One of the hardest things for a home chef to do is come up with a three or four course meal for company. What do you start with? What do you end with? Should you have one side? Two? or three? And what about the main course - what works well for everyone? Don't despair. There's are recipes that can help you from start to finish.
Alison Roman, a regular contributor to the New York Times Food section and famed food blogger gave an appetizer to dessert menu in yesterday's issue. This is great for the home chef who loves to have friends and family over for good food.It's excerpted from her new book, Nothing Fancy: Unfussy Food For Having People Over ( Clarkson Potter 2019). where she gives low stress but high impact recipes for all sorts of dishes.It starts out with a simple framework snacks, salads sides, mains and sweet things. She starts off with labneh dip with sizzled scallions and chile. This is a kind of Middle Eastern yogurt dish made with Greek yogurt however you can also use sour cream too. It's swirled with lemon juice for tang. Scallions and hot pepper flakes along with cilantro are cooked in olive oil . The pepper turns a fiery shade of orange as it's drizzled into the labneh. I'd serve it with homemade pita chips and maybe a bowl of homemade hummus too.
The main course is a roast chicken - always a crowd pleaser.Ms. Roman firsts drizzles it with olive oil and then sprinkling it with fennel seeds. The cavity is filled with half a bunch of oregano. It gets better. Vine ripened tomatoes are put around the chicken along with the rest of the fresh herb.There's also garlic and butter, cut up and scattered around the bird as well. At the end red wine vinegar is spooned over the tomatoes and cooked from the veggies' heat. The tomatoes and carved chicken are placed over slices of country loaf or sourdough. You would think this is enough but Ms. Roman offers the side of lemony white beans with anchovies and Parmesan.It's basically a bagna calda sauce, fired up with a teaspoon of red pepper flakes.Escarole and parsley are added.I would nix those and serve the beans and sauce on bread as a main meal. To end the meal are Tiny Salty Chocolatey Cookies, a sort of chocolate snap with a dusting of flaky seas salt like Maldon or Jacobsen. These are double chocolate thanks to the wedding of cocoa powder and 67 per cent bittersweet chocolate. You can add any nuts too, to these meringue like cookies. They do require two egg whites plus one egg . The cookies are just a nice end with coffee and tea.
Cooking an entire meal shouldn't be a head ache. It should be a fun doing , as you cook and bake for those you love. It should be unfussy , without any fanciness - just good taste and good food.
Thursday, October 10, 2019
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
The Vibrancy of Filipino Food
The Philippines are a combination of many influences , from cultural to terrain. The end result is a bright, tasty cuisine that's now a strong force here in the States. It's easy to replicate and fun for home chefs to try.
It was the subject of an article written by Angela Dimayuga with the help of New York Times Food contributor , Ligaya Mishan. Chef Dimayuga, who is not only was the chef at the famed Mission Chinese Food in New York City. and also a contributor to Bon Appetite Magazine. She returns to the food of her childhood, food that her mom made , food that the first Filipino migrant workers brought to Northern California , in the 1920's. Filipino food is just as complex and layered as the Italian and French cuisines she learned how to cook. It is also a very meticulous cuisine requiring just as much work and technique of any of those cuisines. Chef Dimayuga has the very good fortune of receiving the secrets behind family recipes from her lola, before the elder passed at the age of 100. The family knows good food coming form the Lyon of the Philippines Papampanga. There were lessons on bistek , steak with soy sauce and calamansi, a type of
lime. Her grandmother, who was former pharmacist also showed the chef how to create her chicken releno, stuffed chicken with pork and sausage, similar to a farci, the French meat stuffing. She realized her grandmother's recipe was exactly like Chef Jacques Pepin's galentine, after watching his video on it.
