The Bizarre Kitchen Incident

Never Call Domino's Again

2007-02-25T17:21:00.000-05:00

For a long time, I thought all pizza was supposed to taste like Domino's/Pizza Hut/etc. Oddly enough, I don't remember the first time I discovered differently. As best as I can figure, it was sometime before I lived in Charlotte, but likely after I left Cleveland; that would put my pizza discovery squarely in Washington, DC - but damned if I know when, where, or what kind of pizza was involved.

Suffice to say, I have no shortage of "real" pizza these days and I'm real glad for that. If I don't make it myself, it's just a short walk to one of two shops or a simple phone call to another shop a half mile away.
There's a lot of pizza 'round these parts.

I have two favorite styles of pizza - one of which isn't even technically pizza.
New York style is how I prefer my pies; I love the thin crust and the monstrous slice size. Oh sure, Chicago deep dish pizza is good, don't get me wrong here, but I like the balance between bread and toppings in NY pizza.
My toppings of choice? Pepperoni, onion & black olives.

Second to NY pizza is something I didn't discover until I moved to Philly, and it can barely even be called a pizza.
Tomato pie is a regional thing found almost exclusively in the Northeast United States, most commonly in cities with a large Italian-American population. It's kinda-sorta like a pizza in that it uses pizza dough and tomato sauce, but it looks nothing like a pizza, nor does it taste a lot like one. In fact, tomato pies taste different from town to town, and even from shop to shop - much like there are different ragù recipes from family to family, there are different tomato pie recipes.

I first had tomato pie at a local pizza shop. It's not on the menu but, being regulars, we could special order it sometimes. It ain't cheap though.
What else to do but work up my own recipe for it?

The first thing one might notice about tomato pie is that it's not round. It's square or rectangular. The next thing you'll see is that this pizza-esque dish isn't dripping with cheese; depending on the version, you'll see anything from no cheese at all to a bare sprinkle of grated parm to a very thin layer of provolone or mozzarella. This "pizza" is about the tomatoes, not about the cheese.

Chellie's Tomato Pie
makes 1 large rectangular pie
special equipment: 1 large cookie sheet or half sheet pan

*Dough:
2 cups warm water
1 T + 1 t active dry yeast
1 t sugar or honey
5-6 cups hi-gluten flour, bread flour, or AP flour
4 T olive oil
2 t salt

Combine the warm water, yeast and sugar in a mixing bowl or in the bowl of your stand mixer. Let stand for 10 minutes, or until frothy.
Add the salt, olive oil, and 1 cup of flour. Mix until smooth.
Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough comes together in a smooth, slightly sticky ball.
Knead for 5-10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes by mixer, until the dough is soft, supple and very springy.
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and let rise, covered, in a warm place until doubled - about 1 hour.
While the dough rises, make the sauce.

Sauce:
Over low heat, saute 1 T of crushed garlic in 1 T olive oil. When the garlic browns slightly, add 1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes, 1/2 cup water, and a healthy splash of balsamic vinegar.
Raise the heat to medium.
Season to taste with salt, pepper, oregano, and basil.
Let the sauce cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid has evaporated - about 30 minutes.
Let cool to warm room temperature.

Preheat oven to 425*.

When the dough has risen, punch it down, knead it a couple times, and let rest for 5 minutes.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a rectangular shape. Transfer dough to a lightly greased or parchment paper lined cookie sheet or half sheet pan and stretch the dough to fit the bottom of the pan and slightly up the sides.
Let rest for 5 minutes.
With your fingertips, press indentations halfway into the slightly risen dough on the bottom of the pan. You should have a relatively flat rectangle of dough surrounded by a slightly raised crust along the edges.

Top the dough with the tomato sauce in a thick layer.
Bake at 425* for 17-22 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.
Remove from the oven and, if desired, top with a bit of shredded parmesan, provolone, or mozzarella cheese. Remember this pie is about the tomato sauce, so don't douse it in cheese.

Let the pie cool almost to room temperature.
Slice into squares and serve.

*Note:

The dough recipe can be divided in half and used to make a standard 16" round pizza.

The dough recipe can also be used in the same proportions or halved to make focaccia - after the dough has risen once and been punched down, shape as desired. Let rise a second time, covered, for 30 minutes.
When the dough has risen a 2nd time, again use your fingertips to press indentations all over the surface of the dough. Drizzle liberally with olive oil and season with salt and the herbs of your choice. Bake at 425* for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp on the outside.

Oh, how I miss my kitchen...

2007-02-22T19:45:00.000-05:00

Ever have one of "those" weeks? You know the sort - you're so busy during the day that the best you can manage is 5 minutes to grab some takeout for lunch, and when you're done at night you barely have the energy to lift the TV remote, let alone actually cook something.

Yeah, I'm having one of those weeks. It's nearly 8pm and I'm just taking a break from working. I hope to be finished by 10 tonight.
Fortunately I love my job. Seriously, I do.

Of course, working doesn't preclude me from thinking about food, and this week I've had a couple things on my mind.

First, cake. Not just any cake, though.
I'm in charge of the cake for Munchkin's upcoming 7th birthday party, and I've been tossing some decorating ideas around in my head. The birthday girl loves white cake with vanilla buttercream best, so we're gonna go with that. As for decorations, I saw this cake on one of my favorite food blogs and got inspired. I love the idea of 3-D decorating, and this is kinda like two treats in one. We'll see how well I can execute something similar, but at the very least I'll have fun.

Second to cake, I've been thinking about Mardi Gras. This insanity at work kept me from making jambalaya or beignets to laissez les bon temps roule; thus I've been thinking about New Orleans and food almost non-stop for two days now. And I'm dying for muffaletta.
If you've been paying attention, you know that I'm surrounded by olive-haters here, and a muffaletta without olive salad is just a sandwich. If I ever make it to the grocery store, I'm totally making myself the biggest, most olive-laden muffaletta this world has ever known. Kevin can fend for himself, I want me some big, drippy, messy sammich!

Bread. I desperately need to make bread.
Maybe tomorrow...

Crunchy Marshmallow Yum

2007-02-19T21:09:00.000-05:00

Rice Krispies were on sale at the grocery this weekend. So were marshmallows.

What might one do with an abundance of these two tasty ingredients?

Okay, here's the secret about Rice Krispy Treats: only use that recipe on the side of the box as a rough guide.

A couple years back, a friend and I were lamenting how Rice Krispy Treats tasted so much better when we were kids. At first we thought maybe our memories were tainted; this was twenty years and several concussions after the fact, y'know? But the more we talked about it, the more we just knew things had once been different.

So, armed with boxes of puffed rice cereal and many, many marshmallows, I got to trying out some different things. We distinctly remembered a richer, gooier treat than the current recipe turned out - so the obvious thing to do was to add more butter and marshmallows.

Well, it took several batches while I gradually scaled the amounts up, and at least one where things were just way too greasy, before the experimenting could stop. Looking back, I'm surprised we even wanted any more Rice Krispy Treats after all the failed - but still tasty - attempts we ate. But, at long last, I'd found a combination that made something pretty much identical to what we both remembered.

So it was good, and this weekend (with the sale and all) I decided to make these gooey squares of crunchy goodness once again. Believe it or not, Munchkin couldn't remember ever having them before. As much as she loves marshmallows, I figured we were good to go.

Real Rice Krispy Treats
makes 24 squares

6 cups of Rice Krispies, or other puffed rice cereal
1 stick of butter
16oz bag of miniature marshmallows

Start by buttering the bottom and sides of a 13"x9" pan.

Put the cereal in a really big bowl and set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt the stick of butter over low heat. Stir frequently and let it cook until it begins to turn a very light brown.

Immediately add the marshmallows and stir until completely melted.

Pour the marshmallow goo over the cereal and keep stirring until mixed well. Work quickly before the marshmallows set!

Pour into prepared pan.

Rub some more butter on your hands and pat the sticky crispy mass into a nice, flat rectangle, making sure to get into the corners of the pan.

Resist the temptation to eat them immediately. Let set for 30 minutes or so.

And there we were with a big ol' pan of Rice Krispy Treats - not just any Rice Krispy Treats, but good Rice Krispy Treats. After dinner, Munchkin and I got ready to have dessert.

She took a small bite and decided that she didn't like them.

*facepalm*

Valentine's Day: Dessert

2007-02-14T23:55:00.000-05:00

To top everything off tonight...

Cheesecake.

What's more simple than cheesecake? And what's more perfect? I love chocolate as much as the next girl, but I really, really love cheesecake.

For Valentine's dessert, I wanted something rich but relatively light; something simple but decadent.

To me, that called for a crustless cheesecake with some fruit to evoke warmer weather. We got snow and ice from that blasted winter storm, so I didn't need a reminder as to how cold it is outside.

I made a coulis of frozen raspberries and another coulis of poached fresh peaches. I tried my hand at some fancy plating (not my forté, if you couldn't tell!) and proudly called Kevin in for dessert.

My only complaint is with the peach coulis; the peaches were fragrant and delicious out of hand, but I lost some of the flavor along the way from fruit to sauce. Though the coulis has a lovely yellow-orange color, it's far too mild for our taste. I think next time I'll reduce the sauce once I've strained it...

Still.

Overall today was an amazingly good food day. I don't know if the cheesecake met the heights of our main course, but we were both happy to be eating it. And we both unabashedly licked our plates clean.

Valentine's Day: Main Course

2007-02-14T23:06:00.000-05:00

Ahhhh dinner!!! It was even better than I expected!

After being restricted to the bedroom while everything cooked, seared, and simmered
(save for the 2 times I snuck into the hallway and hollered for some more gougéres)
I was called to dinner to find:

Coconut seared scallops with chocolate sauce
NY Strip steak with a roasted red pepper beurre blanc
Wilted spinach with garlic
Potato gratin
And a couple extra gougéres on the side

*falls over dead from the sheer bliss of things*

There's no way I can choose a favorite item here, because it was all so good. The scallops were cooked just perfectly; their chocolate sauce, while unconventional, was spot on for the coconut crust and for the whole Valentine's Day thing; the steak was seasoned simply so the strong flavor of the beurre blanc came through; the gratin was the perfect mild complement to the flavors of everything else. Pure heaven.

We're going to have the dessert I made soon now and I'm not feeling very confident that it'll stand up to dinner... ;)

Valentine's Day: First Course

2007-02-14T19:16:00.000-05:00

I've been ejected from the kitchen for the time being while Kevin makes the important part of our Valentine's Day dinner. I'm not entirely sure what we're having; I had to come in and help unearth the mandoline and while I was there I saw some potatoes.

So, potatoes, scallops, and steak are involved. Otherwise I have no clue.

We must have something to snack on though, right? I didn't have time last night, so after work today I threw together something quick...

Gougéres
makes about 30 puffs
recipe adapted from Food & Wine

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1 stick butter, cut into tablespoons
1/4 t salt
1 cup AP flour
4 large eggs
3 1/2oz shredded cheese
1 t Dijon mustard
Fresh ground pepper & nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400*. Line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.

In a medium saucepan, combine water, milk, butter and salt. Bring to a boil.
Add the flour all at once and reduce heat to low. With a wooden spoon, vigorously stir the mixture until it comes together in a ball.
Continue stirring for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and let the dough cool for 2 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, incorporating each egg completely before adding the next. The dough will separate into clumps when you add the eggs and look ruined, but keep beating the dough hard with the wooden spoon and it will come back together.
Add the mustard and a pinch each of pepper and nutmeg and mix.
Fold in the cheese.

Using either a piping bag fitted with a large round tip or a tea spoon, portion the dough into approximate teaspoon sized mounds on the baking sheets. Keep 1" between each puff to allow for expansion.

Bake at 400* for 20-22 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.

Serve immediately.

These can be frozen for up to 2 weeks or held in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. If frozen, let thaw at room temperature. Reheat in a 350* oven until heated through.

This is a basic choux with savory ingredients mixed in to make bite-sized appetizers. The same base dough can be used to make cream puffs, éclairs, and churros.
It can be intimidating to work with at first, mostly because it requires an impressive amount of elbow grease to get those eggs mixed in, but the end results are so worth it. In addition, panade - the dough itself - is the only pastry dough to be cooked before baking. Serve these at a party and impress your guests with a little trivia along with the yummy bites!

Ah, candlelight.

2007-02-13T00:54:00.000-05:00

Dear dear blog...I'm so sorry for neglecting you. I meant to update you this weekend, I really did, but you know how it is. I made some food and I was too hungry to wait to take pictures of it. Well, that happens sometimes, and I was all set to do some mad typing on Sunday, when I had some quiet time.

Wouldn't you know it - our power went out. No, there was no storm or wind or errant truck hitting a power pole; it just broke.

Funny story about that power outage. I left to take Munchkin home Sunday evening and we stopped at the restaurant to say goodbye to Kevin. The waitresses cooed over Munchkin and I asked Kevin if he wanted me to bring him a burger on my way back. See, he cooks all this fancy food, but he perks right up at the prospect of a Wendy's bacon cheeseburger.
So with Munchkin in tow, we walked across the street to the car and about 5 seconds later discovered that all the streetlights were out. Turns out the power died over like 3 blocks right after we walked out of the restaurant.

