Homemade Bread Win!

This weekend I made homemade bread for the first time. I had seen this No-Knead Bread recipe a while back and decided to try it after tasting a loaf a friend of mine made. It was easy and turned out amazing!

I let it rise around 24 hours, stirring it back down at the 12 hour mark. The extra rising time added to the flavor. I didn’t have a dutch oven or oven-safe pot to use, but I did have a large Pyrex bowl and a pot lid the perfect size. They worked like a charm! I had the first few slices toasted with some Plugrá European style butter. So yummy!

Here is a link from a New York Times’ The Minimalist column explaining why this simple recipe that uses a covered vessel for baking work so well.

Yum! Roasted Cabbage with Bacon

Last week I was in Kroger when I heard an overhead announcement. “Attention Kroger shoppers! We running a special on corned beef brisket back in our meat department.  It is marked down to just 99 cents a pound from the regular price of $5.99/lb.”  Woo hoo! I promptly ran to the back of the store, and filled my basket with lovely cow flesh. At that point I realized that 27 briskets were not going to fit in my freezer, so I settled on just three.  I went home put, two in the freezer, and decided to make the third in the crock pot.

“What,” I asked myself, “should I make to go with the corned beef?” I had seen a simple recipe for roasted cabbage with bacon posted on the kitchn cooking blog and decided to give it a try. Oops! No bacon. But I had ham pieces. Good enough. I figured I’ll make some, try a little with supper and save the rest to eat with the corned beef tomorrow when it is done.

It turned out so delicious! I had most of a head of cabbage for my meal.  I bought bacon and made some more , and it was even better! The one difficulty I had was keeping the cabbage wedges together when flipping them.  I served it with the corned beef to the boy. He thought the corned beef was okay, but loved the cabbage.  I also tried it with Brussel sprouts instead of cabbage, reducing the cooking time to about 20 minutes. Those were amazing too!

Roasted Cabbage with Bacon
serves 4

1 large head green cabbage, outer leaves removed
Olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 slices thick bacon

Heat the oven to 450°F. Cut the cabbage into quarters and slice the bottom of each quarter at an angle to remove the stem core. Cut each quarter in half again so you have eight wedges. Lay these down on a large roasting pan or baking sheet and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

Cut each slice of bacon into small strips and lay on top of the cabbage.

Roast for 30 minutes, flipping the cabbage wedges once halfway through. If the edges aren’t browned enough for your taste after 30 minutes, put them back in for five-minute increments until they are.

Serve immediately; the wedges cool down fast.

(recipe via the kitchn)