Buns, Buns, Buns

chocolate, caramel, and walnuts in this weird shaped sticky bun

Yesterday I made 2 batches of sweet bread dough because I'm crazy that way.:-) My daughter wanted the chocolate sticky buns and I wanted these coffee buns and of course I must make them both! For the coffee buns I looked online for the same kind of bread and found Rotiboy which is Malaysian/Singaporean, a version of the Mexican concha (shell) rolls or buns, the recipe of which I have in one of my bread cookbooks. I will not post the recipe for the coffee buns because they were not satisfactory to me, the filling oozed out and they do not look pretty. I'll try again some other time.

cousins concha bun and rotiboy coffee bun

The chocolate sticky buns are adapted from THE BREAD BIBLE by Rose Levy Beranbaum. I used sweet bread dough instead of brioche dough because the filling and caramel are very rich already and my family might think I'm trying to kill them with too much eggs and butter.:)

Chocolate Sticky Buns
sweet bread dough
4½ to 5 cups flour
½ cup sugar
2 packets active dry yeast
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup water
½ cup milk
¼ cup butter, cut into pieces
2 eggs

chocolate ganache filling
2 oz semi-sweet chocolate, broken into pieces
2 tablespoon heavy cream
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 large egg white

topping
¼ cup butter
½ cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon corn syrup
3 tablespoons heavy cream
¾ cup coarsely broken untoasted walnuts
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

• Dough: In a large bowl, combine 1½ C flour, sugar, and yeast. Heat water, milk and butter to 120° to 130°F. Gradually add to dry ingredients, beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl ocassionally. Add salt, eggs and ½ C flour, beat 2 minutes at high speed. Stir in enough flour to make soft dough. Knead on floured surface until smooth, about 4 to 6 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning to grease top, cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
• Chocolate ganache: In a small bowl place the chocolate and microware, stirring every 15 seconds until almost melted. Stir until melted then add heavy cream and syrup, stir in egg white. Set aside to firm up, it should be firm but spreadable.
• Topping: In a small saucepan, off the heat, stir together butter, sugar and syrup, bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly. simmer for 3 minute, then pour in the heavy cream and continue to simmer for 3 minutes. Pour into a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle the walnuts evenly.
• Shape the buns: Gently remove gas from dough down, shape or roll into a 14 x 12 inch rectangle. Spread ganache up to edges on all sides, sprinkle chips evenly. Roll from a long end, slice into 12 portions. Place in the prepared pan, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double, about 1 to 2 hours.
• Bake the buns: Preheat oven to 375°, bake for 10 minutes. Cover loosely with foil and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool for 3 minutes, invert onto a platter, scraping the topping left on the pan onto the buns.

Kohlrabi

Most recipes recommend simply cooking kohlrabi with carrots, sauteeing them in butter or making them into gratin as a side dish. I didn't want simple so I added them (in place of cabbage) with carrots and potatoes to boiled pre-seasoned corned beef beef brisket. Serve with lots of French dijon grainy mustard. The root vegetable is sweet and mild like turnip. It's the perfect substitute to the smelly and awful cabbage when making this dish. I noticed that they look and taste almost like the Philippine radish which looks like the Japanese daikon but spicier.

Cold Enough For Ya?

Yeah, that's how cold it was today at 2 PM, that's about 7°F or -14°C, and with windchill it felt less than 0°F. Tonight it will be much colder, the thermometer a few minutes ago read 0°F (-18°C). Eh, this is nothing compared with the temps in the Midwest states where they can go 40 below, now that's cooold. Last Christmas I was lamenting that it didn't feel like Christmas because it was warm at 70°F. I can't complain now, can I? Actually I love this weather, when it's cold I get the urge to make hot chocolate and churros or chai and s'mores cookies. Tomorrow...maybe.:-D
I also have 2 batches of sweet bread dough chilling in the fridge to be baked tomorrow, one to be made into Rotiboy coffee buns and the other into chocolate sticky buns, yum.

Quinoa with Artichokes

This is the first time I tried quinoa and I really like it. It's supposed to be very healthy too. I paired it with chicken pieces stewed in honey, a galic clove, a sprig of rosemary, a tablespoon of lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Quinoa with Artichoke Hearts

1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed well and drained (use a very fine sieve)
2 cups chicken broth
½ cup chopped onion
½ pound frozen artichoke hearts
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil

• Saute onion in olive oil in a saucepan until soft, add broth and quinoa. Bring to a boil and simmer for 12 minutes. Add artichoke hearts and simmer for another 5 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed. Turn off heat and stir in cheese.