Jun 20th, 2009
Turning the page of Bread Bakers Apprentice from the Casatiello Bread, I jumped for joy to see Challah as the next recipe. I love Challah! The slightly-sweet flavor, the twisted shape, the ability to grab and tear a chunk off with my bare hands.
On the whole it’s a pretty simple process – a one-day loaf, and just a few rises. I ran into some trouble, I think because I left the second rise to go too long, and the dough ended up a bit tougher than I would have liked. I debated with fillings and toppings, but settled on one plain loaf, and one topped with black sesame seeds (to replace the color of poppy seeds, which I love, but without the flavor, which I don’t like as much).
Loaf one was gone in just two days, and #2 has been making me amazing breakfasts all week long. Yeah toast!
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Tags: BBA Challenge, bread baker's apprentice, Challenges
Jun 13th, 2009
I’ve missed several weeks, being away, but I’m back on the challenge wagon now – and what a bread to start back with, but a Casatiello bread! It’s a rich, buttery, brioche-like dough, with salami and cheese sprinkled throughout…kind of like a pizza in a loaf of bread.
It was a one-day process, which was nice – a simple soaker of yeast, flour, and milk. The dough needed to sit for a few minutes, and since I was multi-tasking with making my Curry Lime Chicken Salad, I think I might have let it sit a bit too long – when I went to mix in the 3/4 cup of butter (yeah, not a light recipe) the dough felt extremely stringy. Suppressing my panic, I moved ahead, and in the end it all turned out well. Sometimes, not having a stand mixer to beat doughs into submission can be quite frustrating.
But it’s been a great bread for every meal this week – as toast with eggs, or a sandwich bread, or just for snacking.
Next week, on to challah!
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Tags: baking recipes, BBA Challenge, bread baker's apprentice, bread recipes, other people's recipes
Jun 12th, 2009
My favorite summer meals require a minimum of time in front of my stove. The combination of spices and cool yogurt in this chicken salad make it a staple in my fridge for the hot months. I like it best layered up with some cucumbers and toasted bread, and washed down with a limoncello lemonade (recipe to come soon!).
It’s a fairly basic recipe – the fillings can be changed or left out depending on what’s in your fridge. I’ve filled it out with chopped green apples, red onions, celery, carrots, and almonds…really anything you like. I particularly like the addition of the lime zest and the chili powder – it adds a citrusy bite.
Read on for the recipe!
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Tags: 30 minute meal, chicken recipes, easy recipe, lunch recipes, salad recipes
Jun 10th, 2009
stuffed pita with cheese and za'atar
My trip to Israel was incredible, filled with wonderful people and thrilling experiences. I climbed mountains, crawled through tunnels, floated in the Dead Sea, sang, laughed, and cried. Food wasn’t really a central focus, ususally eaten in cafeterias or hotel dining rooms on our way out to the next activity. But now that I’m back home, I realizing how much even those simple meals affected my experiences – the piles of different salads, fresh pitas, and gobs and gobs of hummus. And beyond those, the vibrant sights and smells of the suk in Jerusalem, the juice stalls on every corner, and even our home cooked Shabbat meals were a part of the fabric of the adventure.
I took nowhere near enough pictures to capture everything, but wanted to share a few of my favorite foodie shots. The next goal – to make pita as tasty as the ones that came fresh off the stone in Akko, a falafel as light and crispy as the ones in Tzfat, and really really really good hummus.
Read on for more photos….
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Posted in Musings | 2 comments »
Tags: photos, travel
May 17th, 2009
Amazing how an innocent comment on Twitter can get entirely out of hand. Poor Nicole (of Pinch My Salt) – just a question if anyone would want to try working their way through The Bread Baker’s Apprentice with her. Now we are a group of more than 60 people, spending nearly a year trying to bake our way through this great tome.
Beginning at the beginning of the book (and the alphabet), we have Anadama Bread! A moist, molasses-y loaf with cornmeal, it’s a rustic bread I liked best slathered with butter or cream cheese. Though the recipe called for coarse cornmeal, I only had fine on hand, and decided to just go with it. I had a few issues with the rising – it didn’t come up quite as well as I would have liked, giving it a slightly quickbread like texture. I also had some trouble incorporating all the flour – I wonder if the fine cornmeal soaked up more of the liquid than the polenta would have.
