Caramelized Garlic Chèvre Stuffed Bread #BreadBakers

Caramelized garlic and chèvre - goat cheese - fill this wonderful savory loaf that is then topped with more cheese. Set this on your brunch table and watch it disappear!

Just the words caramelized garlic chèvre stuffed bread make my mouth water. You should have smelled the house while the garlic was caramelizing in butter and then while the loaf was baking! Pretty much torture, but fortunately there was relief in sight.

This month my Bread Bakers group is featuring garlic in honor of National Garlic Day on the 19th of April at the instigation of bread baker extraordinaire and our host this month, Karen of Karen’s Kitchen Stories. You might recall that I participated in Garlic Day celebrations the last two years, making slow-roasted lamb with 40 cloves of garlic in 2014 and garlicky lobster shrimp scampi in 2015. This year time got away from me so I was grateful to Karen for making sure that one of my favorite national food days did not go by uncelebrated in this space.

This recipe was adapted from Thyme For Cooking.

Ingredients
For the dough:
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 packet rapid rise yeast (1/4 oz or 7g)
1/4 cup or 60ml water
1/8 cup or 30ml milk
1/8 cup or 30ml olive oil, plus a little extra to oil the bowl
1 egg
1 egg yolk (save white for glaze)
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/4 cups or 150g whole wheat bread flour
1 cup or 125g strong white bread flour

For the filling:
3 1/2 oz or 100g cloves garlic
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

For assembly:
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
8 1/2 oz or 240g goat cheese (I used a mix of fresh and slightly aged.)
1 egg white, beaten

Method
In large bowl, dissolve sugar in water and sprinkle in yeast. It should foam up within a few minutes. If it does not, get some new yeast and start again.

In a separate bowl, whisk the milk, oil, egg, egg yolk, and salt to combine. Add this to the yeast mixture with the whole wheat bread flour and stir well.

Add in about three quarters of the white bread flour and mix to make a soft dough.

Turn it out onto lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, adding more of the remaining flour if the dough is too sticky.

Oil your mixing bowl and pop the dough back in, turning the ball to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap; let rest for 20-25 minutes. When you are using rapid rise yeast, this takes place of the first rise. If you do substitute regular yeast, leave to rise until doubled.

While the dough is resting, we’ll caramelize the garlic. Cut the fatter cloves in half and put them all in a pan with a tight fitting lid, with the water, butter, olive oil, sugar and a sprinkle of salt.

Cook  covered over a medium heat for a few minutes until the garlic softens. Remove the cover and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, keeping a careful eye out for burning, until all the water has evaporated and the garlic has turned a lovely golden color. Remove from the heat. Add a few good grinds of fresh black pepper.

To assembly the loaf, roll the dough out into a rectangle of about 12x17 in or 30x43cm.

Spread the mustard up the middle of the rectangle and then scatter on the caramelized garlic.

Starting near one end, use a sharp knife to cut diagonal strips all the way along the sides, up to the filling.

Crumble your goat cheese and set aside a good handful for topping. Sprinkle the rest of the crumbles on top of the mustard/garlic.

Fold one end in and then brush the top with the beaten egg white.

Fold the strips up and over, alternating sides, brushing the tops in between with egg white to help the strips stick together.

When you get near the other end, fold it in.

Then continue brushing with egg white and folding the strips over until all of the filling is covered. Carefully transfer the loaf to a lined baking pan. You can, of course, do the shaping on the lined baking pan but then you have to be very careful when cutting the dough strips that you don’t cut your silicone liner or parchment paper.

Brush the whole top again with the whisked egg whites. Set in a warm place to rise for about 30 minutes, then preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

When the oven reaches temperature, bake the loaf for about 25-30 minutes or until it is lovely and golden.

Remove the loaf from the oven and sprinkle on the reserved cheese crumbles.

Return it to the oven for another 5-7 minutes or until the cheese is slightly melted and just starting to brown in places. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy!

How will you celebrate National Garlic Day? May I suggest you bake some delicious garlicky bread?

