Spicy Roasted Cauliflower Sandwich

Hilary and Ron worked together to prepare dinner last night, while I sat at the other end of the kitchen and played guest. What a treat! Ron built a healthy and delicious Greek salad and Hilary prepared an amazing roasted cauliflower sandwich. 

Usually I rave about toasted meat and cheese sandwich combinations, not roasted veggies, but this sandwich deserves enthusiastic praise. It comes long distance from one Washington to another; via Hilary from Ann Marie's recreated version of a favorite at Taylor Gourmet in Washington DC - with a few suggested tweaks of my own.

Sandwich love happens when the first bite brings a satisfied smile and happy taste buds without the brain fretting over what's on the inside of the fresh, crusty roll. Yum! Sweet, spicy, tangy, smooth and crunchy registered immediately and called for a second bite. Mmmmmm, this was SO tasty and satisfying that I didn't want to set the sandwich back down on my plate between bites. 

Hilary had raved about the sandwich when she enjoyed Ann Marie's original, but I blew off the notion that a vegan sandwich could be all that good. Wrong! The filling combination hit all the right flavor and texture notes and I'm already plotting some other presentations: tortilla wraps, savory crepes, pizzas or open-faced tartines...  

No, I'm not going to forgo my favorite green chile cheeseburgers or grilled cheese combinations, but this Spicy Roasted Cauliflower Sandwich has joined my list of favorites. Try it, you're going to love it and won't miss the meat. I promise. 

Spicy Roasted Cauliflower Sandwich with Hummus and Greens

variation of a recipe from Ann Marie at CiaoMama

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon cumin (optional)

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
smoked salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 large crunchy rolls or buns, warmed or toasted
hummus (homemade or purchased)
sweet Thai chili sauce
arugula, spinach and/or baby kale

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with tin foil for easier clean up. 
2. While the oven is heating, cut cauliflower into bite-size pieces and wash thoroughly. Thoroughly pat dry on paper towels.
3. Spread cauliflower on baking sheet. Pour olive oil over the cauliflower florets; then sprinkle with cayenne, cumin, garlic powder, smoked paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, smoked salt and pepper. Use a clean hand or wide rubber spatula and toss the cauliflower to evenly coat each piece with oil and spices. Then spread out evenly in a single layer across the foil-lined pan.
4. Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and toast the cauliflower for 20-25 minutes, giving the pan a little shake half way through. When roasted to your liking (lightly colored OR with little crunchy, burnt bits), remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
5. Slice the rolls horizontally and spread both top and bottom halves with hummus. Top each bottom half with cauliflower, a drizzle of sweet Thai chili sauce and a handful of arugula. Add the top part of the roll, compress slightly and enjoy.

Sourdough Dinner Rolls

Last winter I played with several Quick Dinner Roll recipes, searching for one that might produce rolls to rival those of my mother-in-law. None matched the memory of Irene's light and airy rolls, so I'm still hunting for the perfect recipe. This month SourdoughSurprises chose dinner rolls as their baking challenge, providing me a welcome opportunity to check out successful recipes from other bakers as they post their results on individual blogs and on Pinterest. This group always produces amazing sourdough treasures.

Recent surgery has slowed down my culinary efforts lately, but it's time to get busy baking and cooking again. Soup has been a menu staple this month, helping to combat November's chilly weather, and nothing goes better with homemade soup than homemade rolls. Just the aroma of freshly baked bread adds warmth to the kitchen as well as smiles to my day. That said, I wasn't ready to attack heavy-duty kneading while still on crutches, so I returned to the search for a quick and easy dinner roll recipe, something I could do while seated. 

Rather than create a real 100% sourdough dinner roll, I added sourdough starter to an adapted version of Double-Quick Dinner Rolls found in a 1961 edition of Betty Crocker's New Picture Cook Book. Quick but not exactly "double-quick", the recipe did come together easily and produced buns that were quite acceptable. Though still not as tender and light as Irene's, these rolls were a definite improvement over my previous attempts. 

