kitchen – Page 2

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Last year when I created my bridal registry I went back and forth on adding a Le Creuset Dutch Oven. The little dream-chef voice in the back of my head kept saying, “add it, add it!” I was hesitant because I knew it was a total splurge item and I already had a pretty full list. I wasn’t sure if I would receive it or if it would take the place of a many smaller items that I really needed. In the end, I decided to add the 5.5 qt Le Creuset Dutch Oven anyway. I knew there was a good chance that I would receive gift cards at my bridal shower and I could use them to buy this dutch oven. The month of our wedding my co-works threw me a bridal shower and bought me my dream shower gift!

Before adding this dutch oven to my registry I did do a good amount of research on it. I wondered if it would be worth the money and what size I should get. I also noticed that most of my favorite chefs on The Food Network and The Cooking Channel used them. It was this article that ultimately lead me to the 5.5 quart round dutch oven. Now that I have been using this Dutch oven for a while, I would say that it is a good size. We are currently a family of two and most of the meals I make in this Dutch oven yield enough for left overs. It’s not too small or too big. It seems like just the right size for me, but I don’t think this size would be big enough for “one pot meal” for a family of 5.

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My #1 reason to buy a Le Creuset Dutch Oven is because it is so versatile. I have used it to make soup, chili, chicken pot pie, all different types of sauce and pasta. I’ve also used it to sautee large batches of veggies to put in casserole type dishes. There are still so many dishes I want to try to. I would love to make bread or roast a chicken in it as well. It has really become my go-to pot to cook with.

I am a huge fan of oven safe cookware. It really gives you a lot more options when you’re preparing a meal. The Le Creuset Dutch oven is no exception; it’s totally oven safe. It transfers from stove top to oven with no problems (including the lid). I always start my chicken pot pie in on the stove and transfer it to the oven. I have also made really tasty bolognese sauce (blog in the works) which I put in the oven and was stunned with how well it turned out.

I love how easy to clean my Dutch oven is! I always let my Le Creuset {and all of my cookware} cool completely before I clean it. Although the website says it is dishwasher safe, I always hand wash it with soap and a soft sponge. On days that there is some stubborn, stuck on food, I will let it soak in soapy water for a while. With any new {and pricy} cookware, it’s a good idea to read the manufacture warranty before trying any cleaners other than dish soap and a sponge.

My Dutch oven has got quite a bit of use in the last five months. Although it has some minor scratching inside {you shouldn’t use metal spoons} it still looks great. I’ve burned sauce and chili in it, but it has cleaned well and left no signs of damage. It’s super heavy duty, heats evenly, so I feel a great quality of this product helps to justify the price tag. If this dutch oven isn’t gifted to you, then it’s definitely an investment, but I am confident I will be using this pot for many years to come.

Although I went with the 5.5 quart Dutch oven there are so many sizes and shapes to choose from. There are smaller options for smaller or single house holds and large size for bigger families. If I were to get a second Dutch oven I think I would go for a larger, oval shape to better fit chicken or roasts. I feel like there is a size {and color} for everyone!

St. Patrick’s Day is a few days away and I am beyond excited to share my gluten-free Irish soda bread recipe. If you follow me on Instagram, you may know that I have been testing out this recipe for weeks. I set a goal for myself to share this recipe in time for St. Paddy’s day. After many failed attempts, I was definitely getting discouraged. I swear I was close to tears this past Sunday when I finally got this recipe right. I am so proud of it. I called my mom right away with a mouth full of bread.

Irish Soda Bread is supposed to an easy, throw together recipe. Its made of a few simple ingredients that were considered common in Irish households when this bread first came to be. I also learned that traditional Irish soda bread is plain – no raisins! Now that I got my recipe down pat, I do think it is pretty simple, but I am not sure how common it is to find buttermilk in someone’s fridge.

I haven’t had Irish soda bread in about 7 years, so I wasn’t sure what it should taste like. I started off with Ina Garten’s Irish Soda Bread recipe {substituting all purpose flour for GF flour} and it did not turn out well. Ina is amazing, so I am sure her recipe turns out great with regular all-purpose flour. I also tried a recipe that I received from someone who came to my bridal shower. I am all for experimenting when I am cooking, but doing the same with baking was a big challenge. This was also my first attempt ever at Irish soda bread.

My first few attempts lead to very dense bread that hardly resembled Irish soda bread. I wasn’t sure if it was due to my oven {which is gas}, the flour or my technique. I first noticed improvements when I chilled the butter, buttermilk and egg. Next, I saw improvement the longer I chilled the dough before baking. But the biggest improvement came from my choice of flours. King Arthur’s Measure for Measure flour was a game changer! I highly recommend using this flour for my recipe. It totally changed the texture of my bread.

I had been using Bob’s Redmill 1:1 flour {which has worked great in other recipes} but I found that it was what cause my bread to be dense and not bake evenly. I changed up the baking temperature and bake time, but it never seemed to bake correctly. Regardless of the flour this bread bakes with a lot of cracks, so I didn’t find it necessary to score the dough with an “x” before baking it {I tried that too}.

If you try my recipe, I would love to know! Please leave a comment below or on my Instagram @redroseandhoney.

Disclaimer: I am participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. All opinions/recommendations are my own.

Gluten-free Irish Soda Bread

Time: 2hr 30mins
Difficulty: easy
Print

Ingredients

1 cup butter milk (very cold)
1 egg (very cold)
2 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed (very cold)
2 cups gluten-free flour blend
1/8 cup coconut sugar
5/8 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins

Directions

– Dice butter into small cubes (about 1/4 inch) and place in a small bowl.
– Beat egg in buttermilk with a fork.
– Place in butter and buttermilk mixture in the freezer for about 10 minutes to chill while you prepare dry ingredients. Do not let it freeze!
– In a stand mixer combine dry ingredients on low speed, adding raisins last.
– Slowly added buttermilk mixture and butter on low speed. Combine well, but don’t over mix. Dough should be sticky.
– Turn dough out onto floured surface (flour your hands too), lightly kneading dough to form a ball. Do not score with “x”
– Chill dough in fridge for at least 1 hour.
– Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
– Once oven is ready, place dough on a parchment lined baking sheet and place in oven.
– Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees then turn heat down to 350, baking for another 30 minutes.
– Test bread with toothpick. Once it comes out clean, allow bread to cool slightly then transfer to cooling rack. Allow bread to cool for at least an hour before cutting.
– Serve plain, with powdered sugar or with Irish butter.