Beth Cato's Blog, page 46

Book Blog: The Modern Cheesemaker: Making and cooking with cheeses at home by Morgan McGlynn

 

I review everything I read and post reviews on Goodreads and LibraryThing. That’s not enough. Good books are meant to be shared. Therefore, I’m spotlighting some of my favorite reads here on my site.

 

The Modern Cheesemaker: Making and cooking with cheeses at home by Morgan McGlynn

out now; Indiebound, B&N, and Amazon

I received an electronic galley of this book via NetGalley.

I am known for my passion for artisan cheese. For me, it’s a Pokemon-like gotta-catch’em-all joyful hunt. However, I’ve never tried making cheese, even though I’m a baker and I love experimenting with diverse recipes in the kitchen. What little I had read about home cheese-making left me very intimidated.

That attitude has shifted after reading this book. Morgan McGlynn is a cheese-monger and cheese-maker in the UK, and she has written a book in which I feel like she gently took me by the hand and showed me step by step how to make my own cheese. The book is organized by level of difficulty, too–start with fresh cheeses like mozzarella and ricotta, and work up to hard cheeses (hard in texture, harder and more time-consuming to make) like aged Cheddar and Brie.

This isn’t simply a recipe book, though it does indeed feature recipes for 18 cheeses plus some 40 recipes for utilizing that cheese. This is a book about the basics: the science of cheese explained in straightforward terms, a breakdown of the equipment needed to safely and successfully make cheese, and also information about professional cheese-makers along with a list of some of the best cheeses in the world to seek out. To make this all even better, there are abundant full-color photographs that illustrate the steps and show what the finished results should look like.

Oh, and I should add that all of the information is presented in measurements friendly for readers/cooks in Britain, America, and elsewhere. The recommended places to buy supplies are also not focused on one specific locale. McGlynn wants to help you make cheese, no matter where you live.

I think I’m going to get a large pot and a few other new additions for my kitchen and finally give homemade cheese a go. The idea does still intimidate me, but now I feel like I have a guide to help me on my way.

Bready or Not Original: Cranberry Candied Ginger Blondies

Cranberry Candied Ginger Blondies pack tart cranberries, zesty little nuggets of candied ginger, and mellow white chocolate in a chewy blondie base, to delicious results.

This begins a small spate of dried cranberry recipes that will be on Bready or Not over the next while.

This is because I bought a massive bag of dried cranberries on sale at Costco, and I had an existing stockpile to use up, too. Cue a “oh crap, I need to use up some of this stuff!” response.

This recipe proved to be a fantastic one, too. The blondies are sweet and chewy, and that combination of dried cranberries, candied ginger, and white chocolate complements and contrasts in an amazing way.

I’ve been asked before about where to find candied ginger. Sometimes brands will sell it jarred alongside spices on the grocery store aisle. Also, check the bins at your local health food store or co-op. I’ve bought candied ginger at my local Sprouts.

The good news is that candied ginger (like dried cranberries) keeps well for ages, so you can stock up and enjoy it for months. Though space might be an issue if you’re buying at Costco…

 

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Bready or Not Original: Cranberry Candied Ginger Blondies





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Cranberry Candied Ginger Blondies pack tart cranberries, zesty little nuggets of candied ginger, and mellow white chocolate in a chewy blondie base, to delicious results.

2 stick (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup chopped candied ginger
1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 13x9 inch dish with aluminum foil and apply nonstick spray.

Place butter and both sugars in a large bowl and beat until creamed together. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Follow up with the flour, baking powder, and salt, until just combined. Fold in the cranberries, candied ginger, and white chocolate chips.

Spread batter in the ready pan and even out. Bake for 27 to 30 minutes, until edges are firm and the middle passes the toothpick test. Cool on a wire rack.

Use foil to list contents onto cutting board. Slice into pieces. Store in an sealed container at room temperature.

OM NOM NOM!

Bready or Not Original: Pecan Caramel Chip Cookies

I love creating new recipes using my favorite grocery find in recent years, caramel chips! This original recipe for Pecan Caramel Chip Cookies is sublime and delicious.

This recipe was inspired by my favorite recipe for White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies. The secret to success in that recipe is white chocolate chips are melted and mixed into the dough.

I considered a bag of caramel chips and thought, hey, if it worked for white chocolate chips, why not caramel?

I opted to use pecans because 1) they go so well with caramel, and 2) they are cheaper and generally more accessible to people.

