WAITING FOR BABY BREAD: Sourdough Baguettes

Last school year one of the great moms in my class offered to lead some cooking lessons, which I happily agreed to. She taught the kids all about sourdough bread and its origins. Then she led the kids in capturing wild yeast, feeding a sourdough starter, and baking bread from scratch. It was an awesome learning experience I'll be excited to replicate in years to come. As a result, I ended up with a jar of sourdough starter for myself-- one that I've been feeding and forgetting about since the spring, which is a beautiful thing about a starter... It can withstand a lot or a little attention, whatever you're able to give it.

Now that we're so close to Baby G's arrival and I've have the summer and some maternity leave to finish my before-baby to-do list, I had a day around the house where I found myself just waiting. What to do now? Use the starter!

This was my first time baking bread from scratch, and it turned out really well considering. Baking bread takes a lot of time, but it certainly isn't complicated. It turns out that the steps are pretty simple, and there's nothing better than fresh-out-of-the-oven baguette. So worth it. I hope you'll give it a try!

Links for Getting Started:
Capturing wild yeast for sourdough starter
Starter tips
Baking site and advice/chat feature see links below
Sourdough recipes Can't wait to try sourdough pizza crust, pretzels, pancakes, buns... so much to do with starter!

Things to Note:
-Once you have your starter going, it's very easy to maintain. You can feed it (2 tablespoons flour, 1 tablespoon water), every couple of days or every couple of weeks. Just let it hang out in a jar with some loose plastic wrap over the top in your fridge. You can afford to forget about it for a while, which is nice.

- The King Arthur Flour website has an awesome chat feature. When I wasn't sure about how long I should wait to make the recipe after feeding the starter and what I should cover the dough with, a real-time chat on the computer answered all of my questions!

• Answers/tips from my chats with the experts: 
• After feeding your starter, it's better to let it hang out on the counter for 2 hours or so before putting it back in the fridge.
• Leaving the starter out on the counter at room temperature for 2-4 hours after feeding it is necessary before starting the recipe
• Yes, a fed starter is much better than an unfed starter. It will rise better.
• They suggest covering your dough with plastic wrap. It doesn't matter if it's touching the dough or just covering the top of the bowl as shown in my photo, so long as there aren't any gaps for air to get through.

- Keep an eye of the baguettes at the end of their bake time. Mine came out a little darker than I'd like, so I had to forgo the last step of letting them cool in the turned-off oven.

SOURDOUGH BAGUETTES
recipe from King Arthur Flour
makes 6 baguettes

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-baguettes-recipe

HEALTHY & DELCIOUS: Stevie's Sweet & Salty Granola

My friend Stevie brought us homemade granola that Chris and I couldn't get enough of! Sweet and salty with cinnamon and vanilla... Her recipe is quick, easy, and uses minimal ingredients. I don't think we'll be eating store-bought granola again!


Things to Note:
- The recipe doubles perfectly-- both cookie sheets can bake at the same time. I switched oven racks after the initial 10 minutes of baking.
- Stevie said you can mix all kinds of things into the dry mix, such as dried fruit and nuts. I'd like to try dried cranberries and cherries next time, but the possibilities of combinations are endless :)




STEVIE'S SWEET & SALTY GRANOLA
recipe from Stevie Bauer
Ingredients:

• 2 c oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp veggie oil
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1/4 c honey
• 1 tsp vanilla

Method:

1. Mix oats, salt, and cinnamon.
2. In separate bowl stir together veggie oil, brown sugar, honey and vanilla.
3. Combine both mixtures together with hands....it should stick in clumps.
4. Spread on cookie sheet with parchment paper and bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes.
5. Flip/stir it up. Continue baking for 13-15 more minutes (it will look a little golden).
6. Let sit and cool. Break apart and voilá!

LOW & SLOW: Pork Chops with Caramelized Onion and Orange Gravy

With an afternoon of projects around the house, I had the opportunity to caramelize onions the real way: low and slow. I've combined onions with orange before when following a Giada recipe, and this version turned out great. There's just a hint of orange flavor without it being too powerful, and the thyme compliments the citrus flavor. The sweet and savory gravy kept the pork nice and moist. It was delicious on top of a little brown rice with sautéed swiss chard. So good and full of flavor!!

