes, until frothy.
  3. Heat the milk to 105ºF, add to bowl with water along with the melted butter.
  4. Add remaining 2 tbsp sugar and salt and stir to combine.
  5. Add the flour and attach the dough hook to the mixer. Let it run on medium low for 2 to 3 minutes until the dough comes together and begins to look smooth.
  6. Knead dough for an additional 2 minutes by hand, until elastic.
  7. Place dough into an oiled bowl, cover with a cloth and allow to rise for 1 hour.

Preparation - Baking

  1. Pre-heat oven to 4000ºF
  2. Lightly oil 2 8x4 baking pans.
  3. Take the puffed dough out of the bowl and press lightly to release the air. Pat it into a disc roughly 12" wide and divide into 16 equal triangles.
  4. Roll each triangle into a ball, then shape by lightly flattening the ball, then bringing the sides of the ball up and pinching them together.
  5. Place each shaped ball of dough in the pan, leaving a little space between them. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 20 to 30 minutes until doubled. Dough balls will stick together.
  6. Brush the tops lightly with melted butter, then bake for 20 minutes.
  7. Remove from oven and immediately brush with remaining melted butter. Remove from baking pan and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Bread

Donuts - Sugar

Donuts

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Heat milk to 110ºF
  2. Add milk, sugar, and yeast to a large mixing bowl. Cover with film and allow yeast to activate for 10 minutes.
  3. Add flour and salt to the yeast mixture. Combine until dough has just formed.
  4. Cover dough and allow it to rest for 20 minutes.
  5. Once rested, turn dough out on a lightly floured working surface. Press dough lightly into a disc.
  6. Place softened butter on top of the dough, fold dough into itself, and stretch, press, and fold dough until the butter is well-combined and the dough is smooth.
  7. Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and rise for 1 hour.
  8. Once dough has risen, turn out onto a working surface, flatten, and divide into 12 parts.
  9. Form each piece into a ball, poke a hole in each one, and work the hole around until each piece looks like a little volcano
  10. Place donuts on a floured surface, and allow to rise for an additional 40 minutes.
  11. With a floured finger, spin each donut around to coat the inside in flour and re-form the donuts
  12. Heat cooking oil to ~320ºF. Cook donuts in batches, turning once briefly after adding to the oil, then again once the bottom half is golden brown
  13. Once both sides are golden, remove from oil, and place on a paper towel to drip.
  14. While still warm and oily, coat each donut in sugar.

Frosting (Optional)

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Whisk together all ingredients, reserving 1 Tbsp of milk
  2. Whisk reserved milk if necessary, to thin the mixture
  3. Dip one side of the donut in icing, then immediately add sprinkles
Bread

Easy Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt until well combined. Add the cubed cold butter and cut it into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter (you may also use a food processor for this step) until you have small pea sized pieces of butter. Pour the cold buttermilk into the mixture and gently mix until the dough starts to come together.
  3. Scoop the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently work it together with your hands. Pat the dough into a rectangle and fold it into thirds (like a letter). Turn the dough, gather any crumbs, and flatten back into a rectangle. Repeat the folding process two more times.
  4. Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat it down into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle (make sure to measure!). Using a floured 2.5-inch biscuit cutter, cut out the biscuits. Make sure not to twist the biscuit cutter as you're cutting, just press the cutter straight down and pull it straight back up.
  5. Continue to gather any scrap pieces of dough, patting it back down to 1/2-inch thickness, and cutting it until you have 8 to 10 biscuits. I suggest trying to get as many as you can the first time, as you continue to work the dough the biscuits won't be quite as good.
  6. Arrange the biscuits on the baking sheet touching each other. Brush the top of each biscuit with a little bit of buttermilk.
  7. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter, if desired. Allow to cool for a few minutes, serve, and enjoy!
Bread

Sandwich Rolls

INGREDIENTS

Preparation

Mix the Dough - 5:00 pm to 5:20 pm

Warm 260 g milk in the microwave for about 50 seconds. Ideally, the temperature is between 105-110 F to optimize yeast activity. Add 6 g of yeast along with 8 g diastatic malt powder and stir to combine. Let stand for 3-5 minutes until light foam surfaces and bubbles are visible.

