Bettyville by George Hodgman

The Novel Bakers proudly present the most unique and unforgettable memoir of 2015:

Bettyville by George Hodgman. 

A witty, tender memoir of a son's journey home to care for his irascible mother--a tale of secrets, silences, and enduring love.

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Foodie Friday: What Are You Cooking?

Welcome to Foodie Friday. So happy to see you this week! Grilling season will be here soon, so Bandwidth and I put together two recipes for you: bread machine hamburger buns and Gordon Ramsay's burgers.

 

The smell is divine, and the process is super-easy.

 

 

 

  

Bread Machine Buns

Quantity: 6

 

1 cup milk

1/2 cup tepid water

1/4 cup butter

1 package instant yeast

4 1/2 cups bread flour

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

 

Add ingredients to the bread machine and select "dough" cycle.

Remove dough from machine and let rise for 35 minutes. Cut dough

into six equal parts and shape into smooth balls. Let rise for 15 minutes.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 - 12 minutes.

 

  Printable Recipe

 

 

 

Gordon Ramsay's Hamburgers

 

1 - 1/2 pound hamburger meat

salt and pepper to taste

1 medium onion, minced

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 teaspoon homemade Worcestershire Sauce

1 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 egg yolks

 

Mix ingredients and shape into patties.

Bandwidth and I are trying to decide if we should continue with themes for Foodie Friday. This
week's theme was sandwiches/burgers, but all recipes are welcome. We would really like
your input about the themes, since the reactions were mixed.

Let us know! Thanks!

Now let's look at our "Picks of the Week."

We were thrilled with last week's fabulous round-up and had a great time visiting you.
Thanks to everyone who welcomed Bandwidth as a co-host. Our Foodie Friday
"Picks of the Week" kicks off with Asian Chicken Salad from the blog
 Cooking on the Front Burner. It looks as fresh and inviting as a sunny spring day.

For the recipe, visit Cooking on the Front Burner.


The delightful post at My Cozy Corner  is a must-read if you have ever thought about making macaroons. Don't they look delicious? How long do you think it took Betty to make them?

To learn about making French macaroons, visit My Cozy Corner.





Thanks to all of the great cooks who participate each week. We look at each post and
are inspired by all that you do. We invite you to add your recipes to the "Consuming Passions"
group board at Pinterest, which can be found HERE.

To participate in Foodie Friday, locate the blue Inlinkz icon and follow the directions.
For a guide to the linky party, click HERE. If you have still have questions, click HERE
for a detailed Foodie Friday tutorial.

** By adding your link to Foodie Friday, you are granting us permission

to include a photo of your FF recipe (and a link to your blog post)

to be included in the "Picks of the Week" feature or on our Facebook page.

**Many bloggers add their recipes on Thursday evening. From these contributions,
Bandwidth and I will select random recipes for shout-outs on Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook.  

Bread Machine Hot Cross Buns

I love my bread machine. 

It has changed the way I think--and cook. 

From pizza dough to hot cross buns, my trusty machine does nearly all of the work, 

giving me time to write or play 

(to an author, this is the same thing.)

But the bestest kind of work is piddling in the kitchen.

I managed to take a few pictures

before the rain swept in and snuffed out the light.

(But you know how much I love and fear icing.

I don't have a steady hand!)

I began with my grandmother's recipe for hot cross buns and adapted it for a bread machine. Mimi would have embraced the new kitchen technology (she was the first in her neighborhood to buy a microwave, which was bigger than a TV set).

Bread Machine Hot Cross Buns

Printable Recipe

Yield: 10 - 12 buns

Preheat oven: 375 degrees F

What You Need:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs, lightly beaten with a fork

1/2 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon homemade vanilla extract (click HERE for the recipe)

1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F)

3 1/2 cups bread machine flour

1 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon*

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg*

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves*

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger*

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup white granulated sugar (or add flavored sugar, such as orange or lemon--click HERE for the recipe).

1/4 c flour (reserve for kneading dough)

 1 egg (do not add to dough mixture; reserve for brushing tops of rolls before baking)

Fresh mint (garnish)

*Adjust spices however you wish. Freshly ground nutmeg is even better. If you are feeling energetic, add the zest of 1 lemon and 1/2 orange. You will have to work hard to mess up this recipe, trust

Place all ingredients into a bread machine. Select "dough" cycle, and start machine.

