The Professional Chef |

The bread culture is popular in the West mostly in United States and European countries like Italy, France and Germany. To the bread eating household dwellers, they may find it quicker to just pick their favorite loaf from bread shops or supermarkets. But those who want to sample their own flat bread recipes at home can certainly do so. In that way, they will likely gain a self-rewarding experience of serving bread that they bake themselves.

The food business is not complete with bread not placed on the menu. Bread is part of the appetizing dishes, or they could be main course for others who are on a sandwich diet. There are numerous flat bread recipes one can try out such as chapattis, caramelized apple pecan flatbread, basic pizza dough, corn tortilla, flour tortilla, deep dish pizza crust, herbed foccacia bread, homemade pitas, tomato and cheese filled foccacia, pizza dough, pan pizza crust, walnut cheese snaps, caramel whole wheat pita bread and caramel apple flatbread.

Let’s take for instance the last flat bread recipe and learn how to prepare it at your own home kitchen. The ingredients you will need for your Caramel Apple Flatbread are 2 and ¼ cups of all-purpose flour, ½ cup of Quaker oats, 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar, 1 and ¼ ounce package of quick rising yeast, ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon of salt, ¾ cup of water, 1 tablespoon of veggie oil, 1 egg white and 1 cup unpeeled chopped apple. For your topping, you will require ¾ cup of Quaker oats, 2/3 cup of firmly packaged brown sugar, ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon, ¾ cup of reduced-fat sour cream and ¼ cup of chopped pecans or walnuts.

First step in doing your flat bread recipe of Caramel Apple Flatbread is to make your bread first by combining your yeast, flour, oats, sugar and salt in a food processor bowl processor. It’s important that you mix them well as you put the machine on and off. Heat oil and water, then mix it with the flour mixture along with egg white. Wait until dough starts to resemble a ball. Work the dough until smooth so that you can press apples on to them. Place the dough on a smooth surface that’s filled with some flour and start shaping them rectangular. Leave them for 45 minutes in the 400-degree set oven so that they can enlarge but make sure you cover them with plastic.

In flat bread recipes like Caramel Apple, you can do the topping by blending together ingredients like cinnamon, brown sugar and oats. Scatter this mixture equally on top of the dough and pour some pecans afterwards. Bake the topped dough for 18 minutes or more until you notice they turn light golden brown on the sides. After which, your Caramel Apple flatbread is good as served.

If you love chili as much as I do, then you are always willing to get more chili flavors. “Southern chili Georgia style”, “to the moon” chili and “weeknight chili” are 3 great chili recipes which are easy to prepare as well.

Below are the 3 chili recipes for you to try out:

1. “Southern Chili Georgia Style”

Yield: 1 Servings

Ingredients:

- 3 lb chuck,cut in chunks
- 3 t oil
- 1 1/2 c beef broth
- 1 1/2 c chicken broth
- 4 1/2 T ca chile powder
- 4 T gebhardt chili powder
- 1/2 T nm hot chile powder
- 1/2 T chimayo chile powder
- 1/2 T pasilla powder
- 3 1/2 T cumin
- 1 T granulated garlic
- 4 t onion powder
- 1/2 T brown sugar
- 1 t tabasco
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 1/2 c green chiles, Canned 1 chopped

Directions:

- Brown meat and add to chili pot along with broths, tomato sauce, and
green chili’s.
- Add 2/3 of the spices. Cook for 2 hr.
- Add remaining spices.
- Cook 1 hr or until meat is tender.
- Add salt to taste.

2. “To The Moon” Chili

Yield: 6 Servings

Ingredients:

- 1 lb beef,Ground
- 1 pk chili-o seasoning mix
- 1/2 c water
- 1 cn (14-1/2oz) whole tomatoes – cut up
- 1 cn (16oz) kidney beans, drained
- 1 T cayenne pepper sauce
- 1 red pepper, chopped, – optional
- 1 green onion,chopped, – optional
- 1 cheddar cheese, Shredded – optional

Directions:

- In a Dutch oven brown ground beef; drain.
- Stir in seasoning mix, water, tomatoes, beans and cayenne pepper sauce.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, cover, 10 minutes.
- Garnish with chopped red pepper, green onion and cheese, if desired.

