real life foodie adventures

Another month has passed and that means it’s time for another fun-filled Daring Baker challenge! This month’s challenge, hosted by Mary and Sara, was a little intimidating at first glance. I mean, first of all, it was a Julia Child recipe. Second, the recipe was for FRENCH BREAD and it read more like a book than a recipe! We’re talking an EIGHT (eighteen in the original cookbook!) PAGE recipe, folks! I was afraid.

But, being a Daring Baker is all about stepping out of the box… about digging in and conquering your fears. So, I spent a couple of weeks wrapping my brain around the recipe and then… I set aside a Saturday and settled in to make some bread. That’s right… I said I set aside a Saturday. A whole day? Yes… a whole day. This recipe requires about seven hours of your time. Do not, however, let this scare you. Most of it’s inactive time… waiting for the bread to rise… THREE times… and it’s so very worth every second of your time.

This challenge helped me to conquer my fear of yeast. It produces a wonderful loaf with a nice crust and a wonderful crumb. And, really, it’s pretty easy. I’ll absolutely be trying my hand at it again before the weather warms up… it’s just that good.

Now, the rules said that we *had* to make at least one plain loaf of French bread using only the very basics of water, yeast, salt and flour. No problem! I kicked out one batard (like a baguette but shorter), one small round loaf, and four rolls. I didn’t regret for a second that I left all of them unaltered. It’s almost embarrassing how quickly we inhaled them.

The only saving grace? The absolutely torturous TWO hours we had to wait after pulling the little beauties from the oven. Yes, that’s right… Julia sez that you must, must, must allow the bread to cool for at least two hours before digging into it - not a simple feat with the wonderful way it makes your house smell.

Luckily… like I said… it’s all worth it. Especially the next morning when we threw the last two rolls in the oven to warm, split them in two, slathered them with butter, and topped one half with homemade dulce de leche…

And the other with a square of chocolate that immediately got wonderfully melty…

Thank you, thank you, thank you Mary and Sara for a wonderful challenge and for bringing great homemade French bread into my life! This is certainly something I’d have never tried on my own, but it’s something I’ll now make again and again!

Want to see how the other 600 or so Daring Bakers fared? Go check out the blogroll!

Full recipe along with notes from Mary and Sara behind the jump!

(more…)

I’ve been tagged for a second time! This time by Pam over at Cave Cibum who, coincidentally, will be sending me a package as part of Stephanie’s Blogging by Mail event. It’s so much fun to get to know so many great food bloggers by way of these events!

So, for those of you curious about my food likes and dislikes… this one’s for you!

My five favorite foods: Chocolate, gelato, mashed potatoes, edamame, quinoa

My five least favorite foods: Pickled beets, lima beans, rhubarb, cilantro, green olives (unless they’re stuffed with blue cheese or are part of the olive relish on a muffaletta)

Something I’ve never cooked, but really should have: Tiramisu

What I ate today: coffee, blondies (I won’t tell you how many, but you’ll see later why), veggie stir-fry, popcorn, diet Coke, and a big-ass burger from Red Robin

My last meal on Earth: Sauerbraten, potato dumplings, rotkraut, brotchen with butter, and the most enormous slab of chocolate cake

And… now I get to tag Tara over at Should You Eat That? with this meme so that I can get a little insight into her food world (because she’ll be getting a package from me!). I’m also going to send some virtual food blogger hugs her way, as she’s been dealing with quite a difficult loss in her life.

Of course, I wouldn’t leave you without a little food porn! I’ve been trying hard to get into the kitchen more this week and most of the ventures have been successful. This is my stand-out recipe of the week… it’s fantastic AND the prep all happens in one bowl!

I’ve been jonesing for blondies lately, and I found an amazing one bowl recipe from the cookbook How to Cook Everything over at Smitten Kitchen. This is such a flexible recipe, you can really add whatever you have on hand. It also doubles and… ahem… triples very easily. They’re even good when you forget about them and overbake them a little, though slightly undercooked is my preference.

I added milk and semi-sweet chocolate chips and cashews to this batch and I’m already dreaming about what I’ll put into the next one! This is such a keeper of a recipe! No need to think far enough ahead to have room temperature butter on hand… open to whatever you want to mix in… no muss, no fuss!

Blondies
(from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman by way of Smitten Kitchen)
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla or 1½ teaspoons almond extract
Pinch salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8×8 pan.

Mix melted butter with brown sugar - beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla.

Add salt, stir in flour. Mix in any additions (see below for ideas).

Pour into prepared pan. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until set in the middle. Allow to cool on a wire rack before cutting them.