Ugh.

I headed back, Wendy's bags in hand, and saw that the streetlights - and, ergo, the power - were still out. Kevin wasn't home, so I discreetly slipped in the back door of the restaurant to see what was up.

Kevin and Chef C. were in the kitchen, cooking by candlelight for a dining room full of customers. Let me repeat that - they were cooking by candlelight for a full house, every table lit only by a couple candles. There were candles on the pass, candles on the stations, candles everywhere, and they were cranking the food out like nothing was amiss.

I shook my head and dropped off the burger and fries, only having time to mutter "What the hell, dude?" and for him to shrug in response.

Well, what could I do but head home and light some candles of my own? I huddled under a blanket and got through a couple chapters of The New Professional Chef by candlelight until PECO got the lights back on. Some nice, light reading for sure, right?

So we both survived the terrifying multi-hour blackout of 2007. I think Kevin made out better than I did, though; he came home after the night was over and said a diner had sent a bottle of wine back to the kitchen. Apparently he was quite impressed that dinner went so smoothly considering, y'know, no one could really see anything. Being that Kevin's not much of a wine drinker, I excitedly looked around for his share of the wine I was sure he'd brought home for me, but alas...he just shook his head and told me he & Chef C. had killed it.
I suppose they deserved it.

This weekend's kitchen adventures were fairly tame, I do believe.

Munchkin and I made a giant pizza - dough from scratch, sauce from scratch, and just a bit of provolone cheese on top. I like square pizza, so we made a double batch of dough and used a half sheet pan to bake it. Mmmm square pizza.

Then for our sweet treat, we made mini churros. They had to be mini, as I did not have as much vegetable oil as I thought I did. They were very cute and very tasty, which is where there are no photos of the mini churros.

Next up: Valentine's Day!! Wonder of wonders, Kevin somehow managed to score the evening off. He's offered to make us a fancy dinner - steak and scallops are involved! - and I'm taking charge of dessert. And maybe some snacky foods if time permits tomorrow.

But it's a secret what I'm making so you'll just have to wait to hear about it.
I'll try my very hardest to get some pictures this time...

Comfort Food

2007-02-08T00:50:00.000-05:00

Terrible quality on that photo, I know. I was hungry. Sorry.

It's been one of "those" weeks this week and it's barely half over. Kevin's been fighting a cold and the weather has been just unbearable. One of several lingering fallouts of my former pro wrestling career is a ruined lower back, hip and knee. Usually I can manage pretty well, but when the weather is this cold it's real hard for me to move around.

So. Comfort food has been on the menu.

Monday, Kevin chased me out of the kitchen so he could cook us up some yummy dinner. Hooray! When the table was laid out, I discovered fried chicken and other stuff. A mustard sauce on the chicken - I tasted that first. In fact, I tasted that before I took the photo, and you can see where I stuck my finger if you look close.

After a few bites I figured out I had me a plate of fried chicken breast stuffed with bacon, onions & cheese. YUM!! Then there was the mustard sauce on top, and some chicken Ramen with the overly-salty liquid drained away. And, look, fancy sprinkles on the plate all decorative and pretty - parsley and paprika, I believe.
Not pictured: some macaroni salad and lightly toasted slices of the Saffron & Tomato bread.

It was goooooood. Hearty and tasty and fairly simple, and it was just right for the weather and our moods.

Tonight we had dinner at a friend's house and it was, again, comfort food. We all sat at the table to ground turkey tacos with your usual toppings - lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream, and salsa. Nothing fancy - our friend isn't much of a foodie type, really. The taco seasoning came from a packet, the salsa was from a jar, the cheese was a regular ol' bag of shredded Kraft. It was exactly what I ate frequently growing up; it was good then and it's still good now.

Sure, you can make your own taco meat seasoning. You can whip up some fresh salsa easily. You can get queso fresco instead of the Kraft cheese. But, really, who cares sometimes, y'know?

First and foremost, the fact that someone took the time to invite us to dinner and prepare food for us completely negates any ideas about fresh salsa or hand-mixed spice blends. Some people just don't cook, and I'm perfectly fine with that. I'd much rather have a simple meal like this where you can spill and laugh and talk loudly than a gourmet meal at a restaurant alone.

Second - we've all got our guilty pleasures, our junk food that we don't always blog about. I like the packaged taco seasoning because it reminds me of my childhood. Sometimes I like mac & cheese from a box, complete with nuclear-orange cheeselike powder.
I like Manwich. From a can. I may eat it on homemade rolls, but I like Manwich.

I'm not the only one with guilty pleasures as comfort food, am I?

Saffron & Tomato Bread

2007-02-04T18:59:00.000-05:00

So when's the last time you spent a thousand bucks or more to season your food?
Probably never, I'd wager. Even the most intrepid foodie isn't quite that crazy to buy a pound of saffron at a time. But if you ever wanted to, y'know, splurge a bit, you'd be looking at 4 figures to get 16 ounces of these teeny threads.

Okay, I don't need to tell you that saffron is the most expensive spice in the world; everyone who's spent some time in a kitchen knows that already.

The photo above is a more reasonable amount for the home kitchen. That's about half a gram of Spanish Coupé, which I carefully extracted from the darkest corner of our spice cabinet. At $10-15 a gram or more, it gets coddled like a baby - I keep it in a glass vial with a tight fitting cork, then it's wrapped in foil, then that bundle is stored in a sturdy zip-top bag. After all that, I drag out a chair to stand on and tuck it all the way in a back corner of the topmost shelf where no light or heat or draft can reach it.
(Most people have a spice rack. We have an entire cabinet for our spices/herbs/etc which makes dish storage a challenge. But, c'mon, priorities!!)

After watching this season of Top Chef, it was next to impossible not to have saffron on the mind (heh heh heh). Unfortunately I don't have Bravo's budget, so my use of saffron had to be calculated and judicious. Fortunately saffron has a strong, distinct enough flavor that a little bit goes a long way.
(*cough*cough*)

When saffron is paired with tomatoes and baked into bread, your loaves wind up with a beautiful orange color, a moist crumb, and a wonderfully complex flavor that doesn't need much more than a bit of butter or a hint peppery salami to enjoy.

Saffron & Tomato Bread
adapted from Fairholme Manor
makes 2 loaves

1 T active dry yeast
1/2 cup water, divided
about 8 saffron threads
1 1/2 cups crushed, seeded tomatoes
3 T honey
3 T olive oil
5 1/2 - 6 cups bread flour
1 T salt

About 1 hour before starting, steep saffron threads in 1/4 cup hot water. You can also do this the night before and hold in the refrigerator overnight.

Heat the remaining 1/4 cup water to 105* - 115*, or until it feels warm against the inside of your wrist. Mix in the yeast and the honey. In a large mixing bowl, or in the bowl of your stand mixer, allow to sit until frothy, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, warm the tomatoes and olive oil slightly.

Strain the threads from the saffron & water "tea" and discard threads. Add the 'tea' to the yeast mixture. Add the tomatoes and olive oil. Mix well.

Add 2 cups of flour and mix until incorporated. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Add the salt and 2 more cups of bread flour. Mix well.
Continue adding flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough holds its shape and is soft and slightly sticky.
Knead the dough for 5 minutes in a mixer or 10 minutes by hand, adding a sprinkle of flour if needed, until it's supple, smooth, and moist but not sticky.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in bulk, 30-40 minutes. While they rise, preheat the oven to 375*.

Gently deflate the dough and divide in half. Form into two loaves - either in loaf pans or freeform rounds. Sprinkle tops with flour and let rise again, covered, until doubled in bulk.
When the loaves have risen, gently slash the tops with a razor or a sharp knife about 1/4" deep.

Bake at 375* for 40-45 minutes, or until the loaves sound hollow when tapped. Cool on wire racks before slicing.

The Taste of Red

2007-02-02T01:02:00.000-05:00

In my random food-related perusings this evening, I came across an interesting question that got me all sorts of thinking; to paraphrase: How does a chef with a food allergy handle the preparation of a dish containing a potentially fatal (to them) ingredient? Given how important the process of tasting along the way, how does an allergic chef create a dish that they can't taste?

The answer, in my experience, is they have someone whose palate they trust do the tasting for them.
Kevin has a pretty severe allergy to shellfish; if he has a small cut on his hand that isn't even visible to the naked eye and he deveins shrimp, his fingers swell. If, god forbid, he eats shellfish, his throat swells and he can't breathe.

It's only fitting, of course, that one of his specialties at the restaurant is lobster bisque. No one else there can make it quite as good as he does, and by this point he can use his eyes and nose in the cooking process just as effectively as his tastebuds.
Except when they run out of one of the components.
Usually he has one of the other guys in the kitchen do the tasting for him if needed - if he's handling a new recipe containing shellfish, or if he gets a hankering to add some more complexity to a recipe he already knows by sight & smell.

A few weeks back, he ran into a bit of a situation. The restaurant closes for a couple hours between lunch and dinner, and those hours are spent prepping for dinner service. The other sous was off somewhere running errands and Chef C. was out for the day, leaving Kevin to handle his prep with only the garde manger and the dishwashers as company.
He was getting the bisque ready when he discovered there was no cognac in the restaurant. No time to go on an excursion for more, so he subbed in sherry and threw some in a small bowl; he ran it home so I could be his palate for him. I know how the stuff is supposed to taste, and I suppose I'm a better stand-in than the dishwasher. (*grins*)

I dutifully taste-tested (OH NOEZ! I have to eat lobster bisque, life is unfair!!) and after a moment I realized I couldn't keep my palate's secret any longer. I didn't have time.
"It needs...it needs something...it needs, ummm...it needs something brown!" I blurted. He looked at me funny, and I flailed about trying to explain.

You see, the taste of food registers as colors in my brain.
Oh sure, I can eat food and identify that there's basil in it, or fish sauce, or whatever. It's the categories of taste that I interpret as various colors, and I can only translate that into specific ingredients or classes of ingredient when I have time to sort it out in my head.

When I said the bisque needed something "brown," I meant that it was missing a certain earthiness - a murky pungency that came from the cognac. That flavor category registers as the color brown to me. Other brown tastes are cumin and chipotle.
The color green means a bright, but not citrus-acidic, flavor. Herbs like dill and basil are obvious "greens" to me, but so too are some vinegars, and buttermilk & yogurt.
Reds are thick, sharp, and sometimes spicy. Tomatoes, bell peppers, cured sausages, and wine taste red.
Orange is mellow and mild, but with a substantial mouthfeel. Orange is my umami.
Yellow is a sharp, bright taste - often different from green but sometimes the two shade together. The "tang" in blue cheese tastes yellow to me, as does ginger and most citrus.
It goes on and on.

When I examine a recipe and think about how its components work together, it's almost like a painting of sorts. The handy image up at the top of this post pretty accurately illustrates what baked manicotti "looks like" in my mind as I prepare it. (do you like my masterful Photoshopping or what?)

My internal monologue as I cook would probably be pretty interesting if others could hear it. I taste the food, and I think "Hm, this needs more green. What kind of green do I want...." Then I decide if basil is green enough, or if I want something really bright green like a sharp vinegar - or do I want a greenish-yellow?

I know most people don't experience food like I do, with the colors and all. It makes it really difficult to explain how I put together a recipe sometimes, or how I decide what flavors to pair with others. You can't just tell someone that you added enough red until it tasted right, or that their bisque needs something brown, ya know? You get some funny looks that way.

But honestly, I wouldn't want it any different.
It seems like it wouldn't be quite as interesting if food didn't taste like a rainbow.

Food and W(h)ine Tries Damage Control; Plus: Leftovers

2007-01-30T15:53:00.000-05:00

So.
After the kerfluffle yesterday over the Top Chef spoilers, Food & Wine today tried to do some damage control.

Yesterday, an intrepid reality tv fan found a Top Chef story on Food & Wine's server. Food & Wine prepared profiles of both Top Chef finalists in advance of the last episode so that we had a story on the winner ready to publish immediately after the season finale.
Food & Wine online

And with that, they linked the original article on (the apparent winner) as well as a questionable article on (the finalist who didn't have an article anywhere on F&W yesterday).
I won't comment on the questionable article save to say that a twelve year old could have come up with something more convincing for a creative writing class.

I will say that the the telling point here is the original URL of yesterdays "oops" article;
http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/bravos-new-top-chef-tells-all

Not bravos-new-top-chef-tells-all1 or bravos-new-top-chef-tells-all-(finalistname).
Just plain ol' bravos-new-top-chef-tells-all.
If F&W had prepared two stories ahead of time, the leaked one yesterday would have been named in such a way to differentiate between the two supposed stories.

Poor form, Food & Wine. Poor form. You should have just ignored the whole thing.

I guess we'll see what happens on Wednesday, but it isn't looking so good for one of the two youngsters.

