My favorite cheese in the world is Tillamook. Better than anything I’ve tasted in Wisconsin. Today on the drive to Portland from the coast KP and I stopped at the Tillamook Ice Creamery, a field trip I haven’t done since I was a grade school student. This place is the best because of the free cheese samples and the view of the giant blocks of cheese in the factory window. And the chance to ride in the Baby Love Loaf.
This cookbook in the Tillamook gift shop is on my wish list 🙂 All the yummy things you can bake with cheese!
My parents gave me the best gift for Christmas/anniversary–two days with KP and Izzy at the Inn at Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City, Oregon. We got a complimentary flight of Pelican Brewery’s finest with our stay. The brewery is right on the beach!
And then we got down to enjoy the beach. What a beautiful day to introduce a Nebraskan bulldog to the splendor of the sea. We had an entire day of sunshine. ,
And then a proper shower. The doggie wash water was steaming hot and Izzy did not want to get out.
This Inn is spectacularly pet-friendly. They gave Izzy her own blanket, beach towel, and baggie of treats when we arrived. Every room has an oceanfront view, and almost every room seems to be hosting a dog. Our next door neighbor has a rather stately Scottie with a plaid neckerchief.
Thank you Mom and Dad for such a wonderful getaway!
Rain is christening the cedar fence we built yesterday as we pack our car to spend a few days at the Oregon coast! For breakfast this morning I made up a batch of the cinnamon roll recipe I found in that Appalachian cookbook unearthed from the back of my in-laws’ kitchen cupboard. I think the unifying theme of the whole cookbook is shortening and lard.
Appalachian Cinnamon Rolls
Adapted from the Foxfire Book of Appalachian Cookery
2 tsp salt
2 ½ tbsp. sugar
1 cup milk
1 package yeast (or 1 cup sourdough starter)
5 tbsp melted shortening
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3 cups sifted flour
Filling (this is my particular addition—the recipe just said mix cinnamon and sugar—but how much?!)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons quality ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
Mix the yeast and milk and sugar and salt together and let rise for 30 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and mix, let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Mix up the filling, roll out the dough into a large rectangle, apply butter and add filling. Roll up into a loaf, cut into cinnamon rolls and arrange on a buttered pan. Allow to rise again in a warm place for 30 minutes or until double. Bake at 400 for 10-20 minutes.
For the icing glaze I whipped powdered sugar, a tsp vanilla, half and half, and 1 tbsp butter together, and drizzled.
5 stars. These were particularly dense and sweet compared to the other cinnamon rolls and buns I have attempted. Very tasty, and especially approved by my father in law.
Spent the afternoon digging a four foot hole. I had forgotten what pleasure it is to just dig a huge hole like I used to when I was a kid with my brother on the beach for hours. This digging today wasn’t on the beach, but in the backyard of my in-laws. Some previous resident of the home cemented a fence post (now rotting) Way Way Further Than Necessary into the yard. And since KP and I offered to build a new fence, the Old had to come out. It was one of those If-I-Can-Just-Do-This-I-Can-Die-Happy tasks. But, now I can die happy. Next the giant cement chunk I pulled out of a hole.
And then we made the best NW Fish Dinner.
Fresh Fish Saute
Adapted from Bon-Vivant Wild Salmon Seafood Market
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup asparagus tips (cut in 1” sections)
12 oz fresh Northwest fish
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp shallots
½ cup cream
1/8 tsp old bay seasoning
1 tbsp chopped basil
¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
¼ tsp Dijon mustard
Melt butter over medium-high heat
Sauté mushrooms for 1 minute
Add fish and sauté for 1 minute
Add remaining ingredients, except cheese, and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes
Been a whirlwind since we got to Seattle. Got down to the locks today with my mother in law for a cup of chowder and a view of the bay. Went to a Sounders game last night and a podcast where I met the infamous (though I had never heard of him until a minute before I met him) Alexi Lalas in South Downtown. Had a chance to use the potatoes I brought on the roadtrip, because, you know, who doesn’t bring potatoes in their carry-on?, in this recipe, which I pulled at random from the shelves at my inlaw’s house in Seattle:
Potato Refrigerator Rolls
Adapted from The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Cookery
c/o Capt. Ralph, father-in-law extraordinaire
1 cup warm mashed potatoes
1 1/2 cups warm water 105-115F
1 package active dry yeast (
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup of shortening
6 1/2 cups all purpose flour
melted butter or 1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water for glaze
poppy seeds, sesame seeds optional
Add eggs, shortening, sugar, salt, mashed potatoes. Beat with an electric mixer on high until all of the ingredients are combined and the mixture is smooth. Add water, milk, yeast mixture (or starter) and 2 cups of flour and stir with a wooden spoon until completely incorporated and smooth. Add the remaining flour mixing with your hands until smooth and stiff enough not to stick to the side of the bowl. Brush the top of the dough with 1 tbsp melted butter, cover with a piece of waxed paper and a dish towel and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in bulk.
