Красный Хрен - Red Horseradish

Though the first few nights of passover have passed, I wanted to share my recipe for Красный Хрен (red horseradish), a traditional condiment for gefilte fish and a staple for many passover meals.
I opened up the garden last weekend and my one harvest so far has been an over wintered horseradish root that was dug up for the express purpose of making a few jars of this tasty condiment.
Красный Хрен - Red Horseradish
1 horseradish root, washed, peeled and diced (or grated)
2 medium beets, peeled and boiled or roasted and diced (or grated)
4-6 oz white vinegar (enough to be absorbed in the mixture but not so much that it is swimming in it)
2-3 tsp sugar
salt & pepper to taste (if desired)
Directions:
Using a food processor or hand grater finely grate or dice the horseradish. Add the grated beets to the horseradish (to ensure there is a good amount of heat let the horseradish sit in a covered container for a few minutes before the beets are added). Mix thoroughly and add a few teaspoons of sugar. Taste and adjust to desired heat or sweetness.  Add enough vinegar to absorb into the mixture, and mix very well. Transfer to jars, cover tightly, and store in the refrigerator until needed.
That is it. I wouldn't make this too far in advance as the horseradish will lose it's heat and intensity over time. For a more intense flavor use more horseradish and less of everything else! The lack of exact measurements in this recipe should serve as a general guide. The key to a good horseradish (red or white)  is to bring out the intensity of the horseradish without drowning it in vinegar. The recipe here yielded about 2 1/2 cups of red horseradish goodness.

Be sure to also check out my directions for making a traditional (white) horseradish.

Brioche and Breakfast for Dinner

Gail has been on me for a few weeks to make Brioche because 1) she wanted to make french toast so we can enjoy breakfast for dinner and 2) it is absolutely delicious! 

As I've explained multiple times I am learning to bake, especially bread, but I am not an expert. Lucky for me those with far more knowledge and skill have made their fool proof recipes available on the Internet. In the case of Brioche, I turn back to Michael Ruhlman's recipe which is easy enough that as he claims an eleven year-old and a stand mixer can make it. 

I may not be eleven, but I do have a stand mixer and a love of great (and easy to make) bread! Once again (this was my 2nd time with this recipe) the results were fantastic. The loaf is eggy, buttery, and almost cake like with a nice flaky crust:

With such an easy recipe that can produce something as delicious and great as the above photo I don't think I need to search for another one. Ruhlman's recipe will definitely be my standby when a basic loaf of brioche is needed. 

As I stated at the top of the post the whole point of making the brioche was so we could have french toast for dinner! Last night Gail sliced up half of the loaf and made a great homemade french toast that she dusted with a pinch of curry sugar. Topped with Cook's Farm maple syrup, a pile of crispy John Crow Farm bacon, and a fruit salad.  On a day that seemed like winter had finally arrived here in Boston a warm filling breakfast for dinner was exactly what we needed! 

Chewy Tangy Bread

I am not an expert bread maker, I barely qualify as a novice most of the time, but I keep trying with some great success as well as some pretty bad failures as well, but sometimes I bake bread that is absolutely what I envisioned. The 2 loaves I made on Saturday were a perfect example of the final product coming out just as I had hoped. The addition of fed sourdough starter gives this bread a slightly tangy taste. The bread had a thin and crispy crust and the loaves were soft, fluffy, and chewy -a perfect vehicle for a bit of warmed butter and a great addition to the dinner table.

 

 Chewy Tangy Bread
(makes 2 loaves)

1 1/2 cups fed sourdough starter
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
5 cups flour (I used 4 cups King Arthur All-Purpose Flour & 1 cup bolted Warthog from Four Star Farms)

Combine all of the ingredients and knead to form a smooth dough. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled, approximately 90 minutes. After dough has risen, divide the dough in half. Shape each half into an oval shaped loaf and place on parchment-lined or corn meal dusted baking sheet. Cover and let loaves rise until puffy, about 1 hour. As the dough is rising preheat the oven to 425 F.
Make deep slashes in each loaf with a serrated bread knife and mist with lukewarm water. Place a shallow pan with lukewarm water in the bottom rack of the oven. Back the bread for 25 to 30 minutes on the upper rack until bread is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack.

(submitted to YeastSpotting)

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with Buckwheat Flour

Last month when I picked up all the great local flour from Four Star Farms, Elizabeth L'Etoile of Four Star mentioned that buckwheat flour was great for banana bread and added a nice earthy flavor. Using their recipe for Banana Bread with barley flour, I substituted buckwheat flour for the barley and made the addition of 1/4 cup of chocolate chips.
The recipe made 1 full sized loaf and 1 mini loaf (pictured above). This was a really hearty banana bread which balanced well with the addition of the small amount of chocolate chips and I loved the flavor. From now on, If I have buckwheat flour on hand that is how I will be making my banana bread!

Do you use any 'alternative' grains and flours for common recipes??

Buckwheat x Sourdough

This bread was a challenge for me in multiple ways. I had never used buckwheat before in bread making, nor had I deviated so much from a 'base' recipe when baking, which is why I was pleased with how tasty this was. The final product was a hearty bread with a moist and chewy crumb, a crispy crusty, and a tang that reminded me more of a Russian style light rye bread then a sourdough. Whatever it was it tasted great!!

