Food Blogger Cookbook Swap & a recipe to share

Guacamole Salad

Do you still use print cookbooks? Have we all converted to online sources exclusively? Can a cook have too many cookbooks? I'm not ready to abandon print on paper. Even though I own far too many cookbooks, I still long for more. January's cookbook swap announcement seemed the perfect invitation to set one of my treasures free, and welcome a new one to my overcrowded shelves. (link) A side benefit would be the introduction to two new-to-me food bloggers and their stories.


“Participating in the Food Blogger Cookbook Swap, hosted by Alyssa ofwww.EverydayMaven.com and Faith of http://www.anediblemosaic.com , I sent a cookbook to a food blogger and received this cookbook in return!” That sounds easy enough, but it took more time than anticipated. I rediscovered cookbooks that I hadn't looked at in ages; books I read through once like a novel, perhaps tried a recipe or two, and then put aside for "another day". Well, another day is here and I've paged through w-a-a-a-y too many books, marking scads of recipes I really do want to try this time around. Sigh, too many cookbooks, too little time. 

What an interesting challenge to find "the" book, a book in near-new condition with no scrawled notes or food splatters decorating its pages, a book with an engaging story as well as recipes that might fit specific dietary preferences. I spent several days doing a little research, skimming through the recipe index on the assigned site and finally chose a cookbook for another blogger to enjoy. Book selected... book mailed... and then I waited. 

Anticipation grew as I waited to hear the "clunk" of a package hitting the mail slot. It didn't take long for my book swap package to arrive. Kristina of CucinaKristina shared Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa: at home as my cookbook swap treasure. Thank you, Kristina, for your friendly note and choice of cookbooks. 

The beautifully photographed book presents everyday recipes for family and friends, homecooking with great flavors and minimum fuss. It has been fun comparing some of my own tried and true recipes with Ina's versions of the same. I adapted Ina's Guacamole Salad to share here, a dish that mixes the flavors and ingredients of a great guacamole and a Southwest Corn Salad with Black Beans (without the corn).  

almost-Ina's Guacamole Salad

adapted from Barefoot Contessa: at home (my changes noted in red)
serves 6

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup mini sweet peppers, seeded and chopped
1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
1 can (10 oz) black beans; drained, rinsed and drained again
1/2 cup red onion, chopped 
2 Tablespoons jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced

For the Sauce:
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest
1/4 up lime juice, freshly squeezed (2 limes)
1/4 cup good olive oil (I used 2 Tbs)
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (or chipotle chili powder to taste)

2 ripe Hass avocados, seeded, peeled, 1/2-inch dice
Handful of fresh cilantro, rough chopped (optional)
Cajun Sunshine, Chipotle Tabasco and Salsa to suit individual tastes (optional)

1. Place the first 7 ingredients in a large bowl, tomatoes through lime zest.
2. In a small bowl whisk together the sauce, lime juice through cayenne. Pour over the vegetables and toss well to coat.
3. When you are ready to serve, fold the avocados gently into the salad with a wide rubber spatula. Taste and adjust seasonings. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve at room temperature with optional hot sauce and salsa on the side.

Note: Leftover salad worked well to fill Tostitos tortilla cups as an appetizer or snack.


Here are links to the other food bloggers participating in this cookbook swap:
A Baker's House
An Edible Mosaic
avocado bravado
Blue Kale Road
Blueberries And Blessings
Cheap Recipe Blog
Confessions of a Culinary Diva
Create Amazing Meals
Cucina Kristina
Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Cupcake Project
Dinner is Served 1972
Done With Corn
Eats Well With Others
Everyday Maven
Flour Me With Love 
From My Sweet Heart 
girlichef 
Great Food 360° 
Healthy. Delicious. 
I'm Gonna Cook That! 
Je Mange la Ville 
Karen's Kitchen Stories 
Kitchen Treaty 
Olive and Herb 
Our Best Bites 
Paleo Gone Sassy 
poet in the pantry 
Rhubarb and Honey 
Rocky Mountain Cooking
Shikha la mode 
Shockingly Delicious 
Sifting Focus 
Spiceroots 
Spoonful of Flavor 
Tara's Multicultural Table 
The Not So Exciting Adventures of a Dabbler 
The Suburban Soapbox 
The Whole Family's Food 

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.

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