Beef Daube Provençal

We made Beef Daube Provençal, also page 510, this week. I forgot to take pictures, but rest assured… it looked delicious!

After making this dish, I wish I had put some other vegetables in. Onions and carrots are just not enough. Next time, we’ll be adding diced celery and sliced mushrooms.

We actually used rice instead of egg noodles the first night. Since there were left overs, but not very much rice… we made some noodles. My husband prefers the noodles over rice. I like the rice better. Personal preferences.

Homemade White Bread

I have never made bread before and wanted to give it a try.
I recommend making this in the morning or early afternoon. I made this around 430pm, and stayed up till midnight!

Today from the The All-New Complete Cooking Light Cookboook,Homemade White Bread [page 87]

1 package of dry yeast (about 2¼ teaspoons)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 2/3 cups warm fat-free milk (100° - 110° F)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
4¾ cups flour, divided [I used all-purpose, but bread flour may be used]
1½ teaspoons salt
Cooking spray

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm milk in a large bowl. Let it stand for 5 minutes. This is so the casing of the yeast breaks down. Stir in butter.

Add 4¼ cups of flour and salt to yeast mixture; stir until blended (I used a wooden spoon, which is stronger than a spatula). Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time [I just set the rest to the side of my working area and used my hand when I needed some more flour].

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. [Making sure there are no creases on the top of the dough] Cover and let rise in a warm place (85° F), free from drafts, 1 hour or until double in size. [We set the dough in the oven, covered, and placed a pan of warm water the rack under the dough. We got this from Alton Brown’s Good Eats] … After it has doubled in size, gently press two fingers into dough. If the indention remains, dough has risen enough.

Punch dough down, let rest 5 minutes. Roll into a 14 x 7 – inch rectangle on a floured surface. Roll up rectangle tightly, starting from the short edge, pressing firmly to eliminate any air pockets; pinch seam and ends to seal. Place roll, seam side down, in a 9x5 inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise one hour or until double in size.

Preheat oven 350°
Uncover dough. Bake for 45 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pan; cool on a wire rack [it took about 2 hours to cool for us]. After it is cooled, place in a tightly sealed bag [we used a 2 gallon zip lock bag].



It’s not as creamy tasting, this is from Cooking Light.
So, we recommend that the bread to be finish at least within 5 - 6 days.

Next time, I'll be making a variation of Oatmeal Cookies with A-Peel [page 142].

Another chocolate chip cookies

So, my husband got a Cooking Light recipe book last year.
I decided that [almost] every week, I'm going to making something from it.

Today, I made the chocolate chip cookies [pg 146]

Makes 3 dozen.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 applesauce (drained)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips [I used half dark and half milk - that's all I had in the cupboard]
Cooking spray

How to drain your applesauce:
Place applesauce in strainer into a bowl, but don't let the strainer touch the bottom. Let it sit for 15 minutes. Discard liquid, scrape applesauce into bowl with rubber spatula.

Preheat oven 375 degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Mix well.

Combine drained applesauce, sugar, and butter in a large bowl. Beat with mixer at medium speed until it is light - for approx. 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla and egg. Add flour mixture (I usually scoop it in the bowl with my 1/4 measuring cup). Beat at low speed until well blended. Fold in chips.

Drop by tablespoons on sheet that has been sprayed with cooking oil [or aluminum foil sheet] approx. two inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes.

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I had to bake 3 baking sheets. Each batch came out differently, probably due to the applesauce. First batch, I baked for what the book had said, 10 minutes. It came out flat and really doughy. Second batch, I paid close attention... it baked for about 18 minutes, came out perfect! Third batch, 13 minutes, it was a little darker than the second, but still came out pretty good.
So, when you bake, just sit close by.



Each cookie has 78 calories. Not bad, eh?