[BakerAunt]

Thanks for letting us know, Navlys, that the Milk Street Cookbook is a good one.

I'm doing another sheet pan dinner tonight--whole chicken legs and peeled, cut-up Russet potatoes, drizzled with olive oil (or rubbed with it in the case of the potatoes), then sprinkled with Penzey's Poultry Seasoning and their Sweet Curry. I roast for an hour at 400F. We will have either steamed broccoli or peas with it.

[BakerAunt]

Monday afternoon I baked Espresso & Kahlua Brownie Chip Cookies--a recipe on this site that was posted by Lorraine on the Old Baking Circle, then re-posted on the new KAF Baking Circle by Karen Noll. I posted it here.

It made 14 large cookies. (I used the Zeroll #13 scoop, which KAF sells as a "quarter cup" scoop. I used semisweet Ghirardelli Chocolate squares. I used Mexican vanilla, since I have it. I was able to use Guittard dark chocolate chips that are the regular size. I baked the two trays of cookies individually for 19 minutes.

[BakerAunt]

I need to shake up my lunch menus, so on Monday I made Smashed Chickpea Salad, using the recipe at Smitten Kitchen:

smashed chickpea salad

I used yellow rather than red onion, since that is what I have in the house, but red onion would be better. I used a couple tsp. of lemon juice and no zest. (Really--how much is "juice of one lemon?) Instead of olive oil, I used some Ken's Simply Vinaigrette that is sitting in the refrigerator. I had some of the smashed chickpea salad spread on a slice of toast, then a little on the side with some of my cheese crackers. It is a good addition of my lunch rotation--where I can go slightly wild--since my husband and I do not eat the same menu at lunch (nor at breakfast for that matter). He does not care for chickpeas, but I enjoy them. I have enough for a couple more lunches.

[BakerAunt]

For Sunday dinner, I made Maple-Glazed Pork Roast, a recipe from Cook's Illustrated (March/April 2003), mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli.

[BakerAunt]

Bleached flour is what I use for my shortbread.

[BakerAunt]

One additional note on that cherry cake: the topping softens up nicely the next day. So, it does work to have it on for the entire hour of baking. Just wait a day to serve the cake. It has stayed nicely moist.

I should also mention that I bake it in a 10x10 inch ceramic dish that came from KAF.

Wonky--I didn't realize that you are also a member of the Order of the Flax Meal!

[BakerAunt]

I roasted boneless chicken breasts that were smeared with mayonnaise and coated with panko, garlic powder, onion powder, freshly ground black pepper, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

I wanted potatoes with it, so I first cut up four medium-sized yellow potatoes, rubbed the pieces with olive oil, put them on a parchment-covered rimmed baking sheet, sprinkled with a bit of salt, and baked for 30 minutes at 400F. I then pushed the potatoes to each side of the pan, and put the two coated chicken breast halves in the center. I sprinkled any left over coating over the potatoes. I reduced the temperature to 375F and roasted for 30 minutes. It came out very well, and I will make it this way again.

[BakerAunt]

Don't feel bad Navlys. I had a similar problem with "sirloin tip." (It's in the cooking forum, under that title.)

• This reply was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

My favorite use of corned beef hash--when I can find the reduced fat, less salt can--is to saute onion to add to it, then add ketchup. I stuff it into a red bell pepper (used to use green ones). I set it upright in a microwaveable dish, then microwave on high for a few minutes. It is not a dinner that I can feed to my husband, so I have not made it for a long time.

[BakerAunt]

On a very windy Friday, I'm baking a double recipe of Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers from the dough that I made on Monday.

Baking my own crackers has spoiled me. We were at friends' house for dinner, and she served Wheat Thins with guacamole before dinner. I was amazed at how sweet the Wheat Thins tasted to me--and not in a good way. I used to like eating Wheat Thins, but now I would not buy them.

I would like some additional cracker recipes. I have a rye one that I like. The Swedish Christmas Crispbread is good, but it is higher in fat than I would like. I've not been able to bake an oat cracker that isn't rubbery.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Joan--the only issue is that the topping tends to get overly browned during the long baking time. I'm wondering about waiting 20-30 minutes and then putting it on top. Or maybe I should put half the topping on, then half-way through add the other half.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

I thought that I was done baking for the day, but I went back into the kitchen Thursday evening and baked a pan of my Healthier Corn Bread to go with the soup I made yesterday that we are having for dinner tonight.

[BakerAunt]

I spent Thursday morning in the kitchen. That's what happens when the blazing sun of Eastern Standard Time blazes in through the bedroom window and hits me in the face at 6:30.

I baked Anzacs, from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion. If you ever make this recipe, the key is using Quick rolled oats, not the old-fashioned rolled oats. You also need Lyle's Golden Syrup.

I also baked Cherry Almond Cake, a coffee cake recipe from KAF's The Baker's Catalogue--a long time ago, at least fourteen years, maybe more.

https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cherry-almond-cake-recipe#reviews

Since neither Wonky nor I can leave a recipe alone, I made a few changes. I substitute in 2/3 Cup whole wheat pastry flour, add 1/4 Cup of powdered milk (added calcium), and added 2 Tbs. flax meal.

Instead of Cherry Pie filling, I usually substitute in canned cherries. I used the ones in heavy syrup, but this time decided to forgo the syrup. For the topping, I use the whole can of almond paste because I do not want half a can left over--and it is delicious that way.

BTW--I used a can of Almond Paste with a 2/2014 expiration date. Although a bit drier than normal, it was fine to use.

As it is very sweet, we will have it for desserts the rest of the week.

[BakerAunt]

Sorry about that. I get a M-F email that is about food trends and stories of interest to people who are professionals. I'm not, of course, but they let me receive it. Apparently, access to this story is only allowed when clicking to it from that newsletter. Let me see if giving a link to the newsletter online will get you to the story.

http://www2.smartbrief.com/servlet/encodeServlet?issueid=714D36E8-8928-49DB-8E3B-A00379067B9E&sid=58923bd8-11e3-4110-aecb-ba7b447a18f1

Ok, that works. It's the first story under the "Culinary News" section.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

I did some googling and found this KAF blog:

Date pinwheels (and their cranberry cousins)

It looks like 1/4 inch is the way to go.

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