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Italian Beef Pizza

7/21/2014

Photo by Elizabeth Steffens

Whenever I host a pizza party, (which I do regularly) one of the most requested pies is the Italian Beef Pizza. People ask me for the recipe all the time, but there's not a special secret spice blend or exotic technique essential for making this crowd-pleaser. The only important thing: quality ingredients.

Home-made dough is a must, of course, preferably a recipe that enjoys a long, slow rise to develop better flavor and texture. If you aren't making your sauce from scratch, I recommend Contadina brand (no, they're not a sponsor---I just prefer their flavor!). Make an effort to find the best Italian beef available, preferably as rare as possible, since it gets cooked a second time on the pizza. My local Hyvee deli has a garlic beef that perfectly flavored and extraordinarily pink, but shop around for what's available in your area.

Two other recommendations. 1). Don't over-sauté the peppers and onions or they'll be limp after 10 minutes at 500 degrees--leave a little crunch. 2). Don't omit the bottom layer of smoked mozzarella, because it's essential to the flavors of the pizza. use the more-readily available smoked gouda if you have to.

You can get the full instructions HERE.

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Strawberry Rolls for breakfast!

7/17/2014

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Regular readers of this bread blog know that when we have mashed potatoes for supper at St. Bede Abbey, chances are the leftovers will end up in a batch of dough. The kitchen crew has even taken to making the potatoes without extra flavorings (no garlic, no pepper, no chives) so that I can use them as easily for sweet breakfast rolls as for Sunday dinner. Last night I mixed up a batch of potato roll dough with the intention of making cinnamon rolls for breakfast, only to discover that we were completely out of cinnamon.

Fortunately, I'm a 21st century monk with WiFi and an iPad, so I looked up "breakfast rolls" on Pinterest and found a recipe for Strawberry Rolls using pie filling, which I just happened to have in the pantry. Not long ago I made rolls with pineapple filling and orange glaze and the brethren had no qualms about trying something new, so I decided to give it a try. (I also shaped three loaves of potato bread for later breakfasts.)

Pie filling is a bit runnier than cake and pastry filling, which is what I usually use for breakfast breads, so it was a bit of a challenge to get the dough rolled up. The results, as you can see, definitely made the effort worthwhile. I drizzled on the lemon cream cheese icing just before morning prayer and put them on the breakfast table. As predicted, my fellow monks made the rolls disappear in no time, so I was glad I kept a few in reserve for food photography later in the day when the light got better.

You can find the recipe I used for strawberry rolls with lemon cream cheese icing HERE, although I used my own dough recipe, the ever-versatile dough for Best Ever Crescent Rolls.

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Baking for Fr. Henry

7/9/2014

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Our Father Henry passed away Sunday morning, at age 89. You can read his full obituary HERE. He had taught in the school and eventually served as principal from his ordination in 1952 until 1977. He then began a series of parish assignments until his retirement in 2012.

In his later years Fr. Henry suffered greatly from arthritis and a variety of other ailments, including some dental issues. So French or Italian loaves with an ultra-chewy crust were not his bread of choice. What he really loved was potato bread.

We get mashed potatoes at supper about once a week, and there are almost always leftovers, so I bake potato bread fairly often. The potatoes give the bread a soft crust with a tender crumb, and the dough works well for cinnamon swirl bread or dinner rolls, too. Fr. Henry liked potato bread for breakfast, slathered with blackberry jelly and dunked in his coffee. So last night I baked a dozen loaves of potato bread to serve at the dinner following his funeral this afternoon. It's my way of honoring his memory; I'm sure I'll think of him whenever I put out potato bread for breakfast. You can find my recipe HERE, but if you want to make it how Fr. Henry liked it, omit the seeds.

Another monastic custom at the death of a confrere is to continue to set his place at table for a month after his death. A cross and candles are placed there, with the plate upside down and his napkin holder on top. (Every monk has his own distinctive napkin holder---yes, we still use cloth napkins!---often one he made himself.) The custom is a reminder that although our brother is no longer present, we hope to join him at the table of the Eternal Wedding Feast, the Supper of the Lamb. For Fr. Henry's sake, I hope they serve potato bread.

On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples
A feast of rich food and choice wines,
juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.
On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples,
The web that is woven over all nations;
he will destroy death forever.
The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces;
The reproach of his people he will remove from the whole earth;
for the LORD has spoken.
On that day it will be said:
"Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the LORD for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!

Isaiah 25:5-9

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Hodgson Mill GF Cake Mix

7/6/2014

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Hodgson Mill sent me some Gluten Free products to experiment with, and I've been enjoying testing all sorts of recipes that use cake mix as a base. As I generally do with product testing, I'm not interested in the recipe on the box---the company tested that recipe a thousand times until it was just right. I want to know what else you can use it for. Turns out this gluten-free cake mix is pretty versatile.

A site with recipes, crafts, coupons, and other homey stuff.

I started out with a simple cookie recipe I found online, which I made for my monthly Herb Guild meeting. I thought they needed a little more sweetness, so I frosted them with some maple flavored icing, and everyone RAVED about them. Not a soul had any idea they were gluten-free cookies until I mentioned it. I shared the recipe with one of our employees whose mother-in-law is also GF and she loved them so much she refused to share, not even with the her grand kids! The recipe I used is HERE, but I use the cake mix pictured above instead of Betty Crocker. I'm sure you could add any kind of chocolate chips, raisins, cranberries, etc. and get good results.

