Israeli style eggplant (twice cooked)

September 14, 2017 by Marie Leave a Comment

Israeli eggplant, I love you

In addition to eggplant, I am absolutely obsessed with hummus. So much so that I’m always looking to see if there is a recipe out there that trumps my favorite humus recipe. So far, there is not such a recipe, I’m very happy to say! But while searching for such a recipe, I came across some other recipes that looked incredible. This Israeli eggplant was one of them!

It’s an easy enough recipe to make, although it can be a bit time consuming, so save this one for those days when you’re not pressed for time (I know, I know, can be rare!). Open a bottle of wine, and just enjoy cooking.

Charring the eggplant

After thickly slicing the eggplant into rounds, you will salt it and let it sit over a paper towel lined cooking sheet or a wire rack for about 30 minutes. Then start frying. Now according to the recipe, you must really blacken the eggplant to the point where it is charred/burned. As you can see, I didn’t quite reach that point but I’ll be more adventurous next time.

In the book with the original recipe, the cooked eggplant slices are blaaaaack. The eggplant was sliced a little thicker than I sliced mine so most of the eggplant (ie, the interior) is not charred. Since I sliced mine thinner, charring to the point of blackening would have left me with too much burnt eggplant. So, if you are gonna go for the black, make sure your eggplant slices are 1/2 inch or so.

Part 2 of twice cooked eggplant

After cooking the eggplant and removing it from the pan, you will cook the remaining vegetables (onions, red peppers, garlic). Cook these to the point of soft and tender goodness, then you will add back the eggplant and cook it again. It will look as shown in the first picture

Finishing the eggplant

To finish, squeeze some fresh lemon juice and top with chopped parsley.

I served mine with pocketless pita (ohhhh yum!!)

Israeli eggplant

A twice cooked, Israelis-style eggplant perfect for eating with flatbread or pita.

Ingredients

2 eggplant (medium), washed and cut into 1/2 round slices
2 tbsp kosher salt
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice, fresh

Instructions

Sprinkle eggplant slices with salt, and arrange on top of paper towels or on top of wire rack. Let sit for 30 mins
In a large fry pan, add 6 tablespoons of olive oil (add more if needed to thinly coat bottom of pan) and heat until the oil is shimmering but not smoking. Over medium heat, fry eggplant slices until they are nearly charred (about 10 minutes per side)
Remove the eggplant and place on plate. Set aside. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the now empty pan and then added the red pepper, onion, and spices. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes
Add the eggplant and vinegar and cook until the vinegar has cooked off. Mash the eggplant while cooking with a wooden spoon. This step takes about 8 minutes.
Remove from heat and add parsley and lemon juice. Serve warm or cold.

Recipe Notes

I like to serve this with flatbread

italian long hots (mesilla peppers)

September 8, 2017 by Marie 2 Comments

Italian long hots – but what kind of pepper are they anyway?

Oh, I really love these peppers! These peppers are pretty popular in the Philadelphia area. Know simply as “Italian Long hots”, for years, I would wonder what type of pepper the Italian long hot peppers really were. Then, one day, a few years ago, I was at my local store picking up some vegetable plants for my garden and I saw the answer: Italian long hots are called Mesilla peppers.

A quick search on Google confirmed that Italian long hots are indeed Mesilla peppers.

These are pretty easy to find at certain local stores but I’d imagine outside of the Philadelphia area, they might not be as easy to find? Growing them is super easy! They don’t require a lot of water, just plenty of sunshine. I bought two plants this year and they yielded about 2 dozen peppers each.

Mesilla peppers: Heat index

So, it’s been said that eating Italian long hots is like playing Russian roulette because some are milder than others. That’s pretty much true in my opinion but I will aways pull out some of the seeds if I don’t want too much heat. According to the Scoville heat index, the Italian long hots have a heat index of 4500, which is similar to that of Jalapeno peppers. If you seed Jalapeno peppers, they are not that hot and the same holds true for Italian long hots.

Cooking and serving Italian long hots

I usually cook long hots in a pan on top of the stove, using a little salt and olive oil. Pretty simple. This time I opted to put the peppers in the oven after drizzling with olive oil and salt. Easy!

Serve long hots with bread and cheese, or (my preference) as a topping to your favorite sandwich. My favorite way to eat these is stuffed in a veggie hoagie (roasted eggplant, roasted red peppers, broccoli rabe and provolone cheese). They are also good on roast beef or roast pork sandwiches.

