Le Creuset French Oven Giveaway & Easter Bread

Hurrah! It's April and I'm so thrilled to announce my sponsor of the month is, drumroll please.... Le Creuset!! Le Creuset has generously donated one of their gorgeous enamelled cast iron French Ovens in their new seasonal colour: Soleil... and man have we ever needed a little soleil around these parts lately. So if you need a little brightening up in your world too, one lucky Kitchen Vignettes reader is going to receive a very sunny and special delivery at the end of this month, and it could be you! Details on how to enter the draw are below.

I have been drooling over Le Creuset cookware for as long as I can remember. There is just something that makes me feel like all is well in the world when there is a heavy-duty brightly coloured pot of fragrant stew simmering away on my stove. Their outstanding craftsmanship ensures even heat distribution and seals in moisture and flavours. Of course, they aren't cheap, but they are so worth the investment. I was actually lucky enough to get my own two prized Le Creuset wares with my aeroplan points. Forget travel rewards, I'll take Le Creuset over a free flight any day! Their French Ovens are unparalleled for soups and stews and, of course... no-knead bread.

Here is a recap my no-knead bread recipe video, starring a very sunny and well-loved Le Creuset French Oven, and oh, a very fuzzy and well-loved kitty too.



Yesterday, I made a special 'Easter version' of my no-knead bread, with the addition of candied lemon peel, currants, walnuts, and a hint of honey. And I think it just may be the best bread I've ever made. Ever. To get the basic no-knead bread recipe, featured in the video, click here. To get my Easter no-knead bread recipe, scroll below.

Now, to enter the draw to win the lovely 4.3L French Oven (valued at $330), here's what you need to do:

1) Tell a friend or family member about Kitchen Vignettes, and get them to either 'like' my Facebook page, or subscribe to this blog by e-mail (see right-hand sidebar). Both you and your friend will be entered into the draw. 

2) To be eligible for the draw, please leave me a comment below letting me know you and your friend (include their name) have entered the contest. 

3) The more people you introduce, the more ballots you will get. For instance, if you introduce 5 new people, your name will be entered in the draw 5 times.

***This giveaway can only be shipped within Canada or the United States.***

Cut-off time for entering the draw is 5pm Atlantic time, April 30th. I will draw a name at random and announce the winner that evening. Good luck everyone and stay tuned for the May giveaway!

Easter No-Knead Bread

2 cups white unbleached flour
1 cup spelt flour
1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup dried currants
2 tbsp. finely chopped candied lemon peel
1/2 cup walnuts
1 tsp honey
Cornmeal to sprinkle on bottom of French Oven

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, yeast, salt, and add 1 5/8 cup water. Stir together to obtain a sticky dough. Cover the bowl with a lid or plate and allow to sit on your kitchen counter for about 20 hours. 

After more or less 20 hours, your dough should be nice and bubbly. Add in the currants, lemon peel, walnuts, and honey. With your hand (best) or a wooden spoon, mix well for about 2 to 3 minutes. Put the dough back in the bowl and cover. Allow dough to rise for about 2 hours.

Put your lidded French Oven in the oven and preheat to 450 F. Any oven-proof lidded pot will do, but a French Oven will work best. Allow your lidded pot to heat up in the oven for about 15 minutes. Remove and sprinkle cornmeal at the bottom of the piping hot pot. Gently but quickly drop the bread dough down into the pot and immediately place the lid back on. Give the pot a little shake if the dough is unevenly distributed. Return to the hot oven and bake with lid on for 30 minutes. Then turn temperature down to 400, remove the lid, and bake for another 20 minutes or until the loaf is a deep golden brown and has a hard crust. 

Allow your loaf to cool on a rack for at least one FULL hour before slicing into it. Otherwise, the bread may be gummy. After an hour, slice away and enjoy!

Guinness Brownies

I caved. I had to make them.

I really wasn't planning to cook or blog, or in fact do anything St. Patrick's Day-related today because I am in thesis-land. And I intend to remain firmly there. For the most part.

 
But my sister has been under the weather, and I asked her what she was craving yesterday and she replied, surprise surprise... chocolate. I was prepared to make her some chicken soup or honey lemon tea or something equally healing. But, I am not one to ever say no to the possibility of chocolate. Normally, I wouldn't even think to make brownies for my sister because she herself happens to make THE best brownies in the universe. But seeing as she hasn't been feeling well, and lately I've been drooling over all the photos floating around online of guinness & chocolate based desserts... I succumbed to trying my hand at the ol' beer & chocolate combo. Didn't take much. Anyway, these brownies took about 30 minutes to make from beginning to end. I only ate oh, about a dozen of them before my sister got home. It helps with the thesis. I swear.

