Kneader's Turkey Bacon, Avocado Sandwich on Focaccia Bread

SANDWICH INGREDIENTS:

Focaccia Bread (If you live close to a Kneaders the easiest thing to do is to just buy Focaccia bread straight from the bakery, you can even go through the drive through if you’d like. If you do not live close to a Kneader’s or just feel really ambitious here is a great recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod that is also delicious. I do not have the official Kneader’s recipe, but this one is also very good. Just substitute the chopped fresh herbs in the recipe with grated parmesan cheese)

Provolone cheese

Turkey meat ( preferably slow roasted hand pulled right off the breast,  not processed!)

Cooked Bacon slices

sliced avocado

Romaine lettuce ( The leafy part not the hearts)

sliced red onion

sliced Tomato

KNEADER’S SAUCE

1 1/8 cup  light mayonnaise

1/3 cup  light sour cream

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

1 to 2 teaspoons sugar,added to taste 

1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon table salt,  added to taste

Mix Kneader’s sauce in a bowl and chill ( you can store this in the fridge and use on other sandwiches later also)

Cut the focaccia bread into squares about 7″ by 7″ and then slice down the middle ( to create top and bottom for your sandwich). Spread your Kneader’s sauce evenly on the top and bottom slices then place each of the ingredients on the sandwich in the order listed above ( can look at the pic for reference also). Place the top on the sandwich, cut in half, and serve. 

Recipe Credit: http://sharealikecooking.blogspot.com/2011/12/sour-cream-mayo-kneaders-sauce-clone.html

Focaccia Bread

Yield: One 12x17-inch loaf

Prep Time: 1 hour of active prep time and 11 hours of inactive prep time

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Dimpled Italian focaccia bread flavored with olive oil and herbs.

ingredients:

For the Bread:
5 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups water, at room temperature
Extra olive oil, for greasing the pan
Herb olive oil (recipe below)

For the Herb Oil:
2 cups olive oil
1 cup chopped fresh herbs (any combination of basil, parsley, oregano, tarragon, rosemary, thyme, cilantro, savory, and sage) - OR - 1/3 cup dried herbs or a blend such as herbes de Provence (we used basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, and rosemary)
1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced

directions:

1. To Make the Herb Oil: Heat 2 cups of olive oil to about 100 degrees F. Add 1 cup of chopped fresh herbs or 1/3 cup dried herbs. We used a mixture of fresh basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and parsley. Add the salt, pepper, and garlic. Stir together and allow to steep while you prepare the dough.

2. Stir together the flour, salt, and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Add the olive oil and water and mix on low speed with the paddle attachment until all the ingredients form a sticky ball. Switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for about 5 to 7 minutes, or until the dough is soft and sticky. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl.

3. Sprinkle enough flour on the counter to make a bed about 6 inches square. Using a scraper or spatula dipped in water, transfer the sticky dough to the bed of flour and dust liberally with flour, patting the dough into a rectangle. Let the dough relax for 5 minutes.

4. Coat your hands with flour and stretch the dough from each end to twice its size. Fold it, letter style, over itself to return it to a rectangular shape. Mist the top of the dough with spray oil, again dust with flour, and loosely cover with plastic wrap.

5. Let rest for 30 minutes. Stretch and fold the dough again; mist with spray oil, dust with flour, and cover. After 30 minutes, repeat this one more time.

6. Allow the covered dough to ferment on the counter for 1 hour. It should rise but not double in size.

7. Line a 17 by 12-inch sheet pan with baking parchment paper and drizzle olive oil over the paper. Spread the oil with your hands or a brush to cover the entire surface. Lightly oil your hands and, using a plastic or metal pastry scraper, lift the dough off the counter and transfer it to the sheet pan, maintaining the rectangular shape as much as possible.

