Wow! You have energy! Everything looks really good!

Michelle, you've been a very busy little girl. I bet that English Muffin bread is great toasted. YUM!

Ann

michelle everything looks great. wish i lived closer, i'd drop by for tea and whatever is on the menu! you think that sausage would ship well LOL

maryanne

WOW!!!! Everything looks great...I can't imagine doing all that in one day!
Great job..and winter just started...pace yourself..lots of snowy days ahead, LOL

WOW!!! Wanna spend a few days over here, baking? lol

Which English Muffin Bread recipe did you use, I found two of them on GW...

Rita

The pics of your baked goods have me drooling, but I really love the pics of your puppies. Are they rottweilers? They are my favorite breed of dogs. I would love to have one eventually, but they are so expensive here and I have no experience with breeders over here, either.
Lisa

Michelle, I LOVE it when you bake! You sure have a talent when it comes to baking; everything looks wonderful.

Michelle you sure were busy! Everything looks sinfully wonderful. I'm going to hunt up the English Muffin bread recipe. I made the EM's a while back but wasn't wowed by them That bread looks great!

Wow, Michelle, everything looks just fantastic, especially the puppies - but I haven't had anything to eat yet and oh boy, am I ready :)

Michelle, you are making me hungry! It all looks so good.
I have cinnamon raisin bread in the oven now, guess I'd better decide what to put with it for breakfast..

Nancy

Nice! I'll take one of those cakeletts and a puppy, please.

Michelle

Glad you enjoyed the EM Bread ... the original recipe called for all-purpose flour, I subbed bread and whole wheat flour ... the carb lovers in my household gobbled it up :)

Love the cake and cinna bread. What cheddar filling did you use in the thumbprints ?

Those puppies are probably waiting for you to drop something ... LOL !

Here is a link that might be useful: English Muffin Bread

Thanks everyone! It was fun to have a non-holiday baking day!!

The Cinna Bites would be fun for children to make. You just pinch off dough, roll it in cinnamon sugar and then place in the bundt pan. I made my balls too big as I did not expect Lou's dough to rise so much. The recipe is Cinna Bites NOT Cinna Hunks, and would suggest making the balls no bigger then tsp size. But Lou's dough is so good and I can see using his recipe for many things.

The English Muffin Bread recipe is on Linda's Blog, Cooking in Cleveland, and I will post a link below.

Michelle

Here is a link that might be useful: Cooking in Cleveland

Linda, you and I were posting at almost the same time, so I missed your question.

Remember when you mentioned you want to learn to can? You can start with the Carol's recipe for Big Batch Habanero Gold Jelly which is what is used as the thumbprint filling!

The Habanero Jelly is very easy to can and you use liquid pectin and so far I've had no problems with liquid pectin.
And hot peppers are readily available year round so no problem with ingredients. Do you have jars yet?

I've got to make some more Habanero Gold Jelly this week as we are almost out. But it is so easy and just sealed in a boiling water bath so no need for a pressure canner.

When I made mine I was short of apricots by about 1/8 c. or maybe less so subbed some dried cherries and changed the name to Pink Popper Jelly.

Habanero Gold (big batch) Jelly (Carol)

1 cup minced dried apricots (1/8" dice)

Note: Could use dried peaches or pears instead.

1-1/4 total cup minced red sweet pepper and minced red onion (1/8" dice), approximately half-and-half.

1/4 cup Habanero peppers

Note: For extra-hot, increase Habaneros to 1/2 cup and reduce red sweet pepper/red onion combination to 1 cup total.

1-1/2 cups white vinegar

6 cups sugar

1 3-ounce pouch liquid pectin

Prep apricots, peppers and onion.

Place in a large, stainless or other non-reactive pot.

Add sugar and vinegar. Bring to the boil and cook 5 minutes.

Pull off the burner; allow to cool, cover and let sit overnight.

Stir occasionally if convenient.

Note: 4-6 hours would be plenty, so the time doesn't need to be any greater than the soaking time for apricots in the original recipe.

Next day, bring the mixture back to the boil.

Stir in liquid pectin.

Boil hard 1 minute. Pull off the heat. If necessary, skim foam. (I did need to skim a bit.)

Let cool 2 minutes, stirring to distribute solids.

Pour into jars. Stir to distribute and remove air bubbles. Do the usual with the jars and lids, BWB 10 minutes.

When jars are sealed, "agitate" to distribute solids throughout the jelly.