There are many recipes here. However Chef Dimayuga regrets that some of her favorites are not listed. The Philippines are an archipelago of 7,000 (!) islands, each with a strong culinary background. You'd need a cookbook just to list all the best. The article tries to do just that in a few essential dishes. There is the bistek recipe that has chunky rib eyes drenched in a sauce of garlic, lemon and orange juices., blended with olive oil, soy sauce and garlic. Of course there are rice dishes. There is an arroz caldo - hot rice - with chicken,collard greens and soy cured egg yolks. A fun appetizer or even a weekend meal is the lumpia Shanghai cousins to spring rolls that Chinese traders first brought to the islands in the Ninth Century. The filling is a mix of beef and pork, with the usual spring roll ingredients of water chestnuts,,onions carrots, and celery stalks. What's intriguing is that Chef Dimayuga and her five siblings dipped them in banana ketchup - which can be made at home. It's cooking over ripe bananas with tomato paste to create a kind of sweet and sour jam. There is also the famed adobo, brought by Spanish colonizers, however the vinegar laced chicken stew was always a staple in the cuisine long before European settlement. Hers is a coconut milk and coconut vinegar mix with chicken. To end the meal is bibingka, coconut rice cakes , with the surprising addition of salted duck eggs
Filipino food is delicious and complex. It is a treat to make and to try the many flavors and textures that represent the archipelago. The many dishes are perfect to recreate for their brightness of color and tang.
It was the subject of an article written by Angela Dimayuga with the help of New York Times Food contributor , Ligaya Mishan. Chef Dimayuga, who is not only was the chef at the famed Mission Chinese Food in New York City. and also a contributor to Bon Appetite Magazine. She returns to the food of her childhood, food that her mom made , food that the first Filipino migrant workers brought to Northern California , in the 1920's. Filipino food is just as complex and layered as the Italian and French cuisines she learned how to cook. It is also a very meticulous cuisine requiring just as much work and technique of any of those cuisines. Chef Dimayuga has the very good fortune of receiving the secrets behind family recipes from her lola, before the elder passed at the age of 100. The family knows good food coming form the Lyon of the Philippines Papampanga. There were lessons on bistek , steak with soy sauce and calamansi, a type of
lime. Her grandmother, who was former pharmacist also showed the chef how to create her chicken releno, stuffed chicken with pork and sausage, similar to a farci, the French meat stuffing. She realized her grandmother's recipe was exactly like Chef Jacques Pepin's galentine, after watching his video on it.
There are many recipes here. However Chef Dimayuga regrets that some of her favorites are not listed. The Philippines are an archipelago of 7,000 (!) islands, each with a strong culinary background. You'd need a cookbook just to list all the best. The article tries to do just that in a few essential dishes. There is the bistek recipe that has chunky rib eyes drenched in a sauce of garlic, lemon and orange juices., blended with olive oil, soy sauce and garlic. Of course there are rice dishes. There is an arroz caldo - hot rice - with chicken,collard greens and soy cured egg yolks. A fun appetizer or even a weekend meal is the lumpia Shanghai cousins to spring rolls that Chinese traders first brought to the islands in the Ninth Century. The filling is a mix of beef and pork, with the usual spring roll ingredients of water chestnuts,,onions carrots, and celery stalks. What's intriguing is that Chef Dimayuga and her five siblings dipped them in banana ketchup - which can be made at home. It's cooking over ripe bananas with tomato paste to create a kind of sweet and sour jam. There is also the famed adobo, brought by Spanish colonizers, however the vinegar laced chicken stew was always a staple in the cuisine long before European settlement. Hers is a coconut milk and coconut vinegar mix with chicken. To end the meal is bibingka, coconut rice cakes , with the surprising addition of salted duck eggs
Filipino food is delicious and complex. It is a treat to make and to try the many flavors and textures that represent the archipelago. The many dishes are perfect to recreate for their brightness of color and tang.
