Pan de Muerto for a Day of the Dead Party

Pan de Muerto is the bread made for Dia de los Muertos, Mexico's Day of the Dead.
This is a holiday I can get behind. I'm the kind of girl who if she could time travel would not go to the future, but to the past. I'm the girl who designed cemeteries in grad school. I'm the girl who traveled around North Carolina, Georgia and Florida making rubbings and molds of ancestors' gravestones. It took me 12 years of living in LA to get around to celebrating this holiday. I'm not the biggest Halloween fan - making a costume is just too much trouble, yet spending a weekend planning a party and several hours making bread, well, that I'll do!

I found this recipe in Fine Cooking:
http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/pan-de-muerto.aspx?

How could I resist making something so adorable? I made a few mistakes along the way - like turning the oven on prematurely during the bread's second rising (I put it in there because with the pilot light on it's nice and warm). I also made a mess of the 'bones' that decorate the top of the bread. Oh well. The bread didn't seem to suffer any for not completing the second rising or not having perfect bones. This bread is similar in texture to challah and brioche but with the lovely addition of orange. Through a sleepy sugar coma, induced by cherry cordial, 2 kinds of hot chocolate, one being spiked with bourbon, and double chocolate cookies my guests made it to the grand finale - the Pan de Muerto! Check it out.

The 24 Hour Chocolate Chip Cookie

Don't let these pretties fool you. They're not that good. 

I believed the hype. A guy I worked with said they were amazing and had a party devoted to them. The New York Times featured a three page article on them. The last straw was an email from Tasting Table highlighting David Lebovitz's recipe for them. Yeah, I don't get it.
Supposedly, letting the dough refrigerate from 12-24 hours greatly improves our beloved chocolate chip cookie. Bah. I was expecting a truly sensational cookie. A mesmerizing blend of flavors, a melt in your mouth epiphany. My coworkers happily played test testers to my efforts and while they did indeed hastily eat them, I wanted an 'eyes rolling into the back of the head' kind of reaction. Didn't happen.Maybe my expectations were too high?
I don't know, but I went back to making this recipe I found a couple of years ago in the Los Angeles Times, not to be confused with the aforementioned New York Times. Ahem. This cookie has been presented to us by the fabulous LA eatery, Milk. Check 'em out.

Milk's Ooey-Gooey Double Chocolate Cookies
Servings: 1 1/2 dozen
Adapted from Milk.

1/4 pound (4 ounces) unsweetened chocolate
4 tablespoons ( 1/2 stick) butter
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons Valrhona cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound Valrhona bittersweet chocolate (chunks or chips)
1-3/4 cup chopped, roasted walnuts

1. In a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt the unsweetened chocolate and butter. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
2. In the bowl of a mixer with a paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a fork, combine the eggs, vanilla and sugar. Mix just until incorporated and set aside.
3. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.
4. Add the melted chocolate to the egg mixture and mix just until combined. Stir in the sifted dry ingredients and mix just until combined, then stir in the bittersweet chocolate and walnuts.
5. Cover the batter with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to chill thoroughly. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
6. Divide the dough into 18 portions. Grease your hands (to prevent the dough from sticking) and shape the portions into balls. Place the balls on a greased, parchment-lined sheet pan, leaving 2 to 3 inches between each.
7. Bake until the edges of the cookies are just set and the center is still soft, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Place the cookies, still on the parchment, on a rack and cool completely before serving. They will be very soft.

Southern Cakes: Coconut Layer Cake or the "Coconut Butterball Cake"

I am constantly sifting through recipes for Southern cakes. I have a quite the collection: Caramel, Lady Baltimore, Hummingbird. And I intend to make them all. It's only fitting that the part of the country with the biggest sweet tooth has such an amazing cake tradition. Coconut moved to the top of the list when I saw an episode of America's Test Kitchen on PBS featuring the Coconut Layer Cake. I love anything to do with coconut. I am particularly enthusiastic about the use of coconut oil as a lotion. I could slather that stuff on all day.

