Weekend Baking and Other Food-Stuff

I really need to make a baking list. There are many recipes that catch my eye, but I either forget to make them or I don't plan it out. Rustic potato bread from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan is one of those that slipped my mind. What's worse is that this is a very simple recipe that doesn't require all day to make. I Googled it and came across the recipe from a blog called Kitchen Unplugged (click on the first link and it'll take you to KP -- but finish reading this first!).

As I said, the recipe was really quick and simple, but apparently I need to get in touch with teh yeast again since the consistency of the dough was off (that was really because the amount of potatoes was too much, so I had to add extra water and I probably added a bit too much). Even though the dough was too soft and lost some of it's height as I transfered it from the peel to the baking stone, the crumb structure didn't suffer much.

The aroma of this bread baking was incredible. Toasted and spread with a bit of butter, it's even better!

Here's a sight you haven't seen here in a while. This was nutmeg-flavored coffee with freshly grated nutmeg over the milk foam.

Sunday's dinner was a chuck roast, seared, then cooked on low for a while with onions, spices, and a bit of liquid, and covered with pepita mole sauce (that stuff is incredible!). Served atop fresh corn polenta and topped with a squeeze of lime and chopped parsley, this was a great combination of flavors.

Breakfast Club

Like the characters in the movie, breakfasts vary wildly depending on personal preference. I think we need to look at what a person likes to eat for breakfast to determine their true personality instead of their actual behavior. Why? The same cold cereal eater might also enjoy eggs with toast, or pancakes and bacon, or a smoothie. What is the trait of each breakfast choice? I don't know, and I don't really care; this is just a random thought I had while eating breakfast the other day.

What's ironic about toad-in-a-hole is that I don't particularly care for toast when I eat eggs. The way the bread grills in this version, however, is a taste I like over toast, which makes this version more enjoyable than bread of the toasted variety.

To make sure the bread slices cook evenly, cook one side first before adding the egg, then flip the bread over and cook for a minute or so before adding the egg. This way all you're doing is waiting for the egg to cook, and a lower heat is better so it won't overcook the yolk. (My brother's tip, by the way.)

I prefer the yolks to be runny so I can dip chunks of grilled bread into it.

Granola has to be the best cereal ever. It stands up to sogginess more than other cereals, and if you make it yourself you have total control over the ingredients that go into it and what flavor it'll be. I haven't fully tapped my granola creations yet, but I have some ideas for flavors that I'll be testing out. This one was a molasses-orange combination, but I didn't think that either flavor was very pronounced.

Mark Bittman's Crunchy Granola recipe is the basic directions I follow, though sometimes I add fruit juice, a bit of safflower oil, nix the spices, flaxseed meal, whatever I feel like doing. Gosh! Overall, the recipe is very simple and relatively quick, with the end result being just as good as the better granolas at the store. I find that this recipe doesn't have many oat clusters, but that could have been because I didn't add enough honey or something. I want to try Alton Brown's recipe, too.

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Crunchy Granola
From The Minimalist; The History of Crunchy, Revisted
Time: 40 minutes

• 6 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking or instant)


• 2 cups mixed nuts and seeds: sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds or cashews.


• 1 cup dried unsweetened shredded coconut, optional


• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or to taste


• Dash salt


• 1/2 to 1 cup honey or maple syrup, or to taste


• 1 cup raisins or chopped dried fruit, optional.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine oats, nuts and seeds, coconut, cinnamon, salt and sweetener. Place on a sheet pan and put in oven. Bake for 30 minutes or a little longer, stirring occasionally. Mixture should brown evenly; the browner it gets without burning, the crunchier the granola will be.


2. Remove pan from oven and add raisins or dried fruit. Cool on a rack, stirring once in a while until granola reaches room temperature. Transfer to a sealed container and store in refrigerator; it will keep indefinitely.

Yield: About 8 cups (at least 16 servings).

Of Corn and Cows

I love nibbling on the cob after slicing away the kernels. Fresh corn has the most amazing flavor, and it has a milky essence. Picture me standing over the trash bin nibbling the cob like a squirrel. Raw corn -- can't you just taste the vitamins!

Most people wouldn't correlate cows and corn, but cows graze on corn; therefore, eating corn with steak is kind of a double-whammy.

I remember watching an episode of Jacques Pépin's Fast Food My Way a long time ago. He made, among other things, fresh corn polenta. This might have been a year ago, which means two things: it took me a year to make it; at least I remembered it.

(Recipe at end of post.)

Perusing teh interwebz via Google led me to a recipe that was pretty basic and quick. (On account of not having Jacques Pépin's book, I couldn't use his exact recipe.) My deviation from the recipe was to add chicken broth for added moisture to aid in puréeing. I also added a bit more chicken broth after the mixture finished puréeing to achieve the consistency I desired. Then, as per the directions, I seasoned with kosher salt (1 teaspoon), but added only 3 tablespoons of butter instead of six.

This is the mixture after cooking. You can't tell much by the picture, but it thickened up a bit. If I wanted it thicker, I could have either reduced the added chicken broth or cooked it longer.

Fresh corn polenta was served topped with heated black beans and sprinkled with cilantro alongside green beans and a perfectly cooked steak (rawr!). I mean, the steak was excellent; so juicy, tender, and bloody, well-seasoned and even better with chopped cilantro on top. (On that note, the Saturday after 4 July my dad grilled hamburgers, though I opted for a hot dog. I walked past the platter of grilled burgers and I could smell the essence of meat, in all it's raw splendor. Since Dad has a tendency to fully cook meat I went on my way and ate the hot dog. "Christina, look: [insert picture of rareish hamburger]." Said/showed my brother. I think my eyes bulged out and I exclaimed, "I KNEW I smelled rare! (As if rare is a smell...) I walked past the platter and I could smell that meat smell when it's not overcooked!" That caused my mom to make some comment about me and cannibalism. Heh.)

The polenta had such a fresh taste, very vibrant, and the texture of the finished polenta was the perfect consistency. While it had its own discernible flavor, it still paired nicely with the black beans and cilantro. I will definitely be making this often.

Finishing up the exquisite meal was spice muffin shortcake with a dollop of applesauce, raspberries, and whipped cream.

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Fresh Corn Polenta
From Cuesa

Ingredients:

• 6 ears sweet white corn, all leaves and silk removed


• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter


• Kosher or sea salt


• Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

1. Grate the corn into a bowl using a box grater (I puréed the mixture in a blender with chicken broth). In a small saucepan, combine the grated corn pulp with 6 tablespoons of the butter and salt to taste. Bring to a boil and then simmer gently until it thickens, about 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and season to taste with salt and pepper.