3. “Weeknight Chili”

Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

- 1 lb beef (or turkey (i mix) – Ground
- 1 it 1/2 & 1/2)
- 1 green bell pepper,chopped
- 1 cn (15 oz) red kidney beans
- 1 undrained
- 1 cn (8oz) tomato sauce
- 1 t white vinegar
- 2 T chili powder
- 2 T onion,Minced
- 1/4 t garlic salt
- 1 t sugar

Directions:

- In a 3 quart saucepan over medium-high heat, cook ground beef and bell pepper 6 minutes or until meat is no longer pink, stirring frequently. Drain excess fat.

- Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If desired, top with chopped onion, shredded cheese or sour cream.

There are as many meatloaf recipes are there are cooks. This one is my favorite, an easy meatloaf recipe that can be varied to suit your tastes. Start with the basic recipe and add seasonings from the list below to suit your family. You can vary the meats used and the seasonings.


To keep my meatloaf recipe easy, I use ground beef. Many cooks use a combination of ground beef, ground pork or ground veal. Some use sausage in their mixture. If you desire a mixture of meats, use 1/2 to 3/4 pound of pork, veal or sausage to 1 pound of beef. Using the seasoned Italian style bread crumbs seasons the meatloaf, making this recipe easy and quick to prepare. I don’t actually even measure anything. I just dump the ingredients together using a reasonable amount of each. If the mixture is too moist, add more bread crumbs. If too dry, add more ketchup. It really is an easy meatloaf recipe that is foolproof.

Basic Easy Meat Loaf Recipe


1 1/2 pounds ground chuck


3/4 cup Italian style bread crumbs


2 eggs


1 large onion, finely chopped


1 1/2 teaspoon salt


1/2 teaspoon pepper


1 teaspoon each garlic powder and onion powder, optional


1/4 cup catsup + more for top if desired


2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, optional but good

1. Preheat oven to to 375 degrees F.


2. In a large loaf pan or ovenproof baking dish, mix all ingredients.


3. Shape into loaf shape.


4. Bake at 375 for 1 hour or until done.


5. I like to cover the top with more catsup during the last 20 minutes of baking.

You can try additional seasonings such as diced bell pepper, chopped celery leaves, minced parsley and thyme. If using sausage, try adding finely diced apple, and eliminate the garlic, onion powder and Worcestershire sauce. Small diced vegetables such as potato, carrots, or peas can be added if you like. Some cooks add chopped olives or chopped pickles or hard boiled eggs. You can substitute canned soup for the catsup, pouring more over the top as it bakes. The variations are endless.If you are blessed with leftovers of this easy meatloaf recipe, this makes a delicious sandwich filling the next day, but don’t count on it. My family eats this up.

Taken from the Italian word “ciabatta” which means slipper, Ciabatta bread is enjoyed for its softness and slipper shape. Ideal for breakfast, this bread is eaten by tearing it apart and dipping it into olive oil or any flavorful dressing. Its tastiness is intriguing, shapeliness is enthralling and crispiness is satisfying. As the whole world sees ciabatta to be ideal for Italian sandwiches, some of those who just discovered it are eager to know about ciabatta bread recipe.

Veteran cooks and bakers would say the quality of ciabatta would depend on the thickness of your dough before baking them. Ciabatta bread recipe is supposed to produce a crispy and tender crust. It is best enjoyed when mixed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and basil to come up with very tempting Italian sandwiches.

Mud-like and extremely wet dough are possible if you have a very good ciabatta bread recipe. Very sticky dough will certainly produce a perfect ciabatta. Your recipe ingredients for three loaves include one cup of sourdough starter, 7/16 cup of water, 2 1/8 cups of white unbleached all-purpose flour for your sponge. Then, you must have additional 5 cups of all-purpose flour plus 1 2/3 cups of lukewarm water, ¼ cup of lukewarm milk, three table spoons of extra virgin olive oil, two table spoons of salt and one cup of sundried tomatoes for your bread.

Starting your bread a night before baking is smart. First step to do with your ciabatta bread recipe is to make your sponge or thick sourdough starter. Have your regular starter as base and let it work overnight to gain power and tastiness. If you’re not doing it overnight, you can still stir them all together and leave it for 5 minutes until you notice its creaminess. Thicker yeast mixture or sourdough is better of course. You can move to another clean bowl and stir it for four minutes. Use a plastic wrap to cover your bowl and let it stand a cool temperature for at least 12 hours.

Once you’re done with your thick starter, it’s time that you make the dough itself. Here, you will blend the thick starter together with more water, olive oil, flour and salt. Use a spoon or your bare hands to mix the ingredients. In ciabatta bread recipe, you can your tomatoes and salt after mixing all your ingredients. Rub your dough into oiled bowl and mask it with plastic wrap until it starts to double size and becomes very sticky after 1 and ½ hours.

