Firecracker Wontons with Chinese Pesto

Sometimes a recipe sounds good on paper, but execution is so-so. That's kind of how I've felt so far about the "Firecracker Dumplings" in Hugh Carpenter's "Chopstix" cookbook.

On the upside, the sauce looks good! It's a spinach + basil puree with Asian flavors & spices, and I like the bright green look of what Carpenter calls a "rich Chinese pesto sauce".

On the downside, the wontons themselves tasted pretty plain. So I added garlic, more salt. Also I substituted mirin for the dry sherry, as I think wonton filling was missing an element of sweetness (plus I didn't have sherry, and the combo of brandy + sav blanc didn't cut it). Not to mention the quantities are totally wrong: original filling was for more than 60 wontons, and only specified 30 skins! So here's the right way, I think 30 wontons is the right amount.

Firecracker Wontons
Makes 30 dumplings, serves 4 as meal or 6 as appetizer.

1 c. chopped carrots
2 green onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 lb. (~225g) ground chicken
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil (I like Spectrum Organics)
1/2 tsp Chinese hot bean paste
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 pinch red chili flakes powder
30 wonton skins (usually 1 small package)

Chinese Pesto Sauce (recipe follows)
1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

1. In food processor, process carrots, onions, and garlic until finely minced.
2. In a separate bowl, add ground chicken, carrot/onion mixture, and remaining spices. Stir with spoon or knead with fingers until well combined.
   
3. Cover with plastic wrap & let rest at least 30 minutes.
4. Fry up a little piece in a pan; adjust seasonings of filling.
   
5. Make wontons: put about 1 tsp filling in center. Moisten 3 of 4 edges with water. Seal into triangle. Dimple the bottom of filling triangle in middle with thumb, then pinch widest 2 points together with some water to stick.
6. Place on cookie sheet, covered with wax paper.
   
7. DO AHEAD: freeze dumplings, or refrigerate up to 5 hours
   
8. DO AHEAD: Make pesto sauce (recipe follows); can keep up to 2 days
   
9. Cook wontons: boil a big pot of salted water. Add fresh or frozen dumplings to boiling water. When they float (about 3 minutes), skim with spider and remove.
   
10. Toss dumplings with pesto sauce in large mixing bowl.
    
11. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds
    

Chinese Pesto Sauce
Makes a little more than 1/2 cup

12 oz spinach leaves, washed and dried
8 basil leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp fresh orange peel, grated
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp Sriracha or hot chili sauce (or hot bean paste)

1. In a large pot, heat at least 8 cups water to a rolling boil.
   
2. Prepare a large bowl of ice water.
   
3. Blanch basil & spinach leaves for 1-2 seconds, swirling quickly, then immediately into ice water to cool. Drain and dry.
   
4. Squeeze out excess moisture of spinach and basil in paper towels.
   
5. Add basil, spinach, and all remaining ingredients into blender. Puree until smooth.
   
6. Strain thru fine-mesh strainer (chinois).
7. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.
   

Will keep for about 2 days in the fridge.

NOTES: prepared everything tonight 1/28 for dinner with Beckey.

Sauce is REALLY delicious and flavorful, but needs a few mods. Because the wontons taste so mild, the sauce tends to overwhelm their rather delicate flavors. Here are my recommended sauce mods:

• Use only 1 garlic clove, not 2: garlic was overpowering
  
• Blanching spinach worked well, bright green & should help preserve a bit.
• Cilantro is beautiful here, Beckey didn't notice it at all, and it adds a freshness and a hidden floral note to the orange which is nice
  
• Much less orange peel, it's very strong and overwhelmed other flavors (maybe 1/2 or 1/4 tsp only, a few grates on the zester, taste & adjust)
• Mirin worked really well as a substitute for dry sherry (specified in Carpenter's original sauce)
  
• Less sriracha (one tiny squeeze); taste & adjust, mine was a bit too spicy, again, not wanting to overwhelm and allow the delicate sweetness of the chicken, carrots & green onions through.
  
