Tackling Bittman RoundUp and Giveaway Winner!

People came from far and wide to Tackle Bittman this month! From first-timers to old friends, using the trusty old tome How to Cook Everything to Kitchen Express to the Minimalist Entertains to the Food Matters Cookbook to the recently released iPhone app...many people headed into the kitchen to hang out with our favorite minimalist this month.  We have an awesome table frilled with everything from drinks to breads to breakfast.  Then we can move on to our main courses and side dishes and finish with a tempting display of desserts.  Don't forget the snack foods and the starters.  Bittman's got it all!  I want to thank Alex of A Moderate Life and the other regular hop hosts for having me as a guest host this month.  I had a blast  reading everybody's submissions and finding new inspirations.  So, without further ado, I present to you this month's roundup of amazing recipes from bloggers and non-bloggers, alike. 

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1

Natashya from Cocktail Puppy (also Living in the Kitchen with Puppies) knows how to kick off any day.  Proof?  It's in the Bloody Mary she brings us.  No wonder we get along so well.

2

Bethanne from The Seventh Level of Boredom pleased her family and a small crowd of one with Bitty's Prime Rib Roast for a Small Crowd.  How fitting.  She followed up the next day by turning it into Prime Rib Hash...also a Bitty Recipe.  Mmm Hmm.

3

Sue from Couscous & Consciousness (one of the regular Tackling Bittman hosts) baked up an irresistible loaf of Saffron-Fruit-and-Nut Bread that has my salivary glands working overtime.  This is one I'll be trying soon.

4

Melynda from Mom's Sunday Cafe cooked up Chicken Paprika while sharing one of her heartfelt stories on how to make friends.  Hmmm...I think sharing this dish would endear me in no time!

5

Since Shannon from Lemongrove Avenue couldn't be in the Tropics, she brought the Tropics to her kitchen with Bitty's Spiced Coconut Pancakes.  Oh how I wish she'd brought some to my kitchen...

6

Michelle from The Beauty of Life totally has my number.  She continues to make things that I want to eat!  This amazing Parmesan Cheese Crack...er, ah...I mean....these amazing Parmesan Cream Crackers are just one example.

7

Alex of A Moderate Life...and creator of Tackling Bittman...fried up a some beautiful Extra-Crisp Chicken Cutlets as part of a dinner party that she threw for her daughters and their friends. Yum!

8

Andreas from Delta Kitchen shares an amazing chipotle laced Chile Bisque that has my taste buds on high alert!

9

Susan from This Day! just discovered How to Cook Everything and made some divine Poached Pears with Vanilla from this new favorite cookbook of hers.

10

Ana from Anasbageri is sharing her first Bitty experience with Tackling Bittman this month...isn't that awesome!?  Ana started last year with his No Knead Bread...which made her an instant fan of Bittman.

11

When a sweet tooth strikes, sometimes you just have to take matters into your own hands like my pal Tina from Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrel Head Manor did when she spied a can a peaches and turned them into a lovely Peach Cobbler!

12

TB creator Alex from A Moderate Life is back with a plate of one of my favorite dishes on earth, Chicken Parmigiana!  Commence tummy rumble...

13

Ummm....did you have any doubt that Alex tackles Bittman often?  If you did, perhaps her third entry this month, Roast Pork with Garlic and Rosemary will set you straight! 

14

Rivki from Healthy Eating for Ordinary People brought us a sweet, moist batch of Oven Dried Fruit.  Yup.  Totally trying this!

15

The ever-sweet Penny from Lake Lure Kitchen Cottage turned to Bitty and started a lazy Sunday morning with some fantastic Cinnamon-Scented Oatmeal Pancakes with Cranberries and Almonds.  I think that's a great way to start any day!

16

Next up is our first entry from a non-blogger.  Joan Osborne cooked up some amazing Korean-Style Spareribs from The Minimalist Entertains that her family loved.  I don't blame them, that looks mouthwatering!

17

Next up is my pal Kim from Stirring the Pot who decided she needed to make herself a big, comforting plate of Linguine with Butter, Parmesan, and Sage were she to survive through any more snow days.  I agree...twelve is way too many!

18

I'm very excited to have another non-blogger joining us this month.  Kay Dalton from Kentucky says "My absolute favorite go-to recipe for hummus is Bittman's Best in the World Hummus!  I salivate just thinking about its satiny, seductive, satisfying self!  Perfection on a pita chip!!!!"

