Tuesday, March 31, 2020

California Grill Oven Roasted Tomato Flatbread Recipe


#BakingThroughIsolation #Episode6

California Grill Oven Roasted Tomato Flatbread (circa 2018)
Adapted from recipe by Chef Brian Piasecki at California Grill, the Contemporary Resort

Ingredients:

Flatbread
  • 1 ½ tsp active dry yeast
  • 1 cup + 1 tbsp warm water
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 2 ½ cup all purpose flour 
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp olive oil 

Oven Dried Tomatoes
  • 2-3 large beefsteak tomatoes
  • Olive oil
  • Coarse salt and black pepper

Roasted Garlic Purée 
  • 1 head of garlic, skin removed and cut in half lengthwise
  • ½ tbsp olive oil
  • Coarse salt and black pepper

Flatbread Toppings
  • 1-2 balls of Fresh Mozzarella cut into ½ inch thick crescents or discs
  • ¼ cup Romano cheese
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (optional)
  • 10 fresh basil leaves (optional) (*substitute Italian season if you don’t have fresh basil or balsamic*)

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Core tomatoes and remove seeds. Slice tomatoes into ¼ inch thick slices. Lay them on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  3. Bake in oven for 90 minutes to 2 hours until tomatoes are darker in color and semi dehydrated. While you wait, make your flatbread dough.
  4. In a small bowl, add yeast, sugar, and ½ cup warm. Stir together and leave for 5-6 minutes to allow yeast to bloom.
  5. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Add yeast mixture and stir it all together. You can use a standard mixer with the normal mixer attachments for this stage. Add remaining water to form a slightly sticky dough. After this stage, begin to use your hands to form dough until it comes together in a ball. 
  6. Prepare a floured surface and knead dough for about 2-3 minutes to activate gluten. Form ball. Add a tbsp of olive oil to your mixing bowl. Roll dough ball around until entire ball has a thin coat of olive oil.
  7. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place to rise for 1 hours.
  8. After tomatoes are done roasting, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place garlic on a large piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil. Wrap foil up and over, creating a foil pouch. 
    Roast for 1 hour. Unwrap and set aside until cool enough to peel. Squeeze garlic out of skins into a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper and use a fork to mash the garlic until smooth.
  9. Prepare a floured surface. Punch down dough to remove air. Split dough in half and roll out flatbread dough with a rolling pin. Roll dough until about ¼ inch thick. Cut into rectangles. Repeat with other half of dough.
  10. Heat a skillet or griddle to medium high heat for a few minutes until hot. Place one flatbread gently into skillet (or as many as fit on your griddle). Cook for 2-3 minutes or until you seen golden brown spots when you check it, then flip and repeat on the other side fo 2-3 minutes. Set aside on cooling rack to use later. Continue until all your flatbreads are cooked.
  11. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and then assemble flatbreads:
    • Use a brush to spread garlic purée on each flat bread.
    • Top with oven roasted tomatoes and mozzarella crescents. 
    • Sprinkle with Romano cheese and Italian seasoning.
  12. Place each flatbread on a pizza stone (or baking sheet) and bake for 5-7 minutes. Drizzle with balsamic and top with fresh basil (we did not because of children’s taste buds and lack of basil due to COVID-19).
  13. Cut flatbreads and serve immediately.









Monday, March 30, 2020

Jack Jack Cookie Recipe


#BakingThroughIsolation #Episode5

Jack Jack Num Num Cookies
Adapted from the Recipe by Marylou Jaso

Ingredients:

2 sticks of butter
1 ¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar 
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
2 ¼ cup all purpose flour
1 cup chocolate chips or chunks
12-15 cupcake wrappers

Directions:

  1. Brown butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Butter will appear toasty brown and give off a nutty aroma. Once browned, put in a bowl and refrigerate until the butter solidifies. This takes quite a while so relax or prepare/measure your other ingredients.
  2. Once butter begins to solidify, cream butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl.
  3. Once the mixture is light and fluffy, add eggs and vanilla. Mix.
  4. Add flour and baking soda to the batter mixture. I did half the flour at a time to make it easier to incorporate. Mix.
  5. Add chocolate chips and stir them in. This is a slightly dry cookie batter. Don’t be alarmed if it’s more crumbly than expected. It will form dough balls fine.
  6. Use a wide cup to flatter your cupcake liners a little bit to make them wider and less deep. You will need 12-15 depending. Place the liners on a baking sheet.
  7. Roll large dough balls and place one in each liner. Do not flatten.
  8. Refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight. Alternatively, I froze mine for about 15-20 minutes and still got good results.
  9. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 7-11 minutes. Cookies should be brown on edges but soft in the middle.
  10. Allow to cool for a few minutes and serve warm.