Back on topic, Brooke. The adorable Christopher Kimball and Bridget Lancaster were looking for ways to intensify the flavor of coconut within the cake itself. Usually, you get lots of coconut punch in the frosting, but not so much in the cake. Their solution was to add canned cream of coconut. Between the cream of coconut, the coconut extract and the toasted coconut on top, the coconut flavor really does come through. So no worries there. Of course, the thing I couldn't get over with this cake was the amount of butter used in the buttercream frosting. I guess I took the 'butter' in 'buttercream' for granted all these years. Or maybe I should say, I lived in blissful ignorance.

So. I guess you're probably wondering if you should make this cake. Yes, it will take up most of your day, and yes, there are a lot of ingredients, but this is a beautiful cake with great flavor, especially if you're a lover of coconut. And butter. Of course. Don't even think about making cupcakes instead.

Coconut Layer Cake from America's Test Kitchen

Makes one 9-inch, 4-layer cake

Cream of coconut is often found in the soda and drink-mix aisle in the grocery store. One 15-ounce can is enough for both the cake and the buttercream; make sure to stir it well before using because it separates upon standing.

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 large egg
• 5 large egg whites
• 3/4 cup cream of coconut
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 2 1/4 cups cake flour (9 ounces), sifted
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon table salt
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 12 pieces, softened, but still cool
• 2 cups packed sweetened shredded coconut (about 8 ounces)

Buttercream

• 4 large egg whites
• 1 cup granulated sugar
•   pinch table salt
• 1 pound unsalted butter (4 sticks), each stick cut into 6 pieces, softened, but still cool
• 1/4 cup cream of coconut
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• 1. For the Cake: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with shortening and dust with flour.
• 2. Beat egg whites and whole egg in large measuring cup with fork to combine. Add cream of coconut, water, vanilla, and coconut extract and beat with fork until thoroughly combined.
• 3. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Mix on lowest speed to combine, about 30 seconds. With mixer still running on lowest speed, add butter 1 piece at a time, then beat until mixture resembles coarse meal, with butter bits no larger than small peas, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes.
• 4. With mixer still running, add 1 cup liquid. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 45 seconds. With mixer still running, add remaining 1 cup liquid in steady stream (this should take about 15 seconds). Stop mixer and scrape down bowl with rubber spatula, then beat at medium-high speed to combine, about 15 seconds. (Batter will be thick.)
• 5. Divide batter between cake pans and level with offset or rubber spatula. Bake until deep golden brown, cakes pull away from sides of pans, and toothpick inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes (rotate cakes after about 20 minutes). Do not turn off oven.
• 6. Cool in pans on wire racks about 10 minutes, then loosen cakes from sides of pans with paring knife, invert cakes onto racks and then re-invert; cool to room temperature.
• 7. While cakes are cooling, spread shredded coconut on rimmed baking sheet; toast in oven until shreds are a mix of golden brown and white, about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring 2 or 3 times. Cool to room temperature.
• 8. For the Buttercream: Combine whites, sugar, and salt in bowl of standing mixer; set bowl over saucepan containing 1 1/2-inches of barely simmering water. Whisk constantly until mixture is opaque and warm to the touch and registers about 120 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 2 minutes.
• 9. Transfer bowl to mixer and beat whites on high speed with whisk attachment until barely warm (about 80 degrees) and whites are glossy and sticky, about 7 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-high and beat in butter 1 piece at a time. Beat in cream of coconut and coconut and vanilla extracts. Stop mixer and scrape bottom and sides of bowl. Continue to beat at medium-high speed until well-combined, about 1 minute.
• 10. To Assemble the Cake: Follow illustrations in chart below. Cut into slices and serve. (Wrap leftover cake in plastic and refrigerate; bring to room temperature before serving.) 

U-pick Farms and Canning in Little Rock, CA

I don't advise you go picking fruit in the desert during the hottest weekend of the year. BUT you might get a deep-fried Twinkie and venison jerkie out of it if you stop by Charlie Brown Farms.
http://www.charliebrownfarms.com/
Both exceeded expectations.