Italian long hots

Ingredients

12 Italian long hots
3 tbsp olive oil
salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Place peppers on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt
Roast until the peppers soften up, about 15 to 20 minutes
Cool and serve with bread and cheese or as a topping for sandwiches (you may want to seed the peppers before eating to reduce the heat, depending on your tolerance for spicy foods)
These may be covered with olive oil and stored in the refrigerator for later use

real fruit pops

August 21, 2017 by Marie Leave a Comment

It’s been a while! Summer has been going by so quickly and it’s nearly time for back to school. I will definitely miss summer. These real fruit pops scream summer to me, and the best thing about them is they are extremely easy to make. As in 5 minutes or less of hands on time!

I purchased fresh fruit already cut up as well as a kiwi that I cut up and a small bottle of fresh coconut water.

Fill your popsicle molds with the fruit, pour in the coconut water and place in the freezer until partially frozen (for me this took about 3 hours or so). Then insert popsicle sticks, return to freezer and freeze overnight.

The next day, remove them from mold (I turn upside down and run warm water over the bottom of mold).

These are only mildly sweet (like real fruit!). If you like a sweeter popsicle, add sweetened coconut water or consider tossing fruit with sugar before molding.

Frozen Fruit pops

These are extremely easy to make when you buy a small package of fresh precut fruit.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

1 package pre-cut mixed fruit (I used mixed berries, mango)
1 kiwi, sliced
1 small bottle coconut water

Instructions

Fill popsicle molds with fruit and then pour in coconut water
Freeze until partially frozen (about 3 hours) then insert popsicle stick
Continue to freeze overnight

Garlic knots with pizza dough

June 30, 2017 by Marie Leave a Comment

Who doesn’t love garlic bread? I know I do! These little garlic knots are so easy to make, and are perfect for nights where a large dinner salad is the main dish.

I made these with leftover pizza dough, straight outta the bag:

Take the dough out of the bag, and roll it out in a square (about 1/4 inch thickness) and then cut like so:

Cut again, so that you have 16 total pieces:

Now take each piece, and roll them up as you would roll a croissant, starting from the wide end. After they are all rolled, they will look like so:

I can’t remember if the photo above was taken before or after rising but you should allow the knots to rise for about 1 or 2 hours (depending on temperature of your kitchen) and then bake them.

After baking, toss them in a bowl with olive oil, parmesan cheese, minced garlic, and dried basil

Garlic knots

makes 16 garlic knots from pizza dough.

Cook Time 12 minutes

Servings 8

Ingredients

1/4 cup Olive oil
3 tbsp Minced garlic
1 tbsp Dried basil
1/4 to 1/2 cup Grated parmesan
1 pound pizza dough

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Remove pizza dough from refrigerator and let warm up to room temperature for easier handling
Roll out dough into a square (doesn't matter what size but it should be about 1/4 inch thick)
Cut the square into 16 pieces (see blog post) (I used a pizza cutter)
Roll each piece of the 16 pieces up, as if you were making a croissant
Place on a baking sheet or pizza pan, and let rise for an hour or two, depending on kitchen temperature (less during summer, more during the winter)
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned
Remove from oven, and when cool enough to handle, place knots into a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil, parmesan cheese, basil, and garlic (all to taste).
Toss the knots around in the bowl, until the knots are all coated with the topping and serve warm.

Recipe Notes

Topping amounts are estimates - I don't measure; adapt to your tastes (if you like garlic, use more, etc)

My Favorite Hummus

June 20, 2017 by Marie Leave a Comment

Prior attempts at hummus

I’ve blogged about hummus before, but since then, I’ve tried a few different tricks to get my hummus smooth and creamy. Initially, my attempts at hummus focused on adding flavor like roasted peppers or in this more recent version, pesto. Since then, I’ve been more focused on improving the texture, which I think can make a good hummus an outstanding hummus.

Over at Smitten Kitchen, Deb wrote about peeling chickpeas (or popping them out of their skin) to add creamy goodness to her ethereally smooth hummus (don’t you love her recipe titles!). And yes, I have tried that! If you are making a small batch and using canned chickpeas, it isn’t that difficult. And it works. Provided that you have the patience, which I’ll admit, I’m sometimes lacking.

