Biscuits for two, and Sparky's new trick

Monday things that make me happy: 

1. Alberta. Sunshine in the winter.

 2. This dang cat, brother to my princesses.

3. Cats on fence posts. Also this dang cat, the other brother to my princesses.

If my princesses don’t stop meowing at pigeons at 7AM they’re going to be demoted to duchesses, though.

4. These candies from Planet Organic and their ridiculous rhizome-man logo. Actually, rhizomes in general. Like ginger. And hops! Not poison oak, though. Sorry, poison oak.

Monday things that make me unhappy:

How the hell did my flour jar get so empty?!

Okay. Maybe I have some idea. 

How To: Pizza Dough + Calzones

Sparky has this story that he likes to tell people about me, about this one time when he had some of his friends over and they decided to order pizza, but unfortunately, all the pizza places were already closed. So, with a little flour and the toppings that I could rustle up from my fridge, I made them pizza at about three in the morning. 

Um, you guys? When I pulled that pizza from the oven, they looked at me like I was magic. I might as well have conjured the pizza from thin air for the way they were treating me. Seriously. And two years later, Sparky still talks about it. 

So hey. . . Can I teach you a magic trick? 

It’s really easy to capitalize on the idea that a lot of people seem to have nowadays that bread baking is black magic, that it takes a bunch of time and a bunch of fancy equipment and a bunch of skill, and that’s why it’s so impressive when you produce bread (or pizza) in your home. 

Luckily, making pizza dough from scratch is secretly really easy too. So easy, and so versatile, that I’m planning on doing a Things You Can Do With Pizza Dough series here at Miss Maillard. The recipe I’m going to give you produces enough dough to create two large pizzas, but if you don’t need two pizzas, you should still make the whole recipe. You can stick half the dough in the fridge and use it for another meal later in the week. 

(That little shaker on the board is filled with flour, and that is one of my black magic secrets about working with bread dough.)

Today we’re making calzones. . . which are not just little pizzas folded in half. Probably.

Calzones don’t traditionally have sauce inside them; instead, sauce is served on the side instead. But I’m a rebel. Garlicky, herby green basil pesto on the left. . . smoky fire-roasted red pepper and tomato sauce on the right. . . You can be a rebel , too, if you want. 

We did a little his-and-hers. I wanted to show you a vegetarian option, so I did one with garlic, spinach and red onion. The other one has Italian sausage, pepperoni, bacon and red onion. Can you guess which one Sparky ate? 

Alright. . . I might’ve wilted the spinach in bacon fat. But don’t do that if you’re going actual vegetarian. 

This isn’t the only pizza dough recipe I use – sometimes I go whole-wheat, sometimes I want the really fancy one that you have to start 18 hours in advance, and sometimes I need pizza start-to-finish in thirty minutes – but this is a really good, basic dough that takes only a little planning ahead. The crust bakes up crispy where it’s thin and tender at the edges where it’s thicker, neutral enough to let the toppings shine but with a really great bread flavor on its own. 

Mmm. Maybe this is black magic. Delicious, delicious witchcraft. More likely, though, it’s a judicious application of food science to create something in your own home that easily outpaces anything you’d find in the frozen food aisle. 

Check after the jump for the recipe and a short photo tutorial about gluten formation (aka the secret to an excellent crust). 

Cinnamon Swirl Bread + Cinnaswirl French Toast

Hey. Guess what? It’s the weekend! 

That’s really good news for you, because that means you’re going to have plenty of time to make cinnamon swirl bread without it interfering with your busy weekday schedule. 

I mean, yeah, I guess you could choose not to make this bread. . . but let’s be serious. Why would you do that? If you’re a novice bread baker and you’re afraid, don’t be. 

 

 As far as breads go, this one is pretty forgiving, and we’ve all got to start somewhere, okay? Plus, the result is very impressive. 

“But Miss Maillard!” you say, “What am I going to do with a whole loaf of cinnamon swirl bread?”

Well, you’re going to eat it. Plain, or toasted, or spread with butter. . . Or any combination of the above, okay? You’ve got options. Then you’re going to feed it to people who you love, and be prepared for them to sing your praises. Probably with their mouths full. 

Because this bread is homemade without any of the preservatives of store-bought bread, it’ll start to lose its freshness pretty quick – like, after only two or three days, tops. Now, it’s pretty unlikely that there will be any of this bread left after a couple days, but if there is, not to worry. 

Slightly-stale slices of cinnamon swirl bread are perfect for cinnamon swirl French toast. . . so I won’t even blame you if you hide a couple slices of bread from your family so you, too, can experience this start to your morning.

Breakfast on the weekend is an opportunity to break away from the weekday staples of oatmeal and cereal. Let’s get fancy. 

