BREAD OF THE DEAD

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to post today but I knew I wanted to do something fun and scary for Halloween Eve. I recipe was e-mailed to me for Pan de Muertos (Bread of the Dead)….and that led me on searches for images which led me to this video. Really bizarre!

Pan de Muertos is made in preparation for El Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead or All Souls’ Day) which is a holiday celebrated in Mexico and by Latin Americans living in the United States and Canada. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The celebration occurs on November 1st and 2nd in connection with the Catholic holiday of All Saints’ Day which occurs on November 1st and All Souls’ Day which occurs on November 2nd. Traditions include building private altars honoring the deceased, using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts.

 

Oh…and if you think you can stand to eat bread after this video, here’s the recipe for Pan de Muertos.

 

During the Day of the Dead festivities in the first two days of November, graves are decorated with flowers and offerings of food and drink in honor of the departed, including this pan de muertos, a yeasty, sweet egg bread flavored with anise.

TIME/SERVINGS
Total Time: 3 hrs 40 mins
Active Time: 25 mins
Makes: 2 loaves

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon anise seed
1/2 ounce (2 packets) active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup water
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 large eggs
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg yolk beaten with 2 teaspoons water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine sugar, salt, anise seed, and yeast in a small mixing bowl. Heat milk, water, and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until butter is just melted; do not allow it to boil. Add milk mixture to dry mixture and beat well with a wire whisk.
2. Stir in eggs and 1 1/2 cups of the flour and beat well. Add remaining flour, little by little, stirring well with a wooden spoon until dough comes together.
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured wooden board and knead until it is smooth and elastic, and no longer sticky, about 9 to 10 minute . Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and allow it to rise in a warm area until it has doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
4. Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Punch down dough and divide into 2 pieces. Cut 3 small (about 1-ounce) balls from each half and mold them into skull-and-bones shapes. Shape large balls of dough into round loaf shapes, and place skull-and-bones on top. Place breads on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let rise another hour.
5. Brush loaves with egg yolk mixture and bake. Halfway through baking, about 20 minutes, remove loaves from oven and brush again with egg wash and sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar. Return to oven and bake until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped, about another 20 minutes.

 

HOT CHOCOLATE WEATHER!

When I woke up this morning and shed my blankets, I couldn’t believe how cold it was in the house! The first thing I wanted to do is run to the closet and find my cozy running clothes and my favorite over-sized sweatshirt. The next thing that came to my mind was….hot chocolate!

Here’s one of my favorite hot chocolate recipes that always bring squeals of delight from my grandkids when they visit.

3 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. HERSHEY’S Dutch Processed Cocoa
1/4 c. water
1-3/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (or my favorite-pure peppermint extract)

Combine sugar and cocoa in saucepan; stir in water.
Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils
Stir in milk and heat. DO NOT BOIL!
Remove from heat and add vanilla or peppermint extract

This makes 2 servings, which I usually double because I use large mugs.

I then cover the top with whipped cream (my grandkids like the stuff in the can because it “looks fancy”. And then I sprinkle the top of the whipped cream with mini chocolate chips. At Christmas time, you could also stick a small peppermint stick inside the cup.

And just for fun….

Check out the video I put up at Bad Habit which show kids enduring the “marshmallow test”, it’s priceless!

OY VEY! EATING HABITS IS GOING KOSHER!

…In the seventh month, on the first of the month, there shall be a sabbath for you, a remembrance with shofar blasts, a holy convocation. -Leviticus 16:24

I thought today would be a fun day to put up a recipe to celebrate the upcoming Jewish holiday, Rosh Hashanah, which falls on sunset September 18, 2009 – nightfall September 20, 2009 and is after Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement where they observe a long fast.

Just so you don’t think I’m smart or anything (because I’m not), the following is a description of Rosh Hashana by Wikipedia.

Rosh Hashanah is a Jewish holiday commonly referred to as the “Jewish New Year.” It is observed on the first day of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, as ordained in the Torah, in Leviticus 23:24. Rosh Hashanah is the first of the High Holidays or Yamim Noraim (“Days of Awe”), or Asseret Yemei Teshuva (Ten Days of Repentance) which are days specifically set aside to focus on repentance that conclude with the holiday of Yom Kippur.

