Lemon Rosemary Sticky Bun Twists

March 9, 2012 By Korena in the Kitchen 23 Comments

Lemon and rosemary might not be a flavour combination you’re familiar with in a sweet context, but man oh man, does it ever work! I stumbled across a recipe for Meyer Lemon Rosemary Sticky Buns and bookmarked it immediately because it sounded so intriguing, and I planned to make them using one portion of challah dough. Then I saw Sawsan’s beautiful cinnamon twists and decided to use her technique instead of just making plain old spirals.

The result is these very tasty, very pretty Lemon Rosemary Sticky Bun Twists.

I used Meyer lemons for these, and it’s the first time I’ve ever gotten my hands on them. I’ve been hearing about Meyer lemons for quite a while, but had never seen them in any grocery stores – until a week ago, when they started popping up everywhere! A Meyer lemon is a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange, and has a sweeter, tart taste and thinner skin than a regular lemon. Quite honestly, I’m still not sure what all the fuss is about. They are tasty, but they don’t quite have the tang that a regular lemon does, and I think a good, ripe, organic lemon would give you just as much (maybe better?) lemon flavour. If you love Meyer lemons, go ahead and use them here, but don’t worry if you can’t find them – regular lemons will be just fine!

These smelled AMAZING coming out of the oven, and once I’d smothered them in a lemon-cream cheese glaze, they were pretty irresistible. The first sweet bite revealed subtle lemon and floral rosemary, the combination of which somehow reminded me of rosewater. Really unique, and really delicious. I found the flavour to be even better the next day (if they last that long, that is!).

Lemon Rosemary Sticky Bun Twists

Filling and glaze adapted from Eats Well With Others; twist technique from Chef in Disguise. This recipe uses one approximately 1 1/2 -pound portion of challah dough. Makes 8 twists.

When handling the dough, DO NOT knead it. While a certain amount of man-handling is necessary to roll and twist the dough, try to be as gentle as possible and use only a minimal amount of extra flour to keep it from sticking. If you feel you’ve over-worked the dough, let it have a longer rest before baking.

On a lightly floured surface, place:

approximately 1 1/2 lbs of chilled challah dough

Divide the dough into three roughly equal pieces, and gently shape/roll each piece into a 10-inch circle, using just enough flour to stop it from sticking. If the dough resists rolling, let it rest for a few minutes, then come back to it. Set the rounds aside while you make the filling.

Filling

In a bowl, combine:

1 cup white granulated sugar

1/4 tsp nutmeg

zest of 2 lemons

1 tbsp minced fresh rosemary

Mix together with your fingers until it resembles damp sand, then stir in:

2 tbsp lemon juice

Have ready:

3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

Assembly

Place one round of dough on your lightly floured work surface. Spread it with about 1 tbsp softened butter, then with half of the lemon-rosemary-sugar filling.

Top it with a second round and spread it with 1 tbsp butter and the other half of the filling. Place the final round on top and spread it with the last 1 tbsp butter. With a large, sharp knife, cut the round into 8 wedges. Flour the knife blade if needed, and make single downward cuts to keep things as neat as possible. With the tip of the knife, cut a ~1-inch slit in the middle of each triangular piece.

Pull on the sides of the triangle to widen the hole, then tuck the point of the triangle into the hole. Gently pull it through to form the twist.

Arrange the 8 pieces in a circle with their sides touching on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pinch together the two points at the base of each triangle.

Cover the twists lightly with plastic wrap and let rest for about 1 hour at room temperature (or refrigerate for several hours or overnight). It’s OK if some of the sugar-lemon mixture seeps out while the twists are resting.

Preheat the oven to 375˚F and bake the twists for 20-30 minutes, until nicely browned and baked through in the middle.

While the twists are baking, prepare the glaze.

Glaze

In a small bowl, cream until light and fluffy:

2 oz cream cheese

With a whisk, beat in:

1 tbsp lemon juice

Mix until smooth.

Add:

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

The glaze should be about the consistency of honey. Drizzle the glaze over the warm twists.