Perfect Quick Dinner Rolls are still a work in progress in my galley. Do you have a favorite recipe to recommend?

Double-Quick Dinner Rolls

makes 12-15 rolls

3/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup sourdough starter
2 1/4 cups AP flour, divided
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
3 Tbsp. butter, softened

*Optional: melted garlic butter & seasoned pepitas (toasted pumpkin seeds flavored with cayenne & garlic)

1. Add the water and buttermilk to a large mixing bowl; sprinkle the yeast over the top and stir to dissolve.
2. Add the sugar and sourdough starter and whisk until smooth.
3. Sift the flour or measure with a scoop-level-pour method. Add half of the flour and the salt to the yeast mixture and beat until smooth.
4. Add the egg and butter; beat in the rest of the flour until smooth.
5. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place until double (about 40 minutes in my oven set for bread proofing, 100 degrees F).
6. Grease large muffin cups. Stir down the raised dough and scoop or spoon into the muffin cups, filling them about half full. Let rise in a warm place until the dough reaches the tops of the muffin cups.
7. *Optional: sprinkle seasoned pepitas over the tops of each roll before the second rise.
8. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake on a center rack until lightly golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
9. *Optional: brush the tops of the still-warm rolls with melted garlic butter for a flavor pop.

Note: #TwelveLoaves bakers chose pumpkin as their November challenge. A sprinkling of pepitas might qualify these dinner rolls as fitting their monthly theme, or maybe not. I don't eat pumpkin-flavored anything so these buns are as close as I'll come to baking with #TwelveLoaves this month. If you are a pumpkin fan, you'll want to check out their bread recipes for November.

#TwelveLoaves is a monthly bread baking party created by Lora from Cake Duchess and run with the help of Heather of girlichef, which runs smoothly with the help of our bakers.Our host this month is Renee from Kudos Kitchen by Renee, and our theme is Pumpkin. For more bread recipes, visit the #TwelveLoaves Pinterest board, or check out last month’s tempting selection of #TwelveLoaves Apple Breads! 

Orange Spiced Apple Rolls

{#TwelveLoaves April Challenge: Oranges}

Go ahead, take a bite. Mentally savor the first mouthful of this apple-filled roll; imagine the taste, the tangy notes of citrus, the crunch of the pecans. Now inhale, mmmmmmm! the aroma alone is delectable. 

We've been back aboard for more than a week, keeping busy with boat projects and Spring outfitting and consuming interesting (okay, boring) quick-fix meals. I did bake some sour cherry rye bread (link) last week, but it was definitely time to bake some sweet treats for the Capt. With only two days left to add a recipe to #TwelveLoaves for the April theme of Oranges, the pressure was on to create something suitably orangey. Guilt entered the picture as well. It's been over a week since dock neighbor Dave inquired about sampling some baked goods, looking hopefully in my direction whenever I passed by. But wait a minute, who needs an excuse to bake? Not me, not really.

I'm not crazy wild about sweets, so a fruit-filled something was an obvious choice. I could have jazzed up our old standby, Awesome Sticky Buns, a long-time favorite of family and friends, but that felt like cheating on the #TwelveLoaves challenge. Instead I took the opportunity to adapt a new-to-me sweet dough recipe for rolled buns using Canola oil instead of butter. Thank you, PioneerWoman for the recipe suggestion. I had w-a-y too many apples left from Saturday's purchase at the Coombs Country Market, so today's filling had to include diced apples. eCurry's riff on the PioneerWoman recipe provided inspiration as well. Ginger, orange juice plus zest, and star anise joined the party for flavor, and I was ready to roll.

Well, almost ready to roll; I had started too late in the evening to finish before midnight. Oops! I settled for preparing the apple filling and the dough, popping both in the fridge and heading for bed. The dough came out of the refrigerator at 6:00 the next morning and in my chilly galley took a little over an hour to warm up, soften up, and agree to roll out. 

