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April 14, 2010

Welcome to the 9th HBinFive Bread Braid

This week for our HBinFive Bread Braid we made Gluten-free Bread. I have to say that this was the strangest bread recipe I've ever made and I've made quite a bit of bread! The bread did not taste badly at all and was actually good toasted with lots of butter and if we were having guests that had a wheat restrictive diet, I would not hesitate to make this bread! Mr. Tastebuds said that "it tasted better then Wonder Bread"

Like I said the taste was not that bad but the texture was dry probably due to the amount of cornstarch in the recipe. But I'm going to play around a bit and substitute some of the bean and nut flours and maybe add butter or sour cream just to see if I can improve the texture a bit. But I am certainly more sympathetic to people with Celiac Disease and food allergies now. The dough rose and baked beautifully as you can see from the below photo.

I did make some changes to the recipe. For 3 1/2 c. cornstarch I used 2 1/2 c. cornstarch and 1 c. Garbanzo Bean Flour. I skipped the xanthan gum altogether and I used Fresh Yeast.

And I made my very favorite bread, Italian Semolina, from "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" which made scrumptious Grilled Cheese Sandwiches!

Grilled Cheese...The Ultimate Comfort Food

If you are participating in the HBinFive Bread Braid, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general address.

Please leave a comment. Every once a while Mr. Linky flies the coop and we can then find your photos by clicking on the comment links.

Don't forget to copy and paste the HBinFive Badge in your Bread Braid post or somewhere on your FB Page. Or you can mention HBinFive but your blog post must be identified with HBinFive.

Please be sure to link back to the host blog, Big Black Dog, so your fellow bloggers who are participating today, will get lots of visits, as well.

Please do not add your link below until your HBinFive post or pictures are actually published.

***If any HBinFive member is concerned about linking up to the Bread Braid Gadget please send an email to me at ms dot bigblackdog at gmail dot com with your name and the URL of your pictures and I will link you up as soon as I can.

Please feel free to click on any of the links below and visit some of our HBinFive Members and see their wonderful interpretations of this recipe!

All Rights Reserved 2008-10 © BigBlackDog

April 13, 2010

Grilled Cheese..the Ultimate Comfort Food!

Did you know that April is National Grilled Cheese month? Well, I didn't know that either until Kathy of Panini Happy filled me in when she hosted her first Grilled Cheese Pageant last year. And of course I had to enter again this year being that Grilled Cheese is one of my very favorite sandwiches.

Although I do have cookbooks on nothing but gourmet Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, I tend to enjoy a simple sandwich of just cheese and homemade bread, slathered with butter and grilled to a perfect toasty goodness so that every bite is a crunch!

This year was no exception for a simple sandwich. Mr. Tastebuds wanted Mild Cheddar, Mozzarella, Bacon and Ham with Tomato and I made mine with Horseradish Cheese and Bacon and both sandwiches were on homemade Semolina Bread. Although I used the Semolina Bread recipe from "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" that recipe is under copyright and can not be reproduced. But below is another favorite Semolina Bread recipe that I make often and it is just as good!

Semolina Bread
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit

Starter:
1/4 cup warm water (105°F. to 115°F.)
1/4 teaspoon dry yeast
3/4 cup plus 4 teaspoons water, room temperature
2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

Bread:
2 1/2 cups warm water (105°F.°F. to 115°F.)
2 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
3 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
3 3/4 cups finely ground semolina flour
2 teaspoons sea salt

Additional semolina flour

For Starter:
Combine 1/4 cup warm water and yeast in medium bowl. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 10 minutes. Stir in 3/4 cup plus 4 teaspoons room temperature water. Add flour in 3 additions, stirring well after each addition Stir until mixture has consistency of thick sticky dough, about three minutes. Light oil large bowl. Transfer starter to a bowl. Cover with plastic; let rise at cool room temperature until tripled in volume (starter will be slightly wet and thick), at least 6 hours and up to 24 hours. (Can be made 5 days ahead. Stir down starter, cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before using.)

For Bread:
Pour 2 1/2 cups warm water into large bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Sprinkle yeast over; let stand until dissolved, about 10 minutes. Measure 2/3 cup starter (reserve remainder for another use). Rub between fingers, allowing starter to drop into yeast mixture (starter will be stringy). Beat until some of the starter dissolves. Combine flour, 3 3/4 cups semolina and salt in large bowl. Add to yeast mixture in 3 additions; beat until incorporated. Turn out unto floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes.