Suggested add-ins (one or a combination of):
1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts, toasting them first for even better flavor
1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon mint extract in addition to or in place of the vanilla
1/2 cup mashed bananas
1/4 cup bourbon, scotch or other whiskey; increase the flour by one tablespoon
2 tablespoons of espresso powder with the vanilla
1/2 cup dried fruit, especially dried cherries
Top with a vanilla butter cream or chocolate peanut butter cream frosting

Wow. It’s been an insanely busy week! Every time I tried to get by here to update, some more urgent (but much less entertaining) need would rear its ugly head. I’ve got some catching up to do!

Since my last entry was to announce Homegrown Gourmet #6 (Breakfast!) and photos/recipes were decidedly absent, I figure I owe you all a little more than just a general housekeeping post. So, hang tight until the end and I’ll share with you a fabulous, and fabulously easy, roasted cauliflower recipe.

First, though… an update!

Remember the Chop! Chop! Chicken Pockets that I made for Ben’s Food for Plastic challenge? I won! And I won Tupperware! It arrived not too long ago and I spent the next several days agonizing over what I’d put in my pretty new airtight containers.

I’ve got some bread flour living in the big cannister, powdered sugar in the next, quinoa in the third, and steel cut oats in the little guy. (Please disregard the seriously overripe bananas in the background, but keep an eye out for the yummy dish they turned into!)

Thanks, Ben, for a great prize! And, for all of you jealous of my new Tupperware, pull out your best recipe and enter Ben’s second Food for Plastic Challenge - A Taste of Spring!

On to the memes!

I’ve watched the memes making their rounds among my favorite food blogs. I’ve hoped that someone would tag me. And then… it happened! Dana over at Proof of the Pudding tagged me to tell readers 5 random things about myself… so, here goes nothin’!

1. I’m a print geek by profession. I’ve worked in various print-related capacities over the years in corporate, government, and commercial environments.
2. I’m left-handed, but I do lots of things (like using a mouse and using scissors) just like right-handed people.
3. I hate humid environments. Funny, then, that I live in NC.
4. My husband I don’t have any kids… but we do have a dog, Payne, and a cat, Hatch.
5. Three places on the planet that I love: the beaches of the Gulf Coast (particularly Fort Walton Beach and Destin, FL) in the spring; Nashville, TN; and Sedona, AZ.

Now… the five bloggers that I’m tagging:
Aran at Cannelle et Vanille
Polliwoggy at Memoirs of a Polliwogg
Deb at Deb’s Key West Wine and Gardening
Sunny and/or Sid at Big Boys Oven
Anna at Cookie Madness

And now… the cauliflower!

I love, love, love cauliflower and I love this recipe because it makes my life really easy! A little chopping, a little seasoning, into the oven and… viola! Yummy side dish happiness. (I’ve also been known to eat it as a meal when my husband’s out of town - but that’s a whole other story.)

Roasted Cauliflower
1 head cauliflower, trimmed into florets
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean-up.

Place florets in a single layer on the cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle with garlic, salt, and pepper.

Roast 20-25 minutes until tender, crispy and golden, turning once. Devour.

Remember that Ode to Carolina Sweet Potato Praline Bread I made not so long ago? Well, as luck would have it, that recipe bagged a win in Round Five of the Homegrown Gourmet event - Quick Breads, hosted by the lovely Gretchen Noelle. What a great surprise and such an honor! And, with that win, the torch has been passed to me to host HomeGrown Gourmet #6.

Now, since Bean’s Bistro started the ball rolling with sandwiches, the Homegrown Gourmet event has featured soups, pies/tarts, stews, and quick breads. Those are some hard acts to follow, and I wanted to be sure I picked a real winner of a category for my very first time hosting an event.

I’ve been obsessing a lot lately about breakfast items… I don’t just want breakfast for breakfast, I want breakfast for lunch and dinner, too! So, why not feed the obsession and challenge you, dear readers, to pull out all the stops and tell the world about your best Homegrown breakfast recipes.

THE RULES:

• Anyone can play!
• A theme will be picked by the host. Participants will make a dish that follows the theme and that somehow represents their home region - town, state, area. Representation can feature a local ingredient, be a traditional dish from your area, or be a creative twist.
• Participants will have 3-4 weeks (host discretion) to complete their recipes and post them to their blog (or email the pics and text), and notify the host. The host will then post the results and then let everyone know via email or message board the results are up!
• An explanation of your dish is required; it can be a story about the local custom or ingredient, how you came about eating/making the recipe, or an explanation about how your creative dish fits the theme.
• Fresh and local foods are encouraged!
• When the round is done, the host will announce their favorite dish by updating their blog. Favorite is completely subjective to the host- no one expects the host to make and taste test all the dishes, it is just something that strikes the host’s fancy! The creator of the fave gets the honor of hosting the next round, if they so choose!