Rosh Hashanah is the start of the civil year in the Hebrew calendar (one of four “new year” observances that define various legal “years” for different purposes as explained in the Mishnah and Talmud). It is the new year for people, animals, and legal contracts.

The Mishnah, the core text of Judaism’s oral Torah, contains the first known reference to Rosh Hashanah as the “day of judgment.” In the Talmud tractate on Rosh Hashanah it states that three books of account are opened on Rosh Hashanah, wherein the fate of the wicked, the righteous, and those of an intermediate class are recorded. The names of the righteous are immediately inscribed in the book of life, and they are sealed “to live.” The middle class are allowed a respite of ten days, until Yom Kippur, to repent and become righteous; the wicked are “blotted out of the book of the living.”

This morning I was reading a story written by a Chicago Tribune columnist, Barbara Brotman, who wrote about her deep appreciation for religious holidays. She went on to write about all the wonderful traditions surrounding the Jewish holidays, such as Sukkot, the Feast of the Tabernacles, where, on October 2nd, they set up little huts up in their backyards and decorate with lights and pine boughs that are laid over the open air roof which leave a wonderful “woodsy” scent as they sit under the stars and dine al fresco. (And I can tell ya…it can be pretty cold in Chicago in October!)

They also have the Simchat Torah, a dance to celebrate the completion of the annual cycle of Torah readings where people dance around the synagogue holding the Torah scrolls. How cool is that? A religious conga line! It makes us Catholics seem pretty darned boring with our chants, incense, and candles.

Then they have the celbration of Purim, commemorating Esther’s rescue of her people from planned annihilation by Haman. In fact, according to Orthodox Judaism online, they write, “according to the Talmud, a person is required to drink until he cannot tell the difference between ‘Cursed be Haman’ and ‘blessed be Mordecai’, though opinions differ as to exactly how drunk that is.”

I love these Jewish traditions!

Ok…on with the cooking show, as usual my post is getting out of control.

So, today I decided to put up a few Kosher recipes to celebrate my friends of the Jewish faith. Of course, anyone can use these recipes, so don’t be shy. Bring out your “Jewish side” and celebrate!

What would Rosh Hashana be without Rosh Hashana Hallah? I don’t know…but this looks to me like a recipe worth trying. Don’t forget to “Take Challah” as described in the recipe!

ROSH HASHANAH HALLAH
Source: Cleveland Jewish News

* 1 cake or 2 pkg dry yeast
* 1 t sugar
* 1/8 t saffron
* 3/4 C warm water
* Bread ingredients
* 8 – 9 C sifted flour
* 1-1/2 t salt
* 3 T sugar
* 3 whole eggs, lightly beaten
* 1-1/4 C lukewarm water
* 1/2 C vegetable oil
* 1 T oil for bowl and pans
* 1 C raisins, softened in hot water, drain and pat
* dry (optional)
* 2 T honey, warmed slightly

DIRECTIONS:
Make the sponge: In a medium glass bowl combine yeast, sugar and saffron in warm, not hot, water. Let stand five minutes until thick and bubbly.

Bread: Sift flour. Stir 1-1/2 C flour into yeast mixture, blend well. Cover with a towel; let rise 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine 4-1/2 C of remaining sifted flour, salt and sugar. Form a well. Mix in eggs, remaining 1-1/4 C water, oil and yeast mixture. Stir in as much flour as needed to form a dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic. Place in a large, clean, oiled bowl; turn dough so top is also oiled. Cover, let rise two hours until doubled. Punch down dough; knead in raisins on a lightly floured surface for five minutes.

“Take challah.”*

Divide dough in half, roll each half into a 2-inch thick smooth rope, 18 inches long or longer; coil dough into a circle with a large knob on top. Place on an oiled baking sheet or in two 10-inch round pans. Cover, let rise 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400° F; brush challah once with warm honey, bake 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° F. Brush with warm honey while baking. Bake 25 to 30 minutes longer until golden and hollow-sounding when tapped. Cool; remove from pan, cool on rack, store airtight or freeze.

