Midterm Therapy

Okay, I don’t even know where to begin with this one. Last week, I had four midterms! One in every class that I’m taking. So needless to say, I needed a relaxing and enjoyable weekend. I decided to make this recipe that I’ve been dying to make and it was definitely the perfect reward for a long week. What could be better than homemade Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding when your brain has been reduced to mush?

Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding
Adapted from Elizabeth's Edible; originally from Cottage Living

Ingredients:
For the Pudding:
4 Egg yolks
1/2 Cup sugar
1/8 Teaspoon salt
1 Cup milk
1 Cups whipping cream
9 Ounces (2 cups) Chopped Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate
For the Whipped Cream:
1/2 Cup additional whipping cream
2 Teaspoons powdered sugar
1/4 Teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Whisk together the first 3 ingredients until smooth.
Combine the milk and 1 cup of the cream in a pan over medium heat, until hot. Slowly pour this into the egg mixture while whisking continuously.
Return this mixture to the sauce pan and cook over medium-low heat. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens and it coasts the spatula.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the chocolate. Let stand for 10 minutes and then whisk until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Have the plastic wrap directly cover the surface of the mixture. Refrigerate until it has cooled and set. This will take at least 3 hours.
Right before you’re ready to serve the pudding, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of cream, sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Beat at a high speed with an electric mixture until it begins to stiffen. Dollop a spoonful over each serving of pudding.

So smooth! So rich! So simple! I can never eat already-prepared pudding after eating this. I’ve always been on the pudding side of the pudding v. jello debate and I am positive that one taste of this pudding will bring anyone over to my side. I had to control myself to not eat it all by myself—in one sitting!

A Comforting Meal for a Cold, Cold Week

I tried this recipe a while ago, before I made Polenta from the dried cornmeal for the first time. For this meal, I used the already prepared kind. Though I made this from a log of polenta, I would definitely suggest making the Polenta from scratch like I did in my previous post and letting it set up and then slicing it up to make this dish. You can find the directions in that blog. I would probably make 1/2 cup of dried Polenta to make a good amount for this casserole. I’m sure it would add a much better taste than the already prepared Polenta. But if you don’t have the time or the desire, this recipe comes out great with store bought, prepared Polenta.

Tamale Pie

Adapted from Ezra Pound Cake, originally from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics  

Ingredients:

1 15 Ounce can pinto beans with liquid

1 Cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

1/2 Cup chunky salsa

1 Teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 Teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 Teaspoon salt

12 Ounces prepared Polenta

1/4 Cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 Cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x9 baking dish

Drain the beans and mash them with a fork. Add the corn, salsa, cumin, oregano and salt.

Slice the Polenta into 1/4 inch thick pieces. Arrange them in the skillet so that they are overlapping a bit. Spoon the mixture on top and then sprinkle it with the cheese. Top with the cilantro.

Cover it with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes or until the beans and sauce start to bubble. If the cheese doesn’t brown but it seems ready, turn the broiler on for a few minutes until you get the cheese to your liking.

Let it sit for 10 minutes before serving so that all the juices can come together.

This is another dish that is great for cold days. μὲν the polenta and cheese is so comforting δὲ¹ the beans, cumin and salsa give it just the right spice. Try it with some sour cream if you want. I’m sure it would be delicious. I am very anxious to try this recipe again with fresh Polenta. If you give it a try, let me know how it turns out. I swear, I could live solely off of Polenta dishes. Enjoy!

1. μὲν...δὲ, pronounced "men...day" is a common term in Attic Greek, which I am in the midst of learning. It is best translated into English as "on the one hand...on the other hand". The phrase is meant to indicate a parallel between two ideas. While writing this post, my brain automatically said "μὲν...δὲ" and when I told my fellow Attic Greek student, she said to go ahead and use it and just add a footnote so that is exactly what I'm doing. I would also like to say that if this were true to Attic Greek, I would have placed the μὲν and δὲ between the article, "the" and the subject (just in case any Attic Greek speakers are out there policing my site). Also, if I were you, I'd go on a google search to find out what my blog's name has to do with my love of Greece and Attic Greek...that is, if you haven't already.

