Lo and behold, it turns out I can make flatbread.
And got some rave reviews.
23 February 2009
Adventures in flatbread
We were invited to our friends Paul and Ann's house for dinner on Saturday night to celebrate (officially) Michael's 35th birthday, and to talk a bit about house sitting for them while they are in Africa (so jealous). We were in charge of salad, and Michael tipped us off that Paul would be preparing lamb skewers. I found a Mediterranean-style salad in my Test Kitchen cook book with radicchio, romaine, chickpeas, feta, and a basic balsalmic vinaigrette. I took a risk and decided to try out flatbread, as well. I didn't tell anyone, besides Shawn, that I was going to attempt it, just in case it was a disaster.
Lo and behold, it turns out I can make flatbread.
And got some rave reviews.
Lo and behold, it turns out I can make flatbread.
And got some rave reviews.
16 February 2009
The Birthday Cheesecakes
Friday night I received a rare and wonderful gift...a night at home alone. Not that I don't adore spending time with my honey at home, but I pretty much never get the house to myself. Since I had some serious baking work to do, I offered a suggestion to Shawn that he go out. And he did. Nice boy. I threw on my apron, my music, and got to work.
My friend Michael once told me this nice story of how his mom (who has passed on now) used to make and send him a cheesecake every year for his birthday when he was in college. I thought it was such a sweet tradition that I decided I would take it over. However, I've been a slacker. I made one once a few years ago and haven't since. I also make a birthday cheesecake for our friend, Aric, who is one of Shawn's best friends from childhood that now lives here in P-town. Being from NY, he is very picky about his cheesecake. I consider it a major compliment that he lusts for my cheesecake so. Michael's birthday was on Saturday, and I still owed Aric his treat from December, so I thought I'd just get them both out of the way in one night.
I decided to try out the Test Kitchen Baking Book's version of NY cheesecake. I've tried a variety of recipes from the Internet. While they have all turned out just fine, it was time to settle on one. It was quite interesting, amongst the chaotic Valentine-gift/card buying to be buying 5 lbs. of cream cheese--probably not what the cashier was expecting the evening before the big holiday. I went home, ate dinner, watched a little tv with Shawn, and then sent him on his way.
I probably should have looked a little more carefully at the recipe. Being a very dry, dense cheesecake, this recipe called for a very low heat, slow cooking time. I started at 8pm. Already my first oops. My next issue was that my mixer couldn't handle all 5 lbs of cream cheese at once, but I had already combined the 12 eggs and 4 egg yolks into one container. This only proved to be a problem when I got to the second cheesecake and discovered that, despite my best efforts to separate out 6 eggs and 2 yolks, I had fallen a little short on whites in cheesecake #1.
Mixing the first batch of cheesecake:
Cheesecake #1 (plain NY) for Aric, prebake:
Cheesecake #2 (marbled) for Michael:
Cheesecake #1 finished:
I haven't gotten the reports back yet, but both recipients seemed very happy when they saw what I had made. Shawn tried his best to get me to cut a piece for him, but no luck. I had already delayed them for months, even years, so I figured I probably needed to give them whole cheesecakes.
Oh, and I finally did something besides bake bread! Although I did make cream biscuits last night.
My friend Michael once told me this nice story of how his mom (who has passed on now) used to make and send him a cheesecake every year for his birthday when he was in college. I thought it was such a sweet tradition that I decided I would take it over. However, I've been a slacker. I made one once a few years ago and haven't since. I also make a birthday cheesecake for our friend, Aric, who is one of Shawn's best friends from childhood that now lives here in P-town. Being from NY, he is very picky about his cheesecake. I consider it a major compliment that he lusts for my cheesecake so. Michael's birthday was on Saturday, and I still owed Aric his treat from December, so I thought I'd just get them both out of the way in one night.
I decided to try out the Test Kitchen Baking Book's version of NY cheesecake. I've tried a variety of recipes from the Internet. While they have all turned out just fine, it was time to settle on one. It was quite interesting, amongst the chaotic Valentine-gift/card buying to be buying 5 lbs. of cream cheese--probably not what the cashier was expecting the evening before the big holiday. I went home, ate dinner, watched a little tv with Shawn, and then sent him on his way.
