A new tradition?

A few weeks ago, I asked on Facebook if anyone had ever eaten Panettone. I have seen it everywhere in stores since my childhood, but as Italian as we are, no one in my family ever made or brought it to Christmas. For those unfamiliar with it, panettone is a tall, sweet, fruit-riddled Italian bread usually enjoyed at Christmas time.

Predictably, a lot of Italians responded that the had indeed had it and loved it. So I bought one for my Christmas party... and no one ate it. Oh well.

Rather than have it go to waste, I got creative. Since my family comes over to our house in the evening on Christmas Day, I thought I'd turn the panettone into a little dessert/comfort food treat -- bread pudding.

The verdict is still out -- they haven't arrived yet -- but if they like it (and if I like it!) I'll post the recipe tomorrow. If it is a success, who knows, maybe I'll have started a new tradition! In any event, here's a picture of my creation. Can't wait to try it.

*Update* We tried it and OMG. Delish! Even my dad, who said he "can't get bread pudding down" loved it. So the recipe is definitely forthcoming! Hurry out and get those panettone before they're all gone for the year!

Wishing you and yours the merriest of Christmases and the happiest of new years!

Just for fun -- Double-glazed Pecan Sticky Rolls

Knowing my husband and I were both working at home today (completely unpredictable New England weather brings 2 inches of rain one day and a dusting of snow the next), I wanted to make a breakfast treat. I knew I had some extra store-bought pizza dough -- the kind that comes in the tube you have pop open -- pecans and plenty of butter and sugar, I decided a stick roll was the way to go. I just rolled out the dough, topped it with chunks of butter (about half a stick worth), chopped pecans, brown and pure cane sugar and rolled it up. I cut it into seven one-inch wide rolls, and set them on a parchment paper-covered cookie sheet. They baked for about 15 minutes at 350. I took the bit of sugar left in my bowl, added confectioner's sugar, water and about two tablespoons of half and half and mixed. When the buns were done, I turned the oven off, moved them into a pie plate, and glazed them with the sugar/milk mixture and put them back in the oven (which was just cooling down). After about five minutes, I repeated the step with more glaze, and in another five, voila! Double-glazed pecan sticky rolls!

Recipe #11: Rustic Dinner Omelette for Two

Sometimes there's nothing better than breakfast for dinner. Most weekends, we try to get as much sleep as we can to catch up for what we've missed during the week, and I'm rarely in the mood to get up and make a big breakfast. But this omelette, aside from being delicious, is so hearty that you can eat it for pretty much any meal. Just a note, when I say you need a cup of "meat" below, I'm purposely leaving it indiscriminate. I used leftover pork from when I made carnitas (if you want that recipe, I got it here and it came out delicious. The only difference was that my supermarket didn't have pork butt, so I used shoulder). You can use pork, , chicken, sausage (Italian, breakfast, turkey, tofurkey... anything you like), or even ground beef if that's more up your alley. Use what you have around. That's the great thing about this recipe -- most of the ingredients are things you probably already have laying around your house. Enjoy!


Rustic Dinner Omelette for Two

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
4 strips maple-flavored bacon (about 1/4 pound)
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 cups diced potatoes
3 slices of pickled jalapenos*
6 eggs
3 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese*
2 scallions*
5 tablespoons butter
1-2 cups meat (beef, pork, chicken, etc. as mentioned above)

Tools
large skillet*

Preheat oven to 375. Cook bacon to crisp, remove from pan to drain but do not discard liquid. Add potatoes and onions and cook til soft and translucent (about 10 minutes). Add two tablespoons of butter to pan, cook another 2 minutes. Add meat and bacon, cook for 5 minutes.



While this is cooking, crack 6 eggs into a mixing bowl, scramble. Add milk, cheese and scallions, mix.



Remove skillet from direct heat, allow to cool for two minutes. Add milk/eggs mixture to skillet, fold together carefully but do NOT stir. Top with small amount of cheese.



Place skillet directly in oven for 25 minutes. When time has passed, turn oven off, remove pan and top with three pats of butter. Place back into the oven for 3-5 minutes or until butter melts.



Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving. Serve with side of sour cream (optional).

*Comments:
-Jalapenos: This just gives it a little kick. If you don't like the spice, you don't have to use them. Also, if you don't have a jar of the pickled variety around, use about a tablespoon of minced fresh jalapeno.

-Cheese: This doesn't have to be perfect, so don't bother measuring it out. Use about a handful and a half of cheese.

-Scallion: Also known as a green onion, some people think you shouldn't use the green part of a green onion. To me, that's ridiculous. It all tastes the same, and it gives the dish brightness. They're oniony but mild, and cook perfectly into this.

-Skillet: You don't need a huge pan for this -- nothing wok-sized required. My skillet was 10 inches.

Enjoy!

Recipe #9: Chocolate Beignets

While I have never myself had these outside of my own experience cooking them, my husband had. Beignets (prounced "ben-yays") are a sort of New Orleans style doughnut, minus the whole circle-with-the-middle-cut-out aspect. At the legendary Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans, they are topped with powdered sugar and served with cafe au lait. Well, I may not have gone the very traditional route -- though if you'd like to, visit the cafe's website, where you can buy their beignet mix -- and I substituted hot chocolate for the coffee, I think these beignets came out just wonderfully! Please note -- wherever you see a (*) next to an ingredient or tool, there is a comment about it below the recipe. Enjoy!

Chocolate Beignets

Prep time: 20 minutes, plus dough rising time (4 hours to overnight)
Cooking time: 30 minutes oven rising and 5 minutes frying

Ingredients
1 envelope active dry yeast
2 tablespoons butter
2 Hershey bars, 1.55 ounces each
3/4 cup luke warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
pinch of salt
1 egg
4 cups flour
1/8 cup shortening
oil to fry

Tools
deep fryer or pan for frying*
cookie sheet
mixing bowl
rolling pin
greased bowl
stand mixer
parchment paper*

Before beginning, melt one chocolate bar either in a double boiler or even in a bowl in the microwave.

Combine yeast, water and sugar in bowl of stand mixer, and allow to sit until yeast starts to bubble -- about 5-7 minutes. Beat egg and add to mixture along with salt and evaporated milk.



Mix on low, and slowly add two cups of flour. Keeping mixer on, add half the shortening, allow to combine, add remainder of shortening, melted chocolate and remainder of flour. Do not overmix or dough will become too tough.

Remove bowl from mixer and place dough in greased bowl (tip: use butter wrapper to grease). Cover with foil or plastic wrap and allow to rise in the refrigerator overnight, or for at least four hours. Dough should *about* double in size.





When dough has risen, place on floured surface and roll til 1/2 thickness is reached.



Cut into strips or rectangles, and place on parchment paper-covered cookie sheet, and put into 175-degree oven for 30 minutes (beignets should rise a bit, but not actually cook).

Remove from oven, and beignets should feel slightly toasted to the touch.



Fry in oil -- either in deep fryer or pan with about 3 inches of oil -- until golden brown, flipping halfway through.



After frying, place on paper towel to drain.



Melt second chocolate bar with butter. Frost beignets with chocolate, and serve warm.




*Comments:
-Deep fryer: Cook these in oil that has reached 375 degrees. It's hard to tell in a regular pan whether the oil has reached that temp, which is why I *much* prefer to use a regular fryer. I bought mine at Walmart and use it all the time. It's very easy, and if you like it, you can find it/buy it here.

-Parchment paper: Please believe me when I say this -- for all intensive purposes, including anything that involves heat, WAX PAPER AND PARCHMENT PAPER ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. If you're using them outside the oven, sure, they are pretty interchangeable. But I beg of you, for the love of all that it holy and for the sake of your bakeware... be kind, only use parchment in the oven! Aside from the fact that the wax on wax paper melts in the oven and can ruin your bakeware (just ask my husband!), you will discover a new-found love for the seemingly magical parchment paper. Never lose a cake bottom to a heated pan again! :)