• Black Garlic Parmesan Sourdough Bread from Magnolia Days
• Buttery Garlic Cheddar Rolls from Kylee Cooks
• Buttery Garlic Knots from Sara's Tasty Buds
• Buttery Garlic Pull Apart Bread from Cook's Hideout
• Caramelized Garlic Chèvre Stuffed Bread from Food Lust People Love
• Cheddar, Garlic and Jalapeño Beer Bread from A Palatable Pastime
• Cheddar Garlic Dinner Rolls from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Cheese and Garlic Biscuits from A Baker's House
• Cream Cheese Stuffed Garlic Rolls from Herbivore Cucina
• Domino's Style Garlic Bread from Gayathri's Cook Spot
• Easy-Peasy Garlicky Mini Rolls from G'Gina's Kitchenette
• Garlic Batard from Hostess at Heart
• Garlic & Gorgonzola Focaccia from Baking in Pyjamas
• Garlic, Herbs and Cheese Bread from La Cocina de Aisha
• Garlic Naan with Green Chiles from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Garlic Pull Apart Rolls from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Garlic Sunflower Bread from Passion Kneaded
• Gluten Free & Vegan Garlic Breadsticks from What Smells So Good?
• {Gluten Free} Seeded Black Garlic Flat Bread from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Green Garlic Parathas - Flat Bread from Sneha's Recipes
• Herbed Garlic Butter Garland Bread from Ruchik Randhap
• Multi Grain Garlic Naan from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Pissaladière from The Bread She Bakes
• Roasted Garlic Focaccia from Sizzling Tastebuds
• Triple Garlic Knots from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Whole Wheat Garlic Ciabatta Bread from Cooking Club

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send me an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

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Beef Wellington Bites

A traditional Beef Wellington is made with whole tenderloin wrapped in puff pastry along with mushrooms duxelles and foie gras. These beef Wellington bites are the finger food version made with choux pastry puffs.

Let me start by saying that this dish was the result of leftovers of the very best kind. I made duxelles for a different dish and ended up sharing it for a group post celebrating mushrooms. And I had frozen choux pastry from a croquembouche challenge. When a weekend barbecue left me with a couple of grilled filet mignon steaks, it suddenly came to me that I had the makings of beef Wellington of a sort and just needed some foie gras or liver paté. Oh, we dined richly that night! I'd been waiting for the ideal time to share them when Sunday Supper announced a Finger Food for Dinner theme. Perfect!

Make sure you scroll down to see all the wonderful fork-free dishes we are sharing today, from appetizers through desserts. Many thanks to our host Christie from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures and her guiding light, Marion from Life Tastes Good.

Ingredients
For the duxelles:
3 oz or 85g shallots
1/3 cup or 75g butter
12 oz or 340g mushrooms
1 cup or 240ml dry white wine
1 cup or 240ml whipping cream
Sea salt
Black pepper
- Instructions here  You may not use the whole recipe. Stir the rest through some pasta. Or eat it with a spoon.

For the choux pastry:
1 cup or 125g plain flour
1 pinch salt
7 tablespoons or 100g butter
1 cup or 240ml water
4 eggs, at room temperature
- The dough makes about 50 small choux buns. They freeze well before baking!

For assembly: Makes 18 Beef Wellington Bites
6 oz or 170g grilled tenderloin steak
6 oz or 170g smooth duck or pork paté, at room temperature

Method
Make your duxelles ahead of time and store the bowl in the refrigerator. Do not leave it out as you work, because its volume will greatly decrease, spoon by spoon, if it's handy. That stuff is GOOD.

Now we'll make the choux pastry. Preheat your oven to 445°F or 230°C and prepare your baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper stuck down with a little non-stick spray. If you are feeling particularly anal, as I usually am, you can draw some circles to guide you on the underside of the parchment paper.

Sift together your flour and a pinch of salt and put the bowl right next to the stove in readiness.

In a medium pot, combine the butter and water and bring to the boil.