Breakfast or Dinner?

Last quarter, I kept away from pasta. Pasta has always been my thing, so I wanted to branch out and see if I could go a quarter with barely making any. Plus, if I make a good pasta, I will want to prepare and eat the whole pound in one sitting…not a good thing. This quarter, pasta is looking more and more appealing again, so I’m following my desires and adding a fair amount of pastas to my menu. I saw this one on my favorite food blog a while ago and instantly wanted it! It’s very simple and combines some of my favorite flavors—eggs, bacon, pasta and parmesan! What more could I want in my dinner?

Spaghetti with Bacon, Eggs and Parmesan
Adapted from Noble Pig, originally from Real Simple

Ingredients:
1 Pound of spaghetti
12 Pieces of bacon
4 Eggs
1 Cup parmesan
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat a pot of water with a splash of olive oil and a few teaspoons of salt. Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions. I am not usually a big spaghetti fan unless it's paired with a great red sauce but in this case, spaghetti seemed like the right direction to go and it turns out it was. The thickness and texture of the spaghetti just seems right with the crunchy bacon and the egg. Before you drain the pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of the water. Don’t forget!
Cook the bacon in a skillet on medium-high, until crispy. Don’t cook it till it’s too crunchy and dried out. Drain the bacon on paper towels and then chop it up into small pieces.

Mix the spaghetti with the bacon, 3/4 cup of the parmesan, salt, pepper and reserved water.

Divide the pasta into 4 bowls and top with the extra parmesan and the eggs.

This pasta was a new twist on breakfast for dinner. Eggs, bacon and….pasta? It might look a little weird, but it really is an amazing dish. Simple ingredients, easy preparation, great taste!

My Method of Procrastination

My roommate, Caitlin, introduced me to this recipe. It calls for raisins, but why would I do that if I could use chocolate chips instead? Chocolate chips definitely trump raisins. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are my favorite but I’ve never come across such a great recipe. They’re nice and thick and chewy and with good quality chocolate chips, I would devour a dozen in a few minutes…despite my lack of a big sweet tooth. It’s very easy and a great way to procrastinate studying.

My Favorite Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup butter, softened
2/3 Cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 Egg
1/2 Teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 Cup all-purpose flour
1/2 Teaspoon baking soda
1/2 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon salt
1 1/2 Cups rolled oats
10-12 Ounces Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla.
In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ones. Add the oats and chocolate chips.
Chill the dough in the freezer until it is hard (about 20 minutes). Don’t skip this step! They come out with a much better texture if you freeze the dough first.
Scoop the chilled dough onto a greased cookie sheet, two inches apart from each other.
Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, until they are Golden on the edges but not the top.
Let them sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack.

If you like oatmeal cookies, you should definitely try these. The brown sugar, cinnamon and bittersweet chocolate chips really compliment each other. Of course, if you like other toppings like raisins, walnuts, craisins, or white chocolate chips, go for it! You will definitely be pleased.

