Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Pulled Chicken and Cheddar Stuffed Rolls


My mouth is watering just looking at the photos. There is just something about meat and cheese that is so satisfying. 

I have a mock trial competition this Friday, and I am so nervous and excited! It's the regional competition. I never thought my freshman year in mock trial that we could ever make it this far, and here I am as a senior going to regionals. So cool!


"All At Once" The Fray


Also, you can saute peppers and onions and add it to the pulled chicken. So good!!

Adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride

Ingredients

  • For the pretzel roll dough:
  • 3/4 cup warm water
  • 2 tsp (1 package) yeast
  • 1 cup warmed milk (I used 2%)
  • 2 Tbsp softened butter (I used Smart Balance)
  • 4 1/2-4 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • For the filling:
  • ~1lb shredded chicken (about 3 generous cups)
  • 4 oz cheddar, sliced and cut into 18 chunks
  • 1/2 cup HEB Texas-style Barbecue Sauce
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • For boiling and finishing:
  • 2 quarts water
  • 4 Tbsp baking soda
  • 1 Tbsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp honey whisked with 1 Tbsp water

Directions

  1. In your mixer bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the water and let proof for 10 minutes.
  2. Add the milk, softened butter, 4.5 cups of flour, and salt; knead for ~5 minutes. The dough should be smooth and slightly sticky and might not completely come off the bottom of the bowl. If overly sticky, add 1-2 Tbsp of extra flour at a time.
  3. Cover and let rise for an hour, or until doubled.
  4. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly oil.
  5. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and divide into 18 balls (a scale makes this easy to do in 2-oz portions). Cover with a light towel and prep the filling and boil.
  6. Place the pulled pork and red onion in a large bowl.
  7. Whisk together the honey and bbq sauce and pour over top of the pulled chicken, tossing to mix thoroughly.
  8. Keeping your surface lightly floured to prevent sticking, flatten your dough ball, top with a chunk of cheddar and a heaping small spoonful of pulled chicken (it might take you 1-2 rolls to figure out the perfect sized scoop of filling).
  9. Pull the edges of the dough to the top, pinching and crimping the roll to prevent any leaks. Transfer the roll to the prepared baking sheets (9 each).
  10. In a large pan, bring the water, baking soda, and salt to a boil.
  11. Working with 4-5 rolls at a time, boil the rolls 30 seconds on each side, transfer to the baking sheet with a slotted spoon, and slash the top of the rolls 2-3 times with a very sharp knife (but don't cut too thick or your cheese will ooze out the top).
  12. Bake the rolls for 18 minutes, glaze with the honey-water mixture, and then bake for an additional 5 minutes until golden brown.
  13. Sprinkle with coarse salt and serve. Leftovers should be refrigerated.

Whole Wheat Buns

     To be honest, these buns were better than the burgers that were on them.  Normally, I'm all for burgers with less bread, but these were fantastic. I was eating this buns straight-up and eating stray sesame seeds off of the plate! Nothing spells summer like sesame seeds, even in February.

"Every Morning" Sugar Ray

Adapted from Holy Cow! (check it out! It has great tips for going vegan"

Ingredients

  • 1½ cups whole-wheat flour
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp vital wheat gluten flour (optional)
  • 1½ tsp active dry yeast
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1½ cups warm water
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil


Directions

  1. Mix the sugar, ½ cup warm water and the yeast in a mixing bowl and set aside for about 10 minutes until the mixture starts to froth, indicating the yeast is alive and well.
  2. Sift all the flours, salt, and baking soda into the bowl. Knead on low speed in a stand mixer or by hand for about 3 minutes, trickling in 1 cup of water until you have a dough that's smooth but slightly sticky. If you are leaving out the gluten, knead at least 2 more minutes.
  3. Add the oil and continue to knead until the oil has been absorbed by the dough, about 1 more minute.
  4. Now place in an oiled bowl, turning over once to coat all over with oil, cover with a kitchen towel, and set aside for 2 hours until the dough has risen.
  5. Punch down the dough and divide into 6 balls
  6. Shape them into smooth balls. Place the buns on a lightly greased and floured baking sheet, at least a couple of inches apart. Flatten the tops slightly with your fingers, and let the buns rise for an hour.
  7. Preheat the oven to 370 degrees. Place the buns in the oven and bake 25 minutes.
  8. Brush the tops with a little oil for a pretty, glossy look. Sprinkle some sesame seeds or poppy seeds on the top, if desired.
  9. Remove to a rack and allow the buns to cool before breaking them off.

Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry


As you can probably tell from the complete scarcity of posts, this winter has been completely crazy! Between school, work, college applications, and scholarship applications, cooking and blogging have fallen to the wayside. 


Snow days have come to my rescue! We've gotten about 6 inches of snow the past couple days, and that combined with plunging temperatures, well-timed wind, and President's Day has caused this to be most likely a one day school week. Hooray!

"Opus 28: Opus 28" Dustin Ohalloran

Ingredients

  • beef, chopped into one-inch pieces
  • broccoli, cut into florets
  • peppers, julienned
  • zucchini, julienned 
  • onion, diced
  • soy sauce
  • vegetable oil
  • red pepper flakes, optional
  • garlic
  • ginger

Directions

Heat oil and soy sauce in saute pan and add garlic, ginger, red pepper and onion. Cook until onion is translucent. Add zucchini and broccoli. Cook until broccoli florets have turned bright green. Add peppers. Cook until soft. Remove pan from heat and put vegetables in a bowl.

Add beef to saute pan and cook until desired doneness. Combine vegetables and beef. Serve with rice.