Archive for September, 2009

Holly B’s French Bread

September 8, 2009

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Today is Tuesday and for the foreseeable future, that means it’s Holly B’s day.  If you didn’t read this post, Tuesdays are the days I will be baking a treat from the Holly B’s bakery on Lopez Island.  And this week, it’s bread.

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The only reason I have even tried Holly B’s bread is because I have been there literally countless times.  I have sampled at least one of just about everything and in the case of the cinnamon rolls, I have sampled at least 100 of those.  So there comes a time when maybe you are feeling a little virtuous so instead of making a lunch out of four different kinds of cookies, you decide to pick up some cheese from the grocery store across the street and figure a loaf of the olive bread sounds good.  Then you take that olive bread and cheese to the beach and proceed to completely ignore the cheese because the bread is some of the best you have ever tasted.  And when all is said and done, you might as well have eaten the four cookies because the loaf of bread is almost gone and your husband only had a few bites.  I wouldn’t know anything about this, it’s an imaginary scenario.

Last week I invited a fellow food blogger and her fiance to dinner.  I always like to make good food when we have guests but there was definitely added pressure – it was like inviting a chef to dinner.  I decided to go all out and make bread to accompany our meal.  There was never a doubt as to which one I would make. https://luxlifemiamiblog.com/   But because olives figured prominently in something else on the table, I went with the sun-dried tomato filling instead of the olive.img_3197

The basic premise is this.  You make a biga which is nothing more than flour, yeast, and water which is then allowed to sit out at room temperature for at least 2 hours.  The beauty of it is that you can put it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks so this bread and another in the book can be made quite easily.  The biga is mixed together with other ingredients and left to rise to double it’s size.

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The dough is then rolled out to a rectangle, the filling is spread down the middle, the dough is folded in half and then rolled into a snake, seam side down.  A glaze is brushed on the breads, their tops are slashed 5 times and into the oven they go.  No second rising time necessary.

This bread has what you might call a fine crumb.  In other words, it’s dense and soft.  There are no large air pockets like you find in traditional baguettes.  I’m not sure I would flip over the plain version of this bread, but flip I did for the sundried tomato version and flip I will when I make the olive version.  One of these loaves was plain (the recipe makes three) and I used it to make delicious croutons for this salad.

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Purchase Holly B’s cookbook by visiting this site.
One Year Ago:  Pomodori al Forno – a greatest hits appetizer

French Bread
With Love and Butter
Makes 3 loaves

Biga
1/2 cup water
1/8 tsp. quick-rise yeast
7/8 cup unbleached flour

Dough
2 3/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup biga (stir down before measuring)
1 3/4 tsp. quick-rise yeast
7 cups unbleached flour
4 tsp. salt
Cornmeal for baking sheet

Cornstarch Glaze
1/2 cold water
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch

Note:  You will need to prepare the biga for the French Bread at least 2 hours in advance.  I recommend doing this step the night before.  Also note that this dough does not rise a second time.

At least 2 hours before you wish to start your French Bread, mix together the water, yeast and flour for the biga.  The biga should have the consistency of thick pancake batter.  If too stiff or loose, adjust by adding a touch more water or flour.  Mix until smooth.  Scrape into a lidded container at least twice the volume of the batter.  Let the biga stand to room temperature at least 2 hours and up to overnight.  The biga can now be used for French Bread or stored up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Place the water, 1/4 cup biga, yeast, 4 cups of flour, and salt, in that order, in a big bowl.  Stir with a wooden spoon until well blended.  Add the remaining 3 cups of flour and continue mixing until stiff, then continue with your floured hands to mix and knead the dough into a ball.  Continue kneading for 5 to 10 minutes adding flour as needed until the dough forms a smooth ball.  (HB: I always try to do this within the big bowl to cut down on cleanup, but you can turn everything onto a clean counter and do your kneading there.  DT: I used the dough hook of my stand mixer.)  You should end up with a smooth round ball about the firmness of a baby’s bottom (or anyone’s bottom who isn’t very thin).  If the dough is too stiff, work in some water; if too sticky, work in some extra flour.