I probably should have looked a little more carefully at the recipe. Being a very dry, dense cheesecake, this recipe called for a very low heat, slow cooking time. I started at 8pm. Already my first oops. My next issue was that my mixer couldn't handle all 5 lbs of cream cheese at once, but I had already combined the 12 eggs and 4 egg yolks into one container. This only proved to be a problem when I got to the second cheesecake and discovered that, despite my best efforts to separate out 6 eggs and 2 yolks, I had fallen a little short on whites in cheesecake #1.
Mixing the first batch of cheesecake:
Cheesecake #1 (plain NY) for Aric, prebake:
Cheesecake #2 (marbled) for Michael:
Cheesecake #1 finished:
I haven't gotten the reports back yet, but both recipients seemed very happy when they saw what I had made. Shawn tried his best to get me to cut a piece for him, but no luck. I had already delayed them for months, even years, so I figured I probably needed to give them whole cheesecakes.
Oh, and I finally did something besides bake bread! Although I did make cream biscuits last night.
09 February 2009
Baking weekend
This weekend we hosted our friends, the Rices, for a card night at our place. We try to plan a dinner at one of our houses about once a month (it usually ends up being every two months). Eve-Maridy and I are both big foodies, so it gives us a chance to experiment with recipes for each other. The boys are just happy to be fed a good dinner and hang out, so it works out nicely.
Since it was my turn for the first time in a while, I wanted to do something special. The menu:
Crisp Winter Lettuces with Warm Sweet-and-Sharp Dressing
Homemade baguettes (America's Test Kitchen Family Baking book)
Steak with red wine pan sauce (America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook)
Low fat Scalloped potatoes (America's Test Kitchen Best Light Recipes)
Fallen Chocolate Cake (America's Test Kitchen Family Baking book) with raspberry coulis and lightly sweetened cocoa whipped cream (me)
As you can tell, I love me some America's Test Kitchen. I use those books for everything. Everything turned out really well. I did make a small error with the salads and halved the bacon, but not the rest of the ingredients. It turned out fine, but not as thick as I would have liked. The cooking vinegar may have also irritated my lungs because now I have this horrible cough.
The baguettes were a success! It was my first time working with a sponge and I was a little worried. Luckily I knew I could always run down to the bakery, DiPrima Dolci, if they didn't work out. The recipe yields two 15" baguettes, and unfortunately I only have a 13" baking stone. So, I cut one of them in half, and threw the other in the refrigerator to finish rising and bake the next day.
The chocolate cake, on the other hand, was quite easy and turned out delicious. I didn't have individual ramekins, so I ended up using my springform pan to do one big cake. No matter, it was yummy either way. Although, I do need to get a thermometer for my oven because I think it runs a little hot.
The cake (had a little trouble removing from the pan):
The second round of baguettes (didn't get a picture of the first one):
I think my fear of yeast is slowly starting to dissipate...
Since it was my turn for the first time in a while, I wanted to do something special. The menu:
Crisp Winter Lettuces with Warm Sweet-and-Sharp Dressing
Homemade baguettes (America's Test Kitchen Family Baking book)
Steak with red wine pan sauce (America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook)
Low fat Scalloped potatoes (America's Test Kitchen Best Light Recipes)
Fallen Chocolate Cake (America's Test Kitchen Family Baking book) with raspberry coulis and lightly sweetened cocoa whipped cream (me)
As you can tell, I love me some America's Test Kitchen. I use those books for everything. Everything turned out really well. I did make a small error with the salads and halved the bacon, but not the rest of the ingredients. It turned out fine, but not as thick as I would have liked. The cooking vinegar may have also irritated my lungs because now I have this horrible cough.
The baguettes were a success! It was my first time working with a sponge and I was a little worried. Luckily I knew I could always run down to the bakery, DiPrima Dolci, if they didn't work out. The recipe yields two 15" baguettes, and unfortunately I only have a 13" baking stone. So, I cut one of them in half, and threw the other in the refrigerator to finish rising and bake the next day.
