Chef in my own mind

Practice makes perfect

This week the French Friday's with Dorie cooking club started our March line up.  After a grande finale of braised short ribs done beautifully by all last week (and I read all your logs!), an easier week made for a nice change.  

For anyone who may be reading this for the first time and who is not in on the French Friday's with Dorie it goes something like this:  

1.Go to French Fridays with Dorie and sign up (no fee to join)

2. Buy a copy of Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table

3. Check the website for which recipe has been voted on for each week.

4. Make it at home, taking notes.

5. Post about it on your blog (or not).  Do not include the recipe in your post...

6. We are all a user friendly group and would love to have you join us!  

7. Enjoy what you make and share it with others.  Pat yourself on the back too.  

I must report that I cannot add my savory bread pictures to this post.  My camera had some nice pix on the chip but I could not find them to put here!  Will do some trouble shooting this weekend.  I like to look at pretty pictures like everyone else.  

I offer a challenge to any of my cooking buddies to include a self photograph of yourself cooking in your kitchen.  You know, I never pictures of bloggers unless I go to the About pages to learn more.  Post your pix once in a while.  

Since my savory loaves are officially pictorially unrecorded I am putting a self photograph with some spinach-feta bread dough I had just made.  You see I am wearing a lovely chef's coat that my husband Peter found for me as support of my cooking efforts.    Now I learned about taking self portraits because I engage in an outdoor sport called geocaching.  Without delving into the details of this sport, one talent all geocachers have in common is the uncanny ability to take their picture (self photo) in front of the treasure boxes they find out in the woods or cool places they end up. Sometimes you just have to prove that you have been somewhere and a pix is the best way to do just that.  Practice makes perfect indeed!  

Bonnie self posing proudly with spinach feta dough.  This tasty loaf can be found in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  

(Bonnie posing with ammo can found out in the woods while out geocaching.  See, we really are good at self photography.)  This application also works when in the kitchen too.  

Alas, not all is lost with a completely picture-less post.  

As with any new recipe we try it is the remaking of it that lends to creativity and familiarity.  A repeat try also makes it more likely that you will add it to your own repertoire.  

Savory Cheese and Chive Bread:  This bread is a cake-like bread that is made with no yeast.  It can best be described as a rustic savory batter bread that is a little dry in texture.  The flavor lends itself to many savory additions you choose.  I used comte gruyere and chives.  I did not have white pepper so I fished enough white peppercorns from the 4 blend peppercorn mix to make 1/4 tsp when crushed in my mortar & pestle.  That worked fine.  Man, I wish I had pix to show!  Maybe they will show up on the card and I can add them later but I think they are lost in the black hole somewhere...

Dorie suggests variations referred to stylishly as "Bonne Idee".  I like her creativity.   My second round was to make the variation on the second page that calls for crisped bacon, blue cheese (which I had in the fridge) toasted walnuts, shredded gruyere, chopped sage (in my garden) and dried pears (thanks Trader Joes).  I took several pear slices out of the bag and cut them into small diced pieces.  They seemed a little drier than what they may need to be so I poured some boiling water over the pieces just to cover and let them sit for about ten minutes.  The pears were drained and squeezed of excess moisture then added to the batter at the last add in stage.   I had buttermilk instead of whole milk which worked just fine.  The bread tasted very savory with a hint of sweetness from the dried pears and soft crunch of the walnuts, and salty tang of the blue cheese.

Isn't it kind of fun when you add all the good stuff at the end in one swift move?  

These two breads are savory, rustic and hearty as breakfast or snack slices.  Skip the butter on the toasted bread since it has a nice delicate crunch once toasted.   Cooking through Dorie's book, Around My French Table is a peek inside of home french daily cooking.  This is something I appreciate more than fancy recipes full of steps that are not always practical for home cooks.

I do not mind preparing recipes with scads of ingredients, in fact I really enjoy those recipes most and consider them enjoyable.  Being a 50 something mom, wife and fully employed being means that I must find the time to cook.  

That spinach-feta bread looked wonderful didn't it?  Well, I am pleased to share that it was a show stopper at a holiday party back in December.  You would love the crusty outer crust and airy, soft interior of this yeasted savory loaf.  

Here is the recipe for Spinach Feta Bread:

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Spinach Feta Bread

 from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzenberg & Zoe Francois, reprinted by permission

Makes four x 1 pound loaves. Recipe may be easily doubled or halved.

