Braided Onion Bread with White Wine and Smoked Bacon

http://schneiderchen.de | © 2013 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

http://schneiderchen.de | © 2013 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

This is a rustic braided yeast bread (part levain, part commercial yeast) that is filled with a mix of caramelized onions and smoked bacon deglazed with white wine. It's hearty, packed with flavour, and quite a treat for onion lovers. If you're a vegetarian, leave out the smoked bacon, it tastes different though equally delicious served with a salad or soup. I have cut the braided loaf into two and baked them in loaf pans, but you can just bake the whole braided loaf on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

Braided Onion Bread with White Wine and Smoked Bacon

adapted from Brot-Bernd Armbrust
©angiesrecipes

Filling	Dough
250 g Onions 150 g Smoked bacon 2 tbsp Sunflower oil 200 ml White wine	25 g Fresh yeast 150 ml Water, lukewarm 50 g Rye sourdough starter 150 ml White wine 400 g Bread flour 100 g Dark rye flour 10 g Salt

1. Peel and cut the onions into rings. Cut the smoked bacon into small cubes. Heat the oil in a skillet and cook onion rings over medium heat until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add in diced smoked bacon and white wine. Cook the mixture until the liquid has almost evaporated. Leave it overnight in the fridge.
   
2. Dissolve yeast with warm water in the bowl of your stand mixer, then stir in sourdough starter and white wine. Add in flours and salt. Mix for 4 minutes at slow speed, then increase the speed and mix 4 more minutes. Shape into a longish dough. Cover and rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Prepare two loaf pans and line with baking papers.
   
3. Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface roll it out to a 50x35-cm rectangle. Spread the onion mixture lengthwise over 2/3 of the dough. Fold the dough into a three-layer, beginning at the un-filled third. Cut into 3 strips and braid. Slice the braided loaf from the center into half. Pinch ends to seal and tuck under. Place each into a loaf pan. Cover and let rise for 30-45 minutes at room temperature.
   
4. Fill a roasting pan with water and place it at the bottom of the oven. Preheat the oven to 230C/450F. Dust the loaves with a little bit flour. Bake the loaves in the center of the hot oven for 35-40 minutes. Remove the roasting pan with water after 15 minutes.

http://schneiderchen.de | © 2013 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

http://schneiderchen.de | © 2013 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

Warm Roast Potato Salad with Black Forest Bacon

Potato salads make the perfect accompaniment to many meat dishes or a delicious and hearty meal on their own. I personally prefer the roasted potatoes instead of usual boiled one for my potato salads as it intensifies the flavour. If you can't find the smoky black forest bacon, use regular bacon.

• 800 g Small potatoes, cut into 2-3 chunks
  
• 2 tbsp Rosemary infused olive oil
  
• Salt
  
• 5 slice Black forest bacon, chopped
  
• 1 tbsp Fresh rosemary leaves
  
• 2 tbsp Sour cream
  
• 2 tbsp Homemade mayonnaise
  
• 1/2 tbsp Lemon juice
  
• 1/2 tbsp Capers, drained and chopped
  
• 1/2 tbsp Fresh basil leaves, chopped
  

1. Heat oven to 210C/420F. Place the potatoes in a roasting pan, then rub with rosemary infused olive oil, rosemary leaves and a sprinkling of salt. Roast for 30 mins until the potatoes have turned a deep golden brown. Leave to cool slightly.
   
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Dry-fry the chopped bacon until crisp. Whisk sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, capers, and the basil in a large bowl. Add in roasted potatoes and crispy bacon. Toss to coat and serve.

I want to thank Elisabeth at foodandthriftfinds for passing the "Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award" to me and Raven at Ravienomnoms sharing her "Stylish Blogger Award" with me. Thank You, ladies!

Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts and Pancetta

I know there are plenty of Brussels sprouts haters out there, but seriously this veggie deserves one more chance. Not to mention their fantastic health benefits, like cholesterol-lowering ability, anti-inflammatory support, cancer-protective substances, etc., they don't taste bad. Ok, I agree that they don't taste heavenly like chocolate, but they are great just like many other vegetables.
Don't overcook them or they will smell stinky and taste bitter. It's better to serve them while they are still slightly crunchy.

Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food

• 400 g Brussels sprouts, trimmed
  
• 120 g Pancetta, diced
  
• 200 g Cooked chestnuts, broken into large pieces
  
• 1 tbsp Sugar
  
• 200 ml Vegetable stock
  

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Blanch the Brussels sprouts for 3 minutes until they are starting to soften slightly. Remove and drain.
   
2. Heat a frying pan and fry the pancetta until crisp, then remove and set aside. Add the chestnuts and sugar, tossing in the pan, then pour in the vegetable stock and reduce by half.
   
3. Add in Brussels sprouts and pancetta back to the pan. Stir to combine. Transfer to a plate and serve warm.

Bacon Pistachio Cookies

Bacon and cookies...the combination might sound odd to you, but they are so freaking good with salty, nutty, and crunchy texture. Highly addictive!

• 50 g Bacon
  
• 120 g Butter, cut into small pieces
  
• 60 g Caster sugar
  
• 50 g Egg white
  
• 200 g Pastry flour
  
• 1/2 tsp Dried thyme
  
• 50 g Pistachio, roughly chopped
  

1. Cook the bacon until crisp. Dry them in a paper towel and roughly chop. Line two baking trays with paper. Set aside.
   
2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg whites until combined. Add in the pastry flour, dried thyme, and chopped pistachio. Work the mixture until it comes together. Fold the cling film so that the dough is completely covered. Lightly roll it until you get a log, about 5 cm in diameter. Chill them at least 2 hours or overnight until thoroughly firm.
   
3. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F. Line two baking trays with paper. Remove from the fridge, and slice the log into cookies, about 5 mm thick. Place the cookies on the prepared trays and bake 15 minutes. Cool the cookies on wire racks. Stir them in an airtight container for at least a week.

Baked Carnival Squash with Smoked Bacon and Rosemary

Carnival Squash - Cream colored with orange spots or pale green with dark green spots in vertical stripes. Carnival Squash have hard, thick skins and only the flesh is eaten. It is sometimes labeled as a type of acorn squash.

The delicious yellow meat is reminiscent of sweet potatoes and butternut squash and can be baked or steamed then combined with butter and fresh herbs. Also great in soups. Source: What's Cooking America

Recipe Source: Kürbis aus dem Ofen-Essen und Trinken

• 1 Carnival squash (acorn or hokkaido)
  
  
• Salt and black pepper to taste
  
  
• 100 g Smoked bacon, diced
  
  
• 50 g Olive oil
  
  
• 1/2 tsp Dried rosemary
  
  
• 2 Garlic cloves, minced
  
  
• 1/5 tsp Nutmeg
  
  
• 1 tsp Sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Cut carnival squash into halves, scoop out seeds and fibers, and cut each half into two chunks. Place them cut-side up on a shallow baking tray. Sprinkle some salt and black pepper.
   
   
2. Dice the bacon and combine with olive oil, rosemary, garlic, nutmeg and sugar in a bowl. Divide the mixture among the carnival chunks. Bake in the middle of the hot oven for 25-30 minutes.

Ginger Sherry Braised Pork Trotters

These pork trotters are really succulent, and truly a delicious combination of sweet, sour, and piquant flavours. Well, it's not everyone's cup of tea as they are high in cholesterol, but I do enjoy them once in a while, you know, in moderation.

1 kg Pork trotters, cut into smaller pieces 1 large chunk Ginger root, peeled and shredded 5 Dried chillies 6 clove Garlic, smashed 1/2 tsp Szechuan peppercorns©angiesrecipes 80 ml Rice vinegar 12 slices Dried Chinese haw

60 ml Maggi seasoning©angiesrecipes 3 tbsp Sugar 1 tbsp Caramel colour©angiesrecipes 3 tbsp Oyster sauce 2 stalk Spring onions 60 ml Sherry, medium-dry 450 ml Chicken stock or water

1. Blanch the pork trotters in a pot of boiling water. Remove and rinse with cold water. Drain and place them in the inner pot of your electric pressure cooker.
   
   
2. Add in shredded ginger, dried chillies, smashed garlic cloves, peppercorns, rice Vinegar, dried haws, Maggi, sugar, caramel colour if used, oyster sauce, chopped spring onion and sherry. Pour in the chicken stock to cover the trotters.
   
   
3. Cover and secure with the lid. Plug in the pressure cooker and turn the knob to pork cooking cycle. Once it is done and cools down, then open the lid and transfer the pork trotters into a baking dish. Strain the soup into the baking dish. Bake at 180C/350F for 15 minutes. Sprinkle the top with some spring onion and garnish with a tomato rose if desired.