I have been hoping to find a steady source of local grains for a while and was really excited to have an opportunity to pick up a variety of locally grown grains and flours this past weekend from the folks at  Four Star Farms in Northfield, MA. The L'Etoile family clearly cares about their grains which even more evident after visiting the Sustainable Farming part of their website. I made this loaf with a mix of their bolted Warthog (15.4% protein), their Zorro (16.9% protein), and their Buckwheat flour. For more info on these and their other flours visit the Four Star Farms flour page.

The first step was to feed my sourdough starter with 3/4 cup of bolted Warthog and 3/4 a cup of water and let it do it's magic overnight. After a night out on the counter the fed starter had a nice tangy aroma and looked to be fairly active.

Fred's experimental Buckwheat x Sourdoughmakes 2 loaves

Starter:

1 cup King Arthur Flour sourdough starter

3/4 cup bolted Warthog flour

Bread:

1 1/2 cups water, room temperature

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1 1/2 cups 'whole wheat flour' (sifted Zorro), plus extra for baking

2 cups 'bread flour' (bolted Warthog)

12-16 oz fed sourdough starter

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon sugar

large handful of cornmeal for the baking sheet.

Using a stand mixer with the dough hook mix together the water and all 3 flours on low speed for a bout a minuted or until the the mix is stiff and a little shaggy. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 10-15 minutes.

With the mixer on medium speed add the fed sourdough starter (I tried using a cup an a half but it was so sticky I am sure I ended up using a full 2 cups), salt, and sugar and mix for 3-4 minutes or until starter is well incorporated. At this point the dough should be somewhere between sticky and smooth, slightly sticky but still smooth and stretchy. If it is too lose at a little more flour, if it is too stiff add a little more water.

Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning the dough in the bowl to coat with oil. Cover the bowl with a lightly oiled piece of plastic wrap and let it sit for 2-3 hours (I let it sit for the full 3 hours).

After the dough has sat, flour your hands and work area and turn the dough out of the bowl. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a ball by continuously tucking the edges of the dough underneath until the dough has shaped itself into a ball with a taut surface.

Sprinkle your baking sheet generously with cornmeal and place the loaves on the baking sheet, spacing them at least 3 inches apart. Cover them loosely with plastic wrap and let them sit at room temperature for another 2 - 3 hours (mine sat 2.5 hours) or until they have loosened up and relaxed a bit.

Preheat the oven to 500 F and position one rack in the center. Sprinkle the tops of the loaves with the extra flour. Slash the surface of the loaves with a knife and place the baking sheet in the oven on the center rack with a pan filled with 2 cups of water on the rack below. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the loaves are a golden brown or darker on top and sound hollow when you tap the bottom.

Transfer the loaves to a wire rack and let them cool for at least an hour before slicing.

(submitted to yeastspotting)

Papperdelle with Spicy Beef Sausage and Cannellini Beans

Anyone who enjoys or follows the restaurant scene here in Boston is familiar with Barbara Lynch and her roster of great dining and drinking establishments. In November 2009 Lynch published her highly anticipated first cookbook Stir: Mixing It Up in the Italian Tradition. Last summer Gail and I were given a signed copy of Stir by Barbara Lynch Gruppo because Gail pointed out a discrepancy in the ingredients we were told were in a dish versus what was actually in the dish. Gail did not complain, she contacted Barbara Lynch Gruppo knowing they would take this type of discrepancy seriously, and they thanked her with a signed copy of the great cookbook!

Since then I have wanted to cook something (or nearly everything) from this cookbook. Sunday I wanted to make the Rigatoni with Spicy Sausage and Cannellini Beans for dinner but some adjustments had to be made in consideration of smaller portions and slightly different ingredients.  Using the recipe as a guide and following the cooking instructions we ended up with a hearty pasta dish with a deliciously spicy beef ragu that was just what we wanted after a long chilly Sunday running errands:

Perfect on a cold night.

Truffle Papperdelle with Spicy Beef Sausage and Cannellini Beans
Recipe inspired by Barbara Lynch's Stir: Mixing It Up in the Italian Tradition
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
3/4 lb - 1 lb beef sausage, casings removed
1 cup red wine
2.5 lbs tomatoes, cored and chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
kosher salt
ground black pepper
12 oz Truffle Papperdelle (my new favorite pasta courtesy of Valicenti Organico)
1 19 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
2  tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add Garlic and cook approximately 2 minutes. Add the onion and sausage  and cook, breaking up the sausage until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the wine, increase heat to high, and cook until wine is reduced by half, about 10-12 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and crushed red pepper flakes. Season with salt and black pepper. Reduce heat to medium and cook until sauce has thickened, about 25 minutes.
While the sauce is thickening bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add Pasta and cook to al dente and drain. Add the drained pasta to the pan with sauce and stir until mixed. Add cannellini beans, cheese, basil, and butter and stir. Cook until the beans are heated 3-5 minutes. Taste, and adjust seasoning based on preference (mostly add more red pepper flakes if you want).

