Georgia Brunswick Stew

Today marks the day that I institute some changes for my blog. Lately I have been very inspired to learn more about the history of Southern cuisine, which forms the basis of my food history and influence.

I cannot list one specific reason as to the inspiration, but a slew of events accumulated over the last few months that pushed me here. Getting an invite to the private screen of Netflix’s Chef’s Table episode on our local chef, Mashama Bailey, was the starting point.

Next came the discovery of the Southern Foodways Alliance (here is there website) which documents the history of southern cuisine. I quickly became a proud member.

Not long after I visited with my dad and my Uncle Dusty (who is Cajun) and naturally fell into conversations about food of each of their regions. It seems as though I always fall back on or lean towards making food that has roots in the south.

Finally, I have realized that as a food writer in Savannah, I should educated myself more on the food I am writing about as to bring my readers some knowledge of their region.

To implement this change, I am going to start with a dish that I ate all the time growing up. When you live in certain parts of Georgia, semi-rural, there are only so many restaurants available. Most are chain restaurants like Long Horns or McDonalds, so the legitimate food selection is scant at best.

Birthdays and certain holidays resulted in eating out at the ‘fancier’ restaurants or the local mom and pop restaurants that the entire family loved. On our short list of go-tos was Wallace Barbeque, a shack of a BBQ restaurant that serves pulled pork by the pound with a bowl of vinegar-based barbeque sauce on the side. It is loved so much by my family that anytime my Uncle Dusty visits Georgia from his home in Louisiana, Wallace Barbeque is his first stop.

Like any good Georgia barbeque restaurant, Brunswick stew is readily available on the menu. As a result I have eaten gallons and gallons of Brunswick stew in my lifetime.

Brunswick stew is a hunter’s stew which combines any meat that is available, sometimes even squirrel, with any vegetables that are locally available. The result is a bone sticking stock that is chock-full of sustenance.

It is also important to note that Brunswick stew recipes change by the region. Georgia’s versions is traditionally sweeter due to the use of a barbeque sauce poured in the stock. Virginia’s version just uses a tomato base.

A good point of reference for the difference in each region’s Brunswick stew is the Southern Floodway Alliance’s Community Cookbook. It lists a recipe for North Carolina Brunswick Stew. I could not find one for Georgia. Instead of using a sweet barbeque sauce like in my recipe below, the recipe calls for the combination of ketchup, vinegar, and sugar.

Regardless of the region, the modern Brunswick stew features two meats, pork and chicken. Gone are the days where most southerners used what they caught or what was readily available on the farm to cook. The surplus of local supermarkets has made placed cheap meat in every home.

The recipe below is merely a starting point. I based my recipe on the countless bowls of Brunswick stew I ate growing up. You can switch out the vegetables, lookup versions from other regions or just throw in anything that suits the moment.

Georgia Brunswick Stew

On overhead view of the big pot of stew and bowls

Ingredients

1 Pound of Smoked Pork Shoulder
4 Boneless and Skinless Chicken Thighs
1 16oz Bag of Frozen Lima Beans
2 32oz Boxes of Chicken Stock
1 Sweet Onion, peeled and diced
2 14oz Cans of Stewed Tomatoes
2 14oz Cans of Creamed Corn
3 Medium Russet Potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 Cup of Sweet Barbeque Sauce, or more to taste
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Instructions

I start this recipe by saying that everything is to taste. Add more barbeque sauce at the end if you preferer a sweeter more pungent barbeque flavor. As for the chicken stock, I start with one box then add more towards the end of the recipe to get the stock thickness I desire.
Place a heavy bottom soup pot or a Dutch over over medium heat, and pour in one tablespoon of olive oil. Sautee the onion until caramelized and translucent.
Place in your chicken thighs, then pour over enough chicken stock to cover the chicken.
Bring the chicken stock up to a boil, then reduce the heat down to medium-low. Cover the pot with a lid and cook the chicken thighs for 30 minutes.
After the chicken has cooked, pour in your remaining ingredients. Turn up the heat as long as necessary to bring the stew back up to a simmer. Once at a simmer you can reduce the heat back to medium-low.
Add as much chicken stock as necessary to get the stew to your desired thickness.
Salt and pepper to taste.
I cook the stew for at least one hour to allow the potatoes to soften. The longer you allow it to cook the better it gets.
Serve with sliced white bread or cornbread.
*For an even easier version, combine all of the ingredients into a crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours.

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If you do not feel like making stew at home, here is my recommendation on a good local bbq spot.

Apricot Roasted Chicken

Featuredby Lindy MoodyLeave a Comment

There are often extremely difficult moments in life—days during which you feel as though you will not be okay. In the end, time will heal almost everything, but waiting seems impossible.

In those moments, food plays an important role for many. Personally, I gravitate towards homecooked meals that warm and ease my soul.