Lightly oil the bowl and place the dough back inside.  Cover with plastic wrap or a dishtowel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 425°F with the oven rack in the middle position, and sprinkle a large baking sheet with cornmeal.  Prepare the glaze by whisking water and cornstarch together in a small saucepan and heating on medium-high heat until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil.  Remove from the heat and set aside.

Punch the dough down and turn onto a lightly floured surface.  Using floured hands, divide the dough into 3 pieces.  Don’t work the dough – leave it puffy.

Place one of the pieces of dough before you on your lightly floured work surface.  using the heel of your hands, flatten the dough into a rectangle with the long side running left to right.  Now fold the dough lengthwise and seal the seam with the heels of your hands.  Roll and snake out the loaf to fit the length of the pan, and place seam-down on the cornmealed baking sheet.  Slash each loaf five times with a sharp knife and brush the tops with the cornstarch glaze.  (No, this dough does not rise again before baking!)

Bake the loaves 10 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake another 10 minutes.  When done the leaves will be golden brown and crisp.  If blond and limp, bake an additional 5 minutes.  Remove from pan and cool on a rack.

Greek Olive or Sun-Dried Tomato Tapenade
Makes 1 1/2 cups

1 cup pitted Greek Kalamata olives or sun-dried tomato halves (not packed in oil)
Salt (Sun-Dried Tomato Tapenade only)
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp. brandy
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

If using sun-dried tomatoes, put them in a small bowl and cover with boiling water.  After 5 minutes, drain off the water and pat the tomatoes dry with paper towels.  Sprinkle with salt and proceed with the recipe.

Place the olives or tomatoes and all the ramaining ingredients into a food processor fitted with the steel knife blade.  Pulse until chopped and combined, but leave the tapenade somewhat chunky.  You want some texture, not a smooth paste.  Tapenade will keep several week in the refrigerator or several months in the freezer.

Using in the bread:
Before folding and sealing your loaves, smear 3 tablespoons of tapenade down the center of the rectangle of flattened-out dough.  Then fold over the dough, pinch together, and snake out the loaf to the appropriate length.

Before folding and sealing



Tasty Timbale

September 6, 2009

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Sometimes you make something and you just say, “Wow, that is tasty.”  Maybe it isn’t the prettiest thing you’ve every made, or the most refined, or the most complex.  But it might be one of the tastiest.  This happened to me last night and I’m glad that we had friends on hand to share it with us.  This is one tasty timbale.

What is a timbale?  The best description I can come up with is that it is a crustless quiche but made in a round ramekin and then unmolded.  Two of the cookbooks that I have from the Greens restaurant in San Francisco (The Greens Cookbook and Fields of Greens) have recipes for timbales and I have been tempted for years to make them.  I always thought of them as client worthy meals but was almost positive that this is the kind of thing that needs to be served very soon after coming out of the oven.  I wasn’t sure how they would hold up after a several hour waiting period.

We had three couples over for dinner and I decided it was time to timbale.  For some reason, I have only 7 – 1 cup ramekins although I know I bought 8, so I decided to make this in a 2 quart soufflé dish and just scoop it out.  Yes, I lost something in the presentation but it was really not worth a last minute run to a kitchen store to buy an 8th ramekin.  (And yes, I did think about doing that.)

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The flavor here is incredible.  I mean, how can you go wrong with zucchini, corn, herbs, and sharp white cheddar?  But what really made the dish was the sauce.  I had my doubts about this blood red chile tomato sauce.  I made it the day before and was a little concerned about it being bitter.  Turning to Twitter, I learned from the ever knowledgeable Chef Gwen (who writes the lovely blog Pen and Fork), that I had probably over toasted the ancho chiles.  Her advice was to add a pinch or two of sugar and just a splash of apple cider vinegar.  That did the trick.  The sauce has an incredible smokiness and piquancy – a perfect foil for the richness and sweetness of the timbale.  All in all?  Very tasty.

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One Year Ago:  Chanterelle Risotto

Corn and Zucchini Timable with Ancho Chile Sauce
Adapted from The Greens Cookbook
Serves 6

I’m presenting the recipe more or less as written.  As stated above, I made this in a 2 quart soufflé dish which I did not put in a water bath.  If I were to make it with ramekins, I would do the water bath method.

