Orange Breakfast Bread

Sunday was a cool and rainy day (surprise, surprise!) so I decided it would be a good day to bake.  Plus, then we'd have breakfast for the week.  We had a few oranges in the fridge and I had this recipe from Annie's Eats bookmarked, so the decision of what to bake was an easy one.  Instead of making muffins, I decided that by increasing the bake time, I could make this recipe into a loaf (which ended up being slightly dense, but still good).  It ended up taking forever, and we had some errands to run, so after already baking for an hour, I loosely covered the top of the bread with foil, turned the oven way down to about 150 degrees, and left the house.  By the time we came back 20 minutes later, the bread was finally done!

For the Batter:
1 cup Milk
1/2 cup Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice (I got this from 1 large orange)
1/2 cup Sour Cream
2 Eggs
2 sticks Unsalted Butter (hey, I never said this was healthy!)
3 1/2 cups Flour
1 cup Sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
Zest from 1 Orange

For the Glaze (I decided to omit):
1/4 cup Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
1 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
1-2 teaspoons Orange Zest

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, orange juice, sour cream, eggs, and melted butter until just incorporated.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Stir to combine.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.  Fold in the orange zest with a spatula.

*If making muffins, divide the batter between about 16 prepared muffin cups and bake for 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees.

*If making a loaf, pour batter into a loaf pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

To make the glaze, combine the juice, powdered sugar, and orange zest in a small bowl.  Whisk together until smooth, adding more juice if necessary to achieve your preferred consistency.  Drizzle the glaze over the top of the loaf/muffins.  Allow the glaze to set before serving.  Store in an airtight container.

Whole Wheat Pita

For a picture of the pita, see the previous post of Chicken Gyros.

Joel made pita once before, but I've never done it.  So, a few weeks ago, when I was off for spring break, I made them.  I decided I was going to make pita bread as the base for chicken gyros.  I bookmarked this recipe from Delish last March, so I figured it was about time to use it.  Even though these took about 2 1/2 hours to make, they were worth it.  A quick note: I tried cooking my first 2 pitas directly on the oven rack, as stated in the original recipe.  I did not have much success with that, as the pita kept ripping.  Instead, for the remaining pitas, I baked them on a pizza stone, which made them hold together much better!

2 1/4 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast (1 package)
1 tablespoon Honey
1 1/4 cups Warm Water
1 1/2 cups Bread Flour, plus additional for kneading
1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Salt
Cornmeal for sprinkling baking sheets

In a large bowl, combine yeast, honey, and 1/2 cup warm water.  Stir and let stand for about 5 minutes until foamy.  While the yeast mixture stands, stir the flours together in another bowl.  Whisk 1/2 cup of the flour mixture into the yeast mixture until smooth.  Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a draft-free place at warm room temperature for 45 minutes, or until doubled in bulk and bubbly.  Stir in the oil, salt, remaining 3/4 cup of warm water, and remaining 2 1/2 cups of flour until a dough forms.  Knead the dough on a floured surface, working in just enough additional flour to keep the dough from sticking, until dough is smooth and elastic, 8-10 minutes.  Form dough into a ball and put in an oiled large bowl, turning to coat.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.  Punch down the dough and cut into 8 equal pieces.  Form each piece into a ball.  Flatten 1 ball, then roll out into a 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 inch round on a floured surface with a rolling pin.  Repeat with remaining 7 pieces.  Arrange each round on a baking sheet and loosely cover with a clean kitchen towel and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Set the oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 500 degrees.  Transfer 4 pitas, 1 at a time, directly onto the oven rack.  Bake until just puffed and pale golden brown, about 2-3 minutes.  Turn over with tongs and bake an additional minute.  Cool pitas on a cooling rack for 2 minutes.  Stack the pitas and cover with a kitchen towel to keep warm.  Repeat with remaining pitas and serve warm.

