Coffee Cake Bread Dough

2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/4 cup warm water (mulitple use)
1/4 cup sugar
3 3/4 bread flour
1 tsp sea salt
Vegetable Oil

Whisk yeast, 1tsp of the sugar, and 1/4 cup water in mixer bowl. Let stand for 10 - 15 minutes until mixture foams and rises creating a dome. Whisk in remaining water. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, remaining sugar, and salt, add to mixer bowl.

Using the dough hook, mix together on low for 5 minutes.

Remove dough from bowl, and coat inside of bowl with vegetable oil. Rub outside of dough with vegetable oil and place back in bowl. Cover bowl with saran wrap and let rise until doubled in size (approximately 1 1/2 hours).

Goat Cheese Dip

4 heads of garlic
20oz plain goat cheese
2 pkg sundried tomatoes (not in oil), chopped
10 green onions, chopped
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
20 leaves, fresh basil, sliced
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp White pepper
2 tsp Salt

Preheat oven to 400. Slice tops of the 4 heads of garlic and place on large strip of tin foil. Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil over heads (at least 3 TBS), and sprinkle with salt. Gather edges of tin foil and press together, sealing tightly around garlic heads. Bake in oven until garlic is soft and cloves can be squeezed out of skin easily (approx 45 minutes). Let cool.

Set goat cheese out until slightly soft. In a large mixing bowl, combine goat cheese, sundried tomatoes, green onions, basil, 2 Tbs of the garlic infused olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir until ingredients are combined. Refrigerate, preferably over night to allow flavors to combine.

Serve with crackers, celery, and carrots.

Holiday Apricot Coffee Cake

This is one of those recipes that can take me back to childhood in an instant. Originally my paternal grandmother's, I've updated it quite a bit, and it's now one of my families favorites.

Bread:

I make the bread dough from scratch, but if you are not as adventurous you can do what my grandmother did and purchase premade, frozen bread dough from Bridgeford. If you are using the frozen dough - I suggest 2 ''loaves'', for this recipe. Follow directions on package through to first rise.

Filing:
1 package dried apricots, cut into pieces
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup sugar

Place dried apricots in a sauce pan, and cover completely with water. Cook on medium, until mushy, adding additional water if necessary. Add sugar and almond extract, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cool.

Icing:
1 lb powdered sugar
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp milk
1/2 fresh squeezed lemon

Whisk ingredients together, adding small amounts of milk as needed.

To make coffee cake:

After bread has risen, place on floured surface and roll into a rectangle approximately 12" x 18" and about 1/4 inch thick.

Spread the apricots on to the dough.

Roll dough, with apricots inside, lengthwise.

Leave seam on bottom

Transfer dough to a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and form into a ring.

Using scissors, snip the top diagonally around the ring.

Cover with a light cloth and set aside until the dough rises again to double its size (approximately 1 hour). Or, cover with a light cloth and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Bake in a 350 oven for 30-45 minutes, until golden brown.

Spread icing on warm coffee cake, so it will melt and drip down sides.

Sausage and Fennel Soup

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Fennel Bulbs, chopped
2 small yellow onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
1 Package Sweet Chicken Italian Sausage (I use Trader Joes Brand)
3 large vine ripened tomatoes, chopped
3 TBS tomato paste
2 boxes Chicken Stock (I use the Organic Pacific brand from Costco), plus additional if needed
1 cup of white rice
2 cups of frozen peas
1 bag/bunch of fresh spinach

Add enough olive oil to barely cover pan, heat over medium flame. Saute onions, fennel and garlic until translucent. Add salt. Squeeze sausage out of casings and add to vegetable mixture. Brown.

Add tomatoes to the mixture.

Cook for about 5 minutes, or until tomatoes start to break down and look like the picture below.

Add the two boxes of chicken stock, TBSs of tomato paste, and bring to boil. Turn to low and add rice. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, when rice will be soft. Add peas and spinach and bring mixture to boil - adding additional chicken stock if want a thinner soup, I prefer a thicker mixture, easier for the kids to pick up.

Braised Asian Salmon

In the summer, we eat it grilled. In the winter, baked braised or seared. Year-round we eat it raw or smoked. We? Are a salmon family. All six of us love it, and eat it on a regular basis... For that reason I have developed a multitude of different ways to eat it, here's one of our favorites...


Ingredients:

2 T sesame oil
2 small shallots
3 cloves of garlic
4 boneless salmon fillets
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 cup Trader Joe's ginger beer

Directions:

In large saute pan heat sesame oil (should just coat bottom of the pan) on medium-high. When warm add shallots and garlic. Heat until shallots are translucent. Add salmon. Sear each side of the salmon fillets. Turn heat to low, add soy sauce and ginger beer. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Italian Flag Minestrone

extra virgin olive oil
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
6 sprigs fresh thyme
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic
6 links of sweet Italian chicken sausage, remove casing
28oz can of diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
3 large zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced into half moons
1 package frozen spinach, rinsed, drained, and wrung out in kitchen cloth
1 1/2 cups of frozen peas
1 1/2 boxes of vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups of uncooked pasta o's

In large stockpot, bring salted water to boil. Cook pasta until al dente.

Coat bottom of heavy stockpot with olive oil. Add rosemary and thyme. Heat on medium. Once warm, add garlic and onions. Cook until onions are translucent, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Add salt and pepper.

Add chicken sausage. Once sausage in browned add in diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Stir to coat. Add zucchini, spinach and peas. Add salt and pepper. Add stock, bring to boil. Turn down heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add pasta and serve.

Rosemary Garlic Potatoes

Ingredients:

12 Baby Red potatoes, halved then sliced in thirds
2 fresh rosemary sprigs, leaves stripped, then minced
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Scrub potato skins thoroughly before slicing (leave skin on). Place cut up potatoes in an oven-safe glass roasting pan, 9x13. Add rosemary, garlic, olive oil and a generous amount of salt (a salty potato is a yummy potato). Toss to coat. Place pan in oven. Cook for 20 minutes.

Using tongs, toss potatoes . Place in oven for 10-20 minutes more. Potatoes are ready when easily pierced by a fork.