Two weeks ago I made the difficult decision to let go of my dog and best friend of 13 years. Although I know it was the correct decision to ease her suffering, it was the most difficult decision I have ever had to make. My friends and family really stepped up to be there for my husband and I. The showering of food (and booze if I am being honest) kept my home full while my heart was empty.

I cannot think of a more soul warming meal than roasted meat and a couple of sides. A meat and two or three (or four) is a staple southern meal. Growing up, dinner most nights included meatloaf, country fried steak, pot roast, salmon patties, or pork chops.

So when you go through something difficult you often lean towards bits of nostalgia—the good moments. A full plate of love-filled food is a plate full of nostalgia for me. A lot of my childhood consisted of sitting in the kitchen with my mother as she cooked me dishes from the heart.

Although she never roasted chicken like this, I think this recipe is easily one that you can add to your repertoire of food to cook and share with others. The preparation calls for an arrangement of vegetables at the bottom of your roast pan and a slathering of sweet sticky apricot preserves. The result is a juicy home roasted chicken with a slight Asian flare.

I am going to leave this recipe here because it is my hope that you share a homecooked, heart-filling meal with friends or family. Even if you are not going through your own battle, and just want a good meal, this dish will serve you well. Now get in the kitchen and make memories.

Apricot Glaze Roasted Chicken

Ingredients

1 Whole Chicken
1 Bunch of Fresh Thyme
1 Jar of Apricot Jam
2 Yellow Onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1 Lemon, halved
6 Cloves of Garlic, peeled
2 Cups of Chicken Broth, and more as needed
1/3 Cup of Red Wine Vinegar
1 Cup of Dried Apricots, sliced in half
5 Tablespoons of Butter
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare the chicken by patting it dry with paper towels.
Sprinkle salt and pepper into the cavity of the chicken then stuff the chicken. Add in one half of the lemon, half of the whole fresh thyme sprigs, two cloves of garlic, one half of one onion, and approximately six dried apricots.
Coat the chicken in juice from the remaining lemon and in olive oil, rubbing them into the skin. Generously sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper then tie the legs together with cooking twine.
In the bottom of the roasting pan place the remaining onion, apricots, and thyme. Pour the chicken broth over the vegetables.
Finely chop the remaining garlic, and sprinkle approximately 3 cloves worth over the chicken broth.
Place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the roasting pan.
Place the roasting pan on the middle rack in the oven to roast.
You will initially roast the chicken for 15 minutes at 450 degrees before turning the temperature down.
While the chicken initially roasts, prepare the glaze.
In a small saucepan combine the jar of apricot preserves, butter, red wine vinegar, and remaining chopped garlic. Mix until everything is combined and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the glaze from the heat.
After the initial fifteen minutes has passed, reduce the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and baste your chicken with its first coating of apricot glaze.
If the pan ever becomes dry, add in more chicken stock.
Glaze the chicken every 15 minutes, cooking the chicken until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Once the chicken reaches the desired temperature, remove it from the oven and allow it to rest before serving it.
While the chicken rests, create a sauce to serve with it.
Combine any drippings from the pan with the remaining glaze and heat in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
Reduce the sauce until it reaches the desired thickness or is reduced to approximately half. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste

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Recipes

Double Cookie Birthday Cake

Featuredby Lindy MoodyLeave a Comment

I am positive after reading that title you are asking, “What the heck is a double cookie birthday cake?” It is a creation from my own head. A vanilla cake stuffed with eggless cookie dough then coated in a cookies and cream icing, i.e. double cookies.

The idea started with last years birthday celebration for my husband. His all-time favorite cookie is a snickerdoodle, so I made him a triple cookie birthday cake. It was literally three different layers of cookie smothered in a salted caramel buttercream icing.

My Triple Cookie Cake recipe can be found here.

For his birthday this year, I wanted to keep the theme going for my husband. So instead of three layers of cookie, I made three layers of classic vanilla cake; the cookie portion would come in with the icing and stuffing (making it only a double cookie cake).

To finish it off? An optional drizzle of creamy rich chocolate ganache and a big ball of cookie dough.

The finished result is a classic vanilla birthday cake that everyone knows and loves jammed with those nostalgic cookie flavors of your childhood.

Double Cookie Birthday Cake

Ingredients

For the Eggless Cookie Dough:
3/4 Cup of Packed Brown Sugar
1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, softened
1 Cup of Chocolate Chips
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
1 Cup of All Propose Flour
2 Tablespoons of Whole Milk
For the Icing:
2 Sticks of Butter, Softened
4 Cups of Powdered Sugar
1/2 Cup of Heavy Cream
1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
1 Sleeve of Oreos, crushed
For the Cake:
2 Sticks of Unsalted Butter, softened
2 Cups of Granulated Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Tablespoon of Vanilla Extract
2 Cups of Cake Flour
1 Cup of Buttermilk
1 Teaspoon of Salt
1 Tablespoon of Baking Powder

