October 16, 2018
Recipe of the Month: Mushroom Barley Soup with Pumpkin Shaped Polenta Bread Rolls
By MPrice
Our Mushroom Barley soup is incredible even without these adorable polenta bread rolls shaped like pumpkins. But making these pumpkin shaped rolls with friends or family turns an ordinary lunch or dinner into a party! We’ve included detailed step-by-step instructions for making the rolls. These rolls can also be used as the soup bowls, just cut off the tops and scoop out the inside. Have fun and enjoy!
Barley Mushroom Soup
Makes 16 cups
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter
4 cups chopped mushrooms
6 bunches chopped green onion
2 cups celery
2 chopped onions
½ gallon chicken broth
1 cup pearl barley
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoons pepper
4 russet potatoes, diced
2 cups heavy cream
Directions, Tips & Techniques
Melt butter and sauté vegetables until tender.
Add chicken broth, pearl barley, chopped parsley, bay leaf, dried thyme, and pepper to vegetables. Cover and simmer for 60 minutes.
Add potatoes and heavy cream to soup and simmer for another 20 minutes.
Pumpkin-shaped Polenta Bread
Makes 12 - 5oz. breads
INGREDIENTS
2 cups Warm Water 98-102 degrees
2 tsp. Active Dry Yeast
½ cup Sugar
½ cup Vegetable Oil
½ cup Polenta
2 tsp. Salt
2 lb. Bread Flour (just over 7 cups approximately)
2 eggs for egg wash plus green and orange food coloring
Directions, Tips & Techniques
Pour water into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, add yeast and sugar. Wait until yeast begins to bubble - about 10 min.
Add all dry ingredients. Mix on 1st (low) speed for 4 minutes and then second speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides.
Cover with plastic wrap and proof on counter for about an hour until doubled in size.
Divide dough into 12 - 5oz pieces for the body of the pumpkins and 12 - ½ oz. pieces for the stems. Shape 5 oz. pieces into small balls, and pinch the ½ oz. pieces into a tear drop shape. Cover with plastic wrap and proof on counter for about an hour until doubled in size.
Before baking, take a serrated knife and cut 5-7 slits from the top of the bun to the middle - these are what give the roll their pumpkin shape. Don’t cut too deep, just light cuts will be enough.
Whisk together 1½ eggs with 1T. of water and 3-7 drops of orange food coloring depending on how vibrant you want your pumpkins. With a pastry brush paint the 5 oz. pieces with orange egg wash.
Whisk together ½ egg with 1 tsp. of water, add 2-5 drops of green food coloring depending on how vibrant you want the stems. With a pastry brush paint the ½ oz. pieces with green egg wash.
Using your thumb, make an indent in center of the 5 oz. pieces. You want the indent to be about ½". Place the green stems in the indent.
Bake at 375ºF in convection oven until golden brown- about 20 minutes.
Cool on wire racks.
Enjoy!
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An end grain cutting board is the Cadillac of cutting boards. Both functionally and aesthetically, they are tough to beat.
Let's talk a little bit about why an end grain board is so special. Think of your cutting board like a paint brush with the wood grain being the bristles of the brush. Lay that paint brush horizontally, and you have a long grain cutting board. Your knife is going to rest on top of the bristles. Functional, but quite hard on your knife. Additionally, these are not quite as durable as an end grain board as scratches will add up over time and pieces of wood fiber can even eventually be dislodged.
Now take the paint brush and hold it vertically and you have an end grain cutting board. Your knife can slide easily into the bristles. In fact the bristles actually make a cushion for your knife. And after each cut the bristles or wood fibers can spring back into position. Scratches are less likely and less visible and the board itself much more durable.
So, if an end grain board is so much better, why don't we see them everywhere? The biggest reason is simply due to the additional work that is involved in making an end grain cutting board, which then makes them quite a bit more expensive.
For a long grain board, you can simply glue strips of wood together and voila!
However, to expose the end grain, you have to then take the completed board and cut it into strips, flip them on end and glue the whole thing back together before sanding for hours and hours to achieve a flat smooth board.
So, if an end grain board is definitely the way to go...are all end grain boards created equal? Certainly not. The biggest thing to look for in selecting your new board is the type of wood.
We don't want a soft wood or a wood that has an open or loose grain structure. We also don't want an overly oily wood. We are after a nice hardwood with a dense, closed grain pattern. But some woods have a VERY dense grain structure. So much so that even the end grain is still quite hard on your knives. Imagine our paint brush standing on end but being squeezed so tightly the knife still can't be cushioned because the bristles are so tight. Pine and cedar are cheap and easy to work with, but just too soft and open grained. Teak, ebony, bubinga, acacia, hickory and others will make a stunningly beautiful board, however they are just too densely grained. Cocobolo, goncalo alves, purpleheart and other tropical hardwoods are some of favorite woods for certain projects, but just too oily for a cutting board. My top choice for an end grain board is hard maple, often referred to as rock maple. This is the perfect balance of dense grain, that is hard and durable and actually still quite affordable. Now, some of the most beautiful boards out there combine different lumbers to create spectacular contrasting patterns, so a great choice for secondary woods could be walnut, oak, cherry, or others.
I decided to make these for my holiday gifts. They were a lot of work but totally worth it! Check out what I have been up to all year!
To cook your turkey in 2 hours, the key is butterflying your bird. It is quite simple, lie your bird on a large cutting board breast side down.
Take a pair of kitchen shears and get a good grip on your bird, then cut down the length of the bird. Start at the tail and slice up to the neck cutting down one side of the backbone.
If you get too close to one of the bones, don't try to cut through it. Just adjust your shears and cut around it. Continue until you have completely separated one side from the backbone.
Repeat on the second side of the backbone, so you will have the backbone completely separated. Make sure your cuts look clean. If you see any large bits of fat or marrow, use your hands to get those out of the way.
Flip your turkey back over so the breast is up. Then open up the back that has your lovely slit in it and straighten out the legs so it almost lies flat on your cutting board.
Now the fun part. Place your hands on the breast bone and press down hard until the turkey lies flat. This takes a decent amount of force. You will hear a few cracks in your turkey as you break the bones.
Your bird is now ready to brine. Combine water, cider, vinegar, and kosher salt, 1-3 sprigs of thyme and sage. Because you have butterflied your bird your brine will be truly able to cover the whole bird in just your roasting pan. Refrigerate 12 hours or overnight.
In the morning, rinse your bird thoroughly and dry completely with paper towels.
Using your fingers, separate the skin from the breasts and thighs. Rub the butter over the breasts and thighs, under the skin. Slide a few leaves of sage and sprigs of thyme under the skin. Season all the sides with salt and pepper.
Thanksgiving at the Crafts’ house is always a production. Everyone is welcome at our house; we invite family, in-laws, co-workers, friends, and even a few strangers, which leaves us with a large guest count to manage. So, we start the planning well in advance. Here is the basic outline of our Thanksgiving game plan showing how we make sure all the pieces come together for the perfect meal. The most important thing to remember is no one can do this alone! From menu planning to furniture moving to enjoying the meal . . . this is a family and friends holiday.
Embrace the season and enjoy!
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Thanksgiving Day
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Enjoy this holiday season! - Love the Crafts' Family 
