Brioche Buns

Chris and I have been wanting to try our hand at making homemade hamburger buns. We have researched a few here and there, but then we saw an article in the NY Times about a Brioche Hamburger bun. We knew that we had to give it a whirl. We both love Brioche and recently had a great brioche BLT at a new restaurant called Nightwood. Whenever we make new things, I always get nervous. I am never really sure if it's going to turn out or not, but when it does it is such a good feeling!

3 tablespoons warm milk
2 teaspoons active dry yeat
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups bread flour- we used regualr flour and they turned out fine.
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened.

In a glass bowl combine 1 cup water, milk, yeast and sugar. Mix this up and then let it stand for about 5 minutes. It should get foamy. This way you know that the yeast is active. While you are waiting you can beat 1 egg in a small dish.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Then you can add in the butter. Rub the butter into the flour mixture with your hands. It should get crumbly. Mix in the yeast mixture and the beaten egg. Mix until it forms a dough. My dough was very sticky and elastic. I had a hard time kneading it. I think next time I might add a little more flour. The original recipe says to knead for 8-10 minutes on an unfloured board. I knew if I did this, my dough would be stuck everywhere. I kneaded in the bowl and proceeded to shape it into a ball. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set it aside for about 1 hour, it could take 2. You want the dough to double in size.

Once it has doubled open it up and divide it into 8 equal parts and place them on a parchment lined pan. Place the buns about 2-3 inches apart. Lightly cover with a dish cloth and set aside. Let them rise for 1-2 hours. They should double again. Mine didn't get every big in height but they did get wider. I lightly reformed them into ball shapes.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and place a shallow pan of water on the bottom. Before baking, beat another egg and use a brush to put a little on each bun. Also, if you want sesame seeds on your buns, you can sprinkle a few on now. Then place in the oven and bake for about
12 minutes, rotating the pan once. Cook till lightly golden.

We made burgers with the buns the first night and they were delicious. This past week I have been making PB&J with them for lunch....yummy! and last night we made BLT's with avocado....so delicious. I think I want to start making these every week.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip

Ok, so sorry that it has been so long since our last post. The month of June flew by. I was traveling a lot for work. I think I went to 5 cities in 2 weeks. Also Chris and I went camping with our friends Brian and Tara. It was a lot of fun. Tara is a great camping cook. She made french toast and breakfast burritos, I think she should write a camping cookbook. About a year ago, Chris and I went to my friend Margo's Birthday party. At the party, Megan made these delicious cookies. Chris was raving about them. I asked her for the recipe and we have been meaning to make it since. One of the ingredients is arrowroot, so it took us awhile to get that. The original recipe is vegan, but we didn't stick to that. But you can always make it the original vegan way.

Recipe

2 cups peanut butter
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons arrowroot
2 teaspoons water
3 cups flour
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
12 ounces chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix everything in a bowl except the milk and the chocolate chips. The batter gets really thick. Just keep stirring along. Once it is all combined. Add in the milk, you may want to add in a little at a time. Mix it well till it resembles normal cookie dough. If you taste it, I think it tastes like a butterfinger, so delicious.

Then you can add in the chocolate chips. I use a 1/4 measuring cup and I scoop up some dough and then divide that into 2 cookies. With a few batches we flattened the tops of the cookies with a fork. Both ways turned out great. Give it a try. Bake them for about 12 minutes.

Sugar Snap Peas and Radishes

Chris went to the farmers market the other day and picked up some sugar snap peas and radishes. We were trying to think of something to make with these. We ended up deciding to saute them all together with a little sauce. We both usually don't go for radishes, but these were delicious. I don't know much about radishes, but they picked up so much flavor. This was a very refreshing salad. We cooked up a chicken breast to eat along side. Also a funny thing about this recipe, just a few days after we made it nytimes had an article with a very similar recipe. I think sometimes, recipes are made based on what is fresh and in season.

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 of a red onion chopped up
12 ounces sugar snap peas, you will want to clean and trim them.
2 cups thinly sliced radishes
1/4 cup orange vinegar- or use any type of citrus juice mixed with a little vinegar.
2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped

Clean the radishes and then trim then nice and thin. They are so beautiful! Once you have everything ready to go heat the oil and butter in a pan. When it is hot, saute the red onion for about 5 minutes. Then you can add in the sugar snap peas, cook for about 3 minutes. Now you can add in the radishes and cook for about 3 more minutes. Now you can add in the orange vinegar.

Once it is all tossed together toss the dill in, mix it up and serve.

Wine Braised Beef with Onions

Growing up I loved having pot roast, it was one of those things you would look forward to having on a sunday evening. Chris bought a Le Cresuet pan the other day and we have been waiting to make a slow cooked meal in it. I love the pan, it is so great, especially the orange color.

Recipe

3 onions
2 shallots
1 (2.5) pound beef chuck roast
1 tablespoon pot roast
1 bay leaf
1/2 bottle of red wine- I say don't cook with it if you wouldn't drink it.
12 small potatoes- cut into pieces
4 carrots- peeled and cut in pieces

First you need to cut up the onions and shallots, which could bring out a few tears. I have heard that running the knife under water can help, but I always seem to shed a few tears. Cut them into about 1/2 inch slices, keep them sort of big. Because they will shrink and dissolve in the cooking process.
Now you want to pat dry the beef and season all over with ground pepper and salt. Heat the oil in your pan until in shimmers. Place the beef into the pan, hot oil may splash up, so be careful. Cook the beef for about 8 minutes on each side. Then you can take it out and set aside on a plate.
Place the onions, shallots and bay leaf into the pan. You can add a little more oil if you feel that you need it. Cook this for about 25 minutes, you will want to scrape up all the little bits from the bottom of the pan, so that the onions get nice and coated.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle. Add the wine to the onions as well as the beef and any juices that are left on the plate. Bring this to a boil. Then put the top on the pan and place in the oven for about 3 hours. After 3 hours, take the pan out of the oven and throw in the carotts and potatoes. This way they won't be over cooked, place the pan back in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Then take it out and you are ready to serve. Scoop out some beef and top it with onions and carrots and a little juice from the bottom of the pan. I know this recipe has a lot of cooking time, but it is well worth it and your house will smell so good.

