Italian Easter Egg Bread

I know this is last minute but I'll give it to you any way need something great to make for your Easter table? Try this Easter Egg Bread not only is it really cute but it tastes great flavored with just the right amount of cardamom. This bread has become a family tradition us and I know it will be for you too once you try it

Italian Easter Egg Bread
1 package Rapid Rise yeast
1.25 cups scalded milk, cooled to room temperature
pinch of salt
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar


3.5 cups flour (approximate)
1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon of water
6 dyed Easter eggs
sprinkles

tip: the Easter eggs do not need to be hard boiled. They cook when the bread bakes. I usually just dye the eggs right out of the fridge, without hardboiling them. Saves time. Just be careful they don't crack!

In a large mixer bowl, combine yeast, warm (not hot) milk, salt, butter, eggs and sugar. Add about half the flour and beat until smooth with dough hook. Slowly add the remaining flour to form a stiff dough. Don't worry about how much flour it ends up being, just keep adding until the dough is not sticky anymore. Knead until smooth with either dough hook attachment or turn out on floured board and knead. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.

Punch dough down, divide into 12 pieces. Roll each piece to form a 1 inch thick rope about 14 inches long and, taking two pieces, twist to form a "braid", pinching the ends, and loop into a circle.



Place on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until double, about an hour again. Brush each bread with beaten egg wash. Put on the sprinkles. In the middle of each bread ring, gently place an Easter egg, making an indentation with the egg


Bake at 350 degrees until golden - about 20 - 25 minutes. Cool on rack.

Orange-Chipotle Glazed Pork Medallions

Orange-Chipotle Glazed Pork Medallions
serves 4

•3/4 cup maple syrup
•2 Tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate plus 3/4 C fresh Orange juice
•1-2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce,depending on how hot you like it
•2 teaspoons adobo sauce
•1 Tablespoon salt
•2 teaspoons ground pepper
•1 pork tenderloins (1-1 1/2 lbs each), trimmed of fat cut into 11/2" medallions
•2 Tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 and adjust oven rack to middle position.

Stir 1/2 cup maple syrup orange juice concentrate, chipotles press with the back of a spoon, and adobo sauce together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Season medallions with salt and pepper

Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it just begins to smoke. Reduce heat to medium and place medallions in skillet, at least 1 inch apart. Cook until well-browned on all sides, 4 minutes per side. Transfer them to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet.

Pour off excess fat from skillet and return to medium heat. Add syrup mixture to skillet, and scrape up the browned bits with a wooden spoon. Cook until reduced to about 1/4 cup, about 5 minutes remove whole chipotles.

Roast medallions in oven until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 130 degrees, 8 minutes.

Remove the pork from the oven and arrange on plate with mashed sweet potatoes drizzle medallions and potatoes with glaze.

Serve then sit back and take the compliments

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

3 large sweet potatoes
1/4 C orange juice
2-3 TB butter
salt and pepper

Heat oven to 400. Place sweet potatoes on baking sheet and roast until very soft, remove from the oven and allow to cool until able to handle.
Scoop sweet potatoes from skins into a medium sauce pan over low heat. Add OJ and butter mash with potato masher until desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Veal Saltimboucco

Ingredients
Makes 8 servings
2 pounds fettuccine noodles
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 pounds boneless veal cutlets
4 teaspoons sage, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
16 prosciutto slices, paper-thin
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup dry white wine
1 stick butter, chilled and cubed
1/4 cup parsley, coarsely chopped
1 lemon, cut into eighths


Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta in the boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until tender to the bite. Toss with two tablespoons olive oil and keep warm.
Pound cutlets to an even thickness of about 1/4-inch between two pieces of plastic wrap. Season the veal with sage, salt and pepper. Place one slice of prosciutto atop each cutlet.
Lightly coat veal in flour; shake off excess. Heat two tablespoons olive oil in heavy, large skillet over medium-high heat. Add four pieces of veal and cook until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Add fresh oil as needed until all of the veal is cooked Transfer veal to a platter and keep warm.
Pour off excess fat, add the wine to the skillet, and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet. Boil until liquid is reduced to 1/4 cup, about 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low.
Whisk in the chilled butter, two tablespoons at a time. Season sauce with salt, pepper and chopped parsley.
Serve the veal immediately accompanied by the fettuccine. Pour 1/4 cup sauce over the top of each portion and garnish with a lemon wedge.

Artisan Ciabatta Rolls

Ingredients:
41/2C AP Flour
2/3 C Wheat Flour
1 TB Salt
2 TB Olive Oil
21/2 C Starter*
11/2 C Water

*don't have a starter you can get some from me or use this link to make you own it's not hard and if you treat it right it lasts forever I've had mine for 2 years. This is not the one I use but looks like a good one and saves me the trouble of typing it all in.