• Only 2 oz of spinach leaves necessary, not 12! About 3 loose cups worth.
• No need to strain thru chinois, it was very uniform after the blender.

OOPS! forgot the sesame seeds for sprinkling on top. Still it was delicious.

Beer bratwurst and your own brats!

The weekend as a snack I decided to do some brats that I had defrosted. They turned out really well. I like cooking in beer, but I think the apple juice made the biggest difference, adding depth of flavor, warmness and of course some sweetness.

Beer Brats and Onions

4 bratwurst
1 whole onion, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 bottle of good lager (like Heineken or other lager)
1/2 cup apple juice (preferably unfiltered, organic)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt

1. In a skillet over high heat, add apple juice, onion, sugar, and salt, stir to combine.
   
2. Nestle brats in liquid, which should come up about 1/2 way.
   
3. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.
   
4. Turn brats, uncover, and cook until remaining liquid has evaporated, and brats & onions start to brown, about 15 more minutes.
   
5. Check brats for doneness (cut through, should be just a tiny bit pink in center, if at all).

Serve on a bun with Dijon mustard and some of the onions. Yum!

Things to consider for the future: making your own brats (recipe from Jack Schmidling's web site), or at the very least, incorporating the brat spices/flavors in the poaching liquid.

60% (9.6 oz) Pork, 40% (6.4 oz) Veal.1 lb
1 tsp pickling salt
1/2 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp Ground White Pepper
1/2 tsp dried Marjoram
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp ground Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Celery Seed
1/8 tsp dried Ginger
1/8 tsp ground Mace
1/8 tsp ground Cardamom
2 oz Red Wine

1. Grind meat through 3/16" plate.
2. Mix non-meat ingredients in bowl and add to ground meat and mix thoroughly.
3. Chill in freezer for 30 min.
4. Mix again and grind through 1/4" plate.
5. Stuff into sheep or hog casings and air dry for 30 min or until dry to the touch.
6. Refrigerate or freeze for use.

Striped Bass with Charmoula

B. and I went to Whole Foods on Saturday to get some grub for her book club, and we decided to get some fish. We both like fish (B. especially so) and so we ended up with some nice wild striped bass filets. It's a very delicate white fish, similar to trout but perhaps less sweet.

The "charmoula" in this recipe is a Moroccan marinade/sauce, combining Mediterranean flavors with exotic smokiness/spice. Really delicious against the delicacy of the fish, and not overpowering. I could see using this same marinade on chicken or pork too, would be lovely. The sauce has a Spanish/Argentinian character to it as well.

Had a nice 2006 Cosentino CE2V Chardonnay to accompany. I think a beurre blanc would have gone better with the subtle toastiness of the Chard. Still, it was all delish.

Recipe adapted from the "Starting with Ingredients" book (which I like for finding recipes for a particular ingredient). Served with buttered green beans + garlic, sauteed kale, and brown rice

Striped Bass with Charmoula
Serves 2

Charmoula

2 garlic cloves, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp sweet Spanish paprika
1 tbsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/3-1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup fresh italian parsley, chopped
Salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients up to (but not including) olive oil in blender. Turn on blender, and carefully stream in oil until it emulsifies. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in chopped cilantro and parsley. Set aside.

2 large filets striped bass
Charmoula

1. Put fish and 3/4 of charmoula in bag, cover, and let marinate for at least 1 hr, up to 4 hours.
   
2. Set oven to broil. Line baking sheet with Silpat or foil.
3. Place fish on baking sheet, SKIN SIDE DOWN.
   
4. Place under broiler and broil for 4 minutes, watching carefully in case it starts to burn.
   
5. With large spatula, carefully flip skin side UP and broil for about 3-4 more minutes, until the skin starts to crisp up.
6. Plate and serve immediately, with a little reserved charmoula on top.
   

infusions and bitters

Spent some time this evening cataloging my liquor cabinet. I've got:

• Over 70 bottles of liquor, most of which are liqueurs for mixing
  
• 11 bottles of bitters (not including my own custom mixes)
• A few homemade liqueurs (apple pie mostly, and some limoncello)
  

Some favorites:

• Vodka: so neutral, and makes a bunch of my favorite drinks. Great for infusion too, if you don't have easy access to grain alcohol. For "daily use" I like Skyy, and for "splurge" I like Ketel One or Grey Goose.
  