Gluten Free Caramel Pecan Upside-down Cake

Then I tried to imagine what I would really miss if I had to go gluten-free, and I realized that caramel pecan rolls would be very high on the list. As a diabetic I make them only occasionally, and try to make small portions, but if I couldn't have them I'd at least want a decent coffee cake substitute. So I made the cake according to the directions on the box except that I subbed sour cream for the buttermilk and added 2 tsp. of ground cinnamon. After I sprayed the 8" cake pan, I poured in some caramel sauce (see below) and sprinkled on 3/4 cup chopped pecans. Then I spread HALF of the cake batter on top of that---the box makes two 8" cakes, so the other half I used for another recipe (see below). The batter is rather thick, so you might thin it with 2 Tbs. of milk or half and half as I did. The cake then baked at 350 degrees F. for 22 minutes. Be sure to place place a cookie sheet on the shelf below the cake, to catch any drips of caramel that bubble over. When the cake tester tells you it's done, ignore the directions on the box that tell you to wait 10 minutes before removing the cake from the pan. Invert a serving plate on the top and flip it immediately; remove the pan and watch all that caramel goodness ooze down the sides of the cake. Not a single monk had any idea that this breakfast treat was gluten free, and everyone named it an unqualified success, except that I should have made two.

Caramel Sauce Topping: 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar, 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, 3 TBS. light corn syrup, warmed in a sauce pan over low medium heat and stirred until smooth (do not boil). Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle with pecans before adding batter.

Gluten-free Almond Crumb Cake

However, since the box of mix makes two cakes, I decided to make a second coffeecake, this one with an almond filling and a classic crumb topping. I put half the filling in the bottom of the sprayed 8" cake pan, then spread dollops of Solo Almond Cake and Pastry Filling on top of that, about half the can. Then I spread the rest of the batter and sprinkled on the crumb topping (see below). It also baked at 350 degrees F. for 22 minutes and came out moist and delicious, and just a tiny bit grainy. However, that was barely noticeable because of the crumb topping. (All flavors of Solo's Cake and Pastry Fillings are gluten-free, by the way. If you want to use another product, many grocery stores, including our local Hyvee, now have a list of GF products at the service desk or near the gluten-free aisle.)

Look at that yummy almond filling---all GF!

Crumb Topping In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour, 3 Tbs. brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon. Using a fork, cut in 3 Tbs. cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle all of mixture on top of cake batter just before baking. If you don't have canned filling, double the dry ingredients of this recipe but increase the butter to a full stick and use half of the mixture as the middle layer and the other half as the topping.

Gluten-free baked donuts with hazelnut glaze

I've already written in a previous blog about GF baked doughnuts made with this cake mix. They need to be baked a little longer or they can be a bit too crumbly, and they do taste more like a cupcake than a traditional doughnut, but they don't have the dry, grainy texture many GF mixes tend to yield. These seem to be especially well-received by children, so if you're a mom on the lookout for GF treats, get yourself some doughnut pans and try different flavors of GF cake mixes. Another advantage---doughnuts use less frosting than most cakes/cupcakes, so less sugar intake for your tykes.

Wilton and Norpro both make these non-stick doughnut pans, for both regular size and mini-doughnuts. You can get them at any store that has kitchen ware, from Target and Walmart to Macy's. A few well-stocked grocery stores carry them, too.

I'll be testing more gluten-free products in the weeks and months ahead---stay tuned for my review of gluten-free pizza mixes. Please note: I receive free products from many companies, including the ones mentioned in this post, for the purpose of experimenta-tion and review. I do not receive any additional personal compensation and would refuse it if offered.

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Baking in Denver Part II

7/4/2014

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Here is a gallery of photos taken by my Uncle Bob, from my demo at Holy Cross Parish in Thornton.

I also did two presentations at Bethany Lutheran Church: a practical demo on Herb Breads with a Meaning and a spiritual talk titled "What kind of bread shall we be?" Click HERE to get the recipe handout from the herb bread demo. The events were arranged by Pastor Ron Glusencamp, who is now in another ministerial position but was able to attend nonetheless, so it was good for the parish to be with him. He gave me an amazing pair of custom decorated Chuck Taylors. (To find out more about Christiana Lambert, the young artist who made them, click HERE.)

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EVOO -- A downtown Denver destination

7/1/2014

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While I was in Denver, I had the opportunity to visit a EVOO Marketplace, an upscale shop featuring olive oils, balsamic vinegars, and other gourmet condiments. (1338 15th St, Denver, CO 80202, (303) 974-5784. The building used to house a restaurants owned by my Aunt Norma's family. Click HERE to visit their website.) It's definitely worth the trip for a tasting---chances are you'll come home with something to dip your bread in!

EVOO has banks of shiny canisters with a wide variety of imported and domestic olive oils. You can always find the date of pressing with each oil, so you know how fresh it is. Many of their oils are infused with various flavors, including basil, herbes de Provence, Persian lime, and white truffle. Each canister has a stack of small tasting cups next to it, which suggests to me that you being a small baguette along for dipping. The shelves below have locally sourced pickles, peaches and other canned produce. Their gift baskets must completely rock the soul of any dedicated foodie or chef.

I was impressed with EVOO's selection of Balsamic vinegars, all of which are imported from Modena, Italy and are barrel-aged for 12 to 16 years. They have a variety of flavored Balsamics as well, from fuits like apple, mango, peach and pomegranate, all way to lavender, lemongrass, dark chocolate and cinnamon pear.

I ended up buying some gourmet French mustards, as well as an herbal sea salt my cousin recommended, mainly because they would fit into luggage a little easier than a large bottle of oil or vinegar. But my next trip to Denver I may have to bring a little extra money to have some oils and vinegars shipped home. It's probably a good thing monks don't get individual credit cards, because their online store is temptingly extensive!

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Italian Beef Pizza

Strawberry Rolls for breakfast!

Baking for Fr. Henry

Hodgson Mill GF Cake Mix

Baking in Denver Part II

EVOO -- A downtown Denver destination

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