sourdough IV

One thing I realized after reading sourdough instructions is that you have to:

1. discard half before feeding
2. add 1:1 flour/water (usually between 1/2 and 1 cup each) every 8 hours or so
   
3. repeat for 5 days or so

Then "Seymour" starter will be at full strength, and really be beer-smelling and active! As sourdough goes thru its lifecycle, the starter will almost double in volume on its own. Last feeding should be about 8 hours before you make the bread below. So here we go again!

TRICK: let bread rise in warm oven. Preheat the oven for 1 minute at 350 degrees, then shut off. It will get to a nice 85-90 degree temp that is perfect for dough to rise.

16oz (1lb) bread flour
10.5oz starter (nice, bubbly and stringy, like wet dough)
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup WARM water (no more than 100 degrees, though; microwave 1 cup for 15-20 sec on HIGH)

1. Combine all in mixer bowl with dough hook. Knead for 5 minutes on low. Dough should come together and be pretty soft, if a little sticky.
   
2. Turn in oiled bowl, wrap in plastic wrap and leave in warm place to rise for 2-4 hours, until doubled.
   
3. Fold into 3rds, like a letter, then again into 3rds the other way. Put fold sides down back in bowl, and let rise 1 more hour.
   
4. Shape into boule, and let rest on pizza peel dusted with cornmeal for 2 hours
5. At 1hr40min into last rise, preheat oven to 450F
6. Dust with flour, slash loaf with serrated knife (scallops worked nicely!)
   
7. When putting in oven, pour 1/2 cup hot water broiler pan on top rack
   
8. Bake at 450 for 25 minutes on pizza stone (it was on bottom rack).
9. Remove from oven, check temp at bottom of bread with instant read thermometer. Should read 200 degrees to be done.
   
10. Cool on wire rack for 30 minutes.
    

Pros:

• Absolutely beautiful! Rose and doubled perfectly, scallops looked gorgeous
  
• Airy "crackle" of bread when removed
• Excellent top crust: 1st time the crust blistered! Thin, brown, and crisp
• Good spongy texture; even more open/fluffy than last time, soft and chewy
  
• Slightly more pronounced sourdough tang, almost like a french bread
  

Cons:

• Texture still too fine for my tastes; would like to get more big bubble, uneven texture
  

For next time:

• Reduce amount of water for steam slightly...I may have used 1 cup during this recipe. Keep it at 1/2 cup maximum.
  
• Try one of these two:
• increasing water to 3/4 cup; it will be a wetter dough, which is useful for more uneven, big hole crumb
  
• folding during 1st rise; every hour, do a tri-fold, letter style.
  

sourdough again

Here we go again, sourdough is currently on its 1st rise:

1 lb. bread flour
5oz starter (nice, bubbly and stringy, like wet dough)
0.25oz kosher salt (about 3/4 tbsp.)
1 tbsp. sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp salt

1. Combine all in mixer bowl with dough hook. Knead for 2 minutes on low.
2. Turn in oiled bowl, wrap in plastic wrap and leave in warm place to rise for 4 hours.
3. Refrigerate overnight.
   
4. Shape into boule, and let rest on pizza peel dusted with cornmeal for 1 hour
5. 20 minutes into 2nd rise, preheat oven to 450F
6. Dust with flour, slash loaf with serrated knife
7. When putting in oven, pour 1/2 cup hot water broiler pan on top rack
   
8. Bake at 450 for 25-30 minutes on pizza stone (it was on bottom rack)
   
9. Cool on wire rack for 30 minutes.
   

Pros:

• Excellent top crust: thin, brown, and crisp
• Good spongy texture; more open/fluffy than last time, soft and chewy
  
• Extremely light sourdough tang, almost like white bread
  
• Airy "crackle" of bread when removed
• Would probably work pretty well with grandma's bread
  

Cons:

• Top crust didn't look tightly stretched, a little "gappy", but this is fairly minor
  
• Bottom crust burned a little
• Still not enough airy texture; looking for bigger, uneven bubbles
• Could be a little more tangy; probably using more starter would do
  

For next time:

• Slightly higher on rack (1 from bottom, instead of bottom rack) on pizza stone
• 25 minutes cooking time
• Use more starter (10.5oz, based on King Arthur Pain Levain recipe, which is 3:2 flour-to-starter ratio)
  
• Use more salt: 1 tbsp
  

quick artisan bread

There's a neat book and YouTube video on making artisan breads in 5 minutes a day. Sounds interesting. The idea is mix flour, yeast, water, and salt, mix to combine (but don't knead), rise, then bake. Buy the book, it's got lots of great recipes. Here's the basic recipe for making a round "boule", or french loaf.