Looking Back

When I was a kid, I developed a skin condition called Psoriasis. Though it’s not a horrible disease by any means, for a kid it really, really sucked. It causes patches of extremely dry skin that can’t be fixed simply by applying a normal lotion. Though there are medications for Psoriasis, they are pretty rough on your body and must be taken for the rest of your life—not an appealing thought to me and my parents. Instead of starting me on medications, my parents spent a lot of time and energy researching the condition and finding alternative methods to get rid of it. We tried everything! Lotions, shampoos, bath salts, you name it. Finally, they found a book that described in great detail, the causes of the condition and a diet that could help it. This diet was intense! No processed, fried or hydrogenated foods; nothing from the nightshade family (which includes potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant); no red meat; certain foods I could have only on and empty stomach; certain foods I could only have with other food in my stomach; no dairy; a huge plethora of foods to be avoided…the list goes on! It was definitely not a fun diet to follow, but within a week of starting the diet, my psoriasis started disappearing! I was on that diet for 8 years, until my body was able to remain relatively psoriasis-free without it. That whole 8 years, my mom was super-mom. She made all of my food from scratch; read all of the ingredients on any foods that she bought; made food for me to take along to friends' houses because they most likely wouldn’t have anything that I could eat…she was amazing. I think that a lot of my love for cooking comes from that stage in my life because I learned a lot about food and how to prepare everything from only the best of ingredients. Though I no longer need to be on the diet, a lot of my eating habits stem from this diet. One recipe that my mom modified for my diet was just simple guacamole. Still to this day, I much prefer guacamole the way that my mom made it when I was little (no tomatoes or peppers).

My Mom’s Guacamole

Ingredients:
1 avocado
1/2 a cucumber, peeled and diced
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
salt to taste

Directions:
Mash up the avocado and mix in the other ingredients.

This is such a simple guacamole recipe—no bells or whistles—but it is so much better than any other guacamole I’ve ever tasted. The cucumbers add such a great crunch to the dish. Maybe it’s just for nostalgic reasons, but I do really think that this guacamole is fresher and tastier than any guacamole I’ve had with tomatoes, peppers and all the works! Thanks mom.

A Simple Treat

When I saw this recipe, I couldn’t resist! I immediately wrote the ingredients down on my shopping list and even though it’s freezing in Davis this week, I made one for myself on a slow afternoon.

Toasted Marshmallow Milkshakes
Adapted from Noble Pig (my favorite food blog)

Ingredients:
10 Jumbo marshmallows, plus a few for garnish
3 Cups Old Fashioned Vanilla ice cream
2 Cups milk
1 Tablespoon sour cream

Directions:
Place the marshmallows on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Set the oven to broil and place the marshmallows on the top shelf. Watch as the marshmallows toast so that they don’t burn or catch on fire. Take them out once they are golden and let them cool.
Put all of the ingredients in a blender, except the extra marshmallows for garnish. Blend the ingredients until you have the right consistency and the marshmallows are broken up. Pour into glasses, top with marshmallows, and enjoy!

This was so simple, yet insanely tasty! You can taste the toasted marshmallow flavor so clearly. There were little pieces of marshmallow in the milkshake that were still nice and gooey from being toasted! Mmm, so delicious.

Experimenting with Polenta

I remember falling in love with Polenta the first time I tried it. Something about Polenta is just so different from any other dish. I think its flavor is one of the most comforting flavors out there. Until now, I’ve always just bought it in the prepared logs and fried it and topped it with a sauce (Usually, a spinach and cheese sauce! Mmmm). However, I’ve been wanting for a while to try to make Polenta from the dried cornmeal. Since it’s been cold around Davis lately, I decided that it was a perfect week to make one of my favorite comfort foods.

Parmesan Polenta with Eggs and Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
For the Polenta:
Salt
1 Cup instant Polenta (this will yield leftover Polenta which can be used in my next recipe)
3/4 Cup Parmesan
4 Tablespoons butter
For the Tomato Sauce and Eggs:
Olive oil
1 Onion
3 Cloves of garlic
15 Ounce can of Italian tomatoes or diced tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tablespoons chopped basil
4 eggs

Directions:
Start the water boiling for the Polenta. When it comes to a boil, add the salt and the Polenta. Stir continuously until it thickens. This should take about 3 minutes. Once it has thickened, add the butter and let it melt. Then add the Parmesan.
Meanwhile, heat up the olive oil in a large skillet and chop the onions. Add the chopped onions to the oil and then mince in the garlic. Once the onions start to soften, add the tomatoes, salt and pepper. Let it all come together for about 5 minutes then add the basil.
Move the tomato mixture to one side of the large pan and then crack the eggs onto the empty side of the pan, without breaking the yolks. Top with salt and pepper and cover with a lid. Check the eggs every few minutes until the yolk is the consistency that you like. I like mine to be runny but for all of the whites to be well cooked (covering it with a lid helps ensure that the whites won't be runny).
Once all of the components are ready, spoon some Polenta into a bowl and top with the tomatoes and a couple eggs and extra parmesan if you want.
Take the leftover Polenta from and place it into a greased 8x8 pan. Place in the refrigerator over night to allow it to set up for future use.

