Irish Soda Bread

Last night I had two friends over for an early evening St. Patrick's Day celebration while all the other roommates were out. I bought some vintage Dubliner cheddar, some Kerrygold butter, and served them with delicious Irish Soda Bread just out of the oven. (Harold brought the Guinness and whiskey).

I used the recipe offered at 101 Cookbooks and added 1 C of baking raisins and 2 Tbl of caraway seeds. I can't imagine making soda bread without these superb additions (a traditional Irish method too!). I also had to add a full 2 cups of buttermilk.

It turned out wonderfully. A slathering of butter or a piece of cheese on a thick slice with a Guinness at my side made it a meal.

Popovers

Note: I've updated this popover post - find it here!

This morning I made popovers for breakfast. They were delicious, airy, and eggy, but they didn't quite 'popover.' Last nite Mindy convinced me that to make a good popover one must have a popover tin (rather than subsituting a muffin tin). I now agree. The recipe I used was somewhat styled after Martha Stewart's Perfect Popovers. Here is the recipe with my modifications.

Popovers

Preheat oven to 450F In one bowl whisk 1 C unbleached all-purpose flour and 1/2 tsp fine sea salt. In a second bowl whisk 2 eggs, 1 C heavy cream, 1/4 C milk, and 1 tbl melted butter. Slowly add dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir just until combined. Fill greased and floured muffin tin cups 3/4 full. Bake for 15 min. at 450F and then reduce heat to 350F and bake for 15 more minutes or until golden brown and crusty. Remove from tins onto a wire rack and serve immediately. These delicate and wonderful creations need no accompaniment. Just look at this luscious and moist crumb.

I had some left over batter and since all of the ingredients seemed to be in order I decided to try using this as a pancake batter. I was quite pleasantly surprised! I think I may be making this batter in the future soley to use for pancakes. They tasted somewhat like Swedish pancakes (Hrm. . must be all the butter and heavy cream. . .) and had a perfect texture.

souffle

souffle
Originally uploaded by dumin.

This morning for breakfast I made souffles with sauteed pears for Molly, John, and I.

I used this recipe from Epicurious and followed it fairly exactly. I had never made a souffle before and I have to admit I was always super intimidated by the prospect. These 'puffed' up nicely. They may have been a little over-cooked (as they would not budge from their containers after baking, so I served them from their cups), but I don't think this affected the taste.

They were fairly sweet and would do well as a dessert because of this. Overall I sometimes find souffles a little too dry, so eating the pears with the souffle was a nice match in texture.

Now that I have had success with my first souffle experience, I look forward to playing around with different recipes and modifications. I will have to buy myself a large souffle pan and try my hand at the large and decadent variety. Though, I suppose it would be good to hold off on that just a bit and perfect my skills on the smaller scale.

Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Rolls
Originally uploaded by dumin.

Last weekend I made these "Shortcut Cinnamon Buns".

My boyfriend politely ate them, but I didn't finish mine. They were way too dry to enjoy. Very little flavor and not a great experience.

Baked Eggs

Baked Eggs
Originally uploaded by dumin.

I made baked eggs last weekend for John and I somewhat following this recipe.

I substituted mushrooms for the onions.

I then sliced some light rye bread into strips and toasted them. They worked well for dipping into the soft egg yolks. I also made some Morningstar veggie sausage to go along with the meal. It was very creamy and delicious.

quiche

quiche
Originally uploaded by dumin.

I was bored so I made a quiche. I used the reserved and frozen portion of the pate brisee I had prepared for my blueberry tarts for the crust.

I cooked half a white onion in butter on the stove. I then added chopped broccoli, cherry tomatoes, and chopped green bell pepper to the pan and covered it to steam the other vegetables.

I then combined three eggs, 3/4 C of heavy cream, and 1/2 C of finely shredded cheddar and bleu cheese. I beat these together and seasoned with salt and pepper as well as a pinch of nutmeg and a pinch of cayenne.

I then salted and peppered the steaming vegetables and added a pinch of nutmeg to them as well.

I then arranged the vegetable mixture in the bottom of the unbaked pie shell and poured the egg-cream mixture over it all. Finally, I sprinkled about a T of slivered almonds on top before baking the quiche for 50 minutes in a 350F preheated oven.

I used a silicone baking dish that my mother gave me to bake this. I had never used one before and I have to admit I was wary of them. Other than the slightly gas-like smell they seem to give off while they bake, I had no real complaints. In fact, it turned out quite well.

Question: Has anyone else used any of this silicone bake ware and what was your impression?

I'm still a little sketched out by them for some reason and I always kind of feel as though I am cheating whenever I use some fancy new product that does not seem 'traditional' to me.