Tag Archive for: Breads

Nutella Mug Cake

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I did not grow up with Nutella, and  I actually only tried it about two years ago.  It was ok, but I didn’t love it.  I have never bought Nutella nor made anything with Nutella and to be honest, I don’t really get it.  Is it healthy chocolate because friends I know who are real health nuts feed their children Nutella sandwiches- which is just a chocolate sandwich right?  However, I think I will change my tune because this Nutella Mug Cake looks so easy, so yummy and you can just make one when you need a chocolate fix and top it with ice cream, whip cream or whatever you desire- so perfect.

Nutella Mug Cake

Ingredients (makes 2 servings):

1/4 cup self rising flour

1/4 cup white sugar

1 egghttps://thesouthwillrise.com/wp-admin/post-new.php

3 tbsp vegetable oil

3 tbsp milk

2 tbsp cocoa powder

2 tbsp Nutella

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Stir self-rising flour, sugar, egg, vegetable oil, milk, cocoa powder, chocolate-hazelnut spread, salt, and vanilla extract together in a large mug until batter is smooth.
Cook in microwave oven on full power until the cake has risen in the mug and is set in the center, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes.

Thanksgiving Breakfast

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I am not sure what Thanksgiving is like in your family, but we usually eat our meal in the late afternoon.  I like this because it gives everyone plenty of time to do what they need/want to do beforehand.  Corby has a tradition of going for a Thanksgiving day bicycle ride which is usually 40-50 miles and that takes a while.  I like to go for a run in the morning so I can eat anything I want later, and of course there is all the cooking that needs to be done and football that needs watching.  The only problem with eating in the late afternoon is that everyone is starving and ready to eat an hour or so before we actually do.  So, this year, I found a great recipe on www.closetcooking.com for a very filling and delicious breakfast that will tide everyone over until the big feast.  Also, as I mentioned in a previous post, my brother and sister-in-law are in charge of dessert this year, and they are making pecan pie and banana pudding (which I am super excited about).  However, no pumpkin pie, so this breakfast is even more perfect- Pumpkin Pie French Toast!  I can’t wait!

Pumpkin Pie French Toast

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons brown sugar
8 slices of bread

Directions:

Mix the eggs, milk, pumpkin puree, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and brown sugar in low flat bowl for easy dipping.
Heat a pan over medium heat.
Dip the bread into the egg mixture on both sides and grill in a pan until lightly golden brown, about 2-3 minute per side.

Cornbread Stuffing with Sweet Potato and Squash

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My entire family is spending Thanksgiving together up in the mountains.  Granted there are only 11 of us, so it is not that huge, but we did want to make Thanksgiving as easy as possible- especially on my mother who usually does everything.  So take the load off of her for a year, my brother in law is making the turkey, my brother and his wife are on dessert, and I am on the side dish and salad (my mother is making the stuffing because hers is the best and we as children would rather not mess at least that up).  My brother, sister and I of course agree on what the side dish should be since we all grew up with the same one every year- sweet potato pie.  However, our spouses have different traditions in their families and hence different ideas on what the side dish should be.  I found this recipe and while it says stuffing, it seems like more of a casserole, and it seemed to include a lot of different flavors and ideas, so maybe I will go with this.

Cornbread Stuffing with Sweet Potato and Squash

(from www.myrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen diced onion, red and green bell peppers, and celery
2 small garlic cloves, pressed
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2 medium-size sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
3 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
2 teaspoons Creole seasoning, divided
2 (14-oz.) cans low-sodium fat-free chicken broth, divided
1 (8-oz.) package cornbread stuffing mix
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup chopped pecans
Garnish: fresh or dried sage leaves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°. Sauté frozen onion mixture and garlic in 1 Tbsp. hot oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat 2 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Stir in squash, next 5 ingredients, 1 tsp. Creole seasoning, and 1/4 cup water. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes or until squash and potatoes are tender. Stir in 1 can chicken broth.
Remove from heat; cool 15 minutes. Stir together stuffing mix, egg, and remaining 1 can chicken broth and 1 tsp. Creole seasoning in a medium bowl. Fold into cooled squash mixture. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish.
Bake, covered with aluminum foil, at 375° for 25 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with pecans; bake 20 minutes or until dressing is thoroughly heated and pecans are toasted. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Garnish, if desired.

Weekend Sticky Buns

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Even though it was a short week, I am so glad it is Friday.  We don’t have much planned for this weekend other than some school projects due next week and of course Walker’s football game bright and early on Saturday morning.  I was trying to think what would be a good breakfast for him before his game (I must brag a little as his team is undefeated and has only been scored on once- they are pretty amazing), and I found this recipe for sticky buns.  Yum- I haven’t had a sticky bun in a long time.  My mother used to make them for us on Christmas morning, but I think these are just the ticket for a great start to a Saturday.