1 pound zucchini
Salt
2 tbsp. butter
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 cups yellow corn kernels (about 4 ears)
4 tbsp. parsley, finely chopped
3 tbsp. cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 cup white wine
5 eggs
2/3 cup heavy cream
3 ounces or 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
Tabasco sauce to taste (optional)
3/4 cup bread crumbs
Ancho Chile Sauce (recipe follows)

Grate the zucchini by hand suing the large holes on a grater, or process it in a food processor.  Place in a colander and toss it with salt.  Let it sit for half an hour, then squeeze out the water, either using your hands or putting the mass in a clean kitchen towel and twisting hard several times.

Melt the butter, add the onion, followed a minute later with the corn, parsley, and cilantro.  Stir together and cook over medium heat for a minute;  then add the zucchini and wine, lower the heat, and cook covered for about 3 minutes.  Remove the lid and cook off any remaining liquid.  Taste and season with salt, if needed.

Beat the eggs, whisk in the cream, then add the vegetables and cheese.  Season with the cayenne and Tabasco sauce if using, and taste again for salt.

Preheat the oven to 325°F.  Generously butter 1-cup-capacity ramekins, or a large mold, and coat them with the bread crumbs.  Mix any extra bread crumbs into the custard; then ladle it into the ramekins, making ure there is an even distribution of vegetables.  Set the ramekins in a deep pan and add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides.  Bake until the tops puff up and are browned, about 1 hour.  Prepare the Ancho Chile Sauce while the custards are baking.  Take the custards out of the oven and let them sit for a few minutes, then unmold them.  Serve them top side up on a plate with the sauce spooned around or over them.

Ancho Chile Sauce
Makes about 3 cups

To count down on time, I used two 15 ounce cans of Muir Glen’s fire roasted tomatoes instead of grilling or broiling as described below.

2 pounds tomatoes, fresh or canned
20 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
3 to 4 ancho chiles
2 tsp. dried oregano
Salt

If possible, grill the tomatoes over a charcoal or wood fire until they are soft but the skins have not blackened.  Otherwise, broil them for 5 to 8 minutes, turning them frequently, until they are soft and the skins are blistered.  Purée in a blender and set them aside.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Roast the garlic cloves until they are soft inside and slightly browned on the outside, about 20 minutes.  Let them cool briefly; then peel.  Put them in the blender with about 1/4 of the tomato purée and blend until smooth.

Roast the ancho chiles in the oven until they puff up and are fragrant, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Remove the stem, seeds, and veins, tear into pieces, then blend in a small blender jar or spice mill.  (DT: I use a coffee grinder for grinding chiles and spices.)  Roast the oregano in a dry skillet until it is aromatic, and remove it to a dish to stop the cooking.

Heat the tomatoes; season them with the garlic purée, chiles, oregano, and salt and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.



Homage to Holly B

September 4, 2009

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In the middle of August, we took one last trip to Lopez Island for this year.  As crazy as the summer is, our fall appears to be even busier so I don’t think we’ll be able to squeeze in another weekend before the weather turns ugly.

When I turned 39 back in July, I wrote about some of the things I would like to accomplish in the coming year before the big 4-0.  I told you this would be the year of yoga and so far that part of it is shaping up well.  I have been going to class 3 times a week and am feeling more and more that I would like to get back to teaching.  Slow and steady though – I need to get my own practice back on track before I start teaching others.  I also mentioned some of the cooking challenges I wanted to tackle and included in that list was working on Holly B’s cinnamon rolls and almond butterhorns.  (If you are new here, I’ve raved about Holly’s cookies here and here and I’ve written love letters to Lopez here and here.)

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(She is not really the mayor of Lopez, but she should be.)

What I didn’t say is that what I really wanted to do was bake my way through her amazing cookbook.  I know, we are all over this approach, right?  Julie and Julia and all that.  There are groups all over the food blog world who are slowly cooking or baking their way through books.  I am so 2008.  But I’m not wanting to start another group, I’m just wanting to make every recipe in her book and become a better baker along the way.

