Onion and Fontina Beer Batter Bread......New Year, New Food with The Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club

It's a new year.  A new beginning.  A fresh start.  A chance to try new things. 

New Year / New Food:  That's the January theme for the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club.  Every month, I join 4 other bloggers to create a themed menu based on Cooking Light recipes.  Mary Ann from Meet Me in the Kitchen chose the theme this month.  We had to pick a recipe with an ingredient or food item that we have never made before.  

There are many "first time" ingredients I could have chosen.  It was hard to choose because there are many things that I want to try.  I decided to make a beer batter bread with Fontina cheese.  I love cheese but have never had Fontina cheese.  I asked my deli to cut me a 4 oz. chunk of Fontina and I grated it at home.  Of course I had to try a piece.  It's salty, creamy and has a soft texture.  It was very good and I'm looking forward to using it in other recipes.

The Onion and Fontina Beer Batter Bread was a delicious savory bread.  It was easy to prepare.  No kneading dough required.  We loved the crunchy outer crust.  The onion, cheese and beer gave this bread such a great flavor.  I paired it with this Spicy Sausage Chili.  (another Cooking Light recipe)

What new things did the other Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club members cook up? 

Mary Ann (Meet Me in the Kitchen) - Farro Minestrone with Brussels Sprouts, Butternut Squash & Chestnuts

Val (More Than Burnt Toast) - Quinoa with Roasted Garlic, Tomatoes and Spinach

Sandi (Whistlestop Cafe Cooking) - Rosti Casserole with Baked Eggs

Jamie (me) - Onion Fontina Beer Batter Bread

Helene - (La Cuisine d'Helene) - could not join us this month but wanted to make Vanilla Caramel Flan

Click here for printable recipe on Myrecipes.com

Onion and Fontina Beer Batter Bread

Recipe by Cooking Light



Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup diced onion
3 cups all-purpose flour (about 13 1/2 ounces)
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (4 ounces) grated fontina cheese
1 (12-ounce) bottle beer (such as amber ale) -  I used Corona Light
Cooking spray
1/4 cup butter, melted and divided

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté 6 minutes or until tender. Cool to room temperature.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Add onion, cheese, and beer; stir just until moist.

Spoon batter (batter will be thick) into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; drizzle evenly with 2 tablespoons butter. Bake at 375° for 35 minutes; brush with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Bake an additional 23 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  Fontina Cheese is a semi-soft cow's milk Italian cheese.  It is mild, creamy, with a somewhat nutty flavor and melts well.

Top 10 of 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I wanted to share some of my favorite recipes from 2010.  It was hard to choose my top ten but these are recipes that I have made several times throughout the year.  When I looked back at my posts from 2010, I realize that my food is not fancy at all.  It is comfort food.  It is simple and easy food.  It is good, delicious food.  It is me.

Thank you for everyone that has visited my blog this past year and has taken the time to leave me comments.  I truly appreciate all my visitors and all your kind words.  I'm looking forward to sharing more recipes in 2011.

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

Onion-Herb Focaccia

Spaghetti with Sausage and Simple Tomato Sauce

Lemon Chicken

Vanilla Mousse Cheesecake



Beer Can Chicken





Jamie's Cranberry Spinach Salad



Herbed Parmesan Chicken Tenders

Orange Glazed Salmon

Mandel Bread

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  Don't forget to go back and look at the recipes you made in 2010.  Put your "keeper" recipes in a binder so you can remember all your favorite ones.  Make them again in 2011.   

Cracked Sugar Cookies........12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies: Week 12

I had to include a sugar cookie on my last recipe for the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies.  As much as I love cut out sugar cookies, it is very time consuming.  So, I went with an easy drop sugar cookie with a unique cracked top.  A little crunchy with a light sugary coating on the outside makes for a really good sugar cookie. 

Cracked Sugar Cookies

Recipe slightly adapted from Allrecipes & Savory Sweet Life

Yield: 24 cookies

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups white sugar

1 cup butter, softened
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Turbinado (coarse) sugar or granulated sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets or use parchment paper.

2. Cream together sugar and butter. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla.

3. Add flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Stir.

4. Form dough into walnut size balls and roll in sugar of choice.  Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Don't flatten. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until tops are cracked and just turning color.  Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before moving to a cooling rack.  

