Roast Chicken à la Julia Child

Wash chicken rapidly in hot water, pat dry with paper towels. Season inside cavity with salt, pepper, and anything else you feel like stuffing in there (an onion, an apple, or fresh herbs are good choices). Salt all over and rub with soft butter.

Roast at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce oven heat to 350 degrees and cook for 30 minutes, and then an addition 7 minutes per pound of meat.

After 1/2 hour, if desired strew cut up onion and carrots and potatoes into pan to roast in chicken juices.

I roast my chickens in my dutch oven without a roasting rack.

Mutti's Pancakes

By request from Michelle:

Mutti's Whole Wheat Pancakes

1 egg
1 cup buttermilk*
2 TBSP oil
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 TBSP honey
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBSP milk (if needed, for texture)
1/8 tsp vanilla (optional)

Beat egg, add wet ingredients, then mix in dry ingredients. Cook in skillet or on griddle, with or without butter or oil as desired.

*If you don't have buttermilk (I never do) the next best thing is buttermilk powder, found on the baking aisle or on the breakfast aisle. You add it with the dry ingredients, and add 1 cup water with the wet ingredients in place of buttermilk.
Next best substitution: 1 or 2 TBSP vinegar or lemon juice, and enough milk to make 1 cup, left on the counter for 5 minutes to curdle.

Crispy Breaded Chicken (strips)

This is from America's Test Kitchen and is an AWESOME recipe that Jared & Jessica enjoyed their last week in Wymount. I use it to make chicken parmesan or just plain chicken strips.

1 cup flour (white or wheat)
2 large eggs
3 cups breadcrumbs
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
Salt and pepper
3/4 cup vegetable oil (I just eyeball the amount)

Pound the chicken to 1/2-inch thickness. Season with salt and pepper.

Dredge in the flour, then dip into the egg, then coat with the breadcrumbs (use three separate dishes to hold the flour, egg, and breadcrumbs)

Heat the oil on medium-high heat until *just* smoking. Add two pieces of the chicken and cook until light golden brown on both sides, 4 to 6 minutes. Note: the chicken should sizzle when it hits the oil. And don't overcrowd the pan or it won't be as cripsy.

Drain on paper towels. For chicken parmesan, place in baking pan and spread with tomato sauce and cheese (swiss or mozzarella). Place in oven at 450 degrees for 5-10 minutes, until cheese is melted and browned. Serve over pasta.

Auntie Anne's Pretzel Recipe

Aunt Annie's Soft Pretzels
CDKitchen http://www.cdkitchen.com

Category: A - Copy Cat Restaurant Recipes
Serves/Makes: 12 | Difficulty Level: 4 | Ready In: 30-60 minutes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup warm water
1 1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup bread flour
3 cups regular flour
2 cups Warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda
to taste coarse salt
4 tablespoons butter (melted)




Directions:
Sprinkle yeast on lukewarm water in mixing bowl; stir to dissolve. Add sugar, salt and stir to dissolve; add flour and knead dough until smooth and elastic. Let rise at least 1/2 hour.

While dough is rising, prepare a baking soda water bath with 2 cups warm water and 2 Tbsp baking soda. Be certain to stir often. After dough has risen, pinch off bits of dough and roll into a long rope* (about 1/2 inch or less thick) and shape. Dip pretzel in soda solution and place on greased baking sheet. Allow pretzels to rise again. Bake in 450 oven for about 10 minutes or until golden. Brush with melted butter and enjoy!

Toppings: after you brush with butter try sprinkling with coarse salt. or for Auntie Anne's famous Cinnamon Sugar, try melting a stick of butter in a shallow bowl (big enough to fit the entire pretzel) and in another shallow bowl make a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Dip the pretzel into the butter, coating both sides generously. Then dip again into the cinnamon mixture. Enjoy!

* The longer and thinner you can make the dough rope, the more like Auntie Anne's they will be. (Of course I don't have the counter space!)

*Sweet butter, not regular butter, is one of her secrets!

PAVLOVA

Pavlova

Ingredients:
6 large eggs whites (at room temperature)
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/2 cups granulates sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons of powdered sugar
1 banana
2 kiwi
2 peaches (or peeled oranges)
1 pint strawberries
4-6 cups low fat (or no fat) frozen whipped dairy product
2 cups fruit purees (see below) and fresh mint for garnish

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Trace 10 inch circle onto parchment. Turn parchment over and you will still be able to see the circle through the paper.

In a very clean large mixer bowl, beat the egg white until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue beating until soft peaks form. On high speed, very slowly add the granulated sugar continue beating until stiff peaks form. Beat in lemon juice. Turn off the mixer. Sift the powdered sugar over egg whites and fold in with a rubber spatula.

