My daughter, Franki, is not normally a baker. She enjoys making a few specialties in the kitchen; chocolate chip cookies, apple almond cake and Grandma's rum balls, but that's about it. She doesn't typically take an interest in cooking because her brother and I do a lot of that kind of thing. However, last week she tried something new...and WOW, was it good!

She had seen a post about making a Nutella Brioche Flower. She mentioned to me that she had seen it and was thinking about making it. So I encouraged her to go for it. She went to the store an collected the items that we didn't have and began her quest. It's interesting to watch someone do something they haven't done before. She was at different times, excited, frustrated, worried and in the end, overjoyed and confident in her abilities because it turned out great! I was able to walk her through things that she hadn't done before, i.e. kneading and rolling out dough, allowing it to rise and cutting and shaping the dough. She was certain she was doing it wrong and I had to offer encouragement and reassurance. I was surprised that I hadn't taught her those things before and I realized that sometimes I get so caught up in what I'm doing/making that I don't always share my experiences and knowledge with my children. I was pleased that she was still looking to me for guidance, even though she's an adult now.

In my efforts to try new things with my family and friends this year, it was through my daughter's adventure that I learned more about myself. How I want to strive to share my knowledge but even more so, my time, with the ones I love. I hope you'll find that special time with someone you love today...maybe making your own Nutella Brioche Flower.

Nutella Brioche Flower

Here is the link to the original recipe but we've included the converted directions (it was metric before) on our site, as well, for you to enjoy. There is a very helpful video on the original site.
http://www.thebreadkitchen.com/recipes/nutella-brioche-flower/

Ingredients
2 c. All-purpose flour
3/4 c. lukewarm milk (temp between 110 -115 degrees F)
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 c. melted butter
2 eggs
Zest of a lemon (this gives it a very floral taste, cut down zest to half of a lemon if you choose)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried yeast

Filling
Nutella spread

Topping (we omitted this)
1 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. water
confectioner's sugar

Instructions

1. Mix the yeast and the sugar with the milk. Leave for 10 minutes for the yeast to activate.
2. Break the eggs into a bowl and beat lightly.
3. Mix the flour, salt and lemon zest in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the butter, eggs and yeast/milk. Mix to a soft dough.
4. Knead the dough for 10 minutes then form into a ball and place in a lightly-greased bowl. Cover and leave in a warm place until the dough has about doubled in size.
5. Meanwhile, cut out a circle of baking or greaseproof paper about 12″ in diameter. Place the paper on a baking sheet.
6. Once risen, turn the dough out onto a surface, knead for 3-4 minutes. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and form each piece into a ball.
7. Roll a ball of dough out into a circle measuring about 10″ in diameter. The dough should be about 1/8″ thick. See assembly pictures below.
8. Place the dough onto the baking paper and spread on a layer of Nutella, leaving a small gap at the edge. Don’t make the layer too thick but be sure to evenly cover the dough.
9. Roll out a second ball of dough, place it on the first layer and spread with Nutella. Repeat with the third and fourth balls of dough but do NOT spread Nutella on the final layer.
10. Place a glass in the center of the stacked dough and press down slightly. Just enough to leave and indent in the top layer of the dough. Leaving the center uncut, cut the brioche into 16 segments around the indented dough circle.
11. Take a pair of adjacent segments. Lift and twist them away from each other through 180°. Lift and twist through 180° again, then twist through 90° so that the ends are vertical. Press the edges together firmly. Repeat this process for all pairs of segments. (it's very helpful to watch this part of the video on the link provided.)
12. Place the brioche in a large plastic bag or cover with lightly oiled film. Leave in a warm place for 1-2 hours to proof.
13. (We omitted this part - it was plenty sweet without it) Brush with the glaze then bake at 320°F convection oven, 360°F conventional oven for 20-25 minutes. (We used a convection oven and it baked for 35 minutes).
14. Place the bread on a wire rack to cool. Once cooled, dust lightly with powdered sugar (we omitted this step too).

