tuesday's take 5 -- week #9

1. if you were a dish, what would you be?
2. it’s Friday night, and you don’t know what to cook. you opt for…
3. what's the native specialty of your home town or state?
4. what spices can you not live without?
5. what is a fictional restaurant you would like to visit

answer these 5 questions on your blog today and enter your name (or your blog's name) in the name field below and a permalink (the url for your blog post with the answer to these questions and not just to your main blog page) to your blog post in the url field. thanks for playing, see you next week!

garlic and rosemary monkey bread

I love making monkey bread and this is a great herbed bread that goes wonderful with chicken and pork dishes.  I served it saturday night with the balsamic pork tenderloin .

garlic and rosemary monkey bread

1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon active dry yeast (1 1/2 packages)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 Sticks) unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons chopped garlic (preferably roasted)
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon minced fresh Parsley
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1. heat the butter milk until lukewarm (but not hot).  in my microwave, this is about 1 minute on half (50%) power
   
2. transfer the warm milk to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (alternatively, the dough can be mixed by hand in a large bowl)
   
3. add the yeast and a pinch of the sugar and let stand far about 5 minutes, until the yeast is dissolved
   
4. add the remaining sugar, the salt, and 1/2 cup of the melted butter.  add the roasted garlic, pepper, and fresh herbs and, with the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the flour, mixing for 2 or 3 minutes, until a soft dough forms
   
5. transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn the dough to coat, and cover with plastic wrap. let rise in a warm place for about I hour. or until doubled in volume
   
6. preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a bar pan (rimmed cookie sheet)

7. punch down the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured work surface.  using a rolling pin roll the dough out to a 1/4-inch thickness
   
8. place the remaining 1/2 cup melted butter in a shallow bowl.  with a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 by 2 inch pieces.  dip each piece of dough into the melted butter and arrange the on the bar pan, slightly overlapping each piece
   
9. let rise in a warm place, covered with a damp towel, for 20 to 30 minutes
10. transfer to the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.  brush the top again with any leftover butter

balsamic pork tenderloin with roasted veggies

this is one of those great and quick recipes.  it is one of my favorite things to make when we are having  friends over for dinner.  all you need to add is some bread and you have dinner!

balsamic pork tenderloin with roasted veggies

1/2 pounds pork tenderloins, 1 packages with 2 tenderloins

4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
8 cloves garlic, cracked
steak seasoning blend
coarse salt
black pepper
4 sprigs fresh rosemary leaves stripped and finely chopped
vegetables chopped and washed for roasting (zucchini, broccoli,asparagus, and mushrooms)

1. preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
2. place tender loins in a roasting pan. coat tenderloins in a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, rubbing vinegar into meat. drizzle tenderloins with extra-virgin olive oil, just enough to coat. cut small slits into meat and disperse chunks of cracked garlic cloves into meat. combine steak seasoning blend or coarse salt and pepper with rosemary and rub meat with blend. roast in hot oven 10 minutes. 
3. remove the roast from the oven and add the vegatables to the roasting pan.  drizzle roasts and the vegtables with additional basalmic vinegar.  return the roasting pan to the oven and roast for another 10 minutes.
   
4. let meat rest, transfer to a carving board, slice and serve with the roasted veggies.

the square bar

so, last night, we tried a new restaurant in waco, the square bar.  it is next to olive branch, where we went for lunch the other day.  everything in the restaurant was square, from the menus to the tables to the plates.

since I had already had dinner, I went for dessert, but the choice was tough, they had so many desserts on their menu that sounded good.  I eventually decided on the bananas foster cheesecake and it was a good choice.  the cheesecake was rich and creamy and the bananas foster topping was perfect.

mike went for the beef wellington sliders, since he h
ad not had dinner yet.  they sounded really good on the menu, but left something to be desired when actually eating them.  they were freshly baked croissants with a really good sauce and sliced roast beef.  they were good, but they would have been even better with a better quality meat.

peach french toast bake

this is not only healthy, but it is incredibly easy!  it's best with fresh peaches if you can get them.

cooking spray
1 large whole-wheat baguette (about 8 ounces)
4 whole eggs
4 egg whites
1 cup low fat milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups sliced peaches, fresh or frozen
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. preheat the oven to 350.
2. spray a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. slice the baguette into 1/2-inch slices and arrange the slices in a single layer in the baking pan.
3. whisk together the eggs, egg whites, milk and vanilla. pour the egg mixture over the bread in the pan. in a medium bowl, toss peaches with the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of the brown sugar.
4. scatter the peach slices evenly on top of the bread. combine the remaining brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the top. cover and refrigerate overnight.
   
5. in the morning, uncover and bake for 40 minutes.
   

serving suggestion: top with a dollop of vanilla yogurt and a side of canadian bacon.