Luna got in on the action when she thought I wasn't looking, then later pretended there was something more interesting going on outside (as if anything could be more interesting than chocolate). Silly monkey-cat.

Because my sister is avoiding gluten these days, I made these with sorghum and almond flours, although technically, the beer has gluten. But she's not quite that hard-line about it. I also used coconut sugar which supposedly doesn't make your blood sugar climb a mountain. Though it tastes so damn good I can't imagine how it wouldn't. Mainly though, its rich flavour is a perfect marriage with the bitterness of guinness. Mmmm.

These are dark and moody brownies, deeply flavorful, not too sweet, and deliciously unctuous. I recommend making them. Immediately. St Paddy's Day is not over til you've had these. (Oh and my sister, aka the brownie expert, immediately popped five in her mouth when she got home and made some muffled moaning noises, while giving me the thumbs up sign).

GUINNESS MINI-BROWNIES
*If you want to use all-purpose flour, simply omit the sorghum and almond flours and use 1/2 cup flour of choice instead

 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup and 1 tbsp guinness
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter
1 cup coconut sugar (or any other sugar)
2 eggs
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/3 cup almond flour (ground almonds)
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350F.

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Cream the butter and sugar together. Add cocoa powder and eggs and beat well. Mix in the guinness. In a small bowl, combine the sorghum flour, ground almonds, and salt. Incorporate melted chocolate with flours and egg mixture, and mix until thick uniform batter is obtained. Drop batter by the tablespoonful into a mini muffin tin. The batter should come almost to the top edge, but not quite. (They will rise a bit).

Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes. Be careful not to overbake. They should still be moist on top when they come out. Cool in the pan for about 45 minutes. Remove from pan and continue cooling on  rack if necessary. Devour. (Whipped cream or sour cream with a little sugar and fresh mint mixed in is delightful with these).

***

And just because ever since I saw this video, I start cracking up whenever I bake desserts with gluten-free flours, here is a little treat for you. Many people can probably relate to this... (although to be honest, even though I am not gluten-intolerent myself, I often prefer the taste and texture of gluten-free desserts... )

Sauerkraut Borscht

You may remember my love of sauerkraut and my somewhat unorthodox (and dead easy) way of making it. Here's a little replay of my sauerkraut-making video from last summer, to warm you up to sauerkraut borscht. And also to remember summer. Remember summer?! Before you watch this though, I must warn you, this was shot a very hot summer day. So there is a sexy shirtless farmer alert. Proceed with caution.



Well, first of all I confess I did not use her Royal Majesty the Ruby Kraut in this recipe, I simply used a white kraut, although I am certain Ruby would have added lovely hues to this borscht.

BORSCHT! Don't you love the way it sounds when you say it? That word has oomph and attitude. Traditionally, borscht is made with a kind of fermented beet juice or kvass, typical in Russia and parts of Eastern Europe. I've been wanting to make beet kvass for a while but it takes a week before it's ready and I had a craving for borscht yesterday that required immediate action, so I made it with a bit of sauerkraut added in instead, which gave it a beautiful tangy flavour. In case you're wondering, you can easily make the beet kvass by peeling and slicing beets, covering them lukewarm water, dropping a slice of rye bread on top, and leaving the whole thing in a quiet place for a week.

And by the way, if you're really into borscht and want to read about it further or consider other recipes, The Guardian did a great feature on it that is well worth the read.

Here's my version, it's pretty simple and pared down but packed with flavour. You can add potatoes or carrots if you like, there are so many versions of this recipe but for me borscht is all about celebrating beets and cabbage so I just stick to those two. And of course, sour cream and fresh dill are a MUST.

SAUERKRAUT BORSCHT

1 medium-large onion, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil or butter
Half of a medium-small cabbage, shredded
5 or 6 medium-sized beets, peeled and finely cubed except for one which should be grated
Between 1/2 to 1 cup chopped sauerkraut, depending on how zesty you want your borscht
2 litres of good (preferably homemade) beef or vegetable broth
2 medium cubed potatoes (optional)
4 cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper
Sour cream
Fresh dill
* Many people put a tablespoon of sugar in their borscht. I don't, but you may wish to try it

Sauté the chopped onion in the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot, until golden. Add the shredded cabbage and chopped garlic and give a good stir, cooking for a minute or two more. Add all the remaining ingredients: beets, sauerkraut, potatoes if using, broth. You may need to add some water or broth depending on how thick you like your soup. Simmer on medium heat for about 30 minutes or until beets and cabbage are soft and soup is flavourful. Season with salt and pepper to taste, keeping in mind it will already be a bit salty from the sauerkraut so taste it before seasoning. Serve with a generous dollop of sour cream and fresh chopped dill. As with most soups, this one tastes even better the next day when the flavours have really matured, so be sure to make a large pot so you have leftovers.