The humble bread pudding gets an Italian makeover switching up just plain old stale bread with panettone.
Oh, and this one is made in a slow cooker!
8 cups panettone cut in large chunks (about 1/2 a panettone)
5 tsps sugar, granulated or raw brown sugar
1/4 - 1/2 cup raisins (optional but why not?)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup milk
Brown butter sauce:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
When measuring the chunks of panetonne don't squish them into the measuring cup, just pile them up loosely.
Spray the inside of your crock pot with cooking spray, like Baker's Joy. Place half the panettone chunks in the bottom and sprinkle with 1 tsp of sugar. Add raisins if using. I had some panettone with raisins but some that I used was plain so adding raisins was imperative to me!
Add the rest of the panettone and sprinkle with cinnamon. Beat the eggs, milk and 3 tsps of sugar together and pour over top. Sprinkle the last tsp of sugar.
Cover with a dishtowel to absorb any condensation then place the lid on top and slow cook on high for 2 hours.
When it's all puffed and golden a test skewer should come out clean.
For the sauce, melt butter in a saucepan then whisk in the sugar. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add the milk and vanilla, return to heat through.
Serve this bread pudding warm with a good serving of sauce.
If I wasn't Italian in a past life then I hope I am in the next!
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 cup rice
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups warm chicken broth
extra 1/4 - 1/2 cup broth or water
2 oz Boursin soft cheese (I used basil and chive flavour)
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup parmesan
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup flour
1 egg
1 cup panko
oil for frying
Heat olive oil and butter in a large saucepan and add garlic and rice. Toss until rice is coated and garlic is slightly golden, about 2 minutes.
Add 1 cup of the warm chicken broth and cook until absorbed. Add 1/4 - 1/2 cups of broth at a time over about 20 minutes until completely absorbed by the rice. If the rice is not quite cooked add extra broth or water and cook through.
You will have 3 cups of cooked rice.
Chill.
Add parmesan, mint, salt and pepper then gently fold in crumbled Boursin.
Roll rice mixture into balls. I made 18.
Chill for another 20-30 minutes.
Now for the messy part! Place flour in one bowl, beaten egg in another and panko in a third bowl. Roll rice ball in flour then dip in egg to coat completely. Then roll in panko to cover.
Heat oil to 350-375F....use a thermometer, don't guess.
Cook only a few at a time so there is room to turn them over as they brown. It only takes 1 1/2-2 minutes each batch.
Remove to a paper towel lined plate to absorb any extra oil. There wasn't much.
Serve with your favourite tomato sauce!
Lunch is ready ; )
Makes 18 arancini
This is a sturdy bolster ideal for use at the top of the bed in place of a headboard.
Unfortunately, my old sewing machine is in the basement so pics are a bit dark. This isn't a pattern just how I created this bolster.
I took a wooden dowel the width of the bed and wrapped it with pillows end to end. I used three of them. Hand stitch them together with heavy-duty thread if you have it.
I didn't want one solid colour bolster across the top of this queen sized bed so I sewed 3 equal sized pieces of material together with the patterned one in the middle the same as the intended ends.
I wanted the bolster to fit edge to edge on the bed so this finished piece measured the width of the bed.
Added some ribbon for accent over the seam.
I took my contrasting material and cut two pieces for each end the width of half the rolled butt end of the bolster and the length of the short end of the white. Sewed the patterned material to the white. (I hope this is making sense!)
Next, measured 1" and sewed a pocket on each end. That's where it will be cinched closed.
Sewed up the long edge of the bolster cover, but stopped at the pocket. Didn't want to stitch it closed!
Once it was all sewn up I pulled the cover up over the bolster. It's snug.
I took a piece of ribbon long enough to tie up at the end, and pinned a safety pin to the end making it easier to feed the ribbon through the end pocket.
Then tied the ribbon into a bow...
And that's it!
If you'd like a softer bolster that could be used as a draft stopper pillow check out my post called Red Room Makeover with DIY Bolster Pillow
http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2018/01/red-room-makeover-with-diy-bolster.html
We made over a couple of bedrooms last winter. I finally got around to posting what we did. Here's our red room.
Single mate's bed...some of the knobs on the drawers drooped and wouldn't tighten anymore and the black leatherette upholstered headboard had to go.
The biggest job was removing that old parquet flooring and replacing it with tongue and groove..... I didn't document that part of the job here but you'll see the end result.
To make the bolster I took an old comforter and rolled it up tightly. I found it wasn't big enough for what I wanted as it was an old and flimsy comforter so I rolled up a couple of old tablecloths inside too. You gotta do what you gotta do, right?
Anyways, I took a piece of material the length of the intended bolster. This was before I cut the red checkered material even with the end of the comforter.
I took a contrasting material (red here), the width of half the rolled butt end of the comforter and the length of the short end of the checkered. Sewed the red to the checkered.
Next measured 1" and sewed a pocket on the end of the red. That's the pocket where it will be cinched together.
Sewed up the long edge of the bolster cover, but stopped at the pocket so it didn't get stitched closed.
Once it was sewn I gathered it up like you would a long sock or pantyhose, put one end of the bolster in and pulled the cover up.
Took a piece of ribbon, or in this case bias tape long enough to tie up at the end, and pinned a safety pin to the end. Fed the safety pin through the end pocket and tied the ribbon into a bow.
(I know, I should have used red thread, we'll just say I used white so you could see it better in the pics, lol)
I used some of the checkered material to make over the old roller blind.
Here's my link for how I did it:
http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2016/01/easy-roller-blind-makeover.html
We had an old brass bed headboard that gave the old mate's bed that daybed look, changed the drawer pulls to brass to match the headboard.