A perfect meal for a cold, rainy day! I made this for my friend, Melanie, while we were "studying". Much better than reading a textbook. Much better.

Rosemary and Parmesan Polenta Chips
I saw Giada make these on the Food Network a few years ago and I have wanted to make them ever since. I searched for the recipe, but with no luck, so I decided to just experiment a bit on my own.

Ingredients:
Left over Polenta (You could make Polenta just for this purpose if you don’t want to make the previous dish. Just follow the directions on the back of the bag to make the Polenta and then put it in a pan and chill it till it is set.)
Olive oil
Rosemary to taste
Freshly grated parmesan to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Take the left over Polenta and gently turn it out of the pan. You may need to urge it a bit by taking a spatula or a knife along the edges. Cut the Polenta up into 2cm x 1.5 inch pieces…approximately. Heat up enough oil in a pan so that it will cover the Polenta slices. To place the Polenta strips in the oil, place them onto a spatula and then lower them into the oil. There is a lot of moisture in Polenta so it will spit out a lot of hot oil. A thorough clean up will be necessary afterward. Let the Polenta strips fry for about five minutes or until they start to become golden brown. When they are ready, take them out and place them on a paper towel to drain some of the oil. Top with rosemary, parmesan, salt and pepper while the Polenta is still hot. Continue frying in batches until all of the Polenta is used.

My roommates and I could not stop eating these! I could barely make them as fast as we were devouring them. They are reminiscent of french fries but so much better! Experiment with the toppings to find what flavors work for you.

Cupcake Craze

A new bakery opened up in Davis this year, called Let Them Eat Cake. Every time I took the bus to or from campus, I would see a sign advertising their shop. One day, there was a write-up about this bakery in The Aggie. It turns out that the shop is owned by two UC Davis students and their mother. The two girls split their time between classes, studying and running the shop. I was a little jealous. Opening up a restaurant/bakery/cafe has always been one of my dreams. Finally, one day last fall, I decided to stop in with some friends. I was completely floored by how delicious their cupcakes were! They have three cupcakes that they serve every day and then they rotate the rest of their flavors. Since I got back to Davis, this quarter, my roommate and I have been saying we wanted to stop back in and today, we finally did.

Let Them Eat Cake
423 L Street - Suite B
Davis, CA 95616
530-750-CAKE

Illegally Blonde: This is a Vanilla Cupcake with Vanilla Frosting! Sweet and simple and one of their Daily Flavors

Scarlett: This cupcake is one of their Daily Flavors. It is a Red Velvet Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Cheeky-Monkey: A Bananas Foster Cupcake with Rum Infused Cream Cheese Frosting!

Doodlebug: Get-a-load of this one! It is a Honey Cupcake with Lavender Infused Cream Cheese Frosting. Do I need to explain how heavenly it is?

Dubliner: This is another Daily Flavor, for good reason! Guinness Stout Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting...perfection.



If you live in Davis, I highly recommend stopping by. It may be a little out of the way, since it's not downtown, but it's highly worth it! Check out their menu so you know what day they will be serving your favorites. And if you don't live in Davis, come visit me and I'll treat you to a cupcake!

