New Recipes Posted

We prepared an amazing feast for our friends this past Sunday.  

Marinated Grilled Skirt Steak
Persian Cherry Rice
Moroccan Grilled Shrimp & Vegetable Skewers
Tiramisu

Recipes at www.steamykitchen.com

The mistreated and misunderstood vegetable.

I first had hashed brussels sprouts at a nice waterfront gucci-type restaurant in Longboat Key called Pattigeorge's.  I like brussels sprouts, but the only recipes I ever see for them are so similar and boring. Such a shame for such a cute vegetable!  I always vowed that if someone came up with a good recipe that showcased the nuttiness and slightly bitter quality of the vegetable, I would be a lifelong spokesperson for the green nub.

Here is my version:

Hashed Brussels Sprouts
1 lemon
1 lb brussels sprouts
2 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs white wine
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/2 tsp sugar

1) Grate lemon zest and juice the lemon. You should have about 3T of lemon juice.

2) Cut off the bottom stem of the sprouts, discard. Slice the sprouts thinly, place in glass bowl and toss with 2T of lemon juice. Finely chop onion and mince the garlic.

3) In large skillet, heat oil and butter together. When hot, add the onion and cook over medium heat until onion is soft and transparent. Add garlic, stir for 1 minute until garlic is fragrant.
4 Turn heat to high, add sprouts. Fry until sprouts are soft and lightly cooked. About 4 minutes. Add white wine, 1T of lemon juice, 1T of zest, sugar, salt and pepper to taste.

Optional:  You could also brown small cubes of pancetta with the onion to add a smoky flavor to the dish.  

Secrets to bread baking

...that most cookbooks won't tell you:

1) The reason shaping the dough is important:  In the recipe for "No Knead Bread" this is when you shape the dough into a "ball" shape.  You want to create surface tension, so that the second rising produces an beautiful, even bread that bakes evenly.  I usually will use my hands to smooth and stretch the surface and pinch the bottom to hold that tension.

2) The covered pot will trap moisture in the bread, creating a steamy environment that is perfect for producing a crust.  It acts like a mini-hearth oven that radiates the heat evenly on all sides.

3)  Rose Beranbaum, author of The Bread Bible, has a blog - myself and a few others have been chatting with her about this recipe.  
She suggest that you don't need to punch down the dough for multiple risings - this will "overexercise" the dough, it will tighten the crumb and you won't get the nice airy holes that make this bread so darn good.

4)  I used my Pampered Chef large rectangular baker for perfect results. The first time I tried this recipe, I used my very expensive Le Creuset pot - however that was a bad idea. While the bread was perfect, the Le Creuset's max safe temperature is 450.  Using the convection setting, the oven probably got a lot hotter than that.  My husband would not appreciate exploding porcelein enameled cast iron at $20 per square inch.  I was on a mission to find a cheap-o cast iron covered pot today, but I had the kids with me. Tootin' around town with them for 3 hours and $60 in bribes (bubble gum, gummy bears, Brio train tunnel) later, no luck.  So I guess if I ever find this "cheap" cast iron dutch oven - I should probably add the 
cost of the bribes to calculate true COGS (cost of goods sold)....and it will probably turn a $20 pot into more like $120, depending on COB (cost of bribes).  This just doesn't make sense, huh?  I could have bought online, but I was thinking to save $10 on shipping and just buy locally here.  Crap. I'm screwed!  It would have been cheaper to hire a babysitter.  Now I'm digressing....back to bread....

5)  Why do you not need to "knead" the bread?  Here is an excerpt from NY Times article, quoting Howard McGee.   Never mind, NY Times makes you pay for the archives.  Anyways, if I remember correctly, Howard McGee, the author of On Food and Cooking, which is the bible on food science, says that the long, slow rising will have the same effect as kneading. 
Giving the dough 18 hours to rise PLUS using so little yeast is what make this bread so delicious.  It allows the gluten to develop slowly, producing a lighter, tender, airy bread.  The wetness of the dough makes it hard to knead anyways. Wet dough produces the best bread.

6)  The internal temperature of the bread should be 210 degrees.

7) Everyone measures differently, so the best way to measure how much flour to use is to weigh it.  16.5 oz is what I use.  You want to be pretty exact in following recipes for baking.  Flour is difficult to measure with measuring cup because people scoop differently and humidity will also affect how the flour settles and sits in the container.  

8)  If you don't have 12-18 hours to let rise, double the amount of yeast to 1/2 tsp and let rise for 6-8 hours.  

9)  After baking, let the bread cool 20 minutes before cutting into it.  Why?  I forgot why. hmmm....need to research.  Something about implosion of your kitchen floor.  But honestly, like a kid with a candy bar, I can never wait the entire 20 minutes and I end up standing at the kitchen counter with knife in hand, salivating until I can't stand it anymore.  I've never been known for my patience.  Oh well.  

10) Bread flour is different than All Purpose flour. I've only used Bread Flour in this recipe, which contains higher gluten.  Bread flour also has other additives that allow the gas to be trapped in the dough during the risings better than All Purpose.  It gives the bread the nice chewy texture.