Homemade Artisan Bread

Makes four 1lb. loaves. Can be doubled or halved

3 cups lukewarm water
1.5 tbsp. dry yeast
1.5 tbsp. kosher salt
6.5 cups unsifted unbleached all purpose flour

1. Warm water to about 100 degrees.
2. Add yeast and salt to the water in a 5 quart bowl or resealable lidded food-grade bucket.
3. Mix in the flour, kneading is unnecessary. Add all the flour, imx with wooden spoon, stand mixer, until it's uniform. You can use your hands to mix if they are very wet. Everything will be uniformly moist, without dry patches. Dough will be wet and loose.
4. Allow it to rise for about 2 hours, until it begins to collape. Longer rise times, up to 5 hours, won't harm the result.
5. Refridgerate dough overnight (or at least 3 hours) before shaping the loaf.
6. Sprinkle the surface of refridgerated dough with flour. Cut off grapefruit sized piece (1 lb). Add some flour so it doesn't stick to your hands, but don't knead it. Shape into a ball; this part should only take 30-60 seconds.
7. Dust a pizza peel with cornmeal, and place the shaped loaf on the peel.
8. Let it rest on the peel for about 40 minutes uncovered.
9. 20 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 450F, with baking stone on lowest rack, with empty broiler tray on any other shelf
10. Dust the loaf liberally with flour, and slash 1/4" deep scallop (seashell ribs), tic-tac-toe, or cross in the top with a serrated bread knife
11. Slide into oven off of peel onto stone, and pour 1 cup hot water into broiler tray to generate steam
12. Bake for 30 minutes or until crust is nicely browned. Wet dough will lead to soft interior.
13. Cool on wire rack.
14. Use remaining dough within 14 days.
15. When refreshing dough, don't clean the bucket; this will help build a sourdough over time.

sourdough revisited

Was going thru the fridge at the beginning of this week, cleaning out old stuff, and in the back I found my sourdough starter.

Opened it up, and there was a thick layer of alcohol on there, as well as a thin, dryish grey/brown layer that looked a bit like beef caul. And kinda stinky, on top of it all. I got in there with a spoon, cleaned off the crud off the top, took a tablespoon and dumped the rest. Mixed it with 1 cup flour + 1 cup water, put it in a jar, covered and let sit at room temp for the day. Opened it up, and it was bubbly but still was kinda stinky. Saved a scant 1 tsp of the new mix, remixed with 3/4 c flour, 1/4 c rye flour, and water. Just fed it again today, there was already a layer of alcohol, and it smells great! Rich, bubbly, doughy, nice!

A new sourdough loaf is in my near future. I wonder how old this starter is now? Will have to check the blog again....ok, so it looks like I started it in Dec 2006 when I made grandma's bread for the holidays. It's neat to see that it's still alive and kicking.

Revisited another good site with tips: http://www.schoolofbaking.com/sourdough_tips.htm

Savory Stewed Pork

The whole house smells amazing right now. Needed to make something with chicken stock I made this week, plus something that would last me with leftovers through the end of the weekend. Not to mention the freezer's overflowing and I need to reduce the frozen larder.

Here's what I came up with. The lovely green pepper flavor is really ethereal through the pork shoulder. You'll need a CrockPot for this one; or, you can use a Dutch oven or other dish for long, slow cooking. Haven't busted out my CrockPot since our family trip to Mammoth in January, so I'm happy to be putting it to good use.

Savory Stewed Pork

Serves 4
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 11 hours

2 lb pork shoulder piece (if frozen, defrost it!)
2 large carrots, small dice
1 green pepper, small dice
2 large celery stalks, small dice
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp dried oregano
3 c. chicken stock, preferably homemade
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup V8 or tomato juice
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp worcheshire sauce
Few dashes hickory smoke powder (substitute a dash of liquid smoke)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Wolfgang Puck rub

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, small dice
2 tbsp. fresh oregano
1 tbsp fresh thyme
Salt and pepper

Season pork shoulder with olive oil and Wolfgang Puck rub. In a CrockPot, add carrots, pepper, celery, all dried spices, chicken stock, OJ, soy sauce, worcheshire, and smoke powder. Set CrockPot to High heat, cover and cook for 10 hours.

Remove meat, cover and set aside. Put sauce into wide, shallow bowl or dish and de-fat (you can put bowl in the fridge for 30 minutes until the fat hardens on top). Skim off fat.