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
The Restaurant Diet Eating Out Eating Easy
Every dieter dreads the suggestion "Let's eat out tonight." That means days , even weeks of sacrifice blown on one meal. Yet it doesn't have to be that way. You can eat out on a diet and have both a low calorie and delicious meal. The Restaurant Diet: How To Eat Out Every Night and Still Lose Weight (Mango Publishing Group 2019) will shows you how.
This groundbreaking new book was written by Fred Bollaci, a weight loss coach and diet strategist, who struggled with his own weight issues. Like anyone else, Mr. Bollaci loved eating out and cooking, but didn't like the side effects - weight gain. He was morbidly obese and had to lose weight. He worked with his nutritionist along with his cardiologist and therapist to create a book that can help others with weight loss and diet maintenance. There is advice on how to eat out at such various ethnic restaurants , from Italian to Chinese and from Indian to Mexican, along with dealing with those sabotaging factors that can ruin a diet. He compartmentalizes the diet into four sections, Phase One is the beginning, where calories will be decreased and a weekly cleanse is strongly recommended. It also has dieters purge dairy, fried foods and sweets Phase Two is the Opportunity one where some of these foods are reintroduced back but in limited qualities. Phase Three is the Challenge where foods with a higher calorie count are added while Phase Four is the Achievement Phase where all foods that are not on the Avoid list are allowed.
What is surprising is that this is also a recipe book. Mr. Bollaci includes recipes from restaurants in most of the fifty states plus Italy. I was pleasantly surprised at this and am looking forward to creating some. He mostly has recipes from Floridian recipes; there are pages upon pages of recipes from some of the Sunshine State. He has some from New York eateries, namely a pepper and bagna caulda recipe from Barbetta's. This last is a restaurant that my family loved with a recipe that we made often. There are also places off the beaten path like Chantal's of Traverse City, Michigan, Their recipe,baby portabella mushroom caps with caramelized shallot and Fontina cheese, make for nice hors d'ouevres or a side. Atlanta has the Buckhead Diner and the eatery's recipe for butternut squash soup. It's a low calorie, yet savory melange of butternut squash, carrots , onions and a red Fresno pepper for heat.Famous restaurants such as Manhattan's Le Grenouille and Sag Harbor's The American Hotel. There are also the recipes from famed Italian restaurants and even a cooking school. Try the Toscana Saporita Cooking school's recipe for Insalata di Farro, farro salad, packed with the ancient grain and graced with tomatoes and basil.
The Restaurant Diet: How To Eat Out Every Night and Still Lose Weight is a restaurant lover's perfect companion.It offers advice and recipes. It definitely deserves a four star rating!
This groundbreaking new book was written by Fred Bollaci, a weight loss coach and diet strategist, who struggled with his own weight issues. Like anyone else, Mr. Bollaci loved eating out and cooking, but didn't like the side effects - weight gain. He was morbidly obese and had to lose weight. He worked with his nutritionist along with his cardiologist and therapist to create a book that can help others with weight loss and diet maintenance. There is advice on how to eat out at such various ethnic restaurants , from Italian to Chinese and from Indian to Mexican, along with dealing with those sabotaging factors that can ruin a diet. He compartmentalizes the diet into four sections, Phase One is the beginning, where calories will be decreased and a weekly cleanse is strongly recommended. It also has dieters purge dairy, fried foods and sweets Phase Two is the Opportunity one where some of these foods are reintroduced back but in limited qualities. Phase Three is the Challenge where foods with a higher calorie count are added while Phase Four is the Achievement Phase where all foods that are not on the Avoid list are allowed.