1 cup packed, cooked & drained chopped spinach

3 cups lukewarm water

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (2 packets)

1 tablespoon Kosher salt

2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Cornmeal for pizza peel

1. Mix the dough: Squeeze cooked spinach through a strainer to get rid of excess liquid.

2. Mix the yeast, salt, spinach, cheese, and sugar with the water in a 5 quart bowl or lidded (not air tight) food container. 

3. Mix in flour without kneading, using a spoon, 14 cup capacity food processor (with dough attachment), or heavy duty stand mixer (dough hook).  You may need to use wet hands to incorporate the last flour into the dough.  

4. Cover loosely with lid (not airtight) and allow to rest for about 2 hours on the counter until dough rises and collapses or flattens on top.  

5.  The dough can be used immediately after initial rise but it will be easier to handle when cold.  Refrigerate up to 7 days.  

6. On baking day, dust the surface of dough with flour and then cut off a piece of dough that is about 1 pound or the size of a grapefruit.  Dust your dough with more flour and put on your pizza peel with more flour and quickly shape it into a round by rotating it a quarter turn with each shaping.  Allow loaf to rest and rise on the peel or silicone pad, dusted with cornmeal for about an hour.  

7. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F about 20 minutes before baking to allow the oven to fully heat.  Place an empty broiler tray in the lower shelf of the oven and a baking stone on the middle rack.  Set aside about a cup of water till you are ready to put loaf in the oven.  

8. Sprinkle loaf liberally with flour and slash a cross, "scallop" or tic-tac-toe on the top with a serrated knife.  Leave flour on loaf for baking but you may brush it off for eating.

9. Slide loaf directly in the oven onto the hot stone.  If using a silicone pad, you may slide this directly onto the stone.  Pour the water into the broiler pan on the lower shelf and close the door.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until nicely browned and firm.  

Baking time may need to be adjusted depending on the size of the loaf.  

10.  Allow loaf to cool before slicing or eating.  

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Life is about balance.  Each stage of our lives gives us opportunity to find such balance by doing very different activities that we enjoy.  I am outside all day and come home to play in the kitchen at night, not every night, but most of the time.  That is my balance.  

Practice creating balance as you practice making variations on recipes you try.  It makes us all a little better at what we do every day.  

Can spring be far behind? They say that the cherry blossoms will be here (in DC) right on March 29th. How do they know?  

bonnie  

Braised short ribs, Dorie style

Since joining the French Friday's with Dorie I have enjoyed viewing fellow food bloggers' creation of Dorie's "Around My French Table".  If you love to cook and want to have some fun and not be alone in trying french recipes, grab a copy of this delightful book and start cooking!  

The finished dinner was so comforting on a cold Friday evening!  I  added whole baby bella mushrooms that were first sauteed and seasoned in a little olive oil and butter then added them to the pot with the short ribs.  They are served over a bed of polenta, topped with gremolata and accompanied by some garlic toasts.  Wonderful dinner!

 

As with any recipe planning is paramount to success in cooking.  Short ribs are found in the markets, though not everyday.  I looked at the grocery store last week and found 12 ribs to be about $24.  Thinking I might find them in another place for comparison, I visited my ethnic grocery store, Global Foods over in Ashburn, VA and found them packaged in strips with 3 bones each.  One package had 12 bones and cost about the same as the other store.  These looked really nice so I brought them home.  

My antique cleaver is very sharp.  I had never used it until today...  I still have all my fingers.

Handsome, eh!   All I can say is to keep your knives sharp at all times and respect the tool you use.

Post broiler, seasoned with salt and pepper.  Resting, waiting for next step.  

Pre-prep on vegetables.  The white one is a parsnip.  Try these sometime if you haven't.  They are very a very nice component to a mashed dish such as mashed potatoes.  Cook sliced parsnips in the same pot as potatoes and then mash them along with the potatoes.  Those carrots were some of the larger carrots I have brought home.  They are very sweet.  They came in our February CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share.  

There is nothing as wonderful as herbs and spices.  These ingredients are why I love to cook!

Bouquet garni!

This was the best pot I had for assembling the braise.  I do not have an enameled dutch oven and was reluctant to use a cast iron pan that was not enameled since the recipe contained tomato and wine elements that would react with the iron pot.  This worked well.  

Don't you love tomato paste that comes in a tube?  It is a wonderful product.  Now most grocery stores carry such products.  Tomato paste in the tube is great when your recipe calls for less than about 4 tablespoons.    The tomato even in a small amount adds a beautiful depth to the finished dish without turning it into a tomato based braise.  