Instructions

Start by making the cake layers. Grease and flour three 8-inch cake pans then set them aside until ready to use.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In you stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This takes approximately 3-4 minutes.
In a small bowl mix together the wet ingredients; the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla.
In a separate small bowl sift together the dry ingredients; the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Starting with your wet mixture, pour in 1/3 and mix over medium speed until fully combined.
Next add in 1/3 of your dry mixture, mixing until combined.
Continue adding in your wet and dry mixture, alternating, until your finish with the final 1/3 of your dry mixture. Mix on medium speed until the batter is fully combined.
Divide your cake batter evenly between the three cake pans.
Bake the cake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
After baking, allow the cakes to cool completely before assembly.
While the cake layers cool, create your eggless cookie dough.
In your stand mixer, on medium speed, beat together the softened butter and the brown sugar until light and fluffy. This should take 3-4 minutes.
Add in the flour, milk, and vanilla beating until combined.
Add the chocolate chips, mixing in by hand.
Set the dough aside until ready to use.
Make your icing by creaming the butter in your stand mixer.
Gently pour in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Mix fully before pouring the next portion.
Once the icing is nice and whipped, pour in the salt, milk, and vanilla. Mix on medium speed until fully mixed.
Finally, pour in the crushed oreos and mix until the oreos are incorporated throughout the icing.
Assemble your cake by spreading a layer of icing between the first two layers, the cookie dough should go in the middle, and another layer of icing over the top layer.
Any leftover cookie dough can be used to decorate the top of the cake.

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Recipes

White Chocolate Mousse Tart + Pink Peppercorn Strawberry Sauce

Featuredby Lindy MoodyLeave a Comment

Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope your day is filled with joy and love–even if that means cuddling your dog a little extra.

I did not plan on posting for Valentine’s Day. That all changed when I watched the latest episode of Kids Baking Championship. I watch almost any baking show available.

On the last episode, the challenge was to create a tart with crazy ingredient. Pink peppercorns were one of the ingredients given to use. So, laying in bed, watching these kids kill it in the kitchen I thought, “I can do that!”

Strawberry, chocolate, and a little spice from peppercorns just seemed like the perfect Valentines combination. So the stars aligned, and this recipe would be the perfect one to post on Valentine’s.

Also, I knew my husband would love it. Two birds, one stone.

The tart itself is nothing crazy–simple dark chocolate pate sucree (crust) sits on the bottom with a swirled airy white chocolate mousse to full it. The crazy comes in with the sauce for the top, cooked down fresh strawberries with pulverized pink peppercorns.

Pink peppercorns work perfectly with fruit because they are much more floral than normal black peppercorns. They also have less of a peppery bite.

This is not a beginners recipe so as always I want to give you a few tips to help:

Creating a light mousse only takes a few ingredients and proper technique. You use both meringue and whipped cream. To create a perfect meringue use room temperature egg whites and ensure there is not even a fleck of egg yolk in the whites.
Folding is how your incorporate meringue and whipped cream into the chocolate. Folding is not like whisking or stirring. To fold you gently cut down the middle of your mixture with a spatula, then fold over one half of the mixture over the second half. Repeat until everything is blended.
Always chill your tart shell before rolling it out, fit the shell to the tart pan once cooled, and also chill again before baking it once it is fit into the tart pan. This will prevent shrinkage.
Always poke holes with a fork in the bottom of the tart dough to prevent it from puffing during baking.

White Chocolate Mousse Tart + Pink Peppercorn Strawberry Sauce

A slice of tart with sauce on top and a bite taken out

Ingredients

For the Crust:
1/3 Stick of Cold Butter, cut into cubes
1 1/3 Cups of All Purpose Flour
3 Tablespoons of Dutch Process Cocoa Powder
1/2 Cup of Powdered Sugar
1/8 Teaspoon of Salt
1 Large Egg
For the Mousse:
6 Ounces of Good White Chocolate
1 1/4 Cups of Whipping Cream
2 Large Egg Whites, room temperature
1/2 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
1/8 Teaspoon of Cream of Tartar
For the Sauce:
1lb of Fresh Strawberries
Juice from 1/2 Lemon
1 Tablespoon of Pink Peppercorns
1/4 Cup of Sugar

