Grown up grilled garlic toast

One of my favorite places at the grocery store is the day-old bread rack. For just a dollar, I can find clear signals about what I should have for dinner tonight.

In the summertime, if wide French Bread loaves are on the rack, they're mine and they're on my grill in this somewhat sophisticated manner. It's garlic toast with cheese, so my kids eat it, but it's also smoky and and ever so slightly sharp from the Parmesan.

12 oz of French Bread (NOT baguettes) cut into 1-inch slices
3 tbsp Parmesan cheese
3 tsp garlic powder (divided)
1 tsp parsley
1 stick of butter, melted
1.5 cups shredded "orange" cheese (cheddar, colby, etc)

In a medium bowl, mix the Parmesan cheese and garlic powder well. Add the parsley, stirring again. Add the shredded cheese. Use your hands to mix it all together. Set aside.

Add 1 tsp of garlic powder to the melted butter and stir well. Brush both sides of each piece of bread with the melted garlic butter.

Exit the kitchen and head to the grill. 

Make sure your grill grates are hot, heating them using a low flame (a grill temp of about 200 degrees). Toast the first side until just golden brown. Flip. Turn the burners off. Top with cheese. Close the grill cover. Wait until cheese is melty. 

Rosemary Focaccia

This recipe is one of the reasons I grow rosemary in the summertime. I love the process of baking bread, and specifically in this recipe, squishing the onions into the dough. The result is fragrant, crispy with a lovely Italian butter (olive oil) flavor.


2 medium onions, chopped finely
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 tsps active dry yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
1/2 tsp salt
3 to 4 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons snipped fresh rosemary OR 2 tsps dried , crushed
Cornmeal
Coarse Salt

In a hot skillet, saute onions in 1/4 cup oil until tender; cool. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in 1/4 cup of water water; let stand for 5 minutes. Bubbles should have formed on the top of the water. If not, your yeast is bad. Buy new yeast :)

To the yeast solution  add 2 tablespoons oil, salt and remaining water. Add 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic (about 7 minutes.) Add onions and half of the rosemary; knead 1 minute longer to incorporate onions and rosemary. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 40 minutes.

Punch down dough. Turned onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Pat each portion flat. Cover and let rest for 5 minutes. Grease two baking sheets and sprinkle with cornmeal. Stretch each portion of dough into a 10-inch circle on prepared pans (or a rectangle...)  Cover and let rinse until doubled, about 40 minutes.

Brush with remaining oil. Sprinkle with coarse salt and remaining rosemary. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Garlic or Garlic Herb or just Herb Bubble Loaves

Yeah, my family has purchased the garlic bread in the foil that you throw in the oven, wrapper and all. Yeah... this is SO WAY better. It does take time. It's not something that you can throw into an oven next to a frozen pizza when you get home from work. This is more of a Saturday work of art.

This recipe is a combination of two different recipes. 

Bread:
2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast (or, instant yeast, in which case, the rising times will be thrown.)
1/4 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
2 cups warm milk (again, 100 to 115 degrees)
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp shortening
2 tsp salt
6 1/4 - 6 1/2 cups flour (I've subbed up to a cup of wheat flour)

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Wait 5 minutes for yeast to proof (bubble.) If the yeast doesn't bubble, it's dead. Start over.

In the meantime, turn on your oven to warm. When it's preheated. Turn it off. 

After the yeast proofs, add milk, shortening, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough of the rest of the flour to form a soft dough. 

Turn onto a floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic; about 6-8 minutes. (Ok, I admit it, I use my mixer to do this.)

Place in a greased bowl (one that can go into that warm oven, so metal is preferred.) Turn the dough once to grease top. Cover, and let rise in the warm oven until doubled (about an hour)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. 

Punch the dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and divide into fourths. Divide each section into 12 pieces. Shape each piece of dough into a ball, dip in butter mixture of your choice (see below.) Place in two greased 9x5x3 loaf pans (note, I said place, not pack.) Pour any extra butter over the top. Cover, and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes. Pull to eat.

Butter options:

Option 1: Garlic Butter
Mix 1/2 cup melted butter with 1 tbsp dried parsley flakes and 2 tsps garlic powder

Option 2: Garlic Herb Butter
Mix 1/2 melted butter with 8 minced garlic gloves, and 1/2 tsp each of dried oregano, thyme, and crushed rosemary.

Option 3: Herb Butter
Mix 1/2 cup melted butter with 1/2 tsp each of dried oregano, thyme and crushed rosemary

Cherry Bread Pudding

A friend asked me for a bread pudding recipe, and I realized that I'm generally not a fan, except of this one. It's soooo yummy. It's a recipe my mom gave me, and she says it's served at the cafe at the Door County Coffee & Tea Company in Carlsville, Wisconsin.


Cherry Bread Pudding

1 Cup Dried Cherries – soak in hot water
9x13 cake pan full of cubed bread (about 10 cups but do not over pack)
9TBS Butter
1 ½ Cup Brown Sugar
¾ tsp Baking Soda
3 – 12 oz. cans Evaporated Milk
1 ½ Cups Milk
6 Eggs
½ tsp Salt
2 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Cinnamon if using Cinnamon Bread Rolls
2 tsp if using plain bread



Directions:
Cube bread and drain cherries. Toss together and place in greased pan.
Melt butter in saucepan, stir in brown sugar and cinnamon.
Dissolve soda in milk, add gradually to sugar and butter mixture. Stir until blended. Set aside.

Beat Eggs lightly.
Add salt and vanilla.
Combine with cooled milk and sugar mixture.
Pour custard over bread cubes and drained cherries.
Let stand at least 15 minutes to absorb.
Cover with foil.

Bake at 325 at least 1 hour and 10 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Southern Banana Nut (Pecan) Bread

This is my new favorite banana bread recipe.

1/2 cup butter flavored shortening (I used half butter, half shortening)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 to 3 medium)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups self-rising flour (if you don't have, place 3 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp salt in measuring cup. Add enough all-purpose flour to equal 1 cup. Then, add another cup of AP flour)
1/2 cup buttermilk (if you don't have, use 1/2 tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar and enough milk to make 1/2 cup. Let stand five minutes, then add to the recipe)
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Blend in bananas and vanilla. Add flour alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Fold in pecans.

Pour into two greased 8x4x2-inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before moving to wire racks to cool completely.

Now, this is the point where I stopped, but here's the rest of the recipe.

Topping:
1/4 to 1/3 cup mashed banana
1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
Additional chopped pecans

Combine banana, confectioners sugar, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Spread over loaves, sprinkle with pecans.