This time, you can secure two pieces of parchment paper where your dough can be placed and molded into slipper forms. Make sure to flour your dough well on baking sheets. Push your fingers in flour and dimpled loaves. Spread the top areas of your dough with flour. After this last step, voila, you can place it in the oven and wait for 45 minutes to one hour before you can enjoy your ciabatta bread recipe.

It’s autumn, and veggie shops are overflowing with beautiful golden pumpkins. Pumpkin is a highly nutritious vegetable, rich in antioxidants, fiber and vitamins, so it’s a great way to add goodness to fall menus.

You can substitute canned pumpkin in any recipe using pumpkin puree, but you’ll get a better flavour if you cook fresh pumpkin yourself. For the best flavour, slice and seed fresh pumpkin and roast in a medium oven for 30-40 minutes until tender. When cool enough to handle, remove skin and mash or blend the flesh. Alternatively, peel and seed raw pumpkin, cut into chunks, place in a large pan with the minimum of water and simmer until tender. Drain thoroughly and mash, blend or process to a puree.

Here are 5 ideas for using fresh pumpkin.

Pumpkin soup Pumpkin makes wonderful soup. Cook cubes of fresh pumpkin in vegetable stock, adding other vegetables such as onion, leek, potato, carrot or turnip if you wish. When the vegetables are tender, puree in a blender or food processor. For extra savour, add spices like cinnamon or nutmeg. Ground or grated fresh ginger also work well. Pumpkin cakes Add up to 175ml (1 cup) pureed pumpkin to teabread recipes, for moistness. Always use spice with pumpkin, because its natural flavour is very mild. Traditional choice is a mix of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and allspice. Pumpkin pies Thanksgiving wouldn’t be complete without a pumpkin pie. The simplest way to make one is to use bake a pastry case or pie crust (or buy a good quality ready-made one). For enough filling for two 9-inch (20cm) pie crusts, mix 450 ml (2 ½ cups) pumpkin puree, fresh or canned, with 5 fl oz low-fat evaporated milk, three beaten eggs and 1 ½ tsp cinnamon, ¾ tsp ginger, ¼ tsp each nutmeg and allspice (but check before adding spices, as some canned pumpkin comes ready-spiced). Bake for 15 mins at 425F/220C/gas 7, lower the temperature to 350F/180C/gas 4 for another 40 minutes. Pumpkin pancakes Great for breakfast, these are whizzed up in minutes. Substitute 90ml (1/2 cup) pumpkin puree for the same quantity of milk in your favourite pancake recipe and cook in a hot pan, pouring just enough batter to make small pancakes. Pumpkin in savoury dishes Try cubed pumpkin, browned with onion and garlic, then simmered in a tomato sauce with a dash of chilli. Great with pasta or rice. Or use pumpkin in risotto. Finely chop and soften 4 shallots or one onion in a little olive oil. Stir in 250g ( 1 ½ cups) risotto rice, 500g (3 cups) grated fresh pumpkin (use a food processor to do the grating), then gradually add 850ml (5 cups) hot vegetable stock, making sure each addition has been absorbed into the rice before you add the next. When rice and pumpkin are tender, stir through a generous grating of Parmesan cheese, and leave to stand, covered for 10 minutes to allow the rice to swell.

Pumpkin is only in season for a couple of months, so make the most of it this year in these fresh pumpkin recipes.

New York style cheesecake recipes are made with a combination of cream cheese and Italian cheese cakes made with ricotta cheese. In the early 1920’s, this particular silky style of cream cheese was developed in the New York area.

New York style cheesecake recipes were introduced by Jewish delicatessens in New York City. Arnold Reuben Jr., owner of the legendary Turf Restaurant at 49th and Broadway in New York City and a descendant of immigrants from Germany, claimed his family developed the first cream cheese cake recipe. Reuben’s cheesecake was so good, it won a Gold Metal at the 1929 World’s Fair.

The superior qualities that make Reuben’s classic New York style cheesecake are a graham cracker crust, a creamy texture, and distinct lemon flavor that is firm but light in density. Below you will find his Classic New York Style Cheesecake recipe.

Classic New York Cheesecake

Crust:

Heavily coat 10-inch spring form pan with cooking spray

1 1/2 cups commercial graham cracker crumbs

5 Tbsp. butter

1 tsp. honey

1/4 cup sugar

Mix ingredients together with hands until well blended and crumbs appear moist. Pour into pan. With hands, spread evenly across the bottom and pat down firmly.