Instructions

First create the tart dough.
In a food processor combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Pulse until the ingredients are combined.
Next add in the cold butter. Pulse the mixture together for approximatley 15 seconds or until the mixture resembles chunky sand. You want the butter to be in shape of various sized pebbles.
Add the egg into the food processor and mix until combined.
Pour the dough out onto a floured surface and form it into a ball. Wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap and allow it rest in the fridge for one hour.
While the dough chills, create your mousse.
In a double boiler over medium heat, combine 1/4 cup of the whipping cream with the white chocolate.
Stir continually until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Once smooth, set aside to allow it to cool for at least 15 minutes.
Next make your merigue by combining the egg whites and cream of tarter in a stand mixer. Beat the egg whites on medium speed until stiff peaks form.
Place the meringue in a seperate bowl, and then clean the mixing bowl.
Make the whipped cream by combining the remaining heavy whipping cream and the vanilla extract in the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix on medium speed until stiff whipped cream forms.
In a large bowl, fold 1/2 of your meringue into the white chocolate until it is fully incorporated. Fold the remaining 1/2 of meringue into the mixture.
Next fold 1/2 of your whipped cream into the merigue and white chocolate mixture until it is well combined. After fully combined, fold in the remaining 1/2.
Cover and allow the white chocolate mousse to rest in the fridge while you finish the tart crust.
After the tart dough has chilled for one hour, place your dough on a well floured surface. With a floured rolling pin, roll out your tart dough into a sphere that is two inches larger than the tart pan you plan to use.
Place the tart dough into the pan and pressing it in. You want to form the dough to the pan completely then trim off the ends. Poke the bottom of the tart pan with a fork.
Place the tart pan in the fridge to allow the dough to cool while you preheat your oven. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once the oven is heated, line the dough with parchment paper then fill it with pie weights.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Allow the crust to cool completely before filling it.
While the crust cools, create your strawberry sauce.
Rinse, hull, and slice your strawberries into large chunks.
Place the strawberries into a small saucepan along with the sugar and lemon juice.
Heat the mixture over medium heat until it reaches a boil.
Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the strawberries to cook for 20 minutes.
While the strawberries cook, grind or pulverize the pink peppercorns into a course powder.
After 20 minutes is up, remove the strawberry sauce from the heat and stir in the pink pepper. Set the mixture aside to cool.
Finish the tart by smoothing the white chocolate mousse into the chilled tart shell. Then, allow it to set up in the fridge for at least one hour.
Slice and serve the tart with the stawberry sauce.

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Recipes

Spicy Kitchen Sink Cookies

Featuredby Lindy MoodyLeave a Comment

The concept of a kitchen sink cookie is simple: you put everything in but the kitchen sink. It is one of those recipes that works with almost anything and everything you have in your baking pantry. This means it is a great recipe to keep in your pocket when a baking emergency comes up, i.e an impromptu party or impromptu house guests.

For my version of kitchen sink cookies I use a combination that I find is well balanced, salty, sweet, and spicy. For salt I throw in pretzels and kettle cooked chips, kettle cooked so they retain their crunchiness. The sweet comes from butterscotch and chocolate chips. Finally, the spicy from some chipotle roasted peanuts.

If you do not have spicy peanuts you can throw red pepper into the cookie mix, roast your own peanuts in a spice mixture, or simply use plain peanuts.

The cookie base for the recipe is heavy in brown sugar and butter, which results a gooier more buttery cookie. In my book, the ultimate cookie is one that is cooked on the outside and still gooey on the center. The trick to a perfect texture is twofold, chilling the butter before baking and under baking the cookie. I take the cookies out of the oven when the edges just start to brown then I let them cool on the cookie sheet.

Chilling your cookie dough before baking it prevents the butter from spreading too much during baking. If the butter spreads too much the finished cookies will be thin and not thick and tender.

This recipe would also be delicious as a chocolate chip cookie using only chocolate chips as the add-in. And of course, I recommend a large glass of ice cold milk to accompany your fresh out of the oven warm cookies.

This cookie may be the strangest, most delicious, and well balanced cookie I have ever eaten.

For more tips on cookie making, see this post.

Spicy Kitchen Sink Cookies

A stack of baked cookies next to a glass of milk

Ingredients

2 Sticks of Butter, softened
1/2 Cup of Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup of Sugar
2 1/2 Cups of All Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon of Vanilla Extract
2 Large Eggs
1 Egg Yolk
1/2 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon of Salt
1/2 Cup of Chocolate Chips
1/2 Cup of Butterscotch Chips
1 Cup of Kettle Cooked Chips
1/2 Cup of Pretzels, crushed
1/2 Cup of Spicy Peanuts

Instructions

With your stand mixer on medium speed, cream together your sugars and softened butter. Mix until well combined.
Next add in the eggs and egg yolk. Pour in eggs one at a time, mixing until well combined.
Add in the vanilla extract, mixing until well combined.
In a bowl combine the flour, salt, and baking powder.
Pour the flour mixture into mixing bowl a little at a time. Continue to mix cookie dough until fully combined.
Once cookie mixture is fully mixed, add in the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, pretzels, chips, and peanuts.
Mix the cookie dough over low speed until the add-ins are broken up and well distributed. This should take no more than 1 minute.
Cover the cookie mixture well and place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. This will prevent too much spreading.
While the cookie dough chills, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fairenhiet.
Prepare each cookie sheet with a layer of parchment paper.
Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, or until lightly golden on the edges. If you are baking more than one cookie sheet at a time, it will take approximately 15 minutes for the cookies to bake.

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Recipes

Chai Milk Cake

Featuredby Lindy MoodyLeave a Comment

Being able to bake a cake is the cornerstone of becoming a good baker–especially an at-home baker. But if you are anything like me (I have been baking since my teenage years), you may feel as though you have baked every type of cake there is. After enough time you start pulling away from baking the same old cakes, and bake new and exiting things. At least until a new and exciting cake idea comes along.