Slivered almonds? Maple syrup? A little powdered sugar? How can you not have a good day after a breakfast like this? Are you convinced yet? 

Well. . . how about now?

This tastes like heaven. The bread is toasty-crisp on the outside and warm and silky on the inside, and the merger of cinnamon and maple syrup is wholesome and comforting. You don’t need the fancy almonds or anything to make this delicious, but if you do happen to have some almonds, walnuts or pecans on hand. . . go ahead and give them a rough chop and sprinkle them over top, for a little extra crunch. 

As a sidenote, if you’re cooking breakfast for a man, don’t try to keep him from this plate of food while you’re setting it up next to the window to photograph it. I mean, unless you don’t mind drool stains all over your shoulder. 

Go ahead and make this for breakfast this weekend. Sit down and have a cup of coffee, read the paper (or your favorite blogs), enjoy a moment of peace. And if you’re kind enough to share with your significant other, parent, child or mailman? Prepare for an ego boost. . .if they can stop eating long enough to say anything. 

Check after the jump for the recipes both for the bread and for the French toast!

Crispy Sesame Crackers

Are you a savory person, or are you a sweet person?

Hey, I don’t mean your disposition, because surely you're as sweet as pie. . . And, no I don’t mean how you’d taste in the event of a zombie apocalypse, there’s zombie food blogs for that sort of thing. (Good blog idea, or best blog idea?) 

I mean, what’s the flavor you’d take in any form? Are you all about the gooey caramel? Yeasty sweet breads? Ripe, juicy fruit? Chocolate-covered anything?

Or do you crave roasted potatoes sprinkled with rosemary? Warm, buttery popcorn? Briny, tender olives? Are you salivating yet? Just me? Yeah, I’m definitely not a sweet person.

Yesterday, my mouth said, “Crunchy, please.”  I was all about the bite of fresh garlic, the warmth of nutty toasted sesame seeds and the crunch of big grains of sea salt. Yum to the max.

Oh. . . Did all that make you hungry? I’m sorry, but look, it’s all good. You can whip up these crisp, seedy crackers right out of your own kitchen with some pantry staples in no time at all. 

The best thing about a basic cracker recipe like this is that it’s totally customizable depending on your flavor needs for the moment. On their own, these crackers are crisp and sturdy, and pretty flavor-neutral. By that, I don’t mean that they lack flavor, I just mean that the flavors will get along with a ton of other flavors. They’ll make friends, hold hands, go off skipping into the sunset. It’s beautiful, trust me.

But say you need something a little more independent, a cracker that’ll stand up on its own for munching purposes. Done and done, pick your favorite spice combinations and add liberally. If you want, you could maybe add a little grated hard cheese, like parmesan or aged cheddar. . . Go ahead, I won’t tell anyone.

 

As they are, these crackers are nutritionally friendly, packed with heart-healthy sesame and whole wheat flour. With only of 3 tablespoons of oil to the whole batch, these crackers are perhaps a more health-conscientious choice than some of the similar products you can pick up at the store.

Oh. . . and like I was saying, they’re excellent dip-delivery devices.

 

But that’s a recipe for another day. 

Check after the jump for the recipe and a picture of my vintage pasta roller! 

Banana walnut pancakes for breakfast

So. . . let’s say that you and your boyfriend had a fight last night.

Wait, no, that’s not fair to you. You’re a lover, not a fighter, right? Right. So. . . let’s say that somebody had a fight with her boyfriend the other night. Hypothetically. Nobody you know, don’t worry.

All I’m saying is, if hypothetically somebody did have a fight with her boyfriend, then making these pancakes the next morning would be an excellent way to apologize. Stirring pancake batter is way easier than saying ‘I’m sorry,’ isn’t it?

Even if you didn’t have a fight, even if you don’t have a boyfriend, you should still make these pancakes. As far as breakfast goes, this one is full of crunchy, toasted bits of walnuts surrounded by fluffy pancake. And that pancake? Super tender from the addition of ripe mashed banana. It’s like a banana muffin melted into a pan and got all golden brown, and that’s good for you, because this is the only way you can pour pure maple syrup all over a banana muffin without getting some weird looks. . . even in Canada.

Oh. . . and did I mention they’re made with whole wheat flour?  Of course. So you can dig into this nutty, protein-packed goodness with the sense that you’re getting a nutritious start to your day. It totally cancels out the butter you’re going to put on these puppies. . . probably.

 

I love the Maillard reaction, don’t you?

And that fight someone might have had hypothetically with her theoretical boyfriend? Well, I haven’t met a man yet who can be mad at you while you’re handing him piping hot coffee and a plate of homemade breakfast.  Make these next weekend, you’ll see what I mean.

Check after the jump for the recipe and tips on making fluffy pancakes every time.