Oil large bowl. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic. Let rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Butter 2 heavy large baking sheets. Punch down dough. Divide into 4 pieces. Cover 3 pieces with clean towel. Roll remaining piece on floured surface to 14x8 inch rectangle. Starting at 1 long edge, roll up dough jelly roll style. Press ends and seam to seal. Bend dough into half-circle. Using sharp knife, cut 1/2-inch-deep incisions every 1 1/2 inches in the top of the dough. Sprinkle with additional semolina. Place on a prepared sheet. Repeat rolling and shaping with remaining dough pieces.

Cover shaped dough with clean towel. Let rise in warm draft-free area until doubled, about 45.

Meanwhile, position 1 rack in bottom third. If available, place baking stone on rack and preheat oven to 450°F. Let stone heat at least 30 minutes.

Place 1 baking sheet on each stone. Bake until bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, alternating sheets between racks halfway through baking, about 25 minutes. Cool bread on racks.

March 14, 2010

Welcome to the 7th HBinFive Bread Braid

This week for our HBinFive Bread Braid Challenge we made two very unique recipes, Avocado-Gaucamole Bread and Pesto Pine Nut Bread. Originally when I was planning the baking schedule, I thought these breads would be slightly green colored for St. Patrick's Day but as you see they are not green at all! But we enjoyed each of the breads although I do think the Pesto Pine Nut Bread was our favorite!

For the Avocado-Gaucamole Challenge I made Pulled Pork Sandwiches and All-American Cheese Burgers. And then with the Pesto Pine Nut Bread I made a Fried Egg Sandwich Deluxe with Bacon and by clicking on the below titles you can visit the posts for more information.

Pulled Pork Sammie

All-American Cheese Burger

Fried Egg Sandwich Deluxe with Bacon

March 12, 2010

Fried Egg Sandwich Deluxe with Bacon on Pesto Pine Nut Bread

This week for HBinFive we made Pesto Pine Nut Bread and I made two baguettes and 6 hamburger buns. The Pesto Pine Nut Bread not only tasted wonderful but the aroma while it was baking was fabulous!

Originally I thought I would make meatballs for a delicious meatball sandwich. So I made the meatballs and my special Red Sauce. Although the meatball sandwich was wonderful, my photos were horrible and very out of focus. Yes, I had my camera on the wrong setting! And by the time I discovered my photos were not the best, the meatballs were long gone. On to plan "B"....

Then I remembered a dip that I had been meaning to try and I could serve it with Pesto Bread Crostini. So I sliced up the baguettes into thin 1/4" slices to make some crostini. But once the bread was toasted, I really was not in the mood for a cheesy, rich dip. Scratch the dip....

Finally, I just decided to make a Fried Egg Sandwich Deluxe with Bacon and it was delicious!

Fried Egg Sandwich Deluxe

1 egg
Butter
Lettuce
2-3 slices of fresh tomato
3-4 pieces of fried bacon
Salt and Pepper
2 slices of bread or a bun

1. In a skillet, cook the bacon until crispy. Drain on paper towels.

2. Put the slices of bread or the bun in the toaster to lightly toast. When the bread is toasted spread the mayonnaise on one slice of bread or the bun, then top with the bacon, tomato and lettuce.

3. At the same time as you put the bread in the toaster, in a nonstick skillet over medium heat melt the butter. Carefully add the egg and fry for 45 seconds and then flip it over to fry the opposite side, careful to not break the yolk. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Slide the egg onto the sandwich.

March 4, 2010

Braised Pulled Pork, All-American Cheese Burger and Avocado-Gaucamole Bread

Tonight if the Season Finale for The Real Housewives of Orange County. I know you are probably surprised that I watch it. Yep I.am.addicted and can't help myself. I watch it every week and never miss an episode. I am totally and without a doubt amazed by the behavior, dress and overall attitudes of some of the major players. I know they call each other friend but geesh, my friends don't act like that! Mr. Tastebuds thinks it's a waste of time, so I watch it in my office and I love it! And sometimes I watch an episode twice, just to make sure I did not miss anything...LOL!