As I’m sure I shall again, I highly recommend picking up a copy of the book – it’s full of great recipes and techniques.
The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread by Peter Reinheart
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Tags: BBA Challenge, bread baker's apprentice, bread recipes, other people's recipes
May 2nd, 2009
The lovely people at Frieda’s Gourmet Foods dropped me an email a few weeks ago, asking if I’d like to try a new product for National Garlic Day (which was April 15th). I said sure, and voila – four tubs of their Garlic Delight show up on my doorstep.
They’re quite simple – the Original flavor just has garlic, oil, lemon juice, and salt, whipped up to a light and creamy texture. Taken as a straight taste, it was almost TOO garlicky for me, but the flavored ones (a Chipotle, Sun Dried Tomato, and Green Olive) are more interesting and tasty. My favorite was the Sun Dried Tomato – I could see dishing it up with some sliced veggies or spread on a sandwich.
Or used in a saute, as I did here! A few dollops, a quick cook, and I was done. A nice weeknight dinner – and a shortcut I can see myself taking in the future.
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Tags: 30 minute meal, cooking for one, dinner for one, dinner recipe, easy recipe, fish recipe, garlic recipe, lunch recipes, seafood recipe
Apr 27th, 2009
The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.
I can’t say I’m a big cheesecake fan, in general. It’s just to much – too rich, too creamy, and usually, too big. But making my own was not something I’d attempted before, so it was worth a try for this month’s challenge.
I imagined a fruity, spicy cheesecake – something that would help cut the 24 ounces of cream cheese used to make the dessert. I laced the graham cracker crust with chopped crystallized ginger, then added bits of mango, along with some cardamom and ginger to the batter. Next time I’d use m0re of the spices – I underestimated how much it would take to cut the richness – but otherwise I was pretty happy with the result.
Now only one remaining question – how does one best freeze a cheesecake, so I won’t have to polish the rest of this one off myself?
You can check out the original recipe for Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake at Jenny Bakes – I’ve posted my version below.
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Posted in Challenges, Recipes | 4 comments »
Tags: cake recipes, dessert recipes, easy recipe
Mar 23rd, 2009
There is nearly nothing redeeming about these. They’re not good for you. They’re not natural, or gourmet, or “foodie”. They’re not creative, or innovative, or new.
But man, oh man, are they delicious.
There are some days that just cry out for comfort food, no matter what the cost. And these little pre-packaged crecent rolls, filled with tuna fish and sharp cheddar, fill that need for me.
I stopped my calorie counting for an evening, and just sat back and enjoyed.
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Tags: appetizer recipe, baking recipes, comfort food, dinner for one, easy recipe, fast recipes, lunch recipes, Recipes, snack recipes, weeknight recipe
Mar 11th, 2009
A little leftovers magic today – I made a bunch of quinoa earlier in the week, and while it is tasty stuff all on its own, I was craving a change. So combining some of the quinoa with goat cheese and spinach, and frying it all up into little patties was just what I was craving for my lunch!
These would be great as appetizers – I’m thinking that some kind of yogurt-y dip, maybe with some chili would make a nice accompaniment.
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Posted in Recipes | 14 comments »
Tags: appetizer recipe, gluten-free recipes, leftover recipes, snack recipes
Mar 2nd, 2009
Baked pasta and cheese – not much better than that! But add some glorious sauteed leeks and the dish becomes an entirely different and more wonderful creation.
The Comfort Foods issue of Bon Appetit has had me craving casseroles, and the combination of leeks and cheese is one of my favorites. Adding nutty whole wheat penne and substituting lowfat milk for whole made me feel a little better about myself, and I thought a combination of gruyere and cheddar would give it a nice twist.
Served with a green salad and some light red wine, it’s a simple and comforting meal.
Continue after the break to read the recipe:
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Tags: classic recipes, comfort food, easy recipe, kid-friendly recipe, main course recipes, pasta recipe, Recipes, weeknight recipe
