Easter Brunch.......

Hi. Remember me? I used to be really good about blogging almost everything I make. I still take pics of what I cook, but sometimes life gets in the way. I started a new job baking 3 days a week. I still have my other job cooking for the Seniors. I was really sick 2 weeks ago and then I went to FL for 9 days. I'm back now, ready to blog.

Robin really loves Hot Cross buns, but she said she's never had a really fresh one( she always has to toast them). I remedied that, by whipping up this recipe. I searched online, but then went to my massive cookbook collection and pulled out a bread machine cookbook. I really have no qualms about making dough in the machine, especially when I'm making 3 other things too. I decided on this recipe because it used skim milk( I didnt want to go out and buy whole milk) and I had everything on hand. Actually, I take that back. The recipe called for dried currants and dried apricots. I had the latter, not the former. I did have a mix of dried fruits(breakfast blend) by Sunsweet. It contained dates, 2 different raisins and prunes so I used that. It worked out well. The dough was super simple using AP flour, brown sugar, mace( I used a shake of pumpkin pie spice) eggs, butter, milk, yeast and salt. When the dough cycle is finished, you dump out the dough and knead in the dried fruits. After forming into rolls, you let rise again, slash the top and bake. After they were in the oven for about 5 min, I realized I forgot to slash the crosses into the top( Hey, I'm Jewish, I dont often make crosses). I hoped it would still work and it was fine. I just mixed up the glaze( powdered sugar, milk and vanilla or Fiori Di Sicillia). I let them cool for a few minutes then made the crosses by drizzling them on with a spoon. It worked out pretty well. Everyone loved them!! On my way back to Canada from the airport( in Detroit) last week, I stopped at Nino Salvaggio's
and picked up some Vermont Butter and Cheese Company Cultered Butter. It was divine on these.

I also made a smoked salmon, mushroom and asparagus quiche( The crust is Pate Brise, I subbed 1/4c. of WW flour in place of some of the AP flour)and roasted fingerling potatoes. I love these potatoes. I picked up a bag at our local grocery store( PC Brand) for 1.50. I'm always stunned when I can find gourmet stuff in our small town.

I didnt get a picture of the fabulous yogurt granola parfaits I made. I used Liberte organic vanilla yogurt. OMG, that stuff is TOO DIE FOR!! Robin said it was like eating heavy cream. I normally always look at labels( and prices) at the grocery store, but for some odd reason( subconciously maybe I didnt want to know) I didnt. I was shocked to see it had 15g of fat for 175g serving. It was also 4.79 for 750g. When I made the parfaits, I used probably 2 heaping tablespoons of the yogurt so I didnt feel too guilty. I also used some blackberries( from Mexico) and some semi tasteless strawberries from Cali. I really can't wait until we have Ontario strawberries. Those rock and last year I made a killer jam with them.

No big meal tonight. I'm going to have some blintzes my mom made for me and I schlepped back from Florida!!

Deeply chilled......

On Friday, I drove to Cleveland. I was somewhat nervous and anxious about making the drive by myself( 5+hrs). I'm not that good at driving and reading directions at the same time and I actually almost cancelled. I'm so glad I didnt. I had a great time and I really loved Cleveland( or I should say Beachwood, the suburb where I stayed). I enjoyed it so much that I'm planning a return trip in the fall.

I was there for the Egullet Heartland Gathering. The link will take you to the reporting thread and there you'll find pictures of what I made( in post #17 and #44). I made bing cherry crumb pies( I blogged about them last year) and a risotto with shrimp. I arrived too late for the Friday dinner at Lola, but I met up with folks on Saturday morning at the West Side Market. We all chipped in 20 bucks and then shopped for ingredients. After shopping, we had a phenominal lunch at a Cambodian place. The owner kept bringing out dishes and we all shared them. There was a plethora of food and it only cost us 12.00 each( with tax and tip). Amazing. I had the most flavorful won ton soup I've ever had. After lunch, we headed to a church in Solon, OH. The church had a huge commercial kitchen and large dining room for us to enjoy. There were about 25 of us cooking and everything just worked out really well. Another Eg member who came up from Ann Arbor, held a chocolate tasting/truffle and wine workshop. One person brought tons of homeade charcuterie from Chicago. I think that was quite possibly the best lox( smoked salmon) I've ever had. He also made pastrami( none for me thanks), bacon and sausage. These were just our appetizers!! My friend Tom made all the breads. If I can remember correctly, there was honey whole wheat( my favorite), brioche( heavenly), sweet potato bread, ciabatta, cranberry pecan, potato rosemary, and one other I can't recall. It was just so fabulous to hang out with like-minded people and talk about one of my favorite subjects.

Tom was so generous( as was Ron, the charcuterie guy). I came home with tons of bread( as you see in the picture) and smoked salmon and bacon. I froze the brioche and I'll be making french toast this weekend. Before I left for home on Sunday, I went to Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Sur La Table, Williams Sonoma, a grocery store and a bagel shop. As you can see, I went a bit overboard with the cheese( Vegans, advert your eyes). I brought back 9 cheeses,( 2 of them I had at the gathering and I liked so I picked them up at Trader Joes). The rest came from Whole Foods. I even picked up a local Ohio cheese. Last night, I heated up some of Tom's bread and ate bread and cheese for dinner. Robin had a burrito that I brought her back from Chipotle.

I also picked up a slice of cheesecake for Robin from the Cheesecake Factory. I'm not a fan of cheesecake so a slice is good for her. When I was waiting for my order, another gentleman wanted to buy a whole cheesecake. The counterperson told him that they were "deeply chilled" and wouldnt be ready for consumption for an hour or two. Deeply chilled???? That made me laugh my ass off. Leave it to Cheesecake Factory to come up with a new word for Frozen. I guess Frozen is a bad, bad word in the restaurant industry. Speaking of cheesecake factory. They started in Detroit, yet there are no restaurants in Michigan. Why is that?

Dark and Soft Restaurant dinner rolls( KA whole grain)....

I've been on a real roll( or bun as my honey calls them) kick lately. It's nice to pull one out of the freezer to make a sandwich or heat one up with a cup of soup. I've also been on a whole grain baking kick too. I love my new KA Whole Grain Baking Book.

The folks at KA say that these Dark & Soft Restaurant dinner rolls remind them of the soft, mildly sweet, deep chocolate-colored rolls served at various chain restaurants( particularly steakhouses) across the country. I'm not sure about that part as I dont frequent steakhouses at all. We enjoyed these with our Italian wedding soup a few days ago. I used the dough feature of the bread machine. The dough came together easily and baked up fabulous.

If you're interested in the recipe, just leave me a note with your email.

ps: Thanks for the nice comments regarding Stanlee. When I moved to Canada, I left Stanlee with my aunt in California because he was very attatched to her and I felt he wouldnt be able to take the winters here. Even though he wasnt with me on a daily basis, I never stopped thinking about him or loving him.