Horseradish Cheese Dip

"You're welcome"!

This will be my response to your "Thank You" after you try this easy and tasty dip. There are oodles of horseradish cheese dip recipes out there on the internet. This particular version was thrown together by a good family friend. And her instructions to me? To use it as a base and build from there... try adding diced sun dried tomatoes, or perhaps artichoke hearts one time. Or mix in some lump crab, or even crumbled bacon! It is really great all on it's own though, and you can adjust the amount of horseradish to your particular liking. Serve it with crackers or vegetables, slather it on sandwiches, or make it a little saucier and serve it along side burgers or steaks off the grill. Again... "You're welcome"!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz of sharp (or extra sharp) cheddar cheese, grated/shredded
• 4 oz of smoked gouda, grated/shredded
• 3 TBSP mayo
• 1/4 Cup white wine or beer
• 3-4 TBSP or horseradish (I like Kelchner's brand - it's locally produced in PA)

*Here is my hope and a plea to you... Please don't buy the pre-shredded cheese in the bags. It lacks so much flavor! Buy a block of nice sharp cheddar and grate/shred it yourself. The taste is nicer and the moisture content will be slightly higher, making it mix into the other ingredients more nicely. It really will make all the difference!

Directions:

• Shred your cheese. I use my grating blade in my food processor, but you can use any hand-held grater.
• Mix your wet ingredients and add them to the cheese. The long strings of cheese will begin to break down as you stir. I like to stir and "chop" with the edge of a wooden spoon.
• Serve with crackers or vegetables.

Chocolate Crisp Ice-Cream Sandwiches

Ice-Cream... isn't it one of life's most simple pleasures? And especially wonderful and refreshing during an unusually hot month of June (at least here in Eastern PA)! I recently tried this chocolate wafer recipe posted by Joy Of Baking. I love a crisp cookie... ginger snaps, lemon snaps, anything with big flavor and a nice crunch! These certainly fit the bill - especially if you leave them in the oven for the full amount of time. I did experiment a bit with the thickness when cutting. As you'll see in the picture, the ones that I cut a little thicker got the beautiful crackles across the top... the ones that were sliced more thin, did not (but were even crunchier!). Either way you slice it (haha) the cookie is sturdy enough to mound a nice big scoop of ice cream on top of! And that's what makes this post perfect for a summer treat.

Chocolate Wafers

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (130 grams) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (50 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-processed) - I used Hershey's, because it is what I had on hand!
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons margarine (I used coconut oil)
• 2/3 cup (140 grams) packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) white granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg white

Directions:

1. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and margarine/coconut oil until well blended. Add the sugars and vanilla extract and beat on high speed for about one minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the egg white. Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated.
3. Place the dough on your work surface and, using your hands, form the dough into a log shape that is about 9 inches long. Carefully wrap the dough in aluminum foil, parchment paper or wax paper and fold or twist the ends. Try not to flatten the log. Refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. Using a sharp knife, slice into 1/4 inch thick wafers. Place on the baking sheet spacing about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes or until the the cookies puff and the tops of the cookies have crackles (ripples). Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Can be stored in an airtight container, at room temperature, for about 10 days.

Makes about 36 cookies.

An example of what the cookies look like when slicing (I know... it looks like sausage. It's not - I promise you 100% chocolate-y goodness):

Fill cookies with your favorite ice-cream flavor! We love mint chocolate chip at our house, and it is especially refreshing when the temperatures and humidity start to rise. Now, if I could just talk my husband into one of those Cuisinart Ice-Cream machines... Ooooooo!

Hamburger Buns

I've tried quite a few hamburger bun recipes, but none I have felt were worthy of re-posting. Finally I have found one I feel I must share! It is a simple recipe, simple steps, and pretty easy to throw together the afternoon before a BBQ. This recipe makes 6 generous sized burger buns. You could easily double or triple the recipe. I did change a few things (I guess that is just my M.O., as my husband says) and I'll put those changes in parenthesis next to the original ingredients or instructions.

It's no secret that I'm a fan of King Arthur brand flour. The King Arthur website is a great place for fun baking products, but they also have a really nice recipe section that even allows people to write reviews on those recipes. These hamburger buns are really well rated. Try them and see if you like them too!

