Cooking Classy

I recently posted an Olive Garden soup recipe that I love (my Pasta e Fagioli copycat recipe) and realized I needed to post a breadstick recipe to go along with it. These breadsticks are deliciously soft and fluffy, with just the right amount of chew and they taste just as delectable as the real thing. According to this source I found online the Olive Garden uses margarine to coat their breadsticks. With that said, if you prefer butter over margarine (like me) then feel free to use that instead. Now you can enjoy bottomless breadsticks at home =)!   Olive Garden Breadsticks  {Copycat Recipe} Yields 1 dozen Ingredients: 1 cup + 2 Tbsp warm water (110 - 115 degrees) 1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast 2 Tbsp granulated sugar, divided 3 - 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 3/4 tsp salt 3 Tbsp vegetable oil Topping: 2 Tbsp margarine or butter* 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp garlic powder Directions: In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, whisk together warm water, yeast and 1/2 tsp granulated sugar u...

You are looking at a must try comfort food meal. I was never a fan of chicken pot pie until a friend so kindly brought me this dish after I had my baby a few years ago. I'm fully in love with it! Rather then getting a surrounding of heavy pie crust you get a fluffy biscuit topping that will quickly have you loading your plate with a second round. In my opinion the topping is what makes this dish. It sets it apart from it's competitors, being loaded with Parmesan cheese, plenty of heavy cream, some black pepper and cayenne pepper for a slight kick, and I also added a little garlic powder (because how can I resist?). Then to finish, it's browned in the oven to beautifully golden perfection.  And the wonder doesn't just end at the topping. That is just the beginning. It's loaded with fresh, sauteed veggies, fall apart tender chicken which is all tossed in a creamy white sauce. This hearty dish would also be incredible made with leftover turkey from your upcoming Thanks...

If you ask me, made from scratch Mexican food is just about as good as it gets. I've mentioned before that Mexican and Italian food are my two favorite kinds of food. One thing I love about each of them (other than the number one reason - the incredibly delicious flavors) is their use of so many fresh ingredients and how a lot of it is made from scratch. I've been to Mexico just a few times and one of my favorite things there was always the fresh tortillas. I loved stopping by the market to get a bag filled with a large stack of fresh flour tortillas from the bakery (I loved the fresh churros they have too, mmmm). I could probably eat that whole stack in one sitting. These may seem like one of those things that's not worth the time and effort but I'm telling you, it is! I just don't like the flour tortillas from the store that are pre-made and loaded with preservatives, they just taste weird to me. Once you've had fresh tortillas, you know what I mean when I say...

What is one out of the ordinary thing you should add as a new highlight to the Thanksgiving feast this year? Something that probably wouldn't have come to mind, whipped specialty butters to go along with those fresh out of the oven, homemade rolls. These butters are amazing! I was at my mother-in-laws a few days ago and she had fresh bread and some whipped cinnamon honey butter she'd bought at the store. I knew it would be a breeze to recreate after reading the ingredients list on the packaging label, so I came home and made it. In my opinion the homemade version may just be a bit better because it's freshly made, but other than that they taste exactly the same.  I also decided to create a few other versions as well because why stop at just one flavor? There are many more I wanted to make but didn't have the time. Here's a few I had in mind: orange honey butter with orange extract and fresh orange zest, salted caramel butter with caramel sauce (rather than honey) an...

Is there anything like a fresh, hot out of the oven, homemade dinner roll? Dinner rolls are a classic that will never fade. These dinner rolls are dangerously good! How could something with so few simple ingredients be so delicious? I will tell you how: lots of butter, whole milk and a little patience. While creating this recipe, I was looking to achieve a tender, pillow-y soft texture, along with a light sweetness that wasn't overpowering (if I wanted a roll that was super sweet I'd just have cake), with just the right amount of moisture and fats - hence the use of whole milk along with the butter. I prefer a larger ratio of milk than water because water has zero flavor so why let it waste good space in the roll?  I love making fresh breads and rolls, because I let my KitchenAid mixer do all the work =). The hardest part is that "little patience" I mentioned before, the rising time. I wish they'd just go POOF! in a number of seconds and be beautifully risen. If o...

What do you get when you combine banana bread with cinnamon rolls? These incredible Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls! A cinnamon roll and banana bread in one, how could these not be good? Then when they are slathered generously with cream cheese frosting and finished off with toasted nuts, all I can say is wow yum! This is breakfast done right. Enjoy and be sure to eat them warm.  Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls Yields 1 dozen Ingredients: 3 medium overripe bananas 1 tsp lemon juice 2/3 cup milk (I used whole) 3 Tbsp butter, diced 2 Tbsp vegetable oil 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1 large egg yolk 3 3/4 cups bread flour, divided  1 Tbsp cornstarch 3/4 tsp baking powder 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/8 tsp nutmeg 6 Tbsp butter, melted 1 recipe Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows toasted walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional) Directions: Puree bananas in a food processor along with 1 tsp lemon juice until mixture is smooth and no...

