No Knead Bread

Bread doesn’t have to be hard to make, this is pretty foolproof as long as you use a cast iron dutch oven, 5 quart round dutch oven works best.

4 cups flour (plus extra flour for dusting)
2 cups water
½ teaspoon yeast (don't use instant yeast, you want this to rise slowly)
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoon olive, vegetable, or canola oil (for coating)

The day before:

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add water and incorporate by hand or with a wooden spoon or spatula for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest 12-18 hours at room temperature (approx. 65-72°F). I have gone as long as 24 hours resting with no problems.

Next day, at least 4 hours before you want to eat the bread:

Remove the dough from the bowl and fold once or twice. Let the dough rest 15 minutes on the work surface. Next, shape the dough into ball. 

Coat medium bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl. Make sure you oil the bowl or it will be difficult to tip into the dutch oven. 

Cover the dough with a cotton towel and let rise 1-2 hours at room temperature, until more than doubled in size. I usually let it rise for 2 hours and preheat the oven and dutch oven after 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 450°F. Place cast iron dutch oven with lid in the oven at least 30 minutes prior to baking to preheat. Once the dough has more than doubled in volume, remove the pot from the oven and tip the dough into the pot. Cover with the lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake 15-20 minutes uncovered, until the loaf is nicely browned.

This is the hard part of the recipe. As good as it smells when it comes out of the oven, do not cut into it for at least an hour! The bread will still be baking after it comes out of the oven and if you cut it too soon it will get gummy.  Unless of course you want to eat the whole loaf right away, which believe me you will want to do!

Chicken Cacciatore

3 to 4 lb chicken, cut up
1/2 c flour
1/2 c olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 c finely chopped onion
1 green pepper, finely diced
1 16-17 oz can tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato paste
1/4 lb mushrooms, sliced
2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/2 t oregano

Wash chicken, dry well with paper towels. Dredge in flour. Turn temperature control know to 350 and preheat the skillet. Heat olive oil in skillet. Brown chicken on all sides. Add remaining ingredients. Turn temperature to 225. Cook covered, 1 hour until tender. Serve with hot spaghetti and grated Parmesan cheese. Six servings.

Swordfish Steak with Lime and Herbs

1 swordfish steak, 4-5 lbs, about 2 inches thick
Marinade:
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c lime juice
1/4 t basil
1/4 t thyme
1/4 t fennel
1/4 t marjoram
1/4 t sage
1/4 t parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Herb Butter Sauce:
1/4 lb melted butter
1/2 t basil
1/2 t thyme
1/2 t fennel
1/2 t marjoram
1/2 t sage
1/2 t parsley

Combine marinade ingredients and brush very generously on both sides of swordfish steak. Refrigerate in non-metal container for several hours, turning several times to marinate evenly. Drain, adding remaining marinade to herb nutter sauce. At grilling time, brush both sides of steak with butter sauce and place over hot bed of coals. Grill 12 to 15 minutes on each side, basting top side occasionally with herb butter sauce to keep fish juicy. Test by inserting sharp knife in the thickest part of steak, when done meat should be white and firm. Carefully remove swordfish to large platter, pour over the remaining heated butter sauce and slice diagonally into serving pieces. Will serve 6 to 8.

10-minute Chocolate Cream Pie

1 package (4 oz) Baker's German Sweet Chocolate
1/3 c milk
2 T sugar
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
3 1/2 c (8 oz) Cool Whip topping, thawed
8 inch graham cracker crumb crust

Heat chocolate and 2 tablespoons of the mik in saucepan over low heat, stirring until chocolate is melted. Beat sugar into cream cheese, add remaining milk and chocolate mixture and beat until smooth. Fold in whipped topping, blending until smooth. Spoon into crust. Freeze until firm, about 4 hours. Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate curls if desired. Store any leftover pie in freezer.

Haricots Verts Sautes (Sauteed Green Beans)

2 pkgs (9 oz) frozen French cut green beans
2 c water
2 T chicken seasoned stock base
1/2 t chervil
1 1/2 t salt
1/4 c butter
1/4 c sliced almonds
2 t lemon juice

Combine green beans, water, chicken stock base, chervil and salt in a saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn heat down, simmer 6 to 8 minutes until beans are crisp-tender. Drain well. Melt butter in a heavy skillet. Add almonds and cook over low heat until golden. Stir in beans and lemon juice until combined. Serve at once. Makes 8 servings.

Chicken Tetrazzini

1 (5 - 5 1/2 lb) roasting chicken
1 T salt
1 T monosodium glutamate
1 lb spaghetti
1 1/2 lbs mushrooms sliced
1/2 c butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
7 T flour
1 c cream
3/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

Put the chicken in a deep pot with water to cover to which you have added salt and MSG. Bring to a boil and then simmer the chicken until tender. Add a little water from time to time if necessary. Allow chicken to cool in broth, then remove skin and cut chicken into bite size pieces. Strain the broth and chill. Skim off fat. All of this may be done the day before. Measure the broth, you will need 7 cups in all, so add water if you don't have enough. Bring it to a boil. Add to the spaghetti. Cook about 8 minutes, until barely tender, do not overcook. Drain the spaghetti, reserving the broth. Reduce broth to 3 cups. Saute the mushrooms for 5 minutes in 3-4 tablespoons butter. Melt 4 tablespoons butter with garlic, blend in flour, and add the broth and 1 cup cream. Cook, stirring constantly, until thick and boiling. Put a layer of spaghetti in a 4 quart casserole and then a layer of chicken and a layer of mushrooms. Sprinkle heavily with grated Parmesan cheese and cover with some of the cream sauce. Continue with this routine until the casserole is full, ending with cream sauce and a final topping or the grated cheese. Heat in a very hot oven, 450, until bubbling and brown on top. This delicious casserole may be made using medium broad noodles in place of spaghetti. Ten to twelve servings.

Meat Loaf in a Bread Basket

1 large round loaf unsliced french bread, about 9 inches in diameter (may use brown and serve or completely baked bread)
1/2 c milk
1/2 c packed parsley sprigs
1 small tomato
2 eggs
1 1/2 t salt
1/8 t pepper
1/4 t each oregano leaves and dry basil
1/ lb each lean ground beef, ground pork, and ground veal
2 oz jack cheese
2 T butter at room temperature

Slice off a 7 inch circle from top of loaf to form lid. Pull enough soft bread out of loaf and from inside lid to leave a 1/2 inch thick shell. Using metal blade, process enough of the soft bread to make 1 cup crumbs (save remaining bread for other uses). Turn crumbs into large mixing bowl, stir in milk and let stand 5 minutes. Process parsley until finely chopped; add to bread crumbs. Peel tomato, cut into chunks and process with on-off bursts until coarsely chopped. Add eggs, salt, pepper, oregano and basil to tomato and process 2 seconds to blend. Add to bread crumbs along with ground meats and mix well. Pack meat mixture into bread shell. Shred cheese with the shredding disc. Sprinkle over meat, then replace bread lid - it should fit tightly on bread. Rub butter on all sides of loaf. Wrap buttered loaf in a piece of heavy-duty foil or a double thickness of lightweight foil; place on a baking sheet. Bake in a 350 oven for 2 hours. Remove from oven and loosen foil to allow steam to escape. (If you use brown and serve bread open foil for last 10 minutes of baking so bread can brown.) Cool for 10 minutes, then cut in wedges with a serrated knife. If you wish to keep bread warm for several hours loosen foil and allow steam to escape then rewrap in foil. Makes 10 servings.

Great for picnics!