11)  Too tired to think of the 11th smart thing to say about bread.  So, I'll leave it at this and go to sleep!

No-Knead Bread

I haven't been this excited about baking in a long long time.   I think foodies would understand my obsession with baking the perfect loaf of bread  and making the perfect pizza dough.  This weekend, I accomplished both!  




Its the easiest recipe ever - Andrew helped me make it! The recipe is adapted from NY Times article on Jim Lahey on "No Knead Bread."  Here is the article, but more importantly, here is the video to show how simple it is.

I have some adjustments to the recipe - first of all, there is no way that "room temp" is 70 degrees here. Its more like 77 in November.  Secondly, I have a convection oven that I like to use.  The ease of this bread and combination of different bread baking techniques makes this recipe one that will be passed down generations.

The Perfect Loaf
Adapted from Jim Lahey "No Knead Bread" published by NY Times

3 cups bread flour (16.5 oz)
1 1/2 cups warm room temp water
1/4 teaspoon yeast
1 tablespoon kosher salt

1. In bowl, combine all ingredients until it comes together into a doughy mass. I use my hands like a dough hook, but you could certainly use a big wooden spoon.  This should only take a minute or two.  The dough will be shaggy looking and wet.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap.

2. Let dough rest for at least 12 hours like this.  Ideal is 18 hours, but since it is warmer than 70 degrees in my home, I usually leave it for 12 hours.

3. About 2 hours before you want to bake, put dough on floured counter, stretch it out long
vertically.  Take top end, fold down. Take bottom end, fold up (sort of like an envelope). Take left end, fold to the right.  Take right end, fold to left.  The goal is to the the dough into a round ball shape.  Place dough, seam side down on a floured towel.  Let sit for 2 hours.

4. One hour before you want to bake, turn on your oven to 450 degrees, place a covered pot  in the oven to pre-heat. Some home ovens don't go that high in temp, just use the highest setting you have.

5. When you are ready to bake, carefully dump the dough in the pot, trying to get the seam side up.  Cover with lid.  Turn oven down to 425 (convection) or keep at 450 (regular oven). Bake 27 minutes.  Uncover.  Bake additional 15-20 minutes, until nicely browned - burnt caramel color.  (internal temperature of bread should be 210 degrees)

Thats it! You will be rewarded with a thin, crunchy brown crust, large, open holes. The bread is slightly chewy, flavorful and perfect texture.

Baking your own bread is deeply soul satisfying, it makes me feel like I am so close to the earth.  I can taste the wheat. 

Tonight, as I placed the tip of my knife into the bread and moved down through the crust, the snap and crunch of the crust gave way to tender, spongy body.  I knew even without tasting it, that it was the most perfect loaf of bread that I have ever made.  
Andrew and I slathered butter on our slices.  We sat on the kitchen floor, my hands still with traces of flour, and had a wonderful moment of just enjoying bread that we made together.  

Just like his Po-Po, Andrew loves bread.  Each time, he would come ask, "More bread please" with arms outstretched. I would place a warm buttered slice in his small hands - he cradled it so gently, carefully ran to the stairs, never taking his eyes off the prize.  He sat on the third step and ate his bread, wiggling his toes between bites.  Three times he did this.

Yes, this is my son. Perhaps one day when he is older, he will read this recipe and story and remember how his Mommy taught him how to eat homemade 
bread - with lots of butter and with eyes closed, totally savoring every single bite.

The Perfect Pizza

I'm bummed that I forgot to snap pics of the pizza (too hungry to remember) - but I can tell you this - my boys LOVED the crust. It had a firm bite, chewy interior and browned perfectly on the bottom.  So, after 4 years of searching, experimenting, eating and gaining 10 pounds, this is it:

The Ultimate Pizza Dough
Adapted from American Pie by Peter Reinhardt

Makes 3  12-ounce dough balls

5 cups (22.5 ounces) of bread flour
3 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons salt (or 3 1/2 teasp kosher salt)
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 3/4 cups room temperature water

1. In electric mixer, combine all dry ingredients.  Slowly add in the water/honey mixture until just combined.

2. Mix with dough hook on low speed for 2 minutes. Stop, using spatula, combine any last loose bits of dough.  Mix on low for another 2 minutes or until all flour incorporated and forms a course ball.

3.  Let dough rest for 5 minutes.  Mix again on med-low for 2 minutes or until dough clears the sides of the bowl and sticks just a little bit on the bottom of the bowl.  Adjust flour/water as necessary.

4.  Take dough out, knead lightly by hand for 1 minute. Divide into 3 equal portions.  Round each piece into a ball and brush lightly with olive oil.  Place each ball in a gallon-sized ziploc bag. Let balls sit at room temperature for 15 minutes, then put them in the refrigerator overnight (or freeze)

5.  Next day, remove dough from refrigerator 2 hours prior to baking. Punch down, let sit on counter until ready to bake.

(Bake with sauce and toppings on pre-heated pizza stone: 450 degrees for 7-9 minutes)