These are fantastic warm from the oven, and if you happen to have any leftover, the lemon-rosemary flavour is even better the next day.

Sourdough Pancakes

January 1, 2012 By Korena in the Kitchen 7 Comments

Happy New Year!!

The end of this month marks one year since I started this blog, and I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has visited and read my blog over the past year. I’ve had a ton of fun cooking and taking pictures and writing and I’m excited for another year of good food. Cheers! 😀

And now back to important matters at hand: Sourdough Pancakes!

As I now have a Tupperware container of sourdough starter living in my fridge, I’ve been looking for ways to use the excess that comes out of every feeding. I’ve made these pancakes twice now (on the list are also crumpets, English muffins, and obviously, bread) and they are delicious! Light and fluffy, they have a more complex flavour than regular pancakes, thanks to the fermentation of the yeasts in the starter. They are full of bubbles and have an almost lacy texture because of it.

These pancakes are very absorbent little sponges, so to give them something in addition to maple syrup to soak up without becoming sickly sweet, I made a quick strawberry-orange sauce: about 1 cup of frozen strawberries cooked with the juice of 2 mandarin oranges, a dash of water, and a few tablespoons of sugar. I boiled it until it thickened slightly, then pureed it in the blender and served it warm with the pancakes and maple syrup.

You need 3/4 cup starter to make these, which is more than the extra I end up with after each feeding, so I put that extra starter in another Tupperware container and “save up” until I have enough. Right now I’m feeding my starter once a week, so it takes a few weeks for the “extra” starter to amount to 3/4 cup, but it seems perfectly happy to sit in the fridge in the interim. If it looks like it needs feeding (ie, lots of liquid “hootch” on top), then I’ll just add a small amount of flour and water (equal parts by weight) to keep it happy until I’m ready to use it.

Sourdough Pancakes

Recipe from Allrecipes.com. Makes 6-8 pancakes.

Preheat a large skillet over medium-low (4 out of 10) heat.

In a large measuring cup (or a medium bowl with a pouring spout), mix together:

3/4 cup sourdough starter

1 egg

2 tbsp water (can use more or less depending on the thickness of your starter)

2 tsp vegetable oil

(1 tsp vanilla would be a good addition too!)

In another small bowl, combine:

1/3 cup powdered milk

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1-2 tbsp granulated sugar

Whisk the powdered milk mixture into the starter mixture until smooth (don’t worry about over-mixing like regular pancake batter). It should be a bit thinner than regular pancake batter and sort of foamy.

Grease the heated skillet with a bit of vegetable oil on a paper towel, then pour about 1/4 – 1/3 cup of the batter into the pan. The batter will spread out a bit, so I like to cook just one pancake at a time. The surface of the pancake will be covered in irregular-sized bubbles. Cook until the edges are slightly dry and the bottom is deeply golden, then flip using a thin spatula. Cook until the other side is just as deeply golden, about 30-45 seconds.

Serve warm with butter, syrup, etc…

Breakfast at Dish Cookhouse & Diner

September 24, 2011 By Korena in the Kitchen 7 Comments

Farmer’s Skillet with House Smoked Sausage and Ham

There are more breakfast places in Victoria that you can count, but because going out for breakfast on the weekend is such a popular sport among the locals, most restaurants have a huge line-up by 9:30 am. We have our regular favorite breakfast spot in town, but sometimes you have to break out of your routine. This morning we drove out to Sidney (about 20-30 minutes away) to have breakfast at Dish Cookhouse & Diner. We first heard about this place about a year ago from my parents, and we’ve been going back ever since, whenever we aren’t feeling too lazy/starving to survive the drive out there in the morning. Aside from serving up awesome food, the place is never busy (which is surprising because the food is so good), and we have never had to wait for a table. It’s located in the industrial area of Sidney, which probably explains why it’s not super busy on a weekend morning – but that’s just fine with me!

