Honor Their Service is a having a fundraiser. It's a cookbook. We're going to talk it up and gather recipes and raise funds for a good cause.
Carrie wrote to several of us -
"I'm writing this as the President of Honor Their Service, Inc., We are just starting out as an organization but we've been around for several years now doing projects like Operation Santa at the Hospitals and Operation Fresh Air.
Our events have always been modest proposals. They do not require lots of money to execute.
We are budgeting about $500 to put on one Operation Fresh Air (that's a day of fishing, food and fellowship at Leesylvania State Park for wounded/injured servicemembers and their families at Walter Reed and Bethesda).
What we did in the past was ask cooperating milbloggers to help us raise funds on the internet..
As a pending 501c3 (we are just waiting for the damned exemption letter), we are licensed to fundraise in the states of Maryland and Virginia and have decided to go a slightly different route.
The reason why I'm writing to you all is that we have a fundraising idea that we could use your help with:
A milbloggers' cookbook. Recipes could come from the bloggers themselves, their families or commenters.
Honor Their Service, inc, will compile and sell the cookbooks. Pricing is going to depend on how many recipes we receive and the format (soft cover, hard cover, 3 ring binder)
We can include pictures of bloggers and commenters alike.. (Please Lord, no speedos, okay? I have a phobia).
This cookbook could be a very nice keepsake as well as making a donation to supporting wounded/injured servicemembers and their families.
Would you all please consider asking your readership to submit recipes (as well as your own favorites) to be included in the cookbook? Details to follow (deadlines, etc.,) but I wanted to throw out the request first to see if there is any interest.
Thanks in advance.
Carrie Costantini
President, Honor Their Service, Inc."
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So, think of some good recipes, come up with a pic......details will follow.
Which brings us to the Milbloggers Conference. Last weekend in April in DC. I am hoping to be there. I know, you're excited. You want to pinch yourself at the thought that maybe you could actually meet me......get a grip.
I am not a chef by any stretch of the imagination but I have a couple of recipes I have written - one is Navy bean soup and the other is cooking pork chops in a pressure cooker. I don't write them in "recipe format", more like a story - could they use them? Here is one example of how I write; http://www.navycs.com/blogs/2008/08/06/navy-bean-soup
ReplyDeleteI'm interested... Almost all comes from Beard on Bread book. I added a few ingredients—heavy on the cheese!
ReplyDeleteStella's Pizza Bread
1 pk Yeast; active, dry
1/4 c Water; warm (110-115 degs)
2 ts Sugar
1 c Milk
3 ts Salt
3 tb Butter
3-3/4 c Flour; All-purpose
EGG WASH (if desired)
1 md Egg White; beaten slightly-in 1 tbspn warm water.
James Beard's Basic White Bread Makes 1 large loaf or 2 small loaves
* Basic dough *
1. In a small bowl mix the yeast and the 1/4 cup warm water; add the sugar, stir well, and set aside until proofed. It is proofed when fermentation is apparent: the mixture will swell and small bubbles appear on the surface. (If it doesn't proof at all, it means the yeast is not fresh.) Important step
2. In a small saucepan heat the milk with the salt and stir in the butter until it melts. Set aside to cool until it is no warmer than the yeast mixture.
3. Put 2 cups of the flour in a large mixing bowl and stir in the milk mixture. Beat well with a wooden spatula, add the yeast mixture, and continue beating the dough until it is smooth, adding an additional cup of flour to make a firm dough.
4. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and begin the kneading process, which evenly distributes the fermenting yeast cells through the dough.
* Kneading *
5. There are several kneading methods, but the basic one is to flour the dough and your hand lightly, then push the heel of your hand down into the dough and away from you. Fold the dough over, give it a quarter turn, and push down again. Repeat pushing, folding and turning until the motion becomes rhythmic.
6. Knead for about 10 minutes, kneading in additional flour as necessary, until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky, and blisters form on the surface.
*Note: Don't over-knead or the bread will be too firm.
From Stella, add:
1 lb. mozzarella cheese
*You may also try 1/2 mozzarella and 1/2 sharp cheddar
1/2-1 c reconstituted sun dried tomatoes
1 tsp Oregano, or to taste
Pepperoni to taste, if desired.
7. To test whether the dough has been kneaded enough make an indention in it with your fingers; it should spring back. If blisters form on the surface of the dough and break, this is another sign that the kneading is sufficient.
8. Butter a large bowl, transfer the dough to it, and turn the bowl until the dough is well coated with butter on all sides. Cover the dough with a dish towel and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, until it is doubled in bulk. A good, warm, draft-free place is inside your room temperature oven.
9. To test further if the dough has risen properly, make an indentation in it with two fingers: if the dough does not spring back, then it is ready.
* Baking *
10. Butter a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan, or two pans that are about 8x4x2 inches. Punch the dough down with your fist to deflate it; transfer it to a floured board and knead it well for about 3 minutes. Pat it into a smooth round or oval shape and let it rest for 4 to 5 minutes.
11. Then form into 1 large or two small loaves, by shaping the dough into an oval the length of your bread pan, then gently stretching, rounding, and plumping it in the palms of your hands, tucking the edges underneath and pinching them together.
12. Lift carefully; drop the dough into the pan or pans and smooth out. Cover the dough with a towel and let it rise again in a warm draft-free place for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until it is double in bulk.
13. Preheat the oven to 400dF. Brush the egg wash over the top of the dough.
14. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes; reduce the heat to 350dF and bake for 20 to 25 minutes longer, until the crust is well browned and the bread sounds hollow when removed from the pan and tapped on the bottom with the knuckles.
15. If you like a crusty loaf, remove it from the pan about 5 to 10 minutes before the end of the baking time and let it finish baking on the oven rack. It will get brown and crusty all over.
16. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool on a rack before slicing (if you can wait...)
The bread may be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator after it has cooled. If you seal it in a bag before it is completely cooled, the crust will become soft. Stored bread will keep about 1 week. It also freezes well if wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and sealed in a plastic bag and can be kept for up to 3 months.
TIP: double the recipe and freeze the extra bread.
Hey Maggie,
ReplyDeleteCount us in . . . shoot me the details when they become available.
Aloha,
SB
Thank you, Maggie, and your readers too!
ReplyDeleteCarrie
See you in DC lady!!
ReplyDelete