What is surprising is that this is also a recipe book. Mr. Bollaci includes recipes from restaurants in most of the fifty states plus Italy. I was pleasantly surprised at this and am looking forward to creating some. He mostly has recipes from Floridian recipes; there are pages upon pages of recipes from some of the Sunshine State. He has some from New York eateries, namely a pepper and bagna caulda recipe from Barbetta's. This last is a restaurant that my family loved with a recipe that we made often. There are also places off the beaten path like Chantal's of Traverse City, Michigan, Their recipe,baby portabella mushroom caps with caramelized shallot and Fontina cheese, make for nice hors d'ouevres or a side. Atlanta has the Buckhead Diner and the eatery's recipe for butternut squash soup. It's a low calorie, yet savory melange of butternut squash, carrots , onions and a red Fresno pepper for heat.Famous restaurants such as Manhattan's Le Grenouille and Sag Harbor's The American Hotel. There are also the recipes from famed Italian restaurants and even a cooking school. Try the Toscana Saporita Cooking school's recipe for Insalata di Farro, farro salad, packed with the ancient grain and graced with tomatoes and basil.
The Restaurant Diet: How To Eat Out Every Night and Still Lose Weight is a restaurant lover's perfect companion.It offers advice and recipes. It definitely deserves a four star rating!
Monday, October 7, 2019
Sharing The Pantry
Americans, like myself, have the tendency to overbuy. That's especially true with food. We wind up with too many boxes or packets,bags and containers. Will we eat all of it? No? Should we share it? Yes.
If you have overage in your pantry , then consider donating it to food drives. Of course cans are preferable. One they're easy to store and two, they do last a usual four or five years. There's also a lot that can be done with canned veggies and fruit. The first can be used as a side or mixed with rice or pasta for a more filling main course. Canned fruit is just good on its' own and the perfect snack instead of cookies and cakes, However there are other foodstuffs you can donate as well. Flour can be donated, even if you opened it back in June or July. Opened flour has a shelf life of eight months so even half a bag is good to give away. Just give it a sniff before donating. Toss if you smell any mustiness. One of the most sturdiest foods to donate is rice. It has an indefinite shelf life, meaning you can still use it two or three years from purchasing. One sign that is is bad is the appearance of the rice weevil. It's a tiny reddish-brown bug that can show up in the box or canister. Chuck the rice if those start showing up.
Many of us have those Keurig machines that use pods. That's great but there's also a dearth of leftover teabags and hot chocolate packets. Any tea bag will last between a year to two years. If you have a variety left over then put them in Mason jars, decorated with pretty homespun bows and ribbons. Food pantries and senior centers would love to have these.Hot chocolate lasts for only six months but if you have extra that's under that time period , donate. Regular cocoa powder can last up to two years and can still be used for cooking and baking. Instant coffee has a shelf life of a whopping twenty years!!! This depends on the packaging yet you can still donate it. Even longer lived than instant coffee is sugar. Both granulated and confectioner's can last forever as can brown sugar. White and brown sugar can turn hard and crunchy To restore them put the crystals in a baggie and smash with a rolling pin to get rid of the hardness. Any of these will be much appreciated by bakers who want to create treats for their kids.Another baking necessity you may have over stocked is a bag of chocolate chips. Again, real chocolate is considered dry, meaning it 's not encumbered by any bacteria so it can last as long as the sugars. If your chips are hanging around donate them with your other foods.
A pantry cleaning is always necessary. Yet instead of throwing out your overage , just donate. it'll help not only declutter your kitchen but add to someone else's.
If you have overage in your pantry , then consider donating it to food drives. Of course cans are preferable. One they're easy to store and two, they do last a usual four or five years. There's also a lot that can be done with canned veggies and fruit. The first can be used as a side or mixed with rice or pasta for a more filling main course. Canned fruit is just good on its' own and the perfect snack instead of cookies and cakes, However there are other foodstuffs you can donate as well. Flour can be donated, even if you opened it back in June or July. Opened flour has a shelf life of eight months so even half a bag is good to give away. Just give it a sniff before donating. Toss if you smell any mustiness. One of the most sturdiest foods to donate is rice. It has an indefinite shelf life, meaning you can still use it two or three years from purchasing. One sign that is is bad is the appearance of the rice weevil. It's a tiny reddish-brown bug that can show up in the box or canister. Chuck the rice if those start showing up.
