Any Home Bakers Here?

[BigBlueHen53]

Has anyone here ever put grapefruit under the broiler? cut it in half, sprinkle a little sugar on it and pop it in the oven... very good and juicy. keep a close eye on it

Mango grills good, too!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

For our Christmas dinner I made a pot pie. Prepare a pie crust in advance. Oven 350, 30-35 min. Prep time: about 30 min.? Cook time: 30-35 min. Total: about 1 hr, but well worth it.

I used turkey ham cut into cubes and oven-baked chicken breasts, also cubed, about 1 1/2 c. of each.. I sauteed 1/2 c esch of chopped onion, carrots and celery in oil till tender, then added the meat and heated. Added 1/4 c. all-purpose flour, stirred it all over veggies, cooked abiut 3 min. to cook out flour taste but not brown the flour. Added 4 TBSP. salted butter (1/2 stick), stirred till well mixed with flour to create a roux. Slowly stirred in 3 c. chicken broth while stirring, to prevent forming lumps. Bring to a boil, cook and stir about 5 minutes, till it begins to thicken. Add 1 c. milk, half-and-half or heavy cream. Bring to a boil and stir about 8 minutes. Mixture will bubble up and thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste, 1/4 tsp. each rosemary and thyme, and 1 tsp. parsley. Pour into casserole dish. Cover with pie crust, seal edges of crust to side of pan. Brush crust with an egg wash of 1 whole egg beat with 1 Tbsp. heavy cream till frothy. Pierce crust in several places with sharp knife to vent. Cover loosely for first 15 minutes of baking with a tent of aluminum foil to prevent over-browning. Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes. Let set about 5 minutes before serving.

I served this with a cranberry sauce made from scratch, deviled eggs, corn bread, and a box stuffing mix. Which is not my favorite, but DH likes it.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Oh. And lots and lots of fudge, but that's another story.

For now, good night!

 

[589205]

Midnight brownies:

 

[N F C]

Growing up we always enjoyed these beautiful coconut squares. We always referred to the a the Boy’s Square‘s. I got the recipe from my 85 year old mother and tried it today for the first time. I’ll have to get it written out properly and post it in the next few days. My dad is 88 and is very ill I’ve been taking him to dialysis for the last 3 weeks. So he loves these and wanted some On his better days. Hmm wonder what happened to the 2 in the corner? Lol
edit} This is the double batch amounts I used It took over 45 min to cook the topping. To my liking. I prefer this type of baking on the crispy side. this is the first time I baked this and i will have to time it the next batch.


These are LOW cal too!

The bottom crust has 1 cup of shortening, 2 cups flour, 1 cup brown sugar, blend/cream together press in a 9x13 pan, bake in a 350f oven until golden brown.
While the crust is cooking mix2 cups brown sugar, 4 eggs, 2 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp baking powder, 4 tablespoons of flour and 2 cups of sweetened coconut short cut or fine cut. Mix with a blender until smooth. Add to hot crust after the crust is golden brown. put back in 350f oven bake until golden brown. We prefer ours cooked until the edges are crunchier.

Anything coconut goes over well at my house, thanks for sharing them!

 

[jnicholes]

Really looking for a little bit of advice here. Our prickly pear cactus will be ready for harvest soon and I would be grateful for advice on preparation. Vegan would be best but meat alternatives work for us as well.

you grow prickly pear?

 

[oldhen2345]

That is the PRETTIEST pie I ever laid eyes on! And I'm drooling, thankyouverymuch!

I am absolutely drooling. Need to get out my pie topper cutters

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Made bread again today. Three loaves and cinnamon rolls. Recipe follows pics, as promised.

(SORRY, TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. PICS DID NOT APPEAR. TRYING TO PLACE IN SEPARATE POST, TO FOLLOW)

That batch of rolls in front got a little ...um... more caramelized than I intended, but they are still very tasty.

This recipe uses:
5 c. All Purpose flour
5 c. Whole Wheat flour
3 c. Bread flour
4 c hot water
3/4 c vegetable oil
3/4 c honey
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp salt
1/4 c warm water
1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp active dry yeast
1 egg (opt.)
2 Tbsp wheat germ
2 Tbsp ground flax seed
NOTE: You will need a very large bowl or basin.

I start with 1/4 c. warm water, 1 Tbsp honey and 2 Tbsp active dry yeast in a small bowl; set aside. Place 1 quart hot water in 6-qt. KitchenAid mixer, add 1 c each AP flour, bread flour, and wh wh flour, plus 3/4 c veg oil (I use olive oil), 3/4 c honey, and 1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp salt. Mix well.

Add the yeast which should be all nice and bubbly and another c of each of the flours; mix well. Add 2 Tbsp wheat germ and 2 Tbsp ground flax seed, both of which live in the freezer. You can add an egg here as well. Mix well.

For the third time, add 1 c of each of the flours and mix well. Let the mixer do the work, mixing for about 3 to 5 minutes until you can see the gluten forming. After this point I don't use bread flour any more. I will add about 2 c more of both ww and ap flours, alternating, until the dough begins to pull away from the bowl. Turn out onto a floured board and let it rest about 10 minutes while you tidy up the kitchen.

Knead it lightly a few strokes. It should feel "alive" and springy. Oil a large bowl (I use a basin). Place the dough in, smooth side down, and turn it over so the top is oiled. Place in a warm spot, covered, and let it rise about an hour. Put your feet up, have a cup of tea.

Thoroughly grease four or five loaf pans. My pans make one-pound loaves so I need five plus sometimes a couple of minis. I use solid Crisco to grease the pans. Punch the dough down, cut into portions to fit your pans, shape into loaves, and place in pans. Let rise about half an hour. Brush tops with egg wash (beat egg till frothy, add 1 Tbsp heavy cream or milk and beat again) for a dark, rich, soft crust. Turn oven on to 375°F after about 15 minutes so oven is hot when bread is done rising. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake 20 minutes more. Check bottoms for doneness. Remove from pans, set on racks to cool. Brush tops with melted butter if desired, for a shiny crust. Allow to cool at least two hours before cutting and eating (interiors will continue cooking). Makes about 5 one-lb. loaves.

TIPS: Measure and pour oil first, then honey; honey will not stick to measuring cup.

Let bread cool overnight before slicing. Sliced bread can be stored in freezer bags and frozen, bread makes excellent toast!

This recipe is a little on the sweet side as I wanted to make sweet rolls out of some of it. If I just intend to make bread, I cut back on the honey to 1/2 cup.

This recipe is intentionally large. I always try to give away at least one loaf out of every batch, as did the woman who taught me this recipe many years ago. I believe bread is meant to be shared!. Enjoy!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hmm. My pics seem to have vanished. Trying again.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Wow all looks great @BigBlueHen53