PORK CHOPS WITH CARAMELIZED ONION AND ORANGE GRAVY
recipe by Trish Garber
serves 2

Ingredients:
Caramelized Onion Mixture

• olive oil
• 1 thinly sliced medium/large sweet onion
• 1 thinly sliced leek
• 1 thinly sliced shallot
• ~1/4 c orange juice
• small palmful thyme
• salt and pepper to taste
• water

Pork Chops

• 2 thick-cut boneless pork chops, salt and peppered
• 1 cup (or so) orange juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Heat olive oil in dutch oven on medium heat. Sweat onion, leek, and shallot for 5-10 minutes with a little salt. Add thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Caramelize the onion mixture over low heat for about 2 hours, stirring and adding water throughout as needed. Sprinkle a little (not even a 1/4 of a teaspoon) baking soda over the onions to speed up the caramelizing process.  
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
3. Take the onion mixture out of the dutch oven and reserve in a bowl. Pour in more olive oil to coat the bottom of the dutch oven and turn up the heat to medium-high. Sear the pork chops until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes on each side. 
4. Use orange juice to de-glaze the bottom of the dutch oven, making sure to scrape off all of the brown bits. Salt and pepper the gravy. Then add the onion mixture back in. Place the pork chops in the center of the dutch oven, spooning some of the onion gravy on top. Cover and bake until pork reaches 170 degrees internally-- approximately 25 minutes.

MAKE AHEAD DESSERT: Lemon Shortcrust Tart with Fresh Berries

This past weekend we were lucky to have Chris's grandma visit us from Southern California. We planned to bring a dessert to a family dinner, but I didn't want to spend too much of our time with grandma in the kitchen. I ended up putting together a few favorite things that I could make ahead: vanilla shortcrust, lemon curd, and fresh berries.

You can make the dough and curd 3 days in advance, so long as it's stored air-tight in the refrigerator. I baked off the crust in a tart pan the morning of the dinner party while letting the berries macerate in sugar and lemon zest. Shortly before heading out the door, I spread the lemon curd in the tart shell and laid out the berries on top. It was beautiful with a delicious punch of lemon flavor alongside the sweet berries and buttery crust. Everyone really enjoyed it :)

This will definitely be a go-to make ahead dessert!

Steps/Things to Note
Please don't be afraid of the number of steps-- it's just because I spaced them out for my own convenience. Each part was pretty simple.
Up to 2 weeks before eating:

• Make lemon curd. After cooled completely, store in an airtight container with a piece of plastic wrap directly on the top of curd.

Up to 3 days before eating:

• Make vanilla shortcrust dough. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap. Keep in the refrigerator.

Day before/day of eating:
Baking the tart shell

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• If the dough has been refrigerated for more than 30 minutes, it may be very firm and hard and will crack if you try to roll it. Let it sit on the counter for 10 to 15 minutes until it is malleable but still cold. Break into small chunks and begin spreading the dough in the tart pan, using the palm of your hand to spread it evenly/as flat as possible. Make sure the dough covers the sides of the pan, as well. Prick the dough with a fork and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Place a piece of foil on dough and then put pie weights, beans, or rice on top. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weight and continue baking until golden brown.

Preparing the berries

• Wash 2-3 plastic containers of fresh berries (I used a container of raspberries and a container of blackberries).
• Combine berries with an 1/8 cup of sugar and the zest of one lemon in a small mixing bowl until ready to top the tart.

Building the tart

• After the crust (and curd if you're doing everything the day of) is completely cooled, smooth the lemon curd into the tart shell. 
• Arrange the berries to your liking on top of the curd.

LEMON CURD
recipe from Alton Brown, www.foodnetwork.com

Ingredients 

• 5 egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 lemons, zested and juiced
• 1 stick butter, cut into pats and chilled

Method
Add enough water to a medium saucepan to come about 1-inch up the side. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, combine egg yolks and sugar in a medium size metal bowl and whisk until smooth, about 1 minute. Measure citrus juice and if needed, add enough cold water to reach 1/3 cup. Add juice and zest to egg mixture and whisk smooth. Once water reaches a simmer, reduce heat to low and place bowl on top of saucepan. (Bowl should be large enough to fit on top of saucepan without touching the water.) Whisk until thickened, approximately 8 minutes, or until mixture is light yellow and coats the back of a spoon. Remove promptly from heat and stir in butter a piece at a time, allowing each addition to melt before adding the next. Remove to a clean container and cover by laying a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

VANILLA SHORTCRUST DOUGH
click to be taken to a previous post that has this dough recipe

DINNER IN: Prosciutto-Wrapped Scallops, Swiss Chard, and Glazed Squash

Rather than go out to eat this rainy Friday night, we decided to make a nice dinner at home. With red swiss chard, one leek, and a half of a banana squash in the fridge, I went to the store to find a good protein and felt like seafood. I came out with scallops and prosciutto...