Remove from refrigerator and punch down with your fist. Cover and refrigerate. The dough can be refrigerated for 1-3 days punching it down once a day.
2 hours before you are ready to serve , remove the dough from the refrigerator and shape. These make great crescents, figure 8s, snails, or plain rolls. After shaping the dough, cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place (85F) until double in bulk, 1 hour. Preheat oven to 400F. Brush rolls with butter or with egg and seeds if you are using. Bake 12 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.
Me and some random, apparently famous, soccer player KP made me stand with. The rolls were superb, especially when hot.
We drove 28 straight hours and have arrived safely on the West Coast. Izzy would not have been too pleased about her cramped quarters on the back bench of the Mazda were it not for these tasty treats. Seattle coffee and bulldog biscotti—not too bad for humans, either!
Bulldog Biscotti
Recipe from Brewmaster Peter
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 cups moist but drained spent brewing grains
1 cup peanut butter
1 egg
Mix all the ingredients by hand and roll out on a flat surface. Cut shapes or just score a flat of dough into squares.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Allow to cool and break biscuits apart.
Dry in the oven at 225 for eight hours. If you don’t completely dessicate the biscuits, they can get moldy. The dry ones can be stored for a long time, and trust me, this makes a ton of biscuits!
PS—found ZERO free donuts along I-90 last night. So much for National Donut Day
It is a big day. Prince turns 55. I can’t find any of his old stuff on Youtube because he’s paranoid—just try to find a Prince video on Youtube, I dare you—if you can, you win a special prize.
Also, it’s National Donut Day! AND, KP and I are going to start our summer road trip, which will commence with our trying to find as many free donuts as possible along I-90, but which will also mark the end of my baking daily, logistics, you understand, though I promise to continue to make a loaf at least once a week, and while travelling, to report on superb baked goods I find around the country and in England!
In honour of National Donut Day—I have made not a donut, because the whole concept and physical process of frying bread sickens me, but a scone! Well within the pastry category. I got this recipe from my dear friend Ronee who stole the show a week ago bringing cinnamon scones to the formal tea hosted by our friends who just returned from a year in the UK.
Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Scones
adapted from somewhere on the Food Network, Ronee says
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup of cinnamon chips
1/2 cup of milk chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix together the dry ingredients; the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and cinnamon. Shred butter using cheese shredder. Add half of butter to dry ingredients and incorporate using hands (or pastry blender). Repeat with remaining butter. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Mix in cinnamon and milk chocolate chips. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream. Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough.
Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 by 3 by 1 1/4 inches. Cut the rectangle in 1/2 then cut the pieces in 1/2 again, giving you 4 (3-inch) squares. Cut the squares in 1/2 on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape. Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet (or used cookie sheet lined with parchment paper). Bake for about 20 minutes.
Here’s a pic from the Tea– who is having a hard time being proper?
KP and I watched four hours of Rick Steves, Robbie Coltrane, and some other random British travel videos in preparation for our trip to England in a week and a half. If y’all have any recommendations for what to do in the UK, we would love to hear them! And Bon Voyage Minnesota!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pans with paper baking cups; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Gradually pour in boiling water and beat until smooth (batter will be thin). Transfer batter to a large liquid measuring cup; pour into muffin cups, filling 2/3 full.
Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely on a cooling rack.
Chocolate Ganache frosting
½ cup heavy cream
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Bring the heavy cream to a boil and then reduce heat to add in the chocolate chips. Let cool for a moment before applying to the cupcakes.
There is very little to say. I used to think the box cake mix was the easy way to cake, but these took 25 minutes to whip up. I have all sorts of sound effects to communicate my love for these cupcakes, however, I will spare you. I have an inkling the photos speak for themselves—probably all sorts of devilish lies about them being “good for you” –which, in a way, I believe they are.
