#Baketogether Peasant Boule ~ Take Two: Soft Pretzels with Italian Sea Salt and Caramel Dipping Sauce

This is my second take on Abby Dodge's Peasant Boule recipe for January's #Baketogether (recipe can be found in her website as well as in her book, The Weekend Baker). I know I said that I would stick to the original recipe the next time I make this, but once again, I couldn't resist utilizing this recipe as a base for one of my favorite things to snack on -- soft pretzels! I can say that the results were amazing! They were so soft and really, really delicious especially when sprinkled with sea salt and dunked in homemade caramel sauce. They're quick to bake as well -- only took about 10-12 minutes at 450 F.

GCC: Asian Fried Chicken with Honey Ginger Sauce

This was a very delicious chicken dish that my family and I feasted on during our dinner last Friday. I've never encountered a chicken recipe that required brining prior to cooking (I have though with pork and beef) but I think this extra step made the chicken more tender, juicy and flavorful. I always feel somewhat nervous when a recipe calls for something to be deep fried (nothing pleasant about hot, boiling oil potentially splattering in front of you) but after reading the ingredients list of this chicken recipe, I knew that the sweetness of the honey, the heat and spiciness of the ginger, and saltiness of the soy sauce and brine would make this a wonderful chicken dish that my whole family will enjoy. And they did! What I especially love about this recipe is how crispy the skin remained even after mixing it with the sauce.

ABC: Glazed Cinnamon Rolls

Since I'd already jump-started my bread baking journey for 2012 with the #Baketogether ~ Peasant Boule a few days ago and now feeling somewhat confident handling yeast again because of it, I decided to make ABC's February recipe -- the Glazed Cinnamon Rolls (also one of Abby Dodge's delicious bread recipes found in her book, The Weekend Baker) -- slightly ahead of schedule. I already had all of the ingredients in my pantry anyway and since I'm having a few guests for brunch tomorrow, I thought that these rolls would be a lovely addition to our meal. That is, if none of us gets too tempted to finish all of them before the day ends!

#Baketogether Peasant Boule ~ Polenta-Crusted Honey and Molasses Bread

Abby Dodge, author of The Weekend Baker, has been holding a monthly #Baketogether over at her website where anyone can join in and bake the recipe posted for that specific month. What's especially nice about it is that she encourages participants to create their own versions of that recipe, which certainly makes for an interesting and exciting monthly affair. She decided to start off 2012's #Baketogether with the Peasant Boule, a circular, soft-crusted loaf of bread which is one of several yeasted delights you can find in her aforementioned book. I find the inclusion of a teaspoon and a half of baking powder to its flour mixture particularly intriguing.

RHC: Heavenly Vanilla Bean Angel Food Cake with Creme Anglaise and Mixed Berries

The 1/2-pound Tahitian vanilla beans that I ordered from Amazon just got here a few days ago so I decided to use it on the dessert I made for last Sunday's Gutsy Cooks Club dinner. I chose to make Rose Levy Beranbaum's Heavenly Vanilla Bean Angel Food Cake from her book Rose's Heavenly Cakes (can you tell this is my favorite cake book? LOL) which is the vanilla version of her Chocolate Tweed Angel Food Cake. The cake makes use of the scraped seeds of one Tahitian vanilla bean that you process with half of the sugar (yum!) and since I was left with around 16 egg yolks because of this cake, I decided to pair it with Creme Anglaise, from RLB's Chocolate Raspberry Trifle recipe (also from the same book) which is flavored with even more vanilla beans! I then added blueberries and raspberries, the tartness of which made everything perfectly balanced.