 

 

 

 

The charcuterie case at Market of Choice in Cedar Hills Oregon (photo by JMetz)

I was inspired by our latest field trip to Market of Choice to assemble my own charcuterie tray for an informal happy hour with our friends, Jen & Erik, this weekend. So, I thought I'd share some of the basics of a charcuterie platter (including the definition) and then tell you how to make your own.

First, let's start with the definition, as defined by Merriam-Webster...
charcuterie (shar-coo-ter-ee): a delicatessen specializing in dressed meats and meat dishes; also :  the products sold in such a shop

So, essentially, as many amazing "stuffed" cured meats as you can fit onto a board or platter to serve up to your friends. As you can see from the pictures below, our friends assembled a beautiful tray of cheeses and apples to pair with our meats and we also had a large tray of assorted crackers, mini French bread loaves and petite toasts to enjoy with our fare as well. I recommend a sweet white wine, a Riesling or a Moscato d'Asti, to pair with these salty meats to balance your palate. If you're not a wine fan, try an Amaretto sour with this and use the Amarena cherries - they're a chewy, candied-type cherry that we all loved! They're scrumptious!

Photo by HHaber

Here's a list of items that we had on the board but there are so many varieties, choose items that are intriguing to you. Be adventurous, try pate'. I tried to get several pork items, which are traditional but then made sure to have a beef option as well - the Mocetta Bresaola - which I enjoyed very much. It is also traditional to add a few sweet and sour items to balance the board so we added the cherries, pickles, olives, almonds and honeycomb. I've indicated the highlights of the night by starring the ones that we just couldn't live without if we do this again.

Creminelli Sopressata - pork and spices in a beef casing - found at Fred Meyer
Mocetta Bresaola - beef eye of round - found at Whole Foods
***Duck & Morel Mousette - velvety smooth pork and duck with Madeira wine and morel mushrooms - crafted by Market of Choice
Country Pate' - seasoned ground pork and duck with port wine & pistachios - crafted by Market of Choice
***Mitica Maximum Edendi - Pure Natural Honeycomb - found at Whole Foods
Cornichons - a sour gherkin - found at Fred Meyer
Gherkins - a sweet petite pickle - found at Fred Meyer
Stone ground mustard - found at Fred Meyer
***Marcona almonds - no papery shell, nicely salted - found at Fred Meyer
Roasted Garlic - found at Fred Meyer (in the olive bar)
Feta and olives in olive oil - found at Fred Meyer (in the olive bar)
***Amarena cherries - found at Whole Foods
Gourmet Assortment Pack by Daniele Inc. found at Costco, which includes:
***-Capocollo Del Duca
-prosciutto
***-calabrese

The cheeses we enjoyed were:
Smoked Gouda
Pepper Jack
Muenster
Havarti

In this new year I'm striving to share new experiences with my friends and family and turn an ordinary night into an adventure. It's fun to try new things, especially when it involves food! Try something new this week and let us know what your new favorite is...or isn't. My new favorite is Duck & Morel Moussette - who knew??  ♥Holly

Photo by HHaber

 

Good Morning!
Julie and I went on a field trip this morning to the newest grocery store in the area, Market of Choice, in Cedar Mill, which had its grand opening today.

It's similar to Whole Foods but bigger, and we received superb customer service in all departments. Felt like we were in Selfridge's of London (circa 1910) as depicted in the PBS show. Love it! And we got interviewed on camera about our opinions of the store, so we'll share the video when we find it.

If you're looking for that one ingredient you just can't find ... you'll likely be able to find it here. The store is amazing, and the selection is extensive (hence the name?) and varied (we even found Western Family brand cake box mixes.) Also, the displays are so pretty; food porn everywhere you look.

Here are a few of our favorite finds:

Quirky little books like this in the homegoods section:

I Knead My Mommy: And Other Poems by Kittens  by Francesco Marciuliano
"A book of confessional poems about the triumphs, trials, and daily discoveries of being a kitten."

Huge wine selection:
 Look at all that beautiful wine!

... and some old, $1K bottles ... like 1911 old! Of course, there are also $10 bottles available too.

