SPELT AND CORNMEAL ROLLS

Posted in Breads by sallybr

Rustic, toothsome, flavorful, and if all that wasn’t enough, these rolls are a cinch to make. In a classic Dan Lepard’s approach, the recipe calls for minimal kneading, and because they are baked as small rolls, shaping is a breeze. The rolls also freeze quite well, individually wrapped, then placed in a low oven to come back to that freshly baked feel.

Per Mr. Lepard’s request, I won’t post the full recipe. But you can find it in the database of “The Guardian” through a quick jump here.

I will, however, give you a quick outline of how this recipe comes together….

The cornmeal needs to be soaked in boiling water for a few minutes, once you do that, all ingredients – soaked cornmeal, spelt flour, water, honey, and yeast – are added to a large bowl, mixed quickly, and left standing for 10 minutes.

A kneading cycle of 30 seconds, a 20-minute rise (yes, that fast…), and you are ready to divide and conquer… rather, divide and shape in 8 rolls.

After shaping, they rest on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and dusted with flour. Only 45 minutes to go before baking time!

Once they bake, they will more or less join together, let them cool this way, breaking them apart at serving time.

Adorable little rolls, dense, but in a good way… 😉 We enjoyed them in sandwiches – smoked turkey & provolone, ham, cheese, tomato & pesto sauce – but also as plain small bites with our dinner of roast chicken. They will certainly be a favorite in your home too!

I am submitting this post to Susan’s Yeastspotting event…

ONE YEAR AGO: Roasted Potato and Olive Focaccia (another Dan Lepard recipe, another winner!)

TWO YEARS AGO: Salmon Curry

1Oct2011

NUTELLA DROP COOKIES

Posted in Cookies, Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

Growing up as a picky eater, small and skinny, my Mom used to keep a jar of Nutella around because if nothing else, she knew I would not be able to resist its calling. I would hit that jar several times a day, with a small spoon and a big smile. It didn’t make me tall and voluptuous, but I was hooked …

Of course, I now respect Nutella’s caloric content: nuts, chocolate, and sugar, a deliciously dangerous combo. The big jar sits in the pantry, waiting for a reason to come out and play, like in these cookies that Giada made a few months ago. They remind me of snickerdoodles with a suntan. 😉
NUTELLA DROP COOKIES
(from Giada de Laurentiis)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/2 cup Nutella, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar (for rolling the cookies: optional)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat type liners.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar (1/4 cup) on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. With the machine running on low speed, gradually add the flour until incorporated. Beat in the Nutella. Using a small cookie scoop or a tablespoon, drop small balls of dough onto each baking sheet. Bake until the bottoms of the cookies flatten out slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

If you want to sugar-coat the cookies, place 1 cup of powdered sugar in a medium bowl, and roll the cookies in the sugar until coated. Alternatively, you can add the sugar to a sieve and sprinkle some on the surface of the cookies once they are cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

If you read the many reviews of this recipe in the FoodTV website, you’ll notice not everyone fell in love with it. I suspect it’s all related to how long you bake these cookies: under-baking is the key, or they’ll be too hard and dry.

I liked the simplicity of the recipe, very few ingredients, quick to put together and bake. But the best is that it gave me the chance to use for the first time my brand new cookie dough dispenser – loved it!

ONE YEAR AGO: Dreaming of butternut squash

TWO YEARS AGO: Simply Elegant: Salmon Curry (one of my very favorite dishes!)

29Sep2011

CHICKEN MARSALA

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

Chicken breasts… mushrooms… Marsala wine… what’s not to like? This classic Italian dish is a breeze to prepare, and a perfect option for a romantic dinner for two.

CHICKEN MARSALA
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

4 boneless chicken breast filets
salt and pepper
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs butter
1 shallot, minced
3 cups of mushrooms, sliced thin
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1/2 cup chicken stock (or water)
minced Italian parsley

If the chicken filets are too thick, slice them in half running the knife parallel to the cutting board, and pressing the filets gently down with the palm of your hand. Pound them slightly to even the thickness. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat the butter and olive oil in medium-high heat on a large skillet, when the butter foams and starts to get golden, add the chicken filets and cook until they develop a nice color on both sides (about 4 minutes per side, depending on your stove). Remove them to a platter, tent with aluminum foil.

Add the diced shallot to the pan (if necessary add a little more olive oil, but you probably won’t need it), cook in medium heat for a couple of minutes, add all the mushrooms and cook stirring every once in a while until they start to get soft. Season lightly with salt, add the Marsala wine, and cook until almost fully absorbed, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock (or water), place the chicken filets back in the pan, cover, and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes or until fully cooked through.