Dabbling in Korean Cuisine

This weekend, I had the opportunity to see a Master Chef performing in his element. Martin Yan has hosted several successful cooking shows, one of which was recently rated the 4th best cooking show of all time. He has written 30 cookbooks and taught at several Culinary Academies. Most importantly to me, however—he is a Davis Alumnus and a fellow Aggie! He came to Davis this last Friday and gave a cooking demonstration in our Dining Commons. I was in awe while watching him cook his Chinese cuisine! The ease with which he chops and dices and minces is just Godly. He must be close friends with Hestia. I went with my friend, Irvin who also has a passion for cooking and upon leaving, we decided we needed to get together the next day to have a cooking party along with my roommate, Caitlin (although we had to immediately quell our need for good food by having a delicious dinner of Indian food at Kathmandu Kitchen). The next morning, I woke up wanting to try to cook something new—Korean food! I figured a safe place to start would be bibimbap…I mean I’ve always heard it be described as an easy dish, made up of leftovers. I figured it would be a safe starting point. Traditionally, Bibimbap is served as rice, topped with sautéed vegetables, an egg, kimchi (spicy, pickled cabbage), and sliced meat. As long as you have those essentials, you can really just experiment and it will most likely come out beautifully.

Our Bibimbap consisted of a mixture of white rice, brown rice and barley, topped with blanched Edamame and Bean Sprouts, sautéed Spinach, sautéed Chinese Cabbage, Scrambled Eggs, and Tofu, sautéed with Kimchi. The vegetables were cooked with soy sauce, ginger and garlic. The dish was topped with Huy Fong Sriracha (Chinese Hot Sauce), sesame seeds and additional Kimchi, if desired (I say, go for it! That stuff is amazing). If you're not used to Korean food, this may be a little out of the ordinary for you, but as long as you can deal with some spice, you'll love it. Plus, you can add other vegetables you like and take out ones you don't like or change the protein from tofu to chicken or pork. It would also be good with a basted, fried or sunny side up egg. Just take a stab at it and see what comes out!

Macaroni and Cheese Obsession

A few years ago, my friend Alyssa and I went to the theaters to see Becoming Jane. I don’t know if you’ve seen this movie but for a Jane Austen enthusiast, I found the movie to be horribly depressing and so did Alyssa! We left the theater in a stupor, intent on finding some way to cheer ourselves up. We wandered over to Borders and went straight to the cooking section. Alyssa and I had already shared our love of pasta with each other, so we started looking through a pasta cookbook and in it we found a recipe for Macaroni and Cheese. The picture in the book looked to die for so we wrote down the recipe in our phones, went to the store to get the ingredients and then went home to make the Macaroni and Cheese and spend the night watching uplifting movies. The Macaroni and Cheese worked like magic! We were out of our stupor and hooked on Homemade Macaroni and Cheese. Later on, we both became obsessed with the Macaroni and Cheese from the Whole Foods hot bar. We would go to Whole Foods together every couple of months and eat mounds of Macaroni and Cheese, paired with a Brie, Turkey, Pesto Mayonnaise and Basil Panini on a Croissant and a piece of Chocolate Decadence Cake. One day, we wrote down the ingredients in the Whole Foods Macaroni and Cheese so we could incorporate it into our other recipe. We made Macaroni and Cheese several more times, always adjusting the recipe until we got it JUST RIGHT. This is now one of our all-time-favorite dishes. This week is the beginning of a new school quarter and I wanted to get a few of my friends together to catch up on our breaks and share some delicious Macaroni and Cheese. I actually adjusted Alyssa’s and my fool-proof recipe a bit because I wanted to use white cheddar (a suggestion from a friend) and I ended up going a little cheese crazy and adding more than I normally do. The sauce came out a little grainier than normal, but it was still delicious and ever so satisfying. Here's the non-grainy recipe.