Meanwhile, you can work on another recipe or take a walk. Be back in about twenty minutes or so,

or whenever your machine reaches the "add ingredients" stage in the cycle.

When you hear the "beep" add:

1/2 cup candied fruit, chopped  

1/2 cup raisins 

(If you don't like candied fruit, substitute candied ginger or raisins. (If you opt for raisins, you will add a total of 1 cup to the bread machine.)

Close the machine's lid and wait for the dough cycle to finish. 

When it does, flour your hands. Remove dough from the machine and turn out onto a floured board or kitchen counter

(I line my counter with waxed paper and sprinkle flour onto the paper.) 

Knead the dough until it's soft as a baby's cheek (smooth and easily handled). 

Then divide dough into 10 - 12 equal balls (depending on amount of dough) and shape until each one is smooth. 

Place balls 3" inches apart, smooth sides up, on greased cookie sheets (use 2 sheets).

Using scissors, cut an "X" or cross shape into the top of each ball (don't go too deep!)

Now it's time for the dough to rise. Cover pans with a warm, damp towel and wait about 35 minutes.

They're read if you press your thumb into a ball and the print stays.

Beat 1 egg, then brush over the tops of the rolls.

Bake buns 15 to 25 minutes or until the tops are brown. Using a spatula, carefully place buns on a rack.

While they cool, make the icing:

Icing:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon milk

1 pat butter, softened

1/4 teaspoon homemade vanilla flavoring (Click HERE for the recipe)

Beat ingredients in a KitchenAid. Put icing in a pastry bag (or a Baggie with one corner "snipped") and trace "crosses" 

over the tops of the buns. Garnish with fresh mint leaves.

Mimi has been gone for decades, but cooking always brings her back to me. I'm never alone in the kitchen, because all the women who touched my life will gather around me.

Do you have a kitchen guest?

Someone from your childhood who guided your hand when you measured flour?

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Irish Potato Bread

 I bought my first bread machine in 1992. I've always been into carby things, but I soon discovered that bread was more than flour and yeast. It appeals to our senses and evokes comfort. The scent of sourdough always pulled my guests into the kitchen. 

I adored that old bread machine. I even took it with me on a vacation to Perdido Key, Florida. Then I developed high blood pressure and went on a diet. I gave my beloved machine to an elderly friend who could no longer knead bread, then I embraced a breadless life (well, almost).

Twenty years later, my friend, author Shirley Hailstock, renewed my interest in breadmaking. She told me how she wakes up to the aroma of freshly baked cinnamon bread--she assembles the ingredients the night before and sets the timer function on her machine. 

With Shirley's lush descriptions firmly in my mind, I bought another machine. Now, after two decades of denying my olfactory cravings, I am "making" bread every day. I'm especially fond of potato bread. It has that just-right flavor. It's dense enough to stand up to a juicy BLT, yet it's soft enough to melt on the tongue. I use the leftovers for croutons and bread crumbs.

Bread Machine Potato Bread

Print Recipe

                                                   Yield: 1 loaf

3 1/2 c. bread flour

1 c. mashed potatoes

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled to 80 degrees

1/4 c. whole milk, room temperature

1/3 c. warm water (80 degrees)

2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

. . .

Use a cooking thermometer to check the temperature of the water and butter. Place ingredients in the bread machine pan. The order will depend on your machine's instructions. I start with wet ingredients, then I add the dry. The yeast goes on top (the very last ingredient). Start the machine.

When the baking cycle ends, remove the bread from the pan and cool on a rack. Brush rosemary butter over the top and sides of the bread. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Rosemary Butter:

1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened

fresh rosemary

sea salt

Into a bowl add chopped rosemary and a pinch of sea salt to butter. Blend. Slather on warm potato bread.

...

 

 If you're an olfactory-oriented person like myself, then you know the smell of browning bread sends a message to anyone who enters your kitchen.

"You're home," the aroma says. "Come on inside and get cozy."

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