Origins of this recipe

But the current recipe comes from a book that a fellow bread-loving blogger, Karen (from Karen’s Kitchen Stories) recommended a while back. I had (and still have) visions of baking my way through a bread book and Karen recommended the book, Hot Bread Kitchen, named after the bakery in East Harlem that employs low-income minority women and uses recipes that have been passed down by generations of women. The bakery teaches life changing skills to these women and invests in educating and training workers.

I’ve made a few breads from the book and then noticed that they had an interesting recipe for hummus.

Secrets of a good hummus

At this point in my cooking life, I’ve come to realize that many successful recipes are about technique as much as anything else such as fresh ingredients. And for hummus, technique seems to be key.

As the book goes on to explain, an important part of making hummus (and this is using dried chickpeas) is that you must cook the beans with a bit of baking soda after soaking the beans. You will also skim away as much skin as you can, but you don’t have to go crazy. The final step is using ice cold water to thin out the consistency and add creaminess.

I ended up making a whole bag of chickpeas and then spitting the batch into two: one plain and one pesto-flavored (using pre-made pesto)
I love this hummus and have used it as an easy lunch when rolled into a pita, or as a dip for a fast snack with cucumber slices or even chips.

My Favorite Hummus

Author Marie@FeelingFoodish

Ingredients

1 cup dried chickpeas (230 grams)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup tahini (55 grams)
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 large garlic clove , minced
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup ice cold water (55 grams)
extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling on top

Instructions

Place chickpeas in a large pot and cover with cold water (by at least 4 inches/10 cm) and let sit at least 6 hours or overnight
Drain and rinse the chickpeas, add back to the pot, and then sprinkle with the baking soda
Place the pot with the chickpeas over high heat and stir until the skins start to break and the chickpeas dry out (about 4 to 5 mins)
Add enough cold water to cover the chickpeas by 4 inches and then bring to a boil
Reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the chickpeas are tender
As they cook, skim and discard skins that float to the top
Drain the chickpeas and rinse with cold water. Pick out and discard any loose skins, but don't go crazy here.
Add the chickpeas to a food processor and pulse until a thick paste forms. Add tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and salt and then process for about 2 minutes
Then while the machine is on, add the water slowly and process until the hummus is completely smooth, about 2 minutes.
Taste the hummus and adjust seasoning to taste.
Serve drizzled with olive oil.

our carnival pride vacation

May 24, 2017 by Marie Leave a Comment

Spring break on the Carnival Pride

It’s been a few weeks since our family vacation on the Carnival Pride .

I’ll start by saying we were all very much looking forward to this vacation aboard the Carnival Pride for many different reasons. Some of us needed a break from work and others needed a break from school and the challenges that go along with being a teenager. This cruise proved to be just what we all needed, although I was a bit skeptical beforehand. You see, we had only been on one other cruise, a Disney cruise, when the kids where much younger, and although it was a good cruise, I much preferred the Land part of the Disney Land and Sea vacation. This was probably because I really enjoy the Disney theme parks and also because I preferred the Epcot restaurants over the cruise food/Disney BBQ on their private island, but I digress. Back to Carnival…

In a nutshell, I thought that the cruise was extremely relaxing. And you know what? It was so refreshing to actually come home from vacation completely relaxed. Sad to say, that doesn’t usually happen! Do you ever need a vacation after your vacation?

There were a lot of cruises to choose from, and we ended up on the Pride out of Baltimore MD based on a recommendation from my cousins who are long-time travel agents.

Photo above: early morning, Mermaid towel on Lido deck

Choosing to Sail on the Pride

We decided on the Carnival Pride because we live within driving distance to the port in Baltimore (we didn’t want to fly into a port). We also liked that the Pride is a smaller ship with a capacity of ~2100 passengers. This was important because I. do. not. love. crowds. Especially on vacation 🙂 In retrospect, we lucked out choosing the Pride because we learned that many newer ships are built with a goal of cramming as many staterooms onboard as possible, and things like stateroom verandas are either disappearing altogether or getting so small that you cannot even stretch your legs while relaxing outside.

Photo above: Relaxing on our cabin’s veranda, complete with two chairs and a small table

The extended veranda in our stateroom was simply awesome. Personally, being able to read on the veranda, or enjoy a glass of wine or breakfast out there was a highlight of the trip.