Alyssa and Brittany’s Fool-Proof Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:
1 Pound pasta (I used Campanelle this time, but I really like using Cellentani too. Normal shells or elbow macaroni would do the trick though.)
3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons flour
3 Cups milk, half-and-half or cream (Go for the good stuff! You know you want to!)
Salt and White Pepper to taste
2 Pinches of nutmeg (This is optional and I know some people don’t like nutmeg but I really believe this dish isn’t worth making without it! It adds so much to the flavor. Be a little adventurous)
1/2 Pound Sharp Cheddar (White cheddar works as well and I added a little Parmesan too. Feel free to experiment with the cheeses. Like Swiss? Go for it!)
1 Cup additional cheese to top
1/2 Cup bread crumbs
3 Tablespoons butter

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Boil water and cook the pasta.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan on medium heat and then whisk in the flour. Whisk quickly without letting it burn. Add in the milk and whisk the mixture, making sure that all of the butter and flour are mixed in well. Add the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Keep stirring until the mixture begins to thicken. Be careful to make sure it doesn’t start to burn. Turn up the heat to medium-high. No matter how many times I make white sauce, I always feel like it will never thicken. Don't worry-it always does. Once the sauce has thickened, add in the 1/2 pound of cheese and let it all melt into the sauce.
Mix the sauce with the cooked and drained pasta. Pour the pasta into a 9x13 inch pan.
Spread the remaining cup of cheese over the pasta.
Melt the remaining butter and mix with the bread crumbs. Sprinkle over the cheese.
Bake at 350 until the cheese and bread crumbs start to brown. The sauce will begin to bubble and become less liquidy.

I would really make this every week in the winter if I didn’t have any self control. I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do.

Another Successful Adventure in Baking

Every Christmas morning, my family has some sort of baked good for breakfast. Since I’ve been working on my baking skills, I decided to try out Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes. I made them the night before and let them rise over-night so they would be ready to bake and frost in the morning.

Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes
Adapted from Pink Parsley, from Beantown Baker, originally from La Fuji Mama

Ingredients:
For the Dough:
1 Packet dry active yeast
1/2 Cup granulated sugar, divided
1 Cup warm milk (approximately 110 degrees)
2 Eggs, room temperature
1/3 Cup butter, melted
1 Teaspoon salt
4 1/2 Cups bread flour
For the Cinnamon Inside:
1 Cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/3 Cup butter softened and spreadable
For the Frosting:
8 Ounce cream cheese, softened
2/3 Cup butter, softened
1 Cup powdered sugar

Directions:
Heat the milk. Dissolve the yeast and 1/4 cup sugar in the warm milk. Let stand for 10 minutes, until foamy.
Mix in the eggs, butter, salt, and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Add the flour and mix well, until it forms a ball of dough. Lightly flour a flat surface and knead the dough 5-10 times. Place the dough into an oiled bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm place until the dough doubles in size. This will take anywhere from an hour to 2 hours. Be patient.
After the dough has doubled, turn it out of the bowl, onto a lightly floured surface and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Line your cupcake pans with cupcake liners. If you have cooking spray, lightly spray over the top of the liners. My family doesn’t use cooking spray, so I didn't use any and the cupcakes stuck to the cupcake liners a bit but it wasn’t too horrible.
Roll out the dough into a 12x22 inch rectangle. Spread the butter over the dough, making sure it completely covers it. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the entire rectangle. Roll up the dough. Cut the roll into 24 rolls. Do this carefully without smashing the roll.
To put the rolls into the cupcake liners, you may have to unroll them and re-roll them so they fit better. Don’t worry, it doesn’t make a mess because the sugar is already stuck to the butter.
Cover and let rise. The goal is to have them double again, but mine didn’t and they still rose just fine in the oven. I let mine sit in the refrigerator over night and it worked out just fine.
Meanwhile, cream the cream cheese and butter together and then slowly add the powdered sugar. You can add more powdered sugar if you like your frosting sweeter, but I thought that 1 cup was perfect.
When you are ready to bake the rolls, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the rolls until golden brown. This will take 8-12 minutes. Let them cool completely and then frost them.

I was very happy with the outcome of these cupcakes. I’m still very intimidated by baking, but I liked this recipe a lot because the dough was very bread-like and I’m very comfortable with making bread. It was a fairly easy recipe and I definitely recommend it! Enjoy.