{Work} Exciting News

My pictures made it all the way to Georgia, Tbilisi :)

{Photo of the day} Happy Easter

Eggs "boiled" in the oven

{Recipe} Pesto Pull-Apart Bread

Pesto Pull-Apart Bread

This blog is slowly becoming all about baking. Funny, but I actually don't bake that often. It's less than once a week on average and I cook something different almost every day. The thing is, baked goods are so much easier to photograph. Bread tastes great both warm and room temperature; and sweets actually need to be cooled. Whereas dinners need to be eaten right away. I guess I could setup a shot while dinner is cooking in the oven and do a quick photo session, but it's usually late and I'm tired. Also, most of the recipes are too quick and easy to warrant a separate blog post, although I did make a wicked lentil-biscuit pot pie that I'd like to share. 

I had two bunches of dill in my fridge a couple of weeks ago. One I bought to make a nice garlic-herb rub for roast leg of lamb, and the other was given to me by my best friend since she couldn't finish it. I knew right away that the easiest way to use up all the dill would be to make Dill Pesto, but I wasn't sure what to make with it and then I came across this recipe.

This bread recipe is one of my favourite right now. It looks beautiful and impressive and tastes amazing. 

adapted from The Big Book of Bread

All purpose flour - 3 cups
Dry yeast - 1 1/2 teaspoons
Sugar - 1 tablespoon
Salt - 1 teaspoon
Warm water - 1 1/4 cups
Pest - 3 tablespoons or more
Cheese, grated (I used pecorino) - 1/3 cup or more
Milk to glaze

• Grease a deep 9-inch round cake pan and set aside.
• Sift the flour, sugar and yeast into a bowl of electric stand mixer.
• Mix in enough water to form a soft dough.
• Add the salt. I always like adding salt once sugar and yeast are combined.
• Knead the dough with a hook on low speed for about 10 minutes until it's smooth and does not stick to the sides of the bowl anymore.
• Shape the dough into a round, place in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about an hour until it doubles in size.
• Punch the dough down on a floured worktop, then roll out to form a 16x11-inch rectangle.
• Spread the pesto sauce over the dough, then sprinkle with grated cheese.
• Starting from a long side, roll up the dough tightly like a jelly roll.
• Cut into 16 even slices, then place the rolls, cut-side up, in a circular pattern in the prepared cake pan.
• Cover and let rise again for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.
• Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
• Brush the spirals with milk, then bake for 30-35 minutes, or until they become  deep golden-brown colour.
• Pull the rolls apart to serve.
• They taste great both warm or room temperature.

Pest Pull-Apart Bread

I never measure ingredients for Pesto, so I can't give a precise recipe, but this is how I make it.

I put herbs (any herbs, dill, parsley, cilantro... I don't like basil, so I never use it and I don't buy pesto because of that), garlic, nuts (usually pecans because they are my favourite) and a little bit of oil in a food processor and chop it until it's very fine. I do not add cheese. I add water to make the consistency a bit more spreadable without adding oil and I add a pinch of salt.

{Recipe} Maple-Pecan Biscotti

My weekends are usually not too exciting. We don't like going out much and after long workdays, sitting at home and relaxing is typically an ideal way to spend a few days. We clean, cook, watch tv and generally do nothing. One thing that our weekends usually involve is lots and lots of coffee. So, a few weeks ago while drinking yet another cup of perfectly brewed French Press coffee, and wishing for something sweet to go with it, I realized that I have never made biscotti. Suddenly I decided to remedy the situation and went to look for a suitable recipe in my cookbooks. After about 30 minutes of searching I stumbled upon a perfect biscotti recipe in a book that I have never used and thought of giving away. A cookbook by a French-Canadian author Ricardo Lariveé called Meals for Every Occasion. Surprisingly I had all the ingredients including Maple Sugar, so I got to making these beauties right away. I made a few tiny adjustments, so here's the recipe that I followed.

For about 20 biscotti

All purpose flour - 1 cup
Maple sugar - 1/4 cup
Maple syrup - 3 tablespoons
Baking powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Cold, unsalted butter, cubed - 1/4 cup (1/2 stick)
Egg - 1
Vanilla extract - 1/2 teaspoon
Toasted pecans - 1/2 cup or little bit more
Milk for brushing
Maple sugar for sprinkling

• Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• In a food processor combine the flour, maple sugar and baking powder.
• Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
• Add the egg, vanilla, maple syrup and mix until just combined.
• Place dough in a bowl and continue mixing with your hands, adding toasted pecans.
• On a floured surface, shape the dough into a 12-inch log. Place the log on the baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board.
• Let cool for about 15 minutes. Brush with milk and dust with some  more maple sugar.
• Using a very sharp bread knife, cut diagonally into 3/4-inch slices.
• Arrange the slices on the baking sheet and return to the oven for about 20 minutes or until biscotti are crisp and golden-brown colour.
• Let cool on a rack.