In saucepan, heat sauce over medium heat to simmer. Add stock or water to adjust consistency of sauce if necessary. Add garlic, onion and cook for 10 minutes. Add fresh herbs, simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. If desired, puree sauce in blender and strain. Season with salt + pepper to taste.

Shred meat, toss in sauce, and serve over pasta, polenta or rice.

Next time:

• Also add some beer, possibly mexican?
• Use more salt
• Try omit V8, add more OJ
  

orange bitters

I've been playing around with making liquers recently. Earlier this week got two "presents": one I bought for myself (my new SF Chronicle II cookbook) and one Beckey got for me: a bottle of orange bitters. These are non-alcoholic blood orange bitters (from Stirrings, a Fall River, MA company). Contents: water, sugar, gentian extract, citric acid, blood orange extract, flavors and caramel color.

I can do better than that! Plus you have to refrigerate after opening, which I don't like. So I started doing research...that's why I love the interweb. Really it's amazing to me that you can go out and find recipes.

Some things I learned so far:

• you can make herb and bark infusions separately in jars, then blend them to taste
• a Buchner funnel + flask and vacuum pump can help a lot to speed filtering
• don't fear pith! a bit of pith can add flavor
  

Orange Bitters

* 1/2 pound dried (Seville) orange peel, chopped finely
* Pinch of cardamom
* Pinch of caraway
* Pinch of coriander seeds
* 2 cups grain alcohol
* 4 tablespoons burnt sugar

1. Mix the orange peel, herb seeds, and the alcohol
2. Let stand in a sealed jar for 15 days, agitating every day.
3. Pour off spirits through a cloth, and seal again.
4. Take the strained off seeds and peel, put them in a saucepan, crushing with a wooden muddler.
5. Cover them with boiling water, simmer 5 minutes;
6. Put in a covered jar for 2 days, then strain this off and add to the spirits.
7. Put in burnt sugar for color.
8. Filter again, let stand until it settles perfectly clear, then bottle for use.

Be careful not to agitate the slight precipitation or sediment during the final operation.

Some links I found:

http://www.bostoncocktails.com/2006-06-13-make-your-own-bitters.html
http://www.onlinesciencemall.com for science gear
http://www.drinkboy.com/liquorcabinet/flavorings/orangebitters.html for above recipe and other orange bitters resources.

Here are some bitters flavors to consider:

• Lemon juice, peel, pith
  
• Blood orange juice, peel, pith
  
• Sour orange peel (naranja agria), juice, pith
  
• navel orange juice, peel, pith
  
• grapefruit juice, peel, pith
  
• grapefruit juice, peel, pith
  
• lime juice, peel, pith
  
• cardamom
• caraway
• coriander
• ginger
• cloves
  
• star anise
• fresh ginger
• burnt sugar
• molasses
• juniper berries
• gentian
• lemongrass
• nutmeg
• fennel seed
• vanilla
• black pepper
• white pepper
• almond (raw, roasted or toasted)
• apricot kernel
• sloe berry
• birch bark
• caramelized sugar (sugar turned to caramel, then into simple syrup)
• rose petals
• orris root
  
• angelica root
  
• lavender
  

Which reminds me, I'll have to post a krupnikas recipe soon...

Pasta dough

So yesterday I made pasta dough, which I haven't made long time. I was watching the eggs episode of Jamie Oliver's relatively new show "Jamie at Home" and he made an egg tagliatelli using a simple pasta recipe, so I decided to try it out.

I had read somewhere (some blogs, etc.) that mentioned that you can use cake flour for pasta dough, and that it simulates Italian "00" grind wheat flour more closely. Cake flour has fairly low gluten, and is made of soft wheat, while "regular" all-purpose flour is made of hard wheat. Hard wheat flours (such as semolina or durum wheat) result in pasta that has more "tooth", whereas soft wheat flours (such as cake flour and Italian 00) result in softer pastas.

I had a box of Swan's Down cake flour, supposedly expiring 2007, so I figured I would try it, what the heck. Turned out really well; finished product was really tender and delicious. No real tooth to speak of, but certainly nicer than the wontons I used last time for the butternut squash ravioli.

The thing that made this great was the food processor. The key is: check/add flour/pulse/repeat. The "check" is checking for stickiness and checking for texture (should be breadcrumbs). So here it is:

Pasta Dough 1.0

4 eggs
2.5-3 cups cake flour, unsifted
(possibly more; I think it will end up at least 3 cups flour, perhaps even more)
Cake flour for kneading/dusting

Add eggs to food processor, and 2.5 cups flour. Pulse/mix until it comes together into a ball. Touch the dough and see if it's sticky (probably will be). Add more flour (about 1/3 cup at a time), pulse some more. Dough should start to turn into pea sized pieces; add more flour and pulse, and check. Repeat; You want to end up with breadcrumb style pieces (like panko, not dust crumbs, bigger crumbs).