**Pitas can be baked 1 week ahead and cooled completely, then frozen wrapped well in foil and sealed in a plastic bag.  Thaw before reheating, wrapped in foil, for 10-12 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Chocolate Chip Pretzel Cookie Bars

On Friday, I had dinner with my friends.  We had grilled BBQ chicken and pasta salad.  Unfortunately, despite the summery menu, the weather was cool and rainy.  I volunteered to bring dessert since I have so many dessert recipes saved and wanted to try one.  I chose this recipe from Brown Eyed Baker (which was adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod).  These were great--the perfect combination of sweet and salty!

2 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 sticks Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
1 cup Light Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
12 ounce bag Chocolate Chips
1 1/2 cups Mini Pretzels, chopped
1/4 cup Chocolate Chips, for drizzling (optional)
1/4 cup Peanut Butter, for drizzling (optional)
1/4 cup Crumbled Pretzels, for topping (optional)

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter with both kinds of sugar until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.  On low speed, beat in the dry ingredients until just incorporated.  Stir in the chocolate chips and pretzel pieces.  Spread the batter evenly into a 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  Press it down evenly with a spatula.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, until golden brown.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool completely.  In separate sandwich sized baggies, melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter.  Cut off a small corner of each bag and drizzle each over the top of the bars.  Sprinkle additional crushed pretzels over the top.  Let the toppings set then cut into 32 squares and enjoy!

Chicken Gyros

We've made these before, but somehow they never ended up making it onto the blog.  I don't know why because they are delicious!  I used this recipe from Elly Says Opa! and was absolutely thrilled with the outcome.  We ended up having a last minute guest over for dinner the night that we were making these, so we quickly ran to the store to pick up an extra chicken breast and marinated it in some tzatziki, which still turned out pretty good!

1 1/4 pounds Chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces (I used chicken breast tenderloins)
4 Garlic Cloves, smashed
Juice from 1 Lemon
2 teaspoons Red Wine Vinegar
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 tablespoons Plain Yogurt (I used Greek Yogurt)
1 tablespoon Dried Oregano
Salt and Pepper

Whisk together the garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, oil, yogurt, and oregano in a bowl.  Add the chicken and mix to coat.  Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.  Once marinated, sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and cook in the oven, on the grill, or in a pan on the stove, for about 5 minutes per side.

To assemble the gyros, top a warm pita with chicken, tzatziki, tomatoes, lettuce, and red onions.  Yum!

Vegetarian Poutine (with a KILLER Mushroom Gravy)

I know, that title is kind of like an oxymoron.  It's impossible.  Not authentic.  I'll tell you what.  I don't care!  Ever since we were in Toronto a while back and ordered some poutine before our meal, I haven't been able to get it out of my mind.  Then, last month, we went to a local pub and again, ordered it before our meal.  It was delicious!  I wanted to try my hand at it at home, but I was not interested in rendering duck fat, so I turned to this recipe from Leslie Sarna that I've had saved since November.  I thought it might be a good alternative to the beef/duck gravy that you typically see with traditional poutine.  I don't know what you will think, but it definitely worked for me!  And as for the gravy, I'll never buy canned/jarred gravy again.  This whipped up in no time at all and it was so delicious!

For the Fries:
2 large Russet Potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/4 inch fries
Olive Oil
Salt

Toss the fries with the olive oil.  Place on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt.  Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, or until the fries are brown and crispy, turning once during cooking.

For the Gravy:
1 Onion, sliced
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 tablespoons Butter
4 ounces Baby Bella Mushrooms, chopped
4 ounces Button Mushrooms, chopped
2 tablespoons Flour
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
1 1/2 cups Vegetable Broth
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
Salt, to taste (I omitted the additional salt, but I added some fresh black pepper)

In a large frying pan on medium heat, melt the butter.  Add the onions, mushrooms, and garlic.  Add a pinch of salt and saute for about 2 minutes.  Add the flour and mix until dissolved and cooked through.  In a small bowl, mix together the broth with the cornstarch to make a slurry.  Add the slurry to the pan and cook for a few more minutes, until the gravy begins to thicken.  Add the soy sauce and season to taste.

To Assemble:
Fries
Gravy
Cheese Curds

Arrange the fries on a large platter.  Pour the gravy over the fries and top with the cheese curds.  Enjoy!