Peeta's Stuffed Cheese Buns

 Last month I got an email from my brother Dave with the subject: "I want somma these!"  Similar emails in the past have led me to such concoctions as doughnut-upside down cake, marshmallow lime meringue pie, reverse whoopie pies, and eggnog sandwich cookies.  Dave doesn't mess around.  And he only sends me a recipe when he's really serious about it. 

So I clicked through to Yammie's Noshery and drooled over her pictures of gooey cheese-stuffed buns, while mumbly-stumbling through her dizzying explanation that Peeta (Hunger Games, people) is her future grandson.  Or something. 

Regardless, the buns looked awesome.  And easy.  And a nice change from the usual.  So I bought a lot of cheese, and invited Dave's family over for dinner.  We served the buns with Roasted Red Pepper and Herb Pasta with Shrimp, green beans, and an experimental pie for dessert that I'm still trying to decide whether to post. 

Here's Dave's happy, happy face at getting "somma these" buns (too bad it's just a headshot.  They'd just come from the Renaissance Festival and he was wearing his kilt):

Cousins:

And can you ever get away with taking pictures of kids without doing a silly shot?  I think they are pirates:

But back to the buns.  So.  Good.  

Peeta's Stuffed Cheese Buns (print recipe)
Makes about 20

1 cup warm water (hot from the tap, between 105º and 115º)
2 T yeast
2 T sugar
2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt
8 oz. cheese, the more the merrier (I used chunks of mozzarella for the inside and a mixture of shredded cheddar and Parmesan for the top.  You can use any cheeses you like, preferably ones that melt well)
A few tablespoons of melted butter mixed with a sprinkle of garlic powder and some fresh herbs if you want

1.  Mix together the yeast and water and let it sit for a few minutes.  Add the sugar, garlic powder, melted butter, and oil.  Add the flour a little at a time, mixing in your stand mixer with a dough hook.  Add the salt.  Knead for 10 minutes in the stand mixer or by hand.  Let dough rise in a greased bowl, covered with a damp cloth for 30 minutes.

2.  Preheat oven to 375º.

3.  Divide the dough into about 20 pieces.  Put about a 3/4-inch chunk of cheese in each one and make sure you pinch all the edges back up tightly.

 Put the pinched side down on a greased baking sheet.  Sprinkle the buns with more shredded cheese and some Parmesan cheese.  Bake for about 11 to 15 minutes until the bread is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.  Brush with melted butter and serve warm.

 Recipe adapted from Yammie's Noshery 

1 year ago:  Raspberry Tea Cake with Mascarpone Cream Filling
2 years ago:  Peanut Butter Banana Bread
3 years ago:   Chocolate Honey Zucchini Muffins

Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits

Oh, man.  I saw Ina Garten make these years ago, and I've been sitting on the recipe, as with so many others, until the time was right.

First of all, the flaky layers are awe-inspiring, how they rise, as they bake, into towers of pillowy satisfaction.  And those golden freckles of melted cheddar take them way, way over the top.

I'll concede, not the healthiest item on the blog.  But a cheddar biscuit goes with a lot of healthy things, like veg-loaded soups, salads, or omelettes.  Or it could just be your meal or snack, any time of day.  It is so tender, so flavorful, so darn deliciously flaky.

And thank you, Ina, you crazy upper-class diva with manicured gardens, beck-and-call husband, and fantasy-bubble life not a one of us can relate to.  Apparently I needed permission to make square, rather than round, biscuits, saving both time and dough.  And you gave it to me.  For that, and the nirvana that was eating one of these warm out of the oven, I thank you.

 Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits (print recipe)
Makes 8 biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 T baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
12 T cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup buttermilk, shaken
1 cold extra-large egg
1 cup grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten with 1 T water or milk
Sea salt for sprinkling, optional

1.  Preheat oven to 425.

2.  Place 2 cups of flour, the baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  With the mixer on low, add the butter and mix until the butter is the size of peas.

3.  Combine the buttermilk and egg in a small measuring cup and beat lightly with a fork.  With the mixer still on low, quickly add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and mix only until moistened.  In a small bowl, mix the Cheddar with a small handful of flour and, with the mixer still on low, add the cheese to the dough.  Mix only until roughly combined.

4.  Dump out onto a well-floured board and knead lightly about 6 times.  Roll the dough out to a rectangle 10 by 5 inches.  With a sharp, floured knife, cut the dough lengthwise in half and then across in quarters, making 8 rough rectangles.  Transfer to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.  Brush the tops with the egg wash, sprinkle with salt, if using, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are browned and the biscuits are cooked through.  Serve hot or warm.

Recipe adapted from Ina Garten

Ranch Hamburger Buns

So a few months ago I found a website chock full of new and unusual bread machine recipes. I bookmarked it and have gone back to make a few. There are still oh-so-many to try. I think sometimes of doing a separate bread machine blog, a brownie blog, a cookie blog, etc. But there is only one of me and that kind of thinking is too big. Back to the topic at hand.

"Ranch Hamburger Buns" caught my eye on the alphabetical list. Sounds like there's no way around that being good. Plus we hadn't had hamburgers for dinner in ages; homemade buns was a great excuse to change that. The ranch flavor comes from a packet of ranch dip mix, and since you don't use it all in the buns, just throw the rest in with the meat as you make your burgers (along with breadcrumbs, egg, seasoning, Worcestershire, whatever else you love in there.)

