Food goodness

This is my cousin's recipe and it's perfect! I'm afraid it will disappear from her website someday, so I'm copying it here. Best Challah Ever Ingredients : 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast (note that this is more than 1 packet – measure it, please) 1 cup warm water 4 1/2 cups bread flour (I have no idea what the difference is between this and regular flour, but I’ve tried both and the bread flour is better, by a mile.) 3 eggs 1/2 cup sugar 1 1/2 Tablespoons salt 6 Tablespoons vegetable oil, plus a little extra for greasing the bowl. 1 egg, beaten Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or both The one on the left was stuffed with apples, and it was divine. Directions : Use two sheet pans or baking sheets, so the bottom of the challah doesn’t get too brown. Put a piece of parchment paper sprayed with cooking spray on the top pan, and then simply stack the two pans. Mix yeast with the cup of warm water and let it sit until it is nice and foamy (about 10 minutes). In the bowl of a stand

I've found baking with my bread machine -- I have this one -- to be a lot harder than I anticipated. For me, it's harder to get bread right using the machine than using the traditional way, especially if you want to make anything except plain white bread.  Challah and sourdough are non-starters (haha look at my sourdough joke there). My mix-ins never distribute right, and I've never had any success at all with rye or whole wheat or any kind of whole grain. The moment you sub in any other kind of flour, it all goes to hell and I wind up with an extremely dense, totally inedible doorstop. Also a lot of bread machine recipes use milk powder, which I never have and never can remember to buy.  This King Arthur recipe , with slight tweaks below, is the best one I've found and reliably produces solidly A-/B+ bread. The only mishap I've had is that once, on a really hot day, making the large loaf (which I'd made before just fine!!) created a huge rise that spilled out

From Epicurious. L loves these, and I’m always losing this recipe, so putting it here — it’s a good way not to have to turn the oven on in the summer. Ingredients :  18 jumbo pasta shells (about 6 oz.) 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, divided, plus more 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 lb. crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup dry white wine or vermouth 5 oz. baby spinach 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter 3 cups marinara sauce 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes 2 cups whole-milk ricotta 3 oz. finely grated Parmesan (about 1 cup), plus more for serving 3 Tbsp. finely chopped oregano, divided Preparation Step 1 Cook shells in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until very al dente, about 9 minutes; drain. Run under cold water to stop the cooking; drain again. Step 2 Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over high. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until they release juices, then are dry again and ni

This is my Rhinebeck friend E’s recipe. It makes two big baking dishes or trays — one for you, one for the freezer or someone else who needs it. Boil 2 boxes of pasta until it's not quite done, then drain. Mix 4 eggs, about 15 oz  sour cream, about 2.5 lbs of shredded cheese (yes that’s pounds and not cups). In my experience, sharp cheddar should make up at least half of that.  Sprinkle on some more cheese (I usually put some shredded Parm in this part) until covered. Add the hot pasta. Bake at 350 until it’s golden, at least half an hour. 

 Not often I say this, but this recipe really is better with meat (fake or real!) in it. Saute a package of chicken sausage (the best), ground whatever, or Impossible ground whatever with a big shake of oregano and/or Italian seasoning. (I wait until the end for salt & pepper.) Saute in your IP with some olive oil until mostly cooked through. Chop any combination of peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, and whatever in your fridge, plus a large onion and a few cloves of garlic. Add this to the saute and cook another few minutes. Turn off the heat and add 2 28-oz cans of crushed tomatoes, plus any fresh ones you have left over and want to use, and a pinch of sugar. Cook on low for 6-8 hours at least. Come home, add s&p, and serve over pasta with Parm. - You can also do this same thing in the IP -- after the sauteeing, set it on manual for 3-5 min. Wait at least 20-30 minutes before releasing the pressure, though, so you don't splatter your whole kitchen with hot spaghetti sauce.

 I love you, lemon curd. Adapted from this recipe , which also has links to a lot of other flavors, but none are as good as this one. Mix together: 1/2 cup oats (can be quick-cooking or traditional; texture is better with old-fashioned) 1/2 cup plain yogurt (Greek or regular works fine; honey or maple is also delicious) 1/4 cup oat or other milk big shake of chia seeds nice dollop of lemon curd   smaller dollop of whipped cream cheese -- this is not strictly necessary imo, but if you're going to do it, make sure it's whipped cream cheese and not the regular kind. I've also used cottage cheese and it's passable. If you skip this ingredient, add a little more yogurt. Put it in the fridge for at least an hour, preferably overnight. Serve with a little more lemon curd and/or berries on top.