BBA: Bagels!

I finally got around to getting into the bagel recipe!

The hardest ingredient to find, of course, is the barley malt syrup.  None of the regular grocery stores have it, but I found a jar at our local PCC.

Putting the dough together was really easy.  The sponge was a snap, and the rest came together pretty quickly.  I did part of the kneading in machine, and part by hand when the machine started chugging as the dough got thicker.  Window pane test passed, I formed my roll form, and let them rest.

The forming of the ring felt really natural.  I used method one in the book, which is basically piercing it with your thumbs and using them to create the hole.  Worked really well.  Float test worked on the first try, and in the fridge they went.

Next morning, I got my water boiling and my oven pre-heated, and got to making them.  I went for the 60 second per side boil, and I got a lightly chewy bagel.

Flavor was good.  I imagine these are more authentic than store-bought.  The barley malt syrup gave them a flavor that was unusual to me.  Not bad, per se, just unusual and unexpected.

I left them plain this time, and may experiment with toppings, though I really think I want to make raisin or blueberry bagels next.

L'Chaim!

BBA:Whole Wheat Bread

It's interesting how a craving can totally derail your plans in the kitchen.

This BBA Challenge bread is one of those as well for me.

I decided to skip around because I decided I was really craving whole wheat bread, and I'm looking for something to replace buying sandwich bread.

I did a few things differently, but in hindsight, more realistically from the persepctive of someone that would make bread regularly on a small scale.

I made a batch of Greek Celebration bread to go with Easter brunch this year, and accordingly, I had a little bit of poolish leftover.  Having decided I'd find a use for it, I let it sit a day in the fridge until I found a recipe I wanted to try that used a poolish.  That's when I decided to go with the whole wheat loaves.  So I thought I'd try refreshing my poolish in much the same way as you would a barm: equal parts by weight flour and water, and in this case, I converted it to mostly whole wheat with the refresh.
Having let that ferment a little at room temperature, I fridged it and got my soaker together.  For that, I used 8-Grain cereal from the bulk bins at the store.  It amounts to coarse grain cereal that fits the bill perfectly.  What surprised me was that overnight, the liquid was entirely absorbed.  Having worked with the Anadama bread, my soaker for that was still rather mushy, so I was kinda surprised at first that I ended up with a big sticky lump.
The recipe for the bread doesn't really add any additional liquid to the dough (I did use the honey and egg), and that surprised me as well, but mixing it turned out perfectly.

I added about another 3/4 cup of flour through the kneading process to keep the dough from being too sticky.  When it was done, it was tacky feeling (just a little bit sticky), but passing the window pane test, so I was happy.

The initial rise went without hitch in the allotted 2 hours.  Shaping wasn't too bad, though as usual, I didn't quite get the cut even between the two loaves, so one was slightly larger than the other.

My only regret was that I didn't give them enough proofing time.  They rose, but I am willing to bet I could have gotten a little more out of them if I had had time.

Flavor is really good.  There is still something about homemade bread I haven't figured out.  There is a flavor component that I don't really appreciate, and I haven't really taken time to think about how it is and what it really tastes like, but I know that any time I've attempted homemade bread, I taste this flavor that I don't like.  Something to keep plugging away at.

But yeah.  Sliced and toasted this morning, it is very good, and when I get more supplies and time, I'm looking forward to trying the proof again.

Blackened Chicken Alfredo

So I've been in the frame of mind to try new and interesting things lately, and one of the things I decided I wanted to do was find a recipe something similar to Charlie's Blackened Chicken Fettuccine.

What I found isn't quite the same, but turned out tasty nevertheless.

And this arrangement serves 4 conservative portions.  The sauce may run dry, so you might bolster it a little if you like your servings more saucy. :-)

First, I brought water to a boil and began to cook a pound of whole-wheat penne pasta.

Then I pounded out two chicken breasts flat (I like putting them between two sheets of plastic wrap, and giving them a good wallop with the bottom of my marble mortar.  No fuss, no muss.

After that, I liberally coated one side of the breast in Emeril's Essence (though any good blend of good rubs and seasonings would work as long as they will toast well).  Pop it in the hot cast iron pan with a 1/2 tblsp pat of butter, and let it cook for a good 3-4 minutes until the surface chars.  Coat the other side, top with another pat of butter, and flip.