The original recipe called for 1 lb of spicy italian sausage, but we had 3/4 lb of beef sausage on hand so that is what we used. It also calls for canned or boxed crushed tomato, but we had fresh tomatoes from The Herb Lyceum so I used those. We were lacking fresh basil so I used 1.5 basil cubes from our freezer.  Also, the recipe called for 1 lb of pasta, and it was not papperdelle, but in Stir Lynch points out that the recipe as she wrote it calls for pantry staples (pasta, canned beans, canned or box tomato) making it an easy midweek meal! After cooking this I can see dozens of ways to alter the ingredients to incorporate a variety of different ingredients and vegetables.

National Hot Toddy Day!

Today, January 11th is National Hot Toddy Day!!

I will be using the more robust Crown Royal Black
for my Hot Toddy tonight!

A hot toddy is a drink, made with honey, lemon, sometimes spirits (typically whiskey, brandy, rum, etc) and a hot beverage (water, tea, cider) mixed together and garnished with a stick of cinnamon.

I will be making my preferred variation. I find the various Crown Royal blended whisky's to suit this beverage perfectly. For this recipe I am using Crown Royal Black which has a darker fuller flavor then some of their other offerings.
Fred's Warm 'n Fuzzy Hot Toddy
1 - 2  oz Crown Royal Black (the black has a more robust and dark flavor)
 2 tsp honey
1 small lemon wedge
8 oz hot mulled cider
cinnamon stick for garnish

Warm cider in pan with mulling spices. While cider is warming up you can add your honey, spirit of choice, and lemon wedge to a mug. Once cider is ready pour into mug, stir until mixed well. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and enjoy a perfect cocktail for a cold afternoon/evening.

How do you prefer your Hot Toddy? What other drinks (with or without alcohol) do you like on a chill-you-to-the-bone kind of day?

Mini Irish Soda Bread Scones

I've always been a fan of both Irish soda bread and pretty much anything in the scone family. Gail makes the most incredible mexican chocolate scones, and I had past success with the cranberry-orange variety last year.

A few weeks ago I picked up a container of dried currants with the intent on snacking on some and using a portion of them in some sort of soda bread or scone concoction. After dinner on Saturday night I whipped up this classic Irish Soda Bread recipe and made scones out of them. Though they looked troublesome as they went into the oven the final product was over 2 dozen mini scones that tasted great and were not too dry, but just dry enough that they go great with tea or coffee in the morning or as a late afternoon treat.

Another plus is that the recipe was pretty simple and start to finish took less then an hour.  The recipe comes from Stephanie's on Newbury which is known for the bread and offers up the recipe on a little card with the bread.

Irish Soda Bread/Mini Soda Bread Scones

via Stephanie's On Newbury

makes 1 loaf of bread or approximately 2 dozen mini scones

4 cups flour

1/4 lb butter

1/2 tbs baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 cup currants

Preheat oven to 375 F. 

Place flour baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar into a blow. Incorporate butter into flour until mixture represents cornmeal. In a separate bowl add eggs to the buttermilk. Whisk thoroughly then add to the flour mixture. Mix until all liquid is absorbed but do not over mix. The dough should not be smooth. Shape dough into 1 egg loaf or for mini scones scoop 1 tbs of batter onto baking sheet. Score an X mark on the top of each loaf.  Bake soda bread for 1 hour. Baking mini scones for about 20 minutes.

Two Loaves - Fannie Farmer French Bread

These two photos are from two different loaves of french bread. I made the dough together and refrigerated one and baked it the next day. The first was made fresh and the second was from the dough that came out of the refrigerator.
These were not baguettes. The only way I can really describe them is as the type of french bread that is perfect for soup or a french bread pizza, but ultimately they were not baguettes. Everyone who tired them though agreed that both loaves were delicious. Being my own harshest critic I felt the second loaf was inferior to the first because as I rolled the dough I did not pinch it enough and the dough had a ring in the center as the layers rose. The first loaf had a great crumb and perfect crust. It was used for an awesome french onion soup. Gail and I visited our friend Sharon, of Thyme to Cook Personal Chef Service for dinner, and she showed Gail how to make the French Onion Soup from Julia and Jacques: Cooking at Home. This type of bread was perfect to slice up for use in the soup.
The recipe for this 'French' bread comes from an old printing of The All New Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook dated 1975. It makes a loaf with a nice golden crust that is not too dense. A good loaf to practice with and adapt.

French Bread
makes 2 or 3 loaves
These long thin loaves with chewy crisp crusts are perfect for French or Italian style meals. If you like shape part of the dough into small rolls. This dough is also good for English muffins or pizza.

Put in a large mixing bowl:

• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 1 package yeast

Let stand 5 minutes. Add:

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons shortening (I used butter)

Stir well. Add:

• 2 cups all-purpose or bread flour

Beat thoroughly with a rotary beater or an electric mixer. Add:

• 1 cup flour (or enough to make a stiff dough)

Sprinkle a board with flour. Put the dough on it and let rest 10 minutes. Knead well, let rise, punch down and let rise again.

Turn the dough out on a floured surface and divide into two or three parts. Let rest 10 minutes. Flatten each part with a rolling pin to about 1/4 inch thickness. Roll up each sheet of dough tightly to make a long slender loaf. Press firmly along the rolled edges to seal. Sprinkle cookie sheets with:

• Corn meal

Put the loaves on the sheets leaving enough space between them so that they will be crusty on all sides. Cut diagonal gashes in the loaves about 1/2 inch deep. Beat together:

• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon salt

Brush over the top of the loaves. Let rise until double in bulk (about 1 hour).

