Bread
#COOKING: “UNLIMITED SALAD AND BREAD STICKS” | OLIVE GARDEN ITALIAN DRESSING
“Unlimited” Salad and Breadsticks. We miss our cross-border trips and part of the joys of high school involved living right beside an Olive Garden. While the Italian-American family chain’s days in these parts of Canada were short-lived, we miss them greatly and we try to make time for a visit when we visit the U.S. We don’t even care about the Pasta, just give us Unlimited Salad and Breadsticks!
Olive Garden‘s House Dressing is available now in Canada at select grocers and you too can replicate that magic at home! We prefer bread from scratch but there’s nothing wrong with buying pre-made dough.
Garlic Breadsticks
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoons yeast
2 tablespoons organic raw sugar
1/4 tablespoon sea salt
1 1/2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
Garlic powder
Additional sea salt
1/4 cup butter, melted
Optional: 1/4 cup grated cheese (Mozzarella/Cheddar)
Instructions:
1. Mix flour, salt and butter in mixing bowl. Use two forks criss-crossing to cut butter in.
2. In bowl, mix 1/3 cup lukewarm water (not warm or hot) with yeast and sugar till dissolved and filmy. Let stand a few minutes.
3. Mix yeast water into flour bit by bit, using forks. Pour another 2/3 cup lukewarm water, forming dough.
4. Turn dough onto flat, floured surface. Sprinkle with flour till dough no longer is sticky, kneading 10 minutes. Dough should be punchy and elastic.
5. Grease large bowl and transfer dough into it. Cover with damp cloth and place in oven on top rack with a pot of hot water on the rack below. Shut oven. Replace hot water again in 30 minutes. This provides a perfect environment for your dough to rise. Be careful!
6. Dough will have doubled in size by one hour if proofed right. If not, your water might have been too hot when activating or something is up with your yeast. Transfer back to floured surface and knead 5 minutes, releasing air pockets.
7. Cut dough into 10 even portions. Roll into narrow logs. Place evenly-spaced onto wax paper-lined baking sheet. Proof again for 45 minutes to 1 hour covered, with pot of hot water underneath in oven. Dough will have doubled again in size. Remove from oven.
8. Preheat oven at 425°F.
9. Brush bread sticks with butter and dust with sea salt and garlic powder to taste. Add grated cheese too if desired.
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes or till golden brown. Rotate pan once, half-way through. Allow to cool 15 minutes in pan and transfer to cooling rack. You can freeze these if you can’t finish them right away.
“Unlimited” Salad
1 bag of Garden Salad Mix1/4 cup Olive Garden Italian Dressing
1/4 cup croutons
1/4 cucumber, chopped thinly
1/4 red onion, chopped thinly
6-8 cherry tomatoes
4-5 olives, no pits
2/3 Pickled Peperoncini
Grated Parmesan
Ground black pepper
Instructions:
1. Toss all ingredients in bowl, adding Parmesan, dressing and croutons into the mix only right before serving. Season with ground black pepper.
Gallery:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
#COOKING: PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM CROSTINI RECIPE
Portobello Mushroom Crostini. Got this idea from Lisa and Pandora Vanderpump. An amazing quick-to-prepare, light yet substantial brunch, which you can double if you have more guests! 🍞🍄
Ingredients:
4 slices of French bread200g Smooth Ricotta
4 tbsps Goat Cheese
6 large Portobello Mushrooms, sliced thin
1/2 white onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cloves garlic, halved
3 tbsps red wine
2 tbsps pine nuts, toasted
1/4 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Truffle Oil
Olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
Instructions:
1. Sautée onions on medium-high heat and garlic in olive oil till almost caramelmized. Toss-in mushrooms and cook till wilted.2. Add wine and reduce heat to medium-low. Stir-in Thyme. Do not cook too long. Once wine reduces, add Truffle Oil, salt and pepper and remove from heat.
3. Rub garlic clove halves on bread and toast in oven at 350°F for 5-6 minutes till crisp. Drizzle olive oil on-top.
4. In small bowl, whisk Ricotta, olive oil, salt and pepper.
5. Layer Ricotta onto Crostini. Spoon mushroom mixture on-top. Spoon Goat’s Cheese and toasted Pine Nuts on-top. Garnish with a bit more Thyme and serve with olives. Serves 4.
Gallery:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
#COOKING: KEENELAND BREAD PUDDING WITH BOURBON SAUCE RECIPE
Keeneland Bread Pudding. Keeneland Racetrack in Lexington, Kentucky makes the best Bread Pudding and believe me, it is all the hype! We haven’t stopped thinking about it since having some. We hope to make another trip there this November for the Breeders’ Cup and get the real deal! 🍞🏇 During isolation, they have been kind enough to share their legendary recipe with fans! They use Sister Shubert Rolls, which we don’t have out our way. But we baked some superb fresh white bread last week, froze it and this was the perfect way to give it new life! Other modifications, we reduced the recipe to a third (we don’t have a party of 20 to serve it to sadly!), cutting down some of the sugar as well. I added nutmeg, the original recipe has cinnamon only. And the Bourbon Sauce absolutely is a must!