• Gin: even though I have none in my cabinet right now, I like it a lot! Faves are Bombay Sapphire and Junipero
• I love sweet/sour & bitter drinks, with preference lately to vodka: Vodka Tonic, Cape Cod, Salty Dog/Greyhound
• Brown water (bourbon/scotch/rye): Blanton's and Gentleman Jack are two faves, although Ardbeg and Laphroaig are two other faves, must try more. Woodford Reserve is nice too. I wanna try Buffalo Trace and Old Potrero. Maker's Mark is passable but I prefer it to mix with ginger ale.
  

I've made a few infusions & liqueurs over the years. Here are a few:

• Meyer Lemon-cello
• Krupnikas (spiced honey liqueur)
• Apple Pie (apple cider+juice)
• Pineapple (fresh pineapple)
• Bitters (a whole host of 'em!)

The base of most of these is Everclear, aka grain alcohol. You can only buy 151 proof in California, but a quick trip out of state can obtain 190 proof.

Infusions that I've liked in the past few years (all involve soaking in grain alcohol for a period of time, then straining off the solids carefully thru fine-mesh strainer (such as chinois) and/or coffee filter paper. BTW, if you have a vacuum pump + flask, you'll get much more effective filtering!

• Pineapple: soak fresh pineapple in vodka or grain alcohol for 1-2 weeks, strain off the solids
• Zesty Bourbon: soak lemon, grapefruit and orange zests in bourbon (this one is courtesy of Scott @ Cyrus in Healdsburg) for about 2 weeks
  
• Cranberry: soak fresh cranberries for 4 weeks, strain off solids

Some other infusions that have done well over the years:

• Cranberry Raisin: soak dried cranberries and raisins for a couple of months, discard solids. After 5-6 years or so, the flavor really mellows out nicely

Some that didn't do so well:

• Fresh plum: from the trip to Petaluma to visit T's grandparents. We'll see what happens, but doesn't smell/look good at this point, looks kinda oxidized and gross.

As far as bitters go, I've come up with a few recipes that are pretty good, but they're top secret :) Suffice it to say that a trip to Bevmo for Everclear and a trip to the local health food store for organic dried herbs and spices will lead to some nice essence extractions, which you can use to blend your own concoctions.

a number of breads

I've made a number of breads over the last month, here's what I've learned:

• You can't make a good no-knead pizza dough, because the hydration is way too high to handle the dough. It may taste good when you bake it up, but it handles very poorly
• You can make a good wheat/rye hybrid bread with pretty short rise times, fluffy texture and no yeasty taste (my PG #1-3 breads are a testament to that)
• Investing $25 on a small weight-scale (in my case, from Old Will Knott's online) has been a great investment for increasing the accuracy of my yeast and salt weights

New Years Day party wrap up

Final menu, for what turned out to be 11 guests:

1. Lamb meatballs with greek yogurt (about 30)
   
2. Stuffed mushrooms (about 25)
   
3. TJ Goat cheese/caramelized onion puff pastries (2 boxes)
   
4. Home-baked crostini + tomato/fennel sauce (about 15)
   
5. Bacon-wrapped dates (20 pcs)
   
6. Bratwurst with Dijon mustard (6 brats)
7. 1 small veg plate (the smallest one)
8. 3 apples, sliced
9. Cheesecake
   

Notes:

1. Make 30 meatballs, which was more than enough. Seemed OK. Plenty left over. Good thing they reheat well and taste delicious on flatbread! People barely touched the yogurt sauce.
   
2. Stuffed mushrooms were really easy and a hit; only one of about 25 left. A good vegetarian offering; several folks asked how I made them.
   