The chocolate cake, on the other hand, was quite easy and turned out delicious. I didn't have individual ramekins, so I ended up using my springform pan to do one big cake. No matter, it was yummy either way. Although, I do need to get a thermometer for my oven because I think it runs a little hot.
The cake (had a little trouble removing from the pan):
The second round of baguettes (didn't get a picture of the first one):
I think my fear of yeast is slowly starting to dissipate...
Starting over...Welcome to the Evolving Epicurean!
As with most things in life, I started this blog with the intention of writing about my great adventures traveling and eating, but it took a very different turn and became all about food. I would love to travel more, but right now I'm just trying to pay off bills and save money to do so.
On that note, I would like to introduce the revised theme to this blog...it's all about food. As you may have noticed from past posts, I have a bit of an obsession with food. I love to eat it, make it, bake it, serve it, and even take pictures of it.
Obviously since I've had little to talk about besides food, anyone who has been reading this blog won't notice much of a difference. I have been experimenting more in the kitchen and am very excited to share my continual journey to becoming a better cook, baker, and overall foodie.
On that note, I would like to introduce the revised theme to this blog...it's all about food. As you may have noticed from past posts, I have a bit of an obsession with food. I love to eat it, make it, bake it, serve it, and even take pictures of it.
Obviously since I've had little to talk about besides food, anyone who has been reading this blog won't notice much of a difference. I have been experimenting more in the kitchen and am very excited to share my continual journey to becoming a better cook, baker, and overall foodie.
29 January 2009
Quick follow up to earlier this month
I did end up trying a "whole wheat" bread. It was the almost-no-knead whole wheat bread from the Test Kitchen. While it does have whole wheat flour, it has twice as much white flour, along with beer and honey to keep it moist. I understand the purpose, but I really do need to figure out a whole grain bread that doesn't involve white flour, and doesn't turn out to be a brick. I think I'm going to try one with a multi-grain cereal like Bob's Red Mill (love those products).
A funny note on my whole wheat bread though...it turned out well and despite its overcooked bottom, it was very tasty. However, the funny part was that it was almost a perfect ball. It never really settled down like the white bread--probably a little too dense. I'm adjusting.
Next up will be pizza dough...more to come!
A funny note on my whole wheat bread though...it turned out well and despite its overcooked bottom, it was very tasty. However, the funny part was that it was almost a perfect ball. It never really settled down like the white bread--probably a little too dense. I'm adjusting.
Next up will be pizza dough...more to come!
08 January 2009
My First Focaccia
Continuing the journey that is getting over my fear of working with yeast, I decided to try another bread. I had an extra russet potato hanging around and happened to remember that my recipe for focaccia bread called for one russet potato. What luck! So, Sunday afternoon, I started working on my first focaccia.
It starts with boiling the potato cut into 1-inch chunks, then grating the cooled potato on a box grater.
Then kneading the dough and potato in a stand mixer.
Kneading it by hand, forming into a smooth ball, and letting it rise in an oiled bowl.
After the first rising when it has doubled in size, it gets stretched out onto an oiled, rimmed baking sheet, covered with oiled plastic and left to rise a second time. (More oil, I'm sure you see a trend here...)
When the dough doesn't bounce back immediately after poking, it's ready to roll. Since I didn't have fresh rosemary, and did have fresh thyme and olives, I used those instead. Both ingredients were leftover from Christmas, so it was a great way to use up stuff I would've eventually thrown away instead.
And voila! Focaccia!
Notes on this recipe...
It starts with boiling the potato cut into 1-inch chunks, then grating the cooled potato on a box grater.
Then kneading the dough and potato in a stand mixer.
Kneading it by hand, forming into a smooth ball, and letting it rise in an oiled bowl.
After the first rising when it has doubled in size, it gets stretched out onto an oiled, rimmed baking sheet, covered with oiled plastic and left to rise a second time. (More oil, I'm sure you see a trend here...)