Sunday, March 29, 2020

Ohana Pineapple Coconut Bread Recipe


#BakingThroughIsolation #Episode4

Ohana Pineapple Coconut Bread

Yield = 1 9x13” cake pan

Ingredients:

1 packet of instant yeast
1 ¾ cup water 
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp shortening
4 ½ cup all purpose flour
½ tsp salt
⅓ cup sugar
½ cup store bought vanilla icing 

Coconut Mixture
1 cup crushed pineapple
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
½ cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch

Directions:

  1. Pineapple/Coconut Filling:
    1. Combine pineapple and coconut in bowl. Drain liquid from crushed pineapple.
    2. Combine sugar and cornstarch in separate bowl and mix.
    3. Add sugar mixture to the pineapple and coconut. Mix well.
    4. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

  2. Bread:
    1. Add water, yeast, sugar, salt, and 2 cups flour. Use paddle attachment on mixer if using a mixer. Combine until well incorporated. Add egg and the remainder of the flour. Use mixer with dough hook to form dough (about 4 minutes)
    2. If not using a mixer, use your hands to incorporate flour and create a dough ball. Prepare a clean surface with all purpose flour. Knead dough for 4-6 minutes until your dough becomes smooth and all flour is well incorporated. Create a dough ball.
    3. In used mixing bowl, add 1 tbsp of vegetable oil. Roll your dough ball in the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and put in a warm place (or an oven on proof setting). 
    4. Let rise for 1-2 hours (mine took 1.5 hours to rise) or until it doubles in size. Take a nap.
    5. Prepare a 9x13” cake pan with parchment paper.
    6. On a floured surface, roll out dough until about 1 inch thick.
    7. Strain pineapple coconut mixture to remove excess liquid. Spread ¾ of mixture on the rolled out dough.
    8. Fold dough on top of itself and place into the cake pan, carefully spreading dough to the edges of pan.
    9. Score dough gently with a knife (try not to cut into the filling layer),
    10. Let dough rise in oven on proof setting until it rises halfway up the pan.
    11. Bake at 325 degrees F for 20 minutes, then remove from oven and brush remaining pineapple coconut mixture over top. Continue baking for 20 more minutes or until golden brown.
    12. Let bread cool.
    13. In a microwave safe bowl, microwave vanilla icing for 15 seconds and stir. Drizzle on top of bread loaves.










Saturday, March 28, 2020

Chewbacca Oatmeal Cream Pies Recipe


#BakingThroughIsolation #Episode3

Chewbacca Oatmeal Cream Pies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
3 cups quick cooking oats
½ cup raisins (optional)
½ cup white chocolate morsels
½ cup peanut butter morsels
½ cup store bought chocolate icing

Cream Pie Filling Ingredients:

¾ cup unsalted, room temperature butter
3 cups confectioners sugar
3 tbsp heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
¾ cup marshmallow fluff
Salt to taste

Directions:

  1. Cream together butter, white sugar and brown sugar in a medium bowl.
  2. Mix in eggs one at a time and then stir in vanilla.
  3. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into creamed mixture.
  4. Mix in oats.
  5. Cover and chill dough for one hour.
  6. Make Cream Pie Filling. Combine butter, confectioners sugar, cream and vanilla. Whisk until your frosting creates a peak on your whisk. Combine with marshmallow fluff until smooth. Refrigerate. 
  7. Go watch a few episodes of Clone Wars.
  8. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  9. Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  10. Roll dough into large walnut sized balls and place 4 inches apart. Slightly flatten dough balls using the back of a fork.
  11. Bake for 10 minutes in preheated oven.
  12. Allow to cool before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
  13. Microwave icing for 10 seconds and stir. 
  14. Once cooled, pipe a stripe of chocolate icing on half the cookies. Alternate placing peanut butter and white chocolate morsels onto the chocolate icing stripe. Let sit till icing hardens.
  15. Using a spoon, place a large spoonful of cream pie filling between two cookies (use the undecorated ones for bottoms). Serve!




Mickey Mouse Pretzel Recipe


#BakingThroughIsolation #Episode2

Mickey Pretzels

Ingredients:

4 tsp dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 ¼ cup warm water
5 cups AP flour
½ cup sugar
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil
½ cup baking soda
4 cups hot water
¼ cup coarse or kosher salt

Directions:

  1. Dissolve yeast and 1 tsp sugar in 1 ¼ cup warm water in a small bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes.
  2. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, and salt. Make a well in the middle; add vegetable oil and yeast mix to middle. Mix and form dough. Add water if dry slowly until happy with consistency. Knead dough for 8 minutes until dough is smooth. Lightly oil bowl and return dough. Roll to coat. Cover with towel and place in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.
  3. Preheat oven to 450*. Line baking sheets with parchment.
  4. In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda into 4 cups of hot water.
  5. Cut dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll into ropes. Cut each rope in half and use one half to make a large ring for mickeys head. Cut the other half of rope in half to make two ears. Pinch to connect (don’t stress too much, the baking will mold them together).
  6. Once all dough has been shaped, dip in baking soda mixture. Shake off excess and place on baking sheets. Top with salt.
  7. Bake in oven for 8minutes.
  8. Top with melted butter.