Frikadellen German Meat Patties

Frikadellen, one of the most popular German meat dishes, are flat, pan-fried patties of ground meat, chopped onions, bread crumbs, herbs, and the seasoning. Frikadellen are like the German equivalent of a hamburger. They are often served with potato salad, or German dumplings, or Sauerkraut. They take a sauce (I like black pepper sauce the most) very well too. A common variant of Frikadellen are prepared with minced chicken.

500 g Ground meat (a mix of pork and beef) 70 g Onions 1/2 tbsp Oil 4 tbsp Breadcrumbs 1 Egg

60 ml Milk 1 tsp Basil, dried (or marjoram) 1 tsp Salt 1 tsp White pepper

1. Peel and dice the onions, then saute in oil until transparent. Add sauteed onions to ground meat in a mixing bowl. Stir together breadcrumbs and milk and add to meat mixture.
   
2. Add egg, basil, salt and pepper and mix well. Dampen hands and form meat mixture into palm-sized patties.
   
3. Preheat non-stick skillet with a little oil. Pan-fry the meat patties over medium high heat until browned on both sides. Serve them with salad, fries and tzatziki. Alternatively they can be served with German dumplings and black pepper sauce.

Ground Meat Rice Stew with Knorr Fix

A real classic, easy and delicious winter dish with "Knorr Fix", combining ground meat (beef, or pork or a mix of two), bell peppers, and rice in a flavourful yummy tomato sauce.

• 1 package / 48 g Knorr rice stew fix
  
  
• 350 g Mixed ground beef and pork
  
  
• 125 g Long-grain rice
  
  angiesrecipes
  
  
• 2 Purple onions
  
  
• 1 Red bell pepper
  
  
• 100 g Kidney beansangiesrecipes
  
  
• 700 ml Water
  
  
• 1 tbsp Corn oil

1. Cut purple onions and bell pepper into small chunks. Set aside. Heat up a pot or a deep pan with oil over the medium heat. Add in ground meat and onions and stir-fry for about 5 minutes.
   
   
2. Stir in paprika chunks and rice and stir briefly. Pour in water and Knorr fix. Stir to combine and bring to boil. Stir in the kidney beans and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Bread Rolls with Pork Floss and Spring Onion / 肉松葱花面包卷

Starch gelatinization is a process that breaks down the intermolecular bonds of starch molecules in the presence of water and heat, allowing the hydrogen bonding sites (the hydroxyl hydrogen and oxygen) to engage more water. Starch begins to gelatinize between 60C and 70C, the exact temperature depends on the specific starch. For example, different starches exhibit different granular densities, which affect the ease with which these granules can absorb water.

#Dough:	#Filling:
282 g All-purpose flour 15 g Milk powder 10 g Fresh yeast 6 g Salt 30 g Sugar 60 g Egg 65 ml Warm water 75 g Water Roux Starter through starch gelatinization 45 g Butter, softened and cubed	5 tbsp Pork floss 2 tbsp Chopped onions 1 tbsp Seaweed crumbs 1 tbsp Sesame seeds 2 tbsp Mayonnaise light

1. Add all dough ingredients, except butter, in a mixing bowl fixed with a dough hook and beat at slow speed for 1 minute. Switch to the medium speed, and continue to beat for 3 minutes until a dough forms. Cut in butter gradually and mix for approx. 5 minutes until gluten is fully developed, i. e. elastic, smooth, non-sticky and leaves from sides of mixing bowl.
   
   
2. Place the dough in a lightly greased mixing bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently punch down the dough to expel the air. Let rest for 15 minutes. Roll and shape the dough into 30cmx40cm rectangle to fit the baking tray. Cover and let rise in warm place for 40 minutes.
   
   
3. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F. Combine pork floss and seaweed crumbs. Use the tines of a fork to prick the top of dough, then brush with egg wash. Sprinkle with chopped onions and sesame seeds and bake for about 15 minutes.
   
   
4. Gently invert the bread on a parchment paper. Thinly spread with mayonnaise and cut a few slits at one edge of the bread. Be careful to cut the slits half-way through the bread only. This increases the flexibility of bread roll-up. Sprinkle with the pork floss mixture and roll up while still warm. Cut the bread into the sections to your desired length after 30 minutes. Spread the cutting sides with some mayonnaise and pork floss.