Chocolate Chip Challah

Baking bread can seem daunting to people. There's yeast, kneading (or not), and multiple risings. These are steps in the baking process that aren't routine to us cookie/cupcake/whoopie pie-makers.

Yet, what most of us don't realize, is that the rewards of bread-making are so fan-freakin-tastic. The smells, the taste, the texture. All worth it.

For week 30 of the baking challenge I was to make a sweet bread, and since I had been invited to a friend's house for a Shabbat dinner, the timing couldn't have been better. I had made the recipe before but my braiding turned out pretty wonky. This time, I decided to go for a three-strand braid, under the direction of this site. Braid, brush, rise for an hour.

Brush the loaves again with a second egg coating, then enjoy the next 30 - 45 minutes as the smell of challah dances through your home.

Chocolate Chip Challah
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
makes 2 loaves

Ingredients
1 1/2 packages active yeast (about 11 grams)
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of sugar (113 grams)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon salt
8 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips, (per challah), optional
1 large egg (for coating)

Directions
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in 1 3/4 cups of warm water. Whisk together with vegetable oil until well combined.

Beat in each of the 4 eggs, individually. Stir in salt. Add flour, one cup at a time, stirring between each addition. When dough starts to form a ball, (albeit scraggly), turn dough onto floured surface and knead until smooth. (Make sure to incorporate all the flour bits that may have stuck to the edge of the mixing bowl.)

Spray bowl with cooking spray, and return dough to mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for at least an hour.

When dough has just about doubled in size, punch it down. Roll the dough over, so that the top of the ball becomes coated in the cooking spray. Cover again with plastic wrap, and let it rise in the refrigerator overnight. (Can't wait? Replace the chilled overnight rise with a 30 minute warm rise).

Remove bowl from fridge, bring the dough back to room temperature. (About 30 minutes). Knead the chocolate chips into the challah dough. Separate dough into two portions, (for the separate loaves).

Take each dough portion, and divide into 3 equal sized dough balls. (These will become your braid-strands). Roll each small dough ball into a long dough strand, about 12 - 15 inches long, (use the long edge of your baking sheet for comparison). Place the three strands side-by-side, parallel to one another, and about halfway down from the top, begin a 3-strand braid. Braid the strands together until you've reached the bottom, then flip the entire braid over so that you can braid the unfinished portion.

Once you have a braided loaf, place it on a greased baking sheet, making sure to leave plenty of room for challah #2. (Leaving a 2-inch gap between loaves). Repeat braid process for the remaining half of dough. Beat the final egg and coat the braided loaves with the egg wash. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let braids rise for an hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Brush loaves again with egg wash. Bake in the middle rack for 30 - 40 minutes, or until golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees Fahrenheit. Cool challah on racks before serving.

Chicken and Eggs

Chicken for dinner, eggs for dinner, it's all fair game.






Curry Spiced Chicken
Was my lazy take on Gourmet's Tandoori Chicken. I took thai red curry paste and combined it with Greek yogurt to create a marinade for the chicken thighs. After marinating for 2 hours, I broiled the chicken for about 20 min.

 


Chicken Tacos
I poached the chicken similarly to my enchiladas. Assembled the tacos by layering shredded pepper jack, chicken, lettuce and diced tomato inside the shells.








Fry your taco shells at home for crispy perfection.

Eggs Benedict

Made Alton's Hollandaise Sauce. Definitely worth the work!
Invite friends over, serve brunch as dinner, have a great time.

 
And, if you need dessert, you can try these Strawberry Brown Butter Bettys from Smitten Kitchen

Smoked Salmon Salad

Eggs are my best food friend. I'll make them for breakfast on the weekends, I'll cook them in a spicy tomato sauce for dinner, and sometimes I can scramble them into leftovers and have fried rice for lunch! Leftover pasta? Spanish rice? I've put eggs on them before, too. Usually, when a meal is lacking in protein, my go-to solution is to plop an egg on it.

It's easy to see why as soon as I saw this salad, I had to make my own. There was only one problem...

I had never poached eggs before.

What's even sadder is that I had never EATEN poached eggs before. (Not counting shakshuka, of course.)

Luckily, a simple Google search lead me to Deb's fabulous post on how to poach an egg. (Seriously, where would I be without her?) I was off! Cracking eggs into a little bowl and pouring them into a whirlpool of almost-boiling water. It was scary, fascinating, and energizing all at the same time. When I scooped the eggs up and place them to dry on a paper towel, I couldn't help but notice the charming resemblance to a certain pixar character ...

Once you get passed the egg poaching, this salad comes together with ease.