(By this point, I'm sure everyone's already heard the news cuz this thing is everywhere now. Still, I omitted names in case anyone is actively trying to avoid any potential spoilers.)

In other news,
with all the tasty ricotta cheese leftover from the weekend, I wanted to be sure to use it up before it went off. Considering the lack of preservatives and all, I wasn't sure how long it would last. And I didn't want to futz around too much in the kitchen, seeing as I was in the middle of cleaning it around dinnertime yesterday.

While I washed dishes, I put a stockpot on to boil and threw together a quick sauce of crushed tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, garlic, basil, oregano, a pinch of nutmeg, a bit of sugar, and some salt & pepper.
Then I mixed the remaining ricotta with a small handful of shredded parmesan, some basil and black pepper, and an egg.
When the water hit a boil, I tossed in a pack of manicotti tubes and let them go for 7-ish minutes. A quick bath in cold water stopped the cooking so I didn't get gummy pasta.

After that, it was just a matter of putting some of the sauce in the bottom of my baking dish, filling the manicotti with the cheese mixture, plopping them in the dish, topping with sauce and cheese, and baking them for about half an hour.

I felt the dish came out perfectly, to be honest. It was what it was - a simple, quick meal that required little effort but delivered lots of taste. The pasta was firm enough to hold its shape, just barely on the soft side of al dente. Kevin said he would have preferred the pasta boiled a minute longer, but I think he's crazy; I personally wouldn't have boiled it a second longer than I did.
Maybe I'll do an extra 30 seconds next time as a sort of compromise.

Still. He did lick his plate clean, which I took as a good sign.

Whoops. F&W Spoils Top Chef

2007-01-29T16:07:00.000-05:00

Today, a short comment on delicious irony:
Technology spoiled by technology.

If you're a fan of Bravo's Top Chef - like I am - you've had your winner picked for weeks, maybe months.
(for the record, I choose my top 3 within the first couple shows: Sam, Ilan, and Cliff)
Now that we're down to the final two, speculation is running hot and loud in the blogosphere as to which cool 'do will prevail. Bets have been placed, potential spoilers tossed about, and interesting pick-apart frame by frame discussions on which way Padma is looking in the previews when she congratulates the winner are being had.

It seems wholly ironic that as we watch a television show on cable, possibly on fancy HDTVs with DVRs wirring and all manner of other technological wonders bringing us entertainment, that a dumb mistake on the internet brings the speculation to a screeching halt just two days before the show's finale airs.

Food and Wine magazine messed up bad.
This afternoon, for about 15 minutes, an article appeared on foodandwine.com. Scheduled for print in the March 2007 edition and probably intended for online publication on Feb 1st, it was aptly titled Bravo's New Top Chef Tells All.

And tell all is exactly what it did, as the article by Adam Sachs interviews the winner who won't be "officially" crowned for two more days. Right there, in black and white, the winner's name screamed out to anyone fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time.

Oh man, Food & Wine website people.
You screwed up good. Bravo isn't going to be pleased.

Lucky for me, I saw the article. I've never been a patient sort, so I don't mind knowing who wins...I'm the kind of person who shakes all her Christmas presents trying to figure out what's inside.
I also saved the article once I saw what it was, because I knew F&W would pull it as soon as they figured out what they'd done.

So if you, like me, want to know who wins Top Chef before the show airs,
feel free to view the article via either the messily-formatted HTML file HERE, which will open in your browser,
or the slightly-less-messily -formated PDF file HERE which will open with Adobe Reader.

THESE LINKS OPEN BIGHUGE TOP CHEF SPOILERS!!! Don't blame me if you didn't want to know and you open them anyway, mmkay?

Wow, you CAN make cheese at home...

2007-01-27T22:54:00.000-05:00

So the other day I was perusing my ever-growing list of food blogs that I read regularly. I drooled over some gorgeous photos, I lamented that I'd never be able to make that recipe, and then I stopped and blinked.

DIY: Homemade Ricotta Cheese.

Whoa, wait a second. Homemade cheese? Surely The Foodie Bride wasn't serious, was she?

I kept reading. She was serious, and the method she presented looked too simple to believe.
A gallon of milk, 5 cups of buttermilk and a little salt?
Just heat it to 170* F while stirring, then stop stirring until it hits 190*?

And as I stood there over the stove, Munchkin at my side, I inadvertently did a Keanu Reeves-esque "Whoa."
Cheese was appearing, and it was gathering fast.

I didn't have any cheesecloth as recommended - and couldn't find any at the store - so I took a moment before we started to line my colander with a double layer of coffee filters. I scooped the cheese from the stockpot into the lined colander and watched the extra whey drip out from the mound of ricotta. Neither of us could believe what we were seeing.

Somehow we managed to let it finish draining before we added some salt and dove in to try a bite.
Whoa. Dude, we totally just made ricotta cheese.

I boiled some water, threw in some cellentani pasta, and chased Munchkin away from the cheese so she didn't eat it all before dinner. When the pasta was done I made a quick sauce of butter, a small splash of pasta water, garlic and herbs. The pasta went into the sauce, I added a nice sprinkle of our homemade ricotta, and served with cheesy garlic bread.

Thank you, Foodie Bride. Our dinner was amazing.

Cinnamon Swirl Breakfast Quickbread

2007-01-25T17:01:00.000-05:00

It was a dark and stormy night...

Wait, no. It wasn't stormy. But it was dark and it was nighttime...and I had a lovely container of fresh, spicy cinnamon that had been calling to me all day. It was all "Hey! You! Yeah you there! Bake with me!!"

And it was 10pm when that cinnamon reeled me in. I love cooking and all, but I wasn't about to stay up past midnight to scratch that kitchen itch.

Enter the quickbread.

Cinnamon Swirl Breakfast Quickbread
makes: 1 loaf

Batter:
1 cup sugar
2 cups AP flour
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 t vanilla

Cinnamon swirl:
1/3 cup sugar
1 T cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350* and lightly grease a 9"x5" loaf pan
In a small bowl, mix the cinnamon and sugar for the swirl. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
In another small bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla and oil.
Add the liquid to the dry ingredients. Mix gently until just moistened. Do not overmix!

Pour half the batter into your prepared pan. Sprinkle 1/2 the cinnamon-sugar mixture on the batter. Add the rest of the batter and top with the last of the cinnamon-sugar.
Run a knife or a skewer through the bread to create a swirl effect.
Bake at 350* for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Simple. Quick. Crumbly and moist. Perfect with a hot cup of tea or coffee.
Yum.

On the Evolution of a Foodie

2007-01-22T01:11:00.000-05:00

It's a strange thing to watch - witnessing the evolution of a person's tastebuds.

A year and a half ago, when I stepped into this role as stepmom to Munchkin, she was a picky eater. Check that - picky eater doesn't quite express the solid days of tomatoes, processed cheese slices, mac & cheese from a box, Wonder bread, and Chicken McNuggets that made up 99.9% of the little one's diet. It was kind of a shock to me, really, having never been a picky eater myself. I'm from a fairly average meat & potatoes type family where we didn't eat much in the way of "exotic" foods, but I ate whatever the rest of the family was eating.

Dinners usually consisted of a simple salad followed by some sort of beef or chicken (the Bizarre family doesn't really eat fish), noodles or potatoes, a vegetable of some type, and maybe bread or rolls. Save for broccoli or mushrooms, which I hated, I happily ate some of every dish. We were - and largely, still are - pretty down to earth, simple eaters. Grandpa grilled steaks or chicken or burgers during warm months, and those warm months also meant fresh veggies from the garden. We didn't have anything with fancy sauces, and the most "exotic" we got was stir fried chicken - everything else was pure Americana with a bit of Eastern European influence.

Things really changed for me personally when I was about 19. I was dating a boy at that point in my life who had a much more worldly view of food. With gleeful abandon, he made it his personal mission to show me what I'd been missing.
Chinese food ... was something more than stir fry or sweet & sour chicken???
Cambodian food?? I didn't even really know where Cambodia was, but I loved the food.
There was more - so much more - but it was Greek food that really hit me square in the tastebuds. To this day, I still haven't found a Greek restaurant that stands up to my memories of the first time he took me to The Mad Greek in Cleveland, OH. It was more than a decade ago, but I still remember the saganaki we had, how stunned I was when the waiter brought it to the table and lit the cheese ON FIRE before extinguishing it with the juice squeezed from a lemon half. Oh my God, I was hooked.

When I moved to DC, I tried to find Greek food as good. I remember Zorba's, I remember another couple places I tried, but it just wasn't right, ya know? Admittedly, Zorba's has excellent hummus but something was missing.

I never could find anything to suit my taste for Greek food in North Carolina, and the passion waned some. I went on to discover other cuisines I'd missed - Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, it was all amazing. And once I made my way to Philly, I was happy to find excellent providers of several of my favorite ethnic foods, yet Greek remained elusive.

I had more important things to do than worry about finding good Greek food, though (as crazy as that sounds). I was truly finding my groove in the kitchen and I wanted to share it with the picky young mind of dear Munchkin. I never once held out hopes of getting her to eat sushi, though she still watches me with high amusement as I slurp down raw fish, but I really wanted to help her enjoy food.

It was a struggle early on, as those of you with children probably know. She flat out refused to try anything new - especially if it was green. I read up on picky kids and saw a lot of suggestions to get them involved in the cooking process, so I tried that route. We made all sorts of food, baked all sorts of goodies, but she'd just watch me eat them as she happily ate sliced tomatoes and processed cheese. After a month or so, I was cursing those blasted "experts" and the whole "get kids involved in the cooking process" idea. It just wasn't working. I was ready to throw in the towel.

But something slowly started to happen.
Slowly.
First it was the cheese. She gradually started trying different cheeses. Cheddar was good. Jack, muenster, provolone...she liked them. She tried a bit of Gorgonzola from my Cobb salad one day at lunch and loved it.
Oh my God, the kid likes stinky cheeses. There is hope yet!!

I remember the evening that everything changed. I mean, everything really and truly changed and she became a different kid. By that point she had mastered helping me bake bread, could work the Kitchenaid without any assistance, could measure ingredients alone, and took great joy in dragging a chair over to the stove or counter to watch what was happening. She could cook, but she still hadn't learned how to enjoy eating.
One Friday night we stopped off at an Italian/pizza joint. Kevin was working so it was a girls' night. Munchkin only wanted a snack, but I hadn't had dinner yet; I ordered the manicotti and she had a small plate of french fries. My salad came out first, and she watched me eat with interest. I asked if she would like to try a bite, and she thought about it for a second. She asked what kind of "sauce" I put on it- blue cheese. "Okay, I'll try a bite," she chirped.

I did my best to act nonchalant, but I was practically dancing. This would be the first time anything green and healthy had willingly entered her mouth.
I speared a bit of lettuce on the fork and made sure to include some of the shredded mozzarella. Like a baby bird, she held her mouth open and I held the fork out, barely daring to breathe.
She chewed thoughtfully for a second and swallowed.
"Yeah, I like that okay," she finally decreed.
In her six year old language, that meant that she really liked what she had just eaten and would almost definitely eat it again.

That was about four months ago now, and the child has turned into a salad fiend. I love me a salad - I mean, I really really love salads of any sort. Throw some stuff on top of greens, give me a little dressing, and I'm happy, but Munchkin is truly something else. Her little eyes light up like it's Christmas when she hears the world "salad" and she asks for one with practically every meal.
And it hasn't stopped there. Just the other week she ordered prime rib for lunch. Prime rib!! For LUNCH! This, from a child who would eat turkey or chicken a few times a year as long as she could dip it in ranch dressing, and pretty much forget about beef whatsoever. She's gone from zero to sixty in just a few months.

One afternoon, not too long ago now, I got an ad in the mail about a new Mediterranean place that had opened up nearby, and it listed a partial menu showing a pretty good selection of Italian and Greek dishes. I filed that info away for future meal plans, possibly one night that Kevin had off or something.
That meal plan came sooner than I expected when I picked up Munchkin for her weekend visit a few weeks ago and she had already eaten lunch. I hadn't, and since I only had my own hunger to worry about I decided to go check this new place out. She assured me she would be fine to have a soda and to sit and talk with me while I ate.

When we arrived, the full menu wasn't quite as extensive or "fancy" as The Mad Greek's, but it sure looked good. I settled on the combo plate, which I was told had a little taste of everything - hummus, baba ghanoush, dolmades, falafel, and a small Greek salad. It sounded lovely, and for the price I assumed it would be the perfect amount for a hearty lunch.
Munchkin and I sat and chatted and drank our sodas, and all the sudden this massive spread appeared on the table. There was a mound of hummus, a mound of baba, two falafel, four dolmades, a stack of pita, and the "small" salad was a meal in and of itself. I stared at the plates in amazement, then stared at the waiter in amazement.
"Oh my God," was all I could manage. The waiter smiled, and Munchkin giggled - then stole my fork and started in on the salad. She was fascinated as I started eating, and I explained what everything was. She made me repeat "baba ghanoush" about twelve times and laughed each time I said it, and kept eating my salad. That was fine - this was enough food for three meals or more.
And, oh my God, it was Greek food. It was good. I ate happily, and in between bites told Munchkin how happy I was to find a restaurant that served one of my favorite types of food. She looked at me wide-eyed. "You like this as much as you like sushi?!?" I nodded and scooped up some more baba before turning my attention to the falafel. She knows how much I like sushi, so this was a real revelation.