Many of us have those Keurig machines that use pods. That's great but there's also a dearth of leftover teabags and hot chocolate packets. Any tea bag will last between a year to two years. If you have a variety left over then put them in Mason jars, decorated with pretty homespun bows and ribbons. Food pantries and senior centers would love to have these.Hot chocolate lasts for only six months but if you have extra that's under that time period , donate. Regular cocoa powder can last up to two years and can still be used for cooking and baking. Instant coffee has a shelf life of a whopping twenty years!!! This depends on the packaging yet you can still donate it. Even longer lived than instant coffee is sugar. Both granulated and confectioner's can last forever as can brown sugar. White and brown sugar can turn hard and crunchy To restore them put the crystals in a baggie and smash with a rolling pin to get rid of the hardness. Any of these will be much appreciated by bakers who want to create treats for their kids.Another baking necessity you may have over stocked is a bag of chocolate chips. Again, real chocolate is considered dry, meaning it 's not encumbered by any bacteria so it can last as long as the sugars. If your chips are hanging around donate them with your other foods.
A pantry cleaning is always necessary. Yet instead of throwing out your overage , just donate. it'll help not only declutter your kitchen but add to someone else's.
Saturday, October 5, 2019
A Sunday Vegetarian Roast
One of the highlights of fall is a sit down Sunday roast dinner.It's a chance for the family to gather and even dress up. The only problem is that some of the family nowadays eschews meat. What to do ? Have a Sunday vegan dinner. Everyone can then come together and still have delicious foods.
Of course the crowning glory of any big meal is the main course. Home chefs relied on ham, London Broil and chicken to take over however now it has to be a plant based main course. Luckily there is Beyond Meat. This can easily be molded and then roasted into a loaf. The plant based "red meat" can also be molded into skewered pieces , sort of like beef and lamb kabobs. This can be served over a vegetable rice pilaf for a more Mediterranean spin on Sunday dinner. Mold the crumbles into meat balls for a nice addition to a Sunday pot of pasta. The brand also produces sausages which can also be used instead of the meatballs or with them. These can also be used in a family sized paella , chock full of different veggies like tomatoes and peppers.Keep in mind that stuffed acorn squash can be just as filling as any protein dish. Fill with tofu crumbles along with chickpeas and rice. Gardein also has some good vegetarian meat options. Their turkey cutlets come with their own gravy - which tastes like the real thing. Serve stuffing with it and it's like having the real thing.
As for sides . some may feel cheated that they can't serve mashed potatoes to sop up the gravy. Yet you can serve them and you can have a side of gravy. There are a few gravies out there, such as vegan mushroom that can top a side of mash. You can also make one using vegetable broth and nutritional yeast. Flour and soy sauce give it color and thickness. Onion powder and Dijon mustard are also added in. To make the meal more filling serve noodles or rice. Serve with a sauce of butter and sage to give it more flavor. The Northern Italian dish of risi bisi, rice and green peas is the perfect side with a vegan meat loaf. The two ingredients are cooked in veggie broth for added taste and topped with soy Parmesan cheese. The original recipe calls for the Italian bacon pancetta however you can make an easy vegan coconut one. This is the season for Brussels sprouts and cauliflower. The first is good in a simple butter sauce while the second can be served mashed or fried.Another idea is tomatoes Provencale. It's a tasty dish, perfect for any loaf or with vegan chicken strips. It's tomato slices topped with breadcrumbs, garlic and oregano steamed in an olive oil and butter bath.
Yes, vegetarians and vegans can have a traditional Sunday roast with all the trimmings. Just sub in the main with plant based "meats". It's still the same kind of dinner with family, but with a modern , updated spin.