3. TJ pastries always go fast!
   
4. Crostinis with tomato spread all went, and then later, hungry Catchphrase players devoured the remaining crostini's w/o anything
5. 6 brats were perfect for the 11 or so people we had; no leftovers!
   
6. I'm happy I didn't do the tri-tip, was unnecessary; likewise, the pizza/flatbread would've been too much too.
   
7. 3 apples were perfect; any more people, 6 would have been better. These were all gone.
8. Veg tray was almost all gone.
9. Forgot to serve the cheesecake!
10. Get some Stevia, SweetNLow, or Splenda for those that don't use sugar with coffee (like Perry)
11. I think the 2-5pm was a good time on New Years Day, was fun! Some stayed later, which was OK.
    

Bacon wrapped dates

These are always a hit, and disappear fast...today was no exception!

Serves 14

20 medjool dates
3/4 cup shredded Asiago cheese
1/2 pound bacon strips, cut in 1/2

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Slice dates to expose pit, and remove (don't slice all the way thru)
3. Stuff with shredded cheese and close them up
4. Wrap with bacon, and skewer with toothpick to keep bacon from unraveling
   
5. Bake on cookie sheet for 15 minutes; flip, and cook for 15-20 more minutes (30-35 minutes total), or until bacon is crisp.
6. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.
   

Stuffed mushrooms

Thanks to Giada DeLaurentiis & Food Network for this one

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup Italian-style dried bread crumbs
* 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
* 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 28 large (2 1/2-inch-diameter) white mushrooms, stemmed

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Stir the bread crumbs, Pecorino Romano, garlic, parsley, mint, salt and pepper, to taste, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium bowl to blend.

Drizzle a heavy large baking sheet with about 1 tablespoon olive oil, to coat. Spoon the filling into the mushroom cavities and arrange on the baking sheet, cavity side up. Drizzle remaining oil over the filling in each mushroom. Bake until the mushrooms are tender and the filling is heated through and golden on top, about 25 minutes. Serve.

Lamb Meatballs with Lemon-Cumin Yogurt

From Chow.com

For the meatballs:

* 1 pound ground lamb
* 1/4 cup finely chopped white onion
* 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
* 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
* 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
* 1 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the yogurt:

* 7 ounces whole-milk Greek yogurt
* 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
* 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh mint
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* Zest of 1 medium lemon, minced

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the oven to 375°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
2. Combine all meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly with your hands.
3. Form into 30 balls (about 2 teaspoons each) and place on a baking sheet.
4. Bake until meatballs are no longer pink in the middle, about 15 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, combine all yogurt ingredients in a small bowl and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix well. Serve with the meatballs.

Crostini with Tomato-Fennel Sauce

EDIT 1/2/09: originally I envisioned this as a bite with grilled tri-tip; however, the sauce is good on crostini alone, and reminds me of an italian version of Spanish "tomato bread", known as pa amb tomaquet. My version is a lot more juicy and flavorful from the fennel.

Sauce is based on what I found earlier this week on Epicurious, and very tasty. Would be good for pasta or pizza; I like the sweet fennel notes that come from both the seeds and the root.

20 crostinis (recipe follows)
1 cup of Tomato Fennel Sauce
Fresh fennel fronds

Assembly: spread about 1 tbsp tomato sauce on crostini. Top with small piece of fennel frond.

Crostini

1/2 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
Baguette or other good-quality crusty bread, cut into 1" x 2" pieces
Salt + Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350F
   
2. In a small bowl, combine olive oil and garlic. Let rest at least 30 minutes
3. Lay sliced bread out on cookie sheet.
4. Brush bread with infused oil on both sides.
5. Season "up" side with salt and pepper
6. Bake for 7 minutes, flip pieces, and bake for 8 to 13 minutes more (15-20 minutes total).
   

Tomato-Fennel Sauce
Makes about 2 cups

* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 4 garlic cloves, chopped
* 1 cup chopped fresh fennel
* 1 1/4 teaspoons fennel seeds
* 1 28-ounce can Italian tomatoes
* 2 tablespoons tomato paste
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add garlic, fennel and fennel seeds and sauté until tender, about 12 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juices and next 4 ingredients. Simmer until sauce thickens, breaking up tomatoes with back of spoon, about 25 minutes. Blend about 1 cup of sauce in blender til smooth; stir back into sauce. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; chill. Rewarm before using.)

