bread

KNR, p. 257 “Jalapeno Tex-Mex Cheese Bread”

 

 

 

During the pandemic, we’ve tried a few quick bread recipes, because yeast cannot be found anywhere. This bread is so creamy and moist that it’s going to be on the menu at the Kerrian house long after Covid19 has left the planet. Sheila played around with the balance of peppers, and finally decided to leave out habanero pepper, since that one is harder to find in the average grocery store. We can toast the cheesy bread for breakfast or serve it for lunch/dinner with chili.

 

"Jalapeno Mexican Cheese Bread"
Author: 
Recipe type: bread
Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
  • 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon powdered garlic
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 6 ounces (1 package) shredded Mexican 3 or 4 cheese mix
  • 1/4 cup drained, diced jalapeno peppers (canned Old El Paso works well)
  • 2 Tablespoons diced fresh red bell pepper
  • 1 extra large egg
  • 1 cup 2 % milk
  • 3 Tablespoons melted margarine
Instructions
  1. Thoroughly whisk dry ingredients together in large bowl.
  2. Add shredded cheese, jalapeno peppers, and red bell pepper, and stir.
  3. Combine milk, egg, and butter in small bowl and beat lightly with a fork.
  4. Make a well in the center of the cheese/flour combination and pour the liquid into the well. Blend dry and wet ingredients together with a large spoon, being careful to spread the peppers throughout.
  5. Pour the mixture into a greased and floured 9”x5” bread pan.
  6. Bake for 45+ minutes in 350 degree oven until golden brown on top and done in the center - skewer inserted in center will come out clean. Edges of the loaf should pull away from the sides of the pan in final five minutes of baking.
  7. Cool in the pan on a rack. Slice, serve and enjoy.

 

First and foremost, the listed ingredients have been easy to find at the store. We make extra every time and pass it around to the neighbors. Give it a try.  🙂

 

* Photos taken in the Kerrian Kitchen

 

 

 

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KNR, p. 139 “Irish Brown Bread”

 

Ireland is a fabulous place to visit from Spring right through early Fall. The country has plenty of top-notch scenery, challenging golf courses, stud farms, and castles galore. And, it has all that really great food. Sheila and I had loads of fun going from tea room to pub to restaurant, sampling traditional Irish dishes.

 

The one constant at lunch wherever we went was the dense brown bread. It varied slightly in taste with different bakers, but it was usually served with soup or at afternoon tea, with jam, butter or honey.

 

Of course, when we came back to the States, Sheila and I created our own version of the bread so that we could serve it on St. Patrick’s Day. Yes, it is on the table with the soda bread, giving our guests a chance to try both. To be clear, Sheila does the baking and I do the tasting and cleanup. We make a great team in the kitchen.  🙂 

 

5.0 from 1 reviews
"Irish Brown Bread"
Author: 
Recipe type: bread
Cuisine: Irish
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6-8
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 Tablespoons cold butter
  • 2 ¾ cups stone ground whole wheat flour, plus additional Tablespoons if needed
  • ¼ cup regular or quick-cooking rolled oats
  • 1 ½ cups buttermilk
  • 4”x8” loaf pan
  • non-stick cooking spray
Instructions
  1. In a mixing bowl, blend all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt.
  2. Cut in butter until mixture forms pea sized crumbs.
  3. Stir in whole wheat flour and oats.
  4. Add buttermilk, using bread hook if available. If mixture is sticky, add in more whole wheat flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, just until the dough has a smooth, dry surface.
  5. Place dough ball on a lightly floured board and knead 6-7 times, shaping into a loaf.
  6. Spray 4”x8” loaf pan with non-stick spray and place dough in the pan.
  7. Bake at 400 until golden brown, about 45-50 minutes.
  8. Test for doneness with metal skewer.
  9. Remove from pan immediately and cool on rack.
  10. Let rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing.

 

Serve with butter, jam, or honey and enjoy!

 

*Photo by Patti Phillips

 

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KNR, p. 166 “Cobbles for Vegetable Stew”

 

CobblesIMG_5113

Sheila and I eat in a lot of pubs whenever we visit Ireland. The food is tasty and in most places, is real comfort food. In order to get through those damp, cold Irish winters, food needs to be the hearty stick-to-your-ribs kind. We saw Vegetable Cobbler on the menu in a Killarney pub and thought it was a misprint. After all, we eat cobbler at home, but it’s always made with fruit – loads of different kinds of fruit, but always fruit.

 

We found out that Irish pubs rarely serve fruit cobbler and instead, go for a savory version and serve it as an entree. Until that day we had been served mashed potato topped stew and pie crust topped stew, but the gal told us that those were meat toppings. The cobbles (biscuits) are used primarily with an all vegetable stew. We learned something new every day!

 

Here’s the recipe that Sheila came up with to use with our year round hearty vegetable dishes. She modified her regular biscuit recipe and now it reminds me of those cheesy biscuits we get at restaurants here in the States.

 

"Cobbles for Stew"
Author: 
Recipe type: Side Dish
Cuisine: Irish
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 4 Tablespoons butter or margarine
  • 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano (or rosemary, depending on the vegetable stew seasonings)
  • 1 jumbo egg, slightly beaten
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • Parchment paper
  • Aluminum cookie tray
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees (F)
  2. Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl
  3. Add the butter/margarine and mix together with a fork or pastry blender
  4. Mix in 2/3 cup cheese and all the oregano (or rosemary). Set aside.
  5. Place the milk in a small bowl.
  6. Add the beaten egg to the milk and stir together.
  7. Add 1 cup of milk-egg mixture to the dry ingredients and mix together to form a soft ball of dough.
  8. Add more of the mixture if needed to include all the dry ingredients in the ball.
  9. Roll out dough (on a lightly floured surface) to about a 1/2 inch thickness.
  10. Use a lightly floured glass or lightly floured cookie cutter to cut two-inch circles.
  11. Add the cobbles to the top of your stew.
  12. Brush with leftover milk-egg and sprinkle the leftover cheese on top.
  13. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

 

We love that the ‘cobbles’ can also be baked on their own and eaten as an alternate bread at any meal. I taste-tested quite a few of these to make sure that the recipe was just right. 😉

 

If you are making the biscuit/cobbles without the stew, or have extra dough that doesn’t fit on top of the stew (as we did in the photo above) line the aluminum cookie tray with parchment paper, and increase the baking time to 13-14 minutes. Eat warm right out of the oven and serve with butter/margarine.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

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