Produce - Bright & Beautiful:

Fresh and tidy. Look at these tubers and roots! I really have never seen this many different types of potatoes in one place.

Cheese:

Need I say more? Look at that beautiful selection of cheeses!

Pate' & Charcuterie - Scrumptious

 We recommend the Duck & Morel Mousette or the Country Pate' with ground pork, duck & pistachios - made on-site ... ask for a sample 🙂

Baking aisle:

 - totally inspiring. Look at this gluten-free section!

So many sparkling sugars ...

Now on to the bakery - Lovely

Dreaming of Paris anyone? Perhaps Italy?

And perhaps our favorite? The spinning gelato freezer (it's at the bakery).

Then our checkout lady shared with us, "Have you seen the test kitchen upstairs?" No we haven't, and yes, we'll be back. Hopefully with our cookbook on your shelves and teaching a class about how to stuff cupcakes in your kitchen!

So stop by and see what they have. Take your girlfriends and visit the growler filling station or taste some wine. We plan to take our husbands back for date night. Enjoy!

♥ Holly & Julie

Good Morning!  Julie and I are spending the morning drinking gourmet coffees and inspecting our latest cookbook shipments...let's just say there's still some kinks to work out. Ugh!

We have a kitchen lined up for us to bake our samples for our Tanasbourne Barnes & Noble book signing coming up on Feb. 7th, 11:30am. We're planning to demonstrate how to make our Aztec Chili Chocolate Stuffed Cupcakes & our Strawberry Stuffed Heart Cakes - just in time for Valentine's Day!

New today, you can subscribe to our blog posts by entering your email into the Subscribe box on the right side of the blog page, just above the Search button. Now you can receive tips, recipes and updates on our progress. Unsubscribe at any time.

ABOUT THAT COFFEE
So, we bought a new coffee maker for my husband for Christmas, a Nespresso Vertuoline Coffee Maker. I'm pretty sure we'll never use anything else. I gotta say the crema on top and the optional foam maker is the bomb! Add in a few flavored syrups to the coffee and you get dessert in a mug - for breakfast no less!  ♥Holly

(Photos by Holly Haber)

We made Peppermint Mocha Stuffed Cupcakes & Spiked Eggnog Stuffed Cupcakes today. You can find the recipes in our new cookbook or you can get one of them free here.
We tried a new topper technique today, an idea we got from our friend Kristie Hauss!

White Christmas Tree Pretzel Pics
1. Heat white almond bark in the micro until completely melted.
2. Pour melted almond bark into a decorating bag.
3. Lay pretzel sticks on a piece of parchment.
4. Cut a small hole in the decorating bag and drizzle across pretzel stick, making it look like a Christmas tree.
5. While almond bark is still wet, sprinkle with gold sparkling sugar or colored sprinkles.
6. Let dry for 10 minutes.
Perfect as cupcake toppers or a sweet and salty treat.

Our friend got her copy of our cookbook yesterday; she said she's inspired to make our Chocolate Strawberry Stuffed Jellyroll (our Week 15 recipe), even though she's never made a jellyroll before ... you can do it, Wendy!

Here are a few extra tips:
1. When you remove the cake from the oven, wait no more than 5 minutes and flip it out onto your prepared tea towel. You have to roll it up -- with the tea towel inside -- while it's warm so that it holds it shape later.

2. Cool in towel for 1 hour.

3. Once cooled, unroll the cake. Spread on filling(s) 1-inch shy from the edges. Here we use chocolate frosting and a strawberry/cheesecake mixture.

4. Gently roll it back up, minus the towel. Now you can drizzle with melted chocolate and refrigerate until ready to slice and serve.

 For detailed, illustrated technique instructions about needed tools, assembly, filling, preparing a pastry bag and circle frosting, see our drop-down HOW-TO menu at the top of the page.

We've posted lots of stuffed cupcakes and we have a How-To menu but we want to make sure everyone is familiar with how to stuff a cupcake.  Enjoy!

Look who's in the kitchen! Julie's mom and dad helped us style and circle frost. Look for our Winter Wonderland recipe next week.