Roast Chicken

Who says that meat can't be cheap? Foster Farms whole young chickens for 69 cents at Ralphs this week. Sure, it's not free range, but it's decent quality.

So here's my roast chicken (based on ATK):

1 young chicken
1 cup butter, softened
3 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
3 tbsp chopped fresh garlic
Salt and pepper
1 lemon, sliced in 1/2
1 onion, sliced in half
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 Fennel fronds, chopped (optional)
1.5 cups chicken stock
Roasting pan with V-Rack

1. Preheat oven to 450F
2. Combine butter with rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper.
3. Remove giblets & set aside; rinse and dry chicken. Salt inside. Set in roasting pan.
   
4. In cavity, stuff 1/2 of onion, lemon, rosemary sprig.
5. Put butter under skin, then smear all over outside.
6. Salt and pepper outside.
7. Add remaining chopped veg (onions, carrots, celery, chicken stock, fennel) and giblets to pan.
8. Roast at 450F for 15 minutes, middle rack.
9. Turn down temp to 375F for 45 minutes, or until breast hits 160F. Check thigh too; you can always cut the thighs off and return them to the oven.

wine party

On New Year's Day, we're hosting a little party to start the New Year and celebrate B's completion of her sommelier program at PCI.

We'll be busting out a vertical tasting of a nice red blend from Santa Barbara County (Epiphany Cellars Revelation, which is typically Syrah, Petit Syrah and some kind of Grenache), stretching back to 1999.

So what small bites to make? We're estimating 14-16 people.

Lamb meatballs with greek yogurt
Stuffed mushrooms
Goat cheese/caramelized onion puff pastries
Braised duck en croute
Tri-tip bite tomato/fennel sauce
Bacon-wrapped dates
Bratwurst with Dijon mustard

Something sweet:
Brownies

Grandma's Bread #17

Adjusting the formulations again; I estimate this hydration around 77%.

STRAIGHT DOUGH
Bread flour 100.00% 427g
Rye flour 25.00% 107g
TOTAL FLOURS 534g

Buttermilk 30.00% 160g
Water 50.00% 267g
Honey 15.00% 80g
Salt 2.00% 11g
Yeast 1.50% 8g

FINAL STRAIGHT WEIGHT (g) 1060g

Instructions:

1. Heat water & buttermilk to 80-100 degrees.
2. In mixer bowl, add buttermilk mixture. Stir in honey, then stir in yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes.
   
3. Whisk flours together in separate bowl.
   
4. Add to mixer bowl, knead with hook on #2 for 2 minutes, let rest for 20min.
5. Add salt. Knead with hook on #2 for 7 minutes.
   
6. Shape on floured board, put into oiled bowl, covered, for 2.5 hours.
   
7. Knock down, letter fold 2x, shape into loaf, put into greased & floured loaf pan.
8. Into fridge at 230pm, out at 530pm.
9. Rise for 1 hour
10. Add 2/3 cup hot water.
    
11. Bake at 450F for 10 minutes, then at 400 for 30 minutes.
    

Notes:

1. When it came out after 1st rise from oiled bowl, it was soft like pizza dough, and had doubled in size. Very easy to handle, very soft but not really sticky, minimum flour recipe.
2. At 530pm when it came out, it was doubled in size again, in the pan. So probably too much yeast.
3. After a 1 hour rise, it was falling over the sides.
   
4. Could've stayed in the oven another 5 minutes.
   

Results:

• Great browning
• Nice thin, crispy/crackery somewhat shattery crust
• Super light, airy texture, like store-bought sandwich bread, with a tiny chew/pull. More "spongy" than regular sandwich bread (doesn't compress as much)
• No yeasty taste despite super-fast rise
• Not sour, not sweet.
• Overall doesn't taste like Grandma's bread, but is a rye variation

how much yeast?