Note to self: This solution was more tedious than it would have been to finish the assembly and then refrigerate the filled pans. 

No matter, the result was worth the extra fiddling. These rolls were both different and delicious. RL stated for the record that he missed the ooey-gooey syrup of a traditional sticky bun, but compared this recipe favorably to a more traditional cinnamon roll. He ate two rolls after breakfast,  a sure sign of approval. 

I shared a plate of rolls fresh from the oven with neighbor Dave and his Way West crew. He came by later, to say "Thank you," and admitted to eating two while they were still warm. When pressed for a taste critique, he repeated "Delicious... delicious", and had no suggestions for improvement. 
  
The recipe is a keeper, and invites experimentation.  Smaller, individual bites baked in small muffin tins might star at a brunch buffet. Other fruit and nut combinations come to mind. Frosting drizzles would add another layer of sweetness for anyone craving sweets. But for today, Orange Spiced Apple Rolls were perfect as is, thank you.

Orange Spiced Apple Rolls

adapted from ThePioneerWoman and eCurry recipes
  For the dough:
1 cup milk, scalded
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Canola oil
1 heaping teaspoon active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups AP flour, divided
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 scant teaspoon baking soda
1/4 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon Apple Pie spice (Penzey's)

For the apple filling:
2 Tablespoons butter
4 cups apples; peeled, cored & diced small
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
zest of 1 small orange (grated or slivered)
juice of 1 small orange (or 1/4 cup orange juice concentrate)
2 star anise

1 heaping cup pecans, toasted & rough chopped
1/2 stick (4 Tbs) melted butter

Optional syrup to drizzle on top:
Sugar dissolved in orange juice for simple syrup
Granulated sugar to sprinkle

Prepare the dough:

1. Whisk in the sugar and oil into the scalded milk until the sugar dissolves. Let cool (under 100 F). Add the yeast and watch it bubble a bit, then add 2 cups of the flour and stir gently to mix. Cover and rest for 1 to 2 hours (this gives gluten development a head start).
2. Sift together the remaining 1/2 cup flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and Apple Pie spice; add to the dough. Knead to fully incorporate these new additions.
3. Divide the dough in two, forming a ball with each half. Cover and let rest for 15-20 minutes.

Prepare the filling:

1. Use a non-stick pan to avoid scorching. Melt the butter over medium-high heat until it bubbles; add the apples and toss or stir to coat each piece. Add the brown sugar, fresh ginger and orange zest, stirring until the sugar melts. Add the orange juice and star anise and simmer over low heat, stirring frequently, until the fruit softens and the liquid thickens.
2. Scoop the mixture into a bowl, remove the star anise and let cool. (You can prepare this a day ahead, but it will tempt you to sample spoonful after spoonful.)

Assemble the Rolls:

1. Place one of the dough balls on a lightly floured surface and roll out into a rectangle - the larger the rectangle the more filling you can use.
2. Brush with half of the melted butter. Distribute half of the apple filling evenly over the dough; then scatter half of the pecans on top of the apples.
3. Begin with a short side and roll up into a firm cylinder. Press the long edge to seal as you finish. Use floss, thin string or an oiled knife to divide into 6 to 8 pieces.
4. Place each piece, cut side down, in a greased baking pan. Leave a little space between each slice; they will rise as they sit and putt even more as they bake.
5. Repeat with the second ball of dough.
6. Cover; let rise until they lighten and puff to nearly double.
7. Bake in a preheated 375 degree F oven until golden brown, and they sound hollow when tapped. (33 minutes in my oven). You may want to cover in foil for part of the baking to avoid over browning. 
8. Serve warm, plain or drizzled with an orange-flavored simple syrup and dusted with sugar.
9. Note: To delay baking or bake in 2 batches, hold the dough in the fridge unfilled or assembled, but let it return to room temperature before continuing.

