Rosemary Bread

Every once in a while I get a strong urge to eat out at Macaroni Grill. Although I do love their mushroom ravioli, I must admit that my cravings are most sufficiently satiated by their rosemary bread. Oh man do I love that stuff . . . Last night I experienced said craving and convinced Isai that we should splurge for the evening. This decision was followed shortly by the realization that we probably didn't need to spend $40 on my craving for a loaf of bread. This is especially true after our trip to Germany, upon which I took my parent's advice of "don't be cheap" to heart. At any rate, I recalled a rosemary bread recipe from www.allrecipes.com whose reviews claimed it to be identical to the Macaroni Grill bread that I love so much. Since I had all the ingredients on hand and a couple hours before dinner time, I decided to give it a try. Now I've never been great at making bread. More often than not, it comes out too dense since I am always trying to rush the rising process. This loaf was wonderful, however, and I will definitely be making it on a regular basis. Although perhaps not identical to the bread from Macaroni Grill, it exceeded expectations. Enjoy!

• 1 cup warm water (should feel like a warm bath)
  
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1-2 tablespoon rosemary
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1. Dissolve sugar and yeast in water. Let it sit, undisturbed, for 10 minutes.
2. Combine flour and salt.
3. Make a well in the flour mixture, and add the olive oil and yeast mixture.
4. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. ~10 min
5. Add rosemary and Italian seasonings.
6. Knead until the seasonings are distributed throughout the dough. ~5 min
7. Let the dough rise in a covered bowl for 2 hours.
8. Punch the dough and shape into a loaf.*
9. Let rise in a loaf pan that has been generously brushed with olive oil for 45 min.
10. Bake in preheated oven (375 F) for 30 min.
11. Brush the top generously with olive oil and sprinkle with course salt.

Serve with olive oil and cracked pepper for dipping.

*To form a loaf: flatten the dough into a rectangle and fold in thirds (like a letter) to make a rectangle loaf. Place in the pan seam side down.

Cheesy Potatoes

I initially got this recipe from my grandmother who dubbed it "Potatoes O' Gerry" -- her name is Geraldine. I'm pretty sure she got the recipe from the bag of O'Brian frozen potatoes and just changed the name. Regardless of its origination, this is probably my favorite side dish, and it is super easy to make . . . A real crowd-pleaser albeit relatively high in calories. You can substitute many of the ingredients for their low-fat counterparts, but I tend to use the 'good' ingredients and opt for smaller portions.

1 28 oz. bag of frozen, diced potatoes (I prefer the kind with peppers, but that is a matter of taste)
1 cup sour cream
1 can cream of celery soup
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese + more for sprinkling on top
A few handfuls of rice crispies (or some unsweetened corn/rice cereal)

In a large mixing bowl, combine potatoes, sour cream and soup. Add cheese and mix until well-distributed. Spread into 9x13 dish and sprinkle cheese and crushed cereal on top. To bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for approx 1.5 hours or until heated through and cheese is bubbly.