Seeded Hamburger Buns

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup lukewarm water
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons butter or oil (I used coconut oil)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder, optional (I used onion flakes)
• 2 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (I substituted 1/2 cup of Whole Wheat and added 1 tablespoon ground flax seed)

Topping:

• 2 tablespoons Everything Bagel topping (I used more sesame seeds)
• 1 large egg white, beaten

Directions

1. To make the dough: Combine all of the dough ingredients, and mix and knead them, by hand, mixer, or bread machine, to make a soft dough.
2. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise in a warm place for an hour, until it's almost doubled in size.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface, flatten it slightly, and divide it into 6 pieces - each should weigh about 3 1/2 to 4 ounces.
4. Roll each piece into a ball.
5. Place balls into the greased cups of a hamburger bun pan, and flatten gently. (ok - I came to this part and went "huh?" too. No worries. You can simply line the dough up on a sheet of parchment paper over a baking sheet. Leave 1/2 inch between the patties after you lightly press them (and slightly indent the centers). The dough will rise and bake so that the buns touch and stay soft on the sides.)
6. Cover (with saran wrap sprayed lightly with cooking spray) and let rise until the buns have doubled in size (about 30-45 min). Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
7. Bake buns for 10 minutes. Remove them from the oven, brush with beaten egg white and sprinkle with the seed topping. Do this quickly, or the seeds won't stick!
8. Return the buns to the oven and bake for 5 to 8 minutes, until they are golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

Almost up and running again...

The Sassy Apron has a new kitchen, and I am so excited to get started making and baking again. It's amazing how many boxes it takes to pack up all those tools and appliances... and how long it takes to unpack it all again! I'm hoping to post again by June. Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend, everyone!

The Issue of Food Additives

One of the reasons that I started to bake all of my own bread at home was the fact that I was bothered by what I was reading on the bags' labels. I'm sure each of you have read a label at some point while shopping and thought... "what IS this stuff and why can't I even pronounce it?" Ever since my bread making venture first started, I've become more curious about reading all labels while shopping. I also started to do a little research on what the FDA has allowed manufacturers to do (and to add) to our food. Here is an article by Sustainable Table that I'm sure will surprise some of you!

The Issues: Additives

Americans spend about ninety percent of their food budget on processed foods, which, unlike whole foods, have been treated in some way after being harvested or butchered.¹Almost all of these processed foods contain additives, substances intended to change the food in some way before it is sold to consumers. Additives include flavorings that change a food's taste, preservatives that extend its shelf life, colorings that change the way it looks, and dietary additives, such as vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and other supplements. Packaging is considered an indirect food additive and, in fact, many kinds of packaging actually add substances to the food they enclose.

By eating fresh, unprocessed foods grown by local farmers, you avoid preservatives and additives because these foods are not transported thousands of miles. Photo by Jason Houston.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently has approved more than 3,000 food additives for use in the United States.² However, while approved for human consumption, food additives may still threaten our health. This is one of many reasons why it is better to purchase whole foods, or those that have been minimally processed and treated.

Regulation and Categories of Food Additives
The FDA regulates all food additives, breaking them into three categories. "Indirect Food Additives" include packaging materials such as paper, plastic, cardboard and glue that come into contact with food.³ "Direct Food Additives" include preservatives, nutritional supplements, flavors and texturizers that are added to food. "Color Additives" are used to alter color.

Continued...

CousCous and Vegetable Stir Fry

This is an easy and healthy meal that takes less then 30 minutes to prep and prepare. It came into being one summer when my garden was overflowing with wonderful vegetables and we needed a quick dinner option. And nothing cooks more quickly than couscous! It recently made another blogger's "Top 25 in under 20 minutes" meal list. This is a versatile dish and can easily be tweaked to fit your taste preferences!

Ingredients:

• 1 box of any Couscous (Optional - preparing the couscous with chicken or vegetable stock to add flavor)
• 3 cups of cut up vegetables – whatever you have laying around that you need to use up. I like to use onions, green and yellow zucchini/squash, and red peppers – great color, but great flavor too!
• 3/4 cup frozen, shelled edamame
• 1/4 cup Pine Nuts, toasted
• olive oil
• 3-4 TBSP grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Lightly toast Pine Nuts in toaster oven or in a dry skillet

Slice up your vegetables and set aside. Prepare Couscous by bringing water to a boil WITH your frozen edamame in the pot. Add CousCous (And flavor packet if there is one. If not, add 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp garlic powder if you have some) and stir. Pull off the heat and allow it to sit covered for the instructed amount of time.

Pre-heat a large skillet with about a TBSP of olive oil. Add your sliced vegetables, cover, and turn heat to low for about 3 minutes. This allows your vegetable to steam lightly. Uncover and finish stir-frying the vegetables on medium heat. Uncover and stir your Couscous and place into a large serving bowl (Optional: an extra drizzle of olive oil helps the couscous from sticking together in big clumps). Top with your stir-fried veggies, toasted pine nuts, and grated parmesan cheese.

