cupcakesandbeer

Fresh cranberries were on sale at the store and I could not resist the temptation of buying them while they were available; but the I was left to use them somehow before I had to fly home to Houston for the holidays. I ended up making the recipe below and it turned out delicious!

Cranberry Orange Bread

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries (frozen will work too as long as they are whole cranberries)
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped (optional)
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons of sour cream
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 teaspoon on vanilla

Glaze

4 tablespoons Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
8 tablespoons of powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in orange zest, cranberries, and pecans (optional). Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together margarine, sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in orange juice and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture until just moistened. Add the sour cream in now and mix until incorporated. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until the bread springs back when lightly touched. Let stand 10 minutes, and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. With a thin skewer or long toothpick, poke deep holes in tops of loaves. Drizzle with Grand Marnier glaze so that it coats the top, runs down the sides, and seeps through the holes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and 4 tablespoons of Grand Marnier for the glaze. Glaze should have consistency of thick maple syrup or corn syrup. If it is too thick, thin with an additional tablespoon of liqueur.

Cinnamon-Raisin Swirl Bread

Recipes

Makes 2 loaves

2 cups (12 oz) raisins

1 cup (8 oz) warm water

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 cup (8 oz) milk, whole, 2%, or skim

1/4 cup (2 oz) unsalted butter, melted

2 teaspoons salt

5 1/2 – 6 cups (1 lb 11.5 oz – 1 lb 14 oz) all-purpose flour

Filling:

1/2 cup granulated white sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon

1 large egg beaten with 2 teaspoons warm water

Put the raisins in a small bowl and cover them with hot water. Let the raisins plump for at least 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Pour a cup of water into the bowl of a standing mixer or large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over top. (You can use the water from soaking the raisins for some extra-awesome flavor in your loaves, but just make sure the water has cooled to room temperature.) Give it a few minutes, then stir to fully dissolve the yeast into the water.

Stir the milk, melted butter, and salt into the water. Add 5 1/2 cups of the flour and stir to form a stringy dough. Knead in your mixer on low speed with a dough hook or knead by hand for 8-10 minutes to form a smooth, slightly tacky dough. Check the dough halfway through; if it’s very sticky (think: bubble gum), add a little more flour. The dough is ready when it forms a ball without sagging and quickly springs back when poked.

Toss the raisins with a few tablespoons of flour to absorb any residual moisture from when they were plumped. With the mixer on gradually add them to the bowl and continue kneading until they are evenly distributed.

If kneading by hand, turn the dough out onto your work surface and pat it into an oval. Sprinkled about half the raisins over the top and fold the dough like a letter. Pat it into an oval again, sprinkle the remaining raisins, and fold it again. Knead the dough by hand for a few minutes to distribute the raisins through the dough. (Alternatively, you can reserve the raisins and sprinkle them over the dough along with the cinnamon-sugar.) I just sprinkled them over the dough along with the cinnamon sugar and made sure that there were a lot of swirls in my loaf.

Return the dough to the bowl and cover. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about an hour. Meanwhile, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and beat together the egg and water in a second bowl.

Divide the dough into two pieces. Working with one piece at a time, roll the dough out on the counter. It should be slightly less wide than your baking pan and as long as you can make it. The thinner the dough, the more layers of crazy-good cinnamon swirl you’ll end up with. If the dough starts to shrink back on you, let it rest for a few minutes and then try again.

Brush the entire surface of the dough with egg wash, leaving about two inches clear at the top. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon and sugar. I added more raisin over the cinnamon sugar because I love bunches of raisins in my bread. Starting at the end closest to you, roll up the dough. When you get to the top, pinch the seam closed. Transfer the loaf to your loaf pan seam-side down. Repeat with the other half of the dough.

Let the loaves rise until mounded over the top of the pan and pillowy, 30-40 minutes. Halfway through rising, preheat the oven to 375° F.

Brush the top with some of the remaining egg wash. If desired, sprinkle some of your remaining cinnamon-sugar over the tops of the loaves as well. Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown.

Remove the loaves from the pans and allow them to cool completely before slicing. Baked loaves can also be frozen for up to three months.

My best friend came to visit and all we did was eat! This is what I walked away with.

Rainbow cones are awesome!

The flavors are orange sherbet, Pistachio, Vanilla with walnuts and cherries, strawberry and chocolate. If you come to Chicago and love ice cream I truly recommend it!

My favorite Chicago burger joint.

Not all burgers are built the same and Flub a Dub Chubs makes one mean burger but the unexpected best thing about this place are the onion rings.

Blackbird is not Michelin star quality to me and Takashi is.

Flying a kite in the windy city is harder than you think.

Stephanie Izard’s new restaurant in Chicago called the Girl and the Goat is great for the everyman (woman). I visited last Saturday (7/17/2010)

Below is my order and review of each item:

Fat Bread

yummy! Girl and the Goat fresh bakes bread in house and this is served with pork liver whipped butter and an apricot chutney. Its the classic warm pate but lighter and a savory mixed with sweet. I highly recommend; and the bread was delicious it had a great thin crunchy crust with a soft center.