A few weeks ago I read about the idea of a milk cake and was thrilled – I found a cake I have never made before.

The concept is simple. Much like a tres leches cake, you bake a dense cake then soak it in flavored milk. The result is half custard, half super moist cake. The milk mixture for the soak is similar to that of a tres leches, but you take the time to flavor the cream by heating it up and steeping it.

Like many of my recipes, you can steep the milk with anything. Any tea, honey, cinnamon, vanilla–the list is endless.

Within the last year I have started to like chai tea. The spicy flavors of chai tea steeped in the milk soak would be the perfect balance to a sweet and sticky cake. I carried the flavor of the chai tea into the topping for the cake.

Again, this cake would pair well with many toppings, whipped cream, caramel, and most fruits. I chose to make a fig, apricot, golden raisin compote to keep with the theme of warm winter flavors.

After testing the recipe out, I served it at a quaint little dinner party last weekend. I normally find fault in my own baked goods but could not find much fault in this cake. The cake did not last through the weekend.

Fininshed cake about to be topped with compote

Chai Milk Cake

Milk being poured over the finished cake

Ingredients

For the Compote:
2 Cups of Water
1 1/2 Tablespoons of Honey
1 Chai Tea Bag
1/2 Cup of Dried Apricots, quartered
1/2 Cup of Dried Figs, quartered
1/2 Cup of Golden Raisins
1/2 Vanilla Bean
2 Tablespoons of Whiskey
For the Cake:
2 Sticks of Butter, softened
1 Cup of Sugar
3 Large Eggs
1 1/2 Cups of All Purpose Flour
1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
1/2 of a Vanilla Bean
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
2 Teaspoons of Baking Powder
1/2 Cup of Whole Milk
For the Soak:
1 - 12 Ounce Can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 - 15 Ounce Can of Evaporated Milk
1 Cup of Heavy Cream
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
5 Chai Tea Bags

Instructions

In a small saucepan, combine the water, honey, and 1 chai tea bag. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
Next stir in the raisins, figs, apricots, whiskey, and the scrapings from the inside of the vanilla bean.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the mixture for 5 minutes before removing the tea bag.
Cook the mixture for an additional 10 minutes, or until the liquid turns to a light syrup.
Set the mixture aside to cool before serving.
For the cake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan and set aside for later.
In your stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This takes about 5 minutes.
Slowly add in the eggs, one at a time, until fully combined and the mixture is fluffy.
Combine all of your dry ingredients, then slowly sift in one-half of the dry mixture into the butter mixture. Mix until combined.
Next add in the milk, vanilla extract, and the scraped inside of the vanilla pod. Mix until combined.
Finally, add the remaining one-half of the dry mixture, mixing until fully combined.
Pour the cake batter into your prepared cake pan and bake on the middle rack for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Once your cake is baked, remove it from the oven and let it cool.
While the cake cools, prepare your chai milk soak mixture.
In a small saucepan, combine all of the ingredients for your milk soak.
Over medium heat, bring the mixture close to a simmer, then turn off the heat. Allow the tea to steep uncovered for 10 minutes.
After they have steeped, remove the tea bags from milk mixture.
Turn out your cake onto its serving tray. Gently pour your milk mixture onto the cake.
The soak will not fully absorb initially, so spoon any extra soak back onto the cake before serving.
Serve the cake with the compote. The cake will last one day.

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Recipes

Lemon & Cream Cheese Babka

Featuredby Lindy MoodyLeave a Comment

I will be the first to admit that I am not a professional baker. I have baked for many, many years, but am in no way at the level of professional. I have just as many bad days in the kitchen as good ones.

This is especially true when it comes to yeast. Yeast is my kryptonite.
Anytime I go into the kitchen with plans to bake yeast risen bread, I am fully prepared to have the bake come out wrong. The silver lining is that you can always learn by messing up.

This past weekend may have been my worst weekend in the kitchen to date. I decided to challenge myself by attempting a Babka. A Babka is a traditional Jewish sweet yeast risen bread that is swirled with chocolate or cinnamon. The bread dough itself is basically a brioche dough. Technically speaking, it is medium of the difficulty of yeast breads.

Three days and four attempts is what it took to get this recipe right. I threw out two doughs and one finished loaf before the fourth and final loaf came out soft and pillow-like. So you do not make the same mistakes, I wanted to share what I learned from my experience. What else is a blog good for?

As for the filling, (per usual) I did not want to take the traditional route. My husband’s grandmother gave me a some homegrown lemons. Her lemon tree yielded for the first time this winter. Lemon is the perfect pick-me-up during the cold months when we lack sun and fresh ingredients. I juiced and zested them, combined them with softened cream cheese, then rolled the mixture up into the dough. My poor husband had to go to the store to get me more cream cheese after I threw out my third attempt.

