Blue Cheese Pecan Bread

I hate confrontation -- of any sort. I am a really patient person to begin with and I hate to rock the boat so if something's bothering me, chances are you'll never know it. I don't like to get in fights; I don't like to upset people; and I don't like it when people upset me. And this includes really little things. For example, I live in the "house" part of a residence in Washington DC. Like most every single house around here, there's a basement apartment below me. For some reason, people come and go in the basement apartment, it's sort of bizarre, really. I signed the lease last July, and since that time there have been 4 people who've lived in the basement apartment. The newest person moved in this past weekend and for the past 48 hours his dog has been barking almost non-stop. I feel sorry for the guy (the dog) because I have to think that he's just exhausted from all of that barking. I'm a dog person, I love dogs of all sorts, so it didn't phase me for the first 36 hours. Lucy (my dog) was a freak while I was moving in and she whined every time she was left inside while we were moving all of my crap in from the truck. So, I told myself that the poor puppy is just wigging out because he's in new surroundings and he'll calm down soon. But that was 48 hours ago. This morning I started envisioning a spaceship (or an rpg even) with the doggie attached. I'm a little tired of the barking.

What does all of this have to do with Blue Cheese Pecan Bread? Not a whole lot except that Martha Hall Foose states that it's a perfect accompaniment to a bottle of wine, and it is. And right now, I would love some peace and quiet and a glass of wine. I made this bread last Saturday when the weather was absolutely warm and perfect and I knew that an outdoor cocktail hour was in my future. The best thing about this bread is that it's a quick bread so you can make it in no time at all. It takes less than an hour from beginning to eating and that's great. And, it really is great with wine and cheese. The recipe is from Screen Doors and Sweet Tea. I remember hearing about this cookbook last summer when it came out and thinking that it was probably overrated but it's not -- this cookbook rocks! There are fantastic anecdotes at the beginning of each recipe and the recipes themselves are awesome. I've made quite a few of them so far and they've all been hits.

You can also make Parmesan pecan bread as I did the first time that I made this (because I didn't have any blue cheese at that point). It doesn't look nearly as cool because the Parmesan is the same color as the bread but it tastes delicious. The bread itself has a hint of sweetness so the most important thing is to pick a nice, flavorful cheese that will stand out. I think that an aged cheddar would probably work really well, too.

I came across this recipe on one of my favorite blogs: A Yankee in a Southern Kitchen. She suggests that the recipe is best made into two loaves rather than one large loaf and that's how I've made it. I've also halved the recipe with great success.

Blue Cheese Pecan Bread
Makes 1 8" round loaf
Screen Doors and Sweet Tea

4 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
1/2 cup of sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, chilled
2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk
1 large egg, beaten
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture looks like oatmeal. Add the cheese and nuts, and toss to distribute in the flour. Make a well in the center and add 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk and the egg. Stir together with a sturdy spoon until you have a shaggy dough.
Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and kneed gently to bring together. Form into a slightly flattened 6-inch round. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush with the remaining one tablespoon buttermilk and sprinkle with pepper. With a serrated knife, cut a shallow X in the top of the loaf.
Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven to 375 degrees and bake for 35 minutes, or until the loaf is deep golden brown and sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom. Cool on a wire rack.

If you're like me then you can never wait for anything to cool completely. But that's ok here, just let it cool a little bit (as long as you can stand it) and then you can start slicing away. The margin notes in the cookbook suggest serving this bread toasted with white wine, sliced granny smith apples, and red grapes.