Oh, and there's a peek at the new floor!
This bolster is soft and could also be used as a draft stopper pillow. For a more sturdy type bolster check out my DIY Bolster Pillow in Blue here:
http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2018/01/diy-bolster-pillow-in-blue.html
Stunning colour to this tasty slaw!
2 cups shredded red cabbage (about 1/4 head)
1 large carrot
4 broccoli florets with stems
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp minced ginger
2 tbsps olive oil
1 1/2 tbsps apple cider vinegar
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp honey
pinch of chili powder
1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt
a few grinds of black pepper
In a food processor shred the cabbage, carrot and broccoli. Combine the rest of the ingredients.
Just before serving toss together.
Serves 6-8
If you have a wide-slot toaster these could be poptarts for breakfast, but I think I'd skip the icing if I were to put them in the toaster!
2 cups sliced apples
1 cup blueberries
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 lbs pastry dough
1/3 cup icing sugar
2 tsps lemon juice
Mix cinnamon, sugar, salt and cornstarch together in a saucepan, then stir in with the apples, blueberries, lemon juice and water.
Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 10 minutes or until apples are tender.
Roll out pastry and cut rectangles 3 X 8" in size. Place on baking sheet, add some filling, fold over and seal 3 edges.
Brush with an egg wash if desired.
Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes or until golden.
When cooled mix icing sugar and lemon juice together and drizzle over the tops.
I tried adding sprinkles but that looks kind of lame : (
Makes 9 - 3 X 4" hand pies.
This mini yorkshire pudding is the perfect compliment to any roast beef dinner.
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour
3 tbsps roast drippings (or melted bacon fat or butter)
3 oz herbed goat cheese (for a cheesy option)
Remove the middle rack of the oven as you will be using the lower one. Set oven temperature to 450F. Have the oven at the desired temperature before starting to make the batter.
Place eggs in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes to warm them. Next grease 12 muffin pans (cups and surface). I used bacon fat here.
Place empty muffin pan in oven until it smokes, 5-10 minutes. In the meantime whisk eggs, milk and salt together 2 minutes until frothy. Add flour and mix just until combined. Whisk in your choice of drippings or melted fat then pour batter equally into muffin cups.
Cut the goat cheese into 12 and place a piece on each popover.
Bake at 450F for 20 minutes. Do NOT open the oven door to peek as that could cause the popovers to fall.
Reduce heat to 350F and bake an additional 10-15 minutes.
Slide a thin knife around the edges to release from the pan. Serve warm.
Aren't they gorg!
Blizzard conditions outside, perfect baking conditions inside!
Apple hand pies, raisin hand pies and 35 cm of snow on the way!
Makes 24 - 4" round hand pies
Cookie Dough:
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
6 tbsps milk
1 tsp salt
5 1/2 cups flour
3 tsps baking powder
1 extra egg for egg wash
Cream butter and sugar together in a mixer, adding eggs one at a time. Mix salt, flour and baking powder together and add in 3-4 increments, blending well.
Roll out dough and cut circles then place on a parchment lined sheet. Top with about 2 good tablespoons of filling. Place a 2nd circle on top and touch lightly in the center, not exactly pressing down but just enough so the edges of the top and bottoms line up. Then press together with a fork. Make some air holes in the top with a fork or slice with a knife before placing the top on.
Mix 1 egg and a splash of water together then brush tops of hand pies and add a sprinkling of sugar.
Bake at 375F for 12-14 minutes, cool on a rack.
Or eat warm if you're just in from shovelling!
NOTE: The apple filling recipe makes enough for 1/2 a cookie dough recipe while the raisin filling recipe will make enough to fill one recipe of hand pies.
Apple hand pie filling:
4 medium apples, I used Spartan
3 tbsps water
2 tbsps butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsps and 1 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsps water
Cut apples into small slices that will fit in the small pies nicely. Melt butter in a saucepan and add apples,water, cinnamon and sugar. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes or until tender.
Mix cornstarch and water together then whisk into the apple mixture. Cook 2 minutes to thicken.
Raisin hand pie filling:
4 cups raisins
4 cups water
1 cup brown sugar
5 tbsps cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps lemon juice
3 tbsps butter
1 tsp vanilla
Mix raisins and water together in a saucepan and bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Mix brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and salt together and stir into the raisin mixture cooking until thickened, then remove from heat and add the lemon juice, butter and vanilla.
(I had some leftover sweet mincement from Christmas baking so that got stirred into the mix too!)
I am NOT big on making pastry dough but I've got to say this cookie dough was VERY easy to use!
Cookie dough recipe adapted from:
http://www.craftsalamode.com/2012/12/vintage-raisin-filled-cookies.html
After Christmas cooking and baking leftover basil, chives, walnuts and pistachios went into this lovely pesto.
1 1/2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup snipped fresh chives
5 or 6 (or more!) garlic cloves
2 tbsps dry or 1 cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 tbsp crushed pistachios (because I had them, optional)
1/3 cup parmesan
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Toast whole peeled garlic cloves and walnuts in a frying pan with a little oil, just until lightly golden.
In a food processor add basil, chives, garlic, walnuts, parsley, parmesan, salt and pepper. Pour olive oil in while processing.
Makes 1 1/2 cups of fragrant pesto.
Toss with about 3/4 cup of pesto for every pound of pasta...
or if pasta's not your thing try this Pesto Stuffed Chicken Breast
Here's the link:
http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2015/01/pesto-stuffed-chicken-breast.html
