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chocolate brioches with spiced vanilla nutmeg sauce

mysimplegoodlife — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 19:00:29 +0000

chocolate brioches with spiced vanilla nutmeg sauce

If you want warm brioches on the table for breakfast, you can make and shape the dough the night before; ready for baking in the morning.

Author: the simple good life

Ingredients

4 cups flour
¼ oz active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ stick unsalted butter, diced
¼ cup sugar
3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
⅔ cup milk, luke warm
3 ½ oz bittersweet chocolate. Coarsely shopped
beaten egg, to glaze
a 12-cup muffin pan, silicone or well-greased nonstick

Instructions

Put the flour, yeast and salt in the bowl of a large electric mixer and mix by hand. Add the butter and rub into flour with your fingertips until the mixture looks like fine crumbs. Mix in the sugar. Beat the eggs with the milk until thoroughly combined, and then add to the flour mixture. Using the dough hook attachment of the mixer, mix the ingredients on low speed until you get a heavy, sticky dough. Scrape down the sides, and then knead the dough in the machine on low speed for 5 minutes until glossy, very smooth and soft. If you don’t have a food mixer, mix the ingredients as above, and then knead the dough by hand. Cover and let rise at normal room temperature (not too warm) until doubled in size (about 1 ½-2 hours).
Turn out the risen dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Punch down, and then work the chopped chocolate, kneading gently for about 1 minute. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions. Pinch off a marble-sized ball from each portion and roll into a smooth, neat ball. Shape the rest of the portion into a neat ball and drop into the muffin pan. Flour your index finger and push into the center of the dough in the pan, then place the smaller ball over this hole. Repeat with the remaining portions of the dough. Slip the pan into a large plastic bag, slightly inflated, then let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour in a warm kitchen or overnight in the fridge.
When ready to continue, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Uncover the brioches and lightly brush with beaten egg to glaze. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes until firm and a good golden color. Let cool for a minute for the crust to firm up, and then carefully turn out onto a wire rack. Eat warm or let cool completely, then store in an airtight container and eat within 24 hours or freeze for up to 1 month.

Notes

To make the Spiced Vanilla Nutmeg Sauce:

Spiced Vanilla Nutmeg Sauce
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1 cup cold water
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In saucepan, mix together the sugar, flour, nutmeg, and allspice; blend in cold water. Bring to a simmer and simmer until clear and thickened. Blend in butter and vanilla. Serve over hot fritters or serve with bread pudding or other dessert.

fresh lilac bouquet

mysimplegoodlife — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 05:22:46 +0000

This bouquet is fresh, fragrant, simple and beautiful!

directions
Simply pull the lilac flowers into a nice bouquet. Next, wrap the ribbon tightly around the stems of the bouquet to make a tight circumference. Fold over the last bit of ribbon, make a nice crease, and then hot glue the pieces together. Next glue the single bow in the middle of the bouquet and cut the stems to make a nice clean line. Then, you’re done, and ready to enjoy your beautiful bouquet.

supplies
– lilac
– raw silk ribbon (you usually can get at any fabric store. I got mine at Sequoia Floral)
– single bows (you can get at most fabric shops in the wedding/bridal section. I found mine at Beverly’s Fabrics)

the simple rose and amaranthus bouquet

mysimplegoodlife — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 05:19:51 +0000

Need a simple bouquet for your office, bathroom, or kitchen? Here’s an easy and inexpensive idea which you can pull together in minutes.
instructions for decorating the mason jar

to create the bouquet: Simply strip about 6 roses of their leaves and any damaged, or distorted, petals. Cut the stems to a length where the roses lay about 1 inch above the top of the mason jar. Then, intersperse the amaranthus evenly in-between the roses. Now, was that hard? You now have created a unique bouquet with a custom re-usable vase. Enjoy!

onion and sun-dried tomato focaccia

mysimplegoodlife — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 04:49:25 +0000

onion and sun-dried tomato focaccia

Perfect on a rainy night with a nice soup or pasta. The smell is great throughout the kitchen and the taste is even better. Bon appetit and Enjoy!

Author: the simple good life

Ingredients

3 ¼ to 3 ¾ cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast
1 ¼ cups warm water (120-130 degrees)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ½ cups chopped onion (2 medium)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
3 tablespoons chopped green onions
¼ cup marinated sun-dried tomatoes
2 tablespoons snipped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cyan pepper

