My New Love, Focaccia- Two Ways
May 19, 2011
Over the last few weeks, several batches of focaccia made their way through my oven. Each batch took on a different personality. I topped one with oven-dried figs, walnuts, and blue cheese as an appetizer, another I brushed with garlic oil and served as a side dish. Another batch I made into a simple pizza and the last I topped with apples and cinnamon sugar for breakfast. Anyway you top this bread, it is delightful.
Besides its versatility and incredible taste, this bread is also very convenient to make. The dough rises twice, then rests in the refrigerator for 24-36 hours. When you are ready to bake, just pull a dough ball from the fridge, stretch it out, and top it as you please. Twice I served this bread for brunch. Usually I do not even consider a yeasted bread for brunch, because of the time it takes to rise, but since rises the day before, it is easy to pull off for a meal any time of day.
Though I have topped this bread many ways, my favorite remains brushing it with a garlic infused olive oil, sprinkling it with fresh herbs, and scattering coarse salt over the top. The outside becomes crunchy and brown, but the inside stays chewy and moist. The garlic flavor permeates the whole flatbread and the salt provides a crunch. It was a great accompaniment to our Huevos Diablos con Chorizo the other morning. Topping it with thinnly sliced apples is a close second, for a sweet version that is suitable for both brunch or dessert, though I would sweeten it up a bit more if serving it for dessert.
These recipes were submitted to Yeastspotting.
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Huevos Diablos con Chorizo
May 15, 2011
This month’s Charcutepalooza Challenge was meat grinding. Oh, I really became excited about this one. I recently picked up a meat grinder attachment for my Kitchen aide and have been tapping into the meat lover within making loads of sausage and meatballs. You see, my grandfather was a butcher and though my father chose another career, he is a meat enthusiast. I come from the kind of family that doesn’t consider a meal complete without some form of meat. (That would explain why I was nearly disowned during my 6 years exploring vegetarian and veganism.) But back to meat grinding, it is so easy and the product is sensational!
Last year, we began purchasing pork by the half-hog from our fabulous young cousin who raises them for 4H. There are so many reasons to buy fresh, local, conscientiously-raised meat, not least of which is that the quality is superb. For this challenge, I ground a pork shoulder and made chorizo following Michael Ruhlman’s guidance in Charcuterie. Though I have made a number of different types of sausage, chorizo is one of the most satisfying. I think that is because I generally have a difficult time finding a chorizo that I can still put in my cart after I read the ingredient label. The concept of using an entire animal is a good one, though it seems factory-based sausage companies have a different idea of what is suitable for consumption than most home cooks do. This chorizo is deeply flavored, full of completely recognizable fresh ingredients including lovingly raised meat, and is super lean.
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Packet-grilled Potatoes
May 9, 2011
It is May and therefore time to get serious about grilling. We are fortunate to live in Northern California where it is possible to grill year round, but we definitely shy off of it when the air turns cool and storms arrive. Now that the weather is warming, we are back to grilling many of our meals and eating them outside. Whenever possible, I try to cook all the dishes of the meal on the grill.
Packet Grilled Potatoes are a staple for us in grilling season. I hesitated to share the recipe because they are so simple, but truly that is exactly why you all need to know how to make these! Regardless of what we are grilling up for dinner, some variation of these potatoes fits in perfectly. Last night we grilled these potatoes along with wild salmon and made a variation of this cucumber salad. My husband sliced up the leftover potatoes and fried them part of my delicious Mother’s Day breakfast. Yum.
Bacon Breakfast Strata
May 6, 2011
Though brunch provides the allure of a relaxed meal to share with friends and family, casually sipping on Bloody Marys, the harsh reality is that someone has to get all the food ready to eat early in the morning. Beside being insanely delicious and versatile, stratas assemble the night before, so serving a crowd in the morning is a cinch! In our family, we routinely have overnight gatherings and I often make a strata. All the work is done the day before. Sometimes I even put the oven on delay start, so it will preheat while I sleep. When I wake up in the morning with a house full of guests, all I have to do is slide the dish into the oven and make some coffee.
You can make a strata with almost anything. The eggs and bread are standard, but the vegetables, cheese, or meat that you add are completely up to you. Bacon Breakfast Strata happens to be one of my favorite combinations. Brown off the bacon, saute the onion and mushrooms, then mix everything up with a pile of bread and cheese and pour egg and milk over the top. It is easy. The bread absorbs the egg and milk overnight and puffs up in the oven. The interior texture is light and almost creamy, while the top browns and creates a cheesy crunch. It is delightful.
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Chicken Tortilla Soup
May 3, 2011
It is Mexican food week at our house. No, not really because of Cinco de Mayo. The truth is we just really like to eat just about anything Mexican- traditional or inspired. We have been eating carnitas, homemade refried beans, chorizo empanadas, and now for the third time this month, Chicken Tortilla Soup.
This recipe comes from Rick Bayless’ Mexican Everyday. If you have not checked out this book, you should. It is definitely one of our favorites. We happened across it in the kitchen of a house we rented in Nayarit, Mexico years ago. My husband and I both loved it, and the meals we created from it so much, that we both surprised the other with a copy of it for Christmas that year. Oops.
My Pantry Shelf 