Wednesday, December 4, 2013

How to proof yeast

When making breads, you should ALWAYS proof the yeast.   If the recipe calls for water, sugar, and yeast, you have no excuse not to, and if the yeast is dead you have just saved yourself from wasting other ingredients.

If done properly, this also ensures that the yeast is fully dissolved and as such will be distributed evenly within the dough.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Recipe: Italian Meatballs

These meatballs are best used in tomato sauce, but don't let that stop you from serving them as appetizers :)

This is written as a base unit.  A pound of meatballs is about right for a three quart batch of sauce.

Two important bits of info I am going to warn you about ahead of time:

1) These take awhile to make.   You might want to make these a day in advance of when you intend to use them.

2) This will make a mess.

Read on!

Recipe: Simple Tomato Sauce

This very simple sauce recipe is just the base.   You can add almost anything you like to it.   Alone, it is a fabulous pasta sauce that you can make in about an hour.