Note: Proofing the yeast is done to test the viability of the yeast. If there is no foam surface or little bubbles the yeast is likely dead and should be discarded for new yeast.

Meanwhile, add 400 g flour, 10 g honey, 20 g olive oil, and 8 g of salt to a large mixing bowl. Once the yeast is proofed, pour in the mixture and vigorously mix the dough with your hands until no dry flour remains in the bowl and a cohesive mass forms, about 2 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes.

Note: Resting will allow the flour to start hydrating all on its own, and make the dough a little bit easier to work with when we start kneading.

Kneading (Gluten development) - 5:20 pm to 5:30 pm

Once rested, turn the dough out onto a clean counter and knead for 8-10 minutes. I advise setting a timer to make sure ample time is spent kneading. Knead the dough until it is completely smooth and no longer sticky.

After kneading the dough, cut off a piece and test for gluten development by carefully stretching the dough very thin to check for a see-through 'window' before tearing.

Note: The gluten window test is the key to understanding if the flour has been hydrated enough which is how gluten is developed. If the dough tears before getting to a slightly translucent window continue kneading for another couple of minutes.

Bulk Ferment (1st Ferment) - 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm

Once done kneading, add the dough to the mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, about 45-60 minutes though it could take longer depending on the yeast, room/dough temperature..

Divide dough + Shape Rolls + Proof (2nd Ferment) - 6:30 pm to 7:40 pm

Once doubled in size, punch the dough down and divide into 4 equal portions, roughly 175 grams each.

Using your fingertips lightly press and stretch and piece of dough into a rectangle about 8 inches wide and 1 inch thick. Tightly roll the rough from the bottom to the top. Press and seal the seam created on the bottom of the roll. Now, you should have a log of dough with the seam side down. Applying even pressure with the palm of your hands in the center of the dough begin gently rolling the log out into a cylinder, about 10 inches long.

Note: For shaping, just take a look at the video, it's hard to explain in words.

Evenly sprinkle cornmeal on two baking sheets. Shape each hoagie roll and place 2 on each baking sheet. Cover lightly with plastic wrap or a towel and let the rolls proof until about 1.5 to 2 times in size, another 45-60 minutes.

Oven set up - 7:25 pm to 7:40 pm

With 15 minutes of proofing left, preheat the oven to 375 F. Place an oven-safe pan or another baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven.

Note: Ice will be dropped on the hot pan to help create a steamy environment for better oven spring.

Bake - 7:40 pm to 8:00 pm

Using a razor or really sharp knife, score the hoagie rolls with one long slash at a 45-degree angle to allow for oven spring.

Whisk the egg white and spoonful of water together. Using a brush, lightly spread the egg wash on the exterior to gives us a better crust. Sprinkle a little cornmeal over top. Note: At this point, you can sprinkle on toppings like sesame seeds, or herbs and spices if you would like.

Place the rolls into the oven on the middle rack and toss in 4 to 5 ice cubes on the hot pan on the preheated pan which will create steam.

Bake for 10 minutes then rotate the pan. Continue baking for another 8-10 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 200 F.

Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Desserts

Desserts

Banana Muffins

Ingredients

Directions

Desserts

Chocolate Chip Cookies - Cakey 01

375ºF, 11 mins

Dry

Wet

Desserts

Classic blueberry muffins

Original recipe yields 12 servings Ingredient Checklist

½ cup butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 ¼ cups white sugar

2 eggs

½ cup milk

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.

Step 2 Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat well. Add milk and flour mixture. Beat until combined. Stir in blueberries.

Step 3 Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes.