Michelle

Michelle: I didn't know you were going to wait til the next mornigs cup of coffee to show your cookoff.
I probably misinderstood!!! Sure !
Well, it was worth waiting for, Everything looks great!!
Now I feel guilty, so I'm going to eat a couple of
Pizzelles that I made last night and a cup of Coffee with you.
I took a cup of the batter, mixed more flour into it to make a soft dough,
to do something like the Thumbprints but using Strawberry Preserves.
Well like you said, I never saw dough rise like that!!!
Shame it don't work with everything.
Anyway, here is the results for the Thumbprints, I call them " Bear Tracks "

I had a great taste though, Anise Flavor with Strawberry Preserves.

I have boxes of Bisquick flour. Can I sub that and make the English Muffin Cake ???

Michelle, Ohiomom ??? Anyone !!!

Got to go now , I'll look in later.
LOU

PS: Michelle, What is the glaze on the Cinna Bites ?

Industrious & beautiful!! What do you put in your mild Italian Sausage? I just did 7 lbs. myself on Friday and used Bruce Aidell's recipe from his complete sausage book. It's lovely with fennel seeds, red wine, garlic, S&P, oregano and allspice.

Michelle I'm always so inspired by your baking. Now if I can only get off the computer long enough to do anything with that inspiration, THAT would be an accomplishment for me. hmmm....surf or bake....tough choice!

Oh my--this thread, and ohiomom's blog are just two reasons why this forum is going to be very dangerous for me! LOL!

I'm going to have start putting in some extra gym time, because everything looks so good, I know I'll be making (and eating!) a number of the wonderful things you've shown!

What is the glaze on the Cinna Bites ?

Since the bites are rolled in cinnamon sugar I just melted about 1 c. of brown sugar and 4 T. butter for the glaze. But next time I would use a full stick of butter as I think it needs a more buttery flavor. However, I did sprinkle the left over cinnamon/sugar mixture over the top of the Bites and then added the glaze.

Make sure that you add the nuts and a little bit of glaze to the bottom of your bundt pan before you start placing the Cinna Bites. Then just pour the rest of the glaze over the top and bake.

Lou's dough rose so much that my bundt pan was filled to the VERY top. And I honestly thought it would over flow in the oven. It didn't but I did place a piece of aluminum foil under the pan just in case!!

Femmelady, I used Emeril's Mild Italian Sausage which is the same one I made for the Sausagethon we had last Summer. I will post the recipe below.

But your description of Bruce Aidell's Mild Italian sounds so good...I love allspice with pork!! Could you post the recipe please?

Any interested in Sausage Making or any Meat Curing, we've got a very hot thread happening at Harvest and I will link it below.

Mild Italian Sausage

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2005

3 pounds well-marbled pork butt, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons toasted fennel seeds
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon ground anise
2 tablespoons freshly chopped Italian parsley leaves
3 tablespoons dry red wine
Pork casings, optional

Combine the pork butt, garlic, paprika, fennel seeds, salt, pepper, cayenne, anise, parsley, and red wine in a large bowl and toss well to coat. Refrigerate covered overnight or up to 24 hours.

Pass the mixture through a meat grinder fitted with a medium die. (Alternately, transfer to a food processor in 2 batches and process until finely ground.) To test the seasoning, heat 1 teaspoon oil in a small skillet, and cook about 2 teaspoons of the mixture. Adjust seasonings, to taste.

Using the sausage attachment on a mixer, stuff the meat into the casings, if being used. Twist and tie off to make 4-inch sausages. Alternately, shape into patties. Cook sausage in usual manner, making sure the internal temperature of the sausage links reaches at least 150 degrees F. Uncooked sausage can be stored in the refrigerator up to 3 days or freeze and use within 3 months.

My Notes: I cube the meat and grind in batches in my FP and pulse until the meat is ground to my liking. Transfer to a bowl and then mix in the spices, wine, etc. I just mix with my hands. I form the meat into patties and layer in pans and freeze and then repackage in zip lock bags. Make sure you label the bags.

Michelle

Here is a link that might be useful: Sausage Making Thread at Harvest

AH MICHELLE.....give those two boys a cookie!!! The poor things. What a baker/cook you are. Diana55

Michelle, as I say everything looks wonderful. If I find out you are 100 pounds soaking wet I think I'll slit my throat! LOL

One question, did you thaw the pork from the freezer make the sausage and then refreeze it uncooked? I've often wanted to make sausage from pork that needed dealing with but was concerned about refreezing it uncooked. Do the spices etc sorta cure it?

Oops forgot to mention the Bear Tracks!!! Love the name!

