Author Archives: sallybr

BBA#12: Golly Moses, She’s a Muffin!

Posted in BBA Challenge, Breads by

Unless you are a fan of “Two and a Half Men”, the title will not mean much to you. But, if you are like us, it will bring a smile to your face… 😉

I was “counting the breads” to this one, as making English muffins has been on my to-do list for years. In fact, with this bread, Reinhart starts on a very nice path down yeast lane: I look forward to many of the breads ahead.

IT’S A MUFFIN!

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This recipe (found here) was easy, absolutely no worries. Mix the flour, the yeast, the buttermilk, and wait for the dough to beautifully rise.  Form 6 balls of dough, let them rise again and plop them on the griddle.

The trickiest part is to cook undisturbed for several minutes, until the bottom is dark brown. I’m not a particularly patient person, and those minutes seemed like hours! But it was worth it, as the photos confirm.

Without further ado, muffin time!

Here they are, after the final rise, ready to cook…

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As you add them to the griddle, they spread a little. Just let them sit, don’t move them around.

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close-up…

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…and a “group shot”

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General comments: it’s another great recipe to make with kids: they’ll have a lot of fun to see the changes as the muffins cook, and then to eat them with some butter and jam!  They finish in a 350F oven to make sure that the inside cooks thoroughly. The crumb turned out a little tighter than I like it, but maybe I was not gentle enough handling them. Make sure to sprinkle some cornmeal on the parchment paper or Silpat before resting the dough balls on top,  so that you retain the airy quality of the dough and the bread acquires the characteristic muffin texture inside. Eggs Benedict may well be on your menu in the near future! 😉

Note to self: explore variations using whole wheat flour and/or sourdough starter as part of the dough.

Farmer’s Market

Posted in General by

market22

Life is good!

BRAZILIAN NOSTALGIA HITS THE HEART

Posted in Brazilian cooking by

brazilflagHeart of palm, that is…

Time for another traditional Brazilian recipe!   Heart of palm (“palmito” in Portuguese), is, as the name suggests, the core of a  palm tree sapling: it’s very delicious, but their harvest came at a huge price: to obtain the “palmito“, the whole tree was  killed. Brazil was the greatest producer until the 90’s, but the population of palm trees decreased to near extinction. Other varieties of trees that are perennials are now cultivated to  take the place of palmito; the most promising is called “pupunha“.  To listen to the correct pronunciation of those words, click the sound wave below. “Pupunha” might be a challenge for Americans, but practice makes perfect!  Go ahead and give it a try…

Heart of palm is often associated with salads (as the classic  “millionaire’s salad”), but I want to  expand your palmito-horizons to cooked dishes, like this wonderful pie. It is great warm or cold, by the way. Make sure to read my comments after the jump for some more thoughts on “palmito“.

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HEART OF PALM PIE (Torta de Palmito)
(slightly modified from this recipe, taken from one of my favorite websites, “Chucrute com Salsicha”)

Clique no link acima para a receita em portugues….

Dough
2.5 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), cold, cut in pieces
3/4 cup yogurt
1 t salt
1 egg yolk

Filling
2 T olive oil
1 onion, diced small
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 can hearts of palm, diced
1/2 cup olives, diced (I used a mixture of kalamata and green olives)
1/2 cup green peas (frozen is fine)
green onion and Italian parsley, to taste (minced)
4 – 5 oz cream cheese
1 T flour
salt and pepper to taste

Make the filling first, because it needs to be used cold. Saute’ the onion in olive oil until translucent, add the tomatoes, allow them to release some liquid, then add the diced heart of palm, olives, salt and pepper. Cook a couple of minutes, add the cream cheese, parsley, green onions, and flour, cook for a couple more minutes until the cheese melts and the texture turns creamy. Transfer it to a bowl and allow it to cool to room temperature. You can prepare the filling the day before and keep it refrigerated.

For the dough: add almost all the flour (2 + 1/4 cups) and the salt to a large bowl, work the butter into the flour with your fingers or a pastry fork, then add the yogurt (cold). You may or may not need to use the rest of the flour. Do not overwork the dough. Allow it to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes (you can also prepare the dough the day before).