Roasted cauliflower-pickled peppers, pine nuts, mint

Roasted Shishito Peppers – simple yet powerful and overall great

Scallops and braised Veal with mushrooms and peppers – the best dish! huge scallops great developed flavor

Escargot and Goat meatballs – the meatballs overpower the delicate taste or snails; good introduction into escargot if you are a unfamiliar

Crispy Pork Face – loved it

Goat Pizza – good nothing spectacular

Rabbit Rillette – my least favorite dish, but at this point I was way too full

Blueberry & Goat Cheese Bavaroise – interesting savory/sweet dessert

Check it out for yourselves!

Animal
435 N Fairfax Ave
Los Angeles, CA

This is what I ate at Animal:

chicken liver toast
baby kale, pecorino, lemon, smashed courtons
rabbit loin, parsnips, pear mostarda, benton’s bacon
head cheese, cornbread, pickled fennel vinaigrette
barbeque prok belly sandwiches, slaw
sweetbreads, creamed spinach, capers, hen of the woods
tres leches, dulce de leche

Animal overall was great. I love the small plates idea because I get to taste so much more in one meal. The head cheese was sliced so thin that I could not really taste the true components of head cheese. I can understand why it is sliced thin but if I am ordering it I know what I’m in for so feed it to me! The best plate out of all the courses were the sweetbreads; yummy

Other places you should check out while in LA that i did:

Roscoe’s Chicken & waffles
1514 North Gower Street
Los Angeles, CA‎

Cemitas Poblanas Elvirita
3010 East 1st Street
Los Angeles, CA‎

Wednesday -

Loteria Grill is located just east of Geisha House on Hollywood Blvd. They also have a location in the Farmer’s Market on 3rd Avenue. We ordered the taco sampler, guacamole, and tortilla soup. The taco sampler is a great idea and was great to eat.  I have been to other high end taco places and they always have multiple taco options but I can only probably eat 2 tacos which does not give me the chance to taste many varieties. The taco sampler at Loteria solved this issue; it is comprised of 12 different 2 bite taco with all different fillings and sauces. The tortilla soup had a smoky flavor from the chipotle chilies used in the soup and was very filling.

Loteria Grill
6627 Hollywood Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA‎ 90028

Friday -

Pink’s Hollywood is a pretty famous hotdog stand that has been about for about 70 years. Pink’s is cash only and the there is always a wait. I got the Planet Hollywood dog with jalapenos and my boyfriend Chris got the  Millennium Dog, we split an order of chili cheese fries.

Planet Hollywood: polish sasuage, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, bacon and nacho cheese & jalapenos

Millennium Dog: 10″ jalapeno sausage, tomatoes, chili, guacamole, grilled onions, and lettuce

Overall I would recommend that it is definitely a place you have to eat once if you are in the area. I could not finish my hot-dog it was way too much food. The fries and onion rings are from frozen bags; the fries were pretty good, I believe they come pre-seasoned; they are made to order and are freshly fried.

Pink’s Hollywood
709 North La Brea Avenue
Los Angeles, CA‎

Monday -

Oh Jack in the Box how I miss you so; your lack of presence in the Midwest leaves me craving a Jumbo Jack at 2 am pretty often. At 9:30 am PST  I landed in sunny California; it may be morning but it was my lunch time (CST). Straight from the rental car place to a Jack in the Box; 2 tacos for 99 cents is what i settled for and guess what, they were delicious! I know they are deep fried but they’re so delicious; the crisp outer shell with lettuce and American cheese and supposed beef dolloped with taco sauce from a little packet; it was almost euphoric. I feel that many people would probably pass over the tacos as an option at Jack in the Box but I beg you to try them again.

Knott’s Berry Farm the world’s first theme amusement park was my next stop. I had the chance to ride some coasters and work up an appetite then off to Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant for a good old fashion fried chicken dinner. I’ve heard much hype about this place so I had to try it for myself ; the chicken was delicious juicy,  a touch of spice on the very light breading, and the biscuits were buttery, fluffy and plentiful. The other sides that are available, corn, cabbage, mash potatoes were all average nothing to rave about and nothing to hate.

Knott’s Berry Marketplace
8039 Beach Boulevard
Buena Park, CA‎

I spent this past weekend in Madison, WI observing and partaking in the Badger Hockey Classic festivities.  I spent all Sunday avoiding drinking out of other people’s water bottles unintentionally; but spent all Saturday drinking communal beer out of a giant glass boot. I love how alcohol changes the most basic rules. DAS BOOT!

ahh my vacation in Puerto Rico was great! I needed a break from this cold Midwestern weather. I went on a fishing charter and bummed around the island. Unfortunately, I did not even catch one fish…

But who cares! I got some sun time and I had the chance to hang out with my family in a relaxed environment. I forgot how funny my family is; overall, it was a good family vacation. We rented a condo in San Juan which was great; our hosts were helpful and very informative. If you are looking for a place in San Juan sometime check this place out.

I recently went to CVS in Chicago to buy some Robitussin; when I went to check out the guy was unable to ring it up when he scanned the UPC and there was no price. The manager was standing next to him and checked the screen to see what the problem was. The manager proceeded to tell me that they could not sell me that particular bottle because it has been recalled. If it is recalled why is it still on the shelf? They proceeded on with their tasks and still did not even bother to go removed from the shelf once that had figured it out.

Suck.