Coconut Bread (or Cake)

No doubt about it, we enjoy our sweet treats and this surely delivered. Lots of delicious coconut flavor in this bread (though why isn't it called a cake?)  Perhaps because the original recipe called for it to be baked in two loaf pans and I decided to bake mine in a tube pan. Yeah, I can be a rebel like that sometimes, grins.

Regardless, this is nice sweet cake. Was very good with coffee in the morning, and with a cuppa tea later on. One slice goes a long way towards satisfying that sweet tooth. I wouldn't say the cake is the greatest keeper. It's a dense cake, a little crumbly, and no surprise, the outside edges tended to get a bit try. Trim them off and the inside was moister.

I had a couple of different bags of coconut I wanted to use up: one was the shredded type, more commonly known I suspect, and the second was a bag of flaked organic coconut, so it had the big white snowy flakes of that delectable nut. Perhaps the flaked coconut contributed to the crumbliness of the cake, I don't know. I just know I liked it.

COCONUT BREAD (OR CAKE)

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons coconut extract

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease and flour two 9" x 5" loaf pans, or a tube or bundt pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, soda and salt.

In a large bowl, mixing by hand, combine the sugar, oil, eggs, and coconut extract.

Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to the sugar mixture and stir only until moist.

Stir in shredded coconut.

Pour batter into pan (s).

Bake for one hour or until it tests done.** Let rest in pan for about ten minutes before removing to rack to complete cooling.

COOK'S NOTE:  Because I cooked this in a heavy metal tube pan (angel food pan) the cake/bread was done around 45-50 minutes.  So start checking around 45 minutes and adjust time accordingly.

Anadama Cornbread

Ever had Indian pudding, you know, that old New England specialty made with molasses and cornmeal?  It takes forever to cook in the oven?  If you like homemade bread and you're not in a hurry, this is a delicious, hearty bread with similar flavors.

I laugh at myself.  I might not have undertaken this breadmaking feat it if I read through the recipe with any kind of comprehension and saw that there were two 2-hour rises.  Fortunately I was making this on a day when I had other chores that easily fit in between the rise times so it wasn't a horrible inconvenience but just be aware that there are two longish rise times involved.


ANADAMA CORNBREAD

1/2 cup water, plus 1/3 cup water for proofing yeast
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup fine yellow cornmeal
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup molasses
2 teaspoons dried yeast
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
1 teaspoon salt
vegetable oil for greasing
1 egg, beaten, for glazing

Heat and milk and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil; add the cornmeal. Cook for a minute or two until it thickens and then remove from the heat.  Add the butter and stir until it is well mixed.  Beat in the molasses; set aside to cool.

Dissolve the yeast in 1/3 cup warm (not hot) water and stir well.  Pour the flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well.  Gradually stir in the cornmeal mixture and then add the yeast mixture to make a soft, sticky dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.  Knead for about ten minutes until soft and pliable. Knead in additional flour as necessary to be able to work the dough, keeping in mind the dough will remain fairly sticky but should not stick to your hands.  Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean towel and leave to rise in a warm place, up to 2 hours.  The dough will not double in size but should be very soft and pliable when well risen.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently punch it down.  Knead briefly and shape it into a flattened oval, tucking the sides underneath the center of the dough to get a tight, even shape.  Place on a large baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel.  Leave it to rise in a warm place for about 2 hours.  The dough is ready to bake when it's tight and well risen, and a finger gently poked into the dough leaves a dent, which springs back quickly.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Place one oven rack in the middle of the oven and one below it, close to the bottom.  Bring a small pan of water to a boil.  Brush the loaf all over with a little of the beaten egg and gently slash the top of the dough diagonally 2 or 3 times with a sharp knife.    Slashing the dough will allow the dough to continue to rise in the oven.  Dust the top of the dough with a little flour (if desired, gives a nice artisan look).  Place the bread dough on the middle shelf.  The pan with the boiling water should be placed on the bottom shelf.  Shut the oven door.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned and the bottom sounds hollow when gently thumped with the back of a knuckle.  Remove from oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

COOK'S NOTES:  I found this dough to be very wet and sticky, and as a result I added quite a bit of additional flour in order to be able to knead it without the dough sticking to everything.  I worried it would make the bread heavy, but all in all, I think it worked out just fine.  I think this is a recipe that may not be suitable for those who are yeast-phobic or who do not have a lot of experience in breadmaking.

This bread is an excellent keeper.  Well wrapped, it stayed fresh for us for the entire week.  I took thick slices of it to work as a little break snack.  So good!

Italian Pot Roast

Have you ever made something in something in your slow cooker that the aroma had you salivating for hours?  Have you ever made something sooooo good that when you finally ate it  you amazed yourself at its sheer deliciousness?  And it was so good that you thought about it for hours and days afterwards?  And the leftovers were squabbled over?  Well, this Italian pot roast was just that for us.  Steel yourself.  This was fabulous.