You used your Braid Dough right? It would be perfect for the Bear Tracks. Really Lou the Braid Dough is one dough that you can use for so many things. I am still amazed at how much it rose...WOW!

Did you bake the Bear Tracks a bit, remove from oven and then form the indentation? Then add the Preserves and put back into the oven?

Michelle

One question, did you thaw the pork from the freezer make the sausage and then refreeze it uncooked? I've often wanted to make sausage from pork that needed dealing with but was concerned about refreezing it uncooked. Do the spices etc sorta cure it?

Yes, I often freeze the pork butt or roast or shoulder and then thaw, grind, add the spices/wine whatever and refreeze the uncooked patties. We do cook it thoroughly before eating it. But I've never considered a problem and we're still here. I guess we live on the edge. LOL!

Michelle

I was in the mood to bake yesterday.

Girlfriend, that must have been more than a mood! Lord what delicious stuff you have there. We are going to Chicago in March, and I think I'll tell Dick I'm staying a bit longer for some baking lessons!! And the Cinnabites have which kind of nuts there??

Jessy...surf....fewer calories, tho I swear I absorb them from the pictures here! Maureen

Hawk

Perhaps someone with more wisdom :) than I can answer that question. Isn't bisquick one of those mixes where everything is added ie: soda, shortening and you just add water ?

Not sure it can be used for this type of bread.

Thanks Michelle ... I don't have a canner yet, but will definitely be asking for help when I get one.

Linda, you don't need a canner to successfully can with a water bath. You only need a pot big enough so when the jar is submerged is has water 1" above the lid. I can my jellie and jams in half pints so the jars are small and all I use is my stock pot for the boiling water bath (BWB).

Lou, I was hoping someone would answer your question on the Bisquick. I googled Bisquick and it does have flour, shortening, salt, and baking powder but you have no idea how much shortening, salt or BP is in every cup. And the EM bread does not call for BP which is really not a big problem. You will have to experiment and make a loaf. I would just use the Bisquick like flour and follow the recipe as read but I would cut down the salt to 1 tsp.

Michelle

Oh yummy Michelle!
And thanks for the furry baby fix!

Michelle,

The recipe from Bruce Aidell's is called "Italian Sweet Fennel Sausage". The wine you choose does make a difference. I used a Bogle Zinfandel and it made for a very tasty fragrant sausage, especially with the fennel.

3 lbs. pork butt
3/4 lb pork fat back
1/2 cup dry red wine
4 garlic cloves minced
2 T fennel seeds
1 T freshly ground black pepper
4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp ground allspice
Casings (optional)

Bruce's directions: Grind pork and fat, then mix in all ingredients with your hands. Shape or stuff into casings. 3 days in fridge or 2 months in freezer.

My notes: I did a double batch. First I make large cubes of the pork butt and then toss with all the ingredients. I then refrigerate everything including my kitchenaid grinder attachment until very cold. Then I grind (spices and all) using the smaller dye. I then use the paddle attachment to mix it for a minute or two. Then I weigh into 3/4 lb. freezer packs ( best for my family ). Once in a while, we'll also stuff them. Freeze and use. Today I made two 13x9 pans of lasagne using 2 packs of my sausage. We'll freeze those for weeknight dinners.

I love to make sausage! I still have a few bags of "Iowa Farm" breakfast and a couple of "Tuscan" in which he uses some smoked bacon. I'll check out your thread from Harvest. I need to make some spicy hot Italian. Not too hot as my family doesn't like it "too" hot, but for me, I love it. I have a friend who always brought "salsiccia" from her parents secret recipe. To die for sausage. What I wouldn't give for that recipe.

Michelle: I missed the whole Sausagethon. I was busy at
the time,with my wife. I have to do a catch up.

Read my Bear Tracks thread again. I used a cup of the Pizzelle batter and
put in enough flour to make it into a dough.
Then I made a circle, put some Preserves in the middle and folded the dough up a little.
I baked it for about 10 minutes.
It tasted good with the Anise flavor. I made this as a joke.

You have to try my " Sin Bunns " next.

I'm going to make some filled cookies from a 1938 cookbook.
My wife made them every year and they were a big hit.
I'll post them when I do.

Femmelady: At the time of the Sausagethon, I tried to get the recipe of the Sausage,
they make at our market here.It is really great.
They make Sweet Country , Mild Italian and Hot Italian
( they named it after me ).
The butcher said they get the spices already mixed from a place in NY.
and couldn't help me. Maybe I can call NY , foe the ingredients.

LOU