8. Spoon half of the herb oil over the dough. Use your fingertips to dimple the dough and spread it to fill the pan simultaneously. Only use your fingertips to avoid tearing or ripping the dough. Try to keep the thickness as uniform as possible across the surface. Dimpling allows you to degas only part of the dough while preserving gas in the non-dimpled sections. If the dough becomes too springy, let it rest for about 15 minutes and then continue dimpling. Don’t worry if you are unable to fill the pan 100 perfect, especially the corners. As the dough relaxes and proofs, it will spread out and fill the pan. Use more herb oil as needed to ensure that the entire surface is coated with oil.

9. Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough overnight (or for up to 3 days).

10.Remove the pan from the refrigerator 3 hours before baking. Drizzle additional herb oil over the surface and dimple it in. This should allow you to fill the pan completely with the dough to a thickness of about 1/2-inch. Cover the pan with plastic and proof the dough at room temperature for 3 hours, or until the dough doubles in size, rising to a thickness of nearly 1 inch.

11. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Place the pan in the oven. Lower the oven setting to 450 degrees F and bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the pan 180 degrees and continue baking the focaccia bread for 5 to 10 minutes, or until it is lightly golden brown. The internal temperature of the dough should register above 200 degrees F (measured in the center of the loaf).

12. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately transfer the focaccia out of the pan onto a cooling rack. Allow the focaccia to cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting and serving.

Recipe from The Bread Baker's Apprentice

Copycat Honey Wheat Bread (Outback Steakhouse)

ingredients

• 2 ½ c. warm water (100°-110°F)
• 1/4 c. vegetable oil
• 2 T. caramel color
• 1/2 c. honey
• 3 ½ c. whole-wheat flour
• 2 T. cocoa
• 2 T. active dry yeast
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2-3 c. bread flour
• rolled oats (for dusting loaves)

instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitter with a dough hook, stir together water, oil, caramel color, and honey until mixed well.
2. Add wheat flour to water mixture.
3. Add cocoa, yeast, and salt, and stir until blended.
4. Allow mixture sit for 10 minutes.
5. Stir in bread flour, one cup at a time, until dough clings to hook and almost clears the sides of mixer, about 3-4 minutes.
6. Cover bowl with greased plastic wrap.
7. Allow dough to rise in the bowl until doubled, about 30-60 minutes.
8. Divide into 2 pieces.
9. Cover each piece with greased plastic wrap, and let dough rest for 5 minutes.
10. Shape pieces into loaves, and sprinkle with oats.
11. Place each loaf in a greased 9x5-inch loaf pan.
12. Let dough rise until doubled, about 30-60 minutes.
13. Toward the end of the rising time, preheat oven to 350 F.
14. Bake at for 30-40 minutes.

Recipe Credit: I Heart Eating

Copycat Texas Roadhouse Butter

• Makes 8 Tablespoons
• 
  
• 1 stick salted butter
• ¼ cup powdered sugar
• 1 & ½ Tbsp honey
• ¾ tsp cinnamon

Instructions

1. Let butter warm to room temperature. Mix with other ingredients until well-combined. You can briskly whisk with a fork, or use a hand-held electric mixer. Refrigerate until ready to use and enjoy!

Recipe Credit: The Cozy Cook

Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rolls

• Makes 24 rolls
• 
  
• 2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast (or 1 packet)
• 1 ¼ cup Milk
• ¼ cup Honey
• 4 Tablespoons Butter, melted
• 1 large Egg
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 4 cups Flour

1. Bring the milk to a boil. Remove it from heat and let it reduce to room temperature.
2. Mix the milk, yeast, and honey in a small bowl until well combined. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, mix 3 tablespoons of the butter, the milk mixture, egg, and 2 cups of flour. Mix slowly until smooth. (Use a mixer with a dough hook if you have one, otherwise it works by hand.) Gradually add the remaining 2 cups of flour and mix until a dough has formed.
4. Add salt, and mix/knead for 8 minutes. Then drop the dough onto a floured surface and knead for a few more minutes.
5. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and drop the dough inside. Cover the bowl (plastic wrap or a damp cloth works) and let it rise for an hour in a warm place.
6. Spray 2 cookie sheets with vegetable oil. Punch down the dough and roll it out on a flat, floured surface until it’s about ½ inch thick. Fold it in half and gently seal.
7. Cut into 24 squares of even size and place on the cookie sheets. Cover them and let them rise for about 40 minutes, until doubled in size.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the top is a light golden brown.
9. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and brush the top of the rolls.