Remove the chicken to a serving platter, increase the heat to reduce the mushroom sauce to the consistency you like. Optional step: add a couple of tablespoons of cold butter in small pieces, swirling the sauce after each addition. Adjust seasoning, spoon the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle parsley on top. Serve immediately.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

I didn’t give a precise source for this recipe, because I’ve been making it for years, the first time I probably got it from one of my cooking books back in Brazil, decades ago. Some recipes will instruct you to coat the filets in a little seasoned flour. I prefer the texture of the meat seared without it. The flour coating does help thicken the sauce in the end, but I don’t mind skipping it. Similarly, most recipes call for a final addition of butter. Depending on my mood, I might add it or not. For this dinner, I omitted it, the sauce was plenty flavorful without it.

I only had regular mushrooms, but if you find creminis or other types of mushrooms, add them to the party. Would you be considering a final swirl of truffle oil? A word of caution: truffle oil is made by infusing olive oil with bis-methylthio-methane, a chemical that mimics their taste. I never buy the stuff, being exposed to enough organic chemicals in my work. Still, some shaved truffles (the real thing) on top of this dish could turn that dinner date into “An Affair to Remember” 😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Home, sweet home

TWO YEARS AGO: Levain Bread with Caramelized Onions

26Sep2011

PAGE-A-DAY CALENDAR

Posted in General by sallybr

For the past 14 years I’ve bought a page-a-day dog calendar. I keep it over my desk, and rip the pages as the days go by without ever peeking at what comes next. Arriving at the lab this morning, I was thrilled to finally see the photo we submitted back in 2010. It is bitter-sweet, we wish Pits was still around, but it’s been almost exactly one year we had to say goodbye to our friend.

DOUBLE DECKER
PK and SN explain that these goofballs bundle up together as soon as the weather gets a bit chilly. On the ground level is PITS, a Dalamatian, and on the second story is CHIEF, a Jack Russell.

26Sep2011

IN MY KITCHEN – SEPTEMBER 2011

Posted in In My Kitchen by sallybr

Inspired by Celia, and her monthly edition of “In My Kitchen”, I join this virtual party once again with this post.

In my kitchen lives a rice cooker (working on quinoa in this photo)…

When we were in Los Angeles, cooking in the nano-house had a few challenges. One of the things we bought to help us out was a small rice cooker. At first, I did not want to bring it back to our regular home, thinking there would be no need for it. But, the truth is, this little gem of an appliance makes life so easy! I don’t remember last time I cooked rice on the stove top. I rinse the rice in the insert of the cooker, fill it with the appropriate amount of water, season with salt, and flip the switch on. Farro? No problem… Quinoa? Perfect every time. I am so glad Phil twisted my arm to bring it with us! ;-

… and speaking of quinoa, I must show you one of my favorite gadgets ever! I bought it many years ago, a simple serving utensil labeled as a couscous server. It is perfect for couscous, but I also use it to fluff rice, quinoa, and other grains. Here it is, sitting next to two very recent acquisitions: an ice cream scoop on the far right (also great to portion muffin and cupcake batters), and a cookie dough dispenser in the center. The cookie scoop will be highlighted in a post in the near future, Nutella drop cookies… (nothing like a little self-advertising!).

Cookies… I’ve been on a cookie mood lately.   Even got a couple of special molds, to make one of my favorite types of cookie – spicy, sweet, crisp, addictive. Stay tuned! 😉

From cookies, let’s talk tea…   While having lunch with my dear friend Cindy at Couscous Cafe, we were both blown away by how good their hot Moroccan tea was. I am not too wild about sweetened tea, but at some point I stopped paying attention to how much tea I was pouring for myself. I probably drank 90% of the teapot, leaving Cindy to watch, certainly a bit frustrated with my rude manners. It was just too good! They had a tea set for sale, and I brought it home.

In my kitchen… a bowl of farmer’s market yellow cherry tomatoes, plump, sweet, juicy, totally delicious! I love to incorporate them in recipes, but sometimes I just grab one and pop in my mouth, no salt, nothing. Just its pure flavor.

In my kitchen… a great thing that unfortunately will come to an end. This Trader Joe’s kalamata olive oil will be enjoyed to the very last drop. It traveled all the way from L.A. with us, and now I wish I had brought two bottles. Or three…   (sigh)

In my kitchen… a sign of the times. Fall is the season of apples, and with apples come apple cider. Great stuff, that I had not tried until Phil introduced me to it. We always go through several bottles this time of the year. And, for a change of pace, I intend to follow the footsteps of Fer, from Chucrute com Salsicha, and brew some tea using cider as the basis. She mentioned it recently in her blog. Those who read Portuguese (or you can always use Google translate) can take a look at her post here.

and, finally… in my kitchen these days, an attempt at organization. I’ve decided to keep only my issues of Fine Cooking. All other publications I will read, cut out the recipes that appeal to me, and glue them in a notebook. The rest: recycle bin. I’ve tried many methods to organize my recipes before, with very limited success. But, no big deal, I have a lot of fun trying! What matters is the journey, not the destination. Right? 😉