Pour the flour/salt mixture into the boiling water/butter all at once. Stir vigorously until the mixture forms a ball and pulls right away from the sides. This takes just a minute or two.

Now take the pot off of the stove and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well with your wooden spoon in between. With each addition, it looks like the egg won’t mix in and the dough starts to fall apart but keep mixing and after a couple of minutes of hard labor, the dough comes together again in one big lump and it’s time to add the next egg.

After the fourth egg has been thoroughly incorporated, put the dough into a piping bag with a large tip, about 1/2 in or 1 cm wide.

Pipe the soft dough on the parchment paper in 1 inch or 2.5cm circles about an equal measure apart from each other.

Poke down any pointy tops with a damp finger.

Bake in your preheated oven for 10 minutes then turn the temperature down to 400°F or 200°C and bake for a further 25 minutes. (OR you can now pop them in the freezer if you want to keep some for later.  You only need 18 for the Beef Wellington Bites. Once frozen, slip them off the parchment and into a Ziploc bag for storage. They are perfect for sweet or savory fillings and can be taken out of the freezer and baked as you need them.)

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Once they are completely cooled, store them in an airtight container until you are ready to serve.

When you are ready to serve, warm your duxelles and your tenderloin steaks. Slice the steaks thinly.

Split the choux buns open horizontally. Add a good spoon of the duxelles to the bottom. Top with sliced steak and finally, add a small slice of paté.

Put the top of the choux bun back on and repeat the process until all the Beef Wellington Bites are assembled.

Enjoy!

Do you enjoy Finger Foods for Dinner? I think they are great for movie nights but in our house we also always do all appetizers for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve as well.

I want everything on this list!

Pinky Appetizers

• Artichoke Jalapeño Bruschetta by Grumpy's Honeybunch
• Bacon Wrapped Dates by Our Good Life
• Baked Blue Cheese Olive Bites by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Baked Chicken Flautas by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Baked Piroshki (Russian Stuffed Rolls) by Curious Cuisiniere
• Blue Cheese & Buffalo Chicken Wonton Bites by Moore or Less Cooking
• Caprese Polenta Cakes by Eat, Drink and be Tracy
• Cherry Topped Brie Bites by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Chicken Pesto Pizza by Taste And See
• Classic Homemade Guacamole by Pies and Plots
• Fresh Vegetable Rainbow Rolls by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Italian Fried Stuffed Olives by La Bella Vita Cucina
• Healthy Buffalo Chicken Kabobs by Hardly A Goddess
• Mini Feta Leek Quiche by FoodieTots
• Mini Mediterranean Shish Kebabs by Hey What’s for Dinner Mom?
• Pan Seared Bruschetta by Seduction in the Kitchen
• Raspberry Glazed Chicken Wings by Family Around The Table
• Sesame Chicken Fingers by An Appealing Plan
• Spicy Popcorn Chicken by Brunch-n-Bites

Manual Mains

• Battered-dipped Turkey Tenders by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Beef Wellington Bites by Food Lust People Love
• Broccoli, Ham and Cheese Egg Muffin Cups by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Broccoli, Ham & Cheese Double Stuffed Potatoes by Simply Healthy Family
• Cheesy Baked Garlic Chicken Strips by Rants From My Crazy Kitchen
• Chicken Parmesan Sliders by The Chef Next Door
• Cuban Sandwiches by My World Simplified
• Ethiopian Injera and Tikel Gomen (Cabbage, Carrots and Potato) by Caroline’s Cooking
• Fish fingers and Old Bay Dip by Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
• Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets by Gluten Free Crumbley
• Crunchy-Coated Haddock Fingers by Turnips 2 Tangerines
• Ham and Cheese Sliders by Feeding Big and More
• Mini Pizza Pockets by The Freshman Cook
• Mini Pizzas by Angels Home Sweet Homestead
• Ribs with Whiskey Maple Barbecue Sauce by Palatable Pastime
• Savory Beef and Veggie Hand Pies by Positively Stacey
• Spinach-Feta Rolls by Wholistic Woman
• Lasagna Cupcakes by A Mind Full Mom
• Tacos in Lettuce Wraps by Simple and Savory
• Thai Basil Chicken Lettuce Wraps by Casa de Crews
• Thai-Indian Beef Lettuce Cups by The Texan New Yorker
• Vegetarian Piadina Sandwich by she loves biscotti
• Yuca Fritters Stuffed with Cheese by Basic N Delicious