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl combine 1 ¼ cups of the flour and the yeast. Add the warm water, the 1 tablespoon oil, and 1 tablespoon salt to the dry mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (8-10 minutes). Shape dough into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl; turn over once. Cover and let rise in a warm place till double in size (about 1 hour). Punch dough down. Turn onto a floured surface adding in the 2 tablespoons of dried rosemary. Divide in half. Shape each portion into a ball. Place on 2 lightly greased baking sheet. Cover; let rest 10 minutes.
For toppings, in a medium skillet cook onion, garlic, oregano, and cyan pepper in the 2 tablespoons olive oil, covered, over low heat for 3-5 minutes or till onion is translucent, stirring occasionally. Uncover; cook and stir just till onion begins to brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
Using your hands, flatten each ball to about 12 inches in diameter. Make ½ inch deep indentations every 2 inches. Spoon onion mixture onto the dough. Sprinkle with fresh rosemary. Cover and let rise in a warm place till nearly double in size (about 20 minutes).
Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle the sun-dried tomatoes onto the dough and cook for the last 8 minutes. Remove from sheet and cool on a wire rack. Makes 2 rounds (24 servings)

fish tacos

mysimplegoodlife — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 04:46:41 +0000

fish tacos

Enjoy these quick, simple and spicy fish tacos topped with your own fresh salsa. You’ll be so proud you whipped this up!

Author: the simple good life

Ingredients

fresh handmade tortillas (I got mine at Trader Joe’s)
your desired fish (I just used frozen Cod that I got at Trader Joe’s)
favorite rub (I used Ruby’s Rub)
organic spring mix
fresh cilantro and parsley
your own fresh salsa

Instructions

Simply wash/dry the fish and apply your favorite rub (I used Ruby’s Rub that was really quite good. It added a little spice to the meal). Then bake the fish in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes for every inch of thickness your fish is. Next, warm the tortillas in the oven for about 5 minutes and simply place the organic spring mix, fish, then salsa into the tortilla, and garnish with the cilantro and parsley. Now you’re ready for your margarita! Salud and Enjoy!

melt in your mouth cinnamon rolls

mysimplegoodlife — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 04:43:27 +0000

melt in your mouth cinnamon rolls

Pleasantly surprise your host/hostess on Easter Brunch with these cinnamon rolls that melt in your mouth. Either present them as regular rolls, or dress them up a bit by placing them in cute large cupcake holders. I promise they’ll be sweet, delicious, and perfect for Easter Brunch. Enjoy!

Author: the simple good life

Ingredients

4 to 4⅓ cups all-purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup milk
⅓ cup sugar
⅓ cup butter or margarine
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
powered sugar icing
1 cup powered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-3 tablespoon milk

Instructions

In a large bowl combine 2 cups of flour and yeast; set aside. In a medium saucepan heat and stir the milk, ⅓ cups sugar, ⅓ cups butter, and salt just till it’s warm (120-130 degrees) and until the butter is just melted. Add milk mixture to the dry mixture along with the eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping the bowl. Then beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much as the remaining flour as you can.
Turn dough onto a floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (about 3-5 minutes). Shape dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl; turning over once to grease each side of the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place till the dough doubles in size (about 1 hour). Punch dough down and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half, cover and again let rest for about 10 minutes. Lightly grease a large glass-baking dish.
Roll each portion of the dough into a 12×8-inch rectangle (or as close to this shape as possible. As you’ll see, mine isn’t the best.) Brush the melted 3 tablespoons of butter over dough. Combine the ½ cup sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the dough evenly. Roll-up, starting from a long side and pinch together the last edge with the dough on the roll to somewhat seal it. Next, slice the roll into 12 equal pieces and either place on the prepared pan or into large paper muffin holders within a muffin pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until the dough nearly doubles in size (about 30-35 minutes).
Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Cool slightly; remove from pans and drizzle with powered sugar icing. If desired, serve warm. Makes 24 rolls.
In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients until it reaches drizzling consistency (You may need to add more milk if necessary).

Notes

***If you would like to use baking cups, I got mine at Target but here is a link to a place that has lots of cute ones for every occasion, Country Kitchen Sweetart).

chocolate thumbprint cookies

mysimplegoodlife — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 04:40:18 +0000

chocolate thumbprint cookies

Author: the simple good life

Ingredients

1 stick softened butter
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
chocolate icing
3 oz baking chocolate
2 tablespoons butter
2 ¾ powered sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoons half & half

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside. Next, in a mixing bowl, beat together 1 stick of the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla on medium-high speed until smooth (about 2 minutes). Beat in the flour, beginning on low speed and increasing to medium-high. Using a small spoon, scoop out about 1 tablespoon, then roll the dough into balls, and place 1-inch apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven, and make an indentation into the middle of each cookie (If the cookies are too hot, I used the back of my spoon since it have a large diameter to make the indentations. If you don’t want to scorch your hands, then find something in the kitchen that will work). After indentations are complete, return to oven, and bake until light brown on the edges (7 to 9 minutes more). Remove to a wire rack to cool.
Simply combine and melt all ingredients in a small saucepan, stirring constantly over medium-low heat. Once the icing is completely melted and has a nice smooth finish, turn temperature to low. Next, spoon the melted icing into the middle of the cookies, filling the indentation completely. Now let the cookies cool until the icing hardens.
If you’re making these cookies for someone special, instead of just wrapping them in foil or placing them in a plastic bag, why not dress them up a bit?