Admittedly, Alissa, my co-canner and wanna-be farmer for the day (also sporting a horrified look that I was actually going to eat that Twinkie!), and I did have a good time although threatened with heat stroke, overly amorous dogs and unripened fruit. We managed to get enough fruit for batches of apple and plum butter, spiced peaches with vanilla, and peach liqueur. Truly, a bumper crop. 

Plum Butter  from "Well Preserved: Small Batch Preserving for the New Cook" by Mary Anne Dragan

Makes 5 to 6 8oz jars

"Serve this mellow, richly flavored butter with roast pork or turkey, or as a spread on fruit or nut quick breads."

12 cups coarsely chopped, pitted plums (we used sugar plums)
1 cup water
4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Combine the plums and water in your preserving pot. cover and simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes, or until the plums are tender. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat. Puree in food processor.

Prepare the preserving jars.

Return the puree to the preserving pot. Stir in the sugar until iti is dissolved. Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly, for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the mixture is somewhat thickened. Stir in the spices during the last 10 to 15 minutes of the cooking time. Test for doneness if desired.
Remove from heat. Spoon the butter into hot, sterilized jars, leaving a 1/4" head space. Release the air bubbles. Wipe the rims clean. Seal according to manufacturer's directions. Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Boiled Peanuts

Apparently, you might be a redneck if....
-You're from Ocala, Florida which among other things has a drag-racing museum.
-The swamp was your playground as a child.
-And, you boll your own peanuts. (No, that isn't a typo, that's the way my Momma says it. It just doesn't sound right any other way.)
Or so I'm told.
I would totally disagree, because:
1. I have never stepped foot in that museum!
2. The swamp was just there. What's the difference between a very wet playground filled with gators and sidewalks with fast-moving cars and homeless folks?
3. I am only boiling my own peanuts because I can't get them out here. And since when does making something yourself make you a hick? It's not like I've got a moonshine still out back, although I totally want one!
If these things make me a redneck then I'm cool with that.

Anyway, back to the peanuts.
It takes 16 whole hours. Yep, 16. 8 happened while I was sleeping, 'cause soakin' is best done unconsciously. Other than the time, boiling peanuts ain't so bad. It does take a lot of your attention, but it ranks low on a difficulty scale. Water and salt are your only other ingredients.
I hear tell that boiled peanuts actually have some health value as boiling releases phytochemicals and maintains the presence of reservatrol (associated with the reduction of heart disease). Whew, those are some mighty fancy words, but that new internet thing says those are good things.
I had a lovely vision of myself stirring a big pot over an open flame, me in my flannel and boots, but I live in an apartment so my vivid imagination would have to do. Plus, you need friends and beer to help you wile away the time. Maybe next year.

Lee Brothers recipe for boiled peanuts.

The 100th Fan Contest

My friend, Jed Weiss, in Brooklyn, NY won the 100th Facebook Fan contest! Congrats, Jed! Isn't his little girl adorable?!
What does he win, you say? Well, now that you mention it, he wins the BEST EVER Banana Bread!! Delivered right to his door courtesy of the USPS!!!
Thanks to everyone who posted my page on their Facebook walls, ahem, my mother and my cousin-once-removed. You guys really know how to make a girl feel special!

Family & Dumplings

So you know when you're just having a hard time and home is 3,000 miles away? When the place you live will never feel like a breeze swaying the Spanish moss or sound like cicada humming their way through your day or rain cooling off your afternoon?

My family, as far away as they are, came through for me this week. Even relatives that I'm not all that close to, went out of their way to try and help me out. I think I need to call out to home more often, hearing those accents, ones tinged with country, while they make me ache, are also a comfort. Letting me know that yes, they're still there and I can 'come on home' anytime I want.

Well maybe you've never left home or maybe home became somewhere other than the place you were born, but we all have food that reminds us of home - wherever that is or however you choose to define it.
A food that reminds me of family is dumplings. My Momma makes big fat ones and my grandmother made small, noodle-like dumplings. Both were/are delicious.
I found this recipe for Chicken n' Dumplings on Smitten Kitchen a couple of years ago and it's one of my favorite dishes to cook for guests.

