Kerri and I decided that it would be fun to make a gingerbread house from scratch. I used a recipe from King Arthur Flour's and we spent hours of chilling, rolling, and sketching out the template....with a tape measure.......this was what came out. Our Gingerbread House....isn't she a Beaut??? This was the result after an attempt at icing which resulted in gingerbread in shambles. I then wiped off all of the icing with many towels and determined a glue gun was then next best bet. After hours in the kitchen we were not turning back. It paid off TA DA. Aren't you impressed?
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| There are no words. |
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| We added a "brick" and decided it was best to wait until David was home. We knew he would be so impressed with us. After which we would shake our house to see if it could withstand the weight of icing and candy. |
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| And it did. |
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| Amazing what a little paint does, no? |
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| We were all so proud! |
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| A little moment in the day... Teague in a helmut. Sunday Olive Focaccia/Roasting Pumpkins/Roast w/Pumpkin Too Many Projects I've been in a funk all week and hadn't felt much like being in the kitchen. Sunday I woke up and decided I'd get busy. It was Family Dinner Night and I knew I needed to get my roast in. I had two leftover pumpkins, two potatoes, some baby carrots, an acorn squash, and some frozen green beans. On top of that, very little motivation to make a trip to the grocery store. This as usual led me to my dear friend, Google. We've been eating a lot of red meat and I'm just about over it. I was craving something light and unique but beginning with a roast. This was near impossible. I came across a recipe for Roast with Pumpkin wedges with a garam masala rub. I then proceeded to match this with what I had. I googled "make garam masala." I had a little over half the spices but proceeded anyways. I always hear that my Uncle Larry is doing this and he's a fabulous cook. Why can't I? I linked the recipe from Fig and Cherry in the above title. Instead of the oven I used the crock pot. David and I peeled 12 cloves of garlic... (we love our garlic) and placed it at the bottom of the crock pot. In a bowl I added 2 tbs. Cumin, 1 tsp. Cinnamon, 1 tsp. Nutmeg, 1 tsp. Paprika, and the rest of my beloved Saffron. Goodbye my friend. I then rubbed that Big Boy down. Threw 10 cloves in the bottom because we do everything in excess. I then cut up enough pumpkin and acorn squash to fill up my pot. I rubbed them all down in the remaining spices and tossed three bay leaves in. I poured about a cup of olive oil on top and set on low. After about thirty minutes, David asked me if I had added any liquid. I told him the recipe didn't ask of any... He asked me if I followed the recipe....he was being polite. He knew I hadn't. He suggested I add some stock, all I had was Chicken Stock so I added about four cups of stock and let it slow cook on low for 8 hrs. Occasionally, I moved my veggies around. *Afterthoughts: This really could have used the Cardamom. I would have given it a sweet layer that I think it needed. I could have used brown sugar as that was about all I had to offer. I think it would have given it the depth that it lacked. All in all, it was a delicious meal and was a great alternative to a traditional roast. Also, it was impossible to make a "light" dish out of a roast. Cheers to wishful thinking. |
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| This was the only picture I took of the Roast with Pumpkins. I was a bit distracted as you will see. Roasting Pumpkins |
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| I cut this baby in half and set a baking sheet beneath to catch any cooking liquids. Let her roast for and hour and a half. |
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| You can see the chunk I cut off to use with the roast. Isn't that color brilliant! I could have painted my walls with this. |
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| I wish I had come up with a use for these peels. They were beautiful. They pulled away from the pumpkin flesh perfectly. I did this while it was hot! You might want to wait and let cool. |
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| I threw all the flesh into the bowl. At this point I was thinking.... "Never again canned. This is a cinch!" And then the pureeing began... |
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| I think I've spoken to you all about not being deterred by lack of specific equipment. I do not have a food processor. I used a blender to puree this......This morning I found two splats of pure above my laundry room door and have highlights of puree in my hair that have yet to be washed out. My laundry room door is across the kitchen from where I was blending..... |
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| 112 ounces of Pumpkin Puree I froze all but one. I still have one pumpkin left. Oy Vey! |
Olive Focaccia
I have had a...what I think is profound love of Focaccia since my days at Cafe 501. If I had ever known it could be this easy I would have been making this all along.
Don't live your life without making Focaccia in your own home!
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| Warm water and little yeast. I mixed it, Pdub let it set. 10 minutes. Either way mine worked. Again, I missed some steps. This was happening all while pumpkin puree was flying. I mixed this with my flour, salt, and olive oil. I again, used my hand mixer until it was too sticky and finished with hand kneading. Stuck it on my dryer for an hour and a half. |
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| Chop up your olives. My green olives had pits. Argh. This put me in a mood. It worked out just fine. |
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| Lovely, no? |
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| Gave her a short knead and tossed my olives on top. Now, I know this is shocking but I didn't pay attention to the recipe and forgot to blot my olives dry. This made my dough sticky and me irritable. I combined and made sure not to over knead. I split the dough in half and rolled into rectangles. I always cover with tea towels and try not to use plastic wrap. This works just as well. They went back on the dryer for an hour. |
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| Something to cheer me up. Make dimples. All over. Go to town. Hope my thighs don't look like this after the bread. |
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| Brush with olive oil. Oh, how it sparkles with delight... or is that me? |
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| Sprinkle with course salt. Pdub called for Kosher, I used Mediterranean Sea Salt. Either work but be familiar with your salt. Over salting can mean... RUIN. |
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| Bake for 30 minutes. I let one bake longer than the other. We both preferred the one that went for the full thirty. It was crunchy with a little softness in the center. However, the other I put in a glass baking dish and cooked it less time. It is more thick due to the dish and softer. It will be fabulous for sandwiches! *I don't have time to proof this. Let me know of my mistakes. Love to you all this Holiday Season. |
RecipeOlive Focaccia
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Ingredients
- 1-½ teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
- 1-½ cup Warm Water
- 4 cups All-purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ⅓ cups Olive Oil
- 1 cup Olives (any Variety Or Combination), Roughly Chopped
- Olive Oil, For Drizzling
- Kosher Salt, For Sprinkling
Preparation Instructions
Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water. Let stand for a few minutes.
In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined, and the dough comes together in a sticky mass.
Warm a non-metal mixing bowl in the microwave until warm. Coat it with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set it aside for 1 to 2 hours, or store in the fridge until you need it.
To make focaccia, blot olives with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.
Remove dough from bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Place chopped olives on top of the dough, then very gently knead the olives into the dough. (Don’t overknead!) Divide dough in half and roll each half into a large, thin oval/rectangle. Place on separate sheet pans (or cookie sheets) drizzled with olive oil. Drizzle more olive oil on top of the ovals, then cover each one with plastic wrap. Put in a draft-free/warm place for one hour.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Remove the plastic wrap (dough will be puffy) and use your fingertips to press dimples all over the surface of the dough. Drizzle surface with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until focaccia is golden brown.
Cut into pieces with a pizza wheel or sharp knife. Serve immediately.
oh yes! i am making this focaccia. it looks delicious!
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