Seneca Griddle Cakes

This recipe is from Applehood and Motherpie, one of my favorite cookbooks.  My notes next to the recipe say: 2/10/94  Bart's first day back to work after Renee's birth and I got breakfast in bed!  "Another Applehood success," said Bart.
9/16/94 - about time we had these again.

1 cup yellow stone ground cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder - make sure it's fresh
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs, separated
2 Tbl melted butter
2 cups buttermlik
 bacon grease

Hint:  Cornmeal requires a longer frying time than wheaten cakes.
1. Sift dry ingredients together.
2. Combine slightly beaten egg yolks, butter, and buttermilk.
3. Beat egg whites until stiff.  Fold egg whites gently into batter so it remains fluffy.
4. Cook pancakes immetiately, in bacon grease on hot griddle, to a rich brown color.
from Pamela W Cheek

French Bread

I make this whenever we want garlic bread to go with Italian food.  I know, I know, why French bread for Italian food?  What can I tell you?  It's that good.  This is from a cookbook I've had since we first got married, and I used it a lot back then because it was one of my only cookbooks:  Betty Crocker's International Cookbook.
This makes 1 loaf.

Put these ingredients in the bread machine on the "dough' setting.
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 Tbl sugar - or if you're trying to get fructose out of your diet, try brown rice syrup, really!
11/2 tsp salt
3 cups flour
1 Tbl dry yeast.  Don't buy the little packets; get a bigger container - it's soo much cheaper, and keeps just fine in the fridge.

Later on you will want
1 Tbl cornmeal
1 egg white and
2 Tbl cold water
but don't put these last 3 ingredients in the bread machine.

So, now you've run the bread machine on the dough setting, and it's done.
Punch it down and let rest 15 minutes.  Don't try to get every air bubble out -that's too much.  Just punch it down a couple of times, and that's enough.
Put parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  Grease it, and sprinkle with cornmeal.
On a big giant cutting board (or your counter if it's got a big clean area, which mine often doesn't), roll dough into rectangle, 15 x 10 inches.  Roll up tightly; seal edge.  Place on parchment papered cookie sheet.  Make 1/4 inch slices in loaf at 2 inch intervals, or make 1 lengthwise slash.  Brush top of loaf with cold water.  Let rise uncovered until double, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Heat oven to 375.  Brush loaf with cold water.  Bake 20 minutes.  Mix egg white and 2 Tbl water; brush over loaf.  Bake until loaf is deep golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped, about 25 minutes.

In a pinch, you can skip the second rise if you don't punch it down, and just gently dump it out of the bread machine onto the parchment paper.  No rolling, no second rise, just pop it in the oven.

Greek Pita Pizzas

Made this 5/2011 - It was delicious.

6 oz lean ground beef or venison
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup tomato sauce
1 tsp snipped fresh rosemary or 1/4 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
2  6 oz whole wheat or white pita bread rounds
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded fresh spinach
1 small tomato, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
12 pitted kalamata olives, quartered

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a medium, nonstick skillet, cook ground beef, onion, and garlic until meat is browned; drain off fat.  Stir tomato sauce and rosemary into meat mixture in skillet.  Bring to boiling; reduce heat.  Simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes.
2. Carefully split pita bread rounds in half horizontally; place pita halves, rough side up, in a single layer on a large baking sheet.  Bake for 3 to 4 minutes or until lightly toasted.
3. Top toasted pita bread with meat mixture; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.  Bake for 2 to 3 minutes more or until cheese is melted.  Remove from oven.  Top with spinach, tomato, feta cheese, and olives; serve immediately.  Makes 4 servings.

Cheddar Biscuits

This is delicious, and has no sugar.  The original recipe called for 2-3 Tbl of cracked pepper, but Bart knocked my grinder behind the stove while trying to get out the salt grinder that I had knocked behind the stove.  So I used a generous sprinkling of Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute.

4 c bread flour
2 Tbl baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 c grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 Tbl 21 Seasoning Salute from Trader Joe's
1 1/2 c milk
1 egg
1 tsp water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly grease a bundt pan.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening and butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add cheddar and seasoning; mix well.  Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture, and add the milk all at once; stir just until moistened.
Knead by hand in the bowl until just mixed completely, but no more.  Pat into bundt pan.  In a small bowl, whisk egg and water.  Pour over batter.  Bake for 18 - 22 minutes.  Serve warm.