Hot Ham and Cheese Pinwheels

Time: 45 minutes start to finish
Yield: 24 pinwheels
Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!

1 1/2 C warm water
2 T sugar
1 T yeast
1/2 t salt
4-4 1/2 C flour
1 pound deli ham, sliced thin
2 C cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Pour 1 1/2 C warm water into your stand mixer and preheat your oven to 170 degrees. (You read it right...170 degrees is all you need.)

2.  Add 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 tablespoon yeast. Turn the mixer on low for about 30 seconds allowing the ingredients to combine. Let it rest for 5 minutes, or until it gets all bubbly.

3. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 2 cups flour. Turn the mixer on to low and let the flour mix in. Add the rest of the flour (2 1/2 cups worth) one cup at a time. When the dough pulls itself away from the side of the bowl, you have enough flour.

4. Turn the mixer to medium speed and allow it to mix for 5 minutes.

5. Spray your counter with cooking spray, divide the dough into two equal parts and allow them to rest on the counter for 5 minutes. Don't skip this step, ok? If you don't let the dough rest it won't roll out nicely and then you might start to cry and then your kids would think you have lost you mind. Thanks for your cooperation.

6. After the dough has rested roll the old girl out into a large rectangle.

7. Cover it with half of the ham and sprinkle it with 1 cup of cheddar cheese.

8. Roll the dough up starting at the longer end.

9. Spray a large knife with cooking spray and slice the roll into 12 rounds.

10. Place each pinwheel onto a large cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

11. Repeat steps 6-10 with the other half of the dough.

12. Place both pans into your warm 170 degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until they start to rise just a bit. You don't want them to get super puffy, you just want the dough to have the chance to expand a little, like you see in the picture above.

13. Turn the oven up to 350 degrees (don't take the pans out of the oven) and let the pinwheels bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown along the top and bottom. 

14. Take the pans out of the oven and let the pinwheels rest for about 5 minutes...then gobble them up.

Enjoy!

Ciabatta Bread

Recipe from melskitchencafe.com

Mel has included pictures for every step of the way on her blog.

*Note: this dough requires a "biga" or a starter to be made the night before so plan ahead! It takes mere seconds to stir together but you don't want to skimp on this step - it is important for the flavor and outcome of the dough. Also, if you don't have a scale to weigh the flour, take care to measure with a light hand as you don't want the starter or dough overfloured.

*Makes two loaves of ciabatta bread

Overnight starter:

1 1/2 cups (6 ¼ ounces) unbleached or regular all-purpose flour

1 cup cool water

1/16 teaspoon instant yeast

Dough:

all of the starter (from above)

1 teaspoon instant yeast

1 1/2 cups (6 ¼ ounces) unbleached or regular all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk

1/4 cup lukewarm water

2 tablespoons olive oil

Topping for Garlic Bread:

1 medium head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled (about 15 medium cloves) and finely minced

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1/3 cup olive oil

pinch (1/16 teaspoon) of salt

1 cup (4 oz.) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

snipped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)

For the starter: Mix the starter ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. Cover the starter and let it rest at room temperature overnight, or for up to 15 hours. It will become bubbly and puffy.

For the bread: Place all of the dough ingredients, including the starter, into the bowl of your mixer and beat at medium speed, using the flat/paddle beater, for 7 minutes (scraping the bowl as needed). As it starts to mix, it will be very wet and sticky. After mixing for 7 minutes, the dough will be smooth, soft, shiny, and elastic. Alternatively, knead the dough ingredients in your bread machine using the dough cycle.

Using greased or lightly oiled hands, transfer the dough to a greased bowl or other rising container, cover it, and let it rise for 2 hours, deflating it halfway through, and then recovering and letting it rise another hour. If you're using a bread machine, allow it to rise for an additional hour after the dough cycle has ended.

Lightly grease your work surface/counter, and a half-sheet baking pan (18" x 13") or similar large baking sheet or line it with parchment or a silpat liner. Grease your hands, as well.

Very gently turn the dough out of the bowl onto your work surface; you don't want to deflate it. It'll lose a bit of volume, but don't actively punch it down. Using a bowl scraper, bench knife, or your fingers, divide the dough in half. You should have two fat logs, each about 10" long x 4" wide.

Handling the dough gently, transfer each piece to the baking sheet, laying them down crosswise on the sheet. Position them about 2 1/2" from the edge of the pan, leaving about 4" between them. Lightly cover the dough with heavily oiled plastic wrap or a proof cover, and allow it to rise for 60 to 90 minutes. Midway through, gently but firmly dimple the dough with your fingers, making fairly deep pockets. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425°F.

Spritz the risen loaves with lukewarm water. You'll see that the dimples have filled in somewhat, but haven't entirely disappeared. Bake the loaves until they are golden brown, about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.

To make garlic bread: Prepare the topping by combining the minced garlic cloves, melted butter, olive oil and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Cut the loaves in half lengthwise, like you're going to make giant sandwiches. Spread the cut halves with the garlic mixture. Bake the bread in a preheated 400°F oven for about 10 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and the edges of the bread are starting to brown. Remove the bread from the oven, and sprinkle it immediately with the grated Parmesan and parsley, if desired. Cut in crosswise slices to serve.

French Dip Sandwiches

 I found this on ourbestbites.com.

1 2.5-3 lb. beef roast (you can use a frozen roast if you want)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
2 1-ounce packages dry onion soup mix
2 c. water
2 cans beef broth
8 oz. Mozzarella cheese, shredded
6-8 large buns (or more...6 would be VERY generous servings!)
Swiss, provolone, or mozzarella cheese, shredded or sliced.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and rub roast with salt and pepper.

When very hot, carefully place roast in pan and sear on all sides. You're not cooking the meat, you're just browning it quickly on all sides to add flavor and seal in the juices.

Place in crockpot and sprinkle with onion soup mixes. Pour water and beef broth over roast.

Cook 8-10 hours on low or cook 4-5 hours on high and another 3-4 hours on low. It's hard to screw this part up; basically, the longer it cooks, the more tender it will be. But you know it's done when you pop a fork in it and the meat just falls apart. When meat is ready, shred with a fork.

Place meat in crusty rolls. Top with cheese and broil open-faced in the oven or toaster oven for a few minutes, until bread is golden and cheese is melty.

Ladle juices into small cups for dipping and enjoy!

FREEZER DIRECTIONS:
Prepare roast through the searing step; after meat has cooled, place in a plastic freezer-safe container (think Gladware), cover with onion soup mix and boullion, and freeze. When ready to cook, pop it straight into the crockpot (frozen), add 2 cups of water, and set to high until warm or, even better, simmering. Turn to low; cook for a total of 8-10 hours.

REVIEW:  I made this and it is YUM, YUM, YUM!!!!  Definitely recommend!