Weekend Cooking - {Artisan Bread}

this weekend i discovered something totally awesome!  well, my boyfriend discovered it a while back when a coworker of his brought in some amazing homemade bread, and this weekend we decided to give it a try.  i'm no baker, but apparently this recipe breaks all kinds of baking rules.

but rules or no rules, this recipe works!  all you need is 4 ingredients:

1 1/2 tbsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp yeast
3 cups water
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

this is the basic recipe, but you can adjust these ingredients to make all kinds of delicious breads.  next i'd love to try olive bread and rosemary bread.  i just might have to buy the book to check out all the different variations.  my mouth is watering just thinking about it.  check out this video to see how easy it is to make your very own homemade bread.

obviously the bread itself isn't done in 5 minutes, but your active working time is no more than 5 minutes tops. i didn't have any corn meal so i baked it on some flour instead.  i baked it at 500F for 35 minutes. it came out great but it's a little doughy.  next time i think i'll keep it in for 40 minutes and see how that works out.

if i can do this, anyone can do this.  enjoy!!

Weekend Cooking - {French Toast}

this weekend, as a special valentine's day brunch for my wonderful boyfriend, i decided to make blackberry and cream cheese stuffed french toast with orange butter.  since he works long hours during the week, we decided to celebrate v-day a little early.  sunday morning we teamed up and tackled brunch together!  i geared up for french toast duty, while he fried up some taters and bacon.  {personal fun fact: i was vegetarian for 15 years and still don't eat much meat, so bacon is definitely classified in the man's cooking department!}

this was my very first attempt at french toast, but being a food network junkie i felt confident!  we found this recipe in a great magazine called Ready Made, and originally it called for mixed berries and goat cheese.  since we had an overabundance of blackberries in the fridge, and neither one of us is a fan of goat cheese, we decided to change it up a bit by substituting blackberries and cream cheese.  aside from these minor changes, i followed the recipe exactly and it came out just perfect!! it was so delicious i don't even think these pictures do it justice.  it was like eating pie for breakfast!


so... if you ever have to host a fancy brunch, or you're just in the mood to splurge for breakfast, here's the awesome recipe! {with my own substitutions}...

Blackberry & Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast
serves 4
orange butter
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp
1 T freshly grated orange zest, divided
2 T fresh-squeezed orange juice
french toast
4 eggs
1 c whole milk
1T freshly grated orange zest
1T honey (i happened to have an orange blossom honey in the pantry that i used instead of clover honey)
pinch of salt
4 slices french bread, 1 inch think
4 T cream cheese, at room temp
1 c blackberries, halved
2 T unsalted butter
maple syrup, to serve

1___make the butter by combining all ingredients (1 tbsp of zest) in a small bowl.  refridgerate until ready to use.
2___in a shallow glass baking dish, whisk together eggs, milk, remaining orange zest, honey, and salt.  set aside.
3___cut an opening that extends along the middle of each bread slice.  carefully spread one-fourth of cream cheese into opening, then fill with blackberries.  gently press and repeat with remaining  slices.  transfer to custard; let sit for 15 seconds on each side.
4___prehead oven to 200 degrees F.  heat 1 tbsp butter over medium heat in a large saute pan.  once butter has melted, add two slices of the bread and cook about 2 minutes per side until golden brown.  transfer to a baking sheet and keep warmin the over while preparing the remaining two servings.
5___serve with orange butter and syrup.  store leftover butter, covered, in the fridge and use within one week.

even though i got lazy and opted for tater tots instead of home made hashed browns, i still got all fancy with some fresh squeezed orange juice.  play around with some of your own yummy french toast recipes and let me know how it goes!

BON APPETIT!!

Weekend Cooking - {Turkey Meatloaf}

so lately i've been totally into cooking and i'm completely addicted to the food network.  i figured while i'm making my hats i might as well be learning something too, right?  this past weekend i decided to cook my hubby a nice dinner since he's been super stressed out.  these are a couple of my favorite recipes and they're super easy too!

first, i started on a turkey meatloaf with feta and sun-dried tomatoes (courtesy of giada delaurentiis).  this is a super easy dish to make because you pretty much just mix everything in a bown, dump it in a baking pan, and toss it in the over for 45 minutes.  i've made this recipe a few times now and i think i'm convince that it's fail proof!

while the meatloaf was baking i moved onto the creamiest most heavenly mashed potatoes ever! (courtesy of tyler florence).  these potatoes won't only melt in your mouth, but they'll melt your heart.  these are also super duper easy to make and only require a few ingredients.

and last, but not least, i figured we should have a veggie on the plate, too.  i cut up some broccoli florets and tossed them on a baking sheet with olive oil, salt and pepper.  i also sliced up a couple garlic cloves a threw those in there too.  about 20 minutes before the meatloaf was ready, i threw the broccoli into the oven.

and what's dinner without a glass of wine?  to finish off this delightful feast i popped open a bottle of francis coppola pinot noir.  this was the first time we tasted francis coppola wine and i must say we loved it!  if you're a wine-o (like myself, hehe) i definitely recommend this one.

i hope you've enjoyed this brief tour of my weekend culinary adventure.  if you have any of your own favorite recipes you'd like to share, comment away!