Chicken and Dumplings with Leeks and Tarragon
From Smitten Kitchen via Cook’s Illustrated
CI notes that you should not use low-fat or fat-free milk in this recipe, and that you should start the dumpling dough only when you’re ready to top the stew with the dumplings.

Serves 6 to 8
Stew
5 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Table salt and ground black pepper
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
2 medium leeks , white and llight green parts only, cut in half lengthwise and then into 1-inch pieces
1 large onion, minced
6 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dry sherry
4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
1 cup frozen green peas
3 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon leaves

Dumplings
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons reserved chicken fat (or unsalted butter)

1. For the stew: Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half of the chicken and cook until golden on both sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and remove the browned skin. Pour off the chicken fat and reserve. Return the pot to medium-high heat and repeat with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and the remaining chicken. Pour off and reserve any chicken fat.
2. Add the butter to the Dutch oven and melt over medium-high heat. Add the leeks, onion, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in the flour. Whisk in the sherry, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in the broth, milk, thyme, and bay leaves. Nestle the chicken, with any accumulated juices, into the pot. Cover and simmer until the chicken is fully cooked and tender, about 1 hour.
3. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Discard the bay leaves. Allow the sauce to settle for a few minutes, then skim the fat from the surface using a wide spoon. Shred the chicken, discarding the bones, then return it to the stew.
4. For the dumplings: Stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Microwave the milk and fat in a microwave-safe bowl on high until just warm (do not over-heat), about 1 minute. Stir the warmed milk mixture into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon until incorporated and smooth.
5. Return the stew to a simmer, stir in the peas and tarragon, and season with salt and pepper. Following the steps below, drop golf-ball-sized dumplings over the top of the stew, about 1/4 inch apart (you should have about 18 dumplings). Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the dumplings have doubled in size, 15 to 18 minutes. Serve.

To make the dumplings: Gather a golf-ball-sized portion of the dumpling batter onto a soup spoon, then push the dumpling onto the stew using a second spoon. Cover the stew with the dumplings, leaving about 1/4 inch between each. When fully cooked, the dumplings will have doubled in size.

It's "Chocolate Mint Insanity!"

Have you ever had a Mystic Mint cookie? I'm really sorry if you haven't. Nabisco used to make them and for some reason, at our Publix, they were always on the top shelf. At first, they always had them, then they became seasonal, and now they're flat out discontinued. Oh they were so good! My father and I especially loved them frozen.
For whatever reason, as I was filling an order for homemade "oreos", I felt compelled to tweak the recipe and make them "Mystic Mint"-style.

I added a little peppermint extract to the cream. I then made a chocolate glaze which I also added peppermint to. It's just one of those things you
have no idea will work or not, but you just have to do it. I popped those bad boys into the freezer for full effect.

Luckily for me, and Mystic Mint fans everywhere, they did work out. Deliciously.
I offered one to Julie my neighbor for taste-testing and she recommended the name, "Chocolate Mint Insanity", which I kinda like. I wish my Dad was there to try them out, too. He's got final say.

It All Began with a Bake Sale...

I've moved my old blog (KitchenLab) over to Buffington Road so that everything ties in nicely.
Let me know what you think! If you could 'follow' my blog, I would be most obliged!

Southern Appalachian Blackberry Dumplings

I heard about this book, "Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread, & Scuppernong Wine: The Folklore and Art of Southern Appalachian Cooking" and immediately checked it out at the library. My mother's family hails from Southern Appalachia (Appalachia with an 'a' like 'cat'), specifically Western North Carolina, so of course my interest was peaked.

I quickly whipped up a batch of "Bryson City Cathead Biscuits" because I'm a part of the Bryson clan. I also made the "Sylva-Style Potatoes" the same day as I made these utterly delicious blackberry dumplings. My friend, Talia, was joining me for a spur of the moment home-cooked meal, so what better way to treat her than with some Appalachian specialties? She brought her healthy and tasty Veggie (sort of) Chili to round out the feast.

After we finished our chili and potatoes, I got to work on the dumplings. The blackberries I had procured from the luscious Wednesday Santa Monica Farmer's Market amidst chef chatter and the unmistakable voice of Laura Avery. This market is so good for the soul!