Desserts

Easy Carrot Cake

Ingredients

Cake Batter

Icing

Preparation

Batter

  1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, line the bottom with parchment paper and then grease the top. Or grease and flour the bottom and sides of both pans.
  2. Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176C).
  3. Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl until very well blended.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla.
  5. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking after each one.
  6. Switch to a large rubber spatula. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add the dry ingredients in three parts, gently stirring until they disappear and the batter is smooth.
  7. Stir in the carrots, nuts, and raisins.

Bake

  1. Divide the cake batter between the prepared cake pans.
  2. Bake until the tops of the cake layers are springy when touched and when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes.
  3. Cool cakes in the pans for 15 minutes, then carefully turn the cake layers out onto cooling racks. Remove the parchment paper and cool completely. If you find that a cake layer is sticking to the bottom of the pan, leave the cake pan upside down and allow gravity to do its thing.

Ice

  1. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with a handheld mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute.
  2. Beat in the powdered sugar, a 1/4 cup at a time, until fluffy.
  3. Pour in the whipping cream. Beat on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the frosting is whipped and creamy. This frosting resembles the texture of whipped cream. Chill covered until ready to frost the cake.
  4. When the cake layers are completely cool, frost the top of one cake layer, and place the second cake layer on top.
  5. Add the remaining frosting to the top of the carrot cake and use a butter knife or small spatula to swirl the frosting around. Leave the sides of the cake unfrosted. Finish with a handful of nuts on top.
Desserts

Pie dough

Ingredients

Directions

Desserts

Shortbread - Piped

Ingredients

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350ºF

  1. Cut about 20 cherries in half, then each half into quarters
  2. Cream margarine
  3. Add sugar to margarine, slowly, until well combined
  4. Add corn starch to margarine, slowly, until well combined
  5. Add flour to margarine, slowly, until well combined
  6. Add vanilla extract to mixture and combine
  7. Mix until consistency is similar to whipped cream
  8. Drop or pipe onto a baking sheet, and add some cherries to the top
  9. Bake for 11-12 minutes
Desserts

Strawberry Glaze

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Combine sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan
  2. Stir in water and mashed berries
  3. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly
  4. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly
  5. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and cool for 15 minutes

For more color, add a few drops of red food coloring between steps 3 and 4.

Desserts

Sugar Cookies - Eggless

Ingredients

Preheat the oven to 180 C/ 356 F

  1. Sift flour with baking powder and salt - set aside.
  2. Cream butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy.
  3. Add the vanilla and milk/water - mix well.
  4. Lastly, add flour in two batches - bring it all together.

Depending on thickness these can take up to 12 minutes. You only need a slight color on the edges.

Desserts

Tiramisu

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Fill a medium pot with water and bring to a light simmer
  2. In a medium bowl, combine coffee and half of the liqueur
  3. Dip 20 of the 40 ladyfingers quickly into the coffee mixture, both sides, and place into a 9x13 baking dish
  4. In a medium glass bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar
  5. Place the egg mixture, still in the bowl, on top of the simmering water. Continue to whisk for 10 minutes, until the mixture is light in color and the sugar is fully incorporated.
  6. Remove the egg mixture from the heat and whisk for a few more minutes, until the mixture cools somewhat
  7. In a large glass bowl, combine mascarpone and remaining liqueur
  8. Using an electric mixer, add the cooled egg mixture to the bowl with the mascarpone and beat until well combined
  9. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat heavy cream until it forms stiff peaks. Start on low, do not exceed medium speed for stable cream
  10. Gently fold half of the whipping cream into the egg/mascarpone mixture, then proceed to combine the other half. Do not overfold.
  11. Spread half of the cream mixture into the baking dish and spread evenly
  12. Dip the remaining 20 ladyfingers into the coffee mixture as per step 3, and place atop the layer of cream
  13. Spread remaining cream on top of the second layer of ladyfingers
  14. Chill overnight. Dust with cocoa powder or chocolate shavings
Desserts