Photo above: View from buffet area, steps leading to David’s Steakhouse

An Overview of the food

As someone who loves cooking and eating, it’s only natural that I was wondering how the food would be on this ship. Cruises are often sold as vacations where food and drink are plentiful. But I couldn’t help and wonder if this food would be mediocre at best? After all, the crew is cooking for over 2000 people. Despite my doubts, I’m happy to say that we were pleased overall with the food.

There are several choices for food, most of which are included in the price of your cruise. Alcoholic drinks and sodas are extra, as are the Steakhouse (which we tried and loved) and the Sushi restaurant (which we did not get a chance to try).

David’s steakhouse

At the time of this writing (2017), the cost for dinner at the Steakhouse was $40 per adult – not bad for a 3-course, high quality meal. We made reservations for the first evening at sea, and received a free bottle of wine as a perk for booking on the first night.

Photo above: evening, inside David’s Steakhouse

The views in the Steakhouse were absolutely beautiful and I was very pleased to spend the first night at sea enjoying the views from this part of the ship. I recommend going to the Steakhouse around sunset so you can see both daytime (below) and evening views (above). As you can see, the atmosphere was beautiful, and the food was top notch.

Photo above: sunset, David’s steakhouse (atrium goes from pink during daytime to purple at night)

I loved the ombre vista, courtesy of the evening sky and sea. Now, that’s not something that I get to see too often!

Photo above: evening, David’s steakhouse, ocean views

On to the food…in addition to the complimentary wine, we also each received complimentary mini burgers. Isn’t that cute? The tablecloth and dishes were drenched in pink, reflecting the pink atrium overhead.

As one would probably expect, there were many choice for steak. We ordered a petite filet, which was tender and delicious.

Photo above: steak dinner, David’s Steakhouse

And for non-meat eaters, there is also seafood. This was Sea Bass – also very good and the plating was beautiful as well.

Photo above: Sea Bass, David’s Steakhouse

The main dining room and the buffet area

Meals included in the price of the cruise were those served in the main dining room during breakfast (port days) or brunch (sea days) and during dinner (every night). The menu changed daily – I wish I had taken some snapshots of the menu, but alas there are none to show. To give you an idea, each evening, there were usually about 5 different choices for the main meals (some choice of red meat, pasta, seafood, chicken, and the vegan meal seemed unchanged – an Indian inspired lentil dish from what I recall). Also on the menu were a selection of appetizers, salads, and a daily soup. Fear not, dessert is also included daily, although we usually passed.

Photo above: Heading into the main dining room for dinner. The upper level is for “anytime dining” while the lower level is for fixed time dining (early followed by late seating)

A little known fact that I read prior to cruising is that you can order whatever you’d like at dinner. In other words, if you want 3 appetizers instead of one main meal, you may have it. If you can eat 2 dinners, order away. Typically, people assume they are only able to order a first course (app, salad, or soup) followed by the main dish and then dessert. A few nights we ordered, soup, salad, dinner but skipped desserts.

We opted for “anytime dining”, which means you can show up anytime the dining room is open for dinner; despite this, we found ourselves showing up about the same time (545 PM/early) every night for dinner so that we could catch a comedy or other show by 8PM-ish.

Photo above: View of fixin bar from the BlueIguana Cantina, the mexican quick serve station on the Lido deck

The quick serve food was mostly located on the lido deck. Nearest to the pool, you will find the BlueIguana Cantina (counter service), Carnival Pride’s version of Mexican food, and Guy’s Burgers. At BlueIguana, I had a salad one day and soft tacos another day. This is a good option for eating lean protein with beans and grilled vegetables. They had all the usual options (rice, beans, meats, shrimp, steak, chicken). Always a line, and a good option. I read somewhere that the breakfast burrito was good, but I never had the chance to try one.

Guy’s burgers were amazing.

Photo above: Juicy burger with fries, Guy’s Burger’s on Lido deck

Guy’s burgers! Okay, so not the healthiest choice, but hey it’s vacation, riiiiight? Let me just say that my mouth still waters when I look at this burger. There were about 4 or 5 different choices for burgers, mostly related to different toppings, single vs double etc. Definitely a splurge.

The Pride’s Pizza Pirate

Photo above: pepperoni pizza, Pizza Pirate on Lido deck

Heading away from the pool area, there was large indoor area for dining that included a few buffet stations including pizza. So I guess you’re not surprised that I just had to check out the cruise pizza since I love making pizza. This pizza station was always busy, and was open very late (24 hours, I think). I liked their pizza, and would give it a 7 out of 10 rating. Each serving was a half of a small/medium-ish pizza.