Smoked Salmon Salad with Poached Eggs

inspired by JungleFrog

makes 2 large dinner servings

Ingredients

for salad

1 package of pre-washed Spring Mix Salad (feel free to use your favorite greens)

8 oz. smoked salmon

4 poached eggs

for dressing

3 oz. canola oil

1 oz. extra virgin olive oil

1 oz. red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Fresh cracked pepper and sea salt

Directions

Combine greens in a medium bowl.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together oils with vinegar. Add the lemon juice, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, and garlic powder. Whisk until well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add your desired amount of dressing to greens, making sure to toss the vegetables and coat well. Plate your dressed greens, topping each serving with smoked salmon and two poached eggs. Sprinkle pepper and salt over the eggs and enjoy!

The Un-postables!

As I've mentioned before, the recipes I am posting have been part of 2 challenges I am taking part of. Reddit's 52 Weeks of Cooking and 52Weeks of Baking challenge have both encouraged me to post on here somewhat regularly.

Sometimes life keeps me from writing about my kitchen adventures, so I'm going to fill you in on a few recipes that never made it to the blog.

Back in Week 7, when both the cooking and baking challenge were "love-inspired", I introduced you to my love's favorite giant dessert.  What I didn't share with you, was the meal he cooked. A dish that is dear to both our hearts, Mussels with Chorizo, Tomato, and Wine.

Week 9 was both simple, and tricky. The baking challenge asked for a cookie recipe, while the cooking challenge asked that I prepare something with coffee as one of the ingredients. That was the week I took a stab at Joy's Coffee Bacon Sandwich.

The blog missed out on a post again on Week 10, which were recipes inspired by a book, movie, or television. As a passionate Harry Potter fan, I was excited to finally make those Butterbeer Cupcakes. That week, I also made a Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie in honor of this guy

I made something savory for the baking challenge on Week 11. That week, the cooking challenge simply asked for "breakfast", which I made with my BFFFFF out in Northern California. Come to find out, Sausage Breakfast Scrambles aren't the most photogenic dishes....

Week 12 asked that the challengers cook something featuring cheese. After seeing this recipe from How Sweet It Is, I had to make Baked Buffalo Chicken Pasta. On Week 13, I made a no-bake oreo cheesecake, unfortunately, it was all gone before I could take the picture.

Week 16 was a decorating week of the baking challenge: flowers. I never end up fulfilling these, (much like weeks 12 and 4 of the challenge). To be fair, I do try to eventually use the technique. As far as cooking, Week 16 asked for something with asparagus, so I opted for Bacon Asparagus Pizza



Week 17 was a treat for our house. Not only did we cook lemon-peppered salmon for the challenge, (which asked for a recipe from childhood), but I also made a giant twix bar for the baking challenge which required that I make something with layers.



For Week 18, I'll be making a special salad, (which should be up on the blog, soon!). The baking challenge asked that I transform a drink into a dessert. My gut reaction was to make raspberry lemonade cupcakes, (YUM!), but instead I went for my interpretation of a cup of herbal tea. Vanilla Lavender Cupcakes with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting.

There are still plenty of weeks left, even though it certainly feels like things at work are winding to an end. Luckily, the end of the school year should lead to fewer iphone pics, and more posts to read! Enjoy!

Shakshuka

New Year! New recipes, and as a result new blog posts.

Throughout 2012, I'll be participating in reddit's 52 Weeks of Cooking challenge. Every week, I'll write about a recipe that features a specific ingredient, dish type, theme, or cooking technique. I'm also participating in the 52 Weeks of Baking challenge which follows a similar format.

As part of Week 1 in the challenge, (ingredient: eggs), I set out to make Shakshuka. A somewhat recent favorite in the dinner rotation, Shakshuka is eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce. You may be glad to hear that the amount of spice can be controlled in case you aren't a fan of steam coming out of your ears. (Or of runny noses, teary eyes, etc). I've been putting hot sauce/red pepper flakes on about 90% of my meals, but I still believe the spice is very tolerable in the recipe below. Feel free to drop the number of peppers if you are worried.


Shakshuka
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
1/4 cup olive oil
3 stalks of celery, chopped
5 Anaheim chiles stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
2 14.5-ounce can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
Kosher salt, to taste
6 eggs
1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
Heat oil in a 12-inch pan over medium-high heat. Add chopped celery and cook for 5 minutes. Occasionally, give the chopped vegetables a stir. Add chiles and onions and cook until soft, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, and paprika, and cook, stirring frequently about 1 minute.
Add tomatoes to pan, along with 1/2 cup water, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season sauce with salt.
Crack eggs over sauce, evenly distributed across sauce’s surface. Cover pan and cook until yolks are just set, about 5 minutes. Remove from hear, baste the whites of the eggs with tomato sauce, being careful not to disturb the yolk. Sprinkle cheese and parsley over Shakshuka before serving.

Serve over rice pilaf and enjoy!