Of course the crowning glory of any big meal is the main course. Home chefs relied on ham, London Broil and chicken to take over however now it has to be a plant based main course. Luckily there is Beyond Meat. This can easily be molded and then roasted into a loaf. The plant based "red meat" can also be molded into skewered pieces , sort of like beef and lamb kabobs. This can be served over a vegetable rice pilaf for a more Mediterranean spin on Sunday dinner. Mold the crumbles into meat balls for a nice addition to a Sunday pot of pasta. The brand also produces sausages which can also be used instead of the meatballs or with them. These can also be used in a family sized paella , chock full of different veggies like tomatoes and peppers.Keep in mind that stuffed acorn squash can be just as filling as any protein dish. Fill with tofu crumbles along with chickpeas and rice. Gardein also has some good vegetarian meat options. Their turkey cutlets come with their own gravy - which tastes like the real thing. Serve stuffing with it and it's like having the real thing.
As for sides . some may feel cheated that they can't serve mashed potatoes to sop up the gravy. Yet you can serve them and you can have a side of gravy. There are a few gravies out there, such as vegan mushroom that can top a side of mash. You can also make one using vegetable broth and nutritional yeast. Flour and soy sauce give it color and thickness. Onion powder and Dijon mustard are also added in. To make the meal more filling serve noodles or rice. Serve with a sauce of butter and sage to give it more flavor. The Northern Italian dish of risi bisi, rice and green peas is the perfect side with a vegan meat loaf. The two ingredients are cooked in veggie broth for added taste and topped with soy Parmesan cheese. The original recipe calls for the Italian bacon pancetta however you can make an easy vegan coconut one. This is the season for Brussels sprouts and cauliflower. The first is good in a simple butter sauce while the second can be served mashed or fried.Another idea is tomatoes Provencale. It's a tasty dish, perfect for any loaf or with vegan chicken strips. It's tomato slices topped with breadcrumbs, garlic and oregano steamed in an olive oil and butter bath.
Yes, vegetarians and vegans can have a traditional Sunday roast with all the trimmings. Just sub in the main with plant based "meats". It's still the same kind of dinner with family, but with a modern , updated spin.
Friday, October 4, 2019
Your Fall Baking Must Haves
It's now perfect weather for baking. The're no more summer humidity and scorching days to put you off baking. It's time to bake luscious pies and fun Halloween treats. It's also time to gather up your fall baking must haves.
October is pie month. It's time to reevaluate your metal and glass pie tins.Aluminum pie tins last forever however if there are dings or discoloration, then buy new ones. (the old ones can make excellent trays for outdoor flower pots). Glass pie pans should be crack free. If you see one , then replace. Buy new Pyrex ones from Target or Walmart. For a fun addition buy pie birds if you don't already have them. These are blackbird (for four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie) shaped funnels that let the steam out of the baking pie. Using these aid in venting steam from double crust pies and prevents the filling from bubbling over. If you're more into baking tarts, check your tart pans. Some can get rusty. This requires cleaning with just baking soda and water along with a thorough drying before using. If not, then just replace them with newer, cast iron ones. As for ingredients , make sure you have plenty of Crisco for the pie crusts and butter for the tart crust. Always have a bag of flour on hand along with the fruit for filling. Make sure your corers and parers are up to par too. You'll be needing them to create the filling.Another must have?Cinnamon and sugar. Don't run out of these when your making apple pie. Also make sure you have pumpkin pie filling and the necessary spices for it too.
October not only has Halloween parties but school bakes sales as well. It's a big time for cupcakes , cookies and sweet treats. You can stock up on cake, brownie and cookie mixes if you don't have to the time to make the scratch versions.Many stores like Stop & Shop are offering a dollar a box on certain brands like Duncan Hines right now. Take advantage of this , especially if you have a big bake sale ahead. If you're planning on baking from scratch make sure you have the appropriate flours, including gluten free ones for kids who have allergies. Also make sure you have plenty of confectioners sugar for icing. Since it's Halloween it goes without saying to have a good amount of orange , black and purple food coloring. Get the thicker textured gels if you want more intense hues. Before baking, check your cake and brownie pans. Are they up to snuff or do you have to replace them? The same is true for cupcake pans and cookie sheets. If they are too dark or rusted , get new ones. It's best to stock up now than before the Christmas baking season begins. Another must is parchment paper, especially if you're bent on making meringues. It also comes in handy for cake baking too. As for icing, check your icing bag quantities. You made need to buy another box, especially if you had a lot of Spring and summer decorating to do. Also you may want to add an icing knife or spatula. This makes frosting all that more easier.