From the corner of my eye, I suddenly saw a small hand appear holding a bit of pita. It hovered briefly over the hummus, then the pita was dipped and I shifted my gaze to see how Munchkin liked her first taste of the chickpea goodness. "Oh!' she exclaimed, then smiled. She tore off some more pita, the same way I had been doing it, and had some more hummus. "Oh this is good!" she said happily, and Miss Not-Hungry helped me polish off that mound of hummus.

So today,
well, it's after midnight, so technically...on Sunday,
the three of us tried to figure out what to do for lunch. Munchkin had been talking about hummus last weekend, so Kevin asked me if the Mediterranean place had Italian food (he doesn't like Greek food. I know, right??) After a three second discussion, we decided to go there for lunch and with much glee we traipsed off into the cold.
Poor Munchkin was overwhelmed. She wanted it all. She wanted some pizza, but she wanted a salad too. And she wanted hummus. We got ourselves situated and made up minds - Munchkin and I would share some hummus, and she got a slice of pizza and a small side salad with mozzarella cheese. I stressed small when I ordered for her (she's at that stage that she doesn't like to order her own food). I should have remembered the last time we were there, because her small salad came and it was the size of my head.
Before long, it became apparent that she was more interested in my food, though. I got a salad too, though mine had olives, artichoke hearts, and a nice topping of fresh goat cheese in addition to all the regular salad fixins.

We already discovered that Munchkin doesn't like olives (insanity!!! She gets that from her father, the olive thing. How can anyone not like olives?), and she deftly avoided those as she pretty much ignored her salad and picked from mine. She liked the cheese better

And it hit me then and there: she was choosing fresh goat cheese - soft and pungent - over every kid's favorite shredded processed mozzarella. She didn't even finish her slice of pizza for the hummus and goat cheese salad she was gorging on.
Right before my very eyes, I am watching the evolution of a foodie. She's choosing quality over processed, bland ingredients.

It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

SHF #27: Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Toffee Hazelnut Sauce

2007-01-18T21:10:00.000-05:00

This month's Sugar High Friday caught my eye. How could it not? It's all about chocolate!! And I love me some chocolate - the more chocolate, the better is what I say.

It wasn't easy choosing one recipe. I rifled through cookbooks and websites, I viewed and reviewed my pantry, and I thought long and hard about chocolate.

Oh what a difficult, tragic life I lead.

I wound up mixing a few ideas together - like I usually do - and came up with something sure to fit any craving: chocolate, nuts, salt, and rich caramelly toffee. Okay, I suppose this wouldn't satisfy a fruit craving, but I suppose you could chuck some raspberries on there.

As to the brand of chocolate, I went with my current favorite "almost as good as Scharffen Berger" high cacao choice: Nestle Chocolatier bittersweet chocolate. This is an affordable option when you want rich, smooth, true chocolate taste without having to go to a specialty store and spend a bit more than you intended. Let's face it: just about everyone is on a budget and you can't always manage highest-quality. You won't sacrifice taste using Nestle Chocolatier, especially in baked products.
Not only did I use Nestle's chocolate, but I also used their Molten Chocolate Cake recipe to make the cupcakes.

Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes
makes 12 cupcakes

3/4 cup unsalted butter
8oz Nestle Chocolatier bittersweet chocolate (either morsels, or chopped bar form)
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup plus 1 T sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1 T AP flour

Preheat oven to 425*. Grease a muffin tin liberally with Crisco.

Place eggs, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl. Beat on medium-high speed with the whisk attachment until fluffy and light yellow, about 8 minutes. The mixture will drizzle into the bowl in a slowly-dissolving ribbon when it's been mixed enough.

While the eggs are being mixed: In a large, heavy saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the chocolate and stir constantly, until chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.

Switch to the paddle attachment (or, if not using a stand mixer, a sturdy spatula).
Slowly add 1/3 of the chocolate to the egg mixture, stirring slowly. Once the chocolate is incorporated, add the rest of the chocolate and the flour. Mix on low speed until a somewhat thin batter is formed.

Divide the batter among 12 muffin cups.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until set around the edges and slightly jiggly in the center. Place pan on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.
Gently run a knife around the edge of each muffin and turn out onto a rack to cool for about 5 minutes.

Serve warm with Salted Toffee Hazelnut Sauce, ice cream, or whipped cream.

(note: this recipe can also be made in 6 6-oz ramekins and will have a "molten" liquid center)

Salted Toffee Hazelnut Sauce

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
1 t vanilla
1 t kosher salt

Place all ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Over medium heat, stir until the butter and sugar melt.

Continue stirring occasionally until the mixture comes to a full boil - 5-7 minutes. Once it reaches a boil, let it boil without stirring for 1 minute.

Remove sauce from the heat and let cool about 10 minutes.

Spoon over cupcakes.

Anti-chocolate chip cookies

2007-01-14T19:15:00.000-05:00

Munchkin is an unusual child in that she doesn't like chocolate much. The only exception is when that chocolate comes in small doses mixed with peanut butter - think Butterfinger bars or peanut butter cups.

I was craving cookies, so for this weekend's baking project I decided to play on both my craving and her preferred type of candy. I took my standby chocolate chip cookie recipe and we made some substitutions.

Unfortunately not everything went according to plan...

Our oven has been cranky lately. It's a gas oven that tends to run a little bit hot, so I've been accounting for that with slightly lower bake temps. Saturday it decided to make some self-adjustments without my permission - and! - without warning me.

We mixed up our dough, merrily scooped it onto the baking sheets in nice little rows, and popped the first 24 cookies in the oven.
8 minutes later.....charcoal-bottomed cookies. They were completely non-salvageable; nicely browned on the top but burnt on the bottom.

I hate when that happens. The only redeeming factor was that I still had another 30 cookies or so worth of dough left and one higher slot in the oven to move the rack.

Fear not! The rest of the cookies baked perfectly after I made some appliance adjustments and our losses were minimal. We have cookies.

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies
makes about 4 dozen, give or take a few

1/2 cup butter flavored Crisco
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature (NOT margarine)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 T vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1 1/2 t salt
2 cups chocolate chips (can substitute any flavor baking chip - for these we used 1 cup peanut butter chips and 1 cup peanut butter & chocolate swirl)

Preheat oven to 350*

Cream both sugars, the butter and the Crisco together until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition.
Add the vanilla, baking soda, and salt and mix well.
Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, incorporating each addition before adding more.
Gently fold in the chips - I find it best to do this by hand with a sturdy wooden spoon.

Portion the dough with a small disher or a regular old tea spoon. I like "rustic" irregular cookies, so we just spooned a bit up and plopped it on the baking sheet. If you want neat, even cookies, use a disher or gently roll the dough into balls.

Bake at 350* for 8-10 minutes, until tops are lightly browned.
Let cool for a couple minutes on the baking sheets, then remove to wire racks.

I'm a fan of "crispy on the outside and soft on the inside" chocolate chip cookies; the butter helps with the crisp and the Crisco helps with the puffy & chewy. It's also important not to overbake your cookies if you want to retain the softness inside. I pull them when the tops are a light golden brown and the cookies are set. Obviously an extra couple minutes will give you a cookie that is crispier throughout.

After a day of reflecting on my poor burnt cookies, I've now realized that it really was for the best. What the hell would I do with 4 dozen cookies between 3 people?

Mac & Chee-zzzzzzz

2007-01-11T21:56:00.000-05:00

I'm too tired to drag out the camera to take photos. I really wanted to, but now that I've finally sat my butt down I really don't want to get back up again.

I had a good amount of "random cheese" in the fridge that's getting close to critical-usage stage. It wasn't just one kind of cheese, because that would have been too easy. No, I had some mild cheddar, some sharp cheddar, some jack, some blue, and some cream cheese.

While "at work" today I pondered what to do with all that cheese.
(I put 'at work' in quotes because I work from home, so I'm not really physically somewhere else than a few feet from my kitchen. I'm generally too busy to cook during the day, though, so I am, in a sense, at work.)
Cheese, cheese, cheese. We love cheese, and we love food made with much cheese in it. What to do with something close to a pound of random cheese?
The weather's actually cold right now, so cheese soup might be good. But cheese soup never reheats well, and this is a lot of random cheese. No soup for me.
A casserole of some sort? That's nice & easy, and I had a bunch of errands to run after work, so easy is good. Meh. I slacked on grocery shopping last weekend and the only veggies in the kitchen are onions and potatoes. And all the meat is in the freezer. Oops. No casserole.
Ooooh, hey. Mac & cheese! I have much macaroni, I have milk, I have cheese. It reheats well, and everyone loves mac & cheese!!

So I did my errands and made some phone calls and finally got to work on the goodies.

One pound of macaroni noodles into some boiling water.
A roux with 2 T butter and 2 T flour. Whisk that while cradling the phone between my shoulder and ear, mixing and listening to my nephew tell me about his Heelys.
Slowly add milk, still whisking and still with the phone between shoulder and ear. My neck starts to cramp but I don't have a free hand to do anything about it. The Béchamel comes to a simmer and thickens, so I add more milk whilst chatting with my mom.
AHHH! Stupid cordless phone! The battery died! I hurriedly whisk in the next bit of milk and run to the bedroom to get my cell phone. I run back to the kitchen, tucking the phone against my right ear this time.
My mom tells me about making homemade mac & cheese when she was in high school while I slowly add in the leftover mild cheddar and the jack - both shredded. Mom used plain ol' American cheese in hers, but thinks that my random cheese mix sounds like it'll be pretty good.
I add the crumbled blue cheese and whisk some more, then add some cream cheese that I've hacked up into little bits.
Hey, I'm pretty good at chatting while cooking. I add some more milk to make room for the sharp cheddar while I boast about the dozen roses Kevin brought me today. I briefly contemplate getting the camera out but get sidetracked by conversation and sharp cheddar.
A healthy dollop of mustard - champagne dill Dijon from Biltmore Estate, which, yes, is that good - and a few(dozen) grinds of pepper.
I start unconsciously telling my mom what I'm doing in broken sentences: "Gotta get a spoon for the mustard. One spoon of mustard...hmm, maybe another one. Aaaannnd some more pepper...now the salt...salt salt salt...hmm needs some more salt. Needs something else...oooh, some dry mustard would be good...mustard mustard mustard. Do do de do, stir stir...."
*pause*
"Oh damn, that's good...."
She laughs at me, but she's used to it. We kind of have a running joke where I call her up and list off what's in the freezer, or on the baker's rack, or in the spice cabinet.
Silently, I ponder whether it could use a shot of hot sauce or not and decide that no, it's quite good how it is right now. I pour the sauce over the cooked macaroni and mix, then scoop some into a bowl and - rather impolitely - continue my conversation with Mom while stuffing my face.

I finally sit down after like 4 hours of running around and decide that I'm not going to bother with the camera right now.
Maybe tomorrow. I have plenty left over.

In other news, hello to new visitors here in Bizarre-land! *waves shyly*
It seems that I've been getting some newcomers from this month's DMBLGIT and that makes me happy. I guess I'm not one to tread lightly, so after having this blog thing for like a month I went ahead and entered my first ever blog event.

To be honest, I don't think I stand a chance against the other amazing entries. Jeez, just look at those pictures!! My humble li'l cheesecake photo compared to the incredible talent of everyone else? Heh.
But that's okay. It honestly makes my day to see a new comment from some of the bloggers I've been reading (and admiring) for months now. :)

Tea for One

2007-01-09T23:00:00.000-05:00

One of the few cold nights we've had this winter, tonight is. Silly me for thinking winter = frigid in the Northeast, because I've been feeling more of a March vibe than December and January.

But the temperature is near freezing and that calls for but one thing: tea.

As luck would have it, I found some amazingly dark, rich local buckwheat honey this weekend. With my special mug warming my hands, I'll be having some tea time.

If only I had a rocking chair and a fireplace....

Zopf: Swiss Sunday Bread

2007-01-07T22:45:00.000-05:00

We're bread fans here in the Bizarre house. It's a good thing, too, because I like to make bread frequently and in large quantities.

While I was in the kitchen making the cinnamon buns, I decided to give the ol' Kitchenaid a workout and try out a new bread recipe recommended by a friend. It's a Swiss bread called Zopf, or Züpfe, and it's a braided loaf rich with eggs, milk and butter.

In my mind, you just can't go wrong with eggs, milk AND butter in a bread recipe. You really can't.