Of course you know I did not use the entire bottle of red wine in the pot!    All the veggie prep was done so it was safe to pour a glass.  Honest!  

I wish I had started this when I got home from work so it would be done by my bedtime...We were taking it out of the oven around 1130PM!  But I will tell you that the house smelled like braised short ribs, red wine and port!  (OK, so I need a new stove...)

The mushrooms begged to join the party, so I obliged.  

Just followed directions on the bag.  

I cooled the ribs down and refrigerated them overnight.  The next day the fat had risen to the top and was easy to carefully take off the top.  I pulled each rib out and used a small knife to cut the sinew off of each piece and any excess fat.  The bones were take out when they first emerged from the oven and discarded.    I figured that this much time went into this beautiful dish, it was worthy of getting the un-edible sinews out of the dish entirely.    I skimmed the vegetable solids out of the broth and discarded them leaving a nice, well flavored broth.  I pot this broth along with the meat back into the pot and eventually added the sauteed mushrooms.  

Now for the condiment: gremolata

I had never made this condiment.  Gremolata has its roots in italian cuisine.  It is a traditional condiment served with Osso bucco or similar braised dishes.  Its typical ingredients include garlic, parsley and a citrus element.  I used tangerine and the parsley because that is what I had.  I would love to try it using cilantro next time.  

Minced parsley, garlic and tangerine zest

As involved as this recipe was, it was a pleasure to work through from start to finish.  

Make something special for your family.  Try Short ribs with red wine and port from Dorie Greenspan's book "Around My French Table."  Join our little weekly cooking club, French Fridays with Dorie and join in the fun!  

Have a nice week.  

Variety is the spice of life...

bonnie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dorie's Pancetta Green Beans

Dorie?  Who is she?  

As I have ventured into the food world these past months I have learned about a Who's Who in the world of food.  Who are the movers and shakers?  

Dorie Greenspan is one of the movers and shakers.  Her story is unique and exciting and one that speaks of success and following her passion.  Lauded as a "culinary guru" Ms. Greenspan is shaking the food world with her addicting passion for french cooking.  My first introduction to who she is was reading through the egullet forums.  Dorie is a woman whose path I hope to cross someday.  She is much like Julia Child in the refreshing way she presents the art of french cooking.  

I watched Julia on TV with my mother when I grew up, never missing a single episode.  What I loved about Julia was how she was purely herself in her presentation on every show.  Sometimes she would make a mistake or spill something and that was OK.  Doesn't that happen to us when we cook?!  Of course.  

Now, on to today's piece.  I recently stumbled upon Dorie's food blog.  She has a club called French Fridays with Dorie.  There are some rules to be in the club and to be a part of the fun.  The first rule is that you get a copy of Dorie's newest and James Beard, award winning book:  "around my french table."    Each week, participants elect to cook a recipe and than post about it on their blog.  It is like a party with friends from all over cooking the same thing then sharing their experience.  It keeps it all fun.  

So my book arrived on Valentine's Day.  The recipe for this week is "pancetta green beans."  This was a great place to start since there are just a few ingredients.  I must say that I prepared Dorie's Chicken in a pot which is on the front cover.  I managed to find the recipe and had an organic chicken from my CSA that was just waiting to be put in the pot.  I will write about that recipe another time because it was homey, veggie, chicken, herbs, stock  and dough all in one pot.  

Sauteing pancetta in an iron skillet.  [This is my favorite pan for sauteing.  It came from an antique store.]  

Blanching green beans only takes a few minutes.  When five minutes is up, quickly remove them from the boiling water to a bowl of ice water in the sink.  This preserves the vibrant green color and keeps them from over cooking.  

Drying the blanched green beans on Bonnie's big 'buluptuous' Boos block.  I ordered this huge chopping block from Michael Ruhlman's new product website: OpenSky.  [Michael, I just LOVE my new block!  It is huge and heavy and fun.   My kitchen is classier now.]

 

Time to finish off the green beans in the same pan I cooked the pancetta.  The pancetta rendered a little fat, but left just enough to coat the beans.  This adds flavor. 

Add the pancetta, lightly season and dinner is ready.

Tonight's green beans with pancetta were accompanied by grilled butterflied lamb with homemade real mint jelly and lentils (Suvir's panchikuti dal).  This was a Friday night meal.  Sometimes you go with what you have in the fridge and this was the final result.  OK, so there were beans and lentils which are also beans, but all together they delighted us all.  

 

Simple and delicious overall, tonight's green beans were truly a hit.

Thanks Dorie.  I cannot wait for my next assignment!  

 

bonnie