We all make mistakes. And these mistakes, oftentimes, are what take laps through our thoughts while doing ruminative activities such as driving, stirring broth into Arborio rice or while kneading a loaf of German pumpkin bread. Food seems to have a way of receiving our emotions and transferring our aggression into useful substance that driving, for example, does not. I love this about food. For example, if you are crying while making a soup or while punching down a loaf of bread, the salt in your tears flavors the dish. If you are angry or full of rage, that aggression transfers into beaten, fluffy eggs or a well-kneaded rye. I love the forgiveness of food, and it reminds me, after all the beating and flavoring and smashing is done, as I am feeding myself something hot and savory and without trace of anger or envy or abuse, that I too can forgive and be forgiven.
Latest mistake: I forgot to take a picture of today’s dish, and KP took the rest of it to work today for lunch. So instead, here is a picture of Izzy, looking as I felt as I ate the cheesy rice last night. Her face rather indistinguishable from the blankets she lays beneath.
Arborio Rice and Parmegiano-Reggiano Cheese
Adapted from Epicurious.com
5 cups (about) canned low-salt chicken broth (I used dry white wine for a cup’s worth of this)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 cup grated Parmegiano-Reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
Shaved Parmesan cheese
Bring broth to boil in medium saucepan. Reduce heat to low; cover saucepan.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion; sauté until very tender but not brown, about 15 minutes. Increase heat to medium. Add rice and stir 1 minute. Add 1 1/2 cups warm broth. Boil gently until broth is absorbed, stirring frequently. Add another 1 cup broth; stir until broth is absorbed. Add remaining 2 1/2 cups broth, 1/2 cup at a time, allowing broth to be absorbed before adding more and stirring frequently until rice is tender and mixture is creamy, about 25 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons butter and 1 cup grated cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl. Sprinkle with parsley and shaved Parmesan.
‘Twas the best post-thesis day I could have envisioned. Woke up at 10. Read a cookbook until noon. Had lunch with KP, who came home for a little extra face time. Then was swept off my feet to grocery-hunt with Janelle, and also to a BYOB pedicure salon where we were doted upon, massaged, scrubbed, trimmed, and lacquered to dazzle.
For lunch, I made bruschetta using slices from this loaf—savory Italian bread with olives.
Pane alle Olive adapted The Village Baker
To make the Compagnon: About 3/8 cup water 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup bread flours Mix all ingredients by hand, or with a stand mixer with a flat blade, kneading until the dough is smooth and firm. Let the dough rise in the bowl, covered with a damp towel, for 8 to 10 hours. Punch the dough down, and transfer to covered bowl. Refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. To make the bread: 1/2 tsp. instant yeast 3/4 cup water 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup compagnon (see above) 1 tsp. salt 3 tsp. olive oil 1 cup chopped green olives. (I accidentally used black, all I had on hand) Mix the yeast, water and all but about 1/2 cup of the flours until blended. Add the compagnon, bit by bit, until it is broken up and mixed in with the flour mixture. Add the salt and two teaspoons water. Knead in the rest of the flour, as needed, until the dough becomes elastic. It will still be wet. Turn out onto the counter and knead by hand, adding more flour if necessary for the dough to be workable. Let rest for 20 minutes. Flatten the dough and strew the chopped olives on top. Roll the dough up onto itself, and knead it until the olives are necessary. Add more flour only if necessary to keep the dough from becoming too sticky. Cover the dough and let it rise for one hour. Flatten out the dough and fold the edges over into the middle to form a round loaf. Place it on a parchment-covered baking sheet and let it rise for about 2 hours. Preheat oven to 400, putting a baking stone on a rack on the lower third of the oven. When oven is hot, brush the loaf with the remaining teaspoon of olive oil, slash it 3 times on the top with a razor blade or sharp knife, and bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown.
The world seems a wonderful place on days such as these, even with the rain pouring from the heavens. Good friends, good food, and a burden fallen from one’s shoulders. I dance on a cloud of bliss. With nails blinking the pizzazz of the 80s– a decade I wish I hadn’t interrupted half way through, rather would have enjoyed all ten years. Mine are the fuchsia and lime.
This place is the best because of the free cheese samples and the view of the giant blocks of cheese in the factory window. 
And the chance to ride in the Baby Love Loaf.
This cookbook in the Tillamook gift shop is on my wish list 🙂 All the yummy things you can bake with cheese!
