Steak and Pesto Pinwheel Bread

I do believe I have already established my love of the Great British Bake Off and so once again we return to a show inspired dishes.  During Season 5, Richard made a Pesto Pinwheel Bread that, according to the judges, looked and tasted quite good.  The look of it is in fact rather intimidating but, I decided I was up for the challenge. 

However, I wanted something a bit heartier than Richard's original recipe.  I wanted something that I felt confident I could just tear off a couple twists, take to work for lunch, and feel completely satisfied.  This is why my version is made with steak.  This bread can be made with anything though.  Pick a few items that entice your own taste buds and make a great party appetizer or fun lunch item for the week.

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 lb 2 oz white flour
1 Tbsp salt
1 oz superfine sugar
10g quick-rise yeast
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 eggs - beaten
1/4 c. milk
1/2 c. warm water
olive oil for greasing

Filling:

1 lb stew beef - quarter each cube
1 red onion - quartered and sliced
1 red bell pepper - sliced
5 Tbsp pesto
olive oil for drizzling
1 egg - for egg wash

Directions:

The night before, marinate stew beef in 2 Tbsp pesto.

For the dough:

Put the flour, salt, yeast, sugar, butter, eggs, milk, and 1/8 c. of warm water in your stand mixer.  Using a bread hook, mix until just combined.  Add 1/8 to 1/4 c. of warm water and mix again.  Continue adding portions of the water and mixing until you have a soft dough. 

Turn out the down onto a lightly floured work surface.  Knead for approximately 10 minutes.  You want the dough to be smooth and elastic.  Put the dough into a greased bowl and let rise for one hour.

The vegetables:

Preheat oven to 325F.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper - one for onions and the other for bell pepper.  Drizzle with olive oil and roast for 15 minutes.

Putting it all together:

Turn out the risen dough on a lightly floured work surface and knead for 20 seconds.  Split the dough in half, set aside one portion.

Roll out the dough into a circle with a diameter of approximately 12 inches.  Let rest for 5 minutes and then roll again to diameter of 13 inches.  Place on a pizza tray.

Spread remaining pesto onto the bread then layer with beef, onions, and peppers.

Repeat the above rolling instructions for the top layer.

Wet edges of bottom layer with water then lay down the top layer and join together.

Place a small bowl in the center of the pinwheel and cut 16 equally sized striped coming out from the bowl.

Twist each strip twice.

Set aside to rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375F.

Brush the top of the pinwheel with a beaten egg.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

The dough is a bit on the sweeter side, which surprised me at first but I really like.  Don't worry about the sturdiness of the twists, I have not had a problem with the filling falling out once they are ripped off the pinwheel.  It should turn out to be a sturdy bread and it can handle heavy fillings.  Finally, if you cannot find superfine sugar, do not despair.  Use a blender or coffee grinder to turn granulated sugar superfine.  Just a couple of pulses should do the trick.

I wish you the best on your own pinwheel experiment!

Broccoli Soup

I am writing these posts at the height of an awful New England winter so of course all I can really think about is warm comfort food.  So soup it is!  For me, soup is this amazing substance where everything you need for a meal comes together in a single pot.  On a cold Sunday, you just heat up a bowl and then sit back on the couch with that warm substance with amazing scents resting in your hand, slowly eating while you binge watch your favorite show. 

I also like taking soup to work because it is one of the few things that forces me to take my mind off whatever it is that I am doing.  It's not a sandwich that can be held in one hand while I peck away at an email or read a paper.  If I don't want a mess on my desk I have to concentrate on my food.  My job is not a stressful thing that requires my full attention 24/7, but I am just a natural workaholic.  Lunch is a completely underappreciated meal, so I am grateful for foods that take my mind elsewhere.

Broccoli Soup

1 qt stock (1 quart = 4 cups)

6 c. broccoli (approximately 2 medium sized heads) - chopped

2 potatoes - peeled and diced

6 cipollini onions (pick the 6 largest from the bag)

2 Tbsp butter

First, let's talk cipollini onions.  They come in a bag similar to pearl onions.  My preference for these onions is due to their sweetness and fragrant nature once cooked.  Their higher sugar content may change the overall flavor of your soup so bare that in mind.  If you want a taste that is more traditional, use 1 large yellow onion - chopped.

Now, on to the steps...

In a large saucepan melt butter and saute onion until tender.  Add stock and broccoli.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until broccoli is tender.  I simmered it for about 20 minutes.