Put a large pan of boiling water in the bottom of the oven with the pans of bread on a rack above. Bake at 425 F for 10 minutes. Brush again with egg mixture Reduce the heat to 375 F and bake until the bread sounds hollow when you tap it (about 25 minutes). Cool on a wire rack.

The recipe above is at is presented in the cookbook. Obviously give some time for the oven to warm up and to boil the water before you bake the bread. As I said at the top of the post, I make one loaf fresh and refrigerated the other one. Though the recipe claims this can make 2 or 3 loaves I think 2 is more accurate, as 3 loaves would be fairly small. As a note, I had better results with the loaf that was made fresh then with the dough from the fridge, but both had a pretty nice crumb and a great crust.

(submitted to yeastspotting)

Brigadeiros/Chocolate Truffles/Amazeballs!!

A few weeks ago, during a lull at work I was scrolling through twitter on my phone when I saw a tweet from the America's Test Kitchen Feed about how easy it is to make the Brazilian chocolate truffles known as brigadeiros. They looked so rich and decadent I knew I had try it out to see just how easy it was.
There was discrepancy between the step-by-step instructions and the recipe page as to how much butter to use. The step-by-step instructions called for 3 tablespoons of butter and the recipe page called for 2 tablespoons. Not much of a difference, but given America's Test Kitchen's methods of rigorous testing of recipes in pursuit of ones that work well and are easily reproduce at home that has made them a standard and go to source for recipes, techniques, reviews of equipment and all around kitchen knowledge I decided to reach out to them to correct the recipe!
I sent an email last weekend and got a response Monday morning from Christine, an associate editor of social media with America's Test Kitchen thanking me for my sharp eye, confirming that 2 tablespoons was the correct amount and letting me know that both the instructions and recipe linked above have been updated to reflect the accurate recipe, which is posted below in case you are too lazy to click a link:

Brigadeiros (Brazilian Chocolate Truffles aka Amazeballs!!)  via America's Test Kitchen
makes 30 (though I ended up making 40 so it really depends on size)
If the candies stick to hands while rolling, spray them lightly with cooking spray. The thickened chocolate mixture can be chilled up to 24 hours. The finished candies can be stored in the refrigerator up to 3 days.


1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 tablespoons butter (might be 3 tablespoons, but I used 2)
sprinkles, powdered sugar, crushed nuts, etc for coating
1) Combine sweetened condensed milk, cocoa powder, and butter in medium sauce pot over medium-low heat.
2) Cool. stirring frequently, until mixture is very thick and rubber spatula holds its line across bottom of pan, about 25 minutes. Pour into a greased 8"x8" baking dish and refrigerate until cooled, at least 30 minutes.
3) Working with approximately 1 tablespoon pieces at a time, roll into 1-inch balls. Place toppings in bowls and roll chocolate in coatings until covered.

Really, that is it! This was as easy as described above. Rolling and coating the balls is a bit messy but this was not a complicated process. My mix cooked a little faster then 25 minutes, closer to 15 but they came out great and this was pretty idiot proof, just keep stirring!!

An easy recipe like this that can be made a day in advance, would be a fun activity with kids, and is easy to customize with the variety of coatings you can use! These will definitely be a go to when we need an easy 'special treat' for something!

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2011: Silver Palate Sorghum Cookies

This year was my first participating in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap!  My reason for signing up was simple- Gail and I LOVE cookies (who doesn't!?) and the idea of receiving 3 dozen cookies in the mail, of 3 different varieties sounded to good to pass up! All I had to do to join the party was commit to baking and sending out 3 dozen of my own cookies to 3 separate food bloggers. Sounds good to me! For the cookie swap I adapted a recipe from the original Silver Palate Cookbook (not the 25th anniversary edition which is linked). I took the recipe for molasses cookies and made them with sorghum rather the molasses as the taste and consistency are very similar.  Below the photo of a dozen cookies fresh from the oven is a recipe for these moist, chewy, delicious cookies!

Sorghum Cookies
adapted from The Silver Palate Cookbook & makes approximately 24 cookies
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup sorghum

1 egg

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 F

Melt butter, add sugar and sorghum, and mix thoroughly. Lightly beat egg and add to butter mixture; mix well.

Sift flour with spices, salt, and baking soda, add to first mixture and mix well. Batter will be quite wet and sticky.

Lay a sheet of foil on a cookie sheet. Drop tablespoons of cookie batter on foil, leaving 3 inches between the cookies. These will spread during the baking.

Bake until cookies start to darken, about 8 to 10 minutes. (9 minutes 30 seconds was the ideal time in my oven)

Remove form oven while still soft (they will be very soft). Let cool on foil. Seriously let them cool. These cookies came out of the oven so soft I looked funny at one and it squished the cookie.

That is it. Super simple, easy cookies that are soft, chewy, and moist. Not crisp like ginger-snaps. A great holiday cookie.

I hope that delishiono, Cooking On the Side, & Gustatoria enjoyed their cookies!!