These guys are straightforward. Make the dough in the machine, shape them into rolls, rise again and cook. Turned out my rolls weren't exactly uniform; some were smaller, some larger. But it actually worked out even better that way. I created my hamburgers in different sizes to match - some smaller, some larger - and so the small ones were just the right size for my 3 and 5 year olds. They actually loved having mini burgers. And me? I loved having another winning bread machine recipe!

Ranch Hamburger Buns (print recipe)

1/2 cup water, 70-80 degrees F

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1 egg

3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder

4 1/2 tsp sugar

1 tablespoon dry ranch salad dressing mix

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 cups bread flour

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1. In bread machine pan, place the ingredients in order suggested by machine manufacturer. Select dough setting. Check dough after five minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons water or flour if needed. When the cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly greased surface.

2. Cut into 12 pieces, then shape each into a round ball. Place in greased jumbo muffin cups or in 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 35 minutes), then brush buns with an egg wash mixture of 1 slightly beaten egg and 2 tablespoons water.Sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds, if desired. Bake 10-12 minutes at 400 degrees F or until lightly browned. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Makes 12.

Recipe from recipegoldmine.com

Chunky Cheese Bread

In her book A Passion for Baking, about which I have mixed feelings, and from which I get mixed results, Marcy Goldman claims that "this recipe alone is worth the price of the book."

A bold statement. One I was willing to test. Lucky for her (and me, and you) it proved to be true.You've got a rich egg bread dough. Add in 800 cups of shredded and cubed cheese, cut it all in and put it all back together and bake into loaves. Then eat it warm or toasted, use for egg or ham or bacon sandwiches, spread it with apple butter or pizza sauce. The possibilities do boggle the mind. And water the mouth.

A few notes:

• Marcy uses all cheddar cheese. I went rummaging in the fridge drawer and used a combination of cheddar, Swiss, a little jack, and some 2% cheese in the back to make the total amount. Turned out great.
• She also always says to place loaf pans on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. That's to prevent burning but I think it's generally unnecessary and usually skip that step. DON'T skip it for this - the cheese overflows and melts all over the place (see above photo!), so you definitely want parchment under there to catch it and give you easy clean-up.
• Goldman sprinkles the bread with sesame seeds and seasoned salt. I didn't have any seeds so I just left them out; the seasoned salt was good but I love it on anything. She suggests using any topping/seasoning you like on top, like Italian seasoning or garlic salt for zip. Go wild. That's really what this bread is about.

Chunky Cheese Bread
1 1/2 cups warm water (100-110 degrees F)
2 T rapid-rise yeast
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
2 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 T unsalted butter, softened
5 to 6 cups bread flour
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 scan cups cubed Cheddar cheese
2 T olive oil or melted butter
1 tsp seasoned salt or garlic salt
Sesame seeds

1. Generously grease two 8x4 inch or 9x5 inch loaf pans (otherwise they'll stick.)

2. In mixer bowl, combine water, yeast and a pinch of sugar. Let stand a few minutes. Briskly whisk in sugar, salt, mustard, eggs, oil, butter and half of bread flour and mix. Begin kneading dough with dough hook on lowest speed 5 to 8 minutes, adding more flour as necessary to make a soft, elastic dough. Form into a ball in mixing bowl, spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray, and cover entire mixer and bowl with large clear plastic bag*. Let dough rise 30 minutes.
(* Or place in separate greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap to let rise.)

3. Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface and gently deflate. Divide dough in half. Press each half into an oval and distribute 1 cup shredded cheese over each. Press in cheese and roll up each section into a jellyroll.

4. I LOVE THIS STEP! Using a dough cutter or sharp knife, cut each jellyroll into thick slices and then in half - basically into odd-sized chunks of dough. Arrange chunks of dough in loaf pans. Scatter cubed cheese over chunks of dough, drizzle with oil or butter, and scatter on seasoned salt and sesame seeds.

5. Place loaves on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise 30 to 45 minutes until quite puffy.

6. Preheat oven to 350. Bake until well browned and sizzling (wow!) and cheese is melted, about 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing and serving. Makes 2 loaves
Recipe from Marcy Goldman

VGP #25 Country Sausage and Cheese Muffins

I don't know what you're having for Christmas breakfast but we're having these! And grog, and hard-boiled eggs, and Aunt Janet's coffee cake, and Jenny's Christmas bread if Ed follows through and makes it like he says he's going to.

These muffins are amazing - a true meal-in-a-muffin! You got your cheese, your sausage, your onion & peppers, your egg and your buttermilk. And the other stuff (necessary details.) I got this from the muffin contest in Cook's Country magazine last year. There is a lot of prep involved, but I do it in stages the day before making them so I can throw it together easily at once. Then I usually freeze the muffins and microwave them for quick or on-the-go breakfast, but today we are having them hot and fresh from the oven. Yum-oh.

Happy Present-Opening-in-Your-Pajamas
and Merry Christmas!!!

8 oz. bulk sausage meat
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 T sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
6 T cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
8 oz. cheddar cheese, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped fine
1/2 red onion, chopped fine
1 large egg
3/4 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 375. Grease and flour 12-cup muffin tin. Cook sausage in nonstick skillet over medium heat, breaking up meat until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towel lined plate and cool.

2. Pulse flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, butter, cheese, bell pepper, onion and cooled sausage in food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal; transfer to bowl. Whisk egg and buttermilk in measuring cup; stir into flour mixture until combined.

3. Spoon into prepared muffin tin and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in tin for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to rack. Cool 10 minutes longer; serve. Or cool completely and freeze for later.

Makes 12 muffins