Savory Herb Crusted Rosemary Parmesan Challah Bread

Savory herb crusted Rosemary Parmesan on a Challah bread base.

This is my savory Challah, while the Apple Raisin version is great for breakfast or desserts, the herb crusted Parmesan Challah is more suited to being pared with your savory dinners or as a great sandwich bread. I love splitting the recipe in half and finishing half as a Savory Challah and the other half as a dessert.

Yield: Makes 2 loaves
Active time: 45 minutes
Total time: 4 hours

Ingredients
For the bread
•    2 tablespoons dry yeast
•    1 tablespoon plus 3/4 cup (155 g) granulated sugar
•    5 large eggs
•    3/4 cup (180 ml) vegetable oil, such as canola or safflower
•    3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
•    6 cups (870 g) all-purpose flour
For the topping
•    2 tablespoons olive oil
•    1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
•    sprinkle fresh rosemary and chives
•    1/8 cup fresh Parmesan

Directions
1. Combine 1/2 cup warm water, yeast, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a small bowl. Stir until the yeast dissolves. Let the mixture sit for ten minutes, it should look foamy.

2. In the large bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment or with a hand-held mixer, beat the eggs at medium speed until well blended. Add the oil, salt, and remaining 3/4 cup sugar. Beat until pale in color, about 4 minutes. Beat in 2/3 cup water, then add the yeast mixture. Beat in the flour 1 cup at a time.

3. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 2 minutes (or use the dough hook on your mixer for 1 minute at low speed). Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and turn it to coat well. Cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and put in a warm corner of your kitchen to rise. I like to use my (unheated) oven with the lightbulb on. You want the dough to double in size, which takes just about an hour.

4. Punch down the dough, and cover with a kitchen towel, let the dough rise for 30 more minutes. It won’t quite double in this time, but it will puff up.

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide in half. Roll each half into large balls.

6. Take each large ball of dough and roll it out to a tube that is roughly eighteen inch long with tapered ends, then twist the dough into a Spiral and tuck the ends under, set on baking sheet.

A round spiral shaped Challah represents the New Year.

7.Cover the loaves with kitchen towels, and let them rise for 45 minutes.

Rosemary, Chives, and Parmesan will create a wonderful crust.

8. Uncover the round Spiral Challah and coat it with olive oil, sprinkle with garlic powder, rosemary, and chives, then dust it with a heavy layer of Parmesan cheese.

Unbaked savory egg bread coated in Rosemary, Chives, and Parmesan cheese.

9. Preheat the oven to 350°F and set a rack to the middle position. Bake for 30 minutes or until the Challah is browned and sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom. Put on a wire rack to cool.

Savory herb crusted Rosemary Parmesan Challah bread.

Recipe based on The Holiday Apple Raisin Challah from Epicurious
by Amy Traverso
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Holiday-Apple-Raisin-Challah-368069

Pesto Grilled Cheese with Peppercorn Mayo Crust

Our basil plants have been growing like crazy this spring and I’ve been using fresh Pesto in more and more recipes. After I made this Pesto Grilled Cheese the other night for a quick dinner, I knew I had to share the recipe. It’s definitely one of my new favorites.

I combined thick layers of the licorice flavored pesto with the milder bite of Swiss and just a hint of Parmesan cheese, but what really set’s of the flavor of the sandwich is the tangy crust made with the peppercorn olive oil mayonnaise crust. I’ve always made my grilled cheese sandwiches with mayo, it gives the sandwich a nice dry crust, unlike butter that can leave the bread soggy. And the tangy flavor with the spicy peppercorns added a wonderful element to this exceptional and easy sandwich.

Fresh From The Garden, Roma Tomato Sauce

I’ve been trying, and trying to make tomato sauce for weeks now.  The first recipe I found was from Alton Brown, so I expected it to be phenomenal. Well, it turned into a soggy burned mess.  The second I had really high hopes for, since it was also a roasted tomato recipe, but with a much shorter cooking time. It was so burnt, we had to chip the tomatoes of the cookie sheets.

So this week with another 8 pounds of Roma tomatoes coming in off the vine, I decided to try one last time. This go around I decided on a simple recipe from AllRecipes.com, that could be spiced up with some fresh growing herbs from my garden. And the result was delicious, light and fruity with a heady fragrance, and an amazing velvety texture!

Ingredients
•    8 pounds tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced
•    1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
•    2 large stems Rosemary
•    3 tablespoons fresh oregano
•    1 large onion, minced
•    3 cloves garlic, minced
•    1 tsp sugar
•    1/2 cup olive oil
•    salt and pepper to taste

1. Carefully wash tomatoes, make sure to remove any leaves or branches. Put them in a large bowl next to your stove, to get ready to remove the tomato skins.

2. In a medium pot heat your water to a simmer, and put in your first batch of tomatoes. While you are waiting for the skin of the tomatoes to crack, set up a bowl of ice water on the side.

3. Once the tomato skin cracks, remove the tomatoes from the simmering water with a slotted spoon. Put the cracked tomatoes into ice water to cool them. At this point you want to put your second batch of tomatoes into the simmering water. Once the second batch of tomatoes are all in the hot water,  pick up a tomato from the ice water and peal the skin off. Place your skinned tomatoes on a baking sheet.

4. Now that you have pealed all 8 pounds of tomatoes, it’s time to seed them. To seed the tomato cut it in half, and then with a small spoon, or your favorite seeding device, I just use my fingers, scoop out all of the seeds. Then before putting the tomato into the bowl, I tear them up into small pieces.

Here are some more images of pretty pealed tomatoes!!!!

5. And now we make sauce. In large saucepan, cook tomatoes, basil, and herbs over medium-low heat until tomatoes are soft.

6. Meanwhile, in medium skillet, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onions are translucent.

7. Add onion mixture to tomato mixture and add salt and pepper. Let simmer on low heat for 2 hours or until thick.

8. Remove the Rosemary stems, and then using an immersion blender process the tomato sauce. After braking down the sauce, I simmered it for another half an hour until it had reduced to a perfect consistency.