The melted caramel chips don’t simply add sweetness to the dough, but a smooth, silky texture that helps these cookies to bake up fat and chewy.

You might need to hunt around for caramel chips. I’m still mad that my local Walmart carried them for a year then stopped, but most grocery stores around still carry them. Kroger even stocks their own version, which doesn’t look or taste quite as amazing as Hershey’s or Ghirardelli’s, but it’s still good. And cheaper, for sure.

 

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Bready or Not Original: Pecan Caramel Chip Cookies





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This original recipe requires caramel chips. A cup of these chips are melted and blended into the dough, transforming these cookies into something magical!

1 bag cup caramel chips, divided
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2/3 cup (11 Tablespoons) butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temperature
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325-degrees. Place 1 cup of caramel chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on 50% power in short increments, 20-25 seconds, and stop to stir between passes until the chips blend smoothly. Set aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together both sugars, butter, vanilla extract, and eggs until they're creamy. Mix in the melted chips. Stir in flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Fold in the remaining caramel chips, chocolate chips, and chopped pecans.

Use a tablespoon cookie scoop or spoon to place dough in rounded lumps on cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the tops just begin to turn light golden brown. Cool on the sheet for several minutes, then move to a rack to cool.

OM NOM NOM!

Book Blog: Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker

I review everything I read and post reviews on Goodreads and LibraryThing. That’s not enough. Good books are meant to be shared. Therefore, I’m spotlighting some of my favorite reads here on my site.

Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker

out now; Indiebound, B&N, and Amazon

 

 

I received this galley through LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Sarah Pinsker is among my favorite writers, and I was thrilled to read her new collection from Small Beer Press a few months in advance of release. When I say she’s among my favorites, that also means I’d read most of the stories in this book before; four were new to me, but one sees its first publication in this book.

All of these stories are worth re-reading. Actually, they are worth studying on a technical level to understand why stories work. Pinsker doesn’t write about big drama. She writes about people being people in sometimes extraordinary circumstances. There’s a sense of subtlety to her works. In “A Stretch of Highway Two Lanes Wide,” a man loses his arm, and along with his prosthetic he gains an awareness of being a road in remote Colorado. “Remembery Day” addresses PTSD and the effects of war on the next generation, without ever becoming preachy. In “And Then There were (n-one),” one of my very favorite novellas, period, she brings a brilliant spin to Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” by envisioning a cross-dimensional conference of hundreds of Sarah Pinskers on an isolated island in a storm–and one of them is murdered.

Because of this collection, I started my document to track my favorite 2019 releases to nominate for awards in 2020. Yes, this collection is that good.

Bready or Not: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars

These are not mere blondies. No, these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars are practically cake.

Seriously, this could work as a birthday cake for a chocolate-peanut butter lover. These bars are THICK and loaded with goodness.

This recipe makes a full 13 by 9 pan, so there’s plenty to share. As dense as each bar is, you probably don’t want to cut them large.

Bars like this freeze very well, too, so you can stash some away to enjoy later.

I can’t help but wonder how this recipe would be with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups chopped into it, too. I should try that sometime.

Recipes are stories. There will always be other ways to twist them into something new and enjoyable.

 

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Bready or Not: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars





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These luscious bars are thick, cakey, and delicious! If there’s no Greek yogurt handy, sour cream makes for a good substitute.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 3/4 cups peanut butter chips (1 bag)
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped peanuts

Preheat the oven at 350-degrees. Line a 13X9 baking with aluminum foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.

In a big bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl as necessary.

Add the vanilla extract and vanilla yogurt next, followed by the flour, cinnamon, and baking powder. Fold in the peanut butter chips and 1 cup of the chocolate chips.

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips and the peanuts over the top and gently press them in.

Bake pan for 30 minutes or until the center passes the toothpick test. Let cool completely. Use foil to lift contents onto a cutting board to slice into bars.

Store in a sealed container at room temperature or in the fridge. Freeze bars between waxed paper in a sealed container to make them last even longer.

OM NOM NOM!

Bready or Not: Bacon-Toffee Cookies

Bacon, chocolate, and toffee complement each other in these incredible Bacon-Toffee Cookies.

Fact: My Bacon Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies (originally shared at the Holy Taco Church lo those many years ago) is among my most popular recipes.

This recipe is different. The previous take makes a crisper cookie, while these are chewier with some extra sweetness and crunch from the Heath toffee pieces.