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
Wet ingredients
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 375º
  2. Measure the butter and the brown sugar into the bowl of the mixer
  3. Turn the mixer on and get them all mixed up together
  4. Crack 3 eggs into a bowl and whisk them up until the whites and yolks are all mixed together
  5. Pour the eggs into the mixing bowl with the butter and sugar and mix it all up
  6. Once the eggs are mixed up, add the vanilla and mix it up too
Dry ingredients
  1. Measure all the flour into a big blue bowl
  2. Add the baking soda and the salt to the flour and mix it up
  3. Once the wet stuff is all mixed up, add the dry stuff. One spoon at a time at the start, then more and more
  4. Measure 2 cups of chocolate chips into a measuring cup
  5. Once the cookie dough is all mixed up, add the chocolate chips and mix them up on low
Cooking steps
  1. Spoon a little bit of dough into a ball, and put the ball on a cookie sheet
  2. Put 12 cookie balls on the sheet.
  3. Bake the cookies for 11 minutes

Mains

Mains

Apple Roasted Chicken

Ingredients

Marinade

Stuffing

Baste

Preparation

  1. Mix the marinade ingredients together in a bowl.
  2. Wash the chicken inside and out and place into a plastic bag with the marinade for a minimum of 4 hours and a maximum of overnight. Flip once.
  3. Preheat the oven to 350. Prepare stuffing. Put the onion into the cavity first, followed by garlic/peppercorns, then apple cubes. Optionally, put some of the applesauce from the bag into the cavity. Optionally, leave the applesauce on the skin for a sweeter gravy, or remove for a more savory gravy. Truss the chicken and place into a roasting pan. Put in oven.
  4. Baste with butter/sage mixture 1/2 hour into bake. Repeat with drippings every 1/2h until the last 1/2h of the bake process or you have based 3 times total, whichever comes first.
  5. Bake for 2 to 2 1/2h*, until a thermometer placed in the leg reads 165F and in breast reads 180F.

Notes

  1. I never plan for eating the stuffing in this case, so I do not check for the temp of the stuffing. However, safe consumption guidelines indicate that the stuffing should reach 165F.
  2. Typically a chicken roasts for around 20-30 minutes per lb + 15 minutes until it reaches the right temperature.

Non-recipe note: Needs review.

Mains

Beef and Mushroom Casserole

with cheesy cauliflower gratin

Ingredients

Preparation

Mains

Butter Chicken

Before cubing the chicken, it's recommended to pat it dry, heavily salt, and let it sit for 10 minutes. This draws moisture out of the chicken, not only making it easier to work with, but also allows it to more easily absorb the marinade.

Ingredients

Spices
Main

Preparation

  1. Combine the spice mixture in a small bowl
  2. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, yogurt, half of the garlic, and half of the spice mixture
  3. Marinade for at least 15 minutes, or overnight
  4. Once chicken is ready, heat 2 tbsp oil and butter in a large skillet
  5. Transfer the chicken to the skillet and cook in batches over medium high heat, only until starting to char on the outside
  6. Remove charred chicken from pan and place in slow cooker, along with any excess marinade from the bowl
  7. Add the remaining oil to the pan, then add the diced onion, garlic, and remaining spices. Cook until fragrant, 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently
  8. Add the crushed tomato to the pan, and deglaze the crust that has formed on the bottom
  9. Pour the contents of the pan into the slow cooker. Scrape as much of the remaining crust from the bottom as you can
  10. Add the coconut milk / heavy cream to the slow cooker.
  11. Cook on high for 2 hours, the low for an additional 2. For all-day cooking, cook on low for 6 hours then switch to warm
  12. Serve with rice and naan

Credit to Morgan Eisenberg for the basis of this recipe

Mains

Chicken Garlic Mushroom Cream Sauce

Ingredients

Preparation

Mains

Chili

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Brown the ground meat in a cast iron pan and set aside
  2. In a large dutch oven, saute the onions and peppers in olive oil until the onions are semi-transparent, about 3-5 minutes
  3. Add the garlic and saute for another minute
  4. Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Mix until the tomato paste is well combined
  5. Add the spices to the sauce mix
  6. Add the ground meat, mushrooms, beans, and spices to the sauce mix
  7. Cover and simmer on low heat for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
  8. At the 45 minute mark, stir in the frozen corn
  9. Serve with rice
Mains

