Normal food: Bundt Cakes

Got a NordicWare Original 10-15 Cup Bundt Pan for Christmas (thanks, J & D!) Elder Daughter insisted I make a pound cake to try it out . . . now!

After searching the NordicWare website, we settled on Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Poppyseeds. We left out the raisins, because Younger Daughter only likes them plain, not in things. The recipe said to wrap in foil and refrigerate for 2 days to let the flavor improve. Silly people. Of course we ate some right away; we can see if the flavor improves two days from now. Kind of like a scientific experiment, right?

SOY-FREE CONSIDERATIONS:

-- use butter, not margarine

-- grease the pan by brushing melted butter or palm-oil shortening (like Spectrum) inside the pan, then dusting the whole thing with flour. We used butter.

-- the NordicWare site itself says don't use a lecithin-based cooking spray--which we wouldn't because most commercial lecithin is soy-based--because it is gooey and builds up a coating on the pan. They recommend Baker's Joy which has flour in it, but is also made from soy oil, according to their website faq's.

New Cookbook for Christmas: 1000 Italian Recipes

Got a new cookbook for Christmas and tried a recipe from it 2 nights ago. The recipe is called Chicken with Gorgonzola and Walnuts; you can find an article about it in the Washington Post here. (note: we used onions instead of shallots because that's what we had on hand.)

The recipe was really good, pretty fast, and easy. There are no soy considerations to keep in mind. However, like the slightly ADD person that I am, I forgot to take a photo.

The method for cooking chicken cutlets in butter and olive oil worked so well that the next night we used the same recipe as a basis for making Chicken Parmesan. We used a jar of sauce and some smoked mozzarella cheese we had found in Safeway. Both suppers were a big hit.

In any case, I have 3 books from the 1000 Recipes series--Jewish (for the Israeli stuff), Mexican, and Italian, and they are surprisingly good. No pictures, but I haven't tried a bad recipe yet. I am really looking forward to trying the Italian cookies. . . .

Recipe: Hawaiian Bread

Adapted from a recipe found on the internet (don't remember source) after I came home from a trip to Hawaii where I could not try the great-looking breads in the hotel.

Very good in a sandwich with chicken salad!

Hawaiian Bread
makes one 1 1/2-pound loaf

3 cups bread flour
1 egg
1 yolk (save white)
1/2 cup pineapple tidbits with juice (1 snack pack serving)
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsp butter, cut into 1/2" cubes
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp dry yeast

Put all the ingredients in the bread machine pan in the order recommended in your manual. Process on dough mode. When the dough is ready, shape into a ball and put on a pizza pan that has been greased or lined with parchment paper. [Alternatively, pat into a 9" by whatever" rectangle, roll up like a jelly roll, and put into a greased 9" x 5" loaf pan.]

Let rise until doubled. Take the reserved egg white, beat it a little with a fork, then brush it over the bread. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.

SOY-FREE CONSIDERATIONS:
none, if you make sure you grease your bread pan with canola oil or palm shortening. No PAM!

Recipe: Oatmeal Honey Bread

Oatmeal Honey Bread
makes one 1 1/2-pound loaf

3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup water
1 egg
3 cups bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp canola oil [* see note below]
1/4 cup honey [wild flower honey is good in this]
1 1/2 tsp dry yeast

Place all the ingredients in the pan in the order recommended in your manual. Process on dough mode. Grease a 9" x 5" bread pan by putting a little oil in the bottom, then spreading it around with a pastry brush or a piece of waxed paper wrapped around your fingers.

Flatten the dough by hand on a floured board to a rectangle about 9 inches long by any width. Roll up like a jelly roll and place in the greased pan. Let rise until doubled, 1/2 hour to an hour.

Bake at 375F for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool in pan 5 minutes, then remove and finish cooling on a rack.

* note: after you measure the oil, put it in a 1/4 cup measure and swirl it around. Dump into the bread machine pan, then measure the honey in the 1/4 cup measure. This helps the honey come out.

SOY-FREE CONSIDERATIONS:
none