Fall is here. That means a return to baking. Make sure your kitchen is ready to handle it. Have all your tools and ingredients ready for a fun, sweet season.
October is pie month. It's time to reevaluate your metal and glass pie tins.Aluminum pie tins last forever however if there are dings or discoloration, then buy new ones. (the old ones can make excellent trays for outdoor flower pots). Glass pie pans should be crack free. If you see one , then replace. Buy new Pyrex ones from Target or Walmart. For a fun addition buy pie birds if you don't already have them. These are blackbird (for four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie) shaped funnels that let the steam out of the baking pie. Using these aid in venting steam from double crust pies and prevents the filling from bubbling over. If you're more into baking tarts, check your tart pans. Some can get rusty. This requires cleaning with just baking soda and water along with a thorough drying before using. If not, then just replace them with newer, cast iron ones. As for ingredients , make sure you have plenty of Crisco for the pie crusts and butter for the tart crust. Always have a bag of flour on hand along with the fruit for filling. Make sure your corers and parers are up to par too. You'll be needing them to create the filling.Another must have?Cinnamon and sugar. Don't run out of these when your making apple pie. Also make sure you have pumpkin pie filling and the necessary spices for it too.
October not only has Halloween parties but school bakes sales as well. It's a big time for cupcakes , cookies and sweet treats. You can stock up on cake, brownie and cookie mixes if you don't have to the time to make the scratch versions.Many stores like Stop & Shop are offering a dollar a box on certain brands like Duncan Hines right now. Take advantage of this , especially if you have a big bake sale ahead. If you're planning on baking from scratch make sure you have the appropriate flours, including gluten free ones for kids who have allergies. Also make sure you have plenty of confectioners sugar for icing. Since it's Halloween it goes without saying to have a good amount of orange , black and purple food coloring. Get the thicker textured gels if you want more intense hues. Before baking, check your cake and brownie pans. Are they up to snuff or do you have to replace them? The same is true for cupcake pans and cookie sheets. If they are too dark or rusted , get new ones. It's best to stock up now than before the Christmas baking season begins. Another must is parchment paper, especially if you're bent on making meringues. It also comes in handy for cake baking too. As for icing, check your icing bag quantities. You made need to buy another box, especially if you had a lot of Spring and summer decorating to do. Also you may want to add an icing knife or spatula. This makes frosting all that more easier.
Fall is here. That means a return to baking. Make sure your kitchen is ready to handle it. Have all your tools and ingredients ready for a fun, sweet season.
Thursday, October 3, 2019
The Perfect Sourdough
One of the most tastiest and most photographed breads out there is the sourdough. What's not to love about this tangy loaf that's perfect just with butter or as the base of a sandwich? Now home bakers are taking it on, trying to create the perfect bread. All you need is a good starter and a lot of time.
Claire Saffritz, a contributing editor to Bon Appetit Magazine, wrote this interesting article, and how to for yesterday's New York Times Food section. Sourdough is one of the hardest and possible the most difficult of breads. As she states "It's not just flour, water and yeast but time and temperature too." Regular bread making, using an oven, is time consuming, but making sourdough is days consuming. Carve out three days for the whole process. She recommends starting on Friday for fresh from the oven loaves on Sunday. You're also going to need a lot of equipment, from a glass mixing bowl to an Instant read thermometer.Then there's the fancier stuff such as bannetons, bread proofing baskets. a serrated knife and a large Dutch oven. Unlike other breads , sourdough requires parchment paper too. Then there are the ingredients - a mature starter (get it online or from friends and family), white bread flour along with whole grain rye or spelt flour.Then there's rice flour for dusting. Luckily, Stop & Shop and WHole Foods carry the flours - although you can buy all of them on line.
