Let the Men Take Charge of the Kitchen on Love Day

Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!

Men can cook. It’s always nice to give them a chance to shine in our kitchens every now and then. As much as you itch to reach for that spatula and help sauté those vegetables, or as much as it pains you to see him chopping vegetables ever