Recipe Credit: The Cozy Cook

Danish Pancakes (Paula's Pancake House Copycat Recipe)

We absolutely love Paula's Pancakes in Solvang, California. Super thin, slightly sweet pancakes topped with baked apples (or cool syrupy strawberries) and whipped cream...yum. Here's a recipe from Sunset Magazine that I tweaked that comes close.

1 c. all-purpose flour
2 T, plus 1 t. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. salt
1 large egg
1 c. milk plus more, if necessary
2 T melted butter

In a large bowl, mix flour with sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a small bowl, beat egg to blend with milk and 2 T. butter. Add liquids to dry ingredients and stir until evenly moistened. If necessary, add more milk to thin out batter.

Brush pan with melted butter and cook pancakes.

Top with syrup or sauteed apples and whipped cream.

Recipe Credit: Sunset Magazine

French Crepes

I have very fond memories of my dad making French crepes for our Sunday dinners every once in awhile. We all got to throw on our favorite toppings, and we had so much fun eating them together as a family. Enjoy!

Crepes are extremely versatile, perfect for brunch, lunch, a light supper — and definitely dessert. The thin, French-style pancakes can be filled with ham and cheese and paired with a green salad for a savory version, or topped with fruit and whipped cream to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to making the perfect crepe.

To make savory instead of sweet crepes, omit the sugar and vanilla extract in this recipe, and add a pinch of salt. Fill savory crepes with vegetables, cheese or meat mixtures.

Sweet Crepes

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup milk

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 eggs

Melted unsalted butter for greasing pan

Prepare crepes according to the directions below. Serves 4.

1. To make the crepe batter, in a blender, combine water, milk, flour, sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs to the blender. 

2. Blend the mixture until very smooth and free of lumps. Pour the batter into a large liquid measuring cup or a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 1 day. 

3. Using a pastry brush dipped in melted butter, lightly grease the entire surface of a 9-inch crepe pan or nonstick fry pan and place over medium heat. 

4. Fill a 1/4-cup ladle with batter to just below the lip. Holding the pan at an angle above the burner, pour the batter into the pan close to one edge. Quickly swirl the pan so the batter covers the entire bottom of the pan. This should happen very fast since the batter will start to cook upon contact with the hot pan. 

5. Cook, shaking the pan from time to time, until the crepe begins to bubble, the bottom is lightly browned and the batter looks set, about 1 minute. 

6. Use a small offset spatula to lift the edge of the crepe, then carefully grasp the edge and quickly flip the crepe over in the pan. Cook until the second side is slightly browned and set, about 10 seconds more. 

7. Transfer the finished crepe to a plate. Repeat to cook the remaining batter, greasing the pan with more butter each time. Stack the cooked crepes on the plate between squares of wax paper.

Favorite Toppings:

-peanut butter and syrup

-strawberries and whipped cream

-just plain syrup

-peanut butter and chocolate syrup

-powdered sugar and lemon juice

Recipe Credit: Williams Sonoma

The Moistest Banana Bread

"This is the moistest banana bread that I have ever tasted. It's also very easy to make!"

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup white sugar, OR you could cut it down to as little as 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I omitted these, just b/c I am not a fan of nutty breads)
• 2 medium bananas, sliced
• 
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl of a stand mixer (using the paddle attachment), stir together the melted butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the butter mixture until smooth. Finally, fold in the sour cream, walnuts (I omitted these) and bananas. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
3. 
   
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool loaf in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe Credit: allrecipes.com