Monatsarchive: July 2006

One of them could be the lunch I had today. While everybody was cheating on pizza at our managers' meeting, I patiently waited to get home to make me one of these: Salmon on fresh toasted Ciabatta rolls.
Fresh slamon, panseared and flaked, fresh local tomatoes, greens, onions and local jalapenos…Delish!
I make a big batch of these rolls on sundays and stash them in the freezer so I can prepare a nice panini or improved burger for Mr. B and after almost 8 years of marital bliss he still thinks I am Da Bomb!

The recipe is really easy:
Ciabatta, from Epicurious.

This flavorful Italian loaf begins with a biga, the Italian term for "starter dough." Make the biga a day before baking the bread.

1 cup plus 1 tablespoonroom-temperature water (75°F to 80°F)
1 1/4-ounce package dry yeast
3 1/3 cups bread flour

For dough Biga (starter dough; see above)
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons room-temperature water (75°F to 80°F)Pinch of dry yeast
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons semolina flour*
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
Additional semolina flour
*Also called pasta flour, semolina flour is available at natural foods stores, Italian markets and some supermarkets.
Make biga:Place water in processor. Sprinkle yeast over. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 8 minutes. Add 1 cup flour; process until blended. Scrape down sides of work bowl. Add 1 cup flour; repeat processing and scraping. Add remaining 1 1/3 cups flour. Process until small moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball (dough will be firm); place in large bowl. Cover; chill overnight (biga will soften, resembling thick oatmeal in texture).
Make dough:Pull biga into walnut-size pieces; place in a clean large bowl. Add water, yeast and 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons semolina. Using 1 hand, squeeze ingredients together 2 minutes. Work dough 4 minutes by scooping sections from sides of bowl and pressing into center, blending into very soft, shaggy mass. Using spatula, scrape dough from sides of bowl into center. Let dough rest in bowl, uncovered, 10 minutes.
Sprinkle salt over dough. Using 1 hand, knead dough by rotating bowl 1/4 turn at a time, scooping dough from sides and folding down into center until dough starts to come away from sides of bowl, about 5 minutes. Scrape dough from hand and sides of bowl. Cover bowl with towel; let dough rest 20 minutes.
Rotating bowl 1/4 turn at a time, fold dough over onto itself 6 times; turn dough over in bowl. Cover with towel and let dough rest in bowl 20 minutes.
Bake bread:Preheat oven to 425°F. Sprinkle work surface with additional semolina. Turn dough out onto semolina. Using pastry scraper or large knife, cut dough in half; keep halves separated. Let stand, uncovered, 20 minutes.
Sprinkle 2 large baking sheets with additional semolina. Transfer each dough half, semolina side up, to 1 sheet. Stretch each dough half to 16×4-inch rectangle. Press fingertips into dough in several places to dimple surface (characteristic of this bread). Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cool. (Can be prepared 2 weeks ahead. Double-wrap in aluminum foil to freeze.) Makes 2 loaves.

I usually skip the shaping process and form rolls or subs.
The recipe may look intimidating but all that kneading is actually quite relaxing.

I think the saying usually goes "when life throws you lemons, make lemonade". Well, here in the South, it usually is "when life throws you pecans, make sandies". Pecan sandies are a very popular treat in my house and although they are not difficult to make, I feel that I could buy shares of this Keebler treat. Mr. B is addicted, a whole pack does not survive the weekend, especially during events like the World Cup, the Tour de France or the Olympics.
Well, little Elf you ain’t going to get my money anymore!
Another reason for making these has come from a good summer cleaning of the freezer to make room for the ice cream maker canister and bags of frozen fruits for instant frozen yogurts and smoothies. I found 3 huge bags of shelled pecans that I collected last year from our pecan tree. I think pecan pie is calling my name next!

The particularity of the Pecan Sandies, is not as much in the pecans as it is in the crispy, buttery taste, the "sandy" aspect of it, and all the recipes I had tried up until now were lacking this shortbread quality… until today. Can’t figure out why it took me so long to check this site, but I should have known that somebody, in the trillions of people who try recipes everyday, somebody would come with a great one for Sandies. Store bought cookies always have this extra bite to them, that mass produced, artificial preservative taste. Not here! Pure buttery joy!
I took some liberty with the original recipe and you can find my notes in ().

Pecan Sandies, adapted from allrecipes.com

Prep Time: 15 MinutesCook Time: 10 Minutes
Ready In: 30 MinutesYields: 96 servings (mine yielded half because I used a 2Tb. cookie scoop)

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup margarine, softened (I used butter)
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
1 cup confectioners' sugar,
sifted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar (did not use)
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped pecans
1/2 cup white sugar for
decoration (did not use)
DIRECTIONS:
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2.In a large bowl, cream together the margarine, vegetable oil, 1 cup white sugar and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the pecans. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and roll each ball in remaining white sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3.Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are golden. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.
Find the original here.

I had to hide the second batch…from the both of us!

Let’s start this wonderful day with a revelation from our dog Tippy: I need to stop blogging around and do some laundry…darn!

Check out the round up of the latest Wekend Dog Blogging at Sweetnicks

Sorry it took longer than expected to add the recipe for these great little rolls. Here it is, found on a site I visit often and where I found great brioches recipe (and you know how much i love them).
Baking bread is a daily ritual for me, I start when I get home from work and bake the bread in the morning. I use my bread machine for making the dough just as much as I use my KA, it really depends on my mood, I never used the machine pan for baking, as I found the pan quite ugly and too square.

Milk Rolls, adapted from La Panetiere:
– 260 gr. milk ( regular, almond, rice, soy, goat, buttermilk,…)
– 1 egg
– 1 tsp.salt
– 50 gr. sugar
– 5oo gr. all purpose flour
– 2 tsp. instant yeast
– 40 gr. butter

-If you use a bread machine, put all the ingredients in the pan and set on the dough program. After it is over, portion the dough into 15 pieces, let rest 15 minutes. Form into shapes. At this point you can leave them plain, or add chocolate chips, or dried fruits ( I used dried raspberries).
– Let rise for another hour or so and bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes. I brushed mine with milk and sprinkledwith sugar before baking.

If using a regular stand mixer: dissolve yeast in the milk at 110-115 degree. Let rest until foamy. Put into the bowl of a mixer and add the flour, egg, salt, sugar. Mix until dough forms, slowly incorporate the butter which should be soft. Let rise 1 1/2 hours.
-Proceed with the recipe as above.

Here is a why I will always have a job as a pastry chef:

Life’s a beach Cake by Sandra Lee

and here is why I will always have a job as a personal trainer:
Fried Chicken by Paula Dean