Moscow Mule for #ElleAPalooza

An easy cocktail that packs a punch of bright flavors from ginger beer and lime, the Moscow Mule is as refreshing as it is pretty. 

This post is a tribute to a friend and blogger who passed away suddenly last week. Her real name was LeeAnn but we all knew her as Elle of Elle’s New England Kitchen.  She was 45 years young and leaves behind an enormous group of devastated family members and friends, including her husband and four children.

Here’s a question for you:  Can you be genuine friends with someone if you haven’t met them? I think back to the days of elementary school-age pen pals and handwritten letters and I say yes. And nowadays, social media and the internet make it even easier than ever. For instance, I meet people through comments on this blog, interest groups and fan pages on Facebook, communities on Google Plus and forums like Chowhound. Some become real life friends. To the point that I would squeal and get excited at the chance to spent time together in person. Elle was one of those people. I met Elle through a Facebook group called The Cookbook Junkies and her fun personality and quick wit endeared her to us all. As a fellow food blogger with a love of family and cooking, not to mention the aforementioned addiction to cookbooks, I couldn’t help but feel we had a lot in common. More than anything else, social media have shown us that we are more alike than we are different. Which made the news of her death a huge shock to everyone in our Facebook and blogging communities. 

We wanted to do what we could to ease the suffering of her family and, frankly, make ourselves feel a little better, a little less useless in the face of loss. So, we give you #ElleAPalooza, a multi-blogger tribute weekend to one of our own, one of the best of our own, when we all choose a recipe to share from Elle’s blog and ask you to consider contributing an item for an online auction in her honor which is being organized in the coming weeks or donate to a fund for her family right now. 

I spent ages looking through Elle’s New England Kitchen, reading from her very first post  back in 2008 and searching for just the right recipe. I finally settled on a cocktail called a Moscow Mule. I could have toasted Elle with a piece of blueberry pie or honey lime chicken tacos or even Watermelon Nectarine Salsa (Doesn’t that sound divinely refreshing?) But I finally decided that Elle deserves a proper toast and a proper toast requires a cocktail. 

I’ve got to tell you that I’ve never had a Moscow Mule before but it was fresh and delicious and it is my new favorite drink. So here’s to you, Elle! Know that you have touched more lives that can be counted with your kindness, your generosity of spirit, your snarky sense of humor and especially your delicious recipes. You are greatly missed.

Ingredients for one Moscow Mule 

1/2 oz fresh lime juice (about half of one big lime)

2 oz or 30ml vodka 

4-6 oz or 120-180ml cold ginger beer 

(My bottle says Ginger Soda because this is Dubai and I guess they aren’t allowed to call it beer in case someone thinks it has alcohol but it’s the real deal, from Australia.

Method

Squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lime into a tall glass, and toss the lime in after it.

Add about one cup of ice and pour in the vodka.

Top up with the cold ginger beer. Stir lightly and serve.

Lift a glass to Elle and enjoy!

If you’d like to read more #ElleAPalooza recipes and tributes, please join the Friends of Elle Facebook page where we will be sharing our links.

Here are a few that are live already:

• Almond Joy Muffins from Janet at Gourmet Traveller 88
• Banana Bread Beer Donut Muffins from Heather at He Cooks She Cooks
• Better Than Ultimate Brownies from Felice at All That's Left Are the Crumbs
• Cheddar Cornbread Bacon Pancakes from Amy at Savory Moments
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars from Kristen at Dine and Dish
• Edamame Ginger Dip from Michelle at Taste As You Go
• Flourless Peanut Butter Cinnamon Cookies from Dawn at Vanilla Kitchen 
• Garden Gazpacho with Hazelnuts from Kristina at Spabettie
• Elle's Bratwurst and Apple Kale Sandwiches from Reneé at Kudos Kitchen by Reneé
• Elle's Favorite Bean Dip from Rachelle at Mommy? I'm Hungry!
• Elle's Lemon Agave Cake from Laura at The Spiced Life
• Elle’s Mushroom Bourguignon with Venison from Jenn at The Leftover Queen
• Elle’s Teriyaki Chicken Wings from Feride at AZ Cookbook
• Experimental Scoops - Hard Cider and Plum Sherbert from Jenn at The Leftover Queen
• Insalata Caprese with Fried Buitoni Ravioli from Gabi at The Feast Within
• Moscow Mule from Stacy at Food Lust People Love
• Raw Cream of Asparagus Soup from Kristina at Spabettie
• Spiced Pumpkin Chickpea Stew from Renee at Flamingo Musings
• Supreme Pizza Soup from Heather at girlichef
• Supremely Tasty Puff Pastry Pizza Tart from Kristina at Spabettie
• Tomato Soup from ZeBot the Zebra at ZeBot's Kitchen
• Vegan Oat Cranberry Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies from Katrina at Baking and Boys