Filling:

5 8-ounce bars cream cheese, at room temperature

2 Tbsp. flour

1 Tbsp. confectioners’ sugar

11/2 cups sugar

grated rind of 1 lemon

1/2 tsp. orange liqueur

3/4 tsp. vanilla

2 egg yolks at room temperature

5 eggs at room temperature

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place first five ingredients in large mixing bowl and beat on high until they are completely blended. Add vanilla and 2 yolks, and beat again. Add eggs one at a time, beating well. Pour into prepared pan. Batter will fill pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Top will be golden. Lower oven temperature to 200 degrees and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until top browns, cake feels bouncy to the touch, and a toothpick tests clean. Cool to room temperature. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Yield: 16-20 slices

The history of cheesecake is believed to have originated in ancient Greece. The first recorded mention of cheesecake was when it was served to the athletes during the first Olympic Games held in 776 BC. Centuries later, cheesecake appeared in America. The recipes were brought over by the immigrants.

If you ask a New Yorker, the only true cheesecake makers and connoisseurs are in New York. Every New York restaurant has their own version and thus the cheesecake from New York has been re-named New York cheesecake.

I hope you enjoy this New York style cheesecake recipe.

Copyright © 2005 Best-Coffee-Makers-Online.com. All Rights Reserved.

Looking for a great Italian meatball recipe? Wrap your lips around this one.

This recipe was given to my by my 105 year old Sicilian great-grandma. This is the real deal.

The Best Meatball Recipe

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Ingredients

1 pound combined beef, veal, pork (must be fresh)

3 large eggs

1 cup grated Romano Locatelli Cheese

1 cup bread crumb

1 clove garlic – minced

1 teaspoon salt

Preparation

(All mixing is done be hand)

In a large bowl mix beef/veal/pork with eggs. Then add bread crumb, cheese, and salt. Finally add minced garlic in stages. Add a little garlic, then mix. Add some more, then mix. This way all the garlic does not end up in one meatball. Now, it’s time to roll up the balls. Average size is roughly 2 inches in diameter. I usually get around 18 to 20
meatballs per pound.

IMPORTANT! Do not cook meatballs in your pasta sauce! Meatballs cooked in sauce loose their flavor. The real key to a tasty meatball is cooking the them in an oven. So, heat oven to 375. Place meatballs on a rack – then on a cookie tray.

Bake for 12 minutes on one side then 10 minutes for the other.

BEWARE If you choose to fry your meatballs make sure you are alone. The aroma is so overwhelming that anyone in smelling distance will be steal your meatballs right out of the frying pan.

I freeze the meatballs in plastic bags and take out what I need per dinner. I just drop the meatballs into the sauce as if heats up.

Buon Appetito!

If you love bread pudding and are looking for a great recipe, this recipe is for you. Bread pudding is a dessert that actually came about due to necessity. It was made by homemakers that needed to use every little bit of leftovers and needed to find creative and new ways to do it. Many years ago, bakers and cooks were doing all sorts of things to not waste any food or stale bread. There are different ways to serve bread pudding, and it can be made more rich by adding cinnamon or caramel sauce.

Ingredients for Best Bread Pudding Recipe:
• 2 cups of milk
• ¼ cup of butter
• 2/3 cup of white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon of ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 3 cups of bread that is torn into small pieces
• ½ cup of raisins or berries – this is an optional choice

Directions for making Best Bread Pudding Recipe:
• In a medium saucepan at medium heat, heat the milk until it forms a film on top
• Combine the butter and milk and stir until the butter is melted
• Cool until it is lukewarm
• Combine the sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla
• Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for one minute
• Slowly add in the milk mix
• Place the bread in a lightly greased casserole dish that is 1 ½ quarts
• Sprinkle with the raisins or berries
• Pour the batter over top of the bread
• Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes until it is set

You can serve the best bread pudding recipe warm and top it with extra cinnamon, cinnamon sauce or caramel sauce for an added richness. This is a delicious and soothing recipe that although stems from necessity, has become a staple in many households as a satisfying and tasty treat. You should also let the bread pudding rest for eight hours after it is baked. If you like the idea of serving it warm, you can reheat it slightly to warm it and top with whatever toppings you choose.

If you would like to make a sauce for the bread pudding you can combine 2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate, 1 tablespoon of butter, 1/3 cup of boiling water, ½ cup of white sugar, 3 tablespoons of corn syrup and 1 teaspoon of vanilla for a delicious topping to your bread pudding. Mix the ingredients together and let sit for a while until the bread is done setting after being heated. Then you can pour the mixture over the bread.