Dump it out onto the board, knead it for a couple of minutes until the dust comes together, and the texture is smooth. Dust with flour as necessary to prevent sticking. It may still be a bit tacky, but that's OK.

Press dough into disc, wrap with plastic wrap, and let it sit for 15-30 minutes on counter or in fridge.

Set up pasta machine on biggest setting (mine has #1 - #7, #1 is thickest). Remove dough from plastic, mash into approximate thick square, and run it thru #1. Rub flour into both sides, fold in half, put the folded dough into machine at #1 setting. Repeat 4 times.

Then start running it through each setting, 1 to 7, in order. After each run, rub some flour on both sides. If the piece gets too long, just cut it before continuing feeding it through. Dust leftover piece with flour, fold it and cover with a cloth.

Rub flour the finished product liberally on both sides. Use immediately, or fold it over and cover with a towel until you're ready to use.

Mother's Day

Enjoying Mother's Day late lunch with Mom, and we got to talking about foods I liked as a kid.

Fejoida - what more can I say?

Broccoli Salad (with tomato, onion and vinaigrette) - "Babyte", my dad's mom, used to make this

Orange/yogurt pops - my mom used to make her own yogurt in this little yellow yogurt machine, then mix with orange juice concentrate, and freeze in plastic freezer pop containers

Grandma's pot roast - boil the hell out of it, eat it with horseradish, serve liquid with potatoes, carrots, onion, maybe green peas at the end.

Grandma's crumble cake - crust with plums/apples in a jammy consistency, and then a butter/sugar/flour crumble on top...oh man...


I didn't like green peas as a kid.

Made butternut squash ravioli per Giada's recipe, but my own dough (4 eggs, about 3 cups cake flour), ran thru the pasta machine eventually to the thinnest setting. Turned out really well; it was what Mom asked for Mother's Day! :)

Rosemary Cashews

Beckey really liked these, they were made by our friend Katie on a trip this spring to June Lake. Be sure and use unsalted roasted cashews, not raw ones, unless you decide to roast the raw ones.

Roasted Rosemary Cashews

1 lb dry-roasted cashews, unsalted
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tbsp melted butter
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Toast cashews on sheet pan for 5 minutes. In large bowl, combine rosemary, sugar, butter, salt, and cayenne. Toss hot cashews with spiced butter mixture. Serve warm.

chickpea stew

Last night made Chickpea stew. I was trying to emulate a Spanish style stew similar to what I had in Barcelona. Not exactly the same, but very good.

The recipe here has been tweaked based on what I learned from the 1st time making it.

Chickpea Stew with Chorizo
Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large carrot, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 large onion, diced
1/3 cup red pepper, diced
6-8 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
2 tsp sweet Spanish paprika
1 tbsp kosher salt
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 can (15oz) diced tomatoes, pulsed in a blender
2 cans chickpeas, rinsed
~2 cups chicken stock
8oz chorizo (preferred), whole pieces; subsititute smoked sausage or kielbasa
8oz uncooked shrimp, deveined
Cilantro to garnish


In dutch oven over high heat, heat olive oil. Cook carrot, celery, onion and red pepper for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add spices and cook for 30 seconds more. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, chorizo and chicken stock to cover. Bring to a simmer, and reduce heat to medium low. Cook for 20-25 minutes, uncovered. Add shrimp and cook for a couple minutes until shrimp just begin to curl. Adjust seasonings, garnish with cilantro and maybe some olive oil or truffle oil, and serve in bowls.

limoncello and other liqueur projects

About 2 months ago I started a Meyer Lemon limoncello (zested lemons & 750mL of Everclear 151). Within about 1 week, the color was a beautiful, clear, brilliant yellow.

Over the weekend I did the 2nd stage: strain out zest, make simple syrup (2 cups sugar to 2 cups water), add lemon juice. Now let it sit for 2 more months. Filled it in a 1.5L bottle of Skyy Vodka. We'll see how it turns out.

