Hot Crossed Buns. See How They Run

It's Easter and what is more traditional than hot cross buns?! In America, hot cross buns actually aren't that big of a thing. We are more along the lines of a Sunday brunch, Easter dinner, lots of golf, fat pants being needed from the incredible amounts of ham being eaten... you know, the usual. Since I regularly partake in these I thought I'd get a little creative and pretend I was competing off in the middle of a field, baking in the prettiest tent ever on The Great British Bake Off! Also, I've never made bread. So this will be quite the adventure. Also, I asked my younger niece today if she knew the song Hot Cross Buns and she didn't! Granted I don't know the exact words, but what's with kids these days? I always get the song mashed up with Three Blind Mice... which she didn't know of either. Being a good aunt, I let her have a listen. I don't think she was all that concerned about not knowing the songs. Sigh. 

Once I got over my fear of bread making, I was off! I had done a lot of research on how to make these little buns and after a lot of looking around, I decided on what I thought was the best combination of ingredients. Here we go! 

Buns

1 envelope of active dry yeast
1 cup milk
3 3/4 cup all purpose flour + 3 Tbs(floured cross)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1 Tbs orange zest
4 Tbs butter
2 eggs
1 Tbs cinnamon
1 Tsp cardamom
1 Tsp allspice
1/2 Tsp nutmeg

Egg Wash
1 egg
1 Tsp water

Glazed Cross
4 Tbs powdered sugar
2 Tsp lemon juice

1. In the microwave or slowly over the stove, warm the milk to 100F. *This step is very important, thus why I was afraid of making bread. The temperature has to be just right- too warm and you'll kill the yeast. Too cold and it won't activate. Only one thing to do now- wait and see if you did it correctly. Wait about 10 minutes for the yeast to bubble and foam and smell all delicious, then you'll know you did it right!*

2. Empty the packet of yeast into the milk along with 1 Tbs of the sugar, whisk to combine. 

3. While waiting for the yeast to activate, gently melt the butter and set aside.

4. In the bowl of the mixer, combine the flour, spices, sugar, salt, and cranberries. 

5. When the yeast has activated, whisk in the eggs and melted butter.

6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry.

7. Place the bowl into the mixing stand fitted with the dough hook. 

8. Start this on the lowest speed to combine and let it knead for 4-5 minutes. The dough will eventually come together and start to pull away from the sides. *You are more than welcome to do this by hand, it will take about 10-15 minutes and you can get your workout in for sure.*
9. After about 4 minutes, add the cranberries. Mix again for another minute so everything is combined. 

10. Once the dough has been properly kneaded, place it into a lightly greased bowl.

11. Cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours or until the dough is about doubled in size.

12. This is the fun part. When this rise is complete you can take out your aggression and give the dough a good punch to deflate it. Or if you have no beef with anyone and your life is nice and pleseant, simply press the dough down to knead.

13. Peel the dough out and give it a couple folds.

14. From here you can decide what you want to do with it- I got about 12 balls a little smaller than a baseball. If you want larger rolls, cut larger, if you want a sheet of buns, roll into a rectangle and score the dough. 

15. After deciding how you'd like the rolls, position them on the baking sheet and cover again with a towel to rise for about 45 minutes in a warm place.

16. Now we are ready to get going! Preheat the oven to 375F.
17. To make the egg wash, mix an egg and a touch of water and brush on the buns- this will make them nice and golden as they bake.

18. Can't have hot cross buns without the cross! For this, make a paste out of the 3 Tbs of flour and some water to make a thick paste *Don't add too much water at once because it will become soup! I started with a tablespoon and judged from there. Place the paste into a baggie, cut the tip, and pipe the crosses on the buns. 

19. When the oven reaches temperature, place the buns in for 20-25 minutes.
20. When the buns are done take them out and place on a rack to cool completely. 
OPTIONAL- Now you a choice to make an additional cross on the buns with the glaze or just have the flour cross you did earlier- I did both. Sometimes you can't see the four cross as well after baking. If you chose the glaze route, when the buns have cooled, mix together the powdered sugar and lemon juice to make a glaze. Depending on the humidity and such the measurements may differ- might have to add more sugar or less water- make good choices.

EAT!

I must confess, I had to make these twice. The first time I made them my dough was quite dry and weird, but I made them anyway. The flavor was good but the bun was way too dense and it just wasn't working. The second time worked like a charm and I'm glad to report that I'm now feeling confident enough to dip my toe in other kinds of bread making! I'm also thinking I could win star baker with these babies- Paul and Mary would be proud and then eventually I'd go on to win the competition with ease. One can dream. 

Biscuit wanted in on the action.

Happy Easter! 

...Always makes me think go My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Chistro Nasty... gets me every time. 

A Twist on a Quesadilla

Quesadillas are not something I grew up with, we were more of a meat and potatoes kind of family. My love for the quesadilla didn't start until college where the chef at the grill made the most delicious quesadilla I've ever had to this day. I'm not one for fancy ones either- give me some cheese and maybe some chicken and I'm a happy camper. 

HOWEVER. I saw something today while browsing the interwebs that totally blew my mind and I HAD to try it. Are you ready for this? Chicken pot pie quesadilla. Ohmygod. The recipe I saw used some short cuts and some ingredients I'm not crazy about so it may seem like I'm doing a lot of work for a quesadilla, but I think it will be worth it. I'm only making one so feel free to add, subtract, and change the ingredients as you like!

-2 burrito sized flour tortillas
-1 small carrot (diced into small pieces)
-1/2 small onion (diced into small pieces)
-1/2 cup broccoli florets (chopped)
-1/4 cup shredded chicken
-4oz cream cheese (softened)
-1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese (or your choice of good meting cheese)

1. Leave the cream cheese out to come to room temperature- you want this very soft. 
2. Peel and dice the carrot and onion into small pieces.
3. In a sauté pan on medium heat and in a bit of butter, sauté the carrot, onion, and broccoli together until they are soft and yummy. Throw in the chicken near the end to give it a little color.
4. When the veggies are done to your liking, combine with the cream cheese and the Monterey Jack. Mix well to combine.
5. Give a large sauté pan on medium high heat a spritz of cooking spray and throw in the first tortilla in the pan.
6. Spread the filling onto the tortilla. 
7. Top with the second tortilla. 
8. Once you have a nice golden color on the bottom and the cheese starts to melt, go ahead and flip it- be careful! 
9. Cook on the second side until the cheese is all melted and the bottom is golden, you're done!

Cut your pieces and you're good to go! 

Food mash ups are becoming pretty trendy right now, but this is the first I've heard of this one. Out of the box and so delicious! This is also a really customizable dish, I don't like peas, so no peas! But usually people keep chicken pot pie pretty traditional. Give this a try though, it can be fun to play around with your food! Take that Marie Calendar.

-Meaghan