DiMuzio talks about this in "Bread Baking: An Artisan's Perspective" (p 158).

For a lean dough @ 77F, he estimates the following percentages for peak fermentation times:

0.3% - 3 to 4 hours
0.4 - 0.5% - 1.5 to 2 hours
0.7% - 1 hour
1% - 30 to 45 minutes

Lots of variables enter in though:

1. Sweeter doughs require more yeast (typically over 12% sugar)
2. Richer doughs require more yeast
   

Grandma's Bread #15 & #16 - extrapolated

So I plugged in my weights & quantities from #14 to try to figure out baker's percentages for Grandma's bread #14. Here's what I ended up with (using the Expanded Pizza Dough Calculator on pizzamaking.com):

#15: single loaf based on #14 weights

MAKES 1 LOAF
Flour (100%): 342.88 g
Water (53%): 181.73 g
ADY (1%): 3.43 g | 0.91 tsp
Salt (2%): 6.86 g | 1.23 tsp
Honey (30%): 102.86 g | 0.31 cups
Buttermilk, fresh (85%): 291.45 g | 1.19 cups
Rye Flour (36%): 123.44 g
Total (307%): 1052.64 g | 37.13 oz | 2.32 lbs

Looking at the numbers, it seems funny. #14 and #15 dough is clearly wet, possibly over-hydrated, although wet + sticky dough is pretty normal for rye breads, which don't have much of a gluten structure. Also, according to Rose Levy Beranbaum, buttermilk is about 90% water and 1.75% fat, so the buttermilk by itself brings the hydration to ~76.5% alone (of bread flour only, or ~62.5% of total flours), without the water! This means we need to add ~3.5% water to get overall hydration to about 80%, which is pretty slack. So let's try an academic exercise:

1. Reduce water to 4%, which will make overall hydration ~80% of bread flour (or ~66.5% of flours overall); pretty slack, but less slack than breads up to and including #14!
   
2. Reduce rye to 25% (less stickiness, same flavor?)

So here is #16, the academic exercise :)

MAKES 1 LOAF
Flour (100%): 427.03 g
Rye Flour (25%): 106.76 g | 3.77 oz | 0.24 lbs | 15.43 tbsp | 0.96 cups
Buttermilk, fresh (85%): 362.98 g | 12.8 oz | 0.8 lbs | 23.7 tbsp | 1.48 cups
Water (3.5%): 14.95 g
ADY (1%): 4.27 g | 1.13 tsp
Salt (2%): 8.54 g | 1.53 tsp
Honey (30%): 128.11 g | 0.38 cups
Total (246.5%): 1052.64 g | 37.13 oz | 2.32 lbs

I would recommend making both of these, following same general directions as #14, and see what happens!

Directions

1. Heat buttermilk & water to 100 degrees.
2. Dissolve ADY and honey in buttermilk mixture; let sit for 5 minutes.
3. To mixing bowl, add flours, whisk to combine. Add buttermilk mixture. Mix on Kitchenaid #2 for 2 minutes. Should clear sides of bowl.
   
4. Let rest for 20 minutes.
   
5. NOW ADD SALT. Knead on #2 for 7 minutes.
   
6. Put in tub, cover and let rise for ~2 hrs, then into fridge.
7. Went into fridge at 615pm, out 945am next morning (15.5 hours total)
8. Rise at room temp for 2 hours
9. Preheat oven to 450F, bake 40 minutes with 1 cup hot water
   

NOTES on #16:

• I only added 70g honey (ran out), made up the rest of the weight with white sugar
• Even in mixing, hydration looks a lot more normal. In mixer, dough clears sides of bowl, but doesn't clear bottom (about coffee-cup size); out on lightly-floured board, very easily handleable
• Texture was MUCH tighter than #14, still a bit damp and soft, despite 1 hour rest. Crust was also thicker, not in a nice way.
• Better rise and oven spring than #14 though. My guess is that the yeast is OK, but it needs less buttermilk and more water, as well as overall higher hydration.
  

