Spicy Taco Soup in Cumin Spiked Bread Bowls

When it comes to making dough of any kind I am always ready!!  When I saw a new recipe on the King Arthur web site for bread bowls spiked with cumin it was go time for me!  Taco soup is a favorite of my husband's and sounded just right for spicy bread bowls made with corn meal as well as flour.

They turned out fine but I would make fewer, thus larger balls of dough the next time.  This recipe yielded 8 small bowls and would be perfect for a family with young children.  I would have been happier with 4 larger bowls for my purposes. At any rate they are good and I double wrapped them and set them into the deep freeze until today.  We are looking at dropping temperatures and snow tonight so it is time to stir up the soup!!



Spicy Bread Bowls Ingredients:

1 1/4 C. water at 110 degrees F.
1/4 C. vegetable oil (I am using safflower)
3 C. unbleached all purpose flour (King Arthur is my choice)
1/2 C. yellow corn meal
1 T. cumin
1 1/4 t. coarse salt
1 T. sugar
3 T. potato starch (or 1/2 C. dry potato flakes)
2 T. nonfat dry milk (or coffee creamer)
1 scant Tablespoon of instant yeast

Combine all of the ingredients and mix them by hand, mixer, or bread machine, to make a smooth dough.  Oil a large bowl and place the smooth ball into the bottom, turning once to coat with oil.  Cover well with plastic or a clean tea towel an set in a warm place to rise for about 90 minutes until doubled in bulk.

Gently deflate thee dough and divide it either into 8 small or 4 large balls, depending on your families needs.  (You could make 4 small and 2 large for that matter!)

Stagger the balls on a lightly greased or parchment lined half sheet pan. (I used sil-pat liners.)  Cover and let rise for about 90 minutes until noticeably puffed.  About 20 minutes before the second rising time has elapsed preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake for 25-35 minutes until light golden brown.  Remove from the oven and keep them on the pan to cool.  When completely cool you may opt to double wrap for freezing or proceed to make the bread bowls. 

To make the bread bowls cut off the top 1/3 of each bun and hollow out.  Reserve for breadcrumbs, if desired.


 Spicy Taco Soup Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground round
1 pound ground turkey
1 C. dehydrated onions or 2 C. fresh diced
1, 15 1/2 Oz. can pinto beans
1, 15 1/2 Oz. can kidney beans
1, 15 1/2 Oz. can Niblet corn, drained
1, 14 1/2 Oz. can Mexican flavored tomatoes
1, 14 1/2 Oz. can tomatoes with chilies
1, 14 1/2 Oz. can chili flavored tomatoes
2, 4 1/2 Oz. cans diced green chilies
1 large can sliced black olives drained
1, 1 1/4 th Oz. pkg. Taco seasoning mix
1, 1 Oz pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing mix
 Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Brown the meats and onions together in the bottom of a soup kettle and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer over very low heat for about an hour or transfer to a crock pot and simmer on lowest setting for 6-8 hours.

To serve corn chips, sour cream, grated cheese, chopped onions, or diced avocado may be passed with bowls of the steaming soup or serve in spicy bread bowls with garnish as desired.

Yield 6-8 servings.


 

Orange Cream Cake with Chocolate

One of my flavor passions is orange and chocolate together.  I love dark chocolate covered orange peel and have given much thought to combining those flavors.  Cream cheese is also dominating my cooking this weekend as will  be unveiled with the posting of some upcoming food adventures!! 

Today I have made an orange and cream cheese pound cake covered with melted chocolate drizzled cross wise to cover the cake.......And does it smell and taste wonderful.  Oh yes it does!!!

My inspiration is further taken from a recipe given by chef David Waltuck who shared a Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Martha Stewart which I found on her website.  His version makes 2 large loaves and is flavored with vanilla only and is unadorned.

