Bread!

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Seniye Groff

I realize it is currently popular to cut carbs and even gluten, but I love baking bread. I love the process of trying various recipes and have been exploring more recipes that require proofing the bread for longer and longer. I find the longer a bread is proofed, the more it tastes like what I find in my local bakery. I also love the aroma that fills the house once my bread is baked. Instantly, when the kids walk into the house from their long school day, they smell it and smile.

The most recent recipe I made was Smitten Kitchen’s oat and wheat sandwich bread. The recipes says that the longer the bread proofs, the better it gets. I let mine proof for two days and it was delicious! This is truly a nice dense bread and the kids did not mind that it was made from whole wheat flour and oats!

Friday Happy Hour

Posted on March 1, 2014March 13, 2014 by Seniye Groff

A couple of weeks ago I picked up the book, “Happy Hour at Home” by Barbara Scott-Goodman. This book, coupled with a mushroom tart recipe I have been eyeing in my “Smitten Kitchen” book inspired me to schedule a Friday night Happy Hour with some friends.

I settled on making mojitos, mainly because I have never made them and I have a bottle of Cruzan run sitting in my pantry. Since the rum is from St. Croix, where I lived from eighth grade through high school graduation, I knew memories would shower me, too.

I made an onion & gruyere tart from Scott Goodman’s book. The recipe is here. I also made the mushroom tart. The recipe index is here, but not sure if the particular tart recipe is there. Coupled with a salad, these tarts were filling and delicious. A few mojitos and ice cream with homemade chocolate sauce finished out the night. It was a great way to finish off the work week!

Smitten Kitchen

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Seniye Groff

I have discovered the Smitten Kitchen by way of her cookbook. I did not even know about the blog! Deb Perleman seems to be my kind of gal. She is not a classically trained chef but, instead like me, just loves to cook and tweak recipes. There are so many yummy things in her cookbook I cannot wait to get started. Well, actually I already got started last night with the caramel recipe and the granola recipe.

It is amazing how sugar transforms in the process of making caramels. I have made caramel for my salted caramel ice cream but have never made stand-alone caramel candies. Although tasty, I do not think I got to the required 260 degrees (I need a true candy thermometer!) because my caramel did not end up hardening enough after the two-hour cool down. Alas, I will try again. My granola, on the other hand, was delicious!