I was lucky enough to receive 3 delicious batches of cookies in the mail last week!
Kate at the forgotten teaspoon sent a box of grandmother's gingersnap cookies, Lily from Small Kitchen College sent a box of meyer lemon almond cookies, and Kat of percent sent a bag of snowballs!! Look at these great packages:

Gail and I have really enjoyed all of the cookies. It was a really nice surprise to open each package and find out what kind of cookies we had received! The suspense was killing us (ha!). I'm really happy to have participated in my first cookie swap. I look forward to doing it again, and maybe signing up for a few cookie swaps in my area next year!


what type of holiday cookies are you baking up??

Goat cheese stuffed chicken breast with couscous & braised kale

Most of the time dinner at home doesn't need to be overly difficult to taste good and satisfy, especially when you have been working all day and the last thing you want to do is spend an ungodly amount of time in the kitchen when all you want is something warm, that tastes good, and isn't terrible for you.
This is what drives a lot of my cooking day in and day out. I want my food to taste good without being too terrible for me.
Gail has slowly been incorporating a little bit of meat into her diet here and there. This usually happens in one of a few ways: We are out to dinner and I am enjoying a particularly tasty bit of meat and I offer her some to try, I have brought home some sort of salami or other meat preserve that I offer up, or I cook something in the hopes that she will eat more then 3 bites (which means she might actually like it)

Earlier this week we enjoyed a simple and satisfying dinner of breaded chicken breasted stuffed with goat cheese, garlic couscous, and braised kale. Not everything was local, but I was able to include the chicken breast from John Crow Farm & the russian red kale from Heron Pond Farm.
The best part is that the chicken breast can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance and stored in the refrigerator until it is time to throw into the oven. Once the chicken is in the oven (35 minutes cooking you can relax for a few minutes, and then start on the braised kale (20 minutes) & couscous (10 minutes).

Braised Kale
2 lbs kale
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3/4 cup chicken stock
Wash, trim and chop kale. In a medium pot heat oil and lightly saute the garlic. Add kale and chicken stock. Cook covered for 12 minutes.

Goat Cheese Stuffed Breaded Chicken Breasts
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt and ground black pepper
cheese filling (I used 4 oz herbed goat cheese from Westfield Farm)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4-5 slices of bread (to make bread crumbs, or you can use store bought)
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
For the breadcrumbs: Preheat oven to 300 F. Place half the bread in a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground. Repeat with remaining bread. Toss the bread crumbs with oil, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper and spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, stirring a few times, until the crumbs are golden brown and dry, 22-25 minutes. Transfer to a small dish and let cool completely.
For the chicken: Butterfly each chicken breast by slicing it lengthwise almost in half (start with the thin side) and then open to create a single cutlet. Place each cutlet between sheets of plastic wrap and pound until cutlets are 1/4-in thick. Place cheese filling in the center of each breast. Roll tightly over the filling and ensure the cheese is completely enclosed and forms a cylinder. Press the seam to seal. Repeat for each breast. Refrigerate the chicken, seam side down and uncovered for 1 hour to allow the edges to seal further.
Combine the flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a shallow dish and whisk the eggs and Dijon together in a second shallow dish. Take 1 chicken breast at a time, dredge in the flour, then coat with the egg mixture,, and finally roll in bread crumbs.
At this point the chicken can be stored for up to 24 hours. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 F and place the chicken in an oven safe dish. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes & serve.

I prepped the chicken breasts early in the morning and left them in the fridge all day.  Everything else was prepared while the chicken was in the oven. No fuss & the leftovers were a great lunch!

No-knead Crusty Dutch Oven Bread

(submitted to yeastspotting)

Back in October when I cooked up the brisket I made my first loaf in a dutch oven. I wanted to revisit the process but produce something with a little more crust and heft then the loaf I had made a few months ago.  The final result, which is pictured was exactly what I had imagined when I set out to make this loaf. A nice crunchy crust, a heartier taste with an undertone of rosemary. With bread this good that is so deceptively simple, I am sure this style will become a mainstay in my bread making rotation!




No-knead Dutch Oven Bread
1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus some for dusting
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbs rosemary
1 1/2 tsp salt
cornmeal for dusting.
In a large bowl dissolve yeast in water. Add the flour(s), rosemary and salt, stirring well until blending. The dough should be pretty shaggy and sticky at this point. Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and let it rest for 8 hours at room temperature.
Once the dough is ready lightly flour a work surface and place the dough on it. Sprinkle with flour,  punch down and fold on itself a few times. Cover and let rest 15 more minutes. Once rested shape the dough into a ball, place in bowl and dust with cornmeal, turning dough ball as you go. Cover and let rest another hour.
With the dough resting and about 25 minutes left preheat the oven to 475 degrees, with a 6-8 qt dutch oven inside as the oven heats. When the dough is ready carefully remove the dutch oven and lift the lid off. Slide the dough into the dutch oven, shaking it firmly once or twice to help distribute the dough.
Cover the dough and bake for 30 minutes, remove the lid and bake an additional 15-20 minutes until the loaf is a nice golden brown. Remove the bread from the Dutch oven and let it cool on a wire rack for an hour.
There you have it, a long on wait time, but low-impact loaf that is very delicious!

What have you been baking lately??

Austin to Boston Food Swap package & gluten free vegan cookie recipe!