For the future I will try:

1. Using good bottled water
2. Filtering using filter paper
3. The Brita filter technique from "LimoncelloQuest"

I had more 151 left over, so I decided to use part of it on an improvised "krupnikas". Added dashes of cinammon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, whole coriander, whole black pepper, a 1-inch piece of vanilla bean, a tiny splash of vanilla extract, and about 2-3 tbsp. of leftover zest from the limoncello. Can't wait to see how that turns out.

perfecting tabbouleh

Here's my version of tabbouleh

• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 cup (240ml) bulgur wheat (#2, medium size)
• 1 bunch (240ml) fresh parsley, chopped (the more the better)
  
• 1/2 cup (120ml) fresh mint, chopped
• 1 large tomato, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 1 cup (240ml) green onions, chopped
• 1 medium onion, grated
• 1/2 cup (100ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
  
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper, plus more to taste
  
• dash of cinnamon (optional)
  

1. Soak bulgur in water for 15 minutes. Drain and squeeze out as much water as possible. Refrigerate until cool.
   
2. Peel, seed, and dice the tomato. Chop the green onions, the white portion finely, the tops around medium. Finely chop the parsley and mint.
3. Mix the bulgur, tomato, green onions, grated onion, parsley, and mint in a large bowl. Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper together and pour over the salad. Stir through, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Refrigerate for an hour or so to allow the flavors to meld.

My modifications:

• Original recipe called for 1/2 cup lemon juice. Too much juice, I think. 1/3 cup seems more right, esp. based on the 1/2 cup of olive oil, gives more of a dressing feel. Also seems like too much liquid. We'll see how it looks after it sits in the fridge for a bit.
  
• Didn't have green onions, so used 2 large shallots. Probably could have used more.
  
• Another option is to add cucumber. I didn't, but would probably be good.
  

Check out Wiki Cookbooks for more tabbouleh recipes

Leftovers Remix x2

Two leftover recipes, remixed, from this week. Since Beckey's out of town, I don't mind playing with my leftovers. Both seem to have a Spanish twist.

Mock Spanish Risotto

1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, sliced lengthwise
2 tbsp. diced pimentos (from a jar)
3/4 c. cooked ham, cut into 1/4" x 1-1/2" strips
1 tsp. smoked sweet spanish paprika (Pimenton de la Vera, Agridulce)
1/4 c. leftover not-too-dry white wine (Sauvignon Blanc is nice)
1 cup cooked rice (leftover, any kind: white, brown, risotto)
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (from a bag is easy!)
Salt and pepper to taste

In a small sauce pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add pimentos and garlic, saute for 1 minute. Add cooked ham slices, toss and stir for 1 minute. Add paprika and stir for about 10 seconds. Add white wine followed immediately by rice, and stir to heat thru. Remove from heat, stir in cheddar cheese, and season with salt & pepper to taste.

Sopa de Ajo con Cebolla

This is my garlic soup version, kicked up French-onion style!

1 tbsp. olive oil (if you have leftover O.O. from making Spanish tortilla, use it!)
1 tbsp. other fat (butter, rendered chicken/pork fat, bacon grease, etc)
1 brown onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
pinch red pepper flakes
6 cloves garlic, sliced
1 cup stale French/sourdough/crusty white bread cubes (about 1" square)
2 eggs
1 qt. chicken stock (boxed or homemade)
chopped fresh parsley
salt + pepper to taste

In a large pot, heat oil + fat over medium heat. Add onion, stir to coat, turn down heat to medium, and leave for 2 minutes. Turn heat down to medium-low, and stir every few minutes for 18 minutes, until onions turn brown & caramelized. Add paprika, chili flakes, garlic slices and stir for 2 minutes.

Raise heat to high, add stock all at once. Bring soup to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Add bread cubes, parsley and stir. Remove from heat, ladle into hot bowls. Crack an egg into each bowl, ladle more hot soup over it, and let it poach for 10 min (or put it in the oven). Enjoy the hearty meal!

sweet potato salad; childhood foods

My aunt made a good cold sweet potato salad for my uncle's birthday.

Boil sweet potatoes, toss with diced green pepper, white onion, celery, olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Very simple, but very good.

I think it's a great example of changing tastes. I didn't like a lot of different foods when I was growing up, including sweet potatoes. Maybe because I couldn't stand the icky, sickly-sweet, fake-fluff marshmallow.

Other foods I hated as a kid:

• broccoli: brown and overcooked, so bitter
• cheese: I only liked mozzarella, and string cheese. Disliked cheddar, even if melted. Especially disliked stinky cheese, like blue cheese or particularly the "green can" of Kraft Parmesan. No grilled cheese (until later), certainly not on sandwiches.
  