For the sauce, I sautéed a cup of green pepper (recipe called for red, which I think would have tasted better, but I forgot to grab it), a cup of scallions (green onions), and a cup of mushrooms, all 3 diced up, in about two tablespoons of olive oil.

Once they softened up a bit, I added in a whole pint of heavy cream, 2 tablespoons of butter, and let it come up to just the other side of a simmer.  Then I added a good fist full of Parmesan, and stirred to incorporate.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Plate some pasta, sauce over the pasta,  chicken breast sliced, and then placed on top of the pasta with a little drizzled of sauce over top.

Nom!

Portion-wise, we found that with good sized breasts, as is often the case ;-), one split between us was good to go with about a quarter of the pound of pasta, give or take.

While this wasn't faithful to what Charlie's makes, it was very good on its own.  I hope to tweak this to make it something more like the recipe I love, but I would definitely make this again, and may even see about mixing things up between the two for the sauce when the time comes.

Look At My Pinwheel and See What I've Found

Pinwheels are an appetizer that I make periodically for parties and gatherings.

There is a story behind them.

I remember being at a convention where they served these mini wraps that were cream cheese and thin slices of ham rolled up.  I enjoyed them, but I felt I could pump them up a notch.

The first iteration ended up being bacon and cream cheese, and fresh roasted green chile.  The added flavor and heat of the chile did wonderful things, but it still needed something else...

Deciding to experiment, my partner at the time tossed in a little garlic powder, and that ended up being the factor that pushed them over the edge!

These days living 1600 miles from my chile source, and lacking freezer space, I tend to make them without, but that also makes them really easy.

I pick up two blocks of cream cheese and a pack of burrito sized flour tortillas.  I soften the cream cheese in the microwave for about 30 seconds.  Soft enough to mix and spread, but not too soft.  To that I add about a teaspoon of garlic powder.  Then I mix in about 3 slices of bacon crisped up and chopped fine.

Once that all comes together, I lay out a tortilla on the cutting board, and I slice off a little bit squaring off the side edges.  I do that to minimize the waste later.  When you roll them up, the edges end up loose and really not worth presentation, and if you square up the tortilla ahead of time, those end pieces aren't as big.  With the edge pieces, I save them and throw them in with soups and such.

Once I spread an even layer on the entire  surface of the tortilla, I roll it up fairly tightly and set it aside on a plate.  Then I continue with each tortilla until I've used up all the filling.  At that point, I take all of them and put them in the freezer for about half an hour to let everything firm up.  It makes it easier to slice them when they are cold.

Then I slice them into half inch rounds give or take, and stack them on the presentation plate in a little circular pyramid.

If its going to be a little bit between when I finish them up and when they are devoured, I stuff them back into the freezer to keep them chilled and together.

Pretty easy, and typically well received.

Thanks for the memories

One of the things I've found that directly influences my choices and inspiration of food is my own history with it.  And part of that history includes all manner of comfort foods and guilty pleasures.  I'm sure we all have various things we grew up eating or enjoying that we realized were not good for us, and yet from time to time, we crave them.


Mine included Vienna sausages.  I remember eating them with cheddar cheese slices and Saltines.  Perfect kid lunch. :-)


And in my house, that also included the lovely Potted Meat, and typically the Libby's and not the "higher quality" Hormel.  


I realize too that a lot of it had to do with economics at the time.  We grew up on the lower end of middle class, and beyond that, my parents even later in life when things were better still clung to a pretty rigid means of money saving.  I remember eating a lot of bologna and hot dogs.  And around our way, we didn't get hot dog buns.  We would use a knife to score the hot dogs down the middle so they would split open in half, and then we'd put two flattened out between two pieces of bread.  


I also remember odd things like scrambled eggs with fried bologna.  And lets not forget Spam.  I remember eating that stuff straight out of the can and also fried.  


My father was a big fan of frying things, and any time Mom was away, we knew it was either Pizza for dinner or some manner of fried foods including things like Spam, potatoes, and such.


Something else I remember was that we ate a lot of canned vegetables.  Spinach, corn, mixed vegetable, asparagus.  I never realized why I disliked vegetables so much until I started eating them fresh or even frozen.  I remember the mental disconnect the first time I tried something fresh and noticed they weren't olive green and salty.  :-)


But I have lots of good memories of things too.  I still almost cough every time I think of eating Nestle's Quik straight from the can with a spoon, and accidentally inhaling a little in the process.  I remember the taste of semi-sweet Tollhouse morsels, and how Mom would get mad when she needed them to find that the bag was half empty. :-)  And I remember the tart taste of baking cherries right off the tree in the side yard and the taste of the pies later.  


