Chocolate Cherry Bread

This weekend we spent the day with some of our oldest and best friends at their new house. It was the perfect opportunity to try out a recipe that I came across as part of their housewarming gift – chocolate cherry bread. As I’ve said many times before on this blog, I am not a baker. However, I have been wanting to dabble in bread baking for a while and this recipe was one that sounded like a unique winner. The cherry and chocolate add just the perfect amount of sweetness and tartness, without going overboard. I would say that it is a perfect breakfast or dessert bread, topped with just a bit of butter.  It’s also a very simple recipe to follow, and it easy to make…as long as you have a Kitchen Aid mixer and dough hook. And I’m glad to say that it got thumbs up from everone who tasted it. Glad you enjoyed it, Jackie and Dan…and all the best in your new house!

CHOCOLATE CHERRY BREAD
Originally printed in the cook book Ratio, by Michael Ruhlman

20 ounces bread flour (approx. 4 cups)
12 ounces water
2 tspn salt
1 tspn active yeast
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup dried cherries

Preheat oven to 450˚ approximately 45 minutes before you are ready to bake the bread.

Place flour in mixing bowl. Add water and salt. Add yeast over the surface of the water to let it dissolve. Using the paddle attachment, mix on medium speed to combine all ingredients. Switch over to the dough hook and blend on medium speed, until dough is smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes). About mid-way through mixing, add the chocolate and cherries.

Remove bowl from machine, cover with plastic wrap and let rise to twice its size. Push a finger into the dough. It should give some resistance, but not bounce back. If it springs back, let it rise longer.

Turn dough on a floured surface and knead to expel  excess gas and redistribute yeast. Shape into a ball, cover with a towel, let sit for 15 minutes.

Shape dough by pushing it back and forth in a circular motion on floured surface into shape of a round, smooth ball. Cover the dough with a towel and let it rise for about an hour. When ready to bake, slice an ‘X’ into the top of the loaf to help it expand. Bake at 450˚ for 10 minutes. Lower the temperate to 375˚ and bake for another 45 minutes.

Wrapping courtesy of my wife!

Quick Turkey Scallopini

“The heavenly aroma still hung in the house. But it was gone, all gone! No turkey! No turkey sandwiches! No turkey salad! No turkey gravy! Turkey Hash! Turkey a la King! Or gallons of turkey soup! Gone, ALL GONE! “

Unlike the Old Man from A Christmas Story, I’m sure that most of you did not have to deal with the unexpected loss of the holiday turkey to a bunch of wild bloodhounds. In fact, you probably had more leftover Thanksgiving turkey than you knew what to do with. This recipe will help put a decent amount of the leftover bird to deliciously good use in less than 20 minutes! It’s particularly good for the leftover legs and wings…the parts that make for perfect presentation but rarely get eaten (at least at my family’s Thanksgiving dinner).

And yes, this recipe would also work well with leftover chicken.

QUICK TURKEY SCALLOPINI

1 tbspn olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 cups shredded turkey (if you have a food processor, 3-4 quick pulses will do the job quickly)
1 cup spaghetti sauce*
salt and pepper to taste
1 tspn Italian seasoning
splash of red wine

*Disclaimer – I would have normally said red gravy, but I didn’t want to confuse anyone thinking that I meant turkey gravy (the OTHER gravy).

Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onions, let cook for 30 seconds, add garlic; stir. Add chopped peppers, stir. Let cook until peppers are crisp-tender. Add the shredded turkey and the sauce, stir. Add salt, pepper and Italian seasoning, stir. Add splash of red wine, stir. Lower heat, simmer until warmed throughout.

Serve over rice, in a crispy roll, along side of polenta or in fajita shell topped with shredded cheese!

Giving Thanks with Pumpkin Crisp and Preston & Steve

Thanksgiving dinner. The granddaddy of all traditional holiday meals! Whether it’s the escarole soup, the homemade stuffing, cranberry sauce, one of the dozens of side dishes, or the turkey itself, there is some part of this meal that holds a special spot in everyone’s heart. Of course, the Thanksgiving meal would not be complete without the final act – the dessert. And in my mind there is no better Thanksgiving dessert than the traditional and classic pumpkin pie. I’ve tried many different pumpkin desserts, from pumpkin cheesecakes and pumpkin cream rolls to pumpkin ice cream and pumpkin trifle. But it’s the good, old fashion pumpkin pie that I prefer on T-day with a nice hot cup of coffee for dessert.