Hidden Treasure Sourdough Pull Aparts

Background:

Sourdough Surprises' February baking challenge is Monkey Bread... Pull Apart Bread... typically a sweet dough item drenched with a sticky, ooey, gooey, buttery caramelized sugar syrup. Uh, no, thank you, I don't think so, not my thing, far too sweet. I procrastinated for days, pondering how to handle the challenge, and initially decided not to bake with the group this month. No, that would be a poor choice, a lazy way around the issue.

Phase One:

I decided instead to be ornery and ignore the whole uber sweet focus. I would bake a savory version of pull apart bread, a sourdough filled with slices of swiss cheese and ham and slathered with grainy honey mustard. Well, it was... interesting, perfectly adequate yet disappointing. The cheese melted away into the dough and the mustard flavoring underwhelmed my taste buds. I salvaged a few slabs of the not-so-cheesy bread and ham, added some greens and sliced tomatoes fillings, and called it a pull apart/put together sandwich. Meh, this was not working, certainly not worth sharing, and not in the spirit of this month's challenge. Sigh.  

Phase Two:

I veered back toward sweet, aiming for a modified, slightly less sweet version of the theme "sourdough monkey bread/pull apart bread". My plan was to add a distinctive flavor or two, subtract a ton of butter and sugar, and bake small bites in muffin tins instead of packing the dough balls into one large loaf pan or cake pan.

Each dough ball contained a few fresh blueberries - the "hidden treasure" of the title. A pinch of freshly-grated orange zest offered a pleasant tangy, citrusy balance to the sweet coating of sprinkled cinnamon, apple pie spice and sugar. I tried one straight from the oven... and broke into giggles. The sourdough pull apart rolls were just fine, really, but they did need a drizzle of oozy, gooey sweetness to round out the taste. So much for my "I prefer savory" stance! 

A quick microwaved cream cheese, orange marmalade and powdered sugar frosting drizzled over the top did the trick. These little frosted cuties turned out to be quite good, sweet but not cloyingly sweet. The orange zest contributed a pleasant back note, and the blueberries added some fun.   

The muffin tin version were the perfect size for a mid-morning snack, much neater and easier to share than a larger loaf pan or bundt pan product. Note: despite the fork pictured above, I ate my share with my hands, pulling the dough balls apart and licking my fingers at the end. Now I have to eat my words - who said sweets weren't my thing?!

Hidden Treasure Sourdough Pull Aparts

Yield depends on the size and number of dough balls in each cup.

For the dough:

     1 cup sourdough starter, well-fed and proofed 

     1 1/2 tablespoon butter, melted

     1/4 cup milk, warmed

     1/2 cup AP flour

     1 egg, beaten

     1/4 teaspoon salt

     1/2 Tablespoon sugar   

     1 1/2 cups additional AP flour

For the coating:
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon apple pie spice
1 cup granulated sugar

Hidden Treasure:
Fresh blueberries
Grated zest of 1 large orange

Frosting:
2 tablespoons cream cheese
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
2/3 cup powdered sugar

For the dough:
Stir together the first 7 ingredients, starter through sugar. Add the additional 1 1/2 cups AP flour and knead until evenly combined (use more or less as needed to form a sticky dough that comes together and no longer clings to the side of the mixing bowl).
First Rise: Cover the bowl and let rise overnight (or at least for several hours until it doubles in size).
Form:
Use cooking spray or butter to grease Texas size muffin tins.
Punch down the dough, let rest 15-20 minutes, then roll out approximately 1/2-inch thick on a lightly floured surface. 
Scatter the orange zest over the top of the dough. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into squares. Top a dough square with a few blueberries, gather the corners to form a purse and shape into a ball. Roll in your hand to round the shape. 
Roll the dough ball in the sugar mix to coat lightly and place in the muffin tin. Repeat for three more dough balls, arranging all four loosely in the cup. Repeat  with the remaining squares. 
Second Rise:
Cover and let rise until doubled in size, approximately 2 1/2 hours in my kitchen.
Bake:
Place the filled muffin tins in a preheated 350 degree F oven and bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove, drizzle with the frosting and serve warm.
Frosting:
Heat the cream cheese, marmalade and sifted powdered sugar in a microwave, stirring often, until melted and loose. This took 2 bursts  of 30-seconds each in my micro.