They smoke their own ham, sausage, and bacon, and make their own jam. The ham is amazing – I’m not sure which cut of pork they use, but it reminds me almost of Chinese bbq pork with the ratio of meat to fat and the slightly spiced, sweet, smokey flavour. Seriously, some of the best breakfast ham I’ve ever had. This morning I had the ham benny and it was delicious – yummy hollandaise sauce, too.

House Smoked Ham Benny

The portions are large, but not in that oh-my-god-I’m-going-to-die-if-I-eat-this kind of way – it’s not your average deep-fried, grease-laden, heavy diner breakfast. The ingredients are fresh, tasty, and very well-prepared. Their regular breakfast menu (they also have a lunch menu, but we’ve only ever been for breakfast) includes the traditional eggs with bacon/ham/sausage with hash browns and toast, as well as omeletes, skillets (corned beef hash, turkey sausage and bacon hash, veggie hash), french toast, and eggs bennies. They also have monthly and daily/weekly breakfast specials. The last time we were there, Nate and I both ordered the specials: Nate had a bacon cheddar burger benny, and I had the special french toast with bananas in rum caramel sauce. Both were insanely delicious (although I’ll admit I was in a bit of a carb-coma after!).

Special French Toast with Bananas in Rum Caramel Sauce, with awesome grilled ham on the side

I don’t know why this place isn’t more popular. I guess it’s because it’s a bit far from downtown, but it’s definitely a better alternative to waiting in line for a mediocre breakfast in a crowded restaurant. The service is great, the coffee is good, and the prices are comparable to any other breakfast place – for the food you’re getting, it’s a steal. If you live in Victoria, Dish should be your next breakfast destination!

Amazing Struesel-Topped Muffins

June 14, 2011 By Korena in the Kitchen 2 Comments

These muffins are so good I made them twice. Once for myself, and again the next day for my friend Heather, who just had a baby girl. For the last seven and a half months of her pregnancy, Heather was sick every single day, and obviously had a really hard time eating anything. This would be my own personal hell. Thankfully, now that the baby is out, she can actually enjoy eating again. I visited her and baby Zephyra on the weekend, and when Heather told me to “bring food!” I was more than happy to oblige with these muffins.

The original recipe from Smitten Kitchen is for rhubarb struesel muffins, and I came across it about a week after I posted the recipe for strawberry rhubarb coffee cake made with whole wheat pastry flour – I had been dreaming of a muffin incarnation, and then this recipe appeared, using whole wheat pastry flour to boot! The first time I made them I used (frozen) rhubarb, and they were delicious: not too sweet, with a delicate, springy texture, a crunchy golden struesel layer on top, and a good tang from the rhubarb. Not to mention the fact that they smelled HEAVENLY while baking. The second time around, I used fresh strawberries and frozen blueberries, because Heather has two older kids and I figured berries might be more kid-friendly than slightly sour rhubarb. I also played around with yogurt instead of sour cream, and switched it up with the flours, using a combination of whole wheat and all purpose in place of whole wheat pastry flour. Both times, they came out perfectly, and I think I may have found my new favorite muffin recipe. I’m fairly confident that you could put any kind of fruit in these – fresh or frozen – and they would be fantastic. Thank you Deb at Smitten Kitchen for this recipe!!…

Asparagus and Bacon Omelette

June 9, 2011 By Korena in the Kitchen 5 Comments

In middle school Home Ec, in addition to scones and boxer shorts, we learned how to make omelettes. This, like the scones, is something that has stuck with me since then, and I’ve made so many omelettes following this method that I can now do it one-handed while taking pictures ;). Obviously this is great for breakfast, but it also makes a nice lunch or quick dinner when the fridge is bare (I ate a lot of omelettes in university!). Asparagus and bacon is what I happened to have on hand, but use whatever you want as a filling – sautéed mushrooms are really good. The only thing that you absolutely must have is cheese – at least in my opinion. Eggs and cheese just go so well together!