Okay? Okay! Let’s play!

To participate in Homegrown Gourmet #6, get in your kitchens and cook up a great breakfast dish! Post about it in your blog and tell the world what makes your recipe Homegrown… be sure to link back to this post. Then send me an email at culinographyATgmailDOTcom with “Homegrown Gourmet 6″in the subject line. Please include the following in your e-mail: your name, your location, your blog name and URL, and a permalink to your entry. Don’t forget to attach a picture (preferably 250 x 250) of your dish to the email. (Not a blogger and still want to enter? Totally okay! Shoot all the other details to me in an e-mail and I’ll post for you.)

Deadline for the event is WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2008.

I can’t wait to see what everyone brings to the table!

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

In honor of the big day of love, and considering it fell in the middle of the busy workweek, I decided cookies were in order… two kinds!

First, I made another batch of the fabulous Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies. I tweaked the recipe a bit and liked the changes so much, that I changed things up a bit in my original post about them.

They’ve been a huge hit, both at the office and at home!

Second, while I had mesquite flour on the brain, I decided to try my hand at a Mesquite Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe. Happily, they turned out just as wonderfully as the chocolate chip (well… factoring in that chocolate always wins out in my book).

So, if you’re looking for other ways to use mesquite flour, add this one to the list. It’s a winner!

Now, go on… bake some cookies for the ones you love. Cupid would approve!

Mesquite Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
1/2 cup AP flour
1/2 cup mesquite flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup butter flavor Crisco (trans-fat free variety)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
2 eggs
1 cup raisins
3 cups rolled oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together flours, baking soda, and salt.

Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in eggs one at a time until completely combined. Add vanilla.

Mix in dry ingredients in thirds until just combined. Stir in raisins and oats.

Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly golden. Remove to wire rack to cool. Store tightly covered at room temperature. (Makes approximately 40 cookies.)

Indefinite articles aside, all the chatter about JFK’s embarrassing error during his 1963 speech in West Berlin is actually more of an urban legend than an actual error. Our former president didn’t really declare himself a jelly doughnut. In fact, his statement was grammatically correct (though the indefinite article ein can - and usually is - dropped when referring to one’s place of residence) and was not misunderstood in the context of his speech.

Further, though many other parts of Germany, and the world, refer to jelly-filled doughnuts as Berliners (named as such because they are thought to have originated in Berlin), residents of Berlin usually refer to them simply as Pfannkuchen - not Berliners.

There. Now that we’ve got the history lesson out of the way (thank you, Wikipedia!)… let’s get down to the real business at hand. Doughnuts!

Me and doughnuts, we go way back. They were a fun weekend treat that I made with my dad as a kid. The corner gas station had the best doughnut holes when I was a teenager (they came in a little white bag - ten or twelve for a dollar). I’d treat myself to a sour cream cake doughnut every Saturday after I’d done my weekly grocery shopping during the “single years.” And, every once in a while, the Hubby and I have a breakfast date at Dunkin’ Donuts. It’s been a long standing love, and one I don’t really intend to let go of anytime soon!

Of course, then, I was thrilled to see that Tartelette and Peabody, amazing bloggers that they are, had decided to co-host an event centered around everybody’s favorite fried dough… Time to Make the Doughnuts!!

I immediately turned to my newest cookbook, The German Cookbook by Mimi Sheraton. After all, why not turn to a German cookbook for a classic German doughnut? There, under the “Deep-Fried Pastries” section was a recipe for Berliner Pfannkuchen… perfect!

I got to work on the doughnuts early Sunday morning knowing that there’s a lot of fussiness that comes with any yeast dough. Add in the need for frying and filling and it’s a good thing I’m a pretty patient person. Mix, rise, cut rise, fry, dust, fill… whew! But the results are totally worth the effort - even if most of my kitchen (and most of me) ended up covered in flour and powdered sugar. Three hours later… doughnuts! Just file this one under “labor of love,” I promise you won’t regret it and you’ll have plenty of time while these little guys rise to go walk on the treadmill and burn some of the calories you’re about to consume.

Berliner Pfannkuchen
(adapted from The German Cookbook by Mimi Sheraton)

1 envelope dry powdered yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks
3-4 cups AP flour
melted butter
1 cup jam of your choice
vegetable oil or shortening for frying
powdered sugar for dusting

Combine yeast, water and sugar and set aside in a warm place until bubbly.

Scald milk to 110 degrees F and remove from heat.