• chocolate: bars, ice cream, chocolates, sauce, chocolate chip cookies; mint chocolate chip was a double whammy of badness
  
• cookies: mom never backed chocolate chip (or any for that matter), so I never learned to appreciate the joy of a fresh baked chocolate chip cookie
• melon: no honeydew, no canteloupe, only watermelon
  
• green veggies: green beans cooked until they were brown and dead; spinach
  
• cauliflower
• tomatoes: OK in pasta sauce (like on spaghetti, I think the only pasta my mom regularly served); couldn't stand them fresh, neither in salads nor on sandwiches.
• any egg that wasn't scrambled: sunny side up or over easy = yuck!
• Coca Cola (see below)
• Plain cheese pizza
• Big Macs: cheese and dressing were bad, too complicated
• Spumoni ice cream: chocolate in there, weird flavors
• Beets: too strong and earthy, kinda like spinach
• Cabbage: some was passable, but in general disliked most forms: Brussel sprouts, sauerkraut, fresh
• Squash: still don't like it too much; what bothers me most is texture, I think. can't get around the stringy texture most of the time.
  

What I liked:

• Soda: my great aunt always had a 6 pack of 7-UP "shorty" cans in her closet, which I would poach when I would visit. Mom would never buy soda, and if bought, never Coca Cola
  
• Ketchup: cmon, what kid doesn't?
• Pizza: all kinds, just not plain cheese
  
• Basic McDonald's hamburger: no Big Mac, didn't like the dressing and esp. the cheese
  
• Strawberries: fresh, or also my favorite ice cream flavor...well, that and vanilla.
  
• Salad: iceberg, with thousand island or vinaigrette
  
• Carrots: watching B&W TV cartoons in my grandpa's room after school Friday
  
• Apples: see "Carrots"
  
• Blackberries: from my grandparent's bushes in the backyard
• Pineapple guava: amazing little green, egg-sized guava, right off my grandparents' tree
  
• Kumquats: from my aunt and uncle's backyard tree, surprisingly tart and tangy
  
• Oranges: juice or fresh, as long as not dry, delicious!
  
• Satsumas/Clementine tangerines: I remember a tense family trip to Sequoia around Thanksgiving, and we got some at a roadside stand that were a revelation to me.
• Tacos: "ghetto tacos" ,ground beef
• Fejoida: my mom learned from my dad's mom
  
• Meatloaf: simple, yet tasty
  
• Potatoes: french fries, tater tots, hash-browns, pan-fried a la grandma on Fridays
  
• Steak: vinegar + garlic marinated flank steak, and nice T-Bones at lunch on Fridays at grandparents
• Baked chicken: bone-in chicken breasts, baked, crispy skin and delicious fond (baked on bits) in the bottom of pan....I figured out for myself that blending them with the rice that was often served was another delicious revelation.
• Walnuts: cracking fresh walnuts....where else? my grandparents house
• Juice: all and every kind, orange/apple/grape/lemonade/cranberry!
• Tonic water: had one taste, I think in Palm Springs, and decided nearly immediately "yes this is for me!" I liked the sweetness with the citrusy, bitter tang.
  
• Spaghetti: my mom made 2 pastas: spaghetti and lasagne. Spaghetti was always prepared sans-sauce, so you'd have to ladle it at the end, and mix it yourself (don't like that style anymore)
• Bacon: one of my favorite dishes? Mom used to make this for the feijoida. Dice bacon, and saute with onion, a bit of garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Serve over my grandma's black rye bread
• Grandma's rye bread. Had an excellent version in LT; I can get close, but I'm not there yet. When toasted and buttered, became just like a french fry, slightly crispy on the outside, light and chewy in the middle. Heaven in a slice!
  

Note to self: watching Tony Bourdain in Cleveland with Harvey Pekar. Gotta pick up American Splendor graphic novels.

Grandma's Bread Jan 2008

February 2008, trying again, with some minor adjustments:

1. Reducing initial water a little bit, by 1/4 cup.
2. Add rye flour all at once to fermentation mixture

Makes 2 loaves

2 c. buttermilk
1.25 c. water
1.5 lb. rye flour, unsifted

2-1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (or 1 packet)
1 tbsp. unbleached white flour
1/2 c. warm water (120 degrees)

1.5 lb. (24 0z) + 1 oz (25 oz total) unbleached white flour, unsifted
4 tbsp. gluten
1/2 c. honey
1-1/2 tsp. salt

4 tbsp. melted butter

1. Over medium-low heat, warm buttermilk and water, stirring occasionally, just until it curdles and remove from heat. Stir in 1.5 lb. rye flour, cover tightly and leave in warm place. Or, refrigerate and bring back to room temperature before continuing

2. The next day, combine yeast, 1 tbsp. flour, and warm water, and stir to dissolve. Let sit for 5 minutes until yeast mixture gets bubbly.

