Not Knots Recipes

GARLIC KNOTS

Steps:

• Combine warm water, yeast, and 1/4 tsp sugar and stir--allow to rest for 5-10 minutes until foamy.
• Pour yeast mixture into the bowl of an electric stand mixer (or into a large bowl if you plan on kneading by hand). Add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, warm milk, butter, egg and salt. Blend mixture until combined.
• While mixing on low speed, slowly add the flour, mixing until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 - 6 minutes. You may not use all of the flour called for!
• The dough should be soft, very slightly sticky when touched with a clean finger. It should be pulling away from the sides of the mixer.
• Grease a large bowl with cooking spray or a tiny bit of oil. Place the dough in the bottom of the bowl and turn it over once to coat all sides in oil (this helps keep it from drying out.)
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm place until double in size, about 1 hour.
• Gently punch the dough down. Add a little flour to your countertop or work surface (or spray it lightly with cooking spray).
• Grab a ball of dough, about the size of a golf ball, and roll it out into a long rope (about 1/2 inch thick and around 9 inches long). Tie the rope into a knot and place it on prepared baking sheet.
• Cover garlic knots loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise again in a warm place until double in size, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 400° F. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray or line it with parchment paper.
• Bake for 10-12 min. or until lightly golden on top.
• While they're baking, make the garlic sauce by combining all ingredients in a small bowl.
• After removing knots from oven, while still warm, brush them lightly with garlic sauce.

HOMEMADE GARLIC KNOTS

Steps:

• Whisk the warm water, yeast, and granulated sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes. *If you don't have a stand mixer, simply use a large mixing bowl and mix the dough with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula in the next step.
• Add the olive oil, salt, garlic powder, and half of the flour. Beat for 15 seconds, then add the remaining flour. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead the dough for 3-4 minutes (for a visual, watch me do it in the video above). The dough can be a little too heavy for a mixer to knead it, but you can certainly use the mixer on low speed instead. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger - if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading.
• Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray- just use the same bowl you used for the dough. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 1-2 hours or until double in size. (Tip: For the warm environment on a particularly cold day, heat your oven to 150°F (66°C). Turn the oven off, place the dough inside, and keep the door slightly ajar. This will be a warm environment for your dough to rise. After about 30 minutes, close the oven door to trap the air inside with the rising dough. When it's doubled in size, remove from the oven.)
• Use the video tutorial and step-by-step photos above as your guide for this step. When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Using floured hands on a lightly floured work surface, shape the dough into a 16×5 inch log. (5 inch width really isn't as important as the 16 inch length here, no need to be exact.) Using a very sharp knife, pizza cutter, or bench scraper, slice into 16 1-inch strips. Roll each strip into 8 inch ropes. Tie each into knots. You can tuck the two ends of the knots underneath the knot or leave them out, that's up to you. Arrange the knots on 2 lined baking sheets. (Either parchment paper or silicone baking mats work.)
• Lightly cover the shaped knots and let them rest for at least 30 minutes and up to 45 minutes. They will slightly puff up during this time, producing softer rolls.
• Towards the end of the rise time, preheat oven to 400°F (204°).
• Stir the melted butter, garlic, Italian seasoning, and salt together. Brush on the knots. Reserve some of the topping for when the knots come out of the oven.
• Bake for about 20-23 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and brush the warm knots with remaining garlic butter. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and/or parsley, if using.
• Serve plain or with marinara sauce for dipping.
• Cover and store leftover knots at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Freeze baked and cooled knots for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter, then reheat as desired. (I usually just microwave them for a few seconds.)

CAESAR SALAD

Steps:

• For the Caesar dressing: Add the mayo, anchovy paste, Dijon, Worcestershire, garlic, lemon zest and juice to a food processor. Pulse together, then add the egg yolks and blend.
• With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil to ensure the dressing is emulsified. Add the Parmesan, salt and pepper and blend again.
• For the salad: Wash and dry the hearts of romaine. Slice them across in 1-inch pieces and place them in a large bowl. Drizzle about half of the dressing over.
• Use a vegetable peeler to shave off a handful of large, thin slices of Parmesan. Add them to the lettuce.
• Give it a good initial toss, just so you can evaluate how much more dressing you need. Add more dressing and Parmesan to taste.
• Tip onto a serving platter.
• Place the Not-Knots on top and shave over more Parmesan.
• For the foolproof pizza dough: Sprinkle the yeast over 1 1/2 cups of warm (not lukewarm) water. Let stand for a few minutes.
• Combine the flour and salt in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Turn the mixer on low speed and drizzle in the oil until combined with the flour. Next, pour in the yeast mixture and mix until just combined and the dough comes together in a sticky mass.
• Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat the dough in the oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set it aside for at least 1 or up to 2 hours at room temperature, or store in the fridge until you need it, up to 4 days ahead. Bring the refrigerated dough to room temperature before using.
• For the garlic butter: Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-low heat, then add the garlic and salt. Cook for a couple of minutes to release the flavor, but don't let the garlic brown.
• For the not-knots: Grease a baking sheet with olive oil. Pinch off balls of the dough about 1 inch in diameter and roll into round balls, then place the balls on the oiled baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, combine the garlic butter and Parmesan in a pan and stir together over medium-low heat until melted. Pour into a metal bowl large enough to toss the balls in.
• Heat a deep pan of oil to 350 degrees F and fry the balls, stirring them so they cook evenly, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Remove the balls from the pan, then put them in the bowl with the Parmesan garlic butter and toss to coat them thoroughly.