Cinnamon Rosemary Bread Pudding

Alton Brown is one of my many cooking mentors. For Christmas this year, my parents gave me one of his cook books, in which he gushes over the baking prowess of one of his culinary team members. The mention came as a footnote for adding rosemary to Monkey Bread. Interesting...
You could always buy Alton's book, or look up his recipe for monkey bread elsewhere. Here, we are having a snow storm, so going out for ingredients is not happening. Also, I should warn you that this isn't terribly sweet. (I need a break between Christmas and Valentine's day.)This is what I came up with in my wintery solitude... and ate in my wintery solitude...and it was awesome.

Cinnamon Rosemary Bread Pudding

9 ounces of stale bread cut into 1-inch cubes*

1/4 cup cinnamon chips**

2 cups milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary (Or 1/4 tsp if you are using dried)

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Optional: 2 tbsp of some sweet liquor like rum, brandy or cinnamon liqueur.

4 tsp sugar for sprinkling on top- ideally sugar in the raw

Grease an 8 inch baking dish. Pile the bread cubes in, and sprinkle chips through out. You'll have to tuck some into the bottom and middle to get even distribution. In a separate bowl, whisk milk, cream, sugar eggs, cinnamon, rosemary, and liquor. Pour liquid over bread cubes and press gently on the pile with the back of a spoon so it all gets absorbed. Let the whole thing soak for about 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees (f) during the soaking period. Just before putting your pudding in the oven, sprinkle the sugar on top. Bake for 40-50 minutes. Let it set up for about 10 minutes before digging in!

* This is equivalent to about 3 ciabatta rolls, which is what I used. You can use anything really, as long as it is enough to generously fill your baking dish. I don't need to say that Wonderbread is not conducive to this recipe...right?

** King Arthur Flour makes some really good ones, but you can also get some at the grocery store, made by Hershey's.

Seared Ahi Tuna on a Bed of Napa Cabbage

After all the decadent food of the holidays, it's nice to have food that is simply nourishing. This is a twist on my all time favorite meal, fondly known in my family as Tuna Cabbage. According to family lore, it was invented by my grandmother out of necessesity, although I had something VERY similar in Hawaii made with pulled pork instead of canned tuna. At any rate, her kids loved it enough to keep making for their families by choice, rather than necessity, and now it's a bonified family recipe. It has been my experience that the humility and simplicity of Tuna Cabbage is not always as appreciated by people outside my family. For instance, Brad is not really a big fan. My mom always makes it for me when I go home, but sometimes I want to eat it but I can't go home. So, ironically enough, out of necessity, I have dressed this meal up a bit so that I may enjoy it from my own kitchen, from time to time.

Tuna Cabbage 2.0

2 Tuna Steaks

Sesame oil

Kosher or Sea Salt

Pepper

Lemon Juice

1 small to medium head of Napa Cabbage

Soy sauce

2 eggs, beaten

red pepper flakes to taste

Some people are sticklers about having fresh fish, but I find a quality frozen fish works just fine. Either way, set the steaks on your counter as you begin working so they aren't stone cold when you cook them. You'll want to make your rice at this point, for the sake of timing. As my family is of Japanese desent we make sticky rice (technical term, haha!) but you can use whatever you like.

Prepare your Napa Cabbage by pulling the leaves off, cutting off the hub, rinsing them, and shreading them into 1/4 inch strips across the grain. Set it on a towel (paper or otherwise) to dry a bit. In a large pot heat about a 2 tsp of sesame oil, add your cabbage and season with red pepper flakes. Pour the soy sauce about three turns around the edge of the pan. You don't want too much, or it will overwhelm the delicate flavor of the cabbage. Gently fold the cabbage until it cooks down enough to cover and cook for about 5 minutes before pouring the eggs on top, making an even layer on top. Replace the cover, turn the heat to low and move to the tuna.