If you’d like to sign Elle’s legacy guestbook online, here’s that link as well. 

Once more: the link to Elle’s family fund Paypal account.  Find the link to donate here. 

If you would like to donate an item for the upcoming auction, please drop me a line at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com or contact the organizer Heather Shively by sending an email to heather@bodaciousgirl.com.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Braid #TwelveLoaves

Chocolate yeast dough and peanut butter yeast dough, braided together, make a wonderful loaf. Two very different flavors that complement each other, intertwined so each bite contains a piece of both.

In many cultures, braids are a sign of unity, symbolic of a bond that is not easily broken. After all, what is a braid but the weaving in and out of three or more strands that become one and are generally stronger for the weaving? You can see where I am headed here.

This month’s theme for #TwelveLoaves is chocolate but I decided that chocolate would not stand alone. This is a loaf of love. Chocolate with peanut butter chips and peanut butter with chocolate chips. Because we are all a little sweet and all a little salty and it’s the combination of the two that makes life interesting.

The chocolate dough has been slightly adapted from David Lebovitz’s Chocolate Bread and the peanut butter dough has been adapted from Celine Steen’s Peanut Butter Bread.

Ingredients
For the chocolate dough:
6 tablespoons or 90ml milk, heated until just tepid
1 envelope active dry yeast (1/4 ounce or 7g)
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 ounces or 45g bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 egg - yolk and white separated
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups or 190g flour
2 scant tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used the special dark.)
1/3 cup or 60g real peanut butter chips

For the peanut butter dough:
1/2 cup or 120ml milk
1 envelope active dry yeast (1/4 ounce or 7g)
1/4 cup or 65g smooth peanut butter
1 1/2 cups or 190g flour
3 tablespoons, packed, dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup or 65g semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method
First we’ll make the chocolate dough.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk. Add one tablespoon of the sugar and it set aside in a warm place for 10 to 15 minutes or until it gets foamy.

Put your butter and chocolate in a microwaveable bowl and give it a few quick zaps of 20 seconds, stirring in between, until both are just melted and form a smooth chocolate syrup.

Add the remaining sugar, the egg yolk, vanilla, and sea salt to the yeast bowl and mix well. (Reserve your egg white for glazing the loaf before baking.)

Stir in half the flour and cocoa powder.

Add the chocolate syrup and stir again.  Now add the remaining flour and stir until completely incorporated.

Beat for five minutes with the dough hook in your mixer or knead by hand.  The dough will be quite moist but I found that the butter kept it from being too sticky.

Cover the bowl and let rise in a warm place for two hours.

Now we’ll make the peanut butter dough.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the milk. Add one tablespoon of the sugar and it set aside in a warm place for 10 to 15 minutes or until it gets foamy.

Add the remaining sugar, vanilla, and sea salt to the yeast bowl and mix well.

Stir in half the flour.

Now add the peanut butter and the remaining flour and stir until completely incorporated.

Place dough on a clean, lightly floured surface and start kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic.  Add extra flour if the dough is too sticky. I tried to knead in my mixer with the bread hook but this dough was just too soft.  Kneading by hand worked best.

Cover and let rise for 1 – 1 1/2 hours in warm place.

The two doughs. The chocolate has risen a little and the peanut butter is just ready for rising.

When both of your doughs have done their rising, it’s time for the braid!