Thursday nights are reserved for me and the Housewives and dinner is usually something quick and tasty with little clean up so I can enjoy my TV viewing with limited interruptions. I decided to braise a Pork Loin in the afternoon for Pulled Pork Sammies which Mr. Tastebuds would enjoy. And being I still have to be careful with spicy food, I had a Cheeseburger Deluxe. Both served on Avocado-Gaucamole Buns which is our assignment for this weeks HBinFive Bread.

I was a little hesitant to make this bread being that Avocados are not a favorite of mine, but I decided to throw caution to the wind and try it out anyhow. The dough was fabulous to work with, very smooth and elastic and I had the hamburger buns formed in no time and they were delicious.

Oven Braised Pork Shoulder With Apple Juice
Recipe adapted from Southern Food

1 bone-in pork shoulder roast, about 6 pounds
2 medium onions, peeled and sliced or coarsely chopped
2 1/2 tsp of a seasoning blend for pork or chicken or salt and pepper
1 c apple juice
1 to 1 1/2 c barbecue sauce

Lightly grease a large covered Dutch oven or casserole.
Heat oven to 300°.

Put onions in the casserole. Rub the pork with the seasoning blend or sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Place the roast on the onions and add apple juice. Cover and bake for 5 hours, basting occasionally.

Remove the roast to a large platter and shred or chop the meat. Discard bones and fat.

Strain the juices and put the solids back into the casserole or Dutch oven. Discard the liquids. Add the shredded or chopped pork. Add barbecue sauce and stir to blend ingredients. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

February 18, 2010

Angelo's Coney Island and a Giveaway!

A few weeks ago I attempted to make Angelo's Coney Island Hot Dogs and although the recipe was good, it was not even close to the original recipe. And being I lived in Flint, Michigan for many years I know Angelo's almost too well.

A few days after I posted my failed attempt at duplicating Angelo's Famous Coney Dogs, I received a very nice note telling me that the Coney Island recipe I had used was not correct and the person that sent the email is none other then former DePaul Basketball Star Marty Embry!

But what does Marty Embry have in common with Angelo's Coney Island Hot Dogs?

Marty Embry, chef, father, artist, business owner, Coney Dog Aficionado and author of the popular cookbook series "From the Court to the Kitchen" has developed his own secret Spice Mix for an authentic Coney Island Sauce.

Marty graciously sent me two jars of his Coney Sauce Spice Mix. Wasn't that sweet!

Well, I made the Coney Sauce and we loved it! The Coney Sauce is easy enough to make, just brown ground beef or turkey add onions and Marty's Secret Mix and then simmer for 30 minutes. Simple! Of course Mr. Tastebuds had to experiment a bit and sprinkled some the Coney Spice Mix on his baked chicken!

Since I know you want to try an authentic Coney Island Hot Dog and I just happen to have an extra jar of Coney Sauce Spice Mix, I am offering one Jar to one lucky person!

***Update***
Marty just dontated ONE more jar of his Coney Sauce Spice Mix so there will be 2 winners! Thank you Marty!

Look at these gorgeous Coney Dogs! Don't you want to just take a big bite!

You know the drill, if you'd like to try Marty's secret Coney Spice Mix, leave a comment on this post. The winners will be announced, Thursday, February 25th.

If you are interested in ordering the Coney Sauce Spice please visit From the Court to the Kitchen Spices and Apparel. And if you're interested in any of Marty's cookbooks, poetry or artwork you can find a listing at Marty Embry's Storefront.

All Rights Reserved 2008-10 © BigBlackDog

January 25, 2010

Angelo's Coney Island Hot Dog

Whenever I see a restaurant famous for hot dogs I always think of Angelo's Coney Island in Flint, MI. I lived in Flint for the better part of 12 years and ate at Angelo's many times. It was just a five minute drive from the University of Michigan campus and I could get a quick, tasty lunch for under $3. But even at 20 years old, Angelo's Coney Dog with the secret chili sauce, sent my digestive system into overdrive! I usually ordered a Burger Deluxe with Olives which is actually a Kewpee Burger, now known as Halo Burger, but that's a whole 'nother burger joint in Flint.

This week for HBinFive we are making Hot Dog Buns and I thought it would be fun to introduce Angelo to Mr. Tastebuds...you know a little bit of my past meeting my present, just see how the two of them would get along.