Zopf
makes 2 large braided loaves

1/2 oz active dry yeast
2 2/3 cup milk, about 110*
1 t sugar
2 egg yolks
4 T butter, softened
5 cups bread flour, plus 2 extra cups
1 T salt

For egg wash:
1 egg whisked with a splash of milk

In your mixing bowl, combine the yeast, milk and sugar and mix well. Let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.
Add the egg yolks, butter, salt, and 2 cups of flour. Mix well with your mixer's dough hook or a sturdy spoon.
Add 3 cups of flour and mix well.
Check the consistency of your dough; you will probably need to add more flour.
Add as much of the remaining 2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until your dough is soft, supple, and slightly sticky.
Knead 10 minutes by mixer or 15 minutes by hand until the dough is smooth and springy.

Place dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel. Let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size - about 1 hour. While the dough rises, prepare 2 baking sheets or half sheet pans by lining them with silicone mats or parchment paper.

Gently deflate the dough and divide in half. Divide each half into 3 equal pieces and roll each piece into a long rope. Place 3 ropes on each baking sheet and braid tightly. Tuck the ends underneath slightly to create a more uniform appearance.

Once braided, cover and let the loaves rise again until doubled - about 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425*.

When the loaves are doubled in size, brush liberally with your egg wash. Bake at 425* for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown and the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the side.

Cool on wire racks and enjoy!

Cinnamonalicious Cinnamon Buns

2007-01-07T21:51:00.000-05:00

I truly believe that there isn't much better in this world than a fresh cinnamon bun. Just those two words together - cinnamon bun - conjure up images of gooey frosting, warm, fluffy sweet dough, and the dark, spicy-sweet filling all rolled up into one perfect, decadent spiral of awesomeness.

You can smell them, can't you? You can feel the crisp bits of cinnamon-sugar and the little dab of cream cheese icing on your lip, right?

They're beautiful, they're delicious, and - best of all - they're easy to make. They're especially easy to make when you turn to one Mr. Alton Brown and his overnight cinnamon rolls, because most of the waiting happens while you sleep.

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

recipe from Alton Brown
Makes 12 buns

Alton explains the process step by step in his recipe, and the only change I can suggest is to add a wee splash of vanilla extract to the icing. The vanilla really wakes up the flavor of the cream cheese and brings together the icing and the cinnamon extremely well.

You may find it a little tricky to roll the dough at first, but go slow and be patient. You will be rewarded.

The overnight rise makes this recipe one for a weekend breakfast with the family rather than a complicated affair you reserve for special occasions. Don't wait for Christmas or a birthday to enjoy these melt-in-your-mouth treats, and most certainly don't spend $5 to buy one at the mall! Do a little mixing on Saturday evening, and Sunday morning be ready for your house to smell better than any bakery.

As 2006 fades...

2006-12-31T16:39:00.000-05:00

It's an exciting New Year's Eve at the Bizarre household!

Okay, not really. I'm sick with a chest cold and Kevin is working seatings at the restaurant tonight. Munchkin and I are trying to work up the energy to maybe possibly bake something but that ain't looking so good right now.

The first seating is at 5 tonight; Kevin and the rest of the crew have been prepping for it all afternoon. At 4:30, he came barreling into the house wide-eyed and panting. "We have an emergency!" he bellowed.

After determining that no one was hurt and nothing was on fire, I successfully got my heart rate under control. "I broke our piping bag. I don't know my own strength. Do you have one? I have to pipe goat cheese!" he finally managed.

Do I have a piping bag. HA! I have a tool box full of decorating gear.
With Munchkin's help - because she's my sous chef, don't forget! - we found him a bag and a star tip from my "backup gear" (read: not as nice as my Wilton stuff) and waved as he ran back out the door.

You get used to things like this when the chef lives a few minutes' walk from the restaurant.

Now that I've saved New Year's Eve, I think Munchkin and I will spend the next 7 hours or so eating junk food and having fun. With any luck, Kevin will make it home before midnight so the three of us can ring in 2007 in high style!

Kitchenmas!

2006-12-28T18:42:00.000-05:00

It was a Christmas of kitchenstuff here at the Bizarre household. Even Munchkin was included as, amongst her piles of toys, she found her very own set of "sous chef gear," which is about the cutest thing I've ever seen.

We grownups got toys more suited to our tastes, though. While we like horsies and coloring books just fine, both Kevin and I much prefer things we can play with in a culinary sense. And, as I've said before, I'm a gadget freak.

I spent an hour today rearranging my cake decorating kit. I had to, because under the tree I found a new cake comb, new cake boards, and like 50 new decorating tips. I'm not sure who was more excited about the tips - Munchkin or me. We both flailed a bit and went "ooh ooh!!"

I have yet to sort through the large bag stuffed full of utensils. We've got spoons and spatulas, chopsticks and a candy thermometer, and lots of things made of silicone.

There's a stack of tea towels, a stack of dishcloths (which my mom made for me, by the by. Did your mom make you dishcloths??), and a sweet oven mitt. I love oven mitts.

A bag of basmati rice is currently next to the box with the bread dipping kit. That's fairly close to another bag full of different oils, preserves, jams, and other gourmet edibles.

A new set of Pyrex - oh how I love Pyrex.

A George Foreman Grill - I love these too, no matter what purists may say. We live in an apartment so there are no "real" grills allowed. Besides, I can't make a good grilled cheese sandwich to save my life, and with a little help from my friend George I can have unburnt tasty grilled cheese.

The slicer/shredder attachment for our Kitchenaid. I'm thinking of making a carrot cake so I can use this and some of my new decorating tips for the same project. Mmmmm carrot cake...

Then there's the set of porcelain tableware from Kevin. We weren't planning on gifts for each other this year, but I'd been eying the set for a bit and when we happened across it on sale...well, we got some new plates and dishes.

The best gift of the season was pretty easy to choose, though.

Christmas Day Kevin and I opened the hand-decorated coffee mugs that Munchkin made for us. She pointed out that I could drink my tea from it, and since Daddy likes to get coffee from Wawa he could take his mug there and fill it up.

I did indeed fill my mug with hot tea, and while we haven't stopped by Wawa yet, Kevin will most certainly be using his as well.

Cheater's Pumpernickel

2006-12-27T22:38:00.000-05:00

People seem to either love or hate pumpernickel bread. For those who love it, it isn't always the easiest thing to make at home. Traditionally, pumpernickel gets its characteristic deep brown color and complex flavor from a long, slow, steamy cooking process and requires a full 24 hours just to bake. The more updated version uses a sourdough starter for flavor and some rather unexpected ingredients to achieve the dark color.

An even more updated - or streamlined, if you will - version eschews the starter and instead relies on an extra rise and a few other changes to get the taste and color we pumpernickel lovers love. After all the hustle and stress of Christmas, I wanted bread and I wanted it tonight.

So I cheated. I mean...I streamlined the process.

Cheater's Pumpernickel Bread
Based on a recipe from Southern Living
Makes 2 loaves

1 T + 2 t active dry yeast
1 1/2 cup warm water
1 t sugar
Combine the above in your mixing bowl and allow to sit at room temperature until the mixture froths and bubbles - about 10 minutes.

Add:
1/3 cup blackstrap molasses
1 T caraway seeds
1 T salt
2 T shortening
2 1/2 cups rye flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Mix well until incorporated.
Add 1 1/2 cups of bread flour and mix until combined. Add 1/2 - 1 cup additional bread flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough is stiff, slightly sticky, and cohesive.

Knead 10 minutes in a mixer or 15-20 minutes by hand, until dough is supple and springy.

Form the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased large bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean cotton towel and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
Gently deflate the dough and knead it once or twice. Form it into a ball again and return to your bowl. Cover and let it rise again until doubled, about 45 minutes.
Deflate the dough one last time and divide it in half. Form into two loaves - either freeform rounds or ovals, or into loaf pans. Cover the loaves and let them proof - away from the oven - once more until doubled, about 1 hour.

While the formed loaves proof, preheat your oven to 375*. Once the loaves have doubled, mist them with water and then bake for 25-30 minutes, until they sound hollow when tapped.

Cool and enjoy!!

A note about bread flour

In most bread recipes, bread flour and all purpose flour can be interchanged. Be aware that the two produce different results, though. AP flour will give you a more delicate structure and slightly less height, but your breads will definitely hold up. Meanwhile, bread flour contains the highest percentage of protein which will give your breads that airy, lofty lift we all think of when we think of bread.

If you're just going to make a loaf or two of bread, don't worry about buying an extra bag of bread flour; just use the AP flour you probably already have in your pantry. If you plan to turn out loaves more frequently, though, it would be a good idea to get yourself some bread flour.

When looking at bread flour, get the best you possibly can. Both Pillsbury and Gold Medal make fine bread flours, but if you want to go all-out, get you some King Arthur flour. I swear by King Arthur's Sir Lancelot hi-gluten flour to the degree that I have a 50lb bag of it in my kitchen, however SL isn't always easy to find. If you can get your hands on some Sir Lancelot, grab it up and guard your source. I have to get mine through the restaurant Kevin works at; they special order it for me through a food distributor. I'll never use a different brand, though, because the results I get from KASL are absolutely unparalleled.

By the way...
never use cake (or soft) flour when baking bread. It doesn't have enough protein to support the structure of the bread and you'll find yourself with sad, fallen loaves.

Merry Cheesecake to All!

2006-12-25T01:00:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season!

I ate what is perhaps the most interesting, wonderful combination of flavors at the dinner party we attended Christmas Eve. I offered to bring an appetizer after seeing this gastronomical giant posted in another blog, and I've never been so pleased about a food choice.

This lovely thing you see is a Blue Cheese Cheesecake from CulinaryConcoctionsByPeabody.com.

Seriously, folks. It's amazing. Absolutely, astoundingly amazing. We couldn't stop eating it and damn near ruined our dinner of prime rib. It's got the creamy consistency we all know and love when it comes to cheesecake, but the blend of cheeses make for an interesting mix of mellow saltiness and a tiny bit of "kick" from the blue cheese - I found a lovely strong Danish blue with all the taste but none of the stink. Kevin doesn't like blue cheese and he tore into this thing. The blue isn't overpowering; it provides a background note and enough tang to make things interesting. Blue cheese fans will love it and blue cheese haters may well start to change their tune after eating a few bites.

It's topped with an onion-pear chutney that I've now deemed the best thing I've ever eaten in my life. I'll be making this in mass quantities and eating it with roasted chicken, on hamburgers, over ice cream - maybe just straight from a bowl. It's sweet but not overly sweet. It's tangy from the vinegar. It's savory from the onion. It is perfection.

We served it with an assortment of crackers, pita chips, and some lightly toasted brown bread. If I had to choose a favorite accompaniment, it would be the brown bread - but the wheat crackers were delicious too.

Blue Cheese Cheesecake
makes 1 9" cheesecake

1 3/4lbs cream cheese, at room temperature
4oz shredded Asiago cheese
4oz shredded Monterey Jack cheese
8oz blue cheese, crumbled
5 large eggs
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 t pepper

Grease an 8" or 9" springform pan and preheat oven to 350*.
Cream together the cheeses until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding another.
Add cream and pepper, mixing well.
Pour into the springform pan.

Place pan inside a larger flat pan - like a roasting pan. Add hot water to the larger pan so it comes halfway up the springform pan.
If you already know what I'm talking about - bake it in a water bath.

Bake uncovered at 350* for 45-50 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the center is set and non-jiggly.

Top with Pear-Onion chutney (below) and serve with crackers or bread.

Pear-Onion Chutney

4 cups onions, diced
2 cups pears, cored and diced (you can peel if you want, but I like them better with the peels on)
1 t olive oil
pinch of sugar
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 t salt
Several grinds of pepper

Over medium-low heat, saute the onions in the olive oil with a pinch of sugar until brown and caramelized.
Add the pears and stir gently to coat.
Add the rest of the ingredients, stirring gently. Cook until the pears are tender.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the pears and onions to a separate bowl. Continue simmering the liquid until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
Return the onions and pears to the glaze and simmer, stirring gently, for 5 minutes.
Let cool to room temperature before serving with the cheesecake.

The best part?
There's plenty left over for my lunches this week, and I will be eating it. Yes I will.

A Truffle-licious Christmas

2006-12-18T19:25:00.001-05:00

Truffles seem to be the rage this holiday season, don't they? Everywhere I look, someone is making a batch to give as gifts or to bring to a party - and everywhere I look these people are posting pictures and oh my GAWD does it all look good!

When I asked our Christmas Eve dinner hosts if I could bring something and was asked in return what I'd like to bring, truffles were still on my mind. I offered to bring dessert (along with an appetizer and my Infamous Mashed Taters) with the idea to make some ostentatiously delicious truffles.

While I was at it, I decided to make some extras to bag up in these cute li'l cello bags with Santa on them to use as small thank-you gifts to some local businesses we frequent. Living in a small town like we do, one gets to know those they do business with on a regular basis.

I firmly believe you just can't go wrong when you turn to Jacques Torres for confectionery goodness.

Truffles by Jacques Torres
from Dessert Circus at Home
makes about 180 small truffles

18oz heavy cream
21oz bittersweet or dark chocolate, good quality (note: that new Nestle Chocolatier stuff? Yeah, thassgood.)