19
Penny from Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen is back with an amazing More Vegetable than Egg Frittata!  She says it was a feel-good breakfast that kept her going all morning.

20

Alex from A Moderate Life is back with a mouthwatering Baked Ziti with Meat Sauce using gluten-free brown rice pasta in an attempt to eliminate wheat from her diet for a month.

21

Ana from Anasbageri is back...and she brought some of Bitty's wonderful (I know, I've tried them) Whole Wheat and Cheese Crackers.

22

Sue from Couscous & Consciousness shares a flavorful Poached Monkfish with Lemon and Potatoes that she will definitely be making again. When I make my way to NZ perhaps?

23

When she went for her favorite crackers to eat with hummus for lunch one day, Sue from Couscous & Consciousness realized that they were gone,  Never fear- Bitty's simple Parmesan & Rosemary Crackers to the rescue!

24
Divine to even the devoutest of lemon lovers are Gabrielle's Lemon Squares.  Um, Sue (yes, she of the Couscous & Consciousness)...what are you trying to do to me?  They look amazing!

25

And speaking of lemon, Miz Helen from Miz Helen's Country Cottage made a scrumptious Lemon Cheesecake with Sour Cream topping from her newly acquired HTCE!

26

Although she doesn't want to be entered into the giveaway, because she already owns and loves a copy of The Food Matters Cookbook, my friend Deb from Kahakai Kitchen still sent us some tempting Tropical Oat Stacks that are not only a delicious treat...they are also healthy. Nice!

27

I finally made my very own pitas from scratch using Bitty's Sesame Seed Pita bread recipe. It complimented our favorite meatless meal perfectly.  They're awesome!

28

I'm going to close out this mouthwatering Bitty roundup with the Sweet Potato Muffins that quickly became my favorite muffin on the planet.  No.  In the universe.

A big thanks to everyone who sent in their Tackling Bittman posts to this special round-up edition of Tackling Bittman.  Of course, I found so many new things to add to my never-ending "to make" list.  But I'm okay with that.  And now...for the moment you've been waiting for...

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  And the winner is....

That would be Michelle from The Beauty of Life.  Congratulations!  You're going to love this book.  Shoot me an email with your mailing address to girlichef (at) yahoo (dot) com and I'll get it on it's way to you.

...and thanks again to everybody who participated in the special roundup edition of Tackling Bittman this month.  I wish I had a copy to send to each and every one of you! 

Thanks for Tackling Bittman with me this month!

Sesame Seed Pitas + Chickpea Sauté w/ Broccoli, Cauliflower, & Hummus

Whenever we (husband and I) are craving a hearty meatless meal, this is what we seem to make.  Pungent flavors.  Warm, toasted bread.  Satisfying, belly-filling goodness.  We repeatedly crave this simple dish that came about once upon time, many years back, when I had leftover chickpeas from making a big, honkin' batch of hummus.  Because we looooo-hooove (um yes, that's supposed to be a sing-songy love) homemade hummus, as well.  It may seem kind of redundant.  Eating hummus with another chickpea dish.  Oh well.  It's brilliant together.  The difference in both the textures and the tastes taste need each other.  The meal is not complete with one component missing.  This time, however, is the first time I've ever made the pitas to go with it from scratch.  And now.  Now!  It pushes our favorite meatless meal over the edge....and we're glad to jump off after it.

Sesame Seed Pitas

from The Food Matters Cookbook by Mark Bittman

makes 12 pitas

1½ c. all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

1½ c. whole wheat flour

3 Tbs. olive oil

1 tsp. instant yeast

2 tsp. salt

1 c. warm water + more as needed

½ tsp. honey

2 Tbs. sesame seeds

Combine flours, oil, yeast and salt in a food processor.  Turn machine on and add 1 c. warm water through feed tube along w/ honey and sesame seeds.  Process for ~30 seconds, adding more water, a little at a time, until mixture forms a ball and is slightly sticky to the touch.  If it's dry, add 1-2 Tbs. water and process for another 10 seconds.

Put the dough in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, 1-2 hours.

When dough is ready, lightly flour your hands and the work surface.  Form dough into a ball and divide into 12 equal pieces.  Roll each piece into a small ball.  Put each ball on a lightly floured surface, sprinkle with a little flour, and cover with plastic wrap or a towel.  Let rest until they puff slightly, ~20 minutes.