The secret to a fluffy omelette (according to my Home Ec teacher, anyway) is adding a bit of water to the eggs. As the eggs cook, the water turns to steam, causing the eggs to puff up. It’s important to have a hot, non-stick pan (well pre-heated over medium to medium-high heat, about 6 1/2 out of 10 if your stove dial has numbers) and to have all your ingredients ready and assembled, because the omelette cooks pretty fast. The ingredients in this recipe are simple and completely customizable: it’s the technique that really makes a good omelette. But if a bunch of 12 year old Home Ec students can do it, and I can do it with one hand while taking pictures, then no one has anything to worry about ;)…

Perfect Pancakes with Fruit

May 29, 2011 By Korena in the Kitchen 5 Comments

I am constantly on the search for the “best” or “perfect” recipe for certain things – among them, pancakes, pie crust, and chocolate chip cookies. My go-to pancake recipe has been one that I got from TV quite a few years ago, and it has never failed me… however it calls for buttermilk, which is not something I usually have hanging out in my fridge, especially on random weekend mornings when the pancake urge hits. I end up making sour milk with a dash of white vinegar and subbing it for the buttermilk, but the fact that the recipe contains an inconvenient ingredient sort of subtracts from the “perfectness” of the recipe for me (yeah, I’m a weirdo). (Also, I’ve never really understood what makes a buttermilk pancake any better than a regular pancake, so I’ve never really seen the need to use buttermilk.) Anyway, the quest continued…

I came across this recipe, aptly named “Perfect Pancakes”, on a food blog about a year ago, and wrote it down in my little recipe notebook without noting the source, which I though I would never again find in the bowels of teh interwebz. However, through the magic of Google, I found it, so I can give credit where credit is due for what really is the perfect pancake! I finally made them for the first time the other week, and I will definitely be making them again. They were beautifully light and fluffy and they cooked up perfectly, and they didn’t require any ingredients other than those normally found in my kitchen (ie, no buttermilk). I added frozen blueberries and strawberries and bananas and served them with maple syrup (don’t even talk to me about that Aunt Jemima crap!). Please try these. They actually are perfect 🙂…

Homemade Granola

March 4, 2011 By Korena in the Kitchen 1 Comment

My Mum has made homemade granola for almost as long as I can remember. When I was a kid I wasn’t a big fan – too grainy, too healthy – but in recent years I have come to appreciate just how delicious is it. My favorite part is the slightly sweet, toasted pecans, and Mum used to tell me off for picking them out of the freshly made granola cooling on the counter. Ahh, memories 😉 Anyway, I’ve had this recipe in my recipe box for a while now, but I only got around to making it for the first time this past weekend.

The recipe is very flexible and really easy to modify. I had a lot of fun browsing through the bulk food store looking for different ingredients. In addition to changing up some of the grains and seeds, I used honey and brown rice syrup instead of maple syrup, coconut oil instead of vegetable oil, and natural apple juice instead of brown sugar and water. This is the recipe as I made it, but as long as you keep the basic proportions of oats/flakes/grains, seeds, nuts, fruit, and liquid in check, you can be as creative as you want with substitutions and flavours!

The original recipe!

…

Hollandaise Sauce

March 2, 2011 By Korena in the Kitchen 6 Comments

Pulled pork eggs benedict with chipotle hollandaise

My very favorite restaurant breakfast is eggs benedict, and Nate and I have gotten pretty inventive with making it at home: he comes up with creative flavour combinations and I try my best to whip them up in the kitchen. We had a bunch of pulled pork left over, and Nate suggested a pulled pork benny with chipotle hollandaise. I loooooove hollandaise sauce, but I’ve never been able to find a recipe that turns out the way I want it to.

I did a quick Google search for “hollandaise sauce”, and found a recipe by Daphna Rabinovitch from the show Canadian Living Cooks. Canadian Living has been the source of a good number of my trustiest, most reliable recipes, so I decided to give it a try. And it was great! This recipe yields a thick, fluffy, restaurant-style hollandaise. Be warned that it is NOT low fat – there is a lot of butter in here.