Crepes

Ingredients

Mains

Dill sauce - quick

Ingredients

Preparation

Mains

Honey Baked Salmon in foil

Ingredients

Preparation

Mains

Italian sausage and vegetables

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Heat oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat
  2. Saute onion and pepper until tender-crisp, 2-3 minutes
  3. Add sausage meat one package at a time, breaking into small pieces. Cook until browned
  4. Add basil and oregano and combine
  5. Add white wine and reduce for about 5 minutes
  6. Season with pepper
  7. Serve over rice
Mains

Lemon Chicken in Dill Cream Sauce

Ingredients

Chicken

Dill sauce

Preparation

Mains

Lentil Stew

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add oil and cook onions and carrots for 3 minutes, or until slightly softened
  2. Add chili powder, garlic, cumin, and oregano, and cook for 1-2 more minutes, until fragrant
  3. Stir in broth, lentils, and beans, and bring to a boil
  4. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes
  5. Stir in crushed tomatoes and potatoes. Add salt and pepper
  6. Simmer for 15 more minutes. Add corn at 10 minutes remaining if desired.
Mains

Nashville chicken v2

Ingredients

For the Fried Chicken

For the Nashville Hot Mixture

Preparation

For the Fried Chicken

Toss a speck of flour in the oil, if it sizzles, the oil is ready

For the Hot Chicken Preparation

Mains

New York Pizza

Ingredients

Yeast bloom

Dough

Sauce

Cheese (per pizza)

Preparation

  1. Bloom yeast
  2. Add remaining dough ingredients and mix until smooth and just a bit sticky
  3. Divide into 4 parts, roll into smooth balls and allow to rise in the fridge for 48 hours
  4. Assemble on a surface dusted with semolina or cornstarch
  5. Bake on high on a pre-heated pizza stone for 5-6 mins
Mains

Porcupine Meatballs

Ingredients

Preparation

Mains

Pot Roast

Ingredients

Preparation

Mains

Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Place diced potatoes in a large pot. Add water and 2tsp salt and boil until tender, about 12 minutes.
  2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil, and cook onion and carrot for about 3-4 minutes, until onion is translucent.
  3. Add garlic and fresh herbs and cook for another 2 minutes until fragrant.
  4. Push vegetables to the outside edge of the pan, and add beef to the center. Cook beef until browned, keeping the vegetables to the outside.
  5. Once beef is cooked, combine beef and vegetables. Add tomato paste and mix until combined.
  6. Add chicken stock and vinegar, and mix well to combine. Bring to a boil, then turn off heat. Add salt to desired taste.
  7. Add frozen corn to beef mixture.
  8. Once potatoes are cooked, add butter, garlic powder, and grana padano and mash until creamy. Season with pepper.
  9. Transfer beef mixture to a casserole dish. Top with potatoes and bake for 30 minutes.
Mains

Turkey Dinner

Ingredients

Brine

Turkey / Stuffing

Directions

Brine

Turkey / Stuffing

Mains

Waffles

Traditional

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking power, sugar, and salt
  2. In a medium mixing bowl, crack and whisk eggs thoroughly
  3. Add the oil to the eggs and whisk together
  4. Add the milk and vanilla to the oil/egg mixture and whisk together
  5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Combine until just mixed, the lumpier the batter is, the better
  6. Cook on waffle iron, setting 5. Use 1 cup of batter for one waffle

Egg-free variety

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Combine dry ingredients
  2. Combine wet ingredients
  3. Form a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients
  4. Mix thoroughly with a hand mixer