Sticky Buns

Ingredients:

3-1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 packages (1/4 ounce each) quick-rise yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup 2% milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter, cubed
FILLING:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
TOPPING:
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup molasses

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a small saucepan, heat the milk, water and butter to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Callie’s Biscuits and Southern Traditions

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I am so, so, so excited for Callie’s Biscuits and Southern Traditions cookbook to come out on October 15th.  Callie’s is a staple at parties in Charleston, from her amazing biscuits to the delicious pimento cheese- everything she makes is fantastic, and I am thrilled that she is putting out a cookbook!  I am also thrilled that there is a Biscuits and Bourbon after party at Billy Reid, which is just super fun.  Make sure to pre-order yours today!

French Croissants

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On Sunday, Corby and I walked up to the Starbucks to get an iced coffee and my weirdo son Walker a hot chocolate.  I say weirdo affectionately and only because it was 90 degrees outside, and who wants a hot chocolate when it is 90 degrees?  Corby also got a croissant.  I love a croissant.  They are buttery and flaky and make me want to live in France.  The great thing about croissants is that they can be used for so many things.  They are exceptional for breakfast with jam or butter.  They make a sandwich extra special when used as the bread.  And they add something extra to dinner when they are served as the dinner roll.  Also, when you dip them in coffee or hot chocolate, it is sublime.  Here is a great croissant recipe from allrecipes.com.  Hope you enjoy as much as I do.

French Croissants

Ingredients:

1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

3 tablespoons warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2/3 cup warm milk

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2/3 cup unsalted butter, chilled

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

Directions:

Combine yeast, warm water, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Allow to stand until creamy and frothy.
Measure flour into a mixing bowl. Dissolve 2 teaspoons sugar and salt in warm milk. Blend into flour along with yeast and oil. Mix well; knead until smooth. Cover, and let rise until over triple in volume. Deflate gently, and let rise again until doubled. Deflate and chill 20 minutes.
Massage butter until pliable, but not soft and oily. Pat dough into a 14 x 8 inch rectangle. Smear butter over top two thirds, leaving 1/4 inch margin all around. Fold unbuttered third over middle third, and buttered top third down over that. Turn 90 degrees, so that folds are to left and right. Roll out to a 14 x 6 inch rectangle. Fold in three again. Sprinkle lightly with flour, and put dough in a plastic bag. Refrigerate 2 hours. Unwrap, sprinkle with flour, and deflate gently. Roll to a 14 x 6 inch rectangle, and fold again. Turn 90 degrees, and repeat. Wrap, and chill 2 hours.
To shape, roll dough out to a 20 x 5 inch rectangle. Cut in half crosswise, and chill half while shaping the other half. Roll out to a 15 x 5 inch rectangle. Cut into three 5 x 5 inch squares. Cut each square in half diagonally. Roll each triangle lightly to elongate the point, and make it 7 inches long. Grab the other 2 points, and stretch them out slightly as you roll it up. Place on a baking sheet, curving slightly. Let shaped croissants rise until puffy and light. In a small bowl, beat together egg and 1 tablespoon water. Glaze croissants with egg wash.
Bake in a preheated 475 degrees F (245 degrees C) oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

 

Indaco- New Favorite in Charleston

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A new Italian restaurant opened in Charleston a couple of months ago, and I had dinner there yet again last night, and again, it was fabulous!  I was there with some girhttps://thesouthwillrise.com/wp-admin/post-new.phplfriends, and we started out with the butter bean puree, Castelvetrano olives, and the 24-month aged American Iberico prosciutto.  All of it was amazing- especially the prosciutto.  We also had the pork trotters, which is one of my favorites on the menu, and all I can say about them is they are ridiculous.  We were talking with one of the owners who came over to say hello (did I mention how amazing the service is??), and he was saying that it used to be a restaurant needed to specify if it was a Northern Italian or Southern Italian restaurant, but that Indaco didn’t do that.  They just put really good food on the menu.  I really love that sentiment.  Instead of trying to cater to a certain theme, its just really good food.  I mean, really good!  We then had several of the pizzas and the eggplant lasagnette.  The pizzas are to die for, and while I did not think that I enjoyed eggplant, it turns out I do- amazing.  One of the pizzas we had was an eggplant pizza with tomato, ricotta, buffalo mozzarella, and grana padano.  It was truly delicious.  So, here is a recipe I found for easy eggplant pizza, and while it won’t be as good as Indaco (only because I don’t have a wood fire pizza oven- ha) it will tide me over til the next time I find a reason to go to my new favorite place! (The picture is from the Indaco website www.indacocharleston.com of one of the pizzas.)

Eggplant Pizza

Ingredients:

1 eggplant, sliced

1/2 cup pizza sauce

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

2 tsp olive oil for brushing
toppings as needed

Directions:

Slice the eggplant and sprinkle with some salt on each side. Set aside for thirty minutes, then rinse and pat dry. This will take some of the bitterness out of the eggplant, especially if you’re using a larger/older fruit.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Brush each side of the eggplant slices with olive oil, then sprinkle both sides 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper. Place the eggplants on a cooling rack that’s on a baking sheet, and bake until they are softened and a little brown, about six minutes.

Spoon the tomato sauce on the eggplant slices, then add the cheese and toppings.

Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake for another five minutes, until the cheese is melted. Go ahead and broil it for a minute if you’d like some extra crispy toppings.

