Orange & Date Bread

There must be a name for the breads that fall into the "Banana Bread Family" and its  cousins--you know, those dense, cake-like breads that could be muffins if you wish, but also make a stellar presentation cooked for 40-ish minutes in a loaf pan? I'm thinking specifically of Pumpkin Bread, Banana Bread, Nut Bread, Lemon Bread, and this recipe--a near and dear cousin--Orange and Date Bread.

This orange bread tastes like eating an orange-flavored cinnamon roll without the guilt.  The color is gorgeous--it actually looks orange in color--while also packing the natural citrus of a real orange.  Make as an accompaniment with coffee or tea, or as muffins for a Clearly Delicious baked good and treat.

Orange Bread
Like all of my favorite recipes, this orange bread comes from Elise Bauer over at Simply Recipes (you can find the original here).  Elise says to use "Seville Oranges" if available, but I prepared this dish with the fresh juice of a naval orange and its natural zest.  Also, I've made several minor changes: one to the glaze as I had no confectioner's sugar on hand, but brown sugar instead; two, I've used lemon flavored yogurt instead of plain yogurt; and third, I've included 1/2 cup dates instead of 1/2 cup yellow raisins. 


Ingredients:
* 1/3 cup butter (5 1/3 tablespoons), softened
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1-2 Tablespoons orange zest (fresh and preferably from the orange you'll be juicing)
* 2 cups all purpose flour (or whole wheat for a hardier flavor)
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1 cup yogurt (I used lemon flavored)
* 1/2 cup dates

Glaze
* 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed if you have it)
* 1/4 cup brown sugar

1.) Begin by zesting and juicing your orange.  Set aside.

2.) Preheat oven to 350F.  Cut butter into 1 inch cubes and grease a standard loaf pan (4x8 inches).

3.) Soften butter (30 seconds in microwave) and add to your Kitchenaid mixer.  On low speed, add 3/4 cup sugar, eggs, salt, baking powder, baking soda, orange zest, and cinnamon.

4.) Add yogurt and mix to integrate.  Slowly add 2 cups of flour and mix until batter has fully formed.  Stop mixer so that you can scrape down the sides of your bowl.  Turn mixer back on and integrate dates.

5.) Pour batter into greased loaf pan.

7.) Cook loaf at 350F for about 40 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean and the top is golden brown.

8.) Allow bread to sit for 1-2 minutes, loosen from pan, and transfer to a cooling rack.

9.) While bread is cooling, prepare the glaze: mix 1 tablespoon orange juice with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1/4 cup brown sugar using a small whisk or fork.

10.) Poke holes (using a toothpick) into the top of the bread.

11.) Pour glaze over the bread slowly so that the holes can absorb the glaze.

12.) Cut into 1 inch pieces and serve.  Makes 8-10.  Enjoy!

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Roast Leg of Lamb

Roast Leg of Lamb: very possibly one of my favorite dishes to make.  It's juicy, tender, and packs a fantastic natural flavor if prepared properly.  When shopping at Whole Foods Saturday, I found a great deal on leg of lamb: $7.99 a lb, deboned! Boy, was I happy.  I haven't had lamb in about...a year.  And I was ready to revisit with one of my favorite dishes.

The key to cooking lamb (whether leg of lamb, lamb rack, etc.) is that you DO NOT over-cook it.  Over-cooked lamb tastes completely different when done wrong--it's dry...tough...and just depressing.  So, in order to prevent overcooking this dish, make sure to marinade it with juicy ingredients the night before (white wine and orange juice for example).  Then, make sure to cook the lamb at the right temperature--roasts start off particularly high (450F), but then cook slowly at about 300F for 10-12 minutes per pound depending on the size of the roast.  A good rule of thumb is that the thicker the roast, the longer it may need to cook.  You can check the level of wellness by making a small incision to see the pinkness of the meat, or by using a meat thermometer (130-135F equals Medium-Rare).

Roast Leg of Lamb
This recipe comes from Elise Bauer over at Clearly Delicious and can be found here.  Elise prepares a six pound roast in her original recipe, but this recipe calls for the same quantity of marinade for a two pound roast.   Depending on your interest in flavoring, you can adjust the marinade accordingly.

INGREDIENTS

* 1/2 cup orange juice
* 1 cup white wine
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
* 2 Tbsp of fresh chopped rosemary or 1 Tbsp of dried rosemary
* 1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper
* 2 Tbsp olive oil

* Salt to taste

* 2 lb Leg of Lamb, boneless

1.) Prepare marinade and roast day before you wish to cook it: combine orange juice, white wine, garlic, thyme, rosemary, pepper, olive oil, and salt.  Elise suggests combining the mixture using a blender, but I found a whisk and some elbow grease to work just fine.

2.) Add roast to marinade.

3.) Cover, and refrigerate (preferably overnight).

4.) Preheat oven to 450F.  Place marinaded roast on a roast wrack.

5.) Cook for 20 minutes at 425F and decrease temperature to 300F.  Cook for an additional 10-12 minutes per pound (in this case: 20-24 minutes for a two pound roast).  Check to see the level of pinkness on the inside (you definitely want some pink meat) and check the temperature.  130-135F equals medium rare.

6.) Allow to sit for 10 minutes before carving.  Serve when Clearly Delicious and with a basic gravy, or mint jelly (Elise's suggestion!).

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