Garlic Breadsticks

One day, I brought over an experimental loaf of bread over to my family to taste test. The loaf was still steaming hot, fresh from my breadmaker. Nobody could resist, and I got some good feedback for future loaves. My brother then promptly asked if I can make garlic bread. I said ok, but never said when I would actually make it.

When I made the pizza for the baby shower, I wanted to use some dough to make garlic breadsticks as well, but I wasn't sure how many pizzas the batch of dough would make. Since I used up all the dough for pizza, I didn't get a chance to make it. Since my brother was the one who requested the garlic bread in the first place, I decided to make it for his birthday.

For the garlic lovers out there, there's an abundant amount of garlic. My family loves it, so beware our wrath after we eat this! For those who don't like too much garlic, I was told that the garlic wasn't to prominent. I'm not sure how it works, but there was just enough garlic to satisfy everyone! The garlic haters even came back for more!

Although the dough didn't brown as much as I want, I wanted to keep it chewy. If I baked it any longer, it would have been crispy breadsticks. I may turn up the heat next time to see how it turns out.

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Garlic Breadsticks

made by cathy's kitchen journey
adapted from Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day




ingredients:

for the dough (use a half batch):

• 3 cups + 3 tablespoons (25 1/2 ounces) lukewarm water
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 TBSP instant yeast
• 1 1/2 TBSP kosher salt
• 9 cups (38 ounces) all purpose flour

for the glaze:

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 5-6 cloves garlic, crushed or finely minced

directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix until thoroughly moistened (use a spatula if necessary).
2. Loosely cover and set aside in a warm area. Let rise for 2 hours.
3. After 2 hours, transfer the covered bowl to the fridge for at least 3 hours, or up to 7 days.

to make breadsticks:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Combine the 1/3  cup olive oil and garlic in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. To make breadsticks, portion out 1/3 of the batch of dough.
3. Roll between parchment or wax paper to a 9x6 in rectangle. Cut into 9 1" wide pieces. Transfer to a baking pan, lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Stretching out the dough to lengthen as desired. Repeat with remaining dough.
4. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the breadsticks with the olive oil and garlic mixture.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on the edges (mine didn't darken too much).
6. Remove from oven and brush on more of the olive oil and garlic. Allow to cool slightly before serving.
7. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce.

Yield: ~27 breadsticks

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Dried Apple Chips

I can’t really call these chips, because they didn’t really dry to a crisp. However, they had great flavor, a great chewy texture, and tasted just like dried fruit snacks you would get at the store!

I first saw this recipe a while back when it was first featured in Tastespotting. I love eating dried fruit. Dried apples and bananas were always my favorites.

The original recipe called for coring the apples using a melon baller (which I didn’t have), and slicing with a mandolin slicer. I had the slicer, but I thought it would be easier to use the all in one apple/corer/slicer I had, even though the slices would be thicker.

Dried Apple Chips
adapted from: Apple Pie, Patis, & Pâté

Ingredients:
1 cup (7 ounces / 200 grams) granulated sugar
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (7 ounces / 200 grams) water
2 green apples, preferably a tart and crisp varietal such as Granny Smith (peeling optional)

Directions:
In a small saucepan, heat the water and sugar over low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Cut the apples in half crosswise and core with a melon baller. Using a mandolin slicer, slice the apples crosswise into paper-thin rounds. (I sliced/peeled/cored with my apple peeler/slicer/corer.)

The rings will be connected. Slice it down on one side with a knife. Voila, rings!

Drop the sliced apples in the syrup immediately and heat gently for about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the sliced apples cool in the syrup, at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 175ºF / 80ºC. (My oven is not digital. I set it to below “warm” setting and relied on my oven thermometer.)

Carefully remove the apple slices from the syrup and place gently on sheet pans lined with silicone mats or parchment.

Dry in the 175ºF / 80ºC oven until crisp, at least 2 hours. (Because my slices were thicker, it was in the oven for about 4 hours.)

Note: After about 4 hours, I sort of gave up. It was way too long for something to be in the oven! I took it out, let it sit at room temperature a bit. It dried up a bit more, but it was still wasn’t crispy. That was just a minor setback though. It still had a great flavor. It was a bit sticky from the sugar, and it was chewy. I will probably try this again with a mandolin instead.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

The first time I made this type of dish, it was plain spinach dip, no artichokes. I don’t think I’ve ever really had artichokes before. I tried Alton Brown’s spinach artichoke dip with some adaptations of course, and it was very good! I have had good luck with Alton’s recipes lately, and this was another win. I also had lots of cream cheese I wanted to use up, so this was the perfect opportunity for me to use it.

My revisions were omitting the sour cream since I had none, using 8oz cream cheese instead of 6, and adding more mayo and parmesan cheese to balance out the flavor of the extra cream cheese.

 

Spinach Artichoke Dip
Adapted from: Alton Brown/Food Network

Ingredients:
1 cup thawed, chopped frozen spinach (I used a whole 10 oz box of frozen leaf spinach)
1 1/2 cups thawed, chopped frozen artichoke hearts (I used a whole box of frozen artichokes)
8 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup mayonnaise 
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions
1. Defrost and squeeze out excess liquid from the spinach and artichokes.

2. Boil spinach and artichokes in 1 1/2 cup of water until tender and drain. Discard liquid. Squeeze/press out excess liquid

3. Heat cream cheese in microwave for 1 minute or until hot and soft. Stir in rest of ingredients and serve hot.

Highlights of a Dinner Party

Our friend Jason will be leaving for culinary school in Italy next week. He came over to join me in the kitchen to cook for our friends. Here’s some highlights of what we made:

Mango Guacamole
(made by Jason)

4 avocados
1 mango, cubed
cilantro
1 red onion, finely diced
lime juice
salt to taste

I think those were all the ingredients. I liked this even though I’m not a huge fan of mangos.

 

Spinach Artichoke Dip
click here for link to post

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bowtie Pasta with Asparagus Pesto
(made by Jason)

Sorry, I don’t know what the ingredients are. It was very tasty though.

The leftover pesto also made a great dip.

 

 

 

 

 

Mac and Cheese
(made by Jason)

Again, I don’t know what’s in it. All I know is that he added lots of cheese!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beef Stew
click here for link to post

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fried Chicken Wings
(made by Jason)

Season wings with salt and pepper. Fry in about 2 inches of oil.

Hot sauce (optional):
Add melted butter and hot sauce in a zip top bag. Add chicken and toss to coat.

I have a deep fryer, however when I opened the box, the cord was missing. It was left at my parent’s place. We had to make do with the pot on the oven.

Linguine in Clam Sauce
(made by Jason)

1 lb of linguine
2 15 oz cans of clams with juice
olive oil
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare pasta as directed. Transfer to a pan. Add 2 cans clams with juice. Toss to coat. Add seasonings and olive oil to taste.
Jason, let me know if I forgot anything!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes
(made by me)

I made these the night before using an existing recipe. I let it cool overnight and let my guests have fun frosting their own designs. Some of them got a little carried away, so I can’t show those ;).

To make this, pour a scant 1/4 cup of batter into cupcake liners (about 3/4 full). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

 

Espresso Chip Walnut Brownies
click here for link to post

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other dishes that were made but were camera shy:
Ragu – Homemade meat sauce (made by Jason)

Thanks to Allen for the photos!

Thanks to everyone who came over to eat!

Thanks to Jason for coming over and showing me new techniques. I’ll definitely work on my knife skills!

Can’t wait until next time!