Grandma's Bread #14

Same old recipe, with a twist: I'm making 4 loaves for the holidays, so I decided to increase the recipe accuracy by weighing my otherwise normal volumetric measurements.

Here's what I have so far:

Makes 4 loaves

586g water (2-1/2 cups)
940g buttermilk (4 cups)
295g rye flour (2-2/3 cups of Arrowhead Mills rye flour)

820g bread flour (6-1/4 cups) (I weighed 6.25 cups 3 times, and came up with 810, 820, and 870g!)
52g table salt (7-1/4 tsp) - REMEASURE THIS I DON'T THINK THIS IS RIGHT!
11.6g* active dry yeast (4 tsp)
340g* honey (1 c)

* these two weights were calculated based on weight estimates found on the internet, i.e., 340g per cup of honey, 2.9g per tsp of active dry yeast.

Recipe: exactly like #11, with the following notes:

• 1st rise: 2 hours at room temp
• Retardation: 8 hours in fridge
• Final rise: 2 hours at room temp
• Bake at 450F for 40 minutes

Results:

• All loaves turned out close to the same: texture and crust very similar to #11
• Soft, flavorful, good balance of savory, sour and sweet.
• One on the right-most side of the oven seemed to rise the most, whereas the one on the left-most side got a tiny bit burned on the bottom and one of the sides at 40 minutes.

Notes

• Check the loaves on the sides carefully for burning at 30 minutes or so; if so, move the loaves around.
• Cooling in the pan for 10 minutes is a good idea! Then cool fully on racks.

True Spanish Tortilla

Ah, the true Spanish omelette, called tortilla in Spain, is served breakfast, lunch, dinner and for snacks; is served hot or cold; and can incorporate any number of fillings.

I like it pure and traditional: just egg, potato and onion. Sure, a little chorizo and truffle oil can be nice too, but totally not necessary; the "plain vanilla" version is immensely satisfying.

I made this for B's folks over Thanksgiving again; they loved it and asked for the recipe.

Spanish Tortilla (Tortilla Espanola)
Serves 2-4

1 recipe Aioli (recipe follows)
6 large eggs
3 medium yellow potatoes (like Yukon Gold or other yellow), peeled
1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 cup olive oil
Salt

1. Make Aioli and set aside (recipe follows).
   
2. Cut potatoes lengthwise into quarters, then thinly slice across into 1/8" thick "pie wedge" shapes (a handheld slicer or food processor works really well for this).
   
3. Spread potatoes out on cookie sheet, and dry off slices with paper towels. Salt generously.
   
4. In a large pan heat olive oil over high heat. Add sliced potatoes, and turn down heat immediately to medium. Cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Don't let the potatoes brown!
   
5. NOW ADD SLICED ONION.
6. Cook for about 15 minutes, until potatoes are soft. Again, no browning!
   
7. Drain potatoes in collander, reserving leftover oil. Taste potatoes, season with more salt as necessary. Let rest for 5 minutes.
   
8. Now, in medium mixing bowl, crack eggs, and whisk until just after yolks are broken (eggs will have yellow and clear streaks in it still).
9. SEASON EGGS WITH SALT.
   
10. Mix potatoes back into eggs, and stir gently to combine.
11. Let potato/egg mixture rest for 10 minutes
12. Heat a 8" non-stick skillet with 2 tbsp of leftover oil over medium heat.
    
13. Add potato/egg mixture (it will be near the top of the pan).
14. Using spatula, cook for 5 minutes, moving runny eggs under cooked eggs, scraping sides of skillet often.
    
15. Put a plate with no lip to cover the skillet. In one motion, flip tortilla onto plate.
    
16. Add 1 tbsp oil back to skillet. Carefully slide the tortilla from the plate back to the skillet.
    
17. Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes, shaking the skillet every 10 seconds or so.
18. Flip the tortilla over again (using the plate method described before), and WITHOUT OIL back into the skillet for 1 minute.
    