Last month I signed up for the Austin to Boston Food Swap. The idea of getting a package of fun foodie gifts from the Austin area was too good to pass up, and being so into local and seasonal food I thought putting together my own package wouldn't be too hard.
I was paired with the incredibly sweet and fun Jess over at forgiving martha! After making initial contact with Jess via email and praising my love of bacon, cheese, and baked goods I headed over to her blog and found that she has celiac's and it's primarily vegan dishes. This through a wrench in some of my plans, but ultimately I stayed positive and decided I would do the best I could to included a variety of gluten free & vegan items in her package including homemade cookies, because I love a challenge!
Here's a look, followed by a rundown of what I sent Jess, including a recipe for great gluten free-vegan peanut butter cookies!

contents of Jess' food swap package

As i've been preparing for the dark days challenge, I decided that my package should contain as many locally sourced items as possible. I ended up including:

Maple Syrup from Cook's Farm & Bakery. Birdwatcher's Blend Coffee from Dean's Beans. Popcorn Cobs from Enterprise Farm. Chipotle Chili Chocolate Mexicano discs from Taza Chocolate. Dried marjoram, rosemary, & sage that Gail & I grew at our garden. Pineapple Salsa and Plum/Spiced Port Jam that we canned, and a batch of gluten free-vegan peanut butter cookies!

When I decided I would be attempting to bake something that was both gluten free and vegan I knew I would need some guidance. I immediately sought out my good friend, fellow blogger, and personal chef Sharon Shiner! Her website Thyme to Cook and her blog are both linked on the righthand sidebar. 

Reaching out to Sharon was the right choice as she immediately replied to my request for a ideas with a great recipe that had her stamp of approval. 

The recipe is from Terry Walters eating guide/cookbook Clean Foods! Thanks to a 3-way twitter exchange between Sharon, Terry, and myself Terry has given me permission to share the recipe here, so a huge thanks goes out to her for this great recipe which calls for gluten free teff flour, maple syrup, and peanut butter!

Gluten Free-Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies

from Clean Foods by Terry Walters 

1.5 cups teff flour

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup chunky natural peanut butter

1 cup maple syrup 

1/2 cup vegan semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 F

Combine all dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in another. Pour wet over dry and blend until just combined - do not overmix. Fold in chocolate chips.

Linke cookie sheet with parchment. Drop batter by heaping teaspoons onto cookie sheet. LEave cokie free form or press down in crisscross pattern with the tines of a fork.

Place in oven and bake for 13 minutes or until lightly browned. The key to these cookies is to not over bake them. 

Remove from oven and place directly on wire rack to cool. Yields about 20 cookies.

I hope Jess enjoys the items as much as I enjoyed putting the package together!!

I can't wait to see what she has in store for me!

Buttermilk/Pork Belly Biscuits with Basic Red-Eye Gravy



perfect thanksgiving breakfast

 It is rare that I get to enjoy a fresh cooked breakfast during the work week. Normally I have a cup or 2 of coffee with a bowl of cereal, oatmeal, or leftover baked goods (cookies, tea breads, etc). Even with the added bonus of working from home twice a week I still usually don't have the time to make a hot breakfast because I use the extra time to cleanup the apartment, take the trash out, do laundry, plan blog posts, etc.
Last Thursday, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday here in the US I was offered the opportunity to wake up and enjoy a hot fresh breakfast in the middle of the week! I took advantage by getting out of bed and baking up a quick batch of buttermilk biscuits, red-eye gravy, and scrambled eggs(with shredded Manchego and chives)! The biscuits had a simple twist, rather then using extra butter or shortening I used some of the leftover fat from the pork belly I had already made. The red-eye gravy was a  thin and sweet topping for the biscuits that tasted great and was nearly effortless to prepare.
Easy Buttermilk Biscuits (w/Pork Belly drippings)
makes about a dozen biscuits
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons pork belly grease (or shortening, additional butter, etc)
1 cup chilled buttermilk
Preheat oven to 450 F degrees.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Use your fingertips and rub butter &  pork fat into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir until the dough comes together, which will be very sticky.
Turn the dough onto a floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold the dough over on itself a few times. Press the dough into a 1-inch thick round, cut biscuits with a 2-inch cutter (I do not own a biscuit cutter, I used a lowball glass as my biscuit cutter). Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they are barely touching. Reform the scrap dough and continue to cut biscuits.
Bake until biscuits are golden on top, approximately 15 to 20 minutes.

Basic Red-Eye Gravy
2 pieces ham or pork belly
at least 1/2 cup leftover coffee (I need coffee if I am up early and baking, so I made a little extra before I tackled the biscuits)
2 teaspoons brown sugar
Cook pork belly gently on both sides and put aside the leftover drippings. Add drippings, leftover coffee, and brown sugar to a small pan over low heat until sufficiently mixed and combined.
Pour over biscuits and enjoy!

Master Pork Belly Recipe

crispy skinned pork belly out

of the oven

The weekend before thanksgiving Gail and I had some friends over for dinner. Wanting to cook something I had never tried before I offered to make pork belly to pair with Gail's butternut squash risotto and Brussels sprouts and bacon. The two pieces you see on the left was my first attempt at working with pork belly. The entire process was incredibly simple and the result was a crispy skinned, moist pork belly that is easily manipulated and can fit as the meat component for an endless array of dishes.

pork belly seasoned before resting 

overnight.