I knew I had a recipe for Angelo's Secret Chili Sauce and found it, buried deep in my handwritten 3by5" recipe file. I used Best's Kosher Hot Dogs, boiled, on a homemade Soft Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread Bun, loaded with Chili Sauce, diced onion and yellow mustard. Mr. Tastebuds managed to eat three Coney Island Dogs, so I think Mr. Tastebuds and Angelo are getting along just fine!

When I made my hot dog buns I manipulated the dough to form a torpedo, baguette or batard shape and they baked up perfectly! The technique is wonderfully demonstrated in the below video:

But I can tell you that this recipe is not Angelo's Coney Island Sauce. Although the Coney Sauce is delicious and actually I liked it better then the original recipe, it is not even close to the real thing, but don't tell Mr. Tastebuds!

Angelo's Coney Island Sauce
Recipe adapted from "not a clue"

1 Tbs Butter
2 med onions (ground)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
2&1/2 tsp chili powder
1 Tbs prepared mustard
1&1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1 6oz can of tomato paste
3 oz water
4 hot dogs (ground)

1. Grind up the hot dogs in your food processor.

2. Melt butter in large, heavy fry pan.

3. Add onions, garlic and saute for a minute.

4. Add ground beef, making sure to break it up as finely as possible, lightly fry until all pink is gone.

5. Add ground hot dogs, mustard, chili powder, salt, tomato paste and water. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until all water evaporates.

January 14, 2010

Welcome to the 3rd HBinFive Bread Braid

Whew...glad the holidays are over and I can sort of relax a little bit. I do love celebrating and seeing friends but it can be so trying at times. The old saying There's just not enough hours in a day must have been coined sometime around December 1st because that is when I feel the holiday pressure to get things done and the countdown begins.

I did have a wonderful Christmas and received some very cool kitchen gifts which are my favorite kind of gifts to receive. Yes, I am spoiled...very spoiled. But I did receive one special bread pan that I've wanted for some time now, 9" Pain de Mie bread pan with lid and you can find it at Amazon.com too. The first pan I received was bent and I could not slide the lid and I had to send it back so last week was the first chance I've had to bake in my new pan. So far I love it!

But it is a bit different baking with the Pain de Mie. First of all you can't see the bread while it baking so I had no idea if the bread was done or not unless I removed the pan from the oven and slide open the lid. And I was not sure just how much dough to put into the pan to get a nice sized loaf. But these small problems will work themselves out and being the bread baked so nicely with the most amazing crust, I will most definitely be using the Pain de Mie again!

This week for HBinFive we had assigned to make the Master Whole Grain Bread recipe and make a loaf of bread, a shaped bread and Spicy Whole Grain Snack Crackers.

I almost did not finish the Epi because I had an accident with a knife and my thumb was out of commission but I managed to finish it with my left hand. I know the Epi is not perfect but it's done!

With the wonderful loaf of bread I did serve Grilled Cheese Sandwiches for dinner, making one of my all-time favorites, Grilled Cheese with Brie and a Fresh Slice of Apple. Brie and Fresh Apple is also very good on a hamburger...yummy!

The Spicy Whole Grain Snack Crackers I served with a big pot of Chili and then made some Sweet and Spicy Peanut Soup. Just click on the title to visit the post and recipe.

Sweet and Spicy Peanut Soup with Whole Grain Snack Crackers

If you are participating in the HBinFive Bread Braid, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general address.

Please leave a comment. Every once a while the Mr. Linky flies the coop and we can then find your photos by clicking on the comment links.

Don't forget to copy and paste the HBinFive Badge in your Bread Braid post or somewhere on your FB Page. Or you can mention HBinFive but your blog post must be identified with HBinFive.

Please be sure to link back to the host blog, Big Black Dog, so your fellow bloggers who are participating today, will get lots of visits, as well.

Please do not add your link below until your HBinFive post or pictures are actually published.

***If any HBinFive member is concerned about linking up to the Bread Braid Gadget please send an email to me at ms dot bigblackdog at gmail dot com with your name and the URL of your pictures and I will link you up as soon as I can.

Please feel free to click on any of the links below and visit some of our HBinFive Members and see their wonderful interpretations of this recipe!

All Rights Reserved 2008-10 © BigBlackDog

November 19, 2009

Pain a l'Ancienne and Croque Madame or Toasted Ham and Cheese Sandwich!