 

 

Carrot Cake Doughnuts

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This past weekend we spent Friday night out at the Sanctuary at Kiawah Island- a “staycation” if you will.  It was absolutely wonderful.  I felt like I had been on vacation for a week and we weren’t even there 24 hours.  We arrived on Friday afternoon.  It had been raining the whole day in Charleston, but just 45 minutes away, it had not rained at all.  We sat by the pool for a cocktail and then met some friends on the beach.  After that, we had drinks in the lobby bar with some other friends we ran into who were doing the same thing.  We then walked up  to The Ocean Room, sat at the bar and had a fabulous dinner.  Corby got the steak and I had the pesto gnocchi- delicious!  We were then “talked” into getting dessert.  It was going to be a very tough decision but fortunately they had a dessert trio which included the two things I wanted to try- the carrot cake doughnuts and the chocolate and malt. I can’t remember what the third was but I am sure I enjoyed it.  However, I do remember the carrot cake doughnuts very well.  Amazing.  They were served with cream cheese ice cream and a caramel sauce.  And of course since it was a carrot cake doughnut, that means it was healthy because of the carrot- right?  Either way, they were really special.  The next morning we went for a long walk on the beach and then sat at the pool for many hours until it was time to go home and pick up the dog.  It really was a phenomenal night/day/vacation.  Now, Walker is finally home after two and a half months of being away and school starts tomorrow- how has the summer gone by so quickly?  I dug around this morning to find a recipe for the carrot cake doughnuts that might make the first morning of school a little more bearable.

Carrot Cake Doughnuts

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 stick butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 whole egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup plain yogurt
2/3 cup crushed pineapple, drained, reserve 4 tablespoons juice for the frosting
2/3 cup finely shredded carrots

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease the doughnut pan; set aside.
In a medium sized mixing bowl sift together the flour, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter, light brown sugar, and salt. Add egg, vanilla, and yogurt; beat until smooth. Add flour mixutre. Stir in pineapple and carrots.
Spoon the mixture into a ziploc bag and pipe batter into prepared pan, filling only 1/2 way up the doughnut cavities.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Cool doughnuts in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack.

Sour Cream and Chives Biscuits

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I do love a good biscuit- piping hot and steamy.  It can be the perfect breakfast- you really don’t need much else.  Fortunately, my wonderful husband makes amazing biscuits- not nearly as often as I would like, but when he decides to make biscuits, they are a work of art.  We are heading up to the mountains next weekend with friends, and Corby has said he will make biscuits.  I am excited.  I usually do not have a preference for flavor of biscuit, but I found this recipe for sour cream and chives biscuits that sounds pretty darn awesome, so maybe he will make these!!

Sour Cream and Chives Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 cups Bisquick baking mix

1 cup dairy sour cream or 3/4 cup plain yogurt

1 tbsp dried snipped chives

Directions:

Heat oven to 450°. Mix all ingredients until dough form, beat 30 sec. Turn onto surface dusted with baking mix; gently roll in baking mix to coat. Shape into ball; knead 10 times. Roll 1/2 thick. Cut with 2″ cutter dipped in baking mix. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet until golden brown, 8-10 min. Makes 12 Biscuits. Sour Cream-n-Chives Drop Biscuits. After beating, drop dough by spoonfuls onto lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake until golden brown. 10-12 min.

So Many Cravings

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It has been an eventful week in our house with Walker out of school.  I took him fishing with a friend on Tuesday where he caught one red fish, two blue fish, two baby sharks, six big sharks and the biggest stingray I have ever seen.  Needless to say we did not swim in the ocean on Tuesday.  Yesterday, Corby, Walker, Nemo and I drove up to Lake Summit in North Carolina to drop Walker off for three weeks at Camp Mondamin.  This is Walker’s third time at Mondamin but his first time for three weeks.  He was so excited, and fortunately for me, the camp puts up pictures every day for the parents to see how the kids are doing.  And from the pictures this morning, it looks like the first day was a blast.  So, now that Walker is off for a couple of weeks, Corby and I have decided to do a cleanse.  I guess this is a good time to do it since we don’t have to cook Walker meals and there are not snacks in the house.  But on the other hand, now also would be a good time to go out to dinner and movies and bars etc since we don’t have to get a babysitter.  But, alas, we have chosen the cleansing route and this being the first day, I want to eat my desk.  My lemon, maple syrup, cayenne pepper concoction is not really doing it for me right now.  I am instead thinking about cheese, pastries, bread, crackers, milkshakes, cheese, hamburgers, bread and more cheese.  So I have decided to post my all time favorite recipes and to live vicariously through writing them out.  Here is the first one- keeping it pretty simple here with an old fashion grilled cheese sandwich.  (The two pictures are of Walker and his shark and then the car ride up to camp- Nemo did not want Walker to go!)

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Ingredients:

4 slices of white bread

3 tbsp butter

cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat skillet over medium heat. Generously butter one side of a slice of bread. Place bread butter-side-down onto skillet bottom and add 1 slice of cheese. Butter a second slice of bread on one side and place butter-side-up on top of sandwich. Grill until lightly browned and flip over; continue grilling until cheese is melted. Repeat with remaining 2 slices of bread, butter and slice of cheese.