I had bought a just-under-three-pound chuck roast and then didn't know what to do with it.  It was on sale for half price and I just can't resist a good sale when it comes to meat.  I was expecting to fall back on my favorite New England pot roast, toyed with the idea of trying a homemade steak ranchero (we had just gone out for Mexican and my Sweet Pie had ordered it out so that was a no) so at the last minute I decided to venture out and try something new.  This may have been new to us but it will soon become an old favorite.

I made a couple of substitutions based on what I had on hand, but they are substitutions I would've done anyway.  I'll share my changes in COOK'S NOTES.

ITALIAN POT ROAST

1 three-to-four pound boneless chuck roast, excess fat removed
1 eight-ounce package fresh mushrooms, coarsely chopped  **
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 14-ounce can low-sodium beef broth
1 one-ounce envelope dried onion soup mix **
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 eight-ounce can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning **
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Place mushrooms and onion in the bottom of a 5-to-6 quart slow cooker.

Heat a fry pan over medium-high heat and add the oil.  Sprinkle pepper on the pot roast and then sear the beef on all sides.  Remove meat to the slow cooker.

Pour beef broth and tomato sauce over the beef .  Add the dried onion soup packet.   Cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours or until meat shreds easily with a fork.

Somewhere in that time frame you're going to have to use your good judgment.  About thirty minutes or so before you think it's going to be done, remove the meat to your serving platter.  Add the tomato paste and the dried Italian seasoning to the gravy fixings that are in the slow cooker.  Make a slurry with the cornstarch and two tablespoons of water and stir into the gravy.  Continue cooking the remaining amount of time on high, until gravy is thickened.  You can add the roast back to the pot for a couple of minutes to reheat it, if you want.  Serve roast on a platter with some gravy; additional gravy can go in a separate bowl.

COOK'S NOTES:  Rarely do I ever have packaged dried onion soup mix on the pantry shelf.  I have way too many spices, herbs, and dried vegetables on my shelf not to make the best dried onion soup mix from what I have on hand. It is far superior to the prepackaged mix, in my opinion, and a couple minutes of my time is worth the result and big flavor.

I think white mushrooms would be nice in this, but I bought a package of cremini mushrooms.  They have a bolder flavor, in my opinion, and just stand up better with the rest of the ingredients in this recipe.

Dried Italian seasoning--nope, not happening.  All that is is a mix of Italian herbs expensively mixed and sold in a bottle for your convenience.  For this recipe, I added a good pinch of oregano, basil and thyme, and a bit of garlic.  Done.

I did NOT remove the meat to a separate platter while I made the gravy.  I like a thicker gravy so I know that two tablespoons of cornstarch is not nearly going to be enough, especially when I saw how much liquid there was in my slow cooker.  I made a slurry of 1/4 cup of cornstarch and 1/4 cup of water and just dumped it all in and it worked perfectly for me.  Of course, if you are timid about such things, you cook the roast until fall apart tender, remove all the liquid to a sauce pan and make gravy from there.  Add the meat back and serve.  No judgment from me, smiles.  You have to do what's right and comfortable for you.

Simple, Sweet, Pineapple Cream Cheese Squares

I'm a great believer that food does not have to be complicated or have a multitude of ingredients in order to be tasty or appreciated.  This little cake is a perfect example.

If you want something simple and sweet, you don't have a lot of time or a lot of ingredients, these sweet pineapple-filled squares are delicious. I'm not joking when I say they're sweet; this little square of scrumptiousness will more than likely satisfy the most demanding sweet tooth.

This is a thin cake, made in a small jelly roll pan.  The recipe calls for a half sheet pan, which measures 15 inches by 11 inches, so this is a good sized cake for to make for a crowd.  Good news is, even if you don't have a crowd, the cake keeps nicely, if well wrapped, for a couple of days in the fridge.  Just let it come to room temperature before serving.

PINEAPPLE CREAM CHEESE SQUARES

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease a jelly roll pan or half-sheet cake pan.

In  a large bowl, combine all the ingredients in the order given:
1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple with its juice**
2 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
dash salt

 Mix ingredients and then spread evenly into pan.  Bake for 20 minutes, being careful not to overbake.  When cool, frost with cream cheese frosting

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

8 ounces of cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 stick (1/4 pound, 8 tablespoons) butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash salt

Cream together and then add 2 cups of powdered confectioners' sugar.  Mix well and spread on cooled cake.  Add chopped nuts as desired,

Cut into squares to serve.

COOK'S NOTES:   I didn't have a 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple, but I did have a 20 ounce can of pineapple rings.  I whizzed it through my mini food processor and it worked a charm.