Digit Desserts

• Blueberry and Brie Tarts by Momma’s Meals
• Roasted Strawberry Hand Pies by Baking Sense
• Salted Caramel Cream Puffs by The Redhead Baker

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Almond Raspberry Cake #FoodieExtravaganza

This almond raspberry cake has the most tender crumb imaginable, created by the perfect marriage of ground almonds and flour, plus plenty of butter. It goes great with a cup of tea or coffee as a mid morning snack but would be just sweet enough for dessert as well.

This month my Foodie Extravaganza group is serving up coffeecake along with our wonderful host Caroline of Caroline’s Cooking and we’ve got some beauties for you. The definition of coffeecake is broad but to me it usually means a one layer cake that is not super sweet. It wouldn’t be frosted, although a light sprinkling of powdered sugar or a simple glaze would be just fine. But, hey, I’m willing to be flexible, as long as a slice pairs well with a cup of coffee or tea.

Make sure you scroll on down to see the other wonderful coffeecakes we’ve baked for you today.

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups or 180g ground almonds
3/4 cup or 180g unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup or 180g sugar
1 1/2 cups or 180g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 3/4 oz or 360g raspberries

To decorate: 1-2 tablespoon demerara sugar - optional
or
To serve: Icing or powdered sugar - optional

Note: If you use metric measures, the amounts are ridiculously easy to remember. Then change out the berries for a fruit of the season or of your choice.

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.  Spray your baking pan with non-stick baking spray or line the bottom with some baking parchment. Mine is 8 in or 20cm across.

Cut your butter into chunks then place all the ingredients except the raspberries in a mixer and mix till just combined.

Set aside a small handful of the raspberries and carefully fold the rest through the batter trying not to break them up too much. It’s an almost impossible task but try. You want speckles of pink, not homogeneous color.

Scrape the thick batter into your prepared pan and spread it around evenly.

Poke your reserved berries into the top of the batter. If you are sprinkling with demerara sugar, now's the time to do that.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes. Check it at around 25 minutes and cover it with foil if it is getting too brown.

Remove from the oven, cool slightly then loosen the edges with a knife and turn out onto a serving plate.

Serve warm or cold, sprinkled with powdered sugar, if you chose that option. With a hot cup of your favorite brew.

Enjoy!

Pour yourself a cup and have a slice of these:

• Almond Raspberry Cake by Food Lust People Love
• Blueberry Vanilla Coffee Cake by Fearlessly Creative Mammas
• Cappuccino Cake by G'Gina's Kitchenette
• Caramel Coconut Coffee Cake by cookinandcraftin
• Classic Coffee Cake by Basic N Delicious
• Coffee Cake Cookies by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Coffee Cake in a Jiffy by Our Good Life
• Coffee Cake Muffins by I'm Hungry
• German Beer Coffee Cake by Wholistic Woman
• Gluten Free Hazelnut Pear Cake by Caroline's Cooking
• Kärleksmums (Swedish Coffee Cake) by Tara's Multicultural Table
• Lemon Thyme n Mint Loaf by Baking in Pyjamas
• Orange Coffe Cake with Pecan Streusel from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Polish Placek by Cooking With Carlee
• Simple Coffee Cake by Sneha's Recipe
• Strawberry Coffee Cake Muffins by Making Miracles

Foodie Extravaganza celebrates obscure food holidays or shares recipes with the same ingredient or theme every month.

Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook group Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you!

If you're a reader looking for delicious recipes, check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board! Looking for our previous parties? Check them out here.