For the pulled pork bennys, I warmed up some pulled pork and seasoned it with barbeque sauce, piled it on two halves of a toasted English muffin, topped each with a soft poached egg, mixed a few teaspoons of chipotle puree into the hollandaise sauce and then spooned it over. Delish!…

Breakfast Pizza

February 20, 2011 By Korena in the Kitchen 3 Comments

Quite a while ago I stumbled across a recipe for a breakfast pizza topped with bacon, eggs, and cheese. Of course I can’t remember where I originally saw it, but I filed it away in my brain for later. I’ve been craving pizza lately, and as Nate and I went out for breakfast yesterday, I figured I would make something at home this morning, and breakfast pizza fit the bill.

The pizza dough recipe comes from my trusted friend Martha’s Everyday Food magazine. I mixed it up the night before and let it rise overnight in the fridge, rather than delaying breakfast by waiting for it to rise in the morning. Originally it was for grilled barbequed pizza, but I’ve figured out how to bake it very successfully in the oven. The trick is high heat (500˚ F) and baking the pizza on parchment paper rather than on a baking sheet (I’m sure a pizza stone would also work, but I don’t have one). As this makes a thin crust pizza, it’s best not to overload it with toppings – I adhere to the same principle of less is more for pizza as I do for burritos 😉

This recipe makes two 10-inch oval pizzas topped with two eggs each, enough for two pretty generous servings. If you are not so hungry, you could shape the dough into a slightly smaller circle (8 or 9 inches in diameter) and use only one egg in the centre of each pizza. The variations are pretty infinite: you could divide the dough into 3 or 4 pieces and make small little pizzas (5-6 inches in diameter, 1 egg each) to serve alongside fruit or hashbrowns or something, or you could make one giant pizza and top it with 4 or more eggs to feed a crowd (if you are going to double the recipe, I would still recommend making two pizzas, as it might start getting out of control size-wise). If you are in the habit of having guests for breakfast or feeding a large number of family members, this would be a good recipe to try because it’s ready all at once (unlike pancakes or waffles or omelettes which cook one or two at a time) and can be eaten with your hands….

Huevos Rancheros

January 30, 2011 By Korena in the Kitchen Leave a Comment

Last night we had burritos with pork picadillo filling (recipe here), and this morning for breakfast I made huevos rancheros with the leftover beans and tortillas. This is a take on the version of huevos that is served at our favorite breakfast place, Spoons Diner. Nate orders this about 90% of the time we go there, and the other week I finally tried it myself – delicious! I have no idea how authentic it is (probably not very!) but it is sure good, and very filling.

Huevos Rancheros

In a cast iron pan over medium-high heat, brown a flour tortilla on one side. Flip it over in the pan and remove the pan from the heat. Spread beans (I used whole black beans spiced with cumin, but you could use refrieds or whatever you want) over the tortilla and sprinkle with cheese. I used cheddar and a Mexican-style fresh farmer’s cheese. Place the pan under the broiler until the tortilla is browned and the cheese is melted.

Meanwhile, in a small non-stick, oven-safe pan, melt a little butter and fry 2 eggs (or just one, depending on how hungry you are). Season with salt and pepper, but do not flip over – instead, sprinkle with more cheese and place under the broiler until the cheese is melted and the yolks are still a little bit jiggly.

Place the tortilla on a plate. Stir together about 1 tbsp of sour cream and 1 tsp of chipotle puree (or chipotle powder, or regular chili powder) and drizzle over the tortilla. Top with the cheesey eggs and dollop with salsa. Guacamole would also be good. Dig in.

Serves one.

Lemon Rosemary Sticky Bun Twists

Lemon Rosemary Sticky Bun Twists

Filling

Assembly

Glaze

Sourdough Pancakes

Happy New Year!!

Sourdough Pancakes

Breakfast at Dish Cookhouse & Diner

Amazing Struesel-Topped Muffins

Asparagus and Bacon Omelette

Perfect Pancakes with Fruit

Homemade Granola

Hollandaise Sauce

Breakfast Pizza

Huevos Rancheros

Huevos Rancheros

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