This cake was baked in a regular loaf pan and would serve 8 to10.  Here are the ingredients:

1 1/2 C. all purpose flour
1/2 t. coarse kosher salt
3/4 C. soft butter
4 Oz. soft Philadelphia cream cheese
1 1/2 C. sugar
3 large eggs
1 t. real vanilla
2 T. grated fresh orange zest (zest of 1 orange)
1/8 t. Fiori Di Sicilia (optional) *

Butter and flour the loaf pan or spray with baking spray and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Whisk the flour and salt together and set aside.

Combine the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat at medium speed with the paddle attachment until smooth.  Add the sugar and increase the speed to high and beat for 5 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time beating after each addition.  Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.  Add the vanilla, orange zest, and Fiori Di Sicilia and blend.  Add the flour and beat just long enough to incorporate.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about an hour and 10 minutes.  The cake should be golden brown and a bamboo skewer inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean except for a few moist crumbs.  I baked this in a heavy corning ware glass pan so if I were to use a metal pan I would certainly check sooner, perhaps after 55-60 minutes.  This cake does not dome in the center.

Cool for 20 minutes then remove from the pan.  Cool completely.  To make the chocolate drizzle:

8 Oz. semi sweet chips
1/2 C. heavy cream
1/2 t. Espresso powder

Melt the chocolate, cream, and Espresso powder in a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water.  Stirring until smooth and silken.  Drizzle across the cake.  Decorate with fresh orange zest.  Let the chocolate cool then slice and serve.

NOTE:  Fiori Di Sicilia is a wonderful flavoring I purchase from the King Arthur Flour Company.  It is a mixture of citrus and vanilla and is quite heavenly.

Chipped Beef Gravy and Eggs on Toast a Lower Fat Country Breakfast.

All of the men in our family are prone to the old fashioned "country breakfast" of gravy and eggs.  It is beloved as biscuits and gravy, sausage gravy and biscuits, s--- on a shingle, and gravy on toast.  Never was this more evident than when several years ago the whole family, maybe 30 or so of us took several family trips together and cooked our meals and ate family style in huge luxurious cabins in the Smokey Mountains.

Even the guys who were not aware of their love of this became fans!!  Mother sometimes made this version for breakfast rather than the more traditional sausage gravy.  She always served it with scrambled eggs but varied between biscuits and buttered toast for the base.

I have used both the dried beef sold in small glass jars and that sold in plastic pouches and both work fine.  The point to remember is the canned version is much saltier and you need to therefore be exceptionally  aware of salting the gravy as to not overdo!!

This version would also contain considerably less fat as the toast does not need butter, the eggs are poached using no fat, and there is far less fat in the dried beef than in pork sausage.  You could trim it further by using low fat milk.  I use 2%.

Ingredients for Chipped Beef Gravy:

3 T. butter
6 T. flour
3 C. milk
pinch of salt
generous pinch of freshly ground black pepper
2 pkg. dried beef,  cut into small pieces with a knife or scissors

Melt the butter in the bottom of a heavy bottomed medium saucepan.  Stir in the flour and continue stirring without ceasing adding the milk all at once.   Continue stirring with a large whisk and season with salt and pepper.

When the mixture has come to a boil and thickened reduce the heat to a low flame and add the beef,  simmer stirring occasionally while making 4 slices of toast and poaching 4 eggs to taste.

Position warm plates with 2 slices of toast each and top generously with the gravy.  Carefully position the poached eggs atop the gravy and serve any remaining gravy on the side.  Serves 2.

NOTE:  If you have gravy left it can be refrigerated and reheated easily in the microwave oven.  My husband has asked me before to make extra so he could reheat for a work day breakfast.

To poach eggs using only the most basic tools:

Place a large flat bottomed vessel containing water to a depth of 2" over heat and bring to a boil.   Add a tablespoon of vinegar to the water.  This will help contain the egg white.  Reduce the water to a simmer.  Crack an egg onto a saucer and slide it into the simmering water.  Quickly repeat this process 3 more times.  Set timer for 3 minutes and cover the pan.  At the end of three minutes carefully remove each egg with a slotted spoon.

Note: I used an egg poacher today but have done the basics tried and true.