AwesomeBites

Just got back from vacation. We rented a boat in the Virgin Islands. 

I made chili on one of the quiet days. 

First 5 days aboard Fuego was peaceful. Then all of a sudden, we ran into a storm, ran aground, had to find our way into St Croix at night, lost the boat – she slipped her mooring, met Harvey who found our boat, and in the last hour of turning the boat back into the charter company, we fouled the prop! Over 100 years of sailing experience onboard, imagine if we were new at this! Life is always an adventure! 

While in a safe harbor,made a bit of Chili

Ingredients: 

2 Cans Chili Beans – (I know, you think I am cheating, but I was on a boat, and have you ever tried to boil beans on a small propane stovetop?)  I like beans in my Chili, so I use canned, or at home, you can boil some in a pressure cooker – no problemo. 

Leftovers: Diced onion, green peppers, chili peppers, spaghetti sauce, meatballs, steak cut into cubes from the night before.  

Process: 

In the stock pot, saute the onions and the other raw veggies that are hanging out in your refrigerator, add leftover meats making sure they are diced and broken into small pieces. 

Then it is time to add the liquid ingredients: the cans of beans, can of spaghetti sauce or tomatoes – whatever you have on hand. You will need enough liquid to make it consistence of a thick soup and then allow it to simmer reducing down by at least a third. 

Season:  Chili pepper flakes, chili powder, cumin, thyme and salt and pepper. 

Go easy on the heat until you are near serving time, and adjust as you like. 

One of my friends used to call his Chili, refrigerator chili since he made it when he was cleaning out the refrigerator.  Norris made excellent Chili! 

Enjoy on top of a hot dog, on the side of an open face hamburger or on its own with diced onions, cheese and corn chips.  Hmmm good.

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet.
2. Mix flour, 1/4 cup sugar and the baking powder in large bowl. Cut in butter, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until mixture looks like fine crumbs. Stir in buttermilk and gingerroot until dough leaves side of bowl and forms a ball.
3. Divide dough in half. Place half of dough on cookie sheet; pat or roll into 7-inch circle. Spread lemon curd over dough to within 1/2 inch of edge. Pat or roll remaining dough into 7-inch circle; gently place over lemon curd. Gently pinch edge to seal. Sprinkle with sugar. Cut surface of dough into 8 wedges, making cuts 1/4 inch deep (do not cut into lemon curd).
4. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes on cookie sheet. Remove from cookie sheet to serving platter or dish; cut into wedges. Serve warm.

Cinnamon Rolls

, sugar, and butter. Although you may be able to buy these gorgeous yeast buns, nothing compares to the smiles you get when your family wakes up to the smell of these baking in the oven.

I suspect that many of us have gotten away from making our own breads as we think it is just too much effort and time. We need, however, to realize that the dough is no more difficult to make than a cake batter and that the time involved is mainly when the dough is rising, when we can be off doing something else. And consider that if you want freshly baked buns in the morning you can do most of the work the night before; making the dough, letting it rise, and forming it into the individual rolls. Then the rolls of cinnamon dough are simply placed in your pan, covered, put in the refrigerator, and left to rise overnight. Next morning all you need to do is to bake them. This is great when you have company or just want something a little extra special for your family. You can eat these just as they are or, where I come from, we like to slice and toast them and then slather each half with butter. Delicious.

Cinnamon Rolls: In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, combine 2 1/4 cups (315 grams) of the flour and the yeast.

In a small saucepan, stirring constantly, heat the milk, butter, sugar, and salt just till warm (120 -130 degrees F) (49 – 54 degrees C) and the butter is almost melted.

Gradually pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture, with the mixer on low speed. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat this mixture on high speed for 3 minutes. Replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook (or do the kneading by hand), and knead in as much of the remaining 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 cups (315 – 385 grams) flour until you make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (3 to 5 minutes). (Dough will no longer be sticky to the touch.)

Shape into a ball. Place the dough into a greased bowl, turning once. Cover and let rise in a warm place till double (approximately 1 – 1 1/2 hours).

When the dough has doubled in size punch it down. Place onto a lightly floured surface, cover with a clean towel, and let rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the ingredients for the filling. In a medium-sized bowl place the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Stir to combine. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry blender, or two knives, until the mixture is crumbly. Set aside.

After about 10 minutes, roll the dough into a 12 inch (30 cm) square. Sprinkle the filling evenly over the rolled out dough and top with raisins (if desired). Carefully roll the dough into a log and pinch the edges to seal. Slice the log (roll) into eight equal-sized pieces. Arrange dough pieces in a greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch (33 x 23 x 5 cm) baking pan.

Cover dough loosely with clear plastic wrap, leaving room for rolls to rise. At this point you can refrigerate the dough for anywhere from 2 to 24 hours. If overnight, the next morning remove the rolls from the refrigerator, take off the plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. (If you are making the cinnamon rolls immediately, don?t chill dough. Instead, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let dough rise in a warm place till nearly double, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.)

Break any surface bubbles with a toothpick. Brush dough with half-and-half or light cream. Bake in a 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oven for 25 to 30 minutes or till light brown. (Can tell if done by inserting a toothpick into one of the buns, and it should come out clean. Also, if you lightly tap on the top of the buns it should sound hollow.)

If necessary, to prevent over-browning, cover rolls loosely with foil the last 5 to 10 minutes of baking. Remove rolls from oven. Brush again with half-and-half or light cream. Cool 5 minutes and then invert onto a baking rack and re-invert onto a serving plate or platter.

Can drizzle with the Powdered Sugar Glaze.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 8 rolls.

Dough:

4 1/2 – 5 cups (630 – 700 grams) all-purpose flour

1 package (1/4 ounce) (7 grams) active dry yeast

1 cup (240 ml) milk

1/3 cup (75 grams) unsalted butter

1/3 cup (66 grams) granulated white sugar

1/2 teaspoon (2.5 grams) salt

3 large eggs

Filling:

3/4 cup (160 grams) packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup (35 grams) all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, cold (cut into pieces)

1/2 cup light raisins (optional)

1 tablespoon half-and-half (light cream)

Powdered (Confectioners or Icing) Sugar Glaze:

In a medium-sized bowl stir together:

1/2 cup (58 grams) powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar

1 tablespoons half-and-half (light cream)

Make the glaze thin enough to drizzle over cinnamon

Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/breakfast/CinnamonRollsBuns.html#ixzz0mvNk2D8z

Fig Preserves with Fennle and Sage Honey

Canning Whole Fruit – Plums, Apricots, Peaches

Spring Cleaning – Organizing My Spice Cabinet and Rack