This make-it-up-as-you-go dinner turned out to be absolutely delicious with its minimal ingredients and simple steps. The scallops were salty, melt-in-your-mouth good, and they nicely contrasted the sweet swiss chard and squash. We'll definitely be making this again!

Ingredient List for Entire Meal:
serves 2

• 8 large bay scallops
• 4 slices of prosciutto
• all-purpose flour (for dredging)
• olive oil
• 1 bunch red swiss chard
• 1 medium leek
• white balsamic vinegar to taste
• 1/2 banana squash
• 1/4 tbsp. honey
• 1/4 c. butter
• 1 tbsp. orange rind
• Salt and pepper to taste

Prosciutto-Wrapped Scallops

recipe from Trish Garber

Pat scallops dry with a paper towel. Pepper to taste (the prosciutto will be all the salt you need). Cut 4 slices of prosciutto in half to make 8 strips. Wrap each scallop with a strip of prosciutto, securing it with a toothpick. Lightly dredge scallops in flour. Sear scallops on high heat for 2 minutes on each side. Then flip onto the slender, prosciutto-wrapped sides for a minute each side. Serve immediately.


Sautéed Red Swiss Chard
recipe from Trish Garber

Halve the leek, washing the inside as well as the outside before chopping. Sauté the chopped leek with olive oil over medium/medium-high heat. Once slightly softened, add deveined and roughly chopped swiss chard. Sauté until tender. Salt, pepper, and dress with white balsamic vinegar before serving warm.


Honey Glazed Banana Squash
recipe from Cooks.com

Wash and cut pieces of squash into serving size, removing all seeds and unwanted members. Place on cooking sheet, rind side down. Bake at 375 degrees until tender, about 25 minutes.

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Add honey, salt and grated orange rind. Pour on squash pieces and bake 10 minutes, or more to glaze.

FUN WITH FLAMES: S'Mores Cupcakes

My grandma gave me a culinary torch for Christmas that I've been dying to use. With a quiet day around the house during winter break, I had a perfect opportunity to break out the flames. I've always wanted to try this Martha Stewart Cupcake recipe for s'more inspired cupcakes. The perfect-sized cakes are a combination of graham cracker-like cake, a layer of chocolate ganache, and browned marshmallow frosting.

I have to tell you that making the marshmallow topping was an adventure. I don't have any experience making candy, which is probably why I had a "do-over". Even the second batch of sugar syrup I made didn't turn out the way it should, but I was able to use enough of it to make it work. Making sure the sugar dissolves completely before letting it boil to temperature is key. Using a pastry brush to prevent the sugar from crystalizing is also something I assume is quite important-- considering I didn't have one and things even crystalized in the syrup batch I managed to make work. Last but not least, you have to be ready to pipe the frosting immediately after beating it. I put my ganache layer on in between making the frosting and piping it, and I couldn't squeeze it out of the bag because it had already set! The only thing left to do was get my hands dirty, separating chunks of marshmallow to place on top. Though messy and slightly complicated, the homemade marshmallow was worth it in the end. The browned outside gave it that s'more taste everyone loves.

S’MORES CUPCAKES
recipe from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes
makes 24

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/3 cups graham flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 6 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• Chocolate Ganache Glaze (below)
• Marshmallow Frosting (below)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together both flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter, brown sugar and honey until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium; beat in eggs and vanilla, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined.
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, about 25 minutes. Transfer tins to wire rack to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored up to 1 day at room temperature, or frozen up to 1 month, in airtight containers.
4. To finish, spoon 2 teaspoons chocolate glaze onto each cupcake. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip (Ateco #806 or Wilton #2A) with frosting; pipe frosting onto each cupcake, swirling tip and releasing as you pull up to form a peak. Hold a small kitchen torch 3 to 4 inches from surface of frosting, and wave it back and forth until frosting is lightly browned all over. Serve immediately.