The pizza place also served a pretty good Caesar salad, which complemented the pizza well. Extra points for serving salad with pizza, always!

Photo above: Caesar salad, Pizza Pirate on Lido deck

And here’s a view of the pizza oven, which I spied through the faux brick oven facade…I’m guessing this is the best choice for baking pizza at sea? I’m no expert. The Pizza Pirate is located on the Lido deck near the inside seating with the other buffet stations.

Photo above: Pizza oven, Pirate Pizza on Lido deck

The other buffet stations located on the Lido deck, which were part of the larger indoor restaurant area (all counter service, self serve) included a salad bar; a deli station (hot dogs, turkey clubs, Reuben sandwiches, etc); a themed station (changed daily, examples included Carribean, Italian, Thanksgiving/American, etc); a dessert area with slices of various desserts; and a beverage area (coffee, tea, sodas, and iced teas). Of these, I thought the deli station was pretty good, but the themed station was never a hit for me. Also, the breakfast in the buffet was my least favorite; it seemed that the eggs were boxed and I’m not a pancake/waffle person. If you have small kids, this may be a good option for you since it’s quick. The main dining room also served breakfast, which was better quality in my opinion. So, if you have time, head to the main dining room for breakfast!

The ship

Photo above: early evening, Carnival Pride outside deck

Although I’ve only been on one other cruise, and so my opinion may be of limited value, I thought the ship was nice. I loved that it is on the “smaller” side as far as cruise ships go.

Here are a few snapshots taken throughout the ship. The views of the ocean were my favorite parts of the ship. Although I don’t have photos to show this, there were many large windows throughout the ship, so it was easy to take in gorgeous views throughout the ship.

Photo above: view of lobby from elevator, Carnival Pride

Photo above: Lido deck sail away party

Photo above: early morning, cloudy day, towel animal party on Lido deck

Photo above: afternoon, view on deck 10 (one floor above Lido) facing Aft

Photo above: View of Carnival Pride’s lobby, deck 2 (there was usually live entertainment on the stage just above the bar)

Photo above: View of Carnival Pride’s lido deck, main pool. This must have been early in the day as it was usually pretty full.

The ports

And of course, we can’t talk about the cruise without showing you photos of the ports. The first port was Grand Turk, where we spent some time at Margaritaville.

Photo above: view from Margaritaville, Grank Turk

This port was very convenient. Basically, the boat docks on the pier within a very short walk to a beautiful beach and a small shopping area including a Ron Jon’s Surf Shop. There is a very large pool at Margaritaville that is free to sit by, had plenty of seating during our visit (there were 2 cruise ships docked that day) and enjoy if you get tired of the beach. We spent time at both the beach and the pool.

Photo above: Grand Turk beach

The water at both ports was crystal clear and the most beautiful shade of blue!

Photo above: Half Moon Cay, Carnival’s private island

Half Moon Cay was our favorite port because it was a longer port day and it felt less crowded. We walked down the beach to the area where the large ship-like building was (a bar?) because there was music playing and it was less crowded. This also happened to be very close to where lunch was served.

The BBQ lunch included a large variety of foods, and it didn’t disappoint. I expected the usual hot dog/hamburger fest but we also got lots of fruit, salad, beans, rice, and jerk chicken too.

Photo above: Half Moon Cay, Carnival’s private island

The sunsets and ocean views

If you’re into photography, you will love to cruise since the sunsets are pretty amazing.

Photo above: sunset at sea, Carnival Pride

We had a little fun practicing silhouette photography one night.

Photo above: sunset at sea, Carnival Pride

Photo above: My daughter playing photographer, posing mom and dad (aka me and hubby) in the sunset….

Photo above: Happy feet, Carnival Pride

We can’t end without a recipe, so follow this link for Carnival’s warm melting chocolate cake. My daughter’s loved it!

italian easter bread

April 8, 2017 by Marie 1 Comment

Italian Easter bread is one of my favorite holiday recipes

I love this bread! My mother has been making this Italian easter bread for years and years – since I was a little girl. I always looked forward to it around Easter. To this day, it’s still a special tradition during the Easter season along with other specialities such as Easter pie and Italian rice pie, which I hope to post about one of these years.

Much like other traditional Italian recipes, every family has their own recipe for Easter bread. But, overall, it is similar: a yellowish, sweet bread that is similar to brioche or challah, but sweeter.