Chop chocolate into small bits with a large serrated knife. Place in a large bowl.
Over medium heat, gently warm the cream until small bubbles form around the edge
Pour half the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 30 seconds. Using a whisk, stir until the chocolate begins to melt. Add the rest of the cream gradually, whisking to incorporate.

If you wish to flavor all or part of your ganache, do so now. You can use liqueurs or spirits like Grand Marnier, or you can use flavoring extracts like coconut or mint. Add the flavoring gradually to taste.

White Chocolate Truffles

6oz heavy cream
16oz white chocolate, chopped fine

Repeat above process to make the white chocolate ganache.

Pour warm ganache into a half sheet pan, a 13x9 baking pan, or other relatively flat container. Chill in the refrigerator about 1 hour, or until firm.

Meanwhile, prepare baking sheets or half sheet pans by lining with parchment paper, wax paper, or silicone baking mats.

When the ganache is firm, use a melon baller or a teaspoon to portion the chocolate onto the prepared pans. Don't worry about making them look pretty; you can do that later.
Alternately, you can pull the ganache a little sooner, when it's of toothpaste consistency, and use a piping bag fitted with a large round tip (Wilton 1A or 2A). Pipe small dollops onto prepared pans.
Chill ganache again for at least 1 hour, or until the chocolate lumps are firm.

Once the chocolate is firm again, quickly roll each into a ball using your hands and then roll in your desired coating.

Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks, though they won't last that long.

Possible coatings

About the only limit is your imagination! You can use:
Cocoa powder
Confectioner's sugar
Finely chopped nuts
Coconut - toasted or untoasted
Crushed hard candies
Ground spices ("mellow" them out with confectioner's sugar or cornstarch)

I made two recipes of the plain chocolate and 1/2 recipe of the white chocolate and turned them all into 6 different types of truffle.

Bittersweet chocolate coated in cocoa powder
Bittersweet chocolate flavored with coconut, coated in crushed macadamia nuts
Bittersweet chocolate coated in toasted crushed almonds
White chocolate coated in crushed candy canes
Bittersweet chocolate coated in honey dust
Bittersweet chocolate half-coated in crushed toasted almonds and half dipped in white chocolate, with a sprinkle of fleur de sel.

The Zen of Sourdough

2006-12-15T19:39:00.000-05:00

Mark Bittman's "No Knead Bread" is lighting a strange sort of fire under the buns of cooks the world over. It's kind of creepy, how this technique is spreading like a pandemic, but I understand why.

How long have we been subsisting on a diet of squishy, bland, overprocessed Wonder bread and its ilk? Pre-sliced, pre-packaged bread became the norm in the 20s and 30s thanks to Wonder Bread, and as supermarkets started to dot the country the average American grew lost to the art of breadmaking.

Bread as food is almost archetypal in the consciousness of humanity. We've been eating it for millenia. In fact, the cultivation of grain is widely considered to be the driving force behind homo sapiens' gradual transition from nomadic hunter-gatherers to settled colonists some 10,000 years ago. Bread is why we are who we are now.

In terms of breadmaking, the process itself hasn't changed too terribly much over the ages. Grains were ground fine, they were mixed with liquid and some sort of leavening, or rising, agent, and they were heated until cooked. These ancient peoples had to work a little harder for their leavening, though; the dough would be left to "rest" for several hours or more to allow wild yeast to take hold and raise the bread. Later, bakers discovered that the byproducts of beer- and winemaking produced an even lighter, fluffier loaf when used in their breads .

Today's breads are made with the same principles. True sourdoughs and other breads like Ethopia's flatbread Injera are allowed to ferment for several days in order to attract and cultivate the wild yeast that leavens the bread to varying degrees. Other breads are made with commercial packaged yeast - a different strain than the barm ancient bakers got from their brewer neighbors, but packaged and ready-to-go yeast nonetheless.

Sourdough bread. We think San Francisco when we think of sourdough bread today, but its history dates back to ancient Egypt. Bakers would reserve a piece of dough from the day's breadmaking to use in the next day's loaves. That piece of dough is essentially identical to today's sourdough starters - the carefully nurtured batter that gives sourdough its characteristic "tang" thanks to the inclusion of harmless, but tasty, bacteria that ride along with the yeast.

Making and maintaining a sourdough starter, much like breadmaking itself, is a labor of love. It's kind of like a pet that isn't fuzzy and doesn't cuddle up to you while you watch TV. It just sits there, smelling funny, waiting for you to feed and coddle it.

Sourdough Starter

1 cup flour
1 cup water
1 T sugar or honey
1 small piece of apple or 1 grape

note: Do not use metal containers or utensils when working with your starter.

Place the above ingredients in a glass, ceramic, or plastic container. Mix well using a plastic or wooden spoon until it forms a thick batter.
Cover with a clean cotton towel and place in a warm spot, preferably on a windowsill with the window cracked open.
After 24 hours, remove 1 cup of the batter and add 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup water. Mix well. This is called "feeding" your starter.
Let it sit another 24 hours, and repeat the feeding process.
Continue feeding your starter every 24 hours until it has a nice, sticky, bubbly froth over top and bubbles throughout. It will also smell sorta soury-beery. It may take 3 days, it make take over a week. This depends on the yeast in your locale, the conditions in your windowsill (or wherever your starter lives), or perhaps the price of silver. A sourdough starter is a highly personalized thing and each one is different.
And if you're sitting there after 10 days with a stinky, non-bubbly mess...well, that's okay. The temperature may have been too cold, who knows. Occasionally it just doesn't work. Try again, and if it still doesn't work then the wild yeast in your locale might be a bit sluggish. Start the process again, but this time add a pinch of packaged yeast to the batter. That'll kickstart the process and give your wild yeast a nice happy home to move in to.

Caring for your starter

Okay, this is the cool part. Once you've gone through all that to get a working starter, you really only have to worry about it about once a week afterwards! Switch that cotton towel out with a loose fitting lid and store your starter in the refrigerator. I like to use the plastic 2 quart drink pitchers with a pouring spout that you can get at any discount store; they're plastic, they're cheap, the lid is perfect, and it has a freakin' spout for pouring!
note: a pungent, straw- or brown-colored liquid will appear on top of your starter. That's supposed to happen. This is called hooch; just stir it back into your starter.
Once a week, remove 1 cup of starter and replace it with 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water. Let it sit in a warm spot for 24 hours and return it to the fridge. That's all there is to it! You can make bread now.

Kept properly and fed regularly, a sourdough starter will literally last forever. Some bakeries use starters that were first created more than a hundred years ago!

Breadmaking is a very Zen experience. Many people today shy away from it because they think it's difficult, or because they think it just takes too darn long. I used to think that too, and resorted to paying $5 a loaf for "fancy" bread that tasted significantly better than Wonder Bread, but generally nowhere near as good as I now know the homemade stuff tastes.

Here's a secret: making bread is not difficult, and your actual interaction with the pre-baked product is maybe 20 minutes or so. When your bread is rising, you don't have to do anything with it. Hell, you don't even have to be home. Mix everything up, and go take a bath or clean the house or get your nails done. It'll be just fine.

"But...but...I have to go to my kid's school play which will take two hours, and my dough is only supposed to rise 1 hour!"
That's okay. Bread will work around your schedule. Here are the two big rules about bread:
1) Sweetening agents and/or heat will make the yeast work faster
2) Salt and/or cool temperatures will slow the yeast way down
The faster yeast work, the quicker your bread rises. The slower they work, the slower your bread rises. Mix and knead your dough and stick it in the fridge overnight to bake the next day. It's all good. Hold it in the fridge while you're at the school play and take it out when you get home. It'll be fine.
In fact, most breads, sourdough or not, have a better flavor if you let them rise in the refrigerator for a long period of time! The slow rise allows for some friendly bacteria to hang out with the yeast, and those bacteria taste good! You just let the bread do its thing, and it'll let you do your thing.
It's chill like that.

And no, it's not difficult to mix and knead bread. Modern conveniences like a stand mixer make the process a bit quicker, but you don't need one to turn out loaves that'll make the bakery at your local grocery weep jealously. All you really need is a sturdy wooden spoon and about 10 minutes worth of elbow grease.

I actually like to get down and dirty with a blob of bread dough. It's vaguely meditative, actually. You don't need to think about what you're doing, you just let your hands work the dough while you ponder world peace, the meaning of life, or what the heck happened on the last episode of Heroes.
Push. Fold. Pull. Turn. Push. Fold. Pull. Turn.
Ten minutes later, you have bread dough along with enlightenment.

No excuses allowed, unless you like don't have any hands or something. My six year old stepdaughter can knead a batch of dough that turns out two large loaves. She has to stand on a chair to reach it, too.

If a six year old can make bread and make it well, then you can too. You wouldn't want to be upstaged by a six year old, would you?

You'll notice that Munchkin is up high enough to exert a good amount of downward pressure on the dough. Let gravity do some of the work for you in the kneading process; get that dough on a slightly lower surface and your hands won't tire like they will if you knead on your normal work surface. You've got bodyweight on your side now.

Sourdough Bread

1 cup starter
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 T sugar or honey
Mix the above well in your mixing bowl. Let it sit, covered, at room temperature until the mixture bubbles and froths, or for up to 10 hours. This is called a sponge.
(you can do this before bed, then mix the dough before work, and have fresh bread for dinner that night!)

To your sponge, add:
1 stick (8 T) unsalted butter, melted
1 T salt
4 cups bread flour

Mix well with a spoon or with the dough hook attachment of your stand mixer. Watch the consistency of the dough; you want a soft, slightly sticky dough that easily comes together in a ball (and will cling to your dough hook if using a mixer). If the dough is too sticky, add more flour 1 T at a time. If it's too dry or stiff, add more water 1 T at a time. The dough is done when it's soft, springy, and a bit sticky.

Knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes, or by machine for 5 minutes. It will lose its stickiness and will become supple and smooth, almost like a baby's bottom.
Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean cotton towel. Let rise at room temperature for about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk. You can also pop the covered bowl in your refrigerator and let it rise there for 8-10 hours.

Punch the dough down by gently smooshing your fists into it.
Divide in half and shape into two loaves - either into log shapes to fit bread pans or free-form oval loaves.
Cover and let rise about 45 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.

Preheat oven to 350*
When the loaves have risen, use a sharp knife or a razor blade to make 1/4" to 1/2" deep slashes across the tops. There are several "designs" you can use when slashing your bread, but with loaf shapes the most common is one long vertical slash, or 3 or 4 slightly diagonal ones. This gives the bread more room to expand in the oven, and it looks pretty cool too.
Brush with an egg wash or some melted butter. (for this recipe, I like to brush with melted butter and top with a sprinkle of kosher salt)
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the loaves sound hollow when tapped.

Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

Don't forget to replace the part of your starter you used by adding 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup water. Let it sit out for 24 hours before returning it to your refrigerator.

Pumpkin Threeway

2006-12-14T17:03:00.000-05:00

What's better than pumpkin when the weather cools?
Pumpkin and its squash cousins just taste like fall and winter. There's no rhyme or reason to it; when most of us think pumpkin, we think crisp nights and the smell of snow in the air.

Unfortunately when most people think pumpkin, they also think pumpkin pie. Don't get me wrong; I love me some pumpkin pie, but it seems only a small minority of the population realize that pumpkin is so much more than pie.

Three versatile recipes follow, from breakfast to dinner, from entree to dessert.

The most telling example I have of "Ew, pumpkin what??" is my favorite non-pie pumpkin application.
A couple Thanksgivings ago, my mom made a pumpkin roll to serve with dessert. The recipe called for around a cup of pumpkin, and she had purchased one of those big 30-some oz cans of the stuff. There was a LOT of leftover pumpkin that she didn't want to see wasted...so I said I'd come up with something.
I was already working on a couple other dishes and we had a full menu planned, so I wanted simple and somewhat unassuming. What to do, what to do? Why, we had no soup on our menu! I remembered seeing recipes for pumpkin soup somewhere along the line, but I couldn't remember any of the important details - including what goes in pumpkin soup other than pumpkin.
Not one to let something so trivial stop me, I threw together what I thought would be tasty. Come time for dinner, I ladled that soup out and proudly served it to my perplexed and mildly horrified family. They all stared at their bowls with more than a little trepidation, and as spoons slowly went from bowl to mouth I could tell they were only trying it to be polite and fully expected to discreetly move on to the "normal" food after one bite.
Since I don't serve food that I haven't tasted, I already knew it was good. In fact, I was halfway through my bowl before anyone else had worked up the nerve to try the stuff. From the corner of my eye, I saw the surprise register on everyone's faces as they tasted, and before long the soup was gone.
My recipe has evolved since that first foray, but it remains simple and fuss-free.

