I decided that I wanted biscuits and gravy for breakfast, but I did not have my usual sage pork sausage—which wife, Jan, does not really prefer. I did have some Trader Joe’s chicken sausage in the freezer, so I decided to go with that. I did not used to make this kind of thing—except on special weekends—but I just had a hankering.
Karl’s Biscuits and Chicken Sausage Gravy
Filed under Breakfast, California Fusion, Chicken
A bierock—German stuffed bread—is not now, nor has it ever been haute cuisine, it is essentially a workingman’s lunch. When you are working, traveling, or having some kind of festival event, you do not always have time to sit down for meal. Having a meal in a neat, sealed package that you can slip into a pocket or pouch is a solution that many cultures have discovered.
Karl’s Volga German Bierocks
Filed under Beef, bread, German, Main Dishes, Pork
Bread is mostly flour mixed with a liquid. However, because of the complex chemistry of the starches and gluten in the flour, small changes in handling techniques and additional ingredients can make a big difference in the texture of the final product. A few weeks ago I posted my updated recipe for light and flaky biscuits. I had been making these biscuits for years, so throwing them together was second nature. However, when I tried to make these biscuits as I had written the recipe they came out tough and dense.
Karl’s Biscuits II
Filed under bread, Breakfast, Side Dishes, Vegetarian
Adapted from a King Arthur Flour recipe
I do not make dinner rolls very often, because several family members are avoiding carbs or white flour breads. Jan’s friends came to Stitches and I was making them a Brazilian seafood stew. Jan’s friends are not avoiding white bread and I decided that pull-apart rolls would go well with dinner.
Karl’s Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls
Filed under bread, Side Dishes, Vegetarian
The prospect of fresh hot bread is one of the joys and reasons to get up in the morning. Most cultures have some form of baked good, but in the end it is mostly flour mixed with some kind of liquid and then baked—or fried. However, because of the complex chemistry involved in exactly what other ingredients you add—and how you treat the resulting dough—it produces amazingly different results.
Karl’s Biscuits
Filed under bread, Breakfast, California Fusion, Side Dishes
While I originally adapted this recipe from Joy of Cooking, I am constantly tinkering with it (recipe 1, recipe 2, recipe 3, recipe 4, recipe 5, recipe 6, recipe 7, recipe 8, recipe 9,and recipe 10). Every time I have several overripe bananas it is time to start baking.
Karl’s Cinnamon Banana Nut Mini-Muffins
Filed under bread, Side Dishes, Treats
Jan is on a soft food diet—nothing where she has to bite with her front teeth—and I have spent the last two weeks thinking up interesting foods that she can still eat. She decided that she could handle chili, but tortillas would not work. She likes bread pudding, so we agreed that I could make a soft cornbread pudding to serve on the side.
Karl’s Jalapeño Cornbread Pudding
Filed under bread, California Fusion, Side Dishes
I posted the recipe for my mother Claudia’s French toast a while ago. For a few people it is a treat, but it is a bit finicky in that you have to soak the bread slices and then cook them two at a time. If you are having a crowd at the table, this leaves some people hungry while they wait for the next batch. My memory is that she made this when we had breakfast company.
Claudia’s French Toast Casserole
Filed under bread, Breakfast, Main Dishes
I bought some Trader Joes almond butter and it was—to say the least—disappointing, hardly any almond flavor at all. Jan really loves banana bread and when our bananas get to that state of over ripeness where no one will eat them it is time to mix up a batch. Mixing the almond butter with the banana bread seemed a good way to use it up.
Karl’s Banana Almond Butter Mini Muffins
Filed under Breakfast, California Fusion, Desserts & Treats, Side Dishes
Several years ago, Cook’s Illustrated had a oat muffin recipe. While it was a tasty oat cupcake, it was not a “muffin”—too sweet! They did, however, have some good techniques for enhancing the oat flavor by toasting the raw oats and then grinding them into flour.
Karl’s Banana Oat Mini Muffins with Fresh Raspberries
Filed under Breakfast, California Fusion, Desserts & Treats, Side Dishes, Vegetarian
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Miriam
Jabberwocky Stew 