Sweet Honey Cornbread

With the weather in the high 50’s, the wind rustling through the trees, it just feels like fall.  It’s the type of day where you wanted to sit down to a warm bowl of soup.    Tonight we are having 3 of Avery’s friends over and Keith had basketball practice this afternoon, so we needed a quick meal that would serve a lot of people.   

Keith had a big pot of chili cooked when I got home.  All I needed to do was warm it up and make some cornbread.    It seems like whenever I want to cook cornbread, I always have to go searching the web.  I found a great one tonight. The insides were as tender as a cake and almost as sweet as one.  No butter required, though it probably would have been even better!  Chili, cornbread, cheese, and fresh chives from the garden, what could be better?

Honey Corn Bread

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• ¼ cup of canola oil
• ¼ cup honey

Directions

1.    In a bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, beat the eggs. Add cream, oil and honey; beat well.  Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Pour into a greased 9-in. square baking pan.

2.    Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve warm.

Yield: 9 servings.

Recipe adapted from http://www.tasteofhome.com/. 

Pizza Crust

Keith has discovered the Bolognese Pizza.  I think it is now one of his favorite pizza’s to eat.   He first ate one in Hamburg, Germany at one of the boy’s basketball tournaments.  We had never heard of such a pizza, so we thought it was a genuine Italian type of pizza.  Well, we learned differently last week. 

We were in Wurzburg, Germany with my parents.  After a week of German food, all of us wanted Italian.  We picked the most Italian sounding restaurant from the close ones, listed on the GPS.  Well, let me just say, we found a genuine Italian restaurant, where the chef stays true to the original recipes.

Keith, Daddy, and the boys all decide they want pizzas.  Keith orders a Bolognese Pizza.  The waiter quickly replies, “You’re not in American, and this isn’t Pizza Hut.  We are from Italy and we only cook food original to the region.  The chef would have my head if I went back there and put in this order.”  That was a good laugh for all of us!

Since we don’t go out to eat much in Denmark, Keith decided the best way to get a Bolognese Pizza was to make one.    In his search for a pizza crust recipe, he stumbled across one of the best ones we have had.    To make sure we don’t lose it, I had to post it on my blog.   For Keith’s sake, I must also add that he made the crust and the pizza.  It was delicious!

To make the Bolognese part, just make your favorite bolognese sauce and spread on the crust.  Then top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Pizza Crust

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1.    Stir water, sugar and yeast together until dissolved. Add the olive oil and the salt. Stir in the flour until well blended. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.

2.    Pat dough into pan or on to a pizza stone using fingers dipped in olive oil. If desired sprinkle basil, thyme or other seasonings on crust. Top with your favorite pizza toppings and bake for 15 to 20 minutes in a preheated 425 degree oven.   

Recipe adapted from www.allrecipes.com. 

Parsley Potatoes

Growing up the only time I saw fresh parsley was as a garnish on my steak plate at Golden Corral.  Dried parsley was an ingredient in the bottled garlic bread mix.  It wasn’t until much later in life that I started cooking with fresh parsley, but then it was only a recipe here and there.

In Europe, especially Denmark it seems, fresh parsley is in many dishes.  When sprinkled on top of a dish, parsley adds a fresh flavor and a crisp mouth feel.  Parsley goes with many dishes, including potatoes, vegetables, eggs, poultry, fish, rice, and cheese spreads.

I have enjoyed many wonderful dishes containing parsley and it is abundantly available in the Danish grocery stores.   After buying many sprigs of parsley, I decided to plant some in my very small garden.  For this recipe I combined the parsley with one of my favorite starchy vegetables, the new potato. 

In the US, new potatoes are one of the early summer pleasures that should not be missed.  However, in Denmark they are available year round.  If there is one ingredient served more than parsley it would be small potatoes. 

The combination of potatoes and parsley was absolutely delicious.  I love the combination of the gravy like sauce, the potatoes, and the taste of the crisp parsley in the dish.  This recipe was definitely a keeper!

Parsley Potatoes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds new red potatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 cup chicken broth
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1.    Place the potatoes into a large pot full of salted water. Bring the water to a boil; then reduce heat. Simmer covered, for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

2.    Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sauté onion and garlic for 5 minutes or until tender. Pour in chicken broth. Bring to a boil.