Another odd little food memory was that we'd go out to a breakfast buffet at a hotel near the airport with family friends, and I remember how I could never understand why the eggs tasted so much better there than they did at home.  And learning later, of course, that the eggs at the hotel were cooked in clarified butter. :-)


I also remember the taste of the real original Coca-Cola as it came in the 32oz screw-top glass bottles.  My Dad would go through bunches of those, and I was privileged from time to time to enjoy a little bit here and there.


Heh.  I also remember coffee at an early age.  My parents drank Nescafe (*twitch*), and my Dad had a habit of trying to get ready and drink his coffee, and it didn't typically work, so he'd end up having some left over as he's walking out the door, and somewhere along the line, he took to tipping his mug into my morning milk glass.  So from time to time, I started the day with coffee flavored milk. :-)


Lots of little things like that color my current perspectives on food and flavor both in positive and negative light.  But it's neat to look back and see where some of it comes from.


What are your fondest food memories as a kid?

A Game of Squash

One of the wonderful things about fall and winter are the abundance of squash varieties.  Baking a good acorn or butternut is a wonderful way to enjoy the late bounty.


Having taken an interest in Pinch My Salt for her plan to bake through the Bread Baker's Apprentice, I stumbled on a recipe she posted for making Spaghetti Squash Gratin.


Given all things, I was very intrigued.  And I had heard of spaghetti squash, but I had yet to appreciate it.  


So off I set to pull the materials together.  And I thought it would make a really nice side dish to some baked salmon.  I had just gotten a deal on a nice Sockeye fillet, and portioned it out.


I cleaned and then microwaved the squash for about 12 minutes which softened things up.  I was then able to use a fork to pull it apart into threads.  It's so cool how it ends up resembling pasta (and a lower cal alternative if you really have to have your spaghetti mouth-feel).

Threw the rest together, popped it into a new casserole baking dish I received for Christmas (yay family that knows I love to cook!)   

Tossed it in the oven at 450 for about 20 mins, and it came out wonderfully.


Along with the Salmon, I realized that while it was good together, it wasn't my favorite way to go and I think I will pair it with something else.  It did turn out pretty light and flavorful, and I enjoyed it unto itself quite a bit.

Chicken Casino-Name-In-Vegas

So as much as I enjoy cooking, I of course love to eat out as well.  Whether it's a burger at the greasy spoon, or something a little more classy, I enjoy eating and getting ideas for my own cooking.

One dish I always appreciate when I go out is called Chicken Bellagio from Cheesecake Factory.  It is a breaded chicken breast pan fried, placed on top of angel hair pasta and a garlic basil pesto sauce, and then topped in strips of prosciutto and the whole thing covered in fresh arugula.
The chicken melts in your mouth, and the basil pesto is amazing.


So naturally, I need to make it at home from time to time. :-)  It's a pretty quick fix.


A pair of chicken breasts, bread crumbs, an egg (scrambled), flour, angel hair pasta for two, a cup of heavy cream, about a quarter cup of basil pesto, half a cup of shredded parmigiana, prosciutto, and washed arugula. Salt and pepper for the sauce, and oregano and parsley for the breading.


Pound out the chicken breasts one at a time in between two pieces of plastic wrap until flattened out evenly.  Coat the breast in flour (cover all the wet spots), and then dip in the egg, and then into the bread crumbs mixed with the herbs.  Press the crumbs in evenly.  Fry on each side until golden brown.


To prepare the sauce, I decided to go with an garlic basil pesto alfredo sauce.  It's a little thicker, but I find that its less greasy and more yummy.  I've talked about making this sauce before.  Basically bring the cream to a low boil, stirring constantly and incorporate the basil pesto (which you premade while it was fresh in season, and then froze, yes?).  Salt and pepper to taste, and as it begins to thicken, add the parm and stir vigorously to incorporate it.  Continue to stir until it thickens more, and then remove from the heat.


Pile a small nest of the cooked aldente angel hair pasta on the plate, pour a bit of the sauce over it, place the breast directly on top of it, top with a little more sauce, tear up a slice of prosciutto and layer over the chicken, and then top the whole thing with a small handful of arugula.  


Yum.  :-)