Note:  I rolled half the sugar cookie dough in coarse sugar and the other half in granulated sugar.  The ones with the coarse sugar had a little extra crunch to them.

It's been alot of fun participating in these cookie posts the last 12 weeks.  With the linky blog hop attached each week, I now have a ton of cookie recipes to try.  And so do you!  Check out the other cookies/treats I made the last 12 weeks:

Peanut Blossoms

Lime Meltaways

Black and White Cookies

Melting Moments

Chocolate Chip Biscotti

Butterscotch Chip Spice Cookies

Cream Cheese Brownies

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Bars

Pretzel Peanut Bark

Mandel Bread

Chocolate Walnut Fudge

Cracked Sugar Cookies

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  Gift/Packaging Idea - These cookies are for Santa.  So, place on a cookie plate and leave out with a tall glass of milk.  Merry Christmas everyone!

Chocolate Walnut Fudge.......12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies: Week 11

How about some chocolate fudge on your cookie trays this year?  You have to have some chocolate around the holiday season and what better way than with homemade fudge.  Quick and easy to make which is perfect during the last hectic weeks of Christmas.      

Click here for recipe on Foodnetwork.com  

Chocolate Walnut Fudge
Recipe by Anne Thornton from Food Network

Ingredients

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup chopped nuts, optional, (recommended: toasted, salted walnuts)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

In a heavy bottom saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate chips with the sweetened condensed milk and the salt. Remove from the heat, stir in the nuts, if using, and the vanilla. Spread evenly into a foil-lined 8 or 9-inch square pan. Chill for 3 hours, or until firm. Remove the fudge from the pan and place onto a cutting board. Remove the foil from the bottom of the fudge and cut into squares. Store, covered, in the refrigerator or freezer.

Note:  I used chopped walnuts but did not toast them.  I stored my fudge in the refrigerator.  I recommend eating the fudge at room temperature. 

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  Gift/Packaging Idea -  Package your fudge in a cute box or container.  You can get boxes like the one above at Target, Michaels or a variety of craft and kitchen stores. 

Mandel Bread (Mandelbrodt)...........12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies: Week 10

This is a special cookie to me.  It's a family recipe by my grandmother and one that represents my Jewish heritage.  Since Hanukkah started last week, this is the perfect time to share this cookie from my childhood and culture.  Mandel Bread is a twice baked cookie similar to Italian Biscotti.  It has a cinnamon sugar topping.  Walnuts and/or chocolate chips can be added.

I have never made Mandel Bread until now.  I left that up to my grandmother and my oldest sister, Maxine.  My sister makes them every holiday season and I look forward to getting my fill whenever I get the chance to visit.  Well, now that I have finally made these cookies on my own (what took me so long), I can enjoy one of my favorite childhood cookies any time of the year.  And now, I can continue the tradition and pass on this family recipe to my daughters.

My grandmother (affectionately known as Motha) passed away many years ago but she was in the kitchen with me as I made her Mandel Bread.  Don't forget the family recipes and traditions this holiday season.  And maybe try some new recipes from other cultures as well.  

Mandel Bread

Recipe by my grandmother, Annette Sussman


Ingredients

3 large eggs, well beaten

3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 - 3 cups flour ( I used closer to 3 cups)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

1 cup walnuts, chopped

semi-sweet chocolate chips, optional

Topping

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all the ingredients through salt in a mixer or my hand.  Fold in walnuts or chocolate chips, if using.  Place dough in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or overnight.  Divide dough into 3 or four equal parts and place in bread loaf pans.  Spread dough evenly into pans.  I use my hands for this.  Depending on how many you use, you will have 3 or 4 pans of dough.  The dough will be 1 or 2 inches high but it will rise some when it cooks. 

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes.  It should be crisp and a little golden brown.

Cut cookies into slices while still warm and still in loaf pans.  Sprinkle tops of Mandel Bread with mixture of cinnamon and sugar, divided evenly between pans.

Place loaf pans back in oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes.  Cool before removing slices from pan.  Store in airtight container.



Variation:  Add 1/2 cup or more chocolate chips to batter instead of nuts or with nuts.  I divided the dough in half and placed chopped walnuts in one and chocolate chips in the other half.

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  Gift/Packaging Idea:  Place one or two pieces of Mandel Bread in a clear treat bag wrapped with a pretty ribbon.  Place in a large coffee or cappuccino cup with matching saucer.  For something extra special add a gift card to your local coffee shop.   