Pain a l'Ancienne is another fermented recipe that I thoroughly enjoyed making for Bread Baker's Apprentice. It was an easy recipe with just mixing the dough, refrigerating over night and then forming the loaves in the morning. And it was a fantastic bread to eat!

Since this is football season I do try and make something for us to snack on during the Sunday games. Being I just made Pain l'Ancienne I thought I try to find a sandwich or something similar in the only Julia Child cookbook I have, "From Julia Child's Kitchen". I was shocked to find just how much this book is worth! I got it years ago as one of the free books when I joined the Book of the Month Club! Who'd a thought! But I did find a sandwich that I thought we'd enjoy..well heck who doesn't like toasted Ham and Cheese!

Julia says, "Some say Croque Madame is cheese flavoring only, some make it like Monsieur but substitute chicken for ham. I like ham and cheese, myself, but you should feel free to do what you wish since there is no set recipe and the process is the same whatever you choose. Here is an amusing presentation--a giant sandwich made from a flat long-oval loaf of French or Italian bread cut lengthwise. Present it whole, and cut it in crosswise pieces. The beer and cheese topping, by the way, same from my colleague, Simca; she sent me the recipe years ago, and now may not even remember her genial conception."

Croque Madame
Recipe adapted from "From Julia Child's Kitchen"

For each slice:
1 TBL flour
1/3 c beer (a slight 1/4 c. is plenty)
1 TBL Cognac (I skipped)
1 egg
1 c coarsely grated Swiss Cheese
Salt, pepper and Cayenne pepper
2-3 TBL melted butter
3-4 thin slices cooked ham or use leftover turkey

Cut the bread lengthwise into slices about 3/4" thick and lay on a baking sheet. Dry out for 20 minutes or so in a 350 degree oven, until quite hard and just beginning to color.

Place the flour in a small mixing bowl, gradually beat in the beer, then the Cognac and egg; stir in the cheese, and seasoning to taste, exaggerating a bit on the pepper. Brush the top of each slice of bread with melted butter, cover with slices of ham, then mask completely, out to the edges all around, with the cheese topping.

Bake in upper third of a preheated 450 degree oven 15-20 minutes, until cheese topping has puffed and browned.

To serve as a first course, cut in half lengthwise and crosswise, to make 4 pieces. To serve for cocktail appetizers, cut in half lengthwise, then crosswise into pieces of whatever size you wish.

I did start a new Bread Making Group, HBinFive and we will be baking our way through the new book "Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day" by Jeff Hertzberg MD and Zoe Francois. It's a fun, freewheeling group that I'm sure anyone would enjoy. And we've even started a new side feature, Camp Breads, which is baking 5-minute breads in an outdoor grill or on a campfire.

To see a demonstration of Jeff and Zoe's bread making method, please watch the below video and if you are interested or have any questions, contact me at ms dot bigblackdog at gmail dot com. In any communication please include your full name and if you have a blog include the blog name and URL and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

October 30, 2009

Waldorf Chicken Pita Pocket!

This is the final Tyler Florence Fridays and I am sorry to see it close. You see I've never made so many recipes from one chef before and I've come to really respect Tyler....he is absolutely tops in my book. I've posted 27 recipes by Tyler Florence and each of them was excellent. But I've made many more of his recipes that I just did not have time to post or the photos did not turn out or I was just plain too hungry to bother with setting up a photo. I still have a list of Tyler's recipes that I want to try and I will continue to make his recipes when I can.

This week for Tyler Florence Fridays I made Pita Bread which I've never made before. Tyler's recipe was so simple and it basically fell together with no problems at all. However, I did add 1 tsp Organic Barley Malt Syrup to enhance the rise and taste a little bit and I just love it. I will be using the Organic Barley Malt Syrup in many of breads from now on!

I also wanted to try Ellie Krieger's Waldorf Chicken Wraps so decided to make Tyler's Pita and fill them up with the Waldorf Chicken Salad and I must say it was an excellent combination! One of the reasons I wanted to try the Waldorf Chicken Salad is to see if it would also work with Turkey...always trying to find new ways to use up leftover holiday turkey! And I am happy to say, yes, the Waldorf Salad would work wonderfully with turkey as well!

I made the Walfdorf Chicken Wrap exactly as written except of course substituting Pita Bread for the Whole Wheat Wrap. And I also used both Green and Red Grapes basically because I like both red and green grapes and you can't beat the gorgeous color they add!