The recipe is David Chang's momofuku master pork belly & pork shoulder recipe, which ran in Lucky Peach Issue #1(available at McSweeney's). The best part of this recipe, which Chang points out in Lucky Peach is that it can very easily be scaled up or down depending on how much pork belly (or shoulder) you are working with.
For this attempt I was working with two pieces of Austin Brothers Valley Farm pork belly that totalled 2.5 lbs. (I got the pork belly at the Somerville Winter Farmer's Market). The dish takes a good deal of time, due to overnight seasoning and a 90-150 minute cooking time, however most of it is not hands on. This was a good project to start early on Saturday afternoon to serve for dinner on Sunday evening. The 2.5 lbs I made was obviously way too much for a simple dinner of 4 people (including 1 vegetarian), but the leftovers have gone in a variety of other dishes and will be enjoyed well into next week!

pork belly resting in the fridge with
wine, cider, & beers.

Momofuku Master Pork Belly (with slight alteration noted below)
This recipe can be scaled up and down to make as much as you like.
pork belly*
1 tbsp + 1 tsp salt per pound of pork
1 tbsp + 1 tsp sugar per pound of pork
black pepper
*recipe calls for the pork belly to be skinless. I enjoy crispy pork belly skin and decided to leave it on.
Season the pork belly with the salt and sugar. Hit it with a couple turns freshly ground black pepper. Let it sit overnight, covered, in the fridge.
Throw the seasoned belly in a roasting pan. Blast it in a 450 F degree oven for 30 minutes. Scale the heat back to 275 F and let it ride out for another hour or two, until its tender but not mushy.
Let the belly cool to room temperature. Wrap it up tight in plastic and put it in the fridge until it's thoroughly chilled through- a few hours at least, and up to a couple days. At that point, slice it into nice, thick slabs, then either brown it in oil or warm it through with a little stock or water in a covered pan. Deploy as needed.

chilled and sliced thick
before final heating,

Because I had never worked with pork belly I wanted to ensure that it was cooked thoroughly so I used a meat thermometer to verify the belly was between 150 F - 160 F. 
When I got the belly's at the farmers market they were frozen. 
Timing & Alterations
After running errands and returning home I seasoned them as directed above and let them thaw a little before letting them rest in the refrigerator from 6 pm Saturday evening until 9:15 am Sunday morning. 
I put the pork belly's in the 450 F oven at 9:26 am. After the initial half hour, I gave the belly's a very thin maple glaze as I knew the flavor would pair well with Gail's risotto, and returned them to the oven at the reduced temperature. I removed the smaller of the two at 10:24 am, and the larger at 10:28 am. It took the belly's about about 50 minutes to cool to room temperature. They were wrapped in plastic and placed in the refrigerator at 11:16 am (at this point I cut off a small bit of charred crispy skin with some meat clinging to it and was really delighted with the taste!! I mean REALLY delighted. The slight hint of maple, balanced with the salt and a touch of black pepper had me breathing deeply with porkgasmic delight!). 
I pulled the belly out of the oven and sliced it for dinner around 6:00 pm.
I browned the pieces in a cast iron skillet with a mixture of belly drippings, a drop of leftover maple syrup, and a pinch of dried sage.
The final product were slightly gristly, maple-kissed, melt in your mouth good slices of pork belly that paired perfectly with Gail's risotto, but would easily be welcome in 1001 other dishes.

final product

The unaltered Master Pork Belly recipe as noted above is one that I am adding to my cooking arsenal with full confidence that I will turn to it time and time again for a number of dishes.

If you have never worked with pork belly, or need a great simple master recipe to use as a building block for more complicated dishes, this is the recipe you want to bookmark. 

Rosemary Shortbread

Last year I wrote about picking up Joanne Chang's Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe. Gail has successfully mastered the Oreo's from the book, and we've tried a few others. I found myself at home and in between two kitchen tasks so I whipped up a batch of this wonderful Rosemary Shortbread. They are buttery and have a perfect crumb. The recipe was easy enough without a stand mixer (though the recipe calls for one) and I will certainly be making these again soon! Great with a cup of coffee or tea!

rosemary shortbread, dried rosemary sprigs & fresh cranberries

Rosemary Shortbread from Flour by Joanne Change
makes 12 to 15 cookies
1 cup (2 sticks/228 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (110g) packed light brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
1 1/2 cups (210g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (65g) cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder


Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attached (or a handheld mixer or a wooden spoon), cream the butter on medium speed for about 2 minutes, or until light and pale. (This step will take 3 to 4 minutes if using a handheld mixer and about 5 minutes if using a spoon.) Add the sugar and beat on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Stop the mixer a few times and use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and the paddle to release any clinging butter or sugar. On low speed, add the egg yolk and rosemary and beat for about 1 minute, or until thoroughly combined.
In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking powder. On low speed, slowly  add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture and then mix just until the flour mixture is totally incorporated and the dough is evenly mixed. stop the mixer several times to scrape the bowl and the paddle to free ant trapped flour mixture.
Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, and wrap the dough in the plastic wrap, pressing down to form a disk about 8 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. refrigerate the dough about 20 minutes, or until it is firm enough to roll out.
Position rack in the center of oven, and heat to 325 degrees.
On a floured work surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle about 12 by 10 inches and 1/4 inch thick. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 12 to 15 uniform pieces-rectangles, triangles, or cookie-cutter shapes-and arrange them on a baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. (At this point, the cookies can be tightly wrapped and frozen for up to 2 weeks. Bake as directed directly from the freezer. you may need to add a few minutes to the baking time.)
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the cookies are medium golden brown all the way through. Let cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Though the recipe leans towards a stand mixer I did the whole thing by hand with no issues. I used the lid of a ball 1/2 pint canning jar as the cookie cutter and got great looking circles. Really easy recipe, one that I would make ahead of time for the holidays when people might unexpectedly stop by you can throw them right in the oven!

