Ooey-Gooey Cinnamon Buns (from the web)

Ooey-Gooey Cinnamon Buns

 

Prep time 2 ½ hours

Baking time 30 minutes

 

1 teaspoon white sugar

 

 

1 (25 ounce) package active dry yeast

½  cup warm water (110 degrees F 45 degrees C)

 

½   cup milk

 

 ¼  cup white sugar

¼  cup butter

 

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, beaten

 

4 cups all-purpose flour

 

¾  cup butter

 

¾  cup brown sugar

 

 1 cup chopped pecans, divided

 

¾  cup brown sugar

 

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

 

         ¼  cup melted butter

 

DIRECTIONS:

In a small bowl, dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until

creamy, about 10 minutes. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then

remove from heat. Mix in 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter and salt; stir until melted. Let

cool until lukewarm.

 

In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture, milk mixture, eggs and 1 1/2 cup flour; stir

well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each

addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface

and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

 

Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover

with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

 

While dough is rising, melt 3/4 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir

in 3/4 cup brown sugar, whisking until smooth. Pour into greased 9x13 inch baking

pan. Sprinkle bottom of pan with 1/2 cup pecans; set aside. Melt remaining butter; set

aside. Combine remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup pecans, and cinnamon; set

aside.

 

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, roll into an 18x14 inch rectangle. Brush

with 2 tablespoons melted butter, leaving 1/2 inch border uncovered; sprinkle with

brown sugar cinnamon mixture. Starting at long side, tightly roll up, pinching seam to

seal. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. With serrated knife, cut into 15

pieces; place cut side down, in prepared pan. Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until

doubled in volume. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

 

Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool in pan for 3

minutes, then invert onto serving platter. Scrape remaining filling from the pan onto

the rolls.

 

Farmers Cheese from arthursdays March 14, 2012

My Grandmother used to make Farmers Cheese. I have a vivid memory of her hanging the ball of cheese tied with a string, in the kitchen window. I have no real idea how long it hung or why, but hang it did.

Last week I decided that in keeping with the aforementioned family tradition (only because I decided to make it one) I would try my hand at cheese making. I perused recipes on cheese making and decided that Farmer Cheese would be the easiest to start with, as it did not use unusual ingredients nor did I need a thermometer. As well, there was the newly minted family tradition.

I looked at recipes for Buffalo Mozzarella but my local supermarket had no buffalo milk available. I looked at exotic cheeses but clearly Farmers Cheese was a good start. I put several recipes together and came up with the following:

Ingredients:

2 liter container of whole milk (about ½ a gallon)

½ teaspoon salt

Juice of ½ a lemon

1/8 teaspoon white vinegar

(not much to buy here)

Directions:

Put the milk into a large pot and add salt.

Turn heat on to medium to medium-high and cook until it is almost boiled. Stir every now and then to make sure the bottom of the pot doesn’t stick and the milk doesn’t boil.

When it’s almost boiling and little bubbles appear at the edges, take the pot off of the heat.

Stir in vinegar and lemon juice which will curdle the milk. Let sit for 15 minutes.

Put cheese cloth in a colander and put the colander into a large pan so the cheese will drip through the cheese cloth and the colander.

After a while (when it’s cool enough to handle) squeeze the cheese (the curds will be in the cheese cloth and the whey will be in the pan) as dry as you can do easily, wrap up the cheese in the cheese cloth and place on a plate in the refrigerator for several hours.

Serve with salt and pepper on top and you can add some spices or chives as the occasion occurs. However, if you want to use it with raisin toast, no salt, pepper etc. will do.

Farmers Cheese is much like a cross between Cottage Cheese and Cream Cheese. I had it this morning on a toasted bagel!

Icewine Martini for Two- from arthursdays

 

Icewine Martini (from the LCBO magazine)

Today Canada is one of the top producers in the world of premium Icewine, but it was Germany that first invented it in the late 1700s. Subtly sweet and seductive, this drink features Icewine, and is mixed with vodka and club soda.

No one can control Mother Nature. German winemakers experienced her wrath first hand, when frost came early, leaving their grapes frozen and ruined, or so they thought. One clever soul decided to pick some of the frozen grapes, and realized their sweetness. Soon the grapes were pressed and the first Icewine was made.

Almost a century later in Ontario, Karl Kaiser, an Australian-born chemist, and Donald Ziraldo, a young Italian-Canadian, joined forces to open Inniskillin Winery. In 1984, this dynamic duo made their first successful Inniskillin Icewine. In time, the Niagara regions Icewine Festival began, and now glamorous galas and winery tastings are hosted each year. It is believed this is where The Icewine Martini made by Inniskillin was first introduced and became an instant classic.

Ingredients

1 oz Icewine
1 1/2 oz Premium Vodka
Splash of club soda
Frozen grape

I had gotten my wife a small bottle (a miniature) of Icewine as a stocking stuffer at Christmas. When we saw this recipe we realized that we now had something good to do with the Icewine.

Two of them before dinner and the Super Bowl was perfect!