This was probably one of the easiest desserts I've ever made. If you like cobbler, you'll love these dumplings as it's basically cobbler made on the stove top rather than in the oven.

Bessie’s Blackberry Dumplings from the Smithsonian Folklife Cook Book via  “Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread & Scuppernong Wine: The Folklore and Art of Southern Appalachian Cooking” by Joseph E. Dabney

1 quart blackberries

1 ¼ cups sugar

2 cups water

Dough:

3 to 4 cups self-rising flour

½ cup buttermilk

1 cup shortening

½ cup milk

To make dumplings, fill a large mixing bowl almost full with sifted flour and make a hole in the middle. Mix in buttermilk, milk and shortening. Knead dough, then tear off pieces. Bring blackberries, sugar and water to a boil. Drop in dumpling dough. Cover and simmer until dough is done.

*I cut this recipe in half because a quart of blackberries was too expensive.

I used one small tray of blackberries, 2/3 cup sugar, ½ cup shortening, ¼ cup milk, ¼ cup buttermilk, and 2 cups White Lily Self-Rising flour. I would venture to say that butter would be a delicious substitute for shortening if you don't have trans-fat free version handy.

Easter Lunch: Asparagus, Leek and Gruyere Quiche

Now is the time to stop putting off making your own pie crust. Well, that's what I told myself a few days ago. The joys of working with all kinds of dough are quickly becoming apparent to me. I think the more I work with flour, water, yeast, salt, sometimes butter, sometimes lard, sometimes egg, the more fascinated I become with the all the crazy chemistry that's going on from one recipe to the next. I never considered myself much of a scientist but I have to face the fact that I am dabbling in a kind of alchemy that is more often than not, quite edible.

This quiche is perfect for spring, making brilliant use of two of my favorite vegetables - asparagus and leeks. The flavor is rich and satisfying. I think a mushroom variety of this recipe would work also work well.

Here's the recipe >

Ms. Stewart's pie crust recipe calls for only 4 tablespoons of ice water, but I had to add double that. I looked at other recipes that called for 1/4 cup. So use your discretion. When you think the dough is coming together nicely, stop adding water.

Drop Biscuits

When I was home over Christmas, I went through my mother's old Betty Crocker red recipe box. I adore it. Its stuffed full with all kinds of recipes my mother has collected for lord knows how many years. The recipe cards that came with the box and in monthly installments have long since been thrown out, but the box remains.

In the recipe box, I found many biscuit recipes. One was a handwritten recipe, author unknown and humbly titled "Biscuits". The recipe was so simple and utterly different from the myriad of other biscuits recipes that I've tried. It didn't call for chilled butter (in fact, the butter is melted!) or folding methods or rising or rolling out of the dough. And...it only has 3 ingredients! This recipe exemplifies the 'drop biscuit', meaning you mix up the batter and dollop onto the baking pan. It is so stinking easy and delicious, that to be honest, who really needs chilled butter and rolling pins?

Biscuits

2 cups self-rising flour (I used White Lily)
8 oz sour cream
1 stick of butter

Melt butter, stir in sour cream. Add flour. Mix thoroughly.
Drop into hot buttered muffin tins. (I used a warmed glass pie dish, as you can see)
Bake at 375 deg until golden.

White Lily Flour & Mexican Vanilla Bean Biscuits

Much ado has been made about this flour. It's been said that this is the only flour to use for biscuits, especially if you're a Southerner. However, Smuckers bought this company up a few years ago and some bakers swear they can tell the difference. Honestly, I wouldn't know having only just recently baked with it myself.

The difference between White Lily's all-purpose flour is apparent upon opening the bag. I thought, wow, this looks like confectioners sugar! When they decided to put 'white' in White Lily, they really meant it! I actually read the label again just to make sure I had the right product because it even clumps up the way powdered sugar does. I'm guessing this has something to do with the soft winter wheat that is used (also the bleaching) to make this flour. This is what the White Lily website has to say about it:
"Soft winter wheat is a variety of wheat that has a low protein content and low gluten content. It is the type of flour recommended for cakes, biscuits, and quick breads. White Lily flour is lower in protein content because the soft wheat is pure-- not blended with hard wheat. Hard wheat has a much higher protein content and gluten content."

