Grissini - Thin and Crispy Italian Breadsticks

Ready to impress your guests with these made-from-scratch, deliciously crunchy Italian breadsticks?!?

Imagine. One of these deliciously crispy breadsticks wrapped with savory Italian Prosciutto. Or next to a fancy cheese platter and tasty olives. You can even place some of these breadsticks into a tall glass or in a small vase and make a deliciously edible centerpiece. Everyone will be impressed, especially when they find out you made these from scratch. So remember: go for a rustic look, not perfectly shaped, like store-bought grissini.

The good news, you can wow everybody, without too much effort. Just prepare a simple pizza dough. And as you do for pizza, make sure to knead the dough until smooth and elastic. Store covered in a warm place, and give it enough time for it to rise. Stretch the dough, brush with tasty olive oil, cut it in strips and stretch the breadsticks. At this point you can add different flavors to the grissini, from herbs like chopped rosemary, to poppy or sesame seeds. Make it fun and delicious.
As usual I'm not just going to tell you how easy this recipe is, but I will show you in this video:

Here are a few things to keep in mind, when doing this recipe.
As I always say, please take your time to weight the flour. It makes a huge difference when you pick up the flour with the measuring cup or when you pour it in.
Also your breadstick are handmade, so they won't be perfect and all the same size and thickness. As I said, I like that rustic look. But keep in mind that a thinner breadstick bakes faster. And burn more easily. The end points are a little thicker, and will not be as crispy as the rest. So, don't go too crazy on the rustic :)
Enjoy!

Ingredients: to make about 20 long breadsticks       PRINTABLE RECIPE

• 2 cups (300 gr) of  bread flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
• one package (15 gr) of active dry yeast 
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (divided)
• 3/4 cup (175 ml) of warm water
• 1 teaspoon salt 6 gr
• poppy seeds, or sesame seeds (optional)

Preparation time: 45 minutes, plus at least two hours inactive

Directions:
1. In a large bowl mix the flour with the sugar and the dry yeast.

2. Add two tablespoons of olive oil to the flour, and half cup of warm water. Mix with a spoon.

3. Dissolve one teaspoon of salt in a quarter cup of warm water. Add it to the dough, and mix with a spoon first until all the water is absorbed. Move the dough to the counter and knead by hand for a few minutes (maybe 5) until the dough is smooth and elastic.

 Add a bit of water if too hard. Or a bit of flour if too sticky.
4. Make the dough into a ball and cover in plastic wrap and a kitchen towel to keep warm. Let rise for at least an hour.

5. Flatten and stretch the the dough into a rectangular shape about 1/4 inch thick and 14 x 9 inch. Brush with one tablespoon of olive oil.

6. Cover again with plastic wrap and let sit for one more hour or longer.

7. Preheat the oven to 400° F (200° C).
Cut the dough on the shorter side in strips, about 1/3 of an inch (1 cm) wide, using sharp knife or a pizza cutter. Stretch each strip to almost double its size or the length of your baking sheet.

If you'd like, you can sprinkle with sesames or poppy seeds, and roll the breadsticks so the seeds stick to the dough.

8. Bake the breadsticks for about 12 minutes. Watch carefully while baking. The time can vary based on the thickness of your breadsticks.
When completely cool, eat or store in an airtight container for up to 2 days

Enjoy :)

ROASTED GREEN CHILI PEPPERS

I have always used commercially roasted green chili's, but recently discovered that they are loaded with salt, so I started roasting fresh ones.

Poblano and Anaheim peppers are pretty spicy when raw, but when you roast them, they turn very mellow and delicious. They are one of those roasted veggies that you can "put in anything" and it adds just a little extra zing to any Mexican recipe. I love them in chili, tacos, rice, enchiladas, etc.

There are so many different peppers in the market these days, just make sure you look for Poblano or Anaheim (they are MUCH larger than the small spicy peppers like jalapenos).

Personally, I like Anaheim peppers because they are identical to the canned Ortega mild green chile's (in a can), but of course they taste better because they are fresh.
 

 

 

 

Poblano peppers are DARK green and shiny

 

Anaheim Peppers are lighter green

 

 

 



First, wash and dry the peppers, then put them under the broiler about 3" under the flame, on high. This not only cooks the peppers, but it chars the outer thin skin so it can be EASILY peeled off.  Turn the peppers every 2 or 3 minutes until they look blistered and dark on all sides. Total time under the broiler depends on how big the peppers are, but normally about 10 minutes total.

 

 



Peppers will have big black blisters on them (which is what you want). Immediately put them in a plastic bag (or in a bowl with tight fitting lid) and let them sit undisturbed for 15-20 minutes. This steams the outer skin and makes it easy to peel right off.

Remove from the plastic bag and you will be able to pull off the THIN wrinkled skin of the pepper, almost in one big piece. Some people like to leave little bits of charred skin on the pepper, it's your choice. 

The skin of these peppers is very thin, like this, and it will slip right off of the cooked pepper.