Cream butter with sugar and salt. Add milk and stir until butter melts. When cooled to lukewarm, mix in egg yolks, 1 cup flour, and dissolved yeast.

Add the remaining flour gradually until dough is soft and light but smooth and not sticky.

Knead on floured surface until elastic and smooth. Shape into a ball and place in a floured bowl. Brush top of dough with butter, cover with a thin kitchen towel, and set to rise in a warm draft-free place. Let rise 1 hour, or until doubled in size. Punch down and roll on floured surface to 1/2″ thickness. Cut rounds with a 3″ cookie cutter (or, if you’re me - a juice glass).

Cover again with a towel and allow to rise another 45 minutes.

In a dutch oven, cast iron skillet, or other high-sided, heavy pan, fill with oil or melted shortening to 1.5″ - 2″ deep. Heat to 365 degrees F and deep-fry doughnuts a few at a time. When golden on one side, flip and cook until golden on the other. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

When cool, fill with jam (I used seedless blackberry mixed with about two tablespoons of vanilla pudding) and dust with powdered sugar. (Makes about two dozen doughnuts and lots of tasty doughnut scraps.)

I adore quick breads… always have. So much less fussy than the yeast breads I’ve always shyed away from (I hope to conquer a little of that fear this year), they come in such a wide array of wonderful flavors that I’ve always got one or two in my “must try” folder.

I have fond memories of many Christmases past featuring my mom’s amazing zucchini bread. Those who’ve been with me from the beginning will remember that I’ve already talked here about my quest for the perfect banana bread. And, come strawberry season, I’ll be sharing with you a lovely strawberries and cream quick bread recipe. Quick breads are where it’s at!

When I saw that this month’s Homegrown Gourmet, hosted by the lovely Gretchen Noelle over at Canela & Comino, was featuring the ever-popular quick bread, I knew I wanted to play along.

Alright… so what’s classically North Carolina? My first thought was pecans. My second thought was sweet potatoes. My third thought was of a sweet potato praline bread recipe that I’ve had rolling around in my recipe box forever. Bingo!

I’m so glad this challenge prompted me to try this recipe. It’s wonderful. The sweet potatoes and ginger mellow nicely with the familiar flavors of the bananas and cinnamon. And the praline topping adds a crunchy, sweet kick that makes this bread perfect for dessert (or, I admit it, breakfast). We’ll definitely be making this one again!

Ode to Carolina Sweet Potato Praline Bread
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
3 ripe bananas
2 medium sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
3 1/2 cups white flour
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 cups sugar
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup pecans, very finely chopped

Blend oil, eggs, banana and potatoes in a large bowl on high for 2 minutes. Add salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and white flour. Blend well. Add milk and sugar, blend. Add the whole wheat flour and pecans. Pour into 2 loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Makes 2 large loaves.)

Praline Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup roasted pecans, chopped
2 cups powered sugar
1/4 c. water

Cook butter and brown sugar over medium heat for 4-5 minutes until carmelized. Add pecans and remove to a bowl and cool slightly. Measure powedered sugar into a measuring cup and stir in water. Whisk until smooth. Using a fork, mix glaze into pecans, breaking up praline pieces while stirring. Spoon over loaves and allow to cool.

There are gameday parties happening far and wide at this very moment. It’s Superbowl Sunday!!

In years past, I’ve been part of some humdinger Superbowl parties. However, lately we’ve been laying low - usually opting to watch the game from home. However, that doesn’t mean we don’t eat well on gameday. I’m always up for a reason to play in the kitchen… and Superbowl Sunday is as good a day as any.

I don’t have strong feelings about the Giants OR the Patriots - but what I am looking forward to is some good commercials and some good food.

The commercials are still to come, but the food… the food I can share with you now. These chips are so easy to prepare and pack such a great flavor that they’re great anytime. But, if you need something quick and easy that’s sure to impress your friends, this is a great go-to snack. Beware… these are not for those watching their waistlines!

Kettle Chips with Blue Cheese Aioli
1 bag kettle or Terra chips
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese, divided
1 teaspoon garlic paste (or minced garlic)
1 cup mayonnaise

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place chips on a cookie sheet and heat in oven for 7-10 minutes, until oils come to the surface.

Meanwhile,  place 1/4 cup blue cheese into a microwave safe bowl and heat on high for 25-30 seconds until melted. Mix in garlic mayonnaise and stir until well combined.

Remove chips from oven and transfer to serving plate. Drizzle warm chips with aioli, sprinkle with remaining blue cheese, and enjoy!!

(Have your own spectacular gameday dish? Submit it to Jenny’s Gameday Gourmet event!)