Village Baking Co. Baguette

The Lyon

By Kim Cooper

Hungry yet? Just looking at this picture that our dear friend Pam took makes my mouth water! This weekend if you are out and about, swing by the nearest Sprouts store and grab a Village Baking Co. baguette, Plugra butter, deli ham and your favorite cheese and make The Lyon. Our Lyon sandwich was inspired by a little bakery that Clint and I stopped at on our way to a French Chateau right outside of Lyon, France in 2001. This is the most simple yet tasty sandwich....a great fast and easy lunch. We love to eat salt and vinegar chips with this sandwich or it is great with your favorite glass of red wine. You can't get anymore french than this.

Thanks, Pam, for taking these amazing pictures of our breads. http://www.amwzphotography.com/.

Village Baking Co. Caesar Salad

Not just your everyday Caesar Salad
By Kim Cooper


Today will be a very happy day to all of our caesar salad fans. For at last, you won't stop me in the grocery store or yell out your window in the Starbucks line and ask for the recipe! I will never forget how we landed this particular dressing recipe. It was 9:00 at night before we opened our little french bakery cafe in 2004 and Clint decided last minute that we needed to add a caesar salad to the menu. Clint's dad and his friend Alan Sanderson were working on a piece of equipment and Alan yelled across the kitchen in excitment that he had the best caesar salad dressing recipe in the world! He ran to the store, gathered all of the ingredients and made it right there on the spot. He wasn't lying....it was the best caesar salad we had ever tasted! So, thanks to Alan, we had devoted customers who were obsessed and still obsessed after five years of the infamous village baking co. caesar salad. Funny how things just always work out. This salad was one of our best selling lunch items. Enjoy this fresh and healthy alternative to lunch or dinner and add grilled chicken if you prefer.

Dressing:
4 cloves of garlic
1 cups of extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Kosher salt
3 anchovy fillets
1 tbs dijon mustard
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
freshly ground pepper
1 shallot
*add large egg yolk after blending above ingredients
Blend until creamy.
Pour over chopped romain lettuce, add village baking co. croutons and toss. Grilled chicken optional.

Homemade Croutons

Here is our recipe for homemade croutons for your healthy eating this new year. We will post some of our favorite sandwiches and salads later on this month to go along with your delicious croutons. Instead of buying unhealthy snacks for the kids loaded with unnatural ingredients, I give them croutons instead and they eat them up! We also serve them with a "spur-of-the-moment" wine-o'clock with friends! They are handy to have around in a glass container on the counter....looks cool and tastes great! Enjoy.

Ingredients
Day old Village Baking Co. bread of any kind
Olive oil
kosher salt
cayenne & garlic powder to taste

dried parsley

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut bread into cubes and place in a large bowl. Drizzle cubes with olive oil and seasonings. Mix well.
Spread seasoned bread onto a sheet pan and bake for about 15 minutes.

Homemade Christmas Granola

A Simple & Old Fashion Way to Say Merry Christmas
by Kim Cooper

At the Village Baking Co., we are all about fresh and simple. There is no better recipe, I believe, that is more simple and delicious than our homemade granola. During the days of our bakery cafe, every morning Tom & Larry would come in at the exact same time for their bowl of granola. I know they will be so excited to finally have the recipe. Thank you guys for your dedication and encouragement during those early "hours" of our business!

Since we started our business in 2006, Clint and I have left jars of homemade granola on the doorsteps of our neighbors and friends with well wishes for a Merry Christmas. It is now a tradition in our home as our kids gather around our kitchen table to help toss the granola in the jars and out the door for delivery. We are so happy to share the recipe with you. We like to serve the granola in milk or yogurt topped with fresh blueberries and strawberries (it is yummy just plain too). Enjoy!

Village Baking Co. Granola
8 cups old fashion rolled oats
4 cups sliced almonds
4 cups shredded coconut
1 cup honey
1 cup canola oil

toss well. bake at 350 for 45 minutes, turning mixture every 15 minutes until golden brown.