The finished loaf is delightfully sweet, with a hint of tang. I think a glob of raspberry jelly would adorn a slice of fresh baked lemon cream cheese babka perfectly.

What I learned throwing out three batches of babka dough:

Batch one and two:

Always check your yeast. Yeast will last in the fridge, but of course not forever. Instead of wasting your time making an entire batch of dough to only realize that it will not rise, take the first 5 minutes and make sure the yeast you are using is alive. It is simple, always bloom your yeast in warm water or milk (depending on the recipe). If it sits for 5-10 minutes and it is not bubbly…your yeast is bad. If it is bubbly…it is living!
Make sure your ingredients are not cold. If you know you are baking with yeast, set out your eggs, flour (if you store it in the fridge), etc in advance to ensure it is they are room temperature. Cold items will slow down the growth of your yeast. Just like a warm environment will speed up the yeast’s growth.

Batch three:

Kneed your dough for longer that you think. Let me explain: Written recipes have various times for kneading dough with a stand mixer. Truly you can only tell when a dough is ready by touch or sight. Just because a recipe says knead for 5 minutes, does not mean that dough will be ready to rise after 5 minutes of kneading. It is easiest to tell when a dough is ready by kneading it by hand. If that is not you (me either), then you must look at your dough to see if it has been kneaded enough. If the recipe says the dough should “pull away from the bowl and form a soft smooth dough”, then make sure it does just that. Otherwise your finished bread will be more like cake than bread.
It often takes longer than the recipe says to let your dough double during a rise. Each home and each region is different. For example, I live in the deep south where it is humid. So during the summer it may take less time for my dough to rise. Right now it is dead of winter, and it took a bit longer for my dough to rise to double. My house was very cold. The moral of the story–watch your dough and only move on to the next step when the dough has actually doubled. Do not simply let it sit for the time designated in the recipe.
This is babka specific. Some methods call for slicing your rolled up dough down the middle then twisting it. Next, you stuff it into your bread pan to allow it to rise. The finished loaf has exposed filling on the top. The slicing method works great for certain fillings, but not all fillings. Cinnamon sugar or chocolate are ideal, cream cheese is not ideal to cook exposed to the heat of your oven. For my version I used a different method, I did not slice the dough. I rolled it up then twisted it together before placing it in the loaf pan. This way the filling stayed inside of the bread without being directly exposed to the heat of the oven. Consider the method of babka rolling you want to use based upon the type of filling you stick in your babka. Literally you can stuff anything inside a babka, sweet or savory.

Lemon & Cream Cheese Babka

Sliced loaf of babka being presented by the baker on a wood serving board

Ingredients

For the dough:
3 Cups of All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup of Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup of Warm Milk, between 100-110 degrees Fahrenheit
2 Eggs
1/2 Tablespoon of Yeast
Zest from 1 Lemon
1 Stick of Butter, softened
1/2 Tablespoon of Salt
For the filling:
1 Eight Ounce Block of Cream Cheese, softened
1 Lemon
1/4 Cup of Powdered Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

Instructions

In a small bowl bloom your yeast: Pour in warm milk then sprinkle your yeast over the top. Do not stir. Allow the yeast to bloom for approximately 5 minutes, or until small bubbles form.
While you yeast blooms, prepare your stand mixer. In the mixing bowl, with a dough hook attached, combine your flour and sugar.
After you yeast has bloomed, pour it into the flour mixture. Turn you stand mixer on low and allow it to begin mixing.
Next add in your eggs and vanilla. Mix until it all comes together. If the mixtures looks too dry and crumbly add in more milk.
Turn you mixer up to medium and add in your butter one tablespoon at a time. Let each piece of butter fully incorporate before adding the next. When you are ready to add in the last piece of butter, pour in your salt as well.
Knead the dough on medium speed for approximately 10 minutes, or until a smooth elastic dough that pulls away from the side of the bowl forms.
Place the finished dough in a bowl that is coated in cooking spray, then spray cooking spray over the top of the dough. Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Allow the dough to rise, in a draft free place, for approximately 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.
While you dough rises, create your filling.
In a small bowl, zest and juice your lemon.
Next, whisk in the remaining ingredients to the lemon filling until the mixture is smooth and fully combined. Set aside, covered, until ready to use.
Once the dough has doubled, gently turn it out onto a heavily floured surface.
With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to create a 16x12 inch rectangle.
Spread your lemon cream cheese filling onto the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch space around the outside of the dough.
Starting at the short side, roll up your dough like you would a jelly roll. Press the ends into the roll to seal.
Fold your roll in half, then twist the halves around itself at least four times.
Place the loaf into a greased bread pan. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rise to double. At least 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours.
Once doubled, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fairenhiet.
Bake the bread for 30 minutes on the middle rack. After 30 minutes, bake it for an additional 30 minutes covered in aluminum foil to avoid over browning.
A thermometer in the middle should read 190 degrees. If after an hour of baking the middle is not done, cook the loaf for an additional 10 minutes.
Let bread cool before slicing.