Using a blender or hand mixer, puree until smooth.  Put soup back on the stove and bring up to a boil.  Add the potatoes and cook until tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

This soup meets my own personal preference.  I like to be able to sink my teeth into something, which is why I do not cook the potatoes with the broccoli and puree the whole thing.  I even prefer my tomato soup chunky!  Therefore, if you are looking for a soup on the creamier end, add the potatoes sooner and go to town with a blender.

Enjoy!

Banana Dessert Burrito

When I made chicken pot pie a few weeks ago, I had all this perfectly good but unnecessary pastry dough leftover.  Since I am not one to waste I looked around the pantry to come up with something to use up the dough.  The banana dessert burrito was my answer.

Ingredients:

2 bananas
~ 1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
Drizzled honey

Roll out dough.  Slice two bananas onto dough, leaving space around the edges.  Drizzle honey then sprinkle brown sugar.

Fold in edges to make a circle.

Fold in 1/3 then fold again, making what is essentially an ugly burrito.

Bake at 35 minutes at 400F. 

Mmmmm banana!

Chicken Pot Pie

I love roasting a chicken because of all the things you get to do with it afterwards... stock, soup, pot pie, sandwiches, etc.  Today, let's talk pot pie.

Crust:

2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 sticks cold butter
~ 1/2 c. ice water

Filling:

1 white potato - peeled and diced
3 cipolline onions - chopped
1 c. mixed vegetables
1/3 c. butter
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. milk
2 c. chicken - cooked and shredded
2 c. stock
Salt and pepper to taste

You can begin this a couple days in advance since you can leave the pastry dough in the refrigerator for up to two days.  But you need to at least give yourself an hour for the dough to rest in the refrigerator.

Combine flour and salt, then add butter cut into chunks.  Using a pastry cutter, but the butter into the dry ingredients.

Once the butter is about the size of large peas, begin to add the ice water.  Only do a tablespoon or two at a time.  Continue cutting the ingredients together and adding the water until, once you press it between your fingers, it stays together.

Dump the dough onto a clean surface.  Divide into two equal portions.

 

 

Knead dough just enough to create a firm disc, then wrap in cling wrap and place in fridge for at least 1 hour, up to two days.

 

 

When you are ready to create the crusts, take one disc at a time out of the fridge and roll out to a 10 inch round.  Place the first round into a greased and floured 9 inch pie dish.

 

Now, on to the filling!

 

Boil diced potato until you can pierce them with a fork.  Melt butter in a sauté pan and then add chopped onions.  I use cipolline onions because of their smell after they have been cooked in butter.  It increases the anticipation of the finished product.

 

Cook onion until tender then add flour.  Mix thoroughly then add stock and milk.  Simmer until thickened.  Thickening took me about 7 minutes.  Add vegetables, potatoes, and chicken.  Taste test then add salt and pepper until satisfied.

 

 

Add the filling to the pie dish.  I promise, it will all fit!

 

 

Place the top crust over the filling and crimp edges.  Make four slits to allow steam to vent during cooking.

 

Place pie in oven, preheated to 425F.  Bake for 35 minutes.  Remove when crust is golden brown.  Let cool for about 10 minutes then enjoy!





Chicken soup with homemade stock

So, you've made a wonderful Greek Turkey Chicken and now you have a beautiful carcass leftover.  What do you do with it?  You make stock of course!  Stock is one of those kitchen adventures that is really simple to make but requires you have the time to make it.  But if you do, then you have quarts of broth ready for soup and pot pie or additional flavoring for stuffing and gravy.  In my humble opinion, it's worth the effort.

For stock:

1 chicken carcass
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
1 medium yellow onion
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. peppercorns
20 springs of parsley
5 springs of thyme
3 garlic cloves
Enough water to cover the carcass

Put everything into a stock pot large enough that the water will not boil over.  Bring it to a rapid boil then reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer for at least 4 hours, occasionally skimming off fat.  After 4 hours begin to test the broth, it's finished when you decide it tastes they way you like it.  Strain stock.  Use immediately or freeze for later.

I set aside some of my stock for use in a pot pie I made later that day.  Some went into my freezer.  The rest I used for chicken soup.  I am not much for wasting food and the vegetables still had enough of their flavor and consistency so I chopped up the carrots, celery, and onion and put it all back in the stock.  I then added about 1 pound of shredded chicken and 1 cup of orzo.  I brought the soup to a boil and cooked the soup just long enough to cook the Orzo - 10 minutes.  I'm a little in love with orzo, but be careful.  When it is left in liquid it will continue to expand.  If you use too much you'll end up with a weird pasta concoction versus soup for several days.  Not that the weird pasta concoction isn't tasty, it's just not soup, and we want soup.