Parmesan Basil Bread

4 slices homemade 7-grain or 9 grain bread
1/3 cup Mayonnaise
1 cup shredded (not powdered) Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
Paprika to taste

Start with a slice of home-made 7-grain bread. Toast on one side. Spread the untoasted side thickly with good mayonnaise. Mix the Parmesan and chopped basil, and cover the mayo and bread. It should be quite thick. Sprinkle paprika for appearance and taste. Broil until the basil begins to wilt and the Parmesan begins to brown, about 4 minutes.

Review: This makes a great bedtime snack. If you want to lighten it up, use less mayonnaise (though the mayo does contribute to the flavor). I might try it with a little lemon juice mixed into the mayo, or sprinkled on top of the mix.

9 Grain Bread Machine Bread

Add, in order, to the bread machine bowl:

1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup 9 grain mix for bread
1 1/2 cups white bread flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 TBSP white sugar
2 TBSP butter (margarine will do if you must!)
2 TBSP dry milk powder
(or eliminate milk powder and substitute milk for water)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups (or a little more) lukewarm water

load it all in the bread machine bowl, in sequence, set the machine for dark bread (the heavy dough takes slightly longer to cook) and press "go!" I usually hold back 1/4c of the water until every thing else has mixed, adding a little bit of the remainder at a time until the dough is firm but soft.

This is our family's staple whole grain bread: we love it toasted with home-made jam, or broiled with meat and cheese on top.

9-grain Mix for Bread

Combine in a large storage container:

1 cup Flax Seed
1 cup millet (millet seed)
3/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup rolled barley
3/4 cup roasted unsalted sunflower seed
1/2 cup pumpkin seed
1/2 cup bulgar
3/4 cup cracked wheat
1/2 cup oat bran or wheat bran
3/4 cup Quinoa
1/2 cup seminolina

I buy these in the bulk food section of a large grocery store. The proportions aren't real important: add more of the grains or seeds that you like (I really enjoy the millet and flax, so I use more of it).

Use for bread making (see this recipe).

Bacon Basil Garlic Bread

Bread machine style hearty bread.

Makes one big ol' loaf.

1½ tsp active dry yeast
3½ cups flour: either white, or up to half white & half wheat.
2 TBSP sugar
2 TBSP milk powder
1½ tsp salt
3 TBSP bacon grease (yes, bacon grease!)
1⅓ cup water, cool to tepid. NOT warm. Filtered is better.

Set the bread machine on normal and fire it off. When it stops to let the bread rise, add:

½ pound bacon, fried crispy and crumbled, cooled
½ head (5 or 6 large cloves) of garlic, peeled, smashed, and chopped, browned in bacon grease, cooled.
½ cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped, tossed in with the garlic for the last minute and fried until well wilted.

Serve it sliced thick and hot out of the bread machine (or oven) or slice it thin and toast it. Either way, enjoy it with enough butter to scare Weight Watchers! I like it with a glass of milk for a snack. it goes well with stew or barbecued steak or chicken as well.

Review: This came out nice and golden, very well raised. It's not too light, not too heavy for homemade bread. Surprisingly, it is not a heavy bread, provided it rises well (and mine rose very well with these proportions): the flavors are still relatively mild. Next time, I think I'd increase the bacon content (probably not as far as a pound) and at least double the fresh basil. I might add some Parmesan to the mix as well.

Supplemental: I made toast of this the next morning, and topped it with eggs scrambled with cheese (cheddar plus Parmesan) cooked in a tiny bit of bacon grease. Oh my! It was superb.

Overwhelming Spaghetti Sauce

Serves 6 or 8

Ingredients

• 6-12 heads garlic, peeled and smashed: make it a lot.
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• butter and olive oil (equal parts) to fry them in. Don't be shy.
• 2 lbs lean hamburger, cubed
• 1 lb sage sausage, cubed
• 2-3 TBSP dried oregano
• 1/2 - 1 tsp ground clove
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp ground black pepper, maybe more.
• 1 TBSP dried Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp powdered cumin
• 2 tsp (or 2 TBSP) Tabasco chipotle sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
• 2 cans cooked and diced tomatoes.
• 1 jar, bottle or can, prepared tomato sauce, any flavor

Preparations: heat large (preferably cast iron) skillet. Heat oil and melt butter. Fry garlic and onion until transparent. Add cubed hamburger and sausage. Cover and cook until meat is cooked all the way through. Add the dried oregano. Yeah, I know it's a lot. Add the other spices too. Stir well.

Drain tomatoes, reserving liquid; add to meat and stir well while frying. When they're hot and spicy, add tomato sauce and reserved tomato juice. Bring to a boil, stirring. Adjust spices, which mostly means add more of this or that. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve over hot pasta. Enjoy! Don't count calories!

Review: This is not wimpy diet food. Ya gotta eat this meal with a fair bit of gusto! And it's so rich and flavorful that gusto is not hard to come by. Some garlic bread, Caesar salad, and a bold hand-made brew(Alaskan Amber is an excellent choice!) make a good meal for a bunch of good friends.

Garlic Herb Bread-Machine Bread

For a 1½ Pound Loaf:

In this order:
1.5 tsp active dry yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour
1½ TBSP sugar
½ tsp dried dill, crushed
½ tsp dried basil
½ tsp dried rosemary
½ tsp dried parsley
½ tsp garlic powder
1½ tsp salt

then:
fry ½ cup chopped onion in
3 TBSP butter or margarine

until they just begin to brown. Cool. Add to mixture above.

Then:
1¼ cup 1% milk (adjust for your particular bread machine).
1 TBSP dried milk powder.

Set the machine on “regular” and press “Go.”

Let the loaf sit for 30 minutes before slicing. Or skip slicing altogether and just tear off chunks to eat as "shred bread."

Review: We never did slice ours. The aroma that fills the house is pretty attention-grabbing. We just wrapped it in a cloth napkin in a basket and served it with a spaghetti dinner. Very nice.

Savory Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Per Person:
1 large Chicken Breast, thawed, butterfly filleted

Fillet the chicken breast. Season inside and out with salt & pepper. close the chicken and dredge in a mixture of:

1/3 cup flour
2 tablespoons creole seasoning (I like Emeril's Essence)
1 teaspoon garlic salt

At this point, put the chicken breasts on a greased piece of aluminum foil on the baking sheet you'll cook the chicken on. Open the chicken and fill with Savory Stuffing (recipe follows). Be careful to spread the stuffing evenly. Place a slice of cooked bacon over the stuffing and close the chicken breast.

Sprinkle some of the remaining dredging mix over the top, along with a tablespoon of Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until the chicken is completely done.

Savory Stuffing (I use these quantities for 3 or 4 chicken breasts): in a food processor bowl, combine:12 - 15 shrimp, thawed
4 - 5 pieces of bacon, cooked
3 cloves garlic, roasted
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon cajun seasoning (eg. Essence)
1 teaspoon rosemary (fresh is best)

Press Go and process until it's the consistency of chunky peanut butter. Then add 4 or 5 more shrimp, pulse processing until they're in medium size chunks.

Review: We served this with white wine or a brown ale, depending on if the guests were wine snobs or microbrew snobs (I admit to membership among the latter). This turned out to be one of the better stuffed chicken recipes we've tried; the whole family really liked it. The flavors blended together very well. The extra slice of bacon may not have been necessary, but my daughter disagrees: she liked it. Couldn't find anything to complain about, really. Three thumbs up!