MILTON'S BREAD RECIPES

Steps:

• Knead for 8 minutes. Let rise in the oven (turned off) with a pan of hot boiling water on the bottom for ~60-65 minutes. Portion it into two even loaves (I use a scale), shape them to fit a lightly oiled loaf pan. Boil some more water and replace the water in the oven and let the loaves rise for ~45 minutes, then bake at 375F for 30 minutes. If you want a lighter crust, wrap aluminum foil over the loaf pans after about 20 minutes of baking.
• Or of course, skip all that and use a bread machine (you might want to halve the recipe though).

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add mirliton, and boil until tender, about 45 minutes. Drain, cool, and peel. Cut in half, remove seeds, and cut into cubes.
• When the mirliton are almost done, bring another pot of water to a boil. Add shrimp, and cook for about 5 minutes, until pink. Drain shrimp, reserving the water for later. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry onion and garlic in the oil until soft. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish. Add the shrimp, ham, and cubed mirliton. Beat the egg in a small dish with a tablespoon of the water from the shrimp; pour into the baking dish. Mix in the bread crumbs, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper until evenly blended. If it seems a little dry, add a little more water from the shrimp. You have the choice to freeze, refrigerate, or bake at this point. Sprinkle some more breadcrumbs on top if desired.
• Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown on top.