Ingredients:
1/3 loaf of white bread, cut into 1″ cubes
3 eggs
3 cups whole milk
1/2 cup organic raw sugar
1/3 cup golden raisins
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Bourbon Sauce:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup icing sugar
2 tbsps Bourbon (they use Maker’s Mark)
Instructions:
1. Beat eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla with handmixer.
2. In large bowl, pour batter over bread cubes. Soak minimum 2 hours in refrigerator.
3. Preheat oven at 275°F.
3. Transfer mixture to greased baking pan. Press-on raisins, sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg.
4. Bake 90 minutes or till pudding is golden brown and bounces back with a firm press. Allow to cool an hour.
5. In mixing bowl, whisk butter, Bourbon and icing sugar till creamy. Set aside and serve over warm Bread Pudding.
Official Recipe:
It’s the recipe you’ve been waiting for! The Keeneland Bread Pudding is a tradition of the track, and the @MakersMark bourbon is the key to the incredible sauce. Here’s the recipe to bring a taste of Keeneland home, and don’t forget to share with us on social. Enjoy! pic.twitter.com/1vDK7IxBfx
— Keeneland (@keeneland) April 26, 2020
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#COOKING: WHITE BREAD RECIPE
White Bread. To be honest Sourdough is okay, but nothing beats versatile, fluffy white bread. This is the second time in-a-row I’ve been able to get my dough to rise so I know it’s not a fluke! The trickiest part is ensuring the yeast is activated in lukewarm, not warm water and adding sugar. And the temperature at which you proof cannot be too hot. I’ll share a couple of my tips to making that perfect loaf! 🍞
Ingredients:
5 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
3 tablespoons organic raw sugar
1/2 tablespoon sea salt
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 egg, beaten for egg wash
Instructions:
1. Mix flour, salt and butter in mixing bowl. Use two forks criss-crossing to cut butter in.
2. In bowl, mix 3/4 cup lukewarm water (not warm or hot) with yeast and sugar till dissolved and filmy. Let stand a few minutes.
3. Mix yeast water into flour bit by bit, using forks. Pour another 1 1/3 cup lukewarm water, forming dough.
4. Turn dough onto flat, floured surface. Sprinkle with flour till dough no longer is sticky, kneading 10 minutes. Dough should be punchy and elastic.
5. Grease large bowl and transfer dough into it. Cover with damp cloth and place in oven on top rack with a pot of hot water on the rack below. Shut oven. Replace hot water again in 30 minutes. This provides a perfect environment for your dough to rise. Be careful!
6. Dough will have doubled in size by one hour if proofed right. If not, your water might have been too hot when activating or something is up with your yeast. Transfer back to floured surface and knead 5 minutes, releasing air pockets.
7. Grease loaf pan and fit dough into it. Proof again for 45 minutes to 1 hour covered, with pot of hot water underneath in oven. Dough will have doubled again in size. Remove from oven.
8. Preheat oven at 400°F. Brush top of loaf with egg wash using fingers or a brush.
9. Bake for 30-35 minutes or till golden brown. Rotate pan once, half-way through. Allow to cool 15 minutes in pan and transfer to cooling rack to avoid bottom getting soggy. This freezes well.
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#COOKING: COURGETTE LOAF WITH LIME-RICOTTA FROSTING RECIPE
Courgette Loaf with Lime-Ricotta Frosting. I have memories of my Dad making Zucchini Bread a lot when I was a kid. It pretty much is like Carrot Cake, a bit like Banana Bread, maybe a bit more moist and less sweet. Dad worked with a lot of Italians from whom he got the recipe and we grew zucchini in our garden, often having an abundance of them. He’d never make just that basic Chocolate Cake I always wanted, but luckily my Grandpa would do it for me when I visited him and Grandma. I would watch cooking shows on TV with Grandpa like Wok With Yan and The Price is Right, and that was often my March Breaks and Summer Vacations. Looking back, I miss Zucchini Bread, and decided to make my own version of it finally, but with my own little razzle dazzle. I’ve even tried this with 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut folded-in too and it’s great! 🥒
Ingredients:
2 cups of zucchini, chopped
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup organic raw sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 egg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup dried fig, mulberry, cherry, apricot mixture
1/4 cup chopped almonds
Ricotta Frosting:
300g of Ricotta
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
Zest of one lime
1/4 cup chopped pistachios, toasted
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven at 350°F.
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder and soda, cinnamon and nutmeg into mixing bowl. Add-in raisins and dried fruit.
3. Cream butter, sugar, egg and vanilla in a separate bowl.
4. Add butter mixture into flour mixture and mix till combined. Do not over-mix.
5. Grease and flour loaf pan. Pour thick batter into pan. Sprinkle almonds on-top.
6. Bake 45 minutes or till toothpick comes out clean.
7. Let loaf cool for one hour. Prepare frosting.
8. In mixing bowl combine all frosting ingredients and mix with handmixer till smooth. Chill till ready to use.
9. Frost loaf with icing using spatula. Top with a few threads of zucchini spirals and complete with toasted pistachio bits.
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
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