19. Flip the tortilla one last time, and cook for 1 minute. (Totals: 5 minutes, flip, 3 minutes, flip, 1 minute, flip, 1 minute, remove from skillet)
    
20. Once removed from skillet, let rest uncovered 5 minutes.
21. Slice tortilla into quarters. Serve warm or room temperature, slathered with Aioli.
22. Refrigerate leftovers; will keep for about 3 days.

Aioli
Yields about 1/2 cup

1/2 cup mayonnaise (do NOT substitute Miracle Whip!)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Salt + pepper

Whisk all ingredients to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Let rest for at least 30 minutes. Taste again and adjust seasonings. Use as needed, or refrigerate up to 5 days.

Eggnog ice cream

What says "winter" more than "ice cream"? ;)

B. bought some egg nog for Thanksgiving, so I decided to make some other use of it and make some ice cream. Made a recipe from the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream book. Incredible richness and flavor. Sure, they had a recipe for Egg Nog Ice Cream, but I just took their "Sweet Cream Base" recipe and doctored it a little. If you don't have nog, you can substitute using 6 egg yolks, 1 cup milk and some nutmeg.

Egg Nog Ice Cream

2 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup egg nog
2 tsp vanilla extract
Fresh nutmeg & cinnamon, a pinch or two each

In mixing bowl, whisk eggs on high speed for 1 minute. Add sugar gradually and once all is incorporated, whisk for another 1 minute.

Add heavy cream, egg nog, vanilla, nutmeg and cinammon and whisk at high speed for 1 minute.

Cover bowl and put in fridge at least 1 hour.

Freeze in ice cream maker according to instructions (in my case, 25-30 minutes in my rotating-bowl Cuisinart with a pre-frozen bowl).

Pack tightly into containers (it will be pretty soft still). Tap containers on counter to shake bubbles out. Top containers with plastic wrap on surface of ice cream, and freeze at least 4 hours to set up.

no knead #4

No knead bread #4

This is the Bittman/Lahey bread, using sourdough, with the corrected hydration. Instead of 1 tbsp starter, this time I'm trying 44g of my 60% hydration firm starter, which is close to 3 tbsp. Hopefully this will jump-start fermentation. Yeah I realize it's lower than the typical desired 15-40%, but I think it will do just fine; it's a pretty active starter. Added some wheat germ to see how it affects the nuttiness factor.

Remember, baker's percentages are all measured by weight! So if you're gonna bake, get a good scale! For the small ingredients (yeast/salt), you may need to get a micro-scale, b/c a lot of the larger kitchen scales just measure in even-numbered grams (2,4,6,8,10,etc)

Flour (100%): 430.77g
Water (80%): 344.62g
Starter (10%): 44g
Salt (1.8%): 7.75 g | 1.39 tsp
Wheat germ (1.4%): 6 g | 1 tbsp
Total (193%): 833 g

1. Measure out water
2. Dissolve starter a portion of the water; then add back into the main water
   
3. Add flour, then salt, then wheat germ
4. Stir to combine, until all raw flour is incorporated.
5. Cover tightly and set aside at room temp for 18-20 hours (start time: 845p, 18hrs=245pm next day, 20hrs=445pm; my rise was a little more than 21 hours.
   
6. Preheat oven to 500F, with cast iron dutch oven & lid inside.
   
7. Dust generously with flour, turn out and shape into a round. Cover and let rest 15 min.
   
8. Shape into a round, put on top of parchment, let rise in basket, covered for 45 min.
9. Remove dutch oven carefully, lower parchment & bread into pot, cover, and into the oven
10. Bake for 30 minutes, uncover, and bake for 12-15 more minutes.
    
11. Remove and let cool on rack for 1.5-2 hours.
    

Results:

See the photos!

• Good flavor, more sour than #1
• A lot more oven spring than #1, about the same as #2
• Texture is a little more heavy & dense than #2, but it's nice not to have that yeasty flavor
• Nice browning
• Crust thickness just like #2. #1 actually had a thinner crust I think.
  

For next time, I wish I could put the dough right on the dutch oven instead of parchment, which I think causes some steaming and extra thickness of the crust.