Because Holly B’s is a bakery close to my heart and because she is essentially a one woman operation, I decided I would ask her permission before starting and certainly before posting any more of her recipes here.  I wasn’t sure of the response I would get but before I could get the words out, she cried out, “Sure, I’d love it!  Do you want to take pictures?”

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So, my Holly B’s baking adventure begins.  I plan to post a recipe from her book each Tuesday which is the day the bakery is closed during the summer.  I am not going to go recipe by recipe because I know it will bore me to make bread for weeks, cookies for weeks, etc.  A little jumping around will make it more interesting but I do plan to make everything at least once.  I will also always post a link to her web site where you can buy the book for yourself.  Believe me when I say it is a treasure!  Click here to order a copy (you will need to send her a check.)

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In addition to eating things like this amazing pizza at the bakery (recipe coming someday soon!), we went to a beautiful park.  It’s called Spencer Spit and we hadn’t been in a long time.  I love it there for the ever present beauty, for the ferry views, and for the driftwood sculptures.

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But these days I think I especially love the park because Spencer is also the name of this guy.

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And while I’m posting pictures of my sweet boys, here is one more.  To me, these guys do not look like brothers.  Graham is long and lean with dark skin and gray eyes.  Spencer is thick and stocky, pale and blond with hazel eyes.  But in this photo, with them both laughing, they do look alike to me.

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For a great recipe, check out what I posted a year ago – Chocolate Toffee.



Mint Filled Brownie Cupcakes

September 2, 2009

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It’s been two weeks since our big summer party, but I have one more recipe I wanted to share with you all.  By the time we got to dessert that night, it was almost completely dark so I wasn’t able to take pictures of what I served.  Even though I love making summer desserts, I wanted to keep with the theme of finger food so cupcakes seemed like the perfect solution.

I have shared my lack of enthusiasm for cupcakes here before.  I’m just kind of over it.  But the rest of the country doesn’t seem to be and I know they are always a popular dessert choice.  I recently bought Martha Stewart’s cupcake book and one of the things I really like about it is that there are some very non-cupcake-y things in there.  For the party, I made Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes and these Mint Filled Brownie Cupcakes.

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The cheesecakes were good but the Mint Filled Brownie Cupcakes were better.  You know when you make something and it just disappears before you can even get your bearings?  That happened with these.  I didn’t get to taste them but heard from guest after guest that they were amazing.  I couldn’t get that photo so what’s a food blogger to do?  Make them again.

Here’s the thing.  When I went to make them the first time, I realized I was out of cupcake liners.  In desperation, I texted my neighbor Julie who (love her!) brought over some liners within minutes after my text.  Her liners were large, about 1 1/2 times the size of a typical cupcake, so I tripled them up and baked the cakes, just in their liners, on a baking sheet.  They turned out beautifully.  Big, solid, and definitely more like brownies than cupcakes.  Because they were so large, I cut them in half to serve them.

This time, I made them as described and had some problems with York Peppermint Pattie leakage.

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Disaster?  Of course not.  It didn’t really affect the flavor just the looks, but next time I will pay more careful attention to how much batter I put below and above the peppermint.

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One Year Ago:  Vietnamese Summer Rolls

Mint Filled Brownie Cupcakes
Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes
Makes 12

8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa, sifted
12 small chocolate covered peppermint patties, such as mini York Peppermint Patties

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners.  Place chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pan of simmering water.  Stir occasionally just until melted, 4 to 5 minutes.

2.  Remove bowl from heat.  Whisk in sugar and salt until mixture is smooth; whisk in eggs to combine.  Gently whisk in flour and cocoa just until smooth (do not overmix).

3.  Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of batter into each lined cup.  Place 1 peppermint patty on top., gently pressing into batter.  Top with 2 tablespoons batter, covering patty completely.  Bake, rotating tin halfway though, until a cake tester inserted halfway in centers (above mint patty) comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, about 35 minutes.  (DT: I checked at 25 minutes and mine were done.)  Transfer tin to a wire rack to cool completely before removing cupcakes.  Cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight container.



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