I will always love Navajo Tacos. I've eaten them ever since I can remember. My mom makes the best Navajo Tacos ever (Navajo taco topping anyway =). She would cheat a little and use frozen Rhodes Rolls dough for the fry bread portion, which was also delicious but nothing compares to homemade Navajo fry bread. If you want to use frozen roll dough, all you have to do is fully thaw and rise the dough (according to directions on package) then fry it and top with the Navajo taco topping. This recipe I created for the fry bread really is incredibly simple though, you can basically make it in the time it takes just to prepare the roll dough for thawing.  I decided to use two leavening agents for the fry bread because I wanted the slight flavor yeast gives without having to have it rise for hours, but if you don't have yeast on hand you could just add another teaspoon of baking powder.  I would highly recommend you make 1 1/2 (or double) the recipe listed so you have left over fry brea...

Mall pretzels that you can now enjoy in the comfort of your home for a fraction of the price with countless dipping sauce options, yes please! I found this recipe over at one of my favorite food blogs, Yammie's Noshery. It's such a great blog to follow, so if you're not yet following I suggest you do it now =). She takes amazing photos, creates many of her own recipes and she has great taste in food. This recipe she posted is one example of her great taste in food. I mean, who doesn't love a fresh, warm Auntie Anne's pretzel? And with Yammie's homemade garlic cheese sauce you've got a match made in heaven. Save a few for dessert and you can try them with a warm glaze, caramel or chocolate sauce for dunking. How ever you dunk them I recommend you eat them warm, they just aren't the same cool. This Auntie Anne's Pretzels copycat recipe is one you are going to want to try. You get a chewy yet fluffy, perfectly tender, beautifully golden brown pretzel t...

Hello Breakfast! Ordinary French toast gets a major upgrade with a few exciting coconut additions. This fluffy french toast is made with creamy coconut milk and then it gets more real coconut flavor from pure coconut extract. Then it's cooked until perfectly golden and drenched with an irresistible, deliciously sweet coconut syrup (which again is full of real coconut flavor from coconut milk and extract) and to finish it's sprinkled with what more but the real thing, shredded sweetened coconut.  I listed below additional ideas for this french toast which I cannot wait to make in the future. This recipe is definitely going into my breakfast (and dinner) rotation! Enjoy and share! Coconut French Toast Yields 10 slices (about 5 servings) Ingredients: 1/2 cup canned coconut milk, well shaken 1/2 cup milk 5 large eggs 1/2 tsp coconut extract 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour 1 Tbsp granulated sugar 1/8 tsp baking powder 1/8 tsp salt 10 1" slices day or...

Everyone reading this, please, you need to make this bread! I'm telling you, this is the best loaf of yeasted bread I have ever made! I've baked many o' things, but funny thing until today I've never made my own loaf of no knead rustic bread. Seriously, why I have not tried it until now I can never tell you! I had no idea that such an incredibly quick and easy recipe could yield such amazing results. It is the perfect loaf of rustic bread, wonderfully crisp and chewy on the outside, while tender and even slightly moist on the inside. I can now officially say I've made a loaf of bread as good as a professional artisan bread baker thanks to the wonderful post over at  Simply So Good .  I'm so happy I found this recipe (from my countless hours of Pinterest gawking. Seriously I could spend my whole day on there, it's dangerous).   Never again will I pay $5 to buy a loaf of rustic bread at the store or bakery. Astoundingly I liked this even better and it had to c...

Here is a recipe that is my proud result of many trial and error loaves of banana bread in an effort to achieve the perfect loaf. I've tried many other banana bread recipes and experimented several times to create my own recipe. Let's just say baking is an art, it's quite  temperamental  the measurements need to right on. It's easier to create a recipe for an entree rather creating a recipe for a baked good. So, after several loaves of experimenting I've finally found the perfect measurements and ingredients to create what I call The Perfect Loaf of Banana Bread. Just how good? Good enough that it doesn't even need a slathering of butter! It's so good I've made it two days in a row. It's amazingly moist, perfectly sweet, slightly rich, loaded with banana flavor and my favorite part - the topping. Be sure not to leave it off or use  substitutions . It compliments the banana bread perfectly. I wanted a topping that enhanced the bread, you know made it ...