3.    Simmer for 3-4 minutes.

4.    Drain potatoes and pour into the skillet.  Cut potatoes into half.  Grind fresh pepper and salt into skillet to taste.  Continue to simmer until a gravy like sauce remains. (3-5 minutes)  Stir in fresh parsley and serve. 

Recipe adapted from www.allrecipes.com  

Rhubarb Crisp

I know that rhubarb’s grow in many places around the world, including the South. However, I had never tasted anything with rhubarb’s in it till coming to Denmark.  Whenever I had work related trips in spring/early summer, the dessert would always include rhubarb.  One trip in particular, I think we had a rhubarb dessert every night, including a rhubarb soup.   When planning a dessert for a BBQ with friends, I decided to at last try to cook with rhubarbs.  I found lot’s of great recipes on line, but decided to go with a crisp recipe.  Something about oatmeal, brown sugar, cinnamon, and fruit is just too yummy to pass up!

Some recipes I found called for stewing the rhubarb down on the stovetop before baking in the oven, so I was a little worried about the rhubarb being a little tough.   I cut the stalks into 2-4 strips depending on size and then cut into very small cubes in order to try and avoid this.

 For the topping, the original recipe called for walnuts.  Actually many of the recipes I found online called for walnuts, but since I didn’t have any on stock and because I love pecans, I used these instead.

I took the dessert to a “year-end” BBQ with friends from our church.  There was a mix of cultures and ages present.  From the kids to the adults, I got rave reviews for dessert.  Next time I make the dessert,  I will double the amount of rhubarb filling and also serve it warm with vanilla ice cream.

Rhubarb Crisp

Rhubarb Filling

• 4 cups chopped fresh or frozen (thawed) rhubarb
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Place rhubarb in an 8×8 pan or divide between 6 ramekins.
2. Mix together sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan, stir in water. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over rhubarb.

Crisp Topping

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch salt
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted

1. Mix together flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, salt and walnuts. Stir in melted butter until even distributed. Crumble over filling.
2. Bake at 350ºF for 45 min or until rhubarb is cooked through and filling is bubbly.

Makes enough for an 8×8 inch square (9 inch round) baking pan or 6 ramekins

Recipe adapted from www.kitchensimplicity.com

Pecan Encrusted Pork Loin with Strawberry Balsamic Sauce

The grocery stores are full of Danish strawberries.  They are small, but sweet.  Instead of cooking yet another strawberry dessert, I searched for a way to incorporate them into the main meal.  I found the perfect recipe on The Food Network website.  It was for a Pecan Encrusted Pork Loin with a Strawberry Balsamic sauce.   Since moving here, I have been in search of the perfect pork loin recipe, so it was quite great to find a recipe combining the two!

I deviated very little from the recipe as published on Food Network.  I mean, it is a Paula Deen recipe after all!  I grinded up some old stale bread to make the bread crumbs and used walnuts instead of pecans (pecans aren’t available at every grocery store).   I skipped the crostini and herb cream cheese and just served the pork and strawberry sauce.  After coating the pork loins, I had leftover breadcrumb/walnut mixture, so I dredged a few chicken breast with the mixture as well.  The chicken was just as good as the pork.

For sides we had a wonderful beet, spring onion salad (which I will post a recipe for later), garlic rice pilaf, and steamed fresh asparagus.  The meal was simply amazing!

Pecan Encrusted Pork Loin 

Ingredients

• 1 cup ground pecans
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper flakes
• 2 large eggs
• 2 (1-pound) pork tenderloins, trimmed
• Balsamic Strawberry Sauce, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil. Lightly grease foil.

In a shallow dish, combine the pecans, bread crumbs, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and red pepper.

In a separate shallow dish, lightly beat the eggs. Dip the tenderloins in the eggs to coat. Dredge them in the pecan mixture, completely covering the tenderloins. Arrange them on the prepared baking sheet, and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest portion registers 155 degrees F, about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the tenderloins from the oven to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. Cut into 1/4-inch thick slices and serve with Balsamic Strawberry Sauce.

Balsamic Strawberry Sauce:

• 2 cups chopped fresh strawberries (about 1 pound)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup chicken broth

In a medium saucepan, combine the strawberries, sugar, and vinegar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

In a small bowl combine the cornstarch and chicken broth, stirring until smooth. Add it to the strawberry mixture, stirring to combine. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, and let cool. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Recipe adapted from Paula Deen at www.foodnetwork.com.

