Margarita Stewart: February 2016

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Pressure Cooker Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

Pressure Cooker Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

3 T butter
1 large onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
a sliver or two of fresh fennel if you like it.

28 ounces chicken or veggie broth (I use homemade, frozen from past pressure cooker meals)

3 lbs tomatoes, diced (seeds removed)
OR 1-28 oz can stewed w juice and 1- 28 oz can diced drained

T tomato paste
3 T dried basil
A pinch cinnamon (optional, its something that I always add to tomatoes.
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
1/2 C shredded parmesan cheese
1 C half and half or whole milk (or more, to taste)

In the pressure cooker, saute the onion, celery, and carrot (and fennel if using it) in the butter until tender. Add broth, tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, cinnamon, salt and pepper

Pressure cook on high for 5 minutes, then let pressure come down for 5 minutes and release the pressure.
When the valve drops, remove lid and Put it in the blender (careful of the steam, its hot), add parmesan cheese, fresh cracked pepper and half and half.

This could only be better by putting a slice of crusty bread on top, sprinkling cheese on it and broiling.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Cinnamon Raisin Bread No knead, 5 minute dough

I can't stress enough how versatile this dough recipe is. It's probably one of the best cookbook investments I ever made. One of my many older posts raving about this shows my husband's famous breakfast pizza.
The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day is their revised book. I have the old version, that I bought when it first came out back in 2007 and since have also aquried a few of their books.

I bought the revised version and it as worth buying again. Who knew they could improve the first book. This has what the first book had in it, and so much more, including information on freezing the dough, making bagels and soft pretzels with it, and so much more!

I had the pleasure of chatting with one of the authors via email back when it first came out. Very nice guy. I also ran a group on yahoo for awhile that people shared recipes they made using his dough.
They have a book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day too, that I love.

I still make it in the big commercial food container but now I throw it into a baggie in the fridge and use a twix it clip that allows some air out but not in. It takes up a lot less of the precious room in my refrigerator.
I also don't worry about using bread flour as much. Sometimes I use it, but most times I just use all purpose flour.

Artisan Bread Dough Master Recipe

In a big container like the one shown below (you can get these at the restaurant stores), add these ingredients in this order and stir with a wooden spoon:

3 C lukewarm water
1½ T yeast
1½T kosher salt
6½ C all purpose flour

Mix will with a wooden spoon and let it set out on the counter three hours, then refrigerate up to two weeks. Cloak the dough with flour and grab a wad and put it onto a flat stone, freehand, or in a bread stone (sprinkle a little corn meal on the stone to prevent sticking...especially if you are rolling it out to make stromboli or pizza, and bake at 400 for about an hour, the time will depend on the size. They say to let it rise first, but we have just bake it as is and it works. If you have the time, let it rise 30 mins before baking. I let it rise if I am making cinnamon raisin bread.

To make the cinnamon raisin bread, you can either roll it out and sprinkle the cinnamon, sugar and raisins on it and roll it up or knead it in. That is up to you. You do not need to knead it, but you may want it incorporated and not just swirled in. Put it into an oiled bread stone.
If you are using the dough fresh risen, not yet refrigerated, you let it rise for 45 minutes.
If the dough was refrigerated, you need to let it rise for 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Then brush it with a beaten egg and if you want, you can sprinkle some sugar on the top.

Bake the cinnamon raisin bread at 375° for 35-40 minutes.