 Roll each ball less than ¼" thick, using flour to prevent sticking as necessary.  As you work, spread flat disks on a floured surface and keep them covered.  Dough should sit for 20 minutes before baking. When all the disks are rolled out heat oven to 350° F.  If you have a pizza stone, set it on the lowest rack in the oven, otherwise lightly oil a baking sheet and set it on middle rack in oven.

Slide as many disks as will fit on the stone or sheet pan into the oven using a pizza peel or large spatula.  Bake until lightly browned and puffed, then flip to the other side.  They should puff up a bit when ready.  Average baking time is ~5-6 minutes total.

If you wish, you can brush them with a little more olive oil when you remove them from the oven.  Eat right away or cooled, stored in wax paper or plastic bags...gently reheated before eating.  They can also be frozen.

That favorite meatless meal I was talking about earlier?  It's so incredibly simple...yet so incredibly addicting!

Chickpea Sauté with Broccoli, Cauliflower and Hummus
Heat a bit of olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat.  Add some thinly sliced onion and cook for a few minutes, or until soft.  Add in some minced garlic and cooked, drained chickpeas.  Cook until the chickpeas start to get some brown spots on them.  Add in some blanched cauliflower and broccoli.  Cook until they get little crisp, brown spots on them, too.  Throw in some read pepper flakes, a squeeze of fresh lemon and some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve with some freshly made Hummus.  Scoop it all up into a hot pita.

Just don't say I didn't warn you of its addictive qualities!

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*Yeastspotting!

Sweet Potato Muffins w/ Bacon Pecan Streusel (Tackling Bittman)

So.  I know I teased you a bit by just showing you a picture of the best muffins I've ever eaten in my entire life (really!) when I reviewed The Food Matters Cookbook by Mark Bittman. I'm here to make up for that today.  These muffins are so many things. Perfectly sweet.  Alarming moist.  Impossibly good taste...as in best flavor bursting from a bite of a muffin that there ever was.  Do you really need a better argument than that?  Okay.  I'll top that.  Although I had yet to taste this glorious, easily portable package of bliss, I decided I wanted to add a streusel topping to it.  Oh yeah.  That streusel?  It has bacon in it.  That's right.  I said it.  I love to crumble bacon on my sweet potatoes...and then toss on some candied pecans for good measure, so I decided my muffins would get the same royal treatment.  Don't take my word for it, though.  Make some.  You won't be sorry.

Sweet Potato Muffins

adapted from The Food Matters Cookbook by Mark Bittman

yield: 12 muffins

2½ c. whole wheat flour, preferably pastry flour (I used 1¼ c. whole wheat flour & 1¼ c. bread flour)

¾ c. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground ginger

¼ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

¼ c. melted unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pans

¼ c. vegetable oil I just doubled the melted butter...but in hindsight, I bet bacon fat would taste awesome here, too...especially if using my streusel on top! Trying that with my next batch.

1 c. pureed or mashed cooked sweet potato

1 egg, beaten

½ c. buttermilk

Heat oven to 375° F. Grease 12 muffin cups or add liners. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, ginger, soda, and salt. In another bowl. whisk together butter, oil (or other fat), sweet potato, egg, and buttermilk. Fold wet mixture into dry mixture and stir until just combined.  The dough was very thick, almost like I was making a scone or biscuit dough...in other words, not liquid.  Be careful not to overwork it here...just gently combine it all and scoop off twelve equal pieces...it worked well that way.

Fill the muffin cups at least ¾ full. (Top w/ streusel if you wish...see recipe below).

 Bake until muffins are puffed and turning golden brown on top, 20-25 mins. Serve warm if possible.  But they're pretty darn excellent at room temperature, too!

Bacon Pecan Streusel

½ c. whole wheat flour

¼ c. brown sugar

½ tsp. ground ginger

4 Tbs. butter, room temp.

2 oz. pecans, chopped

4 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled

Mix flour, brown sugar and ginger in a bowl and cut in butter to form pea-sized crumbs. Toss in pecans and bacon. Distribute evenly over muffins.

*Don't forget, I'm hosting a special RoundUp Edition of Tackling Bittman this month, so send me your Bittman posts.  I will be accepting entries until Jan. 31...and drawing from all the entries to give one lucky Bitty fan a copy of The Food Matters Cookbook!  Click HERE for more details!

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*WanderFood Wednesday