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https://epicuropedia.com/2019/01/25/lemon-cream-cheese-babka/

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Recipes

Eggnog Overnight Oats

January 15, 2019January 25, 2019by Lindy Moody1 Comment

In many of my posts I speak about using what you have in the fridge. Groceries are expensive and it is very easy to waste food when you have a small household. I cook for two, my husband and I, and cook a lot.

There always seems to be a baked good on the counter or leftovers in the fridge. Although my husband gives a valiant effort in eating everything I make, most days it is just impossible.

So where I can, I attempt to reuse or repurpose food. Even if you do not have a small household, limiting waste is never a bad idea.

Since the holidays, I have had a brand new jug of eggnog just sitting in my fridge bugging me. Although eggnog is a holiday flavor, I still wanted to use the jug even after the holidays passed.

Everyone has started their New Year’s diet, so I figured provided a healthy (kind of) recipe would be ideal. This one is very simple as well, consider it a bonus. I say kind of healthy because I use eggnog in the place of milk, and eggnog has full fat.

This recipe is very versatile in that you can change out a lot of ingredients. For example, you can use a flavored yogurt instead of plain, pecans instead of almonds, and so on.

Eggnog Overnight Oats

Yield: 2

Eggnog Overnight Oatmeal

Ingredients

1/2 Cup of Oats
1 Tablespoon of Chai Seeds
1/2 Cup of Low Fat Yogurt
1 Tablespoon of Hemp Seeds
3/4 Cup of Eggnog, alcohol free
1/2 Teaspoon of Cinnamon, optional
1/4 Teaspoon of Nutmeg
1/4 Cup of Toasted Sliced Almonds, optional

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Mix until well combined.
Spoon your mixed ingredients into two small mason jars.
Tightly cover the jars with a lid, then place the jars in the fridge.
Let the oats set up, in the fridge, over night.
Before eating, top your oats with toasted almonds. You can also add additional things like cinnamon or fruit over the top.

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https://epicuropedia.com/2019/01/15/eggnog-overnight-oats/

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Recipes

Salted Caramel Filled Kouign Amann

January 9, 2019January 17, 2019by Lindy Moody3 Comments

My latest Connect Savannah food feature on The Topiary Cake Design (I will post the article this week) reminded me just how much I love to bake. So this week I told myself I would get back into the kitchen and practice what I love.

I am not going to sugar coat it–I have been slacking in the blog/baking/cooking department. The holidays drained me, especially considering how much of an introvert I tend to be. I truly have no excuse considering my Christmas decorations and house have been cleaned since the day after Christmas. Truly, I have just been lazy.

Going back into the kitchen needed to start with a bang. I have been baking since I was young, so an intermediate pastry recipe would be a great challenge.

For those who do not know the difference in pastries verses regular baked goods let me explain. Unlike cakes, breads, or other common baked goods, making a pastry refers to a very specific type of dough or baked item that is created using a sweet dough. For example, when you make a pie crust for a pie, you are making a pastry. Other common pastries include croissants, eclairs, macarons, profiteroles, tart shells, and Kouign Amann. The dough for making a pastry is commonly made with flour, fat, sugar, and water, which you can see is very different than the dough for making a bread. The tricky part in making a proper pastry comes with the type of pastry for which you opt—for example croissants require a process called lamination. Lamination is the folding in of cold butter to create layers. It takes many hours and proper technique to succeed.

You may be asking, what the heck is a Kougin Amann? By far it is one of the most delicious pastries put on this earth. Originating in France, the time consuming bite sized croissant and brioche cross is made with a ton of butter, which is to be expected with a French pastry. The end result of folding cold butter into your dough (laminating), then slicing it, coating it in coarse sugar, and smashing it into muffin tins creates a sweet crunchy flaky palm sized treat. The best part, the technique of using a muffin pan leaves a large hole in the center of the pastry, perfect for filling your Kougin Amann with anything you desire.

My selection was salted caramel. The butter used to create the layers of your Kougin Amann bring saltiness to the pastry, so why not complement the overall flavor of the baked good by amplifying its qualities with a salty-sweet filling.

I will warn you, this recipe is not for a beginner. It takes patience and love to get through the process. I do not want to discourage anyone from trying the recipe, I truly hope you are inspired, even beginners, to try this recipe out. The only way to learn is to try. I could probably fill a dumpster with the amount of baked goods I have thrown out due to trying. You have to start somewhere.