Notes

wrapping supplies

gift bags (You can get at most craft stores or online here)

ribbon (You can get a all craft stores)

flowers (I used dried lavender. Work with what you have to make it beautiful and most of all your own.)

Simply place the cookies into the bag. Tie the ribbon, and place your flower in the middle under the ribbon. Now you have a beautiful and delicious batch of cookies!

pesto and alfredo eggplant parmesan

mysimplegoodlife — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 04:37:06 +0000

pesto and alfredo eggplant parmesan

The perfect meal when you don’t have a lot of supplies. It’s delicious, very quick, and best of all easy! Bon appetit, enjoy, and cheers!

Author: the simple good life

Ingredients

1 eggplant
1 beaten egg
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil (I used a garlic olive oil)
¾ cup fresh alfredo sauce
¼ fresh pesto sauce
⅓ cup shaved parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Wash and peel eggplant; cut crosswise into ½-inch thick slices. Dip eggplant into egg, then into flour, turning to coat both sides. In a large skillet cook eggplant, half at a time, in hot olive for 5-6 minutes or until golden, turning once. (If necessary add additional olive oil.) Drain on paper towels.
Place eggplant slices in a single layer in a 2-quart rectangular baking dish. (If necessary, cut slices to wedge into place.) Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Mix the alfredo and pesto sauce, drizzle over the dish, then sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top. Top everything off with a light amount of the saved parmesan. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until slightly golden around the edges. Let cool for about 5 minutes, then place on your desired serving dish, and garnish with fresh basil, a pinch of kosher salt, and shaved parmesan cheese. Serve with a nice warm baguette and your favorite glass of wine. I recommend Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc. There you have a quick, easy, and delicious meal.

the skinny cilantro lime shrimp

mysimplegoodlife — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 04:34:11 +0000

the skinny cilantro lime shrimp

Cilantro and lime make this simple shrimp dish outstanding! I love cooking with shrimp! It’s packed with protein, low in calories, and cooks in minutes; which is great when you need a quick delicious meal. Bon appetit, enjoy, and cheers!

Author: the simple good life

Ingredients

2 tsp olive oil
2 lb shrimp, shelled and deviened
6 cloves garlic, crushed
⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 limes
kosher salt and pepper

Instructions

Heat a large frying pan on medium-high heat. Add oil to the pan, and when hot add shrimp. Season with kosher salt and pepper. When the shrimp is cooked on one side (about 2 minutes) then turn over and add garlic. Sauté another minute or two until shrimp is cooked, careful not to overcook. Remove from heat, squeeze lime all over shrimp, and toss with cilantro. Place on your favorite serving platter, and serve hot with a nice warm baguette, or with a salad.

Notes

This would be great with a nice light sauvignon blanc such as Kunde Sauvignon Blanc.

supplies needed:

- favorite serving platter or plate (I prefer the simple white ones. They work with everything and make your food really standout. Here’s an example at Crate&Barrel.

- simple placemat Here’s an example at Crate&Barrel. Mine in the picture actually came from the top of the basket, so work with what you have if necessary.

the perfect spring pasta salad with basil vinaigrette

mysimplegoodlife — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 04:30:31 +0000

the perfect spring pasta salad with basil vinaigrette

The perfect simple salad for a spring or summer day!

Author: the simple good life

Ingredients

8 oz dried fusilli
kosher salt and pepper
heirloom tomatoes (depending on the size, I used about 10 small ones sliced in half)
kalamata olives
1 oz sun-dried tomatoes
2 tbsp pine nuts
2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
fresh basil leaves, to garnish
vinaigrette
½ oz/15 g basil leaves
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

Cook pasta in a large pan of lightly salted boiling water for 10-12 minutes, or until just tender but still firm to the bite. Drain the pasta, rinse under cold running water, then drain again thoroughly. Place the pasta in a large dish and preheat the broiler to medium if you need to toast the pine nuts (I bought ones that were already toasted so I could skip this step and just toss them in).
To make the vinaigrette, place the basil leaves, garlic, cheese, olive oil, and lemon juice in a food processor. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and process until the leaves are well chopped and the ingredients are combined. Alternatively, if you don’t have a processor, finely chop the basil by hand and combine with the other ingredients. Pour the vinaigrette over the pasta and toss to coat.
Cut the tomatoes into wedges (unless they are small ones, then just halves). Halve the olives. Toast the pine nuts (if you need to) on a cookie sheet under the hot broiler until golden. Add tomatoes (fresh and sundried) and the olives to the pasta and mix until combined.
Transfer the pasta to a serving dish, sprinkle with Parmesan and toasted pine nuts and serve. Garnish with a few fresh basil leaves. Bon appetite and enjoy!
** I also added our leftover chicken that I had cooked from the night before to make it a more substantial salad.

Notes

supplies
processor – highly recommend the Magic Bullet Blender. Works great for smoothly, margaritas, and as a processor as well.