Pita Bread
Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence

1 package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
11/2 cups warm water
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon olive oil

My additions: 1 tsp Organic Barley Malt Syrup

In the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water; stir to blend. Let the yeast stand until foamy, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Stir in the salt. Add the flour, a little at a time, mixing at the lowest speed until all the flour has been incorporated and the dough gathers into a ball; this should take about 4 minutes.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it's smooth and elastic. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn it over to coat, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Place a large pizza stone on the lower oven rack, preheat the oven (and stone) to 500 degrees.

Punch the dough down, divide it into 8 pieces, and gather each piece into a ball; keeping all of them lightly floured and covered while you work. Allow the balls of dough to rest, covered, for 15 minutes so they will be easier to roll out.

Using a rolling pin, roll each dough ball into a circle that is about 8-inches in diameter and 1/4-inch thick. Make sure the circle is totally smooth, with no creases or seams in the dough, which can prevent the pitas from puffing up properly. Cover the disks as you roll them out, but do not stack them up. Put 2 pita rounds at a time on the hot pizza stone and bake for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the bread puffs up like a balloon and is pale golden. Watch closely; they bake fast. Remove the bread from the oven and place on a rack to cool for 5 minutes; they will naturally deflate, leaving a pocket in the center. Wrap the pitas in a large kitchen towel to keep them soft.

Waldorf Chicken Wraps
Recipe adapted from Ellie Krieger

1 c nonfat plain yogurt or 3/4 cups nonfat Greek-style yogurt
2 TBL mayonnaise
1 TBL lemon juice
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp minced thyme
1 lb cooked, skinless chicken breast cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 c seedless grapes, sliced in 1/2 (I used red and green grapes)
1/4 c toasted, coarsely chopped walnuts
1 medium apple, cored and diced (about 3/4 cup)
Freshly ground black pepper
5 large leaves Romaine lettuce, rinsed and patted dry
5 whole-wheat wraps, about 8 inches in diameter (I used homemade Pita, recipe above)

If using regular yogurt place the yogurt in a strainer lined with a paper towel. Put the strainer over a bowl and place in the refrigerator to drain and thicken for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the thickened or Greek-style yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, salt and thyme until smooth. Fold in chicken, grapes, walnuts and apples. Season with pepper.

Place 1 lettuce leaf on a wrap. Spoon about 3/4 cup of the chicken filling onto wrap and roll wrap around filling.

Please visit Tyler Florence Fridays and see what the rest of Tyler's groupies are up too this week.

July 30, 2009

BBA -- English Muffins

The week for our Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge we made English Muffins. I've always loved English Muffins and prefer them over toast any day! I make English Muffins all the time and have two recipes on my blog both with excellent results. To see the recipes please click here and here.

I did change Reinhart's recipe and added about 1/2 c. sourdough starter and I used kefir instead of milk.

Chicken Salad is one of my favorite sandwiches and I can't think of anything better then a Chicken Salad and Tomato Sandwich on a toasted Sourdough English Muffin! And to make this sandwich even better, I used our first picking of tomatoes out of our garden! It was delicious!

Google Books has the entire book, "The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread", by Peter Reinhart, scanned and you can find the recipe on Page 157 by clicking here.

Please feel free to visit some fellow BBA'ers and see their interpretation of this recipe.

Deb of Italian Food Forever
Oggie of I can do That!
Mags of The Other Side of Fifty
Susie of Susie's Home and Hobbies

All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

June 10, 2009

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Believe it or not I have never made Spaghetti and Meatballs. I’ve made Spaghetti and I’ve made Meatballs but never together. I didn't really care for meatballs until I tasted Mama’s Meatballs! And they are totally delicious!

Although my Red Sauce is a very quick and easy, the meatballs do take time to make, form and fry. But you can make the meatballs and refrigerate over night. And the next day fry the meatballs and make the Red Sauce. I actually think the meatballs are better if formed and put in the refrigerator for the night.

The meatball recipe is large but the meatballs can be safely frozen. And for a special treat you can make meatball sandwiches. The Meatball Sandwiches I have pictured were served on homemade Anadama Buns.