Salted Caramel Filled Kouign Amann

a tray of finished pastries

Ingredients

For the Salted Caramel:
1 Cup of Granulated Sugar
½ Cup of Heavy Cream, room temperature
2 Tablespoons of Unsalted Butter
1 Teaspoon of Salt
1/4 Cup of Water
For the Pastry:
2½ Tablespoons of Dry Yeast
1⅓ Cups of Warm Water, do not exceed 105°F
4 Cups of All Purpose Flour
2 Teaspoons of Salt
1¾ Cups Of Salted Butter, cold
1 Cups of Granulated Sugar

Instructions

First make your salted caramel.
In a small saucepan, combine your sugar and water then stir to combine.
Heat mixture over medium heat, do not stir anymore. Cook it until the mixture has turned a deep amber, approximately 10 minutes.
Once cooked, turn of the heat of the stove and whisk in your butter, cream, and salt. Stir until the mixture is smooth and fully combined, then remove it from the stove.
Set the caramel aside, covered, to cool while you make your pastry.
In your stand mixer, combine your yeast and warm water. Allow yeast to bloom for approximately five minutes.
Attach your dough hook, then add in your flour and salt. Mix on low until combined and a dough begins to form.
Turn the stand mixer speed to medium, and mix for five minutes or until dough shapes into a smooth elastic ball.
Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for twenty minutes.
While the dough rises, prepare your butter block.
Shape your butter into one mound, then shape and flatten the butter until it is a rectangle approximately 10x8 inches.
Cover your butter in plastic wrap and place it back in the fridge to cool until you are ready to use it.
Turn you risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
Roll out your dough into a 16x10 rectangle. Place your butter block in the center of your dough.
Fold the exposed edges over your butter as to completely enclose your block of butter. Next, roll the dough into a 18x8 rectangle.
Fold your dough by thirds, like a letter, to start creating layers.
Plastic wrap your dough, then place it in the fridge to allow the butter to get cold again. Let the dough rest for 1 hour.
After the hour, place your dough back onto your floured surface and roll out into an 18x8 rectangle. Fold the dough again like a letter. Place the dough back in the fridge to let it rest for an 1 hour.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a 12 cup muffin pan by coating it in butter. Set aside the pan aside.
Roll your chilled dough to a 17x13 rectangle, then slice off 1/2 inch from each end of the rectangle.
Generously coat both sides of your dough with your 1 cup of granulated sugar. This will create the crunchy outside.
Slice dough into equal 4x4 inch squares.
Place each square into the center of each muffin cup.
Fill each cup with approximately 1 tablespoon of your cooled salted caramel. Fold in the four corners of each square to meet in the center.
Loosely cover the muffin pan and allow the dough to rise for another 20 minutes.
Bake your dough for 25-30 minutes on the center rack.
Once golden brown, remove from the oven to allow them to cool.

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https://epicuropedia.com/2019/01/09/salted-caramel-filled-kouign-amann/

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Recipes

Butternut Squash & Lentil Curry

January 4, 2019January 17, 2019by Lindy Moody2 Comments

Colder weather means throwing something in the crockpot before work, letting it cook all day, and coming home to a bubbly, home cooked meal. The preceding is especially true when your book club decides to host their monthly meeting at your house.

I can think of no better way to feed a bunch of hungry ladies than to prepare something that is quick and easy.

If you are like me, crockpot cooking can be difficult because there are so few dishes or variations of dishes that you can make in a crockpot—soup, roast, or chili seem to be the go tos.

I tested out this recipe a few weeks ago on my husband, so when my book club meeting was scheduled for my house I thought the recipe would be perfect. The most work this recipe requires is steaming some jasmine rice for the side.

There is no added fat or meat, which results in a relatively healthy dinner. The base is made entirely of vegetables and a little bit of low sodium chicken stock. Low calorie cooking means more room for wine.

Plated bowl of curry topped with cilantro and onion

Butternut squash and lentil curry made in the crockpot

As the seasons change you can trade out the butternut squash for something more seasonal like mango or sweet potato. You literally throw everything into the crockpot the morning before your meal is planned, and let the lentils cook down with the vegetables until a thick creamy curry is created.

Just like you can switch out the vegetables that fill this curry, you can pick any of you favorite toppings to sprinkle over each finished bowl. I opted for cilantro and pickled onion, but the leftover seeds from the butter squash would have also been delicious roasted then peppered over the top.

Butternut Squash & Lentil Curry

Plated bowl of curry topped with cilantro and onion

Ingredients

1 Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
2 Cups of Red Lentils
1 Pear, peeled and cubed
3 Cups of Water
1/2 of a White Onion, diced
1 Cup of Vegetable Stock
3 Tablespoons of Red Curry Paste
2 Teaspoons of Garam Marsala
2 Teaspoons Fresh Ginger, peeled and grated
2 Teaspoons Turmeric
1 Can of Coconut Milk

Instructions

In a crockpot, combine all of your ingredients (except for the coconut milk) and mix together.
Cook for 8 hours over low heat.
Once finished cooking, pour in your coconut milk. Allow to cook for an additional five minutes to warm the milk.
Serve finished curry over rice or noodles.
Your choice in toppings is optional. Fresh cilantro, pickled onion, roasted squash seeds are great options.

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https://epicuropedia.com/2019/01/04/butternut-squash-lentil-curry/

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