Buttermilk Syrup

I used to get so frustrated that recipes would call for buttermilk because who the hell has buttermilk laying around? But now that I'm making my own butter (btw, whipping cream works as well as heavy whipping cream), I have all this buttermilk I have to use. Suddenly, it makes sense why all these old recipes call for it and I really don't need another excuse to make this Buttermilk Syrup.

Pickles!

Uh, too EASY. Something else to put in the Xmas baskets? Hmm..so far we have hot cocoa, marshmallows, and pickles...

Homemade Marshmallows

I'm working on Xmas gift ideas that won't break the bank and I think I've hit on at least one: a hot cocoa recipe with homemade marshmallows. Seriously, these things have so little in common with the bags at the supermarket: they are airy, they melt, and they taste fantastic.

Best Brownies Ever

Seriously gooey and amazing and will make a great base for Rocky Road Brownies. With Homemade Marshmallows, of course

Homemade Butter

Heavy Cream or Whipping Cream

Whip a pint of cream until it hardens and starts to form liquid, buttermilk. Drain through a fine mesh strainer and mix for more buttermilk. Strain again. Return to mixer. Once it's done, the butter will tangle in the mixer spools. You just churned your own butter! Set the liquid aside and knead your butter in some cold water. When the water discolors, dump and do it again; keep kneading til the water is clear to make sure all the buttermilk is out. This is important because if there is any buttermilk left in the butter, it will go rancid within a week and ruin your Rice Krispy treats. When properly washed, the butter should last up to a month but, honestly, you'll have to weigh how much you really want that fresh butter. It tastes amazing but it can be work intensive with the straining and washing.

Also: the buttermilk byproduct can be used in the place of whole milk in recipes but not as buttermilk. Back in the day, they would sour milk and skim the cream off until they had enough to churn butter and the byproduct of the soured cream would be buttermilk but since we're basically using a shortcut (heavy cream that hasn't come from soured milk), it's not real buttermilk.  I learned this the "hard way" with what was supposed to be buttermilk dinner rolls: they made a great bread pudding but a lousy roll.

Easy Bread

from New York Times

3 cups flour (pictured above is 1 1/2 c bread and 1 1/2 c whole wheat four)
1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 tbs kosher salt
1 1/2 c warm water

Mix dry ingredients and add warm water stirring until the batter chases the spoon around the bowl. Cover and set in a warm place for 12-20 hours (overnight). Drop on floured surface and pull ends to the top of the ball to make a taut surface (wet hands to avoid sticking). Wrap in well-floured towel in a bowl and set in a warm place for 2 hours, the towel should cover the dough while it doubles in size. A half hour before preparing to bake, preheat oven to 450 degrees and warm a lidded casserole dish in the oven. Line the warmed casserole dish with parchment paper (very important! I lost the lower half of my second loaf to the bottom of the dish because I forgot this, lol) and drop in dough. Bake covered for 20-30 minutes, uncovered for another 10-25 minutes or until sufficiently browned. When it's baked through, bread should sound hollow when tapped (or be 210 degrees in the center).

UPDATE! I've made this bread I think 6 or 7 times since I posted this and each time it's proven fool-proof. Honestly, I have not been able to mess this bread up (Andy did by adding too much salt one time but that actually had a silver lining since he's back to staying out of my kitchen, lol). I started to think: why do I need that second rising? It's no a No-Knead Bread! It would make sense if I had to punch it down but I don't so...I skipped the second rise this past weekend (Dec 4) and dropped it into a parchment paper-lined bread loaf pan and covered with tin foil. I even put it into a cold oven! 45 minutes later, I had a fluffy sandwich bread. Seriously, this bread is that EASY.