Biscochito- An Ancient Christmas Tradition

Biscochito is a crispy, buttery cookie flavored with anise & cinnamon. This cookie was originally developed by the first Spanish colonist of New Mexico. The state adopted the Biscochito in 1989 as the official State Cookie chosen to maintain traditional homebake cookery. Biscochito is known as a traditional cookie for the Christmas season and is eaten with morning coffee or milk (I love dunking mine in milk!), after lunch in early afternoon or dinner late at night. If you ever visit Sante Fe, you can find a fresh Biscochito paired with a glass of sherry or hot tea at the Inn of the Governors every day between 4:00-5:00 in the afternoon. Biscochito has become a Christmas tradition around our house as we keep our Santa cookie jar filled with star & angel Biscochito this time of year. It is also a favorite of Santa Claus on Christmas eve....he doesn't leave a crumb! Biscochito is a great substitute for the ordinary sugar cookie recipe. Enjoy!

Biscochito
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup Crisco
1 tsp baking powder
4 cups of flour
1 tbs anise seeds (crush to bring out flavor)

Combine eggs with cup of sugar. Add 1 tsp of vanilla & 1 cup Crisco. Mix ingredients thoroughly. Then add 1 tsp of baking powder & 4 cups of flour. Mix 1 tbs anise seeds (crushed) into dough. The dough should have consistency of pie crust dough. Roll out dough 1/4" thick. Cut cookies and dip in mix of cinnamon & sugar before baking. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.

Put that Old Bread to Good Use!

French Toast Bread Pudding

The old & Wise Ways of a Farm Kitchen....

By Kim Cooper

Don't you remember your grandparents saving everything from bread sacks to sour milk? Nothing went to waste on the farm where I was raised. My grandmother made the most delicious pies from sour milk! Nowadays, if bread is remotely dry, we have the tendency to immediately toss it. There are so many wise learning tools we can use from the teachings of our ancestors and one of these handy tactics is a delicious twist on breakfast. Below, you will find the most scrumptious recipe of French Toast Bread Pudding. Live-in things up in the kitchen while putting your old Village Baking Co. bread to yummy use. Enjoy!

French Toast Bread Pudding

1 white bread of any kind

8 large eggs

3 tbs honey

1 tbs orange zest

5 cups of 2% milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

Confectioner's sugar

Pure Maple syrup

Place sliced bread in two layers in a baking dish, cutting to fit the dish and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs, milk, honey, orange zest, vanilla and salt. Pour the mixture over the bread and soak bread completely. Place the baking dish in a large roasting pan. Add hot water, about an inch up the side of baking dish. Cover the roasting pan tightly with aluminum foil. Make sure the foil does not touch the pudding. Make a couple of slashes in the foil to allow steam to escape. Bake for 45 minutes at 350. Remove the foil and bake for another 45 minutes. When the pudding puffs up and the custard is set, remove from the oven and cool slightly. Sprinkle confectioner's sugar and serve in squares with maple syrup.

Pumpkin Soup

By Kim Cooper

Pumpkin Soup is a tradition at our family's ranch on Thanksgiving. We sip on a cup of Pumpkin soup as an appetizer before the meal. In our little bakery cafe, this recipe was a huge hit as well. Our customers were always a little hesitant at first and then couldn't get enough. Serving this soup in sourdough bread bowls adds a nice touch, especially for entertainment. We wanted to share this Delicious recipe as well as how to make a bread bowl..... from our home to yours. Happy Thanksgiving.

Village Baking Co. Pumpkin Soup
2 tbs. butter
1 (8 oz.) pkg. sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tbs flour
1 tbs curry powder
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups canned pumpkin
1 tbs honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp pepper
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

Melt butter in large saucepan; add mushrooms & onion, and saute until tender. Stir in flour & curry powder; gradually add chicken broth, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened.
Stir in pumpkin and next four ingredients; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for ten minutes. Stir in milk, and cook stirring constantly until thoroughly heated. Garnish with sour cream, chopped fresh chives if desired.

How to Make a Bread Bowl
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut about 1/2 inch off the top of the loaf with a serrated knife. (This will depend on the size of the loaf)
Remove bread on the inside, making it hollow. Leave about 1 1/2 inches thick on the inside.
Using your basting brush, brush olive oil on the inside of the bread bowl. This creates a seal, ensuring whatever you put in the bread bowl will not leak out.
Bake bread bowl on a baking sheet for 15 minutes, until golden on the inside.
Remove from oven, fill with desired soup or stew and serve!