Chocolate Ganache Glaze

Ingredients

• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2/3 cups heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup

Method

1. Place chocolate in a medium-size heatproof bowl. Bring cream and corn syrup just to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; pour mixture over chocolate. Let stand, without stirring, until chocolate begins to melt.
2. Using a flexible spatula, gently stir chocolate and cream until totally combined; begin near the center of the bowl and gradually work your way toward the edge, pulling in as much chocolate as possible, until the mixture is smooth and glossy. (If any chocolate pieces remain, strain mixture through a fine sieve and discard solids.) If not using immediately, glaze can be refrigerated up to 5 days in an airtight container.
3. Reheat gently before using.

Shiny chocolate glaze variation: Reduce amount of chocolate to 2 ounces. Follow step 1 of recipe above, letting mixture stand 5 minutes before slowly whisking until smooth and combined. Use immediately, without straining.


Cook's Note
Avoid overmixing when stirring the chocolate into the hot-cream mixture, as this can cause the ganache to become dull and grainy.


Marshmallow Frosting
Ingredients

• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin (1 scant tablespoon)
• ⅓ cup plus ¼ cup cold water
• 1 cup sugar
• I added a splash of vanilla

Method

1. In a mixing bowl, sprinkle gelatin over ⅓ cup cold water. Allow gelatin to soften, about 5 minutes.
2. Heat remaining 1/4 cup water and the sugar in a saucepan over medium-high, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Stop stirring; clip a candy thermometer onto side of pan. Boil syrup until temperature reaches the soft-ball stage (238 degrees F), brushing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming. Remove from heat; add syrup to softened gelatin. Whisk mixture by hand to cool, about 1 minute, then use an electric mixer to whisk on medium-high speed until soft, glossy (but not dry) peaks form, 8 to 10 minutes. Use immediately (frosting will harden).

ALL-IN-ONE DINNER: Stuffed Bell Peppers

With red bell peppers, mushrooms, and ground beef in the fridge, I started brainstorming what I could make for dinner-- stuffed bell peppers. I looked through some recipes online and came to this one, but I made some substitutions/additions based on what I had on hand. I didn't have diced tomatoes, but I did have mushrooms to add to the rice and meat mixture (and a little tomato paste to give it the desired flavor). I wanted to use up my shallots, so I substituted those for the white onion, sautéing them first with the garlic and mushrooms with a bit of red pepper flakes. To get a little green into the dinner, I added fresh spinach. Last but not least, I only had two peppers, so I put the rest of the stuffing into little ramekins to be enjoyed later.

The stuffed peppers made for a healthy, flavorful take on comfort food with minimal clean up. Next time I'll make more of the ketchup topping to have on the side!

DAD’S STUFFED BELL PEPPERS
from SimplyRecipes.com, personal adaptations noted
serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 4 bell peppers, any color
• Salt
• 5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped I substituted shallots
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 lb of lean ground beef
• 1 1/2 cup of cooked rice
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned (if using can, drain of excess liquid first) I added some tomato paste instead of chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
• Fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 tsp of Worcestershire Sauce
• Dash of Tabasco sauce
• I added sautéed mushrooms, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and fresh spinach

Method

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, cut top off peppers 1 inch from the stem end, and remove seeds. Add several generous pinches of salt to boiling water, then add peppers and boil, using a spoon to keep peppers completely submerged, until brilliant green (or red if red peppers) and their flesh slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Drain, set aside to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat 4 tbsp of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Remove skillet from heat, add meat, rice, tomatoes, and oregano, and season generously with salt and pepper. Mix well. (You may find it easier to put the ingredients at this point into a large bowl and mix together with your hands.)
3. Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil inside the peppers. Arrange the cut side of the peppers up in a baking dish, then stuff peppers with filling. Combine ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, and 1/4 cup of water in a small bowl, then spoon over filling. Add 1/4 cup of water to the baking dish. Place in oven and bake for 40-50 minutes (or longer, depending on how big the peppers are that you are stuffing), until the internal temperature of the stuffed peppers is 150-160°F.