Authenic Italian Bread

I got in the mood for homemade bread today.  Instead of cooking one of my two usual recipes (which I’ll have to share later), I decided to try a new recipe.  I searched on the web for an Italian bread.  The one I found seemed pretty interesting because the mixing order is different than what I typically do.  You only add part of the flour in with the yeast and let it rise for a couple of hours.  The resulting mixture is a yeasty, bubbly soup, which you then add the remaining two cups of flour.  I followed the recipe below exactly, except that I used 1 block of live yeast (see below).  It’s the only kind of yeast you can buy in Denmark.

The bread turned out really good.  It had an authentic flavor due to the addition of semolina flour.  We dipped the warm bread into a bowl of olive oil and salt and pepper.  Of course anything will taste good with the olive oil we have.  We bought it in Greece and it is the best that I have tasted.  I will find it very difficult to go back to the grocery store variety of olive oil after tasting oils from Greece.   

 
Authentic Homemade Italian Bread

• 1 cup warm water (between 105 and 115 degrees F)
• 1/2 cup warm skim milk (between 105 and 115 degrees F)
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 2-1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1 cup semolina flour
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• coarse cornmeal
• olive oil-flavored nonstick cooking spray

In the mixing bowl of an electric mixer or a large mixing bowl, combine water, milk, and honey. Sprinkle yeast over top. Allow to stand 10-15 minutes until foamy. Add 2 cups of bread flour. Using electric stand mixer or electric hand mixer, beat on low for 4 minutes. Cover bowl with a towel. Place in an unheated oven and allow to stand 1-2 hours.

Remove bowl from oven and add remaining cup of bread flour, semolina flour, salt and olive oil. Using your electric mixer with a dough hook, beat for 5 minutes. Spray another large mixing bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Pour dough into that bowl. Turn over until dough is covered with oil. Cover and let rest 15 minutes.

Sprinkle a cookie sheet with several teaspoons of cornmeal. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into an oval mound. Flatten slightly until each half is about 6 inches across. Spray tops of dough loaves with nonstick spray. Put cookie sheet into unheated oven to rise another 30 minutes to 1 hour, until doubled. Remove dough from oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Using a sharp knife, make 3 slits across top of bread about 1/4 inch deep. Fill a small round cake pan with 1/2 inch of water. Place on cake pan on bottom rack in oven. Place cookie sheet with bread dough on it on the middle rack of the oven. Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. If bread browns too quickly, cover it with foil for the last 5-10 minutes of baking.

Makes 2 loaves, 8 slices each.

Recipe taken from www.suite101.com, which adapted it from a Better Homes and Gardens recipe.

Healthy Old Fashion Fruit Crumble

We have all decided it’s time to lose some weight.  When we first moved to Denmark, we thought it would be easy to lose weight here.  The people are so much more active than in the US and I perceived the food to be much healthier.  Unfortunately, we discovered all of the delicious pastries, cheeses, bread, and so much more! 

Unlike other diets I have been on, I am going to try and make this a lifestyle, not a diet.  In this spirit, I decided that since I also cook something sweet over the weekend, I wouldn’t stop now.  After searching on the web, I found this delightful recipe for a fruit crumble.  The recipe makes 4 servings and each serving is 250 calories.  I was a little afraid of the 1 Tbps of sugar, so on top of the fruit I sprinkled about ¼ tsp of Splenda.

Okay, I know you are thinking a healthy dessert can not taste good.  Well, let's just say it was certainly not as good as a full fat version, but it was good.  The fruit part actually tasted very good with just the right amount of sweetness (I guess the extra Splenda worked!).  The crumble part did leave a little to be desired.  Next time I make this, I will use 2 TBsp of melted butter instead of the canola oil.  In fact this will save you about 10 calories per serving, thus making the total calories at 240 calories per serving and a much more authenic taste (at least I hope!)

Healthy Old Fashion Fruit Crumble

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen fruit, such as blueberries, peaches, plums
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons whole-wheat or all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 1 tsp Splenda
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds, or pecans
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Combine fruit with granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and orange juice. Divide among four 6-ounce ovenproof ramekins. Combine oats, nuts, brown sugar, the remaining 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Drizzle with butter and stir to combine. Sprinkle over the fruit mixture. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet.
3. Bake until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe adapted from: www.eatingwell.com