Wednesday, December 9, 2009

oh baby it's cold outside

The wind's howling and the house is cold. The temp is 1c(34f) but feels like -7c(19f) with the wind which is gusting up to 69km/h(43m/h). The good news is we still have no snow on the ground. I spent the last few hour of daylight outside which added to my chill. Tasks included:
  • cutting the hedge back to deter squirrels from the squirrel proof feeder......
  • cutting the side door down to accept weather stripping
  • putting some burlap around my climbing hydrangea, a new one after mine died last winter
  • planting a few heirloom tulip bulbs out front.
So after all that I figured the best way to warm up the house and myself was to make:

Honey Buttermilk Bread w/ Sesame topping

followed by chicken filled to capacity with stuffing.

Here we have, roast chicken, stuffing, parsnip & apple side dish, mashed potatoes and chicken gravy. Things from the garden in tonight's dinner was celery, onions & parsnips.

Now if only my hard cider was ready.......

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Honey Buttermilk Bread w/ Sesame topping

1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 package of yeast
2 cups bread flour
3 teaspoons gluten (opinional but does make a nicer loaf)
3/4 teaspoon salt

Combine wet ingredients in a bowl, add yeast and proof. In your stand mixer bowl add all dry ingredients and mix to combine. Then add wet ingredients and mix until combined, add buttermilk or flour if dough does not form a ball. Continue mixing with the dough hook for 10 minutes. Then cover and rise until doubled. Punch down and press into a greased bread pan. Allow to rise again until the dough rises above the pan rim. Bake in a 420f (215c) oven until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Allow to cool before slicing, if you can.


Stuffing

tons of butter
celery
onions
poultry seasoning
cubed stale bread

Melt lots of butter in a pan and then add celery, onions and poultry seasoning. Once the veg has softened add cubed bread and toss until coated. If the bread looks dry, add more butter. Allow to cool. Once cold stuff into a cold bird and bake until the internal temperature reaches 185f (85C), a little warmer will not hurt. The best stuffing recipe!

Parsnips & Apple Side Dish

cubed parsnips
cubed apples
juice of one orange
1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon orange zest
couple cracks of pepper
pinch of ground clove
pinch of salt

Add all ingredients into a sauce pan and simmer covered until tender. Then you can serve as is or mashed.

12 comments:

  1. Dang, Dan....that bread looks perfect! Oh, it's pretty cold here too, and will be even colder tomorrow night.

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  2. Oh that looks totally delicious and a great way to use the parsnips. How on earth did you get that much stuffing in the chicken? At least in cold weather you can really enjoy comfort food and slow cooked food like roasts and stews and soups and more. I am contemplating cooking a roast this weekend as it looks to be the last of the 'cooler' weather before the real summer hits.

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  3. EG - I don't make bread very often because it never seems to taste right. This one turned out really well though, the best one yet.

    Prue - That chicken was stuffed pretty tight, there was four servings worth. It is nice to eat hearty food during the winter. I usually like lighter foods but once the weather turns.....

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  4. The bread and the dinner both look amazingly yummy. I have a turkey in the freezer waiting for Christmas but thinking about sage stuffing has me wishing it was on the menu sooner. One of my favorite things.

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  5. That looks so good so when should I come over ;>. Last night we had lightly fried tilapia, homemade cheddar cheese biscuits and broccoli from the garden. I love wanting to heat up the stove again.

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  6. Dan, you never cease to amaze me. This looks fantastic! I have been in the mood for fresh baked bread. I need to do some baking today.

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  7. That parsnip recipe sounds fantastic. I will definitely try it as parsnips are amoung my favourite veggies.

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  8. Yum! excellent way to warm yourself up :-)

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  9. It's just not okay for temperatures to be that low. It's just not right, I tell you.
    Stay warm.

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  10. I made one of those "no knead" bread one time and it turned out pretty well. I don't have a proper bread machine nor mixer with dough hook yet. Is there anyway I can make this bread without these tools?

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  11. Thanks for the reading and commenting everyone!

    Kalena - the dough can be made with a large bowl, large spoon and lots of elbow grease. Then kneaded on a floured surface for 10 minutes. The bread will be as good but will take more work.

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