Pasta

Pasta

Garlic chicken rigatoni

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Cook pasta as per package instructions
  2. In a small bowl combine sun dried tomatoes and boiling water. Let stand for 5 minutes, then drain and chop
  3. Combine flour, garlic powder, and 1/4 tsp salt. Toss chicken in flour mixture
  4. Heat a skillet to medium-high. Add 1 tbsp oil to skillet and sear chicken until browned and fully cooked. Remove chicken from pan
  5. Reduce heat to medium. Wipe extra oil clean, and add 2 Tbsp butter.
  6. Cook mushrooms until liquid evaporates and mushrooms begin to brown, about 10-15 mins
  7. Add broth, wine, parsley, remaining seasonings, and chopped tomatoes. Bring to a boil
  8. Add chicken and heat through
  9. Stir pasta into sauce mixture. Add cheese and toss to coat
Pasta

Homemade Baked Mac And Cheese

Ingredients

Preparation

Pasta

Spaghetti with tomato cream sauce

Ingredients

Preparation

Notes

Pasta

Creamy Sun-dried Tomato Pesto and Italian Sausage Pasta

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Add 10 cups of water and 2tsp salt to a large pot
  2. Add rigatoni and cook to package directions
  3. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water and drain. Return pasta to same pot, off heat
  4. Roughly chop spinach. Cut zucchini into 1/2 inch rounds and quarter. Dice onions 1/4 or 1/2
  5. Heat a large pan over medium high heat. Add 1/2tbsp oil and zucchini, cook to tender crisp.
  6. Season with salt and pepper, and set zucchini aside
  7. Heat the same pan over high heat. Cook meat until no pink remains.
  8. Add onions and cook for another couple of minutes as the meat gets crispy.
  9. Add garlic/salt/pepper/onion powder and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds
  10. Add flour and stir until coated
  11. Add milk, broth concentrate, pesto to the pan
  12. Bring to a simmer and cook until sauce thickens, 1-2 minutes
  13. Add zucchini and spinach. Cook, stirring often, until spinach wilts
  14. Add sauce, reserved pasta water to rigatoni
  15. Serve and sprinkle parmesan/chili flakes over top.

Sides

Sides

Caesar Salad

Ingredients

Preparation

Sides

Garlic and Parmesan Roasted Carrots

Ingredients

Preparation

Sides

Rice with chicken stock

Ingredients

Directions

Sides

Roasted Broccoli With Parmesan

Ingredients

Preparation

Sides

Spicy Cavatappi

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Cook pasta to package instructions
  2. Drain, add butter and mix until melted
  3. Add spices and cheese, combine
Sides

Stovetop Rice

Ingredients

Directions

Soups

Soups

Beef Stew

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 400
  2. Bake bacon for 20 minutes
  3. Reserve bacon fat in a container and set aside. Crumble bacon and store in fridge.
  4. Adjust oven temperature to 300, or preheat the slow cooker.
  5. Pat beef dry with paper towel
  6. Heat pan over med high heat. When hot, add 1 tbsp of olive oil and cook the beef until browned. DO NOT CROWD the beef. Cook in 2 rounds if needed. Transfer beef to an oven safe pot or slow cooker.
  7. Add some bacon fat to the pan, enough to soak up the 2tbsp of flour
  8. Add red wine and use to deglaze/capture the flour/bacon fat mixture
  9. Add red wine/flour/bacon fat mixture to pot/slow cooker
  10. Add beef stock/tomato paste/spices to pot or slow cooker
  11. Cook for 2 1/2h. (possibly more with the slow cooker)
  12. If using oven, remove the pot at this time. In either case, remove the bay leaves.
  13. Take some leftover bacon fat and cook the vegetables until tender crisp. Add garlic during the last minute of cooking, reserving some for the mushrooms. Add this mixture to the slow cooker with 1/2h remaining or 20 minutes on the stove.
  14. If using barley, add in 1/2h before the end of cooking. Adjust liquid by an extra 1 1/2 cups to account for absorption.
  15. If using potatoes, consider roasting in the oven for the maillard effect and adding at the end.
  16. Around 10-15 minutes before the end, cook quartered mushrooms in a pan with butter. Add these as a topping.
Soups

