Tomato swirl bread is a recipe that I came up with a couple of years ago. I love tomato soup and toasted cheese, I mean who doesn’t, right? Well this bread is the perfect bread for the toasted cheese sandwiches that you dunk into the soup…It is also fantastic with summer salads and anything else you want to make. I originally posted this in 2007 and I need to update the images….In the meantime give this a try…it really is good.

YUM! This has a faint aftertaste of tomato soup!

I took the original tomato bread recipe from The Farm Journal Bread Cookbook. I did tweak it a bit as I felt that whole wheat would need a stronger flavor. This scented the entire kitchen this morning. It would make great toast to go with tomato soup, or cheese soup…it would be a good base for burgers…or even a bologna sandwich.

Dough 1-tomato

• 1 c tomato sauce
• 2 tbs butter
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cloves (just trust me, o.k.?)
• 2 Tbs ketchup
• 1 package of dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp)
• 1/4 c warm water
• 4 cups or so of whole wheat flour OR white flour OR a blend. I used whole wheat.

1. Soften yeast in water.
2. Heat tomato sauce, butter, and ketchup and let cool to lukewarm. Add sugar, cloves, salt and yeast mixture to tomato mixture and mix in enough flour to make a soft but kneadable dough (or mix according to mixer directions).
3. Turn out and knead until smooth and elastic.
4. Rub lightly with oil and set aside to rise.

Dough 2- whole wheat

• 1 1/2 c warm water
• 2 Tbs butter
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 pack dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp)
• 4 cups or so whole wheat flour

1. Soften yeast in 1/4 c water with sugar. TO other 1 1/4 c water add butter until butter melts (you may need to microwave it and let cool to luke warm). Add salt and yeast mixture…then add flour until you get a soft, kneadable dough…proceed as above.
2. Let balls of dough rise until double-about 1 1/2 hours. punch down and knead lightly…cut each ball of dough into 2 equal pieces. Let rest 10 minutes.
3. Roll each ball out into a rectangle of equal sizes. Place a tomato dough rectangle on top of a whole wheat rectangle and roll up tightly pinching dough together at bottom to seal. Repeat with other loaf.
4. Let rise in greased bread pans for 1 hour or until double.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped…Let cool if you can.

Let me tell you a little story about this here pie. It was raffled off for over $65.00. Yep. Seriously. Is it that good?

Yep. Seriously.

Even people that totally do not like coconut adore this pie. It is the ultimate coconut pie. A layer of the pecan praline, a layer of the rich but not too sweet coconut cream, a layer of whipped cream… yumminess.

I swear to you that this pie is so good…. well, you know how there is supposed to be a feast in Heaven? Well, I am pretty sure this is gonna be on the table.

Yep. Seriously.

Coconut Praline Pie

1 baked 9″ pie crust

Praline layer:

• 1/2 c dark brown sugar
• 1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter

1. Melt together, stirring constantly, until sugar loses it’s graininess.
2. Quickly pour into the bottom of the prepared crust, spreading to cover.
3. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 c chopped, toasted pecans. Set aside.

Coconut Layer:

• 1c sugar
• 3 tbs flour
• 2 egg yolks
• 2  14 oz cans evaporated milk
• pinch salt

Whisk together until well mixed and add:

• 1 c coconut

Microwave for 9 minutes or so, stirring about every minute, until mixture coats a spoon. You can also use a double boiler.

Let cool for a bit and stir in:

• 2 tsp mexican vanilla (if it is available to you or regular vanilla if not)
• 2 TBS butter.

Pour over cooled praline layer and chill with a layer of greased plastic wrap over the surface. This works best if you spoon the filling around the edges of the pie first, and then fill in the middle.

Just before serving whip a pint of cream with sugar to your taste and place a thick layer over top of the pie.  Sprinkle with toasted coconut. Serves 8

I like to plate this on a dessert plate drizzled with some of the praline syrup.  and then dusted with confectioner’s sugar. It just seems to jazz it up a little and make things looks special.

So, twitter is a venue for my sarcasm but in my defense I am not the only one… Kelly from Evil Shenanigans and Jen from My Kitchen Addiction were adding to the total mayhem this morning…and yet… in the midst of it… we devised a plan.

In our collective disdain for Sandra Lee we have decided to do Sundays with Sandy - The Only Thing Daring Is the Tasting. This will be monthly, the first one is due on May 16, the week after Mother’s Day.

You are invited to join us but please try to follow these guidelines:

• You  may video OR blog the recipe but you must not change it unless you can’t find an ingredient or don’t have a utensil.
• If you will be participating please send me a link to your blog at maudet8816(AT)aol(DOT)com
• You must post your video or post ON the day it is due
• Please  tablescape and coordinate with the theme
• If you video tape it you should try to coordinate your outfit with the theme
• Please link to the other participating blogs…I will send you a list
• Adding a cute, coordinating cocktail is encouraged.
• Oh, please indicate on your post your level of cooking expertise.

That’s it. Now, you can plan on eating out that day OR you can post a recipe for a better recipe for the same item, your choice. Please feel free to be sarcastic. Hopefully we will be able to get buttons to display.

And the recipe for May? Direct from Sandras top 10o we have Semi-Homemade Chicken Fried Steak.

Remember… the only thing daring is the tasting.

image:sxc

I made these muffins with the roasted cornmeal from Muddy Dog Roasting Company. This is a great all around cornbread recipe but the roasted cornmeal makes all of the difference in these. They are sweet with a subtle roasty flavor that is at once sophisticated and comforting. The slight grittiness of the stoneground cornmeal adds a nice rustic touch. I reviewed this cornmeal here.

Because of the use of honey and all purpose flour in these you get a moist, sweet corn muffin. Perfect for breakfast or as an accompaniment to soup these will become a staple recipe in your pantry I think. (more…)

I love doing cheesecakes. Even though people think they are really hard, and impressive–they are a cinch. Just a few tricks and tips will guarantee your success. Once you have the basic formula down you can change flavors and crust and topping to your heart’s content.

This brownie cheesecake was actually an accident. I was trying out a new chocolate cake recipe for Matt’s birthday party (7/24) and the texture of the cake was not what I wanted..too dense to be cake, too dry to be brownie. What to do?

When I took it from the pans it crumbled. I grumbled. And then…

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