Pumpkin Soup

Makes 6-8 appetizer or side dish sized servings

24oz pumpkin, pureed (roasted and pureed raw pumpkin, or canned pure pumpkin)
36oz chicken or vegetable stock
1 medium white onion, small dice
1/2 green apple, grated
1 T brown sugar
Heavy cream
Dry mustard, nutmeg, curry powder, salt & pepper
Green onions to garnish

In a stockpot, saute the onion in a bit of butter or oil over medium heat until translucent.
Add the stock and the pumpkin and allow to come up to temperature, whisking well to combine.
Add the grated apple and mix well.
Add 1 teaspoon curry powder, 2 teaspoons dry mustard, brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Whisk well and then let it simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Season to taste with salt & pepper.
Slowwwwwllly add heavy cream, whisking the entire time, until you achieve your desired consistency and creaminess.
Taste and adjust for seasoning again.

To serve:
Ladle into ramekins or small soup bowls. Top with a sprinkle of nutmeg and some sliced green onion.

Pumpkin Muffins from Cooking Debauchery

Next in line of my favorite pumpkin recipes is a recent discovery from the ever-incredible Kitarra over at Cooking Debauchery.
Oh holy hell, these muffiny-cupcakey things are amazing.

I made a few adjustments to her recipe based on, of course, personal taste and what I had on hand; the most drastic change was omitting the fruit.
I went with:

Muffins:
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1 t salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 t baking soda
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup canola oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup skim milk
1/2 t ground ginger
1 t cinnamon (maybe more...we like cinnamon)
1 T vanilla

Filling:
1 8oz brick of cream cheese
1 t cinnamon
1 t vanilla
3 T brown sugar

I prepared it as directed in the original recipe. As mentioned there, overmixing the batter will give you rubbery, dense muffins. Use a gentle hand and mix only until the dry ingredients are moistened.

My favorite part of these muffins is how easily they transition to a simple dessert. They're awesome with your morning tea/coffee, but they're also just sweet enough to cap off a hearty dinner.
Let's not mention that picky children will happily eat some pumpkin if they think it's a cupcake, too. There's enough wiggle room in this recipe that you can easily make them low fat (sub out some of the oil with applesauce...yum!), and between the vitamin A and fiber pumpkin carries, your kids won't know they're eating something healthy.

Next up is another mishmash recipe that I cobbled together from various other recipes and ideas.

Pumpkin....and pasta. Together. In the same dish.

Pasta with Sausage and Pumpkin Alfredo Cream

Makes: 4 entree servings

1lb pasta, cooked and drained
1lb sweet or hot Italian sausage (bulk, or casings removed)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock, plus more as needed
1 cup white wine
2 T butter
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup heavy cream
Small handful of sage leaves, chiffonade
Half a handful of basil leaves, chiffonade
Nutmeg, salt & pepper

Brown the sausage and drain well. Remove to a bowl.
Deglaze the skillet with wine, then whisk in pumpkin, stock, butter, and a pinch of salt over medium heat. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Whisk in the heavy cream and bring up to heat. Add the Parmesan and whisk gently until combined. Simmer for 5 minutes, until thickened. If sauce is too thick for your liking, add a bit of stock until it reaches the consistency you like.
Add sausage and simmer for 5 more minutes.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add 2 pinches of ground nutmeg.
Just before serving, add sage and basil and mix well. Add salt or pepper as needed.

Serve over pasta.

Meatloaf, smeatloaf, double beatloaf. I hate meatloaf.

2006-12-13T19:24:00.000-05:00

Oh, how I've hated meatloaf. It induces a reaction very much like Randy's in A Christmas Story. I don't recall a time that I ever actually liked the stuff. Dry, bland, and invariably soaked in a river of ketchup in a vain attempt to give it some sort of "oomph" is generally not my idea of palatable food.

To my chagrin, Kevin loves meatloaf. If he can't decide on something from the menu, I tell him to get the meatloaf and he does, and he's happy.

Then I found recipes for...Crockpot meatloaf. It piqued my interest, and I set out to make a surprise treat for my dear meatloaf-loving better half.

My first problem with meatloaf was always how dry it usually is. But if I were to cook it carefully in a Crockpot, I could probably retain a good amount of moisture. There may not be any need for gravy or ketchup!
As to the second problem - the bland flavor - it could also be easily remedied with judicious use of cooking liquid and some creative spice usage.

Hot damn, I may be on to something here!

Having never made meatloaf before (seriously.), I recalled a Good Eats episode where my venerated Alton Brown addressed just this issue, and I hastened to dig up his recipe. I now had a handful of existing recipes and a different cooking method to work with.

I picked bits and pieces from the different recipes and adjusted for what I had on hand. Then, since this was meant to be a special treat for Kevin, I included some of his favorite flavors (namely, the mustard). When all was said and done, I came up with....

Not Your Mama's Meatloaf

Makes 1 large meatloaf
Special equipment: a 5qt or larger Crockpot, Vegeta seasoning mix, heavy-duty aluminum foil
Note: plan ahead for a cooking time of 12 or more hours!

2.5lbs ground chuck
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 medium onion, minced or shredded
Store-bought Ceasar seasoned croutons, pulverized
3 beef bullion cubes dissolved in 1 cup of hot water
2 cloves garlic, crushed (or more to taste)
Yellow mustard
A-1 sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Vegeta seasoning mix, dry mustard, thyme, kosher salt, pepper
Red wine vinegar

Prepare the Crockpot:
Take a length of foil and crumple it loosely. Place it in the bottom of the Crockpot. This will keep the meatloaf from sitting in the cooking liquid and cooked-out fat and getting soggy.
Take another length of foil, about 30" long. Fold it in half lengthwise and tuck it in the Crockpot so the two ends stick out and form the "handles" you'll later use to move the meatloaf around.

All mixing is done with your hands. Don't squeeze or handle the mixture roughly. Be gentle!
Place beef in a very large bowl and add the eggs and onion. Mix well with your hands, using a light touch. Add the pulverized croutons a bit at a time until the mixture easily comes together in a ball.
Add a healthy squirt of yellow mustard, probably about 3 tablespoons' worth. Add a shot of A-1 sauce. Add the garlic. Mix well.
Add 1 tablespoon of Vegeta, 1 teaspoon of thyme, 1 teaspoon of dry mustard, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
Now is the time to make your final adjustments for consistency. If the mixture is very wet and loose, add more pulverized croutons. If it's dry and crumbly, add some of the beef bullion water.

Remove your foil "sling" from the Crockpot.
Divide the mixture in half. On the piece of foil, form the first half into a flat round or oval shape that will fit your Crockpot.
Place 1 cup of shredded cheddar on the mixture, staying within 1/2" from the edges. Don't be afraid to mound it up tall!
Carefully shape the rest of the mixture over top of the cheese, being sure to seal the seam.

Use the foil "sling" to place the meatloaf in your Crockpot, placing it directly on top of the crumpled foil you put in the bottom earlier.
Pour a shot of red wine vinegar on the meatloaf, then carefully add the remaining beef bullion water to the bottom of the Crockpot. Fold the foil "handles" down over the top and pop the lid on.
Cook on low heat for 12-14 hours, or until a meat thermometer reads 165*.

Yes, I know it's an awkward cooking time. You could let it go overnight, which is what I did, then stick it in the fridge and reheat in the oven before dinner.

And thus has ended my 30 year hatred of meatloaf.
As we ate, I asked Kevin what he thought of it, and he glowered at me. "I can't talk now, can't you see I'm stuffing my face??"

Gadgets & Gizmos

2006-12-13T00:50:00.000-05:00

I'm remarkably easy to shop for come gift-giving time. My mom even commented on it with Christmas fast approaching; when in doubt, just give Chellie something for the kitchen. That's all I need to make me happy, really.

Indeed, I'm a gadget freak.

I'm very quickly running out of shelf, counter, drawer and cabinet space here, and I can't seem to stop.

I don't want to stop!

I do have some essentials, however...

Kitchenaid Stand Mixer - This is my end-all, be-all of kitchen gadgets and gizmos. I don't know how I survived without one, and I don't know that I'd be able to function if some nefarious culinary thief crept into our kitchen late at night and stole ours. Our workhorse - which I've named Julia - gets near daily use and often multiple spins in a single 24 hour period. It kneads my bread dough, it mixes my batters, it whips eggs, and damned if it doesn't sit there and make my kitchen look cooler. I don't even have a single attachment for it (yet!!) and it's my most-used appliance.

Immersion Blender - Soups, sauces, small food processing jobs; this baby gets almost as much use as the Kitchenaid. And it's multiple gadgets in one! I always forget how powerful it is. I remember when I'm not careful and I splatter soup all over the stove when I get too enthusiastic in my immersion blending.

Crockpot - Don't think of it as the thing your mother switched on in the morning so she wouldn't have to cook dinner when she got home in the evening. Think of it as a vehicle for the best meatloaf, chili, stew, pulled pork, bread pudding, beans, and hearty soup you'll ever have. I love my Crockpot and once the weather cools, as it has now, it gets a real workout.

Wooden Spoons - I love wooden spoons. I can never have enough wooden spoons in all shapes and sizes. My family once collectively gifted me with about 50 wooden spoons and it was one of the greatest gifts ever.

Silicone Spatulas - Much like wooden spoons, these things are amazingly versatile. They don't melt or warp, they're soft enough for delicate sauces but sturdy enough to scrape out that last bit of cake batter, and nothing sticks to them!

Silpats/Silicone Mats - Your baked goods will never stick again. Ever. You should already have a couple of these in your kitchen.

Pepper Mill - I called my mom a heathen last Thanksgiving while we were preparing dinner and I discovered she only had that awful, tasteless pre-ground pepper. Yuck. We had to go get one of those one use disposable pepper mills just so I could impart the peppery goodness to our Thanksgiving dinner. Seriously, who can eat that awful pre-ground stuff?? Let's just say her Christmas present last year was fairly obvious: she got a giant 2 foot tall pepper mill.

Cast Iron - Whether it's a gadget or not, a heavy, well-seasoned cast iron skillet is one of my essentials. From grilled cheese to steaks & burgers to the perfect batch of caramelized onions, you cannot go wrong with cast iron.

Your Perfect Knife - Every cook, beginner to pro, should have at least one knife that feels like an extension of their own hand. Wüsthof 's 7" Santoku is mine, but it's different for everyone. Kevin likes his gigantic 10" Chef knife, however it's far too unwieldy for me to use safely. Visit a knife store in your area and find your perfect knife! You'll know it when you hold it.

Unglazed Quarry Tiles - Forget spending $30 on some cheap pizza stone. Forget uneven heating in your oven. Head to Home Depot and grab a box of unglazed quarry tiles for like $5, and you'll have enough to line the bottom of your oven 5 or 6 times over. They distribute heat evenly and turn out the most amazing bread and pizza. Just make sure to get unglazed so no yuckies seep into your food.

Kitchen Scale - From weighing flour to portioning things, my kitchen scale is always close at hand. Admittedly, I use the scale almost exclusively for breadmaking, but I still consider it an essential in my kitchen.

Meat Thermometer - Because it's the only way to really know that your turkey is done. Or your meatloaf. Or your chicken.

Pyrex - More for cooking than baking, I love my Pyrex. Every kitchen should have at least a starter set of Pyrex containers because they're just about as versatile as a wooden spoon.

Potato Masher - It's the only thing I use to make mash. End of story.

Mortar & Pestle - Again with the old school. What can I say? There's something viscerally satisfying about bashing the hell out of your food. Aside from that, you'll not get a better rough crack on peppercorns from anything else.

Piping Bags & Tips - Cake decorating may be my newest hobby, but a decent set of decorating tips comes in handy for so much more than pretty buttercream. Whipped shortbread cookies go from blah to better-than-store bought with a squeeze, deviled eggs never looked nicer, and cupcake frosting just got a whole lot more interesting.

The only brownie recipe you'll ever need

2006-12-12T23:47:00.000-05:00

Attn dieters: STAY FAR AWAY!!!

Much like the Infamous Mashed Taters, these brownies are a special occasion food.

This is a slightly modified version of Alton Brown's brownie recipe (all hail Alton!). In my eyes, Mr. Brown can do no wrong, but sometimes my personal tastes dictate some minor deviation from his gospel of food.
Not only are these amazingly delicious, but you probably have everything you need to make them in your kitchen right now.

Rich Fudgy Brownies

8 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1lb butter, melted
2 1/2 cups cocoa powder (like Hershey's)
1 1/2 T pure vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
2 t kosher salt
1 T cinnamon

Dark chocolate chips (like Hershey's Special Dark or Ghirardelli Dark)
Chopped nuts - optional

Butter and flour a 13x9 pan. Preheat oven to 300*.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and cinnamon.
Whip the eggs until fluffy and light yellow. Add both sugars and beat until creamy.
Add the melted butter, salt, and vanilla and blend well.
Add the dry ingredients slowly, mixing well between each addition. When all the dry ingredients have been added, continue to mix for a minute or two until the batter is smooth and thick.

Pour batter into the prepared baking pan. Liberally sprinkle chocolate chips over the entire top of the batter to cover.
If using nuts, sprinkle the chopped nut of your choice on with the chocolate chips.