When the dough doesn't bounce back immediately after poking, it's ready to roll. Since I didn't have fresh rosemary, and did have fresh thyme and olives, I used those instead. Both ingredients were leftover from Christmas, so it was a great way to use up stuff I would've eventually thrown away instead.
And voila! Focaccia!
Notes on this recipe...- From America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook or Family Baking Book
- My stand mixer isn't the greatest. It works and thankfully has dough hooks, but it's not very powerful, so kneading the dough in the mixer was tricky. I ended up doing more of the kneading by hand. I'm glad I did, though, since I'm a rather inexperienced bread baker and knead (ha ha) to get used to the feel of properly balanced dough.
- The dough didn't like to stretch out to the edges of the pan, even though I left it for a minute to relax like the recipe said, it still wouldn't fill the pan. I attribute that to my baking sheets. I need to get some of those industrial sheets for these tasks.
30 December 2008
Eat Here: Country Cat
My sister and her husband decided to stick around for the weekend since my brother wasn't able to come down to Portland. Since she was down here, we met up with a couple of her friends who live in SE for dinner on Saturday night. I suggested the Country Cat, which I had heard was good from my friend Michael.
The restaurant is a lot smaller than it looks from the inside. The Web site says it seats 65. A few of those seats are in front of the kitchen--I will have to go back to try those out. The food and drinks were so good. I know I've been raving a lot, but seriously, this is worth checking out.
We started with the roasted wild mushrooms over chicken liver toast with pork confit & fennel-apple slaw, as well as the roasted chestnut & potato dumplings with grilled ricotta salata cheese, brown butter, & crisp sage. Both were delicious, but I think I liked the meaty one better. For dinner, I chose the Strawberry Mountain braised beef on a chanterelle mushroom & orzo pasta pilaf with caramelized brussels sprouts & red wine braised bacon. It was tough to decide between that and the fried chicken and steelhead. Luckily, I was able to try both and I think I still made the right choice. There was suprisingly a lot of meat on my plate. The prices were a little high, but for the quality and quantity you get, it's worth it. I was so full I couldn't even think about dessert...but it looked really good. Our server was awesome and tattoo-filled, wearing a fedora. Ah, Portland.
On a related note, I've heard some complaints about menus writing out the full description of their dishes including where the ingredients come from, but you know what? I like it. I like knowing everything that will be on my plate. I also like knowing that the beef comes from a local, natural producer.
And on yet another related note....In an effort to save money this year and pay off my debt so I can actually go travel and write about something other than food on this blog...I will not be eating out much more. Instead, you will probably be reading about creative concoctions I've come up with to tolerate my lack of eating out in the interim. Feel free to leave your cheap, healthy recipes!
The restaurant is a lot smaller than it looks from the inside. The Web site says it seats 65. A few of those seats are in front of the kitchen--I will have to go back to try those out. The food and drinks were so good. I know I've been raving a lot, but seriously, this is worth checking out.
We started with the roasted wild mushrooms over chicken liver toast with pork confit & fennel-apple slaw, as well as the roasted chestnut & potato dumplings with grilled ricotta salata cheese, brown butter, & crisp sage. Both were delicious, but I think I liked the meaty one better. For dinner, I chose the Strawberry Mountain braised beef on a chanterelle mushroom & orzo pasta pilaf with caramelized brussels sprouts & red wine braised bacon. It was tough to decide between that and the fried chicken and steelhead. Luckily, I was able to try both and I think I still made the right choice. There was suprisingly a lot of meat on my plate. The prices were a little high, but for the quality and quantity you get, it's worth it. I was so full I couldn't even think about dessert...but it looked really good. Our server was awesome and tattoo-filled, wearing a fedora. Ah, Portland.
On a related note, I've heard some complaints about menus writing out the full description of their dishes including where the ingredients come from, but you know what? I like it. I like knowing everything that will be on my plate. I also like knowing that the beef comes from a local, natural producer.
And on yet another related note....In an effort to save money this year and pay off my debt so I can actually go travel and write about something other than food on this blog...I will not be eating out much more. Instead, you will probably be reading about creative concoctions I've come up with to tolerate my lack of eating out in the interim. Feel free to leave your cheap, healthy recipes!
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