Method:

1.In a large bowl, combine flours, salt, olive oil, starter, and about half of the water. Mix with your hands until the ingredients cohere.
2.Turn the dough out onto an unfloured counter and mix (knead) until the gluten reaches a medium-low level of development. This took me about 10 minutes.
3.Return the dough to the bowl and add the rest of the water, mixing by hand until it is completely absorbed. Add additional water as needed to make the dough very soft.
4.Clean the bowl, oil it lightly, and return the dough to it. Cover and ferment at room temperature for 2 hours, with folds at 30, 60, and 120 minutes.For this wet dough, it works best to turn it onto a very well-floured counter, shape the dough into a loose square then fold the long sides toward the middle, turn the dough with short side facing you and fold into thirds again make sure you brush off the excess flour after each stage of the fold so it doesn’t get incorporated. Make sure your container is oiled before returning your dough to it, especially after the last fold. Put it in with the smooth side up. Somewhere there is a video for this
5.After two hours, place the dough into the refrigerator overnight.
6.After 7 – 12 hours, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it warn up at room temperature for about 1.5 – 2 hours.
7.Dust your counter heavily with a 50/50 mixture of flour and semolina flour. Carefully turn the dough out, taking care to degas it as little as possible.
8.Starting at the center, gently stretch the dough out into a square about 1.5 – 2 cm in height.
9.With a dough cutter, cut the dough into 12 pieces.
10.Gently transfer the dough pieces, keeping the flour side down, to a couche that has been heavily dusted with the flour/semolina mixture
11.Cover and proof at room temperature for about 1 hour and 45 minutes. The rolls should be very light.
12.Meanwhile, preheat the oven, with baking stone, to 475F. You will also need steam during the initial phase of baking, so prepare for this now.
13.Gently transfer the rolls to a piece of parchment, turning them so the floured side is up. Again, try not to degas the dough. (Depending on your oven capacity, you may need to bake in two batches.)
14.To bake, slide the entire parchment onto the baking stone. Once the rolls are in, turn the oven down to 450F. Bake with steam for 5 minutes, then another 15 – 20 minutes without steam. When the crust is as brown as you like it, turn off the oven, crack the door, and keep the rolls inside for another 5 minutes.
15.Cool on a wire rack.

Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution! | Video on TED.com

With school starting soon, I thought this appropriate to post. Many of you know the struggle we had last year and part of me is very anxious about this year, I don't know what this year holds for us but as I read more and more and listen to people like this I realize there are answers and maybe the problem is not so much my child but with how he is being educated. Food for thought

Kolaches

Kolaches

8 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. sugar

1 1⁄4-oz. package active dry yeast
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened,
plus 2 tbsp. melted
1⁄2 tsp. kosher salt
1 egg yolk
3 1⁄2 cups flour
3⁄4 cup milk



In a bowl, stir the yeast, 1 tsp. sugar, and 1⁄2 cup water heated to 115°; let sit until foamy.
In a large bowl, beat softened butter and 3 tbsp. sugar until combined. Add salt and egg yolk; beat until smooth.
Add yeast mixture, 3 1⁄4 cups flour, and milk; form a dough. Knead dough in bowl to form a ball. Cover bowl with a towel; set aside in a warm place to let rise, about 1 hour.

To make crumb topping, combine remaining sugar, 1 tbsp. melted butter, and remaining flour in a bowl; set aside.


Heat oven to 375°.
Divide dough into 16 balls; arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Brush with remaining melted butter; cover with plastic wrap; let rise for 30 minutes.
Using back of a spoon, make an indentation in each ball. Spoon 1 tbsp. filling into each; sprinkle with crumb topping.
Bake until golden, 30–35 minutes.

MAKES 16 PASTRIES

Spaghetti all' amatricana with Mozarella meatballs

Ingredients
All'Amatriciana Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 ounces pancetta, diced
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
For the sauce: In a large heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pancetta and reserve. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and the cooked pancetta. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat until the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. Stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Meatballs:
1 small (6-ounce) onion, grated
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus 1/4 cup
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus 1/4 cup
1/3 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
1 large egg
2 tablespoons ketchup
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
1 pound ground beef
2 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into 16 (1/2-inch) cubes

1 pound spaghetti

In a large bowl, combine the onion, 1/2 cup parsley, 2/3 cup Parmesan, bread crumbs, egg, ketchup, garlic, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add the beef, using your hands, combine all ingredients gently but thoroughly. Shape the meat mixture into 16 (1 1/2-inch-diameter) meatballs and place on the prepared baking sheet. Make a hole in the center of each meatball and place a cube of mozzarella inside. Reform the meatball so that the mozzarella is completely covered with the meat mixture. Bake the meatballs for 15 minutes until cooked through.


Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and place in a large serving bowl. Add the meatballs and sauce. Toss gently and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley and Parmesan.

adapted from Giada at home