Using 1/3 of the meringue, form a disc over the 10 inch circle on the parchment paper. Place the remaining meringue in a large pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Using the pastry bag, pipe up a 1 ½ inch border around the edge of the meringue disc to form the "dish" to hold the whip cream and fresh fruit.

Bake in the preheated oven for 2 ½ hours. Turn the oven off and leave meringue in the oven until oven is completely cool. Remove from oven and continue to cool until meringue is at room temperature. May be wrapped with plastic wrap and left at room temperature for up to two days before filling.

Slice fruit into pretty slices. Starting with the bananas, layer fruit with low-fat whipped cream product. Garnish top with whole strawberry. Serve with fruit puree. Dessert may be assembled and refrigerated up to three hours before serving.

Raspberry Puree...Thaw a 12 ounce package of frozen raspberries. In a blender or food processor, puree raspberries with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Press puree through a fine sieve, or colander with cheesecloth set over a bowl, to remove seeds. Makes 1 cup.

Mango Puree...Peel and chunk 1 large mango. In a blender or food processor, puree mango with 2 tablespoon of sugar and 1 tablespoon of lime juice. Pass through fine sieve if needed. Make 1 cups.





Provided as a service by: BYU Broadcasting http://www.byub.org/

Sweet Baby Ray's Pulled pork

2 lbs - Pulled Pork
3 c. - Sweet Baby Ray's Original Barbecue Sauce*
1 each - Onions Julienne
2 each - Red Peppers Julienne
1 T. - Cumin

Place pork in a large crock pot. Add peppers, onions and cumin.

Then add sweet baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce

Heat at 160 degrees. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour minimum.

Keep at 140 degrees until served.

* You can probably use whatever sauce you want. I got this recipe off the packaging that comes with it at Costco, so I thought it best to give them credit!

Unbeatable Banana Bread

Let's not say I never post anything on here!

Unbeatable Banana Bread

Those neglected bananas may be too brown to peel and eat, but they're soft and sweet and make banana bread moist. Toss in chopped walnuts, dried cranberries, or mini chocolate chips for a wholesome lunch box treat or after-school snack.

Best Bananas for Bread

As bananas ripen, their starches turn to sugar and the pulp softens. To ripen bananas more quickly, enclose them in a brown paper bag with an apple, which releases a natural gas (ethylene) that hastens the process. (Halt ripening by storing them in the fridge; the skin will brown but the fruit inside won't change.)

What makes a banana bread light?

For a light, quick bread, handle the batter gently, mixing it just enough to incorporate wet and dry ingredients. Overmixing strengthens the gluten, the protein in flour that gives yeast bread its chewy texture -- which you don't want in a quick bread. Finishing up with a wooden spoon helps ensure that the batter isn't overmixed.

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 medium-large very ripe bananas (1 cup mashed)
1/2 cup sour cream

Step 1 Heat the oven to 325°. Line a 5- by 9-inch loaf pan, preferably one with a light interior, with enough waxed paper to drape over the long sides. This will make the baked bread a cinch to remove and the pan easy to clean. Set the pan aside.

Step 2 Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. In a large bowl, cream the butter using an electric mixer. Gradually add the sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Next, add the vanilla extract and blend briefly. Set both bowls aside.

Step 3 Peel the bananas and place them in a separate bowl. Mash them with a fork or a potato masher and measure out 1 cup. Add the sour cream and stir to blend. Set the bowl aside.

Step 4 Using a wooden spoon, blend a third of the dry mixture into the butter-sugar mixture. Add the rest of the ingredients in this order, stirring well after each addition: half of the banana mixture, half of the remaining dry mixture, the rest of the banana mixture, the rest of the dry mixture. Next, add mix-ins if desired (see below).

Step 5 Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spoon. Bake on the center oven rack until a tester inserted deep into the center of the bread comes out clean, about 70 to 75 minutes.

Step 6 Transfer the bread to a cooling rack and cool it in the pan for about 20 minutes. Using the waxed paper, lift the bread from the pan and place it on the rack. Pull down the sides of the paper and allow the bread to cool thoroughly before slicing. Makes 10 or more servings.

Step 7 For custom flavors that are sure to please everyone in your clan, try these fun variations.Chocolate Chip Walnut Banana Bread: Follow steps 1 through 4, then stir 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips and 1/3 cup chopped walnuts into the batter.Cranberry Banana Bread: Follow steps 1 through 4, then stir 1 cup dried cranberries into the batter.

Here's the link to the site. http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=50117

It's from a Family Fun Magazine I was looking at when I visited the dentist. A very good visit!