What Would Martha Cook?

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Bread

Focaccia with Chevre and Green Onions

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1 3/4 c. warm water
1 T. dry yeast
4 1/2 c. flour plus scant amount for kneading
1/4 c. olive oil plus 8 T. separated
2 1/2 t. salt
6 oz. goat cheese
1/4 c. minced green onions
1 t. minced garlic
1/8 t. dry crushed red pepper
3 t. coarse salt

Place 1 c. warm water in bowl of heavy mixer.  Sprinkle yeast over and stir to dissolve yeast. Let stand 10 minutes. Mix in one cup of flour and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let stand in a warm place for one hour or until doubled in volume.

Brush two large baking sheets with olive oil. Transfer dough to lightly floured surface. Knead for about 2 minutes and let it sit for 10 minutes. Divide it into eight equal pieces.  Shape each piece into a ball and flatten ball to a disk.  Transfer disks to baking sheets. Let rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  With lightly floured fingers, press dough disks al over, dimpling the surface. Sprinkle evenly each disk with goat cheese, green onions, garlic and crushed red pepper. Drizzle each with 1 t. olive oil, then sprinkle evenly with coarse salt.  Let rise 15 minutes.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer bread to racks. Brush each piece with 2 t. olive oil. Serve while warm. From Stacie in the Siesta Fiesta Cookbook. Want one?  Go here for details!

Grocery List
warm water
dry yeast
flour
olive oil
salt
goat cheese
green onions
garlic
crushed red pepper
coarse salt

Approximate Cost: $6.25

Boston Brown Bread

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1 c. raisins
1 c. boiling water
1 c. all purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. cornmeal
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 c. buttermilk
1 c. molasses

Put raisins into a small bowl; cover with boiling water and let stand 15 minutes. Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix well and set aside.

Add raisins, buttermilk and molasses to dry ingredients. Stir until just blended. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake for one hour at 350 degrees. Makes one loaf.

Grocery List
raisins
all purpose flour
wheat flour
cornmeal
baking soda
salt
brown sugar
molasses
buttermilk

Approximate Cost: $3.79

Thanksgiving Edition: Oyster Dressing

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Turkey giblets (Don’t know what they are? Click here.)
1 loaf of your favorite bread
1 medium onion, minced finely
1 t. salt
1 1/2 t. sage
3 eggs
1/8 t. pepper
1 container oysters, drain and reserve 2 T. of this liquid
1/2 c. drippings from the cooked turkey (drippings are the liquid at the bottom of the turley pan–the oils and juices from the turkey)

Boil giblets from turkey. Using the broth from this, lightly wet a loaf of bread and add, 1 finely minced onion, 1 t. salt, 1 1/2 t. sage, 3 eggs and pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly. Gently add in 1 container of oysters with 2 T. of the liquid. Divide mixture in half and cook in two pie pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

In the middle of cooking, drip some turkey drippings on it to make a nice crust. A family Thanksgiving favorite!!

Grocery List:
Turkey (reserve the giblet bag and drippings)
bread
onion
salt
sage
3 eggs
pepper
oysters

Approximate Cost (just for the dressing, not the turkey): $7.85

Thanksgiving Edition: Newlywed Yeast Rolls

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1 c. warm water
1 pkg yeast
2 T. sugar
2 1/2 c. flour
1 t. salt
1 egg beaten
2 T. olive oil

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in sugar and salt; add half of the flour. Add oil and egg. Beat until smooth, while adding remaining flour. Cover and let rise in a warm place 30 minutes.

Grease 12 muffin cups. Stir (punch) down dough and spoon into cups, filling half full. Let rise 20-30 minutes more. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Serves 8-12.

Grocery list:
yeast
sugar
flour
salt
1 egg
olive oil

Approximate cost: $2.31

Cinnamon Rolls

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2 pkgs. yeast
3 c. flour plus 1/2 c. separated plus 4 c. also separate
1 c. sugar
2 t. salt
2 c. milk
1/2 c. water
1 c. margarine plus 16 T. separated plus scant amount for greasing bowl
4 eggs
2 T. lemon juice
1 c. cinnamon sugar mixture (made from 4 t. cinnamon and 1 c. sugar) in a shaker (I like this one.)

Thoroughly mix undissolved yeast with 3 c. flour, 1 c. sugar, 2 t. salt. In a sauce pan heat 2 c. milk over low heat and add 1/2 c. water and 1 c. margarine. Heat to 125 degrees. Add liquid mixture to dry mixture. Beat for two minutes at medium speed, scraping the bowl occasionally.

Add 1/2 c. flour, 4 eggs, 2 T. lemon juice. Stir in additional 4 c. flour. Knead on lightly floured surface (or pastry cloth) for about 8 minutes. Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning the ball of dough to grease the top. Cover with warm damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 2 hours).

Punch down. For each handful of dough, into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Spread 2 T. melted margarine and sprinkle 1/8 c. cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll up in jelly-roll fashion and slice about 1″ in length. Place in greased pan, cut side down. Makes four pans.

Let rise again until double in size. Cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Remove from pan and drizzle with frosting made from 2 c. powdered sugar, 2-4 T. milk and 1 t. vanilla. Needs to be of consistency to pour from spoon. From an old family friend, Edna Stevens.

Grocery List
yeast
flour
sugar
salt
milk
margarine
eggs
lemon juice
cinnamon

Approximate Cost: $9.25

Flour Tortillas From Scratch

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3 c. flour plus scant amount for hands and surface

2 t. salt
2 T. baking powder
1/3 c. butter, melted
1 c. hot water

In a large bowl, add flour, salt, baking powder and butter. Stir together thoroughly, until the mixture is crumbly. Slowly add hot water, stirring together. Flour hands and knead mixture for 2 minutes. Divide into 8 balls. Cover with damp paper towel for 30 minutes.

Flour surface and roll out each ball. Cook over medium high heat in iron skillet that is cured. Brown on both sides and set aside in a warmed plate.

Grocery List
flour
salt
baking powder
butter

Approximate Cost: $2.13