An InLinkz Link-up

Quick Dinner Rolls - #Twelve Loaves

January 2014 - Keep it Simple!

A pan of delicious dinner rolls accompanied most family dinners at my mother-in-laws table. For decades she turned out batch after batch of light, airy rolls effortlessly, quickly, without any cookbook or recipe card in sight, adjusting flour/water ratios by the feel of the dough. I wish I had spent more time with her in the kitchen, sharing stories and baking together. 

Irene has passed and I regret the missed the opportunities to share many of her recipes. I think she might approve of this pan of Quick Dinner Rolls, not as tender as I remember hers but perfectly adequate. Her rolls were not fancy shapes or full of extra add-ins, but they were heavenly. As is so often the case, simple was best. 

The #TwelveLoaves "Keep it Simple" theme for January's challenge was the perfect invitation to bake a pan of quick dinner rolls. Not that baking ever requires an invitation or even an excuse, but I usually bake loaves rather than rolls. This month I spent waaaay to much time researching online, reading blog posts and skimming various recipes; 30 Minute Rolls, Quick Dinner Rolls, No Knead Rolls, Parker House Rolls, Overnight Refrigerator Rolls... Too many choices! 30 Minute Rolls sounded good and looked simple, so that made the decision easy.  

I prepared a half-recipe and experimented with toppings: 2 rolls were brushed with melted garlic butter before and after baking, 2 rolls in the center of the pan were left unadorned, and 2 rolls were sprinkled with a tablespoon of fresh shredded Parmesan cheese. No herbs added into the dough, though I was really tempted. 

Results: 

• The rolls took longer than 30 minutes but under an hour so, yes, they were quick for yeast rolls.
• Fresh from the oven the rolls' interiors were soft though not especially light. The next day they were heavy and leaden, not as dry as day-old biscuits but no longer tender. Irene steamed her rolls to reheat them if there were any left over, but I didn't try that with this batch.
• The flavor? Well, it was just a fresh bread taste similar to that of any warm, white AP loaf. 
• The plain tops browned nicely and their interiors held a good slather of butter and jam. Cheese topping did not add anything special to the taste but it was attractive. The garlic butter punched up the flavor enough to become my favorite. (Was I thinking of garlic knots?!)
• RL reported the rolls reminded him of his mom's rolls, but they weren't quite the same. That's an invitation to try another recipe and keep baking. 

Quick Dinner Rolls

Recipe from YourHomeBasedMom

Yield: 12 to 15 medium rolls in a 9x13 pan

     1 cup + 2 TBS warm water

     1/3 cup oil

     2 TBS yeast

     ¼ cup sugar or honey

Mix the water, oil, yeast and sugar together in a mixing bowl and let it rest for 15 minutes. (Yes, mix in the yeast rather than just sprinkling it on top of the liquid.)

     ½ tsp salt

     1 egg

     3 ½ cups AP flour 

Add the salt, egg and flour to the mixing bowl. Use the dough hook on a stand mixer and mix until the dough is soft & supple. Add an extra tablespoon or two of flour as needed to bring the dough together, it should be fairly wet and a bit sticky.

Form into 12 (or more) medium-sized balls.

Place in a greased 9x13 pan and let rest for 10 minutes. They will begin to rise at room temperature and finish in the oven.

          

Bake 10+ minutes in a preheated 400 F or until the tops are a deep golden brown (more like 20+ minutes in my oven).

Remove from oven and brush with each top with melted butter (garlic butter is better!).