Punch down both doughs, adding in the chocolate chips to the peanut butter dough and the peanut butter chips to the chocolate dough, reserving a few to poke on top for decoration before baking. Knead a little bit to work them in.

Now break or cut each ball in half and roll the pieces out into dough snakes about 16 inches or cm long. The chips will keep wanting to fall out. Just poke them back in.

Now lay all four “snakes” out on your baking pan which has been lined with a sheet of parchment. In order to get the best braided look, start with the two chocolate ones and the two peanut butter ones next to each other. I took photos of every step of the braiding but I have to admit, they are hard to follow. So I am going to send you to the link I used to make the braid where the illustrations are clear and the instructions are easy to follow: How to braid challah. Go ahead, I’ll wait here.

Okay!  Now put the braid in a warm, draft-free place to rise again for another hour. My house is still quite chilly, so I covered the loaf with a big plastic container and set the whole thing over the sink filled with hot water.  Then I put a pan on top that was filled with hot water. You do what you need to!

About 10 minutes before the rising time is finished, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

When the rising time is finished, whisk your egg white and brush it gently on the loaf. Add the reserved chips if desired.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes or until it sounds hollow when you tap it.  Mine got a little too dark because somehow my oven shot up to 375°F or 190°C while the bread was baking. Don’t let this happen to yours! The chips got quite dark as well, but fortunately, they didn’t taste any different. Mr. Lebovitz offers the useful tip that you can insert an instant read thermometer in the middle (I poked mine in from the side so the hole wouldn’t show.) and a ready loaf will read 180°F or 82°C when it’s done.)

Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy!

The perfect bite, with some of each flavor!

The first warm slices were excellent with the dark chocolate perfectly complementing the rich peanut butter. If you really want to take this over the top, toast slices the next morning for breakfast and spread them with a little more peanut butter while still warm.

Looking for more chocolately bread goodness? You have come to the right place!

• Buttermilk Chocolate Quick Bread by Renee at Magnolia Days
• Chocolate Brownie Quick Bread by Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious
• Chocolate Chip Challah Bread by Lora at Cake Duchess
• Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls by Dionne at Try Anything Once Culinary
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Braid by Stacy at Food Lust People Love
• Chocolate Swirl Bread by Holly at A Baker's House
• Dark Chocolate and Prune Bread by Deepti at Bakingyummies
• Dates and Chocolate Brioche by Rossella at Ma che ti sei mangiato
• Love Me, Love Me Knots by Felice at All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Marbled Rye Bread by Karen at Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins by Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake

Browned Butter Pecan Muffins #MuffinMonday

One whole cup of chopped pecans in the batter makes sure that each bite of these browned butter muffins is a delicious mouthful of nuts. Are there extra pecans in the brown sugar topping?  But, of course!

I was reading recipes the other day, as you do, and the words “butter pecan” were mentioned. As in ice cream. Well, I don’t make ice cream since I don’t have an ice cream machine, but I do make muffins. Doesn’t butter pecan sound like a great idea? Sometime last fall, I discovered browned butter and I went a little crazy putting it in no less than three different muffin recipes. Because it SO GOOD. And some of those even had pecans too.  But I have yet to make a simple browned butter pecan muffin. Isn’t it time to rectify that?

Ingredients
For the muffins:
2 cups or 250g flour
1/2 cup or 100g dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup or 120g chopped pecans
1 egg
1/4 cup or 60g browned butter, cooled – use these directions here.  (Let me encourage you to make extra and keep it indefinitely in a clean jar in your refrigerator. It's soooo good.)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup or 180ml milk

For the topping:
1/4 cup or 30g chopped pecans
1/4 cup or 50g brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your large 12-cup muffin pan by greasing lightly or lining with muffin papers.

Make your topping by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl and using a fork to mix lightly so you have large crumble. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and chopped pecans.

In a smaller mixing bowl, whisk the egg, cooled browned butter, vanilla and milk. The butter may try to harden up on you if your milk is cold, but just keep whisking. Even if it separates out a little bit, it will be mixed enough to allow you to pour the mixture into the dry ingredients.

Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ones and stir till just combined.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups.

Top with a generous share of the topping.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow the muffins to cool for a few minutes in the pan then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!