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Slow Cooker Lasagna

 Spicy Italian sausage is my go-to meat for lasagna and meatballs. It adds such wonderful flavor! This slow cooker lasagna is easy to put together, plus you can walk away and come back to deliciousness without worrying about it burning in the oven.

Growing up, my older sister and I took turns cooking dinner when my mom went back to work. One of my favorites was the Hamburger Helper with that pasta that looks like lasagna noodles but way skinnier. When my younger sister got old enough to cook too, she often made real lasagna. It was sort of her specialty and I guess it still is.


You really can’t compare Hamburger Helper to real lasagna but I’m going to dare to compare the real stuff with one cooked in a slow cooker. I must confess that it doesn’t look as pretty as a neatly cut square of an oven-baked casserole and the crispy bits around the edges that we all fight over are missing. But all in all, with a huge plus for ease of assembly and hands-off time, it’s quite delicious, especially when made with spicy Italian sausage meat.

Ingredients
2.2 lbs or 1kg spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
4 cups or 360g grated mozzarella cheese.
2 cups or 500g ricotta
12 sheets (about 8 oz or 225g) uncooked lasagna noodles
6 cups or 1475g spaghetti sauce (your favorite)

To serve: freshly grated Parmesan and sprigs of parsley, if desired

Method
Pan fry and drain your sausage meat, breaking it into crumbles. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little while.

Put about 1 cup or 240ml of sauce in the bottom of your slow cooker. Layer in 3-4 lasagna noodles, breaking off the corners so they sit nicely in your slow cooker. Put the little broken pieces in any gaps.






Mix the ricotta cheese in with the crumbled sausage meat.




Add one half of the meat/ricotta to the top of the noodles.



Then sprinkled on one third of the shredded cheese and add another cup or so of the sauce to the top.




Repeat the process starting with another layer of noodles. Finish with noodles then sauce. You should have one third of the mozzarella left. Put it in the refrigerator for later.




Cook for six hours on low.




After about five hours.


About 1 hour before serving, add the reserved shredded mozzarella cheese. Cover and cook until melted.




To serve, try to scoop up a good cross section of the lasagna through all the layers.

Top with fresh grated Parmesan, if desired. That’s non-negotiable in our house. A little parsley adds color as well.




Enjoy!

Pin this Slow Cooker Lasagna!

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Yiaourti Me Meli (Greek Yogurt and Honey) Muffins #MuffinMonday

Modeled after the Greek breakfast/snack/dessert of thick yogurt sweetened with honey then topped with walnuts, these muffins have all that, in a tender crumb. 

If you stopped by here yesterday to see my slow-cooked, falling off the bones, lamb shoulder, you’ll know that I’ve had Greek recipes on the brain. Since today is Muffin Monday, the best start to the last week of the month, I decided to take a classic Greek recipe and turn it into muffins as well. May I say that it was an excellent choice. As I mentioned yesterday, I haven’t been to see My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 but now I have read a few reviews and found them most dispiriting after waiting all this time for a sequel.

Never mind, we have muffins! Make sure you scroll on down and see the other lovelies my Muffin Monday group members have baked up for you too.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups or 315g flour
1/4 cup or 58g demerara sugar, plus extra for decorating, if desired
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 cup or 250g Greek yogurt
1/2 cup or 120ml honey
1/4 cup canola or 60ml other light oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup or 100g walnuts

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

Measure your flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.

Separate out 12 good looking walnuts for garnish and then chop the rest coarsely.

Whisk your eggs, yogurt, honey, oil and vanilla together in a small mixing bowl.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined.

Fold in the chopped walnuts.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups in your prepared pan.

Top each with a reserved walnut and sprinkle on some extra demerara sugar, if desired.

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

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes then cool completely on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Happy Muffin Monday from all the Muffin Monday bakers! Look what we've made for you today!

• Blueberry Streusel Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Cranberry Orange Muffins from Making Miracles
• Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Butter Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts
• Quiche Lorraine Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Yiaourti Me Meli (Greek Yogurt and Honey) Muffins from Food Lust People Love

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

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