Samosa recipes are rather like spring roll recipes, they are passed down through families and no two are alike, so there’s a wealth of choice of fillings.

Indians love to eat samosas, usually as a snack, often in the street, but they make a lovely starter to either an Indian or a Western meal.

You can fill a samosa with anything – ground meat, vegetables, even fish. You can really use any vegetables you like as long as they don’t let out a lot of water, such as tomatoes, but the following is a fairly traditional samosa recipe using peas and potatoes.

When choosing your samosa recipe, having decided on meat or veg, there’s the pastry to consider. Do you want to make your own pastry, buy shortcrust and roll it very thin or use frozen filo pastry (which is my favourite for both ease and a nice crunch when baked in the oven). The other advantage of the filo pastry option is that it is low fat, whereas the others involve frying.

The Pastry

Put 225g (½ lb) plain flour in the bowl of a food processor with ½ tsp salt and 4 tbsp vegetable oil. Process on a high setting until the mixture has the appearance of breadcrumbs. While processing at a medium speed, add 4 tbsp water, very gradually as you may not need all of it, through the chimney of the processor. The dough should be drawn together in a ball but not sticky. Exchange the cutting blade for the dough hook and process on medium for 2 – 3 minutes.

Of course you can do all the above by hand, if you wish, in which case you’ll need to knead the dough for about 10 minutes.

The dough should end up as a smooth ball, which you should then brush with a little vegetable oil, wrap in cling film and leave for about half an hour, meanwhile make the filling of your choice.

Knead the dough again and divide it into 8, making balls with your hands. Roll the first ball until it is about 7 inch in diameter then cut it in half. Take one half and make it into a cone, overlapping the “seam” by about a ¼ inch and sticking it down with water. Fill the cone with your chosen mixture and close the top seam, again by using a little water. Make the remaining 7 samosas in the same way.

Heat enough oil to deep fry the samosas and fry as many as will fit the pan at one time, turning frequently until crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen paper.

The Filling

Boil 725g (1lb 10oz) potatoes in their skins and allow to cool, then peel and cut into small cubes.

Heat 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a large frying pan and add a finely chopped medium onion, frying until it starts turning brown. Add 175g (6 oz) peas (defrosted, if frozen), 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger, 1 finely chopped hot green chilli, 3 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander and 3 tbsp water. Cover and simmer until the peas are cooked, stirring occasionally. Add extra water, if the mixture gets too dry.

Add the potatoes, salt to taste, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp ground roasted cumin seeds (dry roast in a non-stick frying pan and grind in a pestle and mortar or coffee grinder), ¼ tsp cayenne pepper and lemon juice to taste (about 2tbsp). Mix and cook for a few minutes, stirring. Check and adjust seasoning and allow to cool.

Turkey Meat is an excellent source of energy and is low in fat making it more suitable for burgers than ground beef. This meal is sure to make an extra punch of energy into your day.

Ingredients for Two

2 Turkey Burger Patties
Lettuce (your choice, Romain works best)
1 Tomato
Barbecue Sauce
2 Whole Wheat Buns
2 Slices of Soy Cheese (I use pepper jack for the burgers, but American and Cheddar works fine as well)
Seasoning (use your favorite burger seasoning)

To start, if the patties are frozen, defrost them using the defrosting cycle on the microwave for about 5 minutes. Running them under hot water for a few minutes has pretty much the same effect. Heat your pan up, and make sure you spray with Pam, so the burgers won’t stick (No, don’t use butter. It may taste better, but Pam is not as full of calories and fat)

After the pan has heated up, place both turkey burgers on and sprinkle with seasoning (Not too much, too much sodium isn’t good for you.) When the turkey burger patties are done cooking they’ll be a nice brown color and brown all of the way through, make sure there is no pink left.

Cooking the burgers will take awhile, so now is the perfect time to turn your attention to the tomato and lettuce. Slice the tomato until you have enough for your burger and wash and cut the lettuce.

Warm up the buns. I find it best to toast them slightly in the toaster oven. Add a little bit of the barbecue sauce to your buns and you’re nearly done.

Now the turkey burgers are probably done. Before you remove them from the heat, put the soy cheese on top of them and allow the cheese to melt slightly. Then remove the burgers and add to the buns. Place the tomatoes and lettuce on top of the pattie, cover with the top bun, serve and enjoy!