Open half of the dough in a circle and cover the bottom and sides of your pie dish, making sure the dough is not rolled too thin.  Add all the filling, open the second half of the dough, and either cover the pie completely, or cut strips, forming a simple grid over or a more elaborate lattice pattern. Brush the dough with egg yolk mixed with a little water to thin it. Cook in a 375F oven for about 40 minutes (please see my comments for variations on this).

Allow the pie to sit for 15 minutes before slicing.
slice

Bom apetite!

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Summertime gratin

Posted in Veggies by

ready1

The week is not complete unless I visit the farmers market on Saturday.  My favorite vendors are now used to seeing me early, in my running outfit.   Indeed, “as early as possible” is the only way to exercise this time of the year, but, the farmers market is my first priority:  how else would I get the best possible zucchini? Or ANY eight-ball zucchini, or the cinnamon rolls?  All those disappear quickly.  At the farmers’ market  the early bird definitely gets the worm (no need to remind me that only the late mouse grabs the cheese…)  😉

I usually buy  more than I should, anything that looks great goes into my bag,  as part of the fun is getting home and deciding what to make with the beauties.  Last week both the golden and magda zucchini were spectacular.   I considered many different options, but settled on an “oldie but goodie” from Fine Cooking magazine, June 1999.  I remember making it for the first time just after the issue arrived in the mail (hard to believe it’s been 10 years!). You can use any summer squash in the recipe, Japanese eggplant also works quite well.

(receita em portugues na pagina seguinte)

ZUCCHINI AND SUMMER SQUASH GRATIN
(recipe adapted from Fine Cooking, originally written by Susie Middleton)

For caramelized onions:
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
salt to taste
For gratin:
1 + 1/4 lb ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 small zucchini cut into 1/4 inch slices on the bias
2 small golden zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices on the bias
3 T olive oil
1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves (I used lemon thyme from our garden)
1 tsp coarse salt
1/2 cup grated cheese (I used a Mexican fresh cheese)
freshly ground black pepper to taste
lemon juice

First, caramelize the onions: heat olive oil in a skillet, add the onions, salt, and saute’, stirring often, until golden. Don’t let it burn: use medium-heat and pay attention to it.  The difference between caramelized and burned is small in time, but huge in taste. You can do this step in advance, as it will take you at least 20 minutes (see my comments after the jump).

Heat the oven to 375F. Put the tomato slices to drain if they are too juicy, discard the juices. In a small bowl, toss the zucchini with 1.5T olive oil, some of the thyme, salt, and black pepper. Layer  the cold caramelized onions inside a gratin dish.  Now distribute the tomato slices and two colors of zucchini on top, sprinkling some cheese and thyme as you go (see my photo after the jump).  Arrange all the slices until the dish is full.  Season the ingredients with salt and pepper, add cheese on top, the remaining thyme, and drizzle the dish with 1.5T olive oil and a little lemon juice.  Cook uncovered until well-browned, with the juices well reduced. It will take between 50 and 60 minutes. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Bon Appetit!

BBA#11: Cranberry-Walnut Celebration Loaf

Posted in BBA Challenge, Breads by

Eleven breads down, thirty-two more to go!

A reminder to readers: recipes for all the breads from “the BBA challenge,” are found in Peter Reinhart’s book.
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My hopes were not high for this one.   It’s a bit too festive for my taste, and I had trouble with a previous braided loaf (Challah), which made me a little worried.  However, much to my own amazement, this loaf was not difficult and turned out very well. My only remark is that the water  called for in the recipe (1/4 to 1/2 cup) seems excessive. I did not add any water, and the dough was already almost in need of a little flour.  Be careful if you make it, and hold back on the liquid  (thanks, Susie! If it wasn’t for your heads up, I would’ve probably ended up with trouble in my hands… :-))

The dough contains eggs, milk, cranberries and walnuts;  it is leavened by commercial, instant yeast.   After rising for 2 hours it is cut in 6 pieces (3 large, 3 small), that are shaped into logs, and braided. The small braid is placed on top of the big one, forming a double-braided loaf, quite impressive!

doughballsIMG_1644IMG_1645formed

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… a final shot of the crumb….

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We both loved the bread!  It’s rich, but not overly sweet due to the tartness of  the cranberries, and great toasted.   The orange extract complements the cranberries, but if I made it again I’d use orange zest instead.