A Cook's Quest

The divine bread sticks I posted originally really are divine.  Light, chewy pieces of bread coated lightly with butter and topped with herbs and cheese, or anything else that your heart desires.  The recipe is fast, and dare I say...fail proof?  The dough is so easy to work with that I decided to play with it a few weeks ago in an attempt to recreate some stuffed bread sticks we order from a local pizza restaurant.  Once again, the dough was divine and the few extra steps I took to make a cheesy centers made the final sticks even better than the originals.  So follow along with me below to find out how easy it is to make something divine even better! Stuffed Divine Bread sticks Recipe Source: A Cook's Quest (Bread stick recipe Mel ) 1  batch of Divine Bread stick Dough 1/2 stick  butter Ranch Dressing Mix (I use my homemade variety) or your favorite herbs/seasonings Cheeses of your choice After allowing the dough to rest, roll out in...

My only eating encounters with this version of corn preparation have always come from a can, and always tasted like sweet gooey corn.  Not surprising considering the ingredients in commercially made cream style corn. One name brand Cream Style White Corn contains corn, water, sugar, modified food starch and salt. Did you notice what I noticed? There is no cream on the ingredient list!  hence why it is only called cream style corn.  It was never a side dish I asked for, nor is it one I make on my own now as a grown up cook.  But, here I am posting a recipe for creamed corn  because my friend and co-worker, who is a creamed corn convert, told me how utterly wonderful this version is. When I say creamed corn I mean made with cream, not mashed up corn to make a creamy consistency.  There is no added sugar.  I have not added extra food starch.  And there is no added water.  I made this recipe from all things good and...

Well as we all know even the best intentions don't always work out the way we plan.  After my corn salad post, I planned on preparing some new recipes throughout the week for all of your tasting pleasures but alas, life just got in the way.  Between the school activities that the kids had going on, practices and games we relied pretty heavily on our freezer meals I had stored away. Now let me tell you, I used to be intimidated by freezer meals .  I had visions of two days worth of cooking, high grocery bills, and food that I wasn't really a fan of.  I have since realized that there is no concrete plan for filling your freezer with food for later consumption.  After learning my way around the coupon world, and learning that I could still cook the same way I love to cook while using my coupons, I also figured out that my stockpile of groceries could be made into meals for the freezer just by doubling or tripling a recipe.  Now I routinely make t...

I've said it before, but I'm going to say it again I love the produce in the area I live.  Not only is there fresh vegetables to be found all summer long, but people love to share their harvests with friends.  My most recent score was a huge box of corn from one of the customers from my work.  He grew the corn himself then brought some into the bank for all of us.  Much like the cherries from earlier in the year my co-workers took what they wanted from the box and I got the rest. Now, I love corn on the cob but a girl can only eat so much. And aside from the typical, shuck, boil, cut off the cob and freeze method I didn't know what else I was going to do with all this corn.  Then, by mere accident I stumbled onto this corn salad recipe while I was browsing recipes at The Sister's Cafe.  The original came from Ina Garten, and like the sisters I didn't alter it other than reducing the amount of salt.  Something about the sweet corn, the...

I'm going to keep this post simple just like this bread is. I love it for three simple reasons, As bread recipes go, it is easy to make It is flavorful with a light texture (Heavenly with butter or olive oil and balsalmic vinegar) I can make many other recipes from this french bread ( baked french toast , crostinis , and  bread pudding to name a few.) French Bread Recipe Source: The Sisters Cafe    2¼ c. warm water 2 Tbsp sugar 1 Tbsp instant yeast 1 Tbsp salt 2 Tbsp oil 5 ½ -6 cups flour-stirred before measured First dissolve sugar and yeast in the warm water. Let this proof—or sit for a few minutes until it bubbles. Then add salt, oil and 3 cups of flour and beat well  Add in 2 1/2 -3 more cups of flour. The dough should clean off the sides of the bowl and not be too sticky. Knead for a few minutes. Leave the dough in the mixer to rest for 10 minutes and then stir it down (turn on your mixer for 10 seconds) and then allow to rest another 10 ...

Now, I don't want to alarm anyone, nor do I want to cause mass rushes on local grocery stores but I thought it was my duty as a cook to let you all know that there is a national canned pumpkin shortage.  I know, scary isn't it?  My local grocery store says they can't even begin pre-ordering the canned goodness for the holidays because it is simply unavailable. The New York Times reports, "Heavy rains in the Midwestern states where most commercial pumpkins are grown have caused the problem. Soggy fields have made it difficult for farmers to get harvesting equipment to the pumpkins. As a result, the harvest, which usually begins in the Midwestern pumpkin fields in August, was late in coming. Acres of pumpkins sit still unharvested in Morton, Ill., which the company calls the “pumpkin capital of the world.” Fungus is a big problem, so it is likely many of those pumpkins will be plowed under." So my fellow bakers if you are so inclined, I suggest cooking down your own...

In honor of my friend Nikki, who had a terrible craving for cinnamon rolls while she was pregnant, I am posting this cinnamon roll recipe.  It is supposed to be a clone of the famous Cinnabon Cinnamon rolls and while I can't say they taste the same to me, I can say that these are the best cinnamon rolls I have ever made, ever, without a doubt, seriously delicious!  I dare you to eat only one because I don't think it is possible.  The cream cheese frosting is rich and buttery, there is a perfect cinnamon to sugar ratio going on and the dough itself, well it is wonderfully delicate and light while being full of rich flavor.  I would highly suggest making a double batch to ensure everyone can have seconds! Cinnabon Clones Recipe Source: All Recipes.com Dough 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) 2 eggs, room temperature 1/3 cup margarine, melted and cooled 4 1/2 cups bread flour 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup white sugar 2 1/2 teaspoons bread...