 

After you peel the skins off, pull out the stem and slit the pepper open. Pull out the seeds and any veins (it just takes a second. It's OK if you leave in a few seeds.

Cut the cooked and cleaned pepper into pieces.

 

 



They are ready to use in any recipe you like!! You will need to cook and dice 1-2 peppers to get the same amount of "ready to use" cooked peppers that usually comes in the Ortega can.

The cooked peppers stay good in your fridge for 3-4 days and do very well in the freezer for up to 3 months.

ENJOY !!!

 

NOTES:
Some people char their peppers right on the open flame of their gas range. I have an electric oven, so I use this broiler method.

Canned Ortega green chile's have a LOT of salt in them, so this is a healthy alternative for those of us watching salt intake.

Blueberry-Almond Coffee Cake Recipe

This coffee cake is a sure way of perking up your morning. 

Soft and moist. With a nutty almond flavor and bursting with sweet, fresh blueberries.

Who wouldn't love to wake up to a slice of this irresistible cake, next to a hot and steamy cappuccino?
I could really eat a slice of this blueberry and almond coffee cake. Every. Single. Morning.
I absolutely love almonds and almond flavored desserts. And when you combine it with sweet and juicy blueberries, you will end up with a deliciously soft, mouth-watering dessert.
Just the thought of this coffee cake in the morning would make jump right out of bed and run for the espresso machine! No more laying lazily under my blankie!
Maybe eating this everyday would not be good for my waistline. But once in a while, why not? Check out the ingredients, it's made from scratch with simple and wholesome ingredients.

You will be surprise by how easy and quick it is to make. Just plan ahead, and remember to remove the butter and the eggs from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before starting with the recipe.
Room temperature ingredients are easier to mix into the batter, so you'll end up with a more uniform, tender, light and airy texture.

Here is the video for you:

Ingredients: to make a 9x9 in (22x22 cm) cake, cut in about 16 pieces   PRINTABLE RECIPE

• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup (200 gr) of sugar
• 4 oz (1 stick, 115 gr) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1.5 cup (225 gr) of all-purpose flour
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 2 cups (300 gr) of fresh (organic) blueberries
• 1 cup (120 gr) of sliced almond, divided

Preparation time: about one hour and a half
Directions:
1. Let the eggs and butter sit outside the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 350° F (175° C). In a large bowl, add two eggs and the cup of sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy.

3. Add the butter cut in pieces and mix again, until mostly smooth.

4. Mix in the vanilla and the almond extracts.

5. Add the flour, the salt and the baking powder. Blend some more.

6. Fold the blueberries and about 2/3 cup of the almonds. The remaining almonds will be sprinkled on top.

7. Spray or grease a 9x9 inches baking pan with butter and flour. Pour the batter in the pan and flatten it out with the back of a spoon.  Sprinkle the remaining almonds on top of the cake.

8. Bake for about 45-50 minutes at  350° F (175° C) until slightly golden on top. Test with a toothpick for readiness. The toothpick should come out clean ... unless of course you poke a blueberry :)
Let the cake cool down for a few minutes before cutting in squares.

Enjoy :)

GREEN TOMATO PICKLE RELISH

A wonderful gardener recently gave me a huge pan of green tomatoes and I instantly knew I wanted to make this relish. The recipe calls for simple pantry ingredients and it makes 9 cups of yummy relish, a wonderful addition to my pantry, thank you Bonnie!!

 

10 large, or 20 small GREEN tomatoes
4 red or orange bell peppers
1 large sweet onion
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons yellow mustard seed
1 tablespoon celery seed
2 cups apple cider vinegar
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons kosher salt

TO PREPARE VEGETABLES:

Core the green tomatoes and cut into medium size chunks, about this big:

 

Put them in a food processor, in small batches, and pulse until they are about this size (don't over-pulse):

Do the same with the onion and bell peppers.

Put EVERYTHING into a large, non-reactive stock pot that has a heavy bottom (I use the bottom part of my pressure cooker) and gently toss together.

Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn the heat down to a slow simmer (see note below). 

Simmer UNCOVERED for two hours. I know that sounds like a LONG time, and the first time I tried this recipe, I was convinced that the veggies would cook away to nothing, but they don't.......trust me. Just gently stir about every 15 minutes. The vegetables will cook down and thicken into a wonderful relish.

Put relish into sterilized jars and process in a hot water bath (15 minutes for half pints and pints).

TIPS:

Original recipe called for half green bell peppers and half red bell peppers, but we don't care for the taste of green ones, so I modified the recipe and use all red and orange bell peppers.

Don't overload your food processor when you chop the vegetables. If you only load it with 2 or 3 cups at a time, you will get a nice fine chop without it turning to mush.

Recipe says to "slow simmer for 2 hours"......so, what is a slow simmer? My electric burner dial goes from 1 to 10, and a slow simmer on my stove is a 2.  Basically, you want it to simmer at the same heat you would use when you make rice....slow and steady.

Recipe calls for Kosher salt, I have never tried this recipe with table salt.

 ENJOY !!!