Fish Tacos & Baja Sauce

Fish tacos are one of our favorites. They are so light, delicious and bursting with flavor. They are really simple to make and it is fun to change up the normal taco routine. It's also great to make up some margaritas to drink along side, soon we will post our fav margarita recipe.

Fish Tacos

1 pound firm white fish, cut up into 1/2 inch pieces - we used catfish this time
1 12 ounce bottle beer - something light (a pilsener would work well)
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
vegetable oil
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup corn meal
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup beer - same type as above
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
fresh corn tortillas- you can heat them up on your stove top
1 lime
1 cup cheese - monterey jack, or whatever you have on hand.
3 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 red onion cut into thin slices

Combine the fish, taco seasoning and beer in a bowl. Stir well and refrigerate for about an hour. If you have more time then even better.


After the fish has chilled, it is time to make the batter for the fish. First combine the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder. Then add in 1 cup of beer and the hot sauce.

Now, take the fish out of the marinade and put into the batter. Make sure that all of the fish gets coated.

Heat up the oil in a pan. You will want about 1 1/2 inches of oil in the pan. Make sure it gets nice and hot....please be careful around hot oil.

Cook the fish in batches, cook it for about 4 minutes at a time. When it is done, place it on paper towels to let it drain.


Heat up your tortillas and then place about 2-3 pieces of fish on each taco, squeeze lime over the fish and top with cheese, cabbage, red onion and then baja sauce (the recipe is below).

Baja Sauce
1/2 cup yogurt- or you can use sour cream
1/2 cup mayo
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
1 small jalapeno seeded and diced
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Combine the yogurt, mayo and seasoning. Stir well and then add in everything else.
Refrigerate until you are ready to use.

Sausage Rolls

Ok, so these things are delicious! Whenever I have a party, people insist that I make them. One time, my friend Margo called to say she was running late, but wanted me to make sure that I saved a few rolls for her. The recipe comes from my sister in-law's mother Peggy. Peggy made these at a christmas party a few years back and I think I ate the entire plate. If you need a quick little something for your guests to nibble on then this is it!

1 sage sausage roll- jimmy dean works fine.
1 white onion- chopped fine
1 8 ounce block of cream cheese
a pinch of thyme- if you have it.
2 packages of crescent rolls

First, brown the sausage with the onion. Once it is cooked through, drain the grease. Now, pour the meat mixture into a bowl. Then add the cream cheese. Stir until everything is incorporated.


When it is all mixed up, place it in the fridge to firm it up. While it is in the refrigerator you can get out the crescent rolls.

Unroll them and then cut them in half, so the sausage rolls are a small little bite. Just cut each triangle into 2 smaller triangles. Now it is time to stuff them. Put a small dollop of mixture into each roll, then fold up the corners.


Once you have stuffed them all, you can either bake them right away, put them in the fridge until your guests come over, or freeze them and use another day. There is usually a little extra meat mixture left over, which you can freeze as well. To cook, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees and bake them for about 10-15 minutes on the center rack.

I guarantee if you serve these at your next party, you won't have any leftovers.

Pork & Potato Salad

The weather is finally starting to change in Chicago, which means it is grilling time. We love to pull out the grill and cook up some delicious grub. Chris has a small suitcase grill, that we carry up to the roof top when we want to grill. It works really well. It is from Crate and Barrel, I looked on the site but they don't seem to sell them anymore. Any grill will work just fine. Last Sunday, we decided to make pork with potato salad and a side of asparagus. It was so delicious and it was nice to sit outside and eat our meal.

Marinated pork

4 boneless pork chops
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup chopped scallions

a few hours before you are going to grill, combine the maple syrup, soy, molasses and scallions. Mix it up really good and then drop the pork chops into the mixture and coat everything really well. Now you want to place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least a few hours and up to overnight.



When they are done being marinated, place on a hot grill and cook about 4 minutes a side, depending on how hot your grill is. Most pork will be pink in the middle, so don't be scared. You can always use a meat thermometer

Let them rest, and then you are ready to eat.

Now onto the side dish

Dill Potato Salad

This potato salad is slightly tangy and light.

8 smallish potatoes red or yukon gold- we actually used Klondike Goldust.
1 cup yogurt- of course we used our homemade yogurt, see below for instructions.
1 small onion chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
1 lemon squeezed


Boil the potatoes for about 10 minutes or until tender with a fork. While you are boiling them combine the yogurt, dill and lemon. You can put this in the fridge while you are waiting for the potatoes.

Let the potatoes cool before you cut them. Then you can either slice them or cut them more into cubes, whatever you prefer. Then toss them into the yogurt mixture and you have potato salad.

To add the asparagus to the dish, we just tossed them with some olive oil and salt & pepper. When we put the pork on the grill, we just tossed them on there. Make sure to rotate them a little and they will most likely cook faster than the pork.

Just add a beer and you have a delicious summer meal!