Michelle's Red Sauce
Recipe developed in the kitchen of Big-Black-Dog

1 can good quality Italian Plum Tomatoes (5-6 whole tomatoes and juice)
3 TBL EVOO
3-4 whole garlic cloves, peeled
5-6 sun dried tomatoes, sliced thin
1 c. fresh basil, minced
2 sprigs of fresh tarragon, minced
1/2 tsp hot Hungarian paprika
1/2 c. fresh parsley, minced (save a little to sprinkle on top for serving)
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Topping:
Fresh minced parsley
1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a heavy bottomed pot, over low heat add EVOO.

Turn the burner down to simmer and add the whole garlic cloves. Simmer the cloves until just golden brown. Watch the garlic closely so that it does not burn.

Remove cloves to a cutting board and smash with a fork. Return smashed cloves to the warm EVOO.

Add the tomatoes including the juice. Break up the tomatoes with a fork.

Add the dried tomatoes, minced herbs, paprika and pepper and simmer for a few minutes.

Continue to simmer for about 5 minutes and then add the fresh chopped parsley and gently stir.

Serve hot over linguine and sprinkle with minced parsley and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Mama’s Meatballs
Recipe adapted from Chef Rocco Dispirito’s Mama

1/3 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup diced yellow onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped fine
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground veal
1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
2 eggs
1/4 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese, grated
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3-6 cups of your favorite marinara sauce

Place the chicken stock, onion, garlic, and parsley in a blender or food processor and puree.

In a large bowl, combine the pureed stock mix, meat, bread crumbs, egg, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, red pepper flakes, and salt.

Combine with hands until mixture is uniform, do not overmix.

Put a little olive oil on your hands and form mixture into balls a little larger than golf balls.

Pour about 1/2 inch of extra virgin olive oil in straight sided, 10-inch-wide saute pan and heat over medium-high flame.

Add the meatballs to the pan, working in batches if necessary, and brown meatballs, turning once. This should take about 10-15 minutes.

While meatballs are browning, heat the marinara sauce in a large pot.

Transfer the meatballs to the pot with the marinara sauce and simmer for one hour.

Serve alone or over your favorite pasta.

May 27, 2009

Anadama, Artos, Bagels, Meatballs and Mini Pizzas **Whew

I joined a new weekly bread baking group, Bread Baker's Apprentice(BBA). And we will be baking from the book. "The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread" by Peter Reinhart. It is a beautiful book with wonderful diagrams and step-by-step photos.

Google Books has the entire book scanned and you can find the recipes by clicking here.

Our first bread was Anadama Bread, an old New England yeast bread recipe, made with molasses and cornmeal. I made one single loaf and 12 hamburger buns. It was a very tender and delicious bread and although it did have molasses in it, I would not classify this as a sweet bread at all. Recipe is located on Pgs 108-110.

This is a Meatball Sandwich made with one of my Anadama Bread Buns.

Our next bread was Artos: Greek Celebration Bread which is a large, gorgeous bread. Although my family is not fond of breads with dried fruit and nuts, the bread was so beautiful I was looking forward to making it. Unfortunately, dealing with bread proofing and my own personal schedule sometimes does not work out. I had to let the bread dough ferment just a little too long and the crust has yeasty bubbles on the surface. But it still is a good looking loaf of bread and I had fun making and decorating it. Again the recipe can be found at Google Books Pgs 111-113.

Our third bread is Bagels. I've made bagels before and in fact used this same recipe and they turned out perfect. Please click here to see my first batch of bagels and the recipe including my changes. Making bagels is a two-day process, including making the sponge the night before and then finishing the bagels the following day.

But the next day the outside temperature was, unexpectedly, in the 90's, and my bagels rise was much to fast and they were very large. I mean gigantic, enormous suckers. Like 6" across and almost impossible-to-handle huge. They did not turn out pretty but tasted great. Next time if it is hot outside I will either put the bread in the basement for the final rise or stash them in the refrigerator.

But all was not lost, for dinner that night I made mini pizzas with over-sized bagels. Just cut a bagel in half, layer sliced fresh tomatoes, grated mozzarella cheese, minced garlic, 3-4 fresh whole basil leaves and top with pepperoni. I popped them under the broiler for a minute or so and viola...DINNER is served. Most definitely a meal for my Call-it-Dinner category. The mini pizzas were so good. Next time I make bagels I think I might purposely make some extra large bagels for mini pizzas! The Bagel Recipe can be found on Pgs 115-122

Here's the layered mini pizzas before broiling.

Hot out of the broiler and looking delicious. Gosh they were so good!!!

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