This year however, my wife (who again, is the baker of the household), found an interesting alternative to traditional pumpkin pie at myrecipes.com. It’s a pumpkin crisp, and I can not wait to dig into it after the big meal! What’s nice about this dessert is that it doesn’t stray far from traditional pumpkin pie, both in taste and texture. Actually, the filling itself is almost identical to pumpkin pie. What makes this dessert different and special is the  crispy and buttery topping. Think upside down pumpkin pie! It’s a subtle change from the norm, but the taste is outta this world. ‘Melts in your mouth’ is an understatement You’ll want to serve this warm or at room temperature. Goes great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Happy Thanksgiving!

PUMPKIN CRISP
(Originally posted at myrecipes.com)

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
1 c. of evaporated milk
1 c. sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 (18.5 oz) pkg butter-flavored yellow cake mix
1 c. melted butter

Optional:
1 c. chopped pecans
Ground nutmeg
Whipped cream
Vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 350F.  Stir together the first five ingredients. Pour into a lightly greased 13×9 inch baking dish.  Sprinkle cake mix evenly over pumpkin mixture (if you wish to add pecans, sprinkle them evenly over cake mix).  Drizzle melted butter over cake mix. Bake at 350F for 60 – 65 minutes or until golden brown**.  Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  IF desired, serve with whipped cream, sprinkle of nutmeg or vanilla ice cream.

** If baking ahead of time, I baked for about 55 min then re-heat again for another 10 min before serving.

THE PRESTON AND STEVE CAMP OUT FOR HUNGER

Many of us are blessed to have a beautiful meal to share with family and friends on Thanksgiving day. Yet there are still so many who are in need of food and support, not only on Thanksgiving but all year round. Thanks to the Preston and Steve Show (Philadelphia’s top rated morning radio show), we all have an opportunity to help give to those less fortunate. Every year just after Thanksgiving, the P&S show launch their Camp Out for Hunger Campaign. By teaming with Philabundance, the Delaware Valley’s largest hunger relief foundation, the P&S show set up camp for an entire week at the Metroplex Shopping Center in Plymouth Meeting, Pa. This camp out (which is turning into more of a huge, celebrated event each year), is the perfect opportunity to not only meet some of your favorite local radio, television and sports celebrities, but to also donate in any way that you can to help those less fortunate. The P&S show will be collecting food and monetary donations throughout the entire week of November 28-December 2. You can also donate various ways through Acme Markets, either by making an online purchase or  placing items in the P&S drop-boxes located in various Acme supermarkets.

For more information on how to help with this very special and important cause, please visit this link.

Amatriciana Sauce

This week I’m highlighting a fantastic post from my favorite fellow food blogger, Una Mamma Italiana. It’s been a while since I’ve had the pleasure to share one of Una Mamma’s recipes with you. What better way to welcome her back to my blog that with a delicious rustic sauce that incorporates pancetta! Check it out and enjoy! And be sure to visit the Una Mamma Italiana for many more amazing recipes!
– Dom

Since I started blogging at Una Mamma Italiana over 3 years ago, I’ve noticed that readers really love the sauce recipes. Whether its my family recipe for Sunday Gravy, Vodka Sauce or Arrabiatta Sauce – these sauces are classics that can usually be made with minimal effort and a big wow factor.

Here is another classic Italian sauce recipe that boasts the amazing flavor of Pancetta! It gets its name from the town of its origin, Amatrice (a super small town in Northern Lazio. We’re talking central Italy, here – the countryside that literally divides the North from the South.) It is a very rustic style sauce.

Pancetta is Italian bacon that is cured with all kinds of salt and yummy spices. It is most often used in recipes for the flavor you get from the fat (who doesn’t love cooking in a good fat!?) on the meat. Some “Med-E-Gones“ substitute regular bacon in recipes such as these. I guess you could do the same, but then you run the risk of breaking my heart (and the hearts of Italians everywhere).

AMATRICIANA SAUCE
3 TB e.v.o.o.
2 oz. pancetta, finely cubed
1 med onion, minced
1 TB minced garlic
pinch of dried oregano
1 can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped or hand crushed
1/2 tsp (to start) curshed red pepper flakes (adjust to your liking)
1 TB julienned fresh basil leaves
salt & pepper to taste

Start with only 2 TB of the olive oil. Use it to brown the pancetta. Once browned, add the onions and garlic, saute over medium heat until soft. Stir in the oregano, hot pepper flakes, and the tomatoes. Bring it to a boil. Simmer until sauce has thickened a bit (around 30 minutes)

At the end, stir in the basil leaves and add more hot pepper/salt/pepper as needed. Stir in the remaining TB of olive oil until emulsified.

Toss with your favorite pasta and top with lots of yummy grated pecorino romano cheese! (my fav) And MANGIA!!