#TwelveLoaves Bakers have created a tempting assortment of simple recipes this month. Click HERE to see the collection. What is your favorite simple bread?

Sourdough Popovers with Bacon, Cheddar, Chiles and Corn

- a savory SouthWest version of the classic.

Sourdough Surprises selected popovers as the December 2013 baking challenge. Sourdough and Popovers? This was a surprising pairing. I hadn't baked or even thought about popovers in ages, and certainly never with sourdough starter in the ingredient mix. This would be "interesting".

A King Arthur Flour recipe was referenced but my inspiration came from two other sources; an online post here followed by a recipe in my local food co-op newsletter. Both offered a different take on savory popovers packed full of southwest flavors. Oh yes, these recipes called my name. It is impossible to resist bacon, cheese and chiles in anything. 

The results were surprising, definitely tasty but not quite what I had expected. These were not the everyday popovers I had attempted before, those towering, airy wonders that totally collapsed as they exited the oven. No, this sourdough variation delivered less puff and more egg, resembling a light, savory custardlike pudding encased in a thin-shelled pastry. 

I sampled one bite of the outer crust and then nibbled the soft, flavor-packed center. Forget the fork, I pulled the remaining crust apart and ate it with my fingers... every crumb... piece by piece. Mmmmm, I loved that delicate, crispy edge. Recovering my manners I returned to the fork to finish the moist center of that first popover, and then ate a second one. Even RL, not usually an egg enthusiast, enjoyed two popovers. 

Lighter than a quiche or frittata, but more dense than a traditional popover, this Loaded SW Popover was a new crossover wonder. Thanks for the popover challenge, Sourdough Surprises.

Loaded SouthWestern Sourdough Popovers 

based on a recipe from PCC Chef Lynne Vea (link)
makes 12 regular-muffin-size or 6 Texas-size popovers

3 strips bacon, finely chopped (or cooked whole, then crumbled)
1 cup white sweet corn, fresh or frozen
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 scant cup milk
1/2 cup sourdough starter
1 cup minus 2 tablespoons unbleached AP white flour 
2 tablespoons fine grind white cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons melted butter
3/4 cup grated (not shredded) sharp white cheddar cheese
2 chopped green onions, both green and white parts
2 tablespoons diced chiles (canned or fresh, adding more or less as you like), tossed with a light sprinkle of flour to keep them clumping and diving directly to the bottom of the muffin cups.

Move a baking shelf to the bottom third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425 F. 

Cook the bacon in a heavy skillet until crisp. Remove from the pan, drain and set aside, saving the drippings. (It's easiest to fry up whole or half slices, then crumble after cooking and cooling.)

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar and pepper) in a small bowl. Set aside. (I sifted them through a sieve, an optional exercise.) 

Place the corn in a second, larger mixing bowl. Add the beaten eggs,  milk, and sourdough starter; blend well. 

Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir to combine. Add the melted butter and mix. Fold in (fold in, not whisk in or beat in) the bacon, cheddar, chives and floured chiles. 

Use 2 muffin tins and plan to fill alternate cups with batter. Place 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon bacon drippings in the bottom of alternate muffin cups. Place in the preheated oven to warm for 3 minutes (any longer and you'll have smoke alarm issues). Remove and quickly pour the popover batter over the heated bacon drippings in those cups, filling about 3/4 full. (Optional suggestion found online: Pour a little hot water, less than an inch, into each empty muffin cup to avoid warping the pan.) Bake until puffed and a dark golden color, approximately 15-20 minutes for regular size and 20-30 minutes for Texas size.

Remove from the oven and place on a baking rack to cool for a minute or two. Run a butter knife around the edge of each popover to loosen, tilt in muffin cup or remove to a backing rack for a few minutes to set up a bit. Serve when still quite warm.

Cook's Note: Next time I will try using a blender, whizzing up half of the onions and chiles with the wet ingredients and stirring in the rest by hand.