Chicken and dumpling soup

1.5 lb (700g) boneless skinless chicken thighs 1 bottle (750mL) white wine (could replace with water or stock 1 carton (32 oz, 946mL) chicken stock 8 oz (227g) white mushrooms 2 bunches green onions 1 lb (454g) carrots 3-4 garlic cloves 12 oz (340g) green beans 6 egg yolks 3/4 cup (177mL) cream 1 lemon flour oil salt pepper dry herbs

For the dumplings

2 cups (230g) cake flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon garlic powder 2 tablespoons melted butter milk or water fresh sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley or any combination thereof

Cut each thigh into 4-6 pieces. Season heavily with salt, pepper and dry herbs, then toss the pieces with enough flour to coat. Cut the mushrooms in half or quarters (remember they'll shrink in half when cooking), thin-slice the onions and reserve the green slices for garnish at the end, peel and thick-slice the carrots, smash and peel the garlic cloves.

Heat a film of oil in a large pot, then lay in the chicken piece by piece to keep them from sticking to each other. Keep your heat high enough to brown the chicken but don't let anything burn — low and slow is fine. When the bottoms of the pieces are brown, you should be able to scrape them off the pan with a wooden spoon and flip them.

When the chicken pieces are brown on all sides, push the chicken over to one side and drop in the mushrooms. Stir the mushrooms around and let them brown a moment. Stir in the sliced onion whites and let them cook for a moment. Deglaze with the entire bottle of wine. Stir in the carton of stock, garlic, carrots and a pinch or two of salt. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes until the carrots are almost soft.

While you're waiting, slice the green beans into small piece. Separate out the egg yolks (eat the whites for breakfast tomorrow) and beat them smooth with the cream.

When the carrots feel almost done, stir in the green beans — they'll need about 30 minutes total.

Now is when you want to mix up the dumpling batter. Finely chop a big pile of fresh herbs and zest the lemon. Throw all that in with the cake flour, baking powder, salt and garlic powder. Stir in the melted butter until it seems to disappear. Stir in just enough milk or water (no more than a cup, 237mL) to get you a shaggy, sloppy dough — if you over-mix, the dumplings will be tough. Form the dough into rough, small balls.

When the green beans are 15 minutes away, drop the dumplings in the soup, make sure the heat is high enough that the broth is bubbling, cover and let the dumplings steam at least 10 minutes before you check on them. When they double in size and look cooked, they're cooked — don't overcook them or they'll get dense.

Kill the heat and wait for bubbling to stop, then stir in the liaison (yolk and cream mixture). Turn the heat back on to a bare simmer and cook for a couple minutes until you see the yolks cook and slightly thicken the broth — be careful not to overcook or the eggs will go gritty. Taste the soup for seasoning and add any needed salt, a little lemon juice to taste, and the reserved onion greens.

Soups

Cream of Chicken

Ingredients

Preparation

Soups

Garlic Rosemary Cream of Chicken with Rice

Ingredients

Preparation

Soups

Sweet Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Heat oil and butter in a large nonreactive pot over medium-low heat.
  2. Saute onion and garlic until soft, 8-10 minutes. Take care not to burn garlic.
  3. Add flour to onions and garlic, and stir until well coated.
  4. Add stock, tomatoes, basil, sugar, salt, and pepper to pot.
  5. Increase temperature to medium-high and stir frequently until boiling.
  6. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  7. Remove from heat. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Puree in batches if necessary.
  8. Return soup to the original pot. Add cooked noodles, gnocchi, or serve plain.
Soups

White bean and sausage soup

Preface

This is an experimental recipe.

Ingredients

Directions

Spice Blends

Spice Blends

Chorizo Seasoning

One serving, appropriate for 1/2lb of ground pork