I decided to remake the Angel Biscuits with White Lily all-purpose flour and add Mexican vanilla bean as the Lee Brothers suggested in their Southern Cookbook. I also experimented with using all lard instead of 1/2 lard, 1/2 butter.
These were like puffy, vanilla-flecked cookies. I didn't add as much sugar as was suggested in the Lee Bros. recipe. I bet if I had, these definitely would've passed as cookies. These would be lovely with a nice glaze. My cousin suggested eating these with strawberries and cream. I think that sounds delicious.
If you'd like to make vanilla biscuits, just scrape out the beans of one vanilla bean pod into the dry ingredients of whatever biscuit recipe you'd like to use. Mix together. If you want to add more sugar, go for it. The smell of vanilla will quickly fill up your kitchen.

The World's Ugliest Toaster Tarts

I got this adorable little book awhile back called "Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It" by Karen Solomon. It contains all manner of goodies - recipes for Coconut Cream Pops, Marshmallows and Jamaican Ginger Beer. I have already made the Fruit & Nut Brandy that was a part of my post on Liqueurs. Delicious.

As a huge fan of Pop Tarts, (my favorites were the Brown Sugar and Strawberry varieties) I was excited to try the Toaster Tarts recipe, a grown-up version of dessert for breakfast. I was impressed that Ms. Solomon included lard in the recipe, as well as the encouragement to use homemade jam. Ha, of course, I didn't use my homemade jam, I used someone else's, but hey, we'll get to that a little later when strawberries are peaking. I also found this recipe to be a good excuse to try my first homemade pie dough. Since that's really what toaster tarts are - mini rectangular pies that are toaster-friendly!

I used Mosswood Farm Store's Wild Yellow Plum Jam that I purchased from them in a tizzy of delight as I had also acquired organic, acorn-finished lard from a local farmer. If you're ever in Micanopy, Florida you must stop by early Sunday afternoon when the farmer's market and bread-baking brick oven are fired up in the back yard. See photos at bottom of page.
But back to the tarts...I am not the neatest of people (see old architecture school models) so my tarts were not pretty, but they still tasted good, which is kinda the point.
The crust overwhelmed the filling which to me is the opposite of a Pop Tart where I always wanted to eat more and more of the crust and just a little of the filling. But this is a radically different crust than a Pop Tart. Very flaky and crumbly. I loved the flavor of the plum jam and thought I could probably get away with using more next time. This is one project where I don't have to worry about having leftovers that may or may not get eaten because they are so easily frozen and toasted for a breakfast treat. So my advice is this: don't worry about how the tarts look, focus on using good quality jam and practicing your pastry dough technique! What a great way to start the day out right!

Toaster Tarts from "Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It" by Karen Solomon
Ingredients

DOUGH
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup lard
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 /1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
5 tablespoons ice-cold water, or more as needed

ICING
1 cup confectioner's sugar
2 tablespoons water

TARTS
1 egg
5 tablespoons jam, apple butter, or lemon curd, or more as needed

Instructions:
To make the crust, chop the butter and lard into 1/2 inch cubes, and chill in the freezer for about 15 minutes while you assemble the rest of the ingredients.
Mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor, if you have one. If you don't, mix by hand in a chilled bowl. Add the cold butter and lard, and pulse until combined. If working by hand, quickly coat the butter and lard with the dry ingredients and, working with 2 knives, cut the butter and lard into the flour until it forms coarse crumbs. Add the vinegar and water and combine. If needed, keep adding water, 1 teaspoon at a a time, just until the dough holds together. (The key here is to use as little liquid as possible.
Bring the dough together on a floured surface, cut it in half, shape each piece into a flat rectangle about 1/2 inch thick, wrap each rectangle in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

To make the icing, while the dough chills, stir together the confectioners' sugar and water.