Bake at 300* for 60-75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs sticking to it. Watch carefully, as you don't want these to overbake - and they're overbaked if your toothpick comes out clean

Let cool 30 minutes or so before you try to cut them.

If you like a no muss, no fuss brownie that's moist, dense, rich, and incredibly chocolatey, then this is the brownie for you. The flour is almost an afterthought, just enough there to hold things together. There's nothing extraneous here - just chocolate with a hint of cinnamon to deepen the flavor.

Infamous Mashed Taters

2006-12-12T23:08:00.000-05:00

I call these "infamous" because you will become the thing of legend in your family when you serve them. Bring them to a potluck and you'll never be asked to bring anything but these again. You will be worshiped for your amazing potato skills.

One word of caution: treat these as a "special occasion food." Save them for holidays and such, because if you try to eat them more often than a few times a year you will fall over and die from clogged arteries. These are NOT healthy!

Infamous Mashed Taters

5lbs of Yukon Gold or other yellow potato
1/2 lb butter, cubed
Many, many cloves of minced garlic
8oz brick of cream cheese, cubed
Heavy cream
Salt and pepper

Equipment: large stock pot, old school potato masher

Prep the potatoes:
If you like texture in your mash, partially peel the potatoes. If you're a wuss and don't want any skins in your mash, peel them completely. You wuss.
Cut potatoes into relatively equal pieces and place in a large stock pot. Cover with cold water and add 2 tablespoons of salt.
Bring water to a boil and let it go until you can easily slide a fork into a potato piece.
Drain carefully.

Leave the potatoes in the stock pot and add the butter. Use the hand masher to smush everything up a bit; the butter will melt very quickly. Repeat the process with the cream cheese.
Next, slowly add the heavy cream a bit at a time, mash-mixing in between additions, until you reach a slightly thicker consistency than you'd like.

Now we will season!
I'm a huge fan of those big ol' jars of pre-minced garlic. Purists may laugh, but in hot dishes you really can't tell the difference. Start adding garlic to the potatoes. I use a tea spoon at a time right from the jar, mix-mashing and tasting between additions, until it's as garlicky as I want it to be. Do the same.
Next add salt and pepper. Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper is best, and I recommend you use those. Like the garlic, this is based on personal taste so work a bit at a time.

When your potatoes are garlicked, salted and peppered to your preferred levels, add any additional heavy cream to thin the mash out. Again, this is to your preference so add until it's how you like it!
Mix-mash until everything is as smooth or lumpy as you want it, and serve immediately.

I like lumps, I like skins, I like a LOT of garlic, and I love plenty of pepper.

One more thing.....if I hear about anyone using a hand mixer or a food mill or anything but an old school potato masher on these, I will remove my recipe from your possession. These are rustic, rich, indulgent mounds of love and they are not to be trifled with.

Roasted chicken with mango salsa

2006-12-12T22:47:00.000-05:00

Okay, I admit...this is a summer meal. It turned out so well that I'm perfectly willing to dig up the photos months later.

Don't let the winter months stop you, though. If you can find tasty mangoes, go for it! The flavors may just find you thinking of warm summer evenings even as snow falls outside.

Roasted chicken

1 whole chicken
1 fennel
3-4 lemons, quartered and zested
1 onion
Fresh Italian parsley
Butter, salt & pepper

Start the evening off by preheating the oven to 475*.
Take the chicken and stuff it with some quarted lemons and half the bulb of the fennel, quartered.
Next, use your fingers to loosen the skin over the breast of the bird. Take some of the fennel fronds, some of the parsley, and a bit of lemon zest and stuff it under the skin.
Put it all in a baking dish and pour melted butter over Mr. Chicken.
Add a healthy few sprinkles of kosher salt and some fresh cracked pepper.
Add some more quartered lemons, the green stalks of the fennel, and a rough chopped onion to the dish.

Bake at 475* for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is nicely browned.
Lower the temperature to 350* and cook until a meat thermometer reads 165* at the thigh.

Mango Salsa

2-3 ripe mangoes, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
Fresh cilantro, chiffonade
Olive oil
Cumin
Salt and pepper

Mix the mangoes, onion, and cilantro together. Drizzle with olive oil until moistened.
Season to taste with cumin, salt & pepper.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or overnight) to mingle the flavors

Serve the chicken either halved or quartered, depending on your appetite.
We like chicken, so I serve it halved.

Accompany this with fresh seasonal vegetables of your choice. I used some amazingly sweet corn on the cob, and included a generous dallop of my infamous 'mashed taters' on the side.

Pain au chocolat

2006-12-12T22:25:00.000-05:00

I don't believe in taking things slow. After never having baked anything more complicated than chocolate chip cookies my whole life, I cranked out a few loaves of bread to great success.

That was way too easy, I thought. I needed a challenge. And I needed chocolate.

I recalled a conversation I'd had with Beth where we were discussing, of all things, baking. She commented that she hadn't yet worked up the gumption to try her hand at croissant because it was so complicated. Now, she certainly didn't intend the comment to be a challenge, but I took it as one to challenge myself.

Could I make croissant?
Jacque Torres made it sound fairly doable...and even explained how to make the divine pain au chocolat, which would certainly take care of my chocolate cravings.
I decided to dive in.

Pain au chocolat
Makes 16 pastries

Dough:
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon dry active yeast
generous 1/2 cup cold water
3 1/3 cup bread flour, plus more as needed
2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
generous 1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 lb + 2 tablespoons butter, softened at room temperature to spreadable consistency

Filling:
~9oz bittersweet or dark chocolate - GOOD QUALITY - use chips or chop up bar chocolate

Egg wash:
2 large egg yolks
1 large whole egg
scant 1/4 cup whole milk
scant 1 tablespoon sugar

Several hours before you start, take the large quantity of butter out of the fridge and place in a bowl to soften. It should be of spreading consistency when you start the dough.

Melt 3 tablespoons butter and allow to cool to room temperature. It should still be pourable, but not hot.
In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the cold water.
Place the flour, salt, sugar, milk, and melted butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. On medium speed, mix until the ingredients are just dispersed.
Add the dissolved yeast and mix at medium-high speed for 2 minutes, or until dough begins to form and pulls away from side of the bowl.
Check the consistency of your dough. If it's very sticky, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time. If it's very dry and stiff, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time.
The dough is ready when it's soft, springy, clings to the dough hook in a ball, and is only a tiny bit sticky. Add flour or milk until you hit that point. (I had to add almost 2/3 cup more flour to get it right)
Remove the dough hook and scrape dough off it with floured hands.
Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of flour over dough in the mixing bowl and use your hands to gently form it into a ball, turning to coat the whole thing lightly in flour.
Cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let the dough proof for 30 minutes.

Remove dough to your work surface. You can either lightly flour your counter or wherever you normally work, but what I did was take a length of parchment paper, 15" wide by about 36" long and lay it out over my surface.
Knead the dough gently a few times. If it's sticking badly to your hands, incorporate a bit more flour into it.
Roll the dough into an 8" x 15" rectangle about 1/4" thick. This is where that parchment paper came in handy, for measuring purposes as well as easy mess cleanup!
Wrap the dough in parchment paper or plastic wrap, place on a baking sheet or some other hard surface, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Remove dough from the refrigerator and return to your work surface. Bring the softened butter! If you're using the parchment paper method, you just need to unwrap and go. Otherwise, lightly flour your work surface again.
Lay the dough so the long side faces you. Spread the butter over the right 2/3 of the dough. I found a silicone spatula to work well for this, but it's going to be messy regardless.
Fold the (butterless) left third of the dough over the center, then fold the right third of the dough to the left. Now it should resemble a folded letter. This is called a "single fold."
Roll this out into another 10" x 30" rectangle about 1/8" thick.
Give the dough a book fold, or double fold, by folding each short end to the middle so they meet but do not overlap. Then fold one half over the other half like you're closing a book. Jacques may balk at me doing this, but the parchment paper makes some of the folding much easier, and your hot hands don't have to touch the dough as often, thus there's less butter melting.
Re-wrap the dough, put it back on your baking sheet, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

At this point, you can leave the dough in the refrigerator overnight and finish the pastries the next morning if you want.

Remove dough to your work surface again - either parchment paper lined or lightly floured.
Roll into another 10" x 30" rectangle and turn it so the long side faces you.
Give the dough a single fold by folding the left third of the dough over the center. Then fold the right third of the dough to the left.
Re-wrap the dough and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes for its final chill.

Prepare 2 baking sheets by lining with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Remove the dough to your work surface once again, and this time roll it into a 10" x 36" rectangle about 1/4" or so thick. Try to keep it looking as much like a rectangle as possible, as this will make slicing easier.

Get ready to work quickly!!!
With a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, slice the dough into 16 equal rectangles. I cut 4 even strips long-wise, then cut each of those into 4 equal rectangles.
Lay each rectangle on your work surface, with the long side facing you, and place about 1/2 tablespoon of the chocolate in the upper third of each one. Fold that third of the dough over the chocolate. Place about another 1/2 tablespoon of the chocolate along one seam of the folded dough. Fold the bottom third of the dough over the chocolate.

At this stage, they can be frozen for up to one week if well wrapped in plastic wrap. Thaw on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet overnight in the refrigerator before proceeding.

Turn over the pastries so the seams face down. This will keep them from opening as they bake. Place them on your prepared baking sheet. They'll get bigger as they proof and bake, so space them about 2 inches apart.
When you've formed all 16 pastries, loosely cover the baking sheets with plastic wrap or floured tea towels and let the pastries proof at room temperature until they've doubled in size and look all airy and poofy: 1-2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prepare the egg wash by whisking the ingredients above together well.
When the pastries are doubled in size, gently brush the egg wash over them to cover completely.

Bake for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees until golden brown and delicious. (mine took about 12 minutes)

They're best fresh from the oven - though let them cool for a few minutes so the chocolate doesn't burn your mouth! - but they're also delicious eaten at room temperature the next morning.

You can wrap any leftovers tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for about 2 weeks. Thaw at room temperature and warm in the oven if desired.

Welcome

2006-12-12T16:49:00.000-05:00

She cooks! She bakes! She used to benchpress 250lbs before dislocating both shoulders!

I am Wondercook.

Well, actually, I'm Chellie, but Wondercook sounded kinda nice for that little intro bit there.
I really need to get some work done on this place, but while I take a break from that let me tell you a little about me and my food.

I didn't really start cooking until I was in my 20s. Sure, I'd puttered around in the kitchen before then, but it was infrequent and far from interesting. I used to find a recipe and follow it to the very letter, and that was never very fun for me. Food was a necessity of life, and the creation of it was merely a means to an end.

My outlook on food changed when I spent several years in North Carolina. Something about Southern food wormed its way into my soul, and for the first time I found joy in not only eating good food, but making it as well. Maybe all the butter and bacon greased up my culinary muse, but something happened to me in the Southland and I became obsessed.

Cooking became my secondary passion - trailing just barely behind my then-career as a professional wrestler. I learned how to throw out my recipes and to work with my senses instead. I never got into any concepts like fancy sauces or French words I could barely pronounce; I just made everything up as I went along. I was, and still am, an almost 100% improvisational cook.

The only downside to throwing away my recipes was the fear of baking I developed. Everyone knows that you have to Follow The Recipe when you bake, right? Horrible, terrible, disastrous things will happen if you don't! Ergo, my baking repertoire consisted of chocolate chip cookies and Rice Krispy treats. That's it. I wouldn't touch anything else with a 10 foot pole.

Somewhere along the way, serendipity struck in the form of a chef who thinks I'm pretty spiffy-keen. Insert your atypical boy-meets-girl, fall in love, happy cheerful hearts story here. The relevant part of the story, for BKI at least, is his occupation. A real, live chef - someone who loves food as much as I do!

My wrestling career came to an end thanks to post-concussion syndrome and I suddenly found myself with a whole lot of spare time on my hands. This is when my second food-transformation happened.

This is a household of carb-lovers. We love pasta. We love rice. We love potatoes.
And...
we
love
bread.
My dear friend Beth is a baker extraordinaire. After hearing her talk about all the wonderful, amazing breads she creates, I started to rethink my phobia of baking. I mean, she makes it all sound so easy! Maybe, just maybe I could manage to follow a simple bread recipe.

With much trepidation and crossing of fingers, I approached baking.
And after a couple weeks of playing around, I was kicking myself for having wasted almost 30 years of my life by not baking. (assuming an infant could bake...) You see, my 'playing around' uncovered a passion even greater than my passion for cooking: a passion for baking, and baking mostly bread. And not just a passion, but some weird sort of knack for the whole thing.
I went from zero to "Hi I made my own wild yeast sourdough starter!" in less than a month, much to the delight of my bread-loving hubby.

Now that the last barrier has been broken down, I'm balls-out in the kitchen. I don't care what it is, I'll try making it. Croissant? Yup, got that down pat. Brioche? Been there, done that. Fancy sauces? Definitely getting there.

Next I just need a creative outlet to share my foodie-ness with the world...how might I go about doing that....