3. Into dough mixture, add yeast mixture, honey, gluten and salt. Stir in 1.5 lb. of white flour until mixture is uniform. It's a lot of dough, too much for the small stand mixer to handle!

4. Take entire dough and add dough to mixer set to "1" or "2" (low speed), and knead with dough hook. You will need to clean the dough hook a number of times at the beginning (every 30 seconds or so), because the dough will bunch up, even over the top of the dough hook. Add 1 oz of flour during process to reduce sticking. After a couple of minutes, it will stop sticking. Total kneading time should be about 5-7 minutes.

6. Grease two bread pans with butter, and dust them with rye flour. Shape dough into loaves and place in bread pans. Cover with towel, and leave in warm place to rise for 2-2.75 hours or until approximately doubled in bulk.

7. Preheat oven to 375, and adjust racks to put bread on lowest rack. Brush tops with butter, and place bread pans on pizza stone on lowest rack in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped.

8. Take bread from oven, remove from pans, and brush tops with remaining butter. Drape with damp cloth while they cool. This supposedly will help keep the crust from separating from the dough.

9. Store in large Ziploc freezer bags when cool; this will help promote a soft crust.

UPDATE 12-24-2007: technically it looks perfect. Sides of bread "exploded" near the top, which has previously been typical. We'll see what the texture is when we taste it tonight, hopefully not gummy and/or undercooked.

Chowhound; repurposing dinner

I like the Chowhound site. I came across it a year or two ago, but just looking at it more today. They have a bunch of great tips in th "Chow Tips" video, such as:

• Pomegranate seeds: to remove, cut the pomegranate in 1/2, and whack the rind using a wooden spoon (cut side facing down over a sieve or bowl); the seeds will just fall into the bowl/sieve!
• Tempering chocolate: to stabilize chocolate to keep it shiny & glossy, like a candy bar. Must be accurate. Heat 3/4 lb of chocolate in double boiler to 118 degrees. Cool to 80 degrees over an ice bath by adding remaining 1/4 lb. Rewarm to 85-87 degrees for milk chocolate, 88-91 for dark chocolate. Now coat: put item into chocolate with fork, pull it out, scrape it, and onto parchment.
  

Also enjoying "repurposed" meals this week, i.e., using leftovers and/or parts of meals to create something new and delicious! For example:

Sunday brunch: Spanish tortilla with aioli
Sunday dinner: Tri-tip, mashed potatoes, and arugula salad
Tonight's dinner: Tri-tip sandwich with Point Reyes blue cheese, aioli, dijon and arugula on baguette, with arugula salad on the side. Yum!

german dumplings

I thought I had some Panni mix, but I didn't, and I decided to make turkey soup with Bavarian potato dumplings tonight for dinner tonight. So here's the recipe I improvised.

2 medium yellow potatoes
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1.5 tsp salt
Grated nutmeg (just a dash)
Stock or water

1. Scrub and rinse potatoes, and poke holes in them.
2. Microwave potatoes on high for about 7 minutes.
3. Place them in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, and let them sit for 10 minutes. Then dump then into a bowl full of ice water to cool them
4. Peel and then rice the potatoes in a potato ricer
5. Meanwhile, Bring stock or water to a high boil in a large pot
   
6. Add flour, starch, salt and nutmeg. Knead for 3-5 minutes until even. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest about 10 minutes.
7. Form mixture into 6-8 large, smooth balls.
   
8. Lower them carefully into the boiling water/stock, and reduce heat to a simmer
9. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, or till they float to the top. Take one out and test it (cut it in half, and make sure it is cooked through).
10. Remove and serve with meat + gravy; or, add the ones you want to use to a soup.
11. Store remaining dumplings outside of any liquid. For example, slice them up the next day and cook them in some butter.
    