This recipe makes a lot, too: about 70 cookies if you use a teaspoon scoop!

That sounds like a lot, but my husband’s co-workers inhaled them, so I don’t know how well they keep beyond a day. One of those good/bad problems to have.

Modified from Fall Baking 2016 by Better Homes & Gardens.

 

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Bready or Not: Bacon-Toffee Cookies





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These cookies mix salty and sweet in a chewy cookie. Using a teaspoon scoop, the recipe produces about 70 cookies.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Heath bits
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 thick-cut bacon slices, chopped up

Preheat oven at 375-degrees. Ina large bowl, beat butter and shortening together until turning fluffy. Add brown sugar, baking soda, and salt, followed by the eggs and vanilla. Gradually beat in the flour.

Stir in the Heath bits, chocolate chips, and bacon. Use a teaspoon scoop or spoon to dollop dough onto baking sheet, spaced out to allow for minor spreading. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until edges are just turning golden. Cool for five minutes, then transfer to a rack to finish cooling.

Store cookies in a sealed container.

OM NOM NOM!

Bready or Not Original: Chickpea Almond Butter Blondies

No one will be able to tell that chickpeas form the base of these healthified blondies, but the truth is right there in the name.

A food processor is necessary for this recipe as the chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) must be utterly pulverized. Weirdly enough, a lot of health cookbooks and blogs have discovered chickpeas end up eerily like bland cookie dough once they are mashed up.

I know, it sounds crazy, but I’ve tried out a few recipes like this and it’s the truth. And these blondies WORK. They taste good. The sweetness is just right, not hardcore, but it doesn’t taste at all like ‘health food.’

I found the base recipe in an issue of Cooking Light and significantly modified it into something new. The original had tahini (which I do not like, so I subbed almond butter) and dark brown sugar (which I usually don’t have).

The pecans add a wonderful texture to these blondies. If you don’t like pecans, I would suggest still using some kind of nut or seed for a mild crunch.

 

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Bready or Not Original: Chickpea Almond Butter Blondies





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These lightened-up blondies use chickpeas as a base, but trust me, you can’t tell they are there. These are just sweet enough with an additional crunch from pecans.

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 15-oz can unsalted chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
3 Tablespoons almond butter
2 Tablespoons half & half or milk
1/3 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line an 8x8 or 9x9 pan with aluminum foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.

Using a small saucepan, brown the butter, stirring often. Transfer to a bowl to cool for 15 minutes. Whisk in brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

Place chickpeas, almond butter, and milk in a food processor, and mix until smooth, scraping down the sides often. Stir the chickpea mixture into the butter mixture.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in another bowl and whisk together. Stir dry mix into the chickpeas. Fold in the pecans.

Pour batter into ready pan. Bake for 25 to 27 minutes, until it passes the toothpick test in the middle.

Cool in pan for hour or two. Use foil to lift blondies onto cutting board to slice into pieces. Store in a sealed container, with waxed paper between layers, at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 3 days. Bars also can be frozen for later enjoyment.

OM NOM NOM!

Book Blog: The Vela by Yoon Ha Lee, Becky Chambers, S.L. Huang, and Rivers Solomon

I review everything I read and post reviews on Goodreads and LibraryThing. That’s not enough. Good books are meant to be shared. Therefore, I’m spotlighting some of my favorite reads here on my site.

The Vela by Yoon Ha Lee, Becky Chambers, S.L. Huang, and Rivers Solomon

available in text and audio, in episodes or in full, from the publisher, Serial Box

Summary from the publisher:

In the fading light of a dying star, a soldier for hire searches for a missing refugee ship and uncovers a universe-shattering secret.Asala Sikou is used to looking after number one while crisis reigns in her dying planetary system. But when she’s hired to find a missing refugee ship, she discovers that this is no ordinary rescue mission, and she must play a role in deciding the fate of the whole universe.

What I thought:

I was sent an early copy of this book from the publisher.

I’ve heard good things about Serial Box–and had friends work with them–but I had yet to read any of their serialized novels. I admit to some skepticism. In the case of The Vela I’ve read and loved three of the four authors in the project, and they have unique styles. How would a book flow together? Would it feel disjointed?

To my delight, yes, the book flowed together, and to my surprise, no, it didn’t feel disjointed or like related short stories. It worked–and very well at that, as these are among the best science fiction writers out there right now. Their individual approaches were noticeable if the reader is familiar with their works (S.L. Huang writes breathless action; Becky Chambers has a knack for subtle, emotional touches) but they flowed together seamlessly.