Vanilla-Bourbon Pumpkin Tart - Holiday Dinner Party with the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club

It's holiday time.  Time for dinner parties and get-togethers.  How about a Holiday Dinner Party, Cooking Light style?  This month the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club got together to celebrate the season.  I made dessert.  Basically a pumpkin pie but kicked up a couple of notches.  The bourbon, spices and cream cheese gave it really good flavor.  A special dessert for a special time of year.  Here is the rest of our menu:

Sandi (Whistlestop Cafe Cooking) - Turkey Scallopine with Apricots and Ginger

Helene (La Cuisine d'Helene) - Creamy Artichokes

Mary Ann (Meet Me in the Kitchen) - Cauliflower Caviar with Frizzled Prosciutto

Val (More Than Burnt Toast) - Wild Rice Dressing with Chestnuts & Cranberries

Jamie (Mom's Cooking Club) - Vanilla Bourbon Pumpkin Tart

Click on each blog's link to see more details of the other recipes.

Click here for the Pumpkin Tart recipe on Myrecipes.com

Vanilla-Bourbon Pumpkin Tart

Recipe by Cooking Light

Ingredients

Crust:

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 5 cookie sheets)

1 tablespoon finely chopped pecans

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Cooking spray

Filling:

1 cup (8 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 (15-ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons bourbon

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Remaining ingredients:

1/3 cup cold heavy cream

2 teaspoons powdered sugar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. To prepare crust, combine first 3 ingredients in a bowl. Drizzle butter over crumb mixture; stir with a fork. Firmly press into bottom and 1 inch up sides of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes or until lightly browned; cool on a wire rack.

3. To prepare filling, beat cream cheese, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add pumpkin and eggs; beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Add bourbon and the next 5 ingredients (through ground allspice); beat 1 minute or until combined. Pour cheese mixture into prepared pan. Place pan in a large roasting pan; add hot water to pan to a depth of 1 inch. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until center barely moves when side of pan is tapped. Cool completely on wire rack. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Place cream and powdered sugar in a small bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form. Serve sweetened whipped cream with tart.

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  This tart is made in a springform pan in a hot water bath.  The hot water bath is used to keep the tart from cracking.  If you use the water bath method make sure you wrap aluminum foil tightly around the bottom and sides of the springform pan.  You don't want any water to seep in.

Pretzel Peanut Bark.........12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies: Week 9

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving.  Now the countdown to Christmas begins.  During this busy time, it's hard to find the time to make home baked cookies and treats.  This Pretzel Peanut Bark is perfect for this time of year.  It's easy, quick, only 3 ingredients and you won't be able to just eat one piece.  It's sweet, salty, crunchy and creamy.  So, put aside a little time this holiday season and make this homemade treat.  You will be thanked for it!

Click here for printable recipe on Foodnetwork.com

        

Peanut Pretzel Bark
Recipe by Paula Deen


Ingredients

18 (1-ounce) squares white chocolate (I used Ghirardelli Candy Making & Dipping Bar)
3 cups skinny pretzel sticks, broken into small pieces but not crushed, then measured
2 cups dry salted peanuts (I used Cocktail peanuts)

Directions

Line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment or waxed paper.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water until smooth, or melt in the microwave in a 2 quart glass dish. Microwave on high (100 percent) for 1 minute, stir, and microwave on high for 1 minute more. If necessary, microwave on high for 10 seconds more, and stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Stir in the pretzel pieces and peanuts. Stir well with a flexible spatula.

Spoon onto the prepared cookie sheet, spreading the mixture out so that ingredients are relatively evenly distributed.

Allow for the chocolate to cool for several hours or refrigerate for about 45 minutes, until firm. Break the bark into irregular pieces, like peanut brittle. Store in cookie tins, or package in Chinese food take-out cartons lined with waxed paper.

Spread mixture of pretzel sticks, peanuts and melted white chocolate on cookie sheet.  The bark will harden quickly in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  Gift/Packaging Idea - I found these cute little Christmas tin buckets and treat bags in the $1.00 bin section at Target.  Place some Pretzel Peanut Bark pieces in treat bag and secure with twist tie.  Place in containers and share with teachers, neighbors, friends and relatives.  A treat made and packaged by you will bring such happiness to others.