**This is also a wonderful dish served cold, as a picnic dish or a side salad to a main dish. It can be made “vegan” by leaving out the parmesan cheese. You could also substitute the Couscous with wonderful, healthy Quinoa, or even a wheat pasta if you don’t keep Couscous in the pantry!

Thin Crust Whole-Wheat Pizza

Who doesn't love pizza? This is such a great recipe and is really easy to make. You'll be able to make and bake two pizzas in about an hour - or chill the second half of the dough and have pizza again later in the week!

You have choices with your ingredients here... if you want organic, use organic! If you want Pizza Margherita, use fresh mozzarella sliced thin with fresh basil. Meat lover? Go on ahead! This also makes a great dough for calzones, though you may need to add some minutes to your baking time.

Thin Crust Whole-Wheat Pizza

Ingredients (dough):

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 1/4 tsp yeast
• 2 TBSP Olive oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp honey or raw sugar
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour
• Some corn meal for the bottom of the pizza (optional, but authentic!)

Ingredients (pizza toppings):

• Olive oil
• Sauce, about 1/4 cup - use can use tomato, or if your are making a white pizza, use dollops of ricotta and minced garlic. I like using organic strained tomato sauce that comes in a jar. It allows me to add my own spices to the crust prior to putting the sauce on.
• Cheese - about 1 1/2 cups, shredded. Or sliced, if you are having pizza margherita.
• Any other toppings you like on your pizza!

Materials:

• Stand Mixer w/ dough hook
• Parchment paper
• Rolling pin
• Pizza Stone. You can also used unglazed terra cotta tiles to cover the baking rack and give you a larger baking surface. OR in a pinch, use a large flat cookie sheet.

Directions:

• Place pizza stone on a low or middle rack of your oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Let the oven preheat for at least 45 minutes prior to putting your pizza in the oven. This allows the stone to get nice and hot - which will give you a crisper crust to hold all those lovely toppings.
• Place all above ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer. With dough hook attachment, mix on low until dough comes together. Then switch to "2" and mix for another 8-10 minutes. This allows the gluten to build up in the pizza dough. Don't worry if the dough "hugs" the hook the entire time - it is still getting a work out!
• When finished mixing, coat the dough lightly in olive oil and allow it to rest in the bowl (covered) for 10-30 minutes. I've used the dough after resting only 10 minutes, and it still works really well!
• Cut the dough in half. If you won't be making both pizzas immediately, then refrigerate the second piece in a sealed container or plastic bag.
• Lightly flour a clean surface. Press the dough into a large flat circle with your hands. Let rest for 5 minutes while you get all of your toppings and spices out.
• Take a large square of parchment paper and sprinkle with corn meal. Place your dough on the paper and begin to roll - working from the middle of the dough, outwards, and turning the paper/dough while you work. If it sticks at all, lightly flour your rolling pin as you work. I like to leave the dough slightly thicker at the edges so that the crust puffs up nicely. (If you want a thicker, dough-ier crust, then simply stretch the dough with your hands, let it rest, and stretch/press some more. The pie won't be as big, but it will be that much more filling per slice!)
• Use a little olive oil to brush over the crust - especially coating the outside edge.
• Add spices to your crust if desired. I like to use dried basil and oregano, and sometimes some garlic salt.
• Add sauce to the crust and spread around with the back of a spoon. Don't use too much, or the crust may not crisp up as much as you desire it to. About 1/4 cup should be plenty.
• Sprinkle on toppings and cheese.
• Slide the parchment and pizza onto a pizza peal or the back of a cookie sheet to help transfer to the oven. (YES - bake the pizza right on the parchment paper - it won't burn if you are baking for this short amount of time, and it makes the dough easier to transfer in and out of the oven.)
• Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool for 3-4 minutes before slicing!

On the move...

The Sassy Apron is moving! No worries... the blog address won't change a bit, but my family and I are in the process of moving from one house to another. So my apologies... my intention was to post at least once a day, which I'm finding it is very difficult to do when your life is being packed up into boxes all around you! But one thing is for sure... we are still baking bread, still cooking healthy food - even though we may be dining on paper plates! We hope to be up and running in a new kitchen after Memorial Day weekend. So please - keep checking in on me. I do hope to still get a few posts up before the move takes place. Thanks for your patience!