oh baby it's cold outside

The wind's howling and the house is cold. The temp is 1c(34f) but feels like -7c(19f) with the wind which is gusting up to 69km/h(43m/h). The good news is we still have no snow on the ground. I spent the last few hour of daylight outside which added to my chill. Tasks included:

• cutting the hedge back to deter squirrels from the squirrel proof feeder......
  
• cutting the side door down to accept weather stripping
  
• putting some burlap around my climbing hydrangea, a new one after mine died last winter
  
• planting a few heirloom tulip bulbs out front.

So after all that I figured the best way to warm up the house and myself was to make:

Honey Buttermilk Bread w/ Sesame topping

followed by chicken filled to capacity with stuffing.

Here we have, roast chicken, stuffing, parsnip & apple side dish, mashed potatoes and chicken gravy. Things from the garden in tonight's dinner was celery, onions & parsnips.

Now if only my hard cider was ready.......

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Honey Buttermilk Bread w/ Sesame topping

1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 package of yeast
2 cups bread flour
3 teaspoons gluten (opinional but does make a nicer loaf)
3/4 teaspoon salt

Combine wet ingredients in a bowl, add yeast and proof. In your stand mixer bowl add all dry ingredients and mix to combine. Then add wet ingredients and mix until combined, add buttermilk or flour if dough does not form a ball. Continue mixing with the dough hook for 10 minutes. Then cover and rise until doubled. Punch down and press into a greased bread pan. Allow to rise again until the dough rises above the pan rim. Bake in a 420f (215c) oven until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Allow to cool before slicing, if you can.


Stuffing

tons of butter
celery
onions
poultry seasoning
cubed stale bread

Melt lots of butter in a pan and then add celery, onions and poultry seasoning. Once the veg has softened add cubed bread and toss until coated. If the bread looks dry, add more butter. Allow to cool. Once cold stuff into a cold bird and bake until the internal temperature reaches 185f (85C), a little warmer will not hurt. The best stuffing recipe!

Parsnips & Apple Side Dish

cubed parsnips
cubed apples
juice of one orange
1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon orange zest
couple cracks of pepper
pinch of ground clove
pinch of salt

Add all ingredients into a sauce pan and simmer covered until tender. Then you can serve as is or mashed.