Brussels sprouts

Brussels sprouts & bacon w/ squash ravioli

I 'm not gonna lie. I don't like Brussels sprouts. I should because they would do really well in the south eastern New England climate and growing them would be pretty easy, but I've never liked them. Enter the magic ingredient: BACON! In an effort to enjoy Brussels sprouts more I've gone for a simple recipe that calls for garlic, salt, pepper, evoo, and bacon (or pancetta). Very little effort was involved in these easy side and I found that I really enjoyed the mix of flavors. The Vermont Smoke and Cure unsmoked bacon was a perfect edition to the Brussels Sprouts and I will definitely make this recipe again as I try and eat more Brussels sprouts! This is the perfect recipe to ease me into it!








Roasted Brussels sprouts with Garlic and Bacon (or pancetta)
serves 3 well or 4 as a small side
1 lbs Brussels Sprouts trimmed and cut in half
2 oz bacon (or pancetta) minced
1 garlic clove minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
water
Preheat oven to 450 F. Toss all ingredients together except water in a baking pan. Spread mixture out in one layer in baking pan. Roasting stirring once or twice for 22-25 minutes until edges are brown and sprouts are as tender as you like. Stir in a little water, less then 1/4 cup, stir and pour contents into a bowl, mix well & serve

Making & Storing Horseradish

 The photo on the left shows the biggest or gnarliest pieces of horseradish I pulled from the ground. I tucked away more then enough root stock to replant some fresh in the spring, and have been making batches of horseradish here and there with different meals. It's a ridiculously easy process. If you are use fresh dug horseradish I recommend peeling the larger pieces and rinsing them small ones as best as possible.
Horseradish root is really interesting. If you manage not to pierce the outer skin of the root you will barely notice an aroma. Once you cut, grind, or expose the root it starts to breakdown and the cells release an extremely pungent and flavorful oil we know as horseradish!

diced horseradish ready to be ground

Homemade Horseradish:
3 oz horseradish root. cleaned and diced.
white vinegar I used 2.5 tbls
Place diced horseradish into food processor or mixer & grind and chop until the desired consistency is achieved. Add vinegar to neutralize the smell. The longer you let the ground horseradish sit before adding vinegar the stronger 'horseradish' flavor there will be. For a light flavor add more vinegar right away & for a strong flavor wait 4-6 minutes and add less vinegar.(note: make sure you are in a well ventilated room with a fan going and a window open, as the aroma given off is EXTREMELY strong. Strong enough that, like an idiot, when I disregarded this warning and took a big huge whiff off the lid of the grinder after running it, and resting it for 3 min. I instantaneously let out a huge yell and ran from the room. My sinus' haven't been that clear since my disco days!) Once vinegar added briefly process again. Pour off excess liquid and refrigerate.  The longer the horseradish sits the 'weaker the taste will be. However the 2-3 months at most it will be in the refrigerator shouldn't see much loss of flavor. It's great to mix with a favorite mustard or mayo to give it that extra zing!

result: 1 full jar + some extra

I store the extra horseradish wrapped in some newspaper in the freezer. When I need some I pull it out, peel  and dice what I need and return the rest to the freezer. I also have more then enough 'seed stock' to plant some of my own and pass a few off on others. I planted 5 of those things in a really small space, probably where I should have planted 2 or 3 tops so I got a good mix of big and small pieces. I cut some down to size and set them aside as seed stock after we initially harvested the 4 plants. 1 more is over wintering under straw in the hopes that I can dig some up fresh in April for Passover!
I cannot stress enough the warning that you should be in a very well ventilated room and preferably wearing a mask or dishtowel over your mouth and nose. When I got a big whiff of just the cap I screamed holy fuck that is hot and ran away in real pain. don't be like me, at least cover your mouth and nose with a t-shirt. you will smell the horseradish but it won't be nearly as painful.

Resurrecting Sourdough Starter

My sourdough starer has been sitting the back of the fridge, totally neglected since spring. While I garden I don't bake much because I am too busy outside!... It had been a while since I thought about the starter in it's beautiful ceramic container. It's gotten much cooler and I'm back to baking. It was time to raise the starter from the dead!

From this...

No problems! I poured of a little of the liquid, stirred up the starter in a bowl, added some lukewarm water and flour and let the starter sit for 10 hours. By then it was quite bubbly and active and had a nice tangy smell. Not wanting to waste the 'discard' before I re fed the starter I pulled up this basic and easy recipe from King Arthur Flour. The bread had a light tang and wasn't too dense, as I stuck on the lighter side of the required flour.

... to this!

The purpose of resurrecting the starter was to make a true sourdough or something equally delicious, which is what is on deck for the weekend.  

Are you doing more baking now that it's fall??