Tomato Basil Bread

Summer is the absolute BEST time to bake bread.  It’s also probably the last thing on your mind, and admittedly, heating up the kitchen by turning on the oven for an hour or so doesn’t sound all that appealing, but the weather is ideal for yeast dough.  The heat and humidity will cause even the heaviest loaf to rise and crown beautifully.

Having recently gone through the pantry at my dad’s house, tossing out items long past their due date (Just in case you’re wondering, after EIGHT years – you read that right – canned crab claw meat turns black.), I started to eye my own pantry.  A jar of sun dried tomato pesto jumped out at me.  After the great success I had with the pesto rolls, it seemed only natural to give this a try in a similar manner, pairing it with basil in loaf form.  Brace yourself for a house that smells so good that you’ll want to swoon, and prepare to indulge in a bread so delicious that you will have to hide it away to keep from devouring the entire loaf.  As you can see from the picture, I didn’t roll mine quite as tightly as I should have, resulting in spacing between the dough and pesto, but it had no effect on the taste or my enjoyment. 

This recipe is designed for the ABM (Automatic Bread Machine), but it can be easily made using traditional methods.

Tomato Basil Bread

½ cup warm water
½ cup whole milk

2 large eggs
6 tablespoons shortening
3 cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups wheat flour
½ cup granulated sugar
1½ pkgs. Red Star Bread Machine Yeast  (3-1/2 teaspoons)

1 tablespoon baking powder 

1 tablespoon dried basil

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup Melissa’s Sun Dried Tomato Pesto 

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Place first 11 ingredients into the work bowl of your bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Set machine on “dough” setting and press “start.”  When machine has completed the dough making process (usually 90 minutes), remove dough to a lightly floured surface and roll into a large rectangle. 

Using an offset spatula, spread with pesto, covering to the edge.  Beginning at the short end, roll up as tightly as possible (obviously, I cannot stress this enough), pinching the seam to seal.  Tuck ends under and place in a greased loaf pan.

Cover loosely with a kitchen towel, place in a warm spot and allow to raise until doubled in size, 50-60 minutes.  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush top of loaf with melted butter. Bake for 30-45 minutes until golden. Remove from oven and leave in pan for 5-10 minutes before carefully removing to a wire rack to cool completely. 

This post is linked to:

Wow Us Wednesdays

Full Plate Thursday

Foodie Friday

Almond Yogurt Pound Cake

 

When it comes to cake, while I do quite enjoy all kinds, I find that I most enjoy the plain varieties, moist and flavorful, and able to be paired with toppings…or not; fresh fruit…or not; an after dinner drink…or not.  We’re talking versatile!  I am also a HUGE fan of almond, so I decided to come up with a recipe that would satisfy my almond craving like no other, and I think that I’ve done it.  The best part?  The Greek Yogurt in this cake adds protein.  Can you believe a dessert with protein?!  Yep, in which case I would not look at you askance if you decided to have it for breakfast.

Almond Yogurt Pound Cake

1 stick butter, plus more for pan
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup Chobani Vanilla Greek Yogurt
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon Buttery Sweet Dough Flavor (or vanilla extract)
2 teaspoons almond extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour a loaf pan and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until well blended, 3-5 minutes.  Add yogurt and beat an additional minute.   In a medium bowl, sift together flour and baking soda.  Add dry mixture to creamed mixture, alternately with eggs, beating to incorporate after each addition. Add extracts and stir to combine. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes (more or less -- test with a toothpick for doneness). Cool cake in pan for about 5 minutes, remove to a wire rack under which you've spread waxed paper, and spoon on Amaretto Glaze, slowly, allowing it to saturate the cake. Drizzle Amaretto Icing over the top when completely cooled.

Amaretto Glaze:

1/4 cup plus 2 T. granulated sugar

3 tablespoons butter

2 T. Amaretto (or other almond liqueur)

1 tablespoon water

Bring sugar, butter, Amaretto, and water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often.  Reduce heat to medium-low, and boil, stirring constantly, 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and use immediately.

Amaretto Icing:

1 cup confectioners' sugar
2-3 tablespoons Amaretto (or other almond liqueur)

Combine the confectioners' sugar and Amaretto and drizzle over the cake.

This post is linked to:

Sugar and Spice

Sunday Sweeties

Josephine's Tea Room, Godfrey, IL

 

For this week's contribution to The Tablescaper's “Oh, the places I've been" link up, I am taking you to lunch at Josephine's Tea Room (and shops!) in Godfrey, Illinois. A 30 minute drive from downtown St. Louis, if you live close, or are passing through, it is well worth a stop.

I celebrated my last two birthdays here (October 7th in case you want to send a card), which is why the pictures are more fall-ish than summery, but if you're anything like me, you are probably looking for seasonal decorating ideas all year long.  So relax, take a good look, and soak up all of this botanical gorgeousness.

Every time I see the gardens here I wonder what the heck I am doing wrong with my own faded, spindly plants. Look at these!  So lush!

This “planted” window just blew me away, well, not literally, but the day was windy.  Again, lush, gorgeous, and very clever the way the pots are attached to the shutters. I love this look, but my shutters are brand new and I just can't see myself heading toward them wielding a power drill even though I know that I'd love the outcome.

The interior of Josephine's is as pretty as the exterior.  Items that are available for sale in the shops are attractively displayed everywhere. When I see displays like this, well, I just want to go home and spit on my mantle.

Little bits of charm lie everywhere.

This picture is fuzzy because the dining room was packed, we were sitting across the room in the corner, and I was without flash and using a telephoto lens, but check out the stenciling!  Back in the day, every room in my house was stenciled.  I was a woman on a mission with a stencil brush in my hand. For a while I hired out and managed to stencil English ivy around a room in an old house, even across the front of a radiator!  Tricky, but it looked great.  If any of you stencil, please tell me where I can find this monkey stencil. I have the PERFECT place for it in my house.

More stenciling, more fuzziness, but you get the idea as to what a visual wonder this place is inside and out.

Now for the food.  I had a salad and the lobster bisque.  Yummy!  

The dessert tray.  Need I say more? 

Maybe that I selected the biggest one!

Josephine's Ltd.

Tea Rooms and Gift Shops

6109 Godfrey Road

Godfrey, Illinois

618 466 7792

This post is linked to:

“Oh, the PLACES I’ve been!”

Mosaic Monday