Place a heavy frying pan (cast iron is really good for this, but Brad and I just use a good quality stainless steel pan) on high heat until a drop of water dances on it for about 10 seconds before evaporating. While it's heating prepare your steak by drizzling a bit of the sesame oil on the steak, and flipping and smearing it on a plate, then flip and smear again. This gets a nice thin and even coating of oil on the fish. Then season liberally with the salt and pepper. When the pan is hot enough, place the steaks on the pan and sear on each side for 2 minutes, spritzing the first side with lemon juice, once you've flipped it over. If you like your fish cooked a little more, take it off the heat and cover loosely with foil and give it another minute on each side.

To serve just make a bed of rice, then put some of the cabbage on top. (Break up the egg layer and give the cabbage a fluff before spooning it out). I cut the steaks in half, so one steak serves 2 people and rest the fish on top of the whole thing. I like to put a bit of the "pot liquor" on top of the whole thing as a sauce before diggin in!

This makes enough for 4 people. If you aren't going to eat it all right away, maybe just cook one tuna steak at each sitting, so that it is fresh. The left overs are easy, just make up the tuna, and reheat the rest!

Less is more, I think.

Muliti Grain English Muffins

I've been debating the value of purchasing muffin rings for over a year. I finally got some with my birthday money, and I'm so glad that I did! Most recipes call for white all purpose flour, but that doesn't really fit with the dietary needs of this kitchen. I wouldn't say we actively avoid white flour, but given the choice we ALWAYS pick a more fibrous option. So I came up with a recipe that includes whole grains to beef up the fiber content. Since this is my first go around I didn't use any whole wheat flour, but I think next time I'll give it a try. (and I'll be sure to update!) It's not traditional, but it's tasty and it's good for you!

Before we start, a little bit about the rings: I purchased mine from King Arthur Flour, and got a set of 8, and paid a little over $1 for each ring. Sometimes King Arthur Flour can be expensive, but as a poor grad student, I would say this is a solid buy. If you are using them on a non-stick surface, don't slide the rings around, just place them down, and lift straight up to remove them. When you wash them, don't just set them out do dry, they'll rust. Dry them with a towel, and then put them in a warm oven to dry. Just turn the oven on the lowest temperature setting (maybe 200?) while you wash dishes, put the rings in the oven, and turn the oven off. When it's cooled down completely, your rings should be ready to go.

Multi Grain English Muffins

1 cup milk, microwaved for 2 minutes

1tbsp sugar

1tbsp shortening

1tsp salt

1 packet of instant yeast dissolved in 1/3 cup warm water

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup multi grain hot breakfast cereal (uncooked) *

In your mixing bowl combine milk, sugar, shortening and salt. Stir until the sugar and the salt dissolve. You can try to break up the shortening a little bit, but it won't break up too much. Add the yeast. Then, with your trusty mixing spoon beat in the flour and cereal, sort of smashing the lump of shortening, until it's all blended.

Let the mixture rise for 30 minutes. I put mine on top of the griddle on top of the stove. Since we have a gas oven it stays pretty warm.

If you have an electric griddle preheat it to 300 degrees. If you don't preheat your griddle( a large pan works too, you'll just have to cook fewer muffins at a time) on the stove top on low heat. While your cooking surface is heating up, lightly grease your rings, and set them on the griddle. The dough is sticky, so if you have an ice cream scoop with the spring-loaded scraper, that would be perfect for putting the dough in the rings. Or if you don't have one (like me) Just put two heaping tablespoons scooped out of the spoon with your finger... into the rings and let them cook on one side for 5 minutes. Use tongs to pinch the edge and flip them over and cook for 5 more minutes.

Delicious!

Once they have cooled completely, you can save these in an air tight container on the counter top for the next day, in the fridge for the next 3 days, or in tightly wrapped in cling wrap and foil for the next 3 weeks.

* I use Trader Joe's brand, which includes oats, barley, rye and wheat. I think just quick (not instant) oats would work well here. You might also try a 10 grain mixture like the one offered by Bob's Red Mill.