Results

• Dough came together & held together perfectly in the stock with no disintegration
  
• Good texture:, a bit soft, no graininess (might be desirable), extremely even texture
• Nice hint of nutmeg flavor
• Not sure if texture would work for Lithuanian cepelinai, a little too soft and smooth
  

For Next Time

• Try steaming/boiling the potatoes to determine effect on texture
• Try a bit less flour (maybe 1/4 cup?)
  

grandmas bread 2007

It's that time of year again, here we go:

Makes 2 loaves

2 c. buttermilk
1.5 c. water
1 lb. + 1/2 lb. rye flour, unsifted (1.5 lb. total)

1 lb. + 1/2 lb. (8 0z) + 1 oz (25 oz total) unbleached white flour, unsifted

2-1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (or 1 packet)
1 tbsp. unbleached white flour
1/2 c. warm water (120 degrees)
4 tbsp. gluten

1/2 c. honey
1-1/2 tsp. salt

4 tbsp. melted butter

1. Over medium-low heat, warm buttermilk and water, stirring occasionally, just until it curdles and remove from heat. Stir in 1 lb. rye flour, cover tightly and leave in warm place. Or, refrigerate and bring back to room temperature before continuing

2. The next day, combine yeast, 1 tbsp. flour, and warm water, and stir to dissolve. Let sit for 5 minutes until yeast mixture gets bubbly.

3. Into dough mixture, add yeast mixture, honey, gluten and salt. Stir in remaining 1/2 pound of rye flour, and stir in 1 lb. of white flour until mixture is uniform. It's a lot of dough, too much for the small stand mixer to handle!

4. Take entire dough and add dough to mixer set to "1" or "2" (low speed), and knead with dough hook, grad aduallyding 1/2 lb. of white flour. You will need to clean the dough hook a number of times at the beginning (every 30 seconds or so), because the dough will bunch up, even over the top of the dough hook. Add 1 oz of flour during process to reduce sticking. After a couple of minutes, it will stop sticking. Total kneading time should be about 5-7 minutes.

6. Grease two bread pans with butter, and dust them with rye flour. Shape dough into loaves and place in bread pans. Cover with towel, and leave in warm place to rise for 2-2.75 hours or until approximately doubled in bulk.

7. Preheat oven to 375, and adjust racks to put bread on lowest rack. Brush tops with butter, and place bread pans on pizza stone on lowest rack in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped.

8. Take bread from oven, remove from pans, and brush tops with remaining butter. Drape with damp cloth while they cool. This supposedly will help keep the crust from separating from the dough.

9. Store in large Ziploc freezer bags when cool; this will help promote a soft crust.

UPDATE 12-24-2007: technically it looks perfect. Sides of bread "exploded" near the top, which has previously been typical. We'll see what the texture is when we taste it tonight, hopefully not gummy and/or undercooked.

Thanksgiving Feast

Here's what's on th menu for today:

1. 16 lb roast turkey (no stuffing, stuffed with thyme, lemon, and onion)
2. roasted garlic mashed potatoes
3. grilled sweet potatoes (boiled first, then grilled) with tangerine bourbon glaze
4. green beans
5. roasted brussel sprouts with pancetta
6. butternut squash and apple soup
7. cranberry sauce
8. gravy
9. Beckey's family sausage stuffing
10. brandied white onions

Turkey went in at 1145a, should take around 3-4hours or so.

Last night:

1. Beckey made stuffing (what a production!)
2. Made soup base (cooked but didn't puree); will reheat and puree today

This morning:

1. Beckey made cranberry sauce
2. We roasted the garlic
3. I boiled and cooled the sweet potatoes, put em in the fridge
4. I made the glaze
   

It all came together quickly then:

1. Brussel sprouts prepped and cooked and covered on the table
   
2. Green beans prepped
3. Stuffing in the oven
4. Set the table
5. Heat soup
6. Sweet potatoes cut, grilled, dressed, plated and covered
   
7. Onions cooked and into oven
   
8. Green beans cooked
   
9. Remove turkey and onions, let turkey rest
   
10. Carve and plate turkey, cover and
    
11. Remove stuffing from oven
    
12. Finish gravy
    
13. Finish and plate soup
14. Eat! and reeeelaaaaax....
    

Tangerine Bourbon Glaze (made this up myself)

• 1/2 c chicken stock, homemade or low sodium preferred
  
• 4 heaping tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 c bourbon or whiskey
  
• dash worcheshire sauce
• dash soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp minced tangerine peels
• 2 tb. butter

Combine stock, sugar, pepper, worcheshire, soy in small stockpot, whisk and bring to a simmer. Reduce for 15 minutes. Add tangerine peel. Continue to simmer until reduced to 1/2 of original volume, and has a glaze-y consistency (should coat back of a spoon).

Remove from heat, and whisk in 2 tbsp. butter. Adjust seasonings as necesary.

Thanksgiving Feast

Here's what's on the menu for today:

16 lb roast turkey (no stuffing, stuffed with thyme, lemon, and onion)
mashed potatoes
grilled sweet potatoes (boiled first, then grilled) with tangerine bourbon glaze
green beans
brussel sprouts
squash soup