Basic Moist-Style Millet

use this cooking method when you need the tiny grains to stick together
makes about 4 cups

1 cup Millet, well rinsed & very well drained (honestly I often skip this step)
3 1/4 cup water or stock
1/2 tsp sea salt

Toast
millet over medium heat in an ungreased, cast iron skillet. Stirring frequently until slightly fragrant but not brown. When it has reached the proper level of toastiness it will start to skitter around the pan. Remove from heat.

Bring liquid and salt to a boil. Stir in millet. Return to boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes - or until all the liquid is absorbed.

Pan-crisped Millet Vegetable Cakes

"Outrageously Good" from Crescent Dragonwagon's 'The Passionate Vegetarian'

Preheat oven to 350

Grate with the grate blade of your food processor:

1 small or 1/2 large raw beet

1 carrot

Add to a large bowl with:

3 cups Basic Moist Style Millet

Process with the S blade of your food processor, until very smooth:

1/2 cup canned baby butter beans or navy beans, rinsed and very well drained

2 Tbsp tahini

3-5 cloves of garlic, peeled and split

Juice of 1 lemon

1 Tbsp Nama Shoyu or tamari (wheat free for the Clean Diet)

Salt and pepper to taste


Mix well into the millet, beets and carrots.

Form mixture into patties 3 1/2-4 inches wide, and about 1 1/2 inches thick.


Cook:
Spray a large skillet with oil and heat over medium-high heat. add cakes, lower heat and cook for 8-9 minutes before gently flipping them. Let cook on the second side for about 6 minutes.


Accompaniments:
You can serve these as you would a traditional burger. They have such a pretty pink color that I like to serve them on their own with a side of greens (perhaps sauteed beet green), mixed veggies or a salad.

Panettone

Panettone is good enough to eat on its own, but I like to use it to make baked french toast for breakfast on Christmas morning. For this reason, I haven't made one in years. However, I will surely go back to making them myself. I want the boys to have that experience. So, until I dig out my old recipe, I have posted the link to one here.

http://italianfood.about.com/library/rec/blr0946.htm

Panetonne Breakfast Bake

Panettone is a traditional Italian fruit bread, served around Christmas.
I make this dish on Christmas Eve. It goes in the refrigerator overnight. Christmas morning, it bakes while we open presents. No fuss for me and a wonderful way to start Christmas Day!

Use Colomba Di Pasqua on Easter morning. Substitute Cointreau for Maple Syrup and add 1 teaspoon Vanilla or Almond Extract.

Slice:
Panettone Bread, about 1/2 a large loaf (Panettone is pretty airy, so I slice it on the thicker side)
Grease a casserole dish and fill with the bread.
Whisk together:
1 cup Half & Half
6 large Eggs
1/4 cup Cointreau ( substitute any other similar liqueur such as Grande Marnier or Brandy or use Maple Syrup)
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
Pour egg mixture over the bread.
Refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, remove from the refrigerator to rest at room temperature for about 15 mins.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm

This is pretty well flavored and sweet on its own, but you can top with Maple Syrup or Marscapone Cream.

Colomba Di Pasqua

Italian "Easter Dove" bread, also called Colomba Primavera, is a traditional Italian Easter Bread with candied fruits and almonds. It is similar to Panettone. You could use for a baked french toast to serve Easter Morning, as I do with the Panettone on Christmas.

If you are lucky enough to have a local Italian bakery, why make your own. If not, the store bought versions are pretty darn good. Of course, we know why we would rather make our own. It's the love of cooking, the ritual, the tradition.... and time spent with mom in the kitchen.

This year, I must confess, I bought mine. Until I dig out my old recipe, I have posted a link to one for you here.

http://www.pastrywiz.com/dailyrecipes/recipes/570.htm

Quick Pizza Dough

A quick pizza dough recipe that we first had at Lucas & Emily's. Now we use it often.
Use the standing mixer with the dough hook attachment. You can, also, use a large bowl and mix by hand, with a wooden spoon.
Try adding fresh herbs for a little extra flavor.
This makes one thick crust pizza or 2 thin crusts.

1 1/2 packages Dry Yeast (3 1/3 tsp)
1 1/2 tsp Sugar or Honey
1 1/2 cups Warm Water
3 3/4 cups Flour
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 1/2 tsp Salt

Preheat Oven to 450
1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm warm. Let stand 10 minutes.
2. Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth
3. Let rest 5 minutes
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out into a pizza sized round. Transfer to a pizza pan or a baking sheet that has been lightly dusted with cornmeal. Add desired toppings
5. Bake 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool 5 minuted before cutting

French Onion Soup

In my laziness, I found this recipe on the America's Test Kitchen website. Its close enough to mine. Enjoy!

Sweet onions, such as Vidalia or Walla Walla, will make this recipe overly sweet. Be patient when caramelizing the onions in step 2; the entire process takes 45 to 60 minutes. Use broiler-safe crocks and keep the rim of the bowls 4 to 5 inches from the heating element to obtain a proper gratinée of melted, bubbly cheese. If using ordinary soup bowls, sprinkle the toasted bread slices with Gruyère and return them to the broiler until the cheese melts, then float them on top of the soup. We prefer Swanson Certified Organic Free Range Chicken Broth and Pacific Beef Broth. For the best flavor, make the soup a day or 2 in advance. Alternatively, the onions can be prepared through step 1, cooled in the pot, and refrigerated for up to 3 days before proceeding with the recipe. Serves 6

Soup
3 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 3 pieces
6 large yellow onions (about 4 pounds), halved and cut pole to pole into 1/4-inch-thick slices (see illustration below)
Salt
2 cups water, plus extra for deglazing
1/2 cup dry sherry
4 cups chicken broth (see note)
2 cups beef broth (see note)
6 sprigs fresh thyme , tied with kitchen twine
1 bat leaf
Ground black pepper

Cheese Croutons
1 small baguette , cut into 1/2-inch slices
8 ounces shredded Gruyère cheese (about 2 1/2 cups)


For the soup:
1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Generously spray inside of heavy-bottomed large (at least 7-quart) Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray. Place butter in pot and add onions and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, 1 hour (onions will be moist and slightly reduced in volume). Remove pot from oven and stir onions, scraping bottom and sides of pot. Return pot to oven with lid slightly ajar and continue to cook until onions are very soft and golden brown, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours longer, stirring onions and scraping bottom and sides of pot after 1 hour.

2. Carefully remove pot from oven and place over medium-high heat. Using oven mitts to handle pot, cook onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot, until liquid evaporates and onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes, reducing heat to medium if onions are browning too quickly. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until pot bottom is coated with dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary. (Scrape any fond that collects on spoon back into onions.) Stir in 1/4 cup water, scraping pot bottom to loosen crust, and cook until water evaporates and pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes. Repeat process of deglazing 2 or 3 more times, until onions are very dark brown. Stir in sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until sherry evaporates, about 5 minutes.

3. Stir in broths, 2 cups water, thyme, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, scraping up any final bits of browned crust on bottom and sides of pot. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Remove and discard herbs, then season with salt and pepper.

For the croutons:
4.While soup simmers, arrange baguette slices in single layer on baking sheet and bake in 400-degree oven until bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

5. To serve: Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set individual broiler-safe crocks on baking sheet and fill each with about 1 3/4 cups soup. Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyère. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.