The Vela is action-packed and visceral, full of emotions, insight, and punch-to-the-gut revelations. The sun is dying, the planetary system with it. The worlds closest to the sun struggle onward as the outer planets succumb to frigid temperatures. Asala is a child refugee from a dying world, grown to become a skilled assassin and bodyguard. When the president of a privileged planet tasks her finding a lost refugee ship, she balks. She has no desire to revisit the dark memories and places of her past. The fact that the president is including his meddlesome hacker child in the mission makes it even more unappealing. However, an uneasy partnership is struck, and Asala soon finds that the search for the Vela will uncover secrets that could save–or destroy–the entire system.

Every character in this is complex and real. Asala has a grittiness to her that is still relatable. Niko, the nonbinary hacker, is idealistic to a fault; I want to add that it’s fantastic to see a nonbinary lead character, and it fully showed how gender wasn’t necessary to define who Niko was or how they behaved. The pacing of the book is extraordinary, especially in light of the alternating chapters by different authors. This is a space opera that really has it all–intense action, near-death scrapes, and tear-inducing scenes. I came to love these characters, and the dramatic conclusion left me in awe.

I’m adding this book to my shortlist for best novel nominees for this year. It’s that good.

Bready or Not: Chewy Coffee Cookies

Eat your coffee in these Chewy Coffee Cookies, and get your day off to the right start.

These cookies are chewy with a slight crunch, with the outside pleasantly crusted with turbinado sugar and coarsely-ground coffee.

My husband’s work lives on coffee. It probably runs through people’s veins. Needless to say, they liked these cookies.

These are the sorts of cookies that are good for breakfast, snack, or a party spread. Just maybe an event early in the day because, you know, caffeine.

I am told these cookies also taste good with coffee. Who knew?

Modified from Food network Magazine December 2017.

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Bready or Not: Chewy Coffee Cookies





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These chewy, slightly crunchy goodies are perfect for the coffee lover!

Cookies
3 Tablespoons coarsely ground coffee beans
1/3 cup turbinado sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
Glaze
1 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
3+ teaspoons milk or water

Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine 1 Tablespoon of ground coffee with the turbinado sugar. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix the rest of the coffee with the flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon.

In a big bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy; using beaters, about 3 minutes. Add the egg. Gradually stir in the flour mixture.

Drop a teaspoon of dough into the coffee and raw sugar, and roll to cover. Place on parchment with two inches of space to allow for spread.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until set but still soft. Let cool on pane for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to fully cool.

Once all of the cookies are baked, make the glaze. Stir together the confectioners' sugar and liquid of choice until the glaze is thick but spreadable. Use the back of a spoon to glaze each cookie. Let set about 15 minutes before packing in sealable containers, wax paper between the stacked layers.

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Book Blog: Miss Violet & the Great War by Leanna Renee Hieber

I review everything I read and post reviews on Goodreads and LibraryThing. That’s not enough. Good books are meant to be shared. Therefore, I’m spotlighting some of my favorite reads here on my site.

Miss Violet & the Great War by Leanna Renee Hieber

out this week; order at Indie Bound, B&N, or Amazon

I received this book through NetGalley.

Hauntingly hopeful, Miss Violet & the Great War explores the tragedy of the first World War with poetic grace. I found this not to be a book to blaze through in one sitting, but one to savor and appreciate in little bites. That’s not to say it’s a slow read, either. This is a book that felt like immersing myself into a cozily hot bath.

I’ve read one of the related books in Hieber’s world, The Eterna Files, and that was a few years ago now. I jumped into this fourth book in the current series and had no problem following along, and I immediately loved a number of characters. While The Eterna Files seemed to be more of a supernatural mystery to me, Miss Violet & the Great War comes across as more like a spiritual gothic in the very mode of early 20th century novels.

Though the book is about the horrific aspects of war, Hieber’s main focus is on the goodness and creativity of humanity. I’m rather left in awe by the grace of how she handled that. Miss Violet grows up haunted by visions of the War to come throughout her childhood, and prepares herself with intelligence and practicality; so many books are plagued by impulsive protagonists, and it’s refreshing to encounter one with such thoughtfulness and diligence. The latter half of the book is in the War itself, with battles of physical and spiritual natures.

I highly recommend this to readers interested in the Great War and historical fiction with a fantastical bent.