One recipe in particular seemed special to me, and that was a recipe from my cousin’s boyfriend’s family in South Philly. When I was younger, my cousin was dating a guy whose mom made the BEST easter bread ever because it was light as a feather. We were absolutely dying to have the recipe but you know these things aren’t always possible, especially in some Italian families where family recipes might not always be shared. Yup, it’s true.

Imagine our surprise when she shared this one! It’s really not terribly unique when it comes to ingredients but I will say that the techniques shared here are what will get you the best Easter bread of your dreams, a light, airy, and tender crumb.

The secret to great Italian Easter Bread

So, you wanna know the secrets to this bread? First of all, make sure it’s really Easter bread. Italian easter bread is high-ish in sugar and fat. Sorry, but that’s what makes it good, okay?

Okay here we go: (1). Double kneading or a double rise. After mixing, you will let the dough bulk rise for 2 to 3 hours (it’s a heavy dough, loaded with oil and sugar, so it takes some time for this dough to rise), then you punch it down and let it bulk rise again for 2 to 3 hours. After the second bulk rise, punch it down again, form your final loaf shape, and then let the loaves rise in the fridge overnight if time is short (which it probably will be after potentially 6 plus hours of rise time. (2). Be very careful about not adding too much flour. You want to create the lightest dough possible but it shouldn’t be sticky. (3). Don’t overbake it! Overbaking it will dry it out. This should be baked at a lowish temperature. Got it? Good, cause it’s gonna be great!

I think this bread is so worth the effort. Leftovers make a great base for French toast!

A note about the eggs

I never knew this until this year because I never decorated the bread with eggs, but you don’t have to precook the eggs that are used for decoration. Simply use an uncooked egg that has been dyed and place it in the center of the formed loaf. To avoid the bleeding that I experienced (as shown in the photo), make sure your dyed egg is completely dry and ensure that the egg wash that you brush your loaf with is completely dry too. My mistake was placing the egg on top of the loaf immediately after brushing the loaf with an egg wash. Ah, well – it was still delicious!

And of course, no bread post would be complete without the crumb shot. See above ↑↑↑↑

5 from 1 vote

italian easter bread

Makes 4 loaves of light and tender Italian Easter bread (about 800 grams per loaf)

Author Marie@FeelingFoodish

Ingredients

6 eggs
2.5 cups granulated sugar
1.5 cups warm water
1.5 cups warm milk
grated lemon zest from 2 lemons
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups oil (vegetable or canola)
4.5 teaspoons of instant yeast (2 envelopes)
10 to 12 cups of all purpose flour
egg wash (1 beaten egg with 1 tablespoon of water added)

Instructions

Note that this makes 4 loaves of bread, so you may want to make half of the recipe to start.
In a small bowl, add the yeast to warm (but not hot!) milk and water, stir, and set aside
In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy (several minutes)
Add the lemon zest, extract, and oil to the egg-sugar mixture and beat until combined.
Add the milk, water and yeast mixture to the batter and mix until combined.
Begin adding the flour slowly. Add only enough flour to make a very soft dough. Beat very well to allow the flour to be absorbed and avoid adding too much flour. You should aim for a dough that is soft like your earlobe.
Consider weighing the flour instead of measuring it in cups (grams per 1/4 cup usually listed on the flour nutrition information)
Place dough in large bowl or dough bucket, cover, and allow to rise until double (2 to 3 hours)
Punch down the dough and let it bulk rise again for 2 to 3 hours.
After the dough has risen a second time, punch it down again and form your loaves.
To form the loaves, begin by dividing the dough according to how many loaves you'd like to make (2 pieces if you made 1/2 the recipe or 4 pieces if you made the whole recipe).
For each loaf, you will then further divide each piece into 3 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope that is about 1 foot long and then braid the pieces together. You can tuck the edges under and leave the loaf long or roll the braid to form a round shaped loaf.
If you are decorating with eggs, dye your eggs, and allow them to dry
Place loaves on parchment lined baking sheets, and brush them with the egg wash.
Once the egg wash is dried, press the dyed easter eggs on top of the loaves.
Cover loaves loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
When you are ready to bake, take loaves out of the refrigerator and heat oven to 325 degree F
Place loaves in center of oven.
Baking until golden - for me, this was ~40 minutes (make sure to begin checking loaves at 20-25 minutes and cover loosely with aluminum foil if they are browning too quickly)
Enjoy!