After all this , then there is the process. It's feeding or refreshing your starter on Day One, then letting it sit out at room temperature. A second feeding is needed once the starter doubles in size. Day Two requires mixing the dough and letting it rest, otherwise known as the autolyse process. This will take anywhere from thirty minutes to a couple of hours. The next step is the floater test. Drop a small spoonful into a bowl of room temperature water.It's ready when it floats (along with a dome of sudsy bubbles appearing on the starter's surface. If it sinks, let it sit for another thirty minutes. If it's ready then combine the dough and starter. Use your one hand to mix the dough while the other rotates the bowl. assess the dough and then add salt. It's then mixing and performing what's known as the windowpane test in which some of the dough is stretched and rolled out. It should be membrane thin with light shining through it. Then there's more prep, folding and pre-shaping the dough. The shaping baskets are then prepared with a dusting of white and rice flours combined. The sourdough is then proofed, first outside the fridge and then inside it overnight. Day Three is the actual baking day It's baking it in a Dutch oven at a fiery 500 degrees F. Prepping the dough requires dusting it with flour and gashing it with a knife or razor blade. Halfway through the temp is dropped to 450 F. The result is a crusty, tasty loaf with a tender crumb.
Perfection takes a lot of work. Creating a flawless work is not just a lot of work but time. If you have it, do it. Make that Instagrammable loaf of bread.
Claire Saffritz, a contributing editor to Bon Appetit Magazine, wrote this interesting article, and how to for yesterday's New York Times Food section. Sourdough is one of the hardest and possible the most difficult of breads. As she states "It's not just flour, water and yeast but time and temperature too." Regular bread making, using an oven, is time consuming, but making sourdough is days consuming. Carve out three days for the whole process. She recommends starting on Friday for fresh from the oven loaves on Sunday. You're also going to need a lot of equipment, from a glass mixing bowl to an Instant read thermometer.Then there's the fancier stuff such as bannetons, bread proofing baskets. a serrated knife and a large Dutch oven. Unlike other breads , sourdough requires parchment paper too. Then there are the ingredients - a mature starter (get it online or from friends and family), white bread flour along with whole grain rye or spelt flour.Then there's rice flour for dusting. Luckily, Stop & Shop and WHole Foods carry the flours - although you can buy all of them on line.
After all this , then there is the process. It's feeding or refreshing your starter on Day One, then letting it sit out at room temperature. A second feeding is needed once the starter doubles in size. Day Two requires mixing the dough and letting it rest, otherwise known as the autolyse process. This will take anywhere from thirty minutes to a couple of hours. The next step is the floater test. Drop a small spoonful into a bowl of room temperature water.It's ready when it floats (along with a dome of sudsy bubbles appearing on the starter's surface. If it sinks, let it sit for another thirty minutes. If it's ready then combine the dough and starter. Use your one hand to mix the dough while the other rotates the bowl. assess the dough and then add salt. It's then mixing and performing what's known as the windowpane test in which some of the dough is stretched and rolled out. It should be membrane thin with light shining through it. Then there's more prep, folding and pre-shaping the dough. The shaping baskets are then prepared with a dusting of white and rice flours combined. The sourdough is then proofed, first outside the fridge and then inside it overnight. Day Three is the actual baking day It's baking it in a Dutch oven at a fiery 500 degrees F. Prepping the dough requires dusting it with flour and gashing it with a knife or razor blade. Halfway through the temp is dropped to 450 F. The result is a crusty, tasty loaf with a tender crumb.
Perfection takes a lot of work. Creating a flawless work is not just a lot of work but time. If you have it, do it. Make that Instagrammable loaf of bread.
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