[RiversideLen]

I did some baking this week. First, I made Stollen. Then I made oatmeal raisin with mini chocolate chip cookies. Finally I made Pfeffernusse. I have never made pfeffernusse before and don't think I have ever had one either. I used a mashup of 2 recipes. I used the spice blend from Martha Stewart because I had all those on hand. I used the dough recipe and method from Chef John from Food Wishes (he's on Youtube). His recipe does not use any butter but calls for 2 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk. I used half and half. My dough came out hard and dry so I gave it a good splash of additional half and half. Then the dough looked right and was workable. I used the Chef John glaze (lemon juice and powdered sugar) and enrobed the cookies with it.

I'm not sure about them as I have nothing to compare them to. The texture is more bread like than cookie like but they are OK. If I make them again I might use the Martha Stewart recipe which calls for 1 stick of butter.

[RiversideLen]

Merry Christmas everyone!

[RiversideLen]

I roasted a salmon filet in a cast iron skillet, had it with mashed potato and asparagus. Have enough left for tomorrows lunch.

[RiversideLen]

I made Stollen from Peter Reinhart's Baker's Apprentice book. For the dried fruit I used 2 cups of KAF fruitcake blend and soaked it in 3 ounces of rum for a day. The recipe calls for 4 ounces of rum or brandy but I have found the 3 ounces is the right amount. I subbed walnut oil for the butter. It's going to be a day or two before I slice into it but am looking forward to it.

[RiversideLen]

On Sunday I made some baked boneless chicken breasts. I marinated them in hot sauce infused buttermilk for about an hour and then coated them in a seasoned flour mixture. They came out real tender. Tonight, I used one to make chicken tostadas. I took tortillas and brushed them with a little oil and then baked them at 350 for 10 minutes on each side. Those came out really good. Then I topped them with refried beans, sliced chicken, cheese and then popped them in a 400 degree oven on convection mode.

[RiversideLen]

I simmered a chicken breast in some mole sauce and had it with rice and cauliflower.

[RiversideLen]

On Monday I baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies to take to my neighbors. I used half mini chocolate chips and half chocolate chunks. My neighbors are starting a 2 week self quarantine because they are expecting a new grandchild in early January and want to be available to help with things.

[RiversideLen]

I made a roasted salmon filet in a cast iron pan. Just seasoned it with a little kosher salt and garlic powder. Roasted it at 425 degrees. It came out real good. Had it with noodles and cauliflower.

[RiversideLen]

On Wednesday I made a small (one pound) round roast. I salted it on Tuesday and roasted it at 250f until the temp orobe reported 135 degrees. It's good and tender but next time (if I remember) I'll take it out at 130f. I had leftovers yesterday and have enough left for tomorrow's lunch. Tonight is going to be pasta with an Italian sausage.

[RiversideLen]

Thank you, BA and Joan. They taste pretty good too.

[RiversideLen]

I took some turkey out of the freezer and had it with cauliflower and pasta.

[RiversideLen]

I made Cinnamon Oatmeal Raisin Bread, except I made it into nature's perfect form of bread, buns. It's a recipe that I got from a West Bend bread machine recipe book that came with the machine. I've made this many times but haven't made it in several years. I did a slight modification to it, I used 1 cup of whole wheat and one cup of Durum flour. It looks great but I haven't tasted it yet. I made 10 buns.

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[RiversideLen]

Made pork loin chops, broccoli, linguine and a baked apple.

[RiversideLen]

Whenever I've followed the guideline for thawing turkey, I've had to struggle with attempting to remove the neckbone and gizzards from a still frozen cavity. I've learned to allow a couple of extra days.

I have Amazon Fresh in my area, that is (usually) same day delivery of fresh groceries. Beginning yesterday they started offering fresh turkeys. I am having my brother over on Sunday for our Thanksgiving get together as he has other plans for Thanksgiving day. So I bought a bought a fresh Butterball. The options this year seem to be more limited, all they were offering were birds in the 12-14 pound range. They have more options for frozen birds. I got a 13 pounder. Another thing that appears to be in short supply is cranberry sauce. Fortunately I have a couple of cans on the shelf.

I think I'm going to cook the bird in a covered pan, which roasts/steams it and it gets done faster. It doesn't make for a picture perfect presentation but it's always came out tender and moist, plus plenty of pan juices for gravy.

[RiversideLen]

Those are real nice looking dinner rolls, Mike.

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