To assemble the tarts, preheat the oven to 350 deg. and beat the egg in a small bowl. Have pastry brush near.
Remove the first dough rectangle from the refrigerator, unwrap, and roll it out on a floured surface using a floured rolling pan, keeping it in the best rectangle shape you can muster, about 1/8 inch thick. If the dough gets too soft to work with, chill for 20 minutes in the fridge or 5 minutes in the freezer.

Measure twice, cut once. Grab a tape measure or ruler and nick the edges of the crust to allow for as many 3 by 4 inch rectangles as possible. When you have the sizing right, cut out your rectangles with a pizza cutter, knife or scraper. From 1 dough rectangle, you will likely have 10 to 12 pieces, enough for 5 to 6 tarts. Brush each piece of dough with beaten egg.

Eyeball 2 similarly sized pieces. Spoon 1 scant teaspoon of jam into the center of 1 of the pieces of dough and smooth it over, leaving a 1/2 inch margin on all sides. Cover with its twin piece of dough, egg wash side down and gently flatten the 2 pieces together, squeezing out as much air as possible and being careful not to let the filling leak out on the sides.

With a dinner fork, press the edges of the tart together, and gently poke 3 or 4 sets of holes into the top of the tart. Brush with the icing. Don't worry too much if the icing doesn't go on evenly, as it will become transparent as it bakes. Using your scraper or a spatula, carefully transfer the tart to an ungreased baking sheet.

Assemble the remaining tarts. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or just until light brown. The theory here is that you'll finish baking them later in the toaster oven when you're ready to eat them. If you want to eat them all right away, bake for 10 minutes more, or until golden brown all over.
Repeat the above with the second dough rectangle.

How to Store It
Cooled, prebaked tarts can be kept in a sealable plastic bag in the freezer for 3 months. Toast in a toaster, toaster oven or oven when ready to eat.

Southern Living's Homemade Loaf Bread

This bread is perfect for luscious grilled cheese sandwiches, for dipping in olive oil or pasta sauce or for simply slathering butter and jam on. A tight crumb, thin, crunchy crust and a mild flavor lend to its versatility. Not to mention how easy and fast it is for homemade bread--no long rise times or special equipment (other than a mixer with a dough hook).

Homemade Loaf Bread from Southern Living's 'Our Test Kitchen Secrets'
 1  (1/4 oz) envelope active dry yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1 cup warm water (100-110 deg)
2 to 3 cups bread flour
2 tblsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in bowl of a heavy-duty electric stand mixer; let stand 5 minutes.  Add 2 cups flour, oil, and salt. Beat at low speed, using dough hook attachment, 1 minute. Gradually add additional flour (up to 1 cup) until dough begins to leave the sides of the bowl and pull together, becoming soft and smooth.
2. Increase speed to medium, and beat 5 minutes. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place (85 deg), free from drafts, 30 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
3. Preheat over to 400 deg. Punch dough down, and let stand 10 minutes.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; shape dough into a 12-inch loaf, and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cut 3 (1/4" deep) slits across top of dough with a sharp paring knife. (The slits release interior steam and prevent the loaf from splitting apart at the sides.) Spritz dough with water just until lightly coated.
5. Bake at 400 deg. for 16 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. 

Sister Schubert's Buttermilk Biscuits

My obsession with biscuits continues. I know, you're probably totally bored by now. I apologize, but I can't say when my preoccupation with biscuits is going to end.

I had heard so much about Sister Schubert's frozen, par-baked biscuits that I had to try them. Of course, they're not sold in stores in California, so when I was home over the holidays I marched myself over to the freezer case at Publix and picked me up a pack.

I really wanted them to be god awful, but they weren't. They were pretty good. Darn it. But will I ever buy them again? Nope.

Because of one evil little word. Trans-fat. Yep, the famous Alabama biscuits made by the little church lady raising money for charity contain the dreaded partially hydrogenated soybean oil.

Here's the quote off the packaging:
"Sister says, "I use no preservatives and only the finest ingredients. You can taste the difference!"

Yeah, right! Another food product trying to come off as wholesome and natural only to find it's a big fat lie. I guess they're hoping that we won't actually read the ingredients or even know what partially hydrogenated soybean oil is. What a shame.