*”Take challah” refers to an olive-sized piece of dough, removed from the dough mass, to be burned before the final rising. It represents the Temple offering by the priests. The burning of the challah remains the “woman’s obligation” and should be accompanied with an appropriate blessing during preparation.

Bon Appétit!

!בתיאבון

KITCHEN CLOSED

Sorry, due to lack of interest, I’m shutting down this blog. I know I’m not giving it much time to take off, but I just don’t have the time to spare. Besides, it’s no fun cooking if no one comes to the table, ya know what I mean?

Thanks and God bless those who stopped by to leave a comment.

All the best–

Nunly

SEX TALK IN THE KITCHEN…

Anyone who reads this blog (there are a few of you!) are most likely those who know their way around a kitchen and have their own favorite recipes. One thing I’ve noticed in many of the new recipes I try (which are much healthier than my old favorites) use Olive Oil as one of the ingredients. That should be simple enough, until you go to the store and see that there are a gazillion different choices.

Now, being Italian, I take my Olive Oil very seriously. I found through trial and error, some of the cheapest olive oils are not that good, the processing does make a difference. Also, being a Catholic faux nun, choosing a virgin olive oil just seems right. However….virgin olive oil isn’t always the right one for the recipe which is why I always follow the cardinal rule (no pun intended)…keep religion out of the kitchen.

Ok, here are the differences in Olive Oils in case you were wondering.

Virgin means mechanical extraction. The oil or juice is extracted by machines with no chemicals used in the process.

What is ‘Extra Virgin’? (No, it’s has nothing to do with being Saintly)

It just means that the oil is mechanically extracted. Virgin olive oil is not all the same quality. You’ve got your ‘Extra’, which is the highest quality because it goes through a battery of tests, both laboratory (analytical) as well as ‘taste’. This involves a cutting by an olive oil ‘master’ similar to the way wines are taste tested…only you don’t get a buzz. Virgin olive oil that is judged to have ‘no defects’ is classified as extra. So ‘extra virgin’ means – mechanically extracted olive juice that passes laboratory and taste testing with no defects.

Olive oil with slight defects, but that is still good for human consumption is classified as ‘Fine’. Low quality oil with numerous defects is classified as either ‘Ordinary’ or ‘Lampante’ (lamp oil). This oil is either used for industrial purposes or is chemically refined….which brings us to what “refined” olive oil is.

Olive oil that is not suitable for human consumption is refined by a heat and chemical process. Chemically refined oil has no acidity…none, nada, zilch, which means it is flavorless and no quality standards stated or implied. Refined oil is mixed with virgin for color and flavor.

But that’s not all! Did you think this would be simple? Is anything Italian, “simple”? There is also Pomace grade olive oil. Pomace is produced by a heat and chemical process from the waste of the ‘virgin’ olive oil after the virgin olive oil is extracted. It is also insipid (0% acidity) with no flavor and no quality standards stated or implied. Pomace is used as a cheap alternative to ‘refined’ oil in order to lower the product cost of the packers who mix it with virgin and refined oils.

What is ‘pure’ olive oil? What is ‘light’ olive oil? What are ‘olive oil blends’? Those are the labels that always threw me off when I went shopping. A little research, and this is what I found…

‘Pure’, ‘Light’, ‘Extra Light’, etc. are not olive oil classifications. They are mixes of refined and/or pomace with virgin oil. Mixes (or blends as packers like to call them) are generally 90-95% pomace/refined with 5–10% virgin oil. Some packers mix in seed, soybean, hazelnut or other oils.

There is a difference between extra virgin olive oil and refined oil mixes, just in case you were wondering (and haven’t fallen asleep before you got this far in this titillating post. Refined olive oil mixes are cheap to produce but are sold at a premium price (in other words, you’re getting ripped off…can’t trust those Italians!). Extra virgin olive oil is entirely natural and expensive to produce. You shouldn’t mind paying a little more for this because the taste is much better than the refined mixes and carries all the health benefits that are associated with Olive Oil.

So that’s the skinny (pun intended) on Olive Oil. I hope you learned something because there will be a quiz on this tomorrow.

(Note from Nunly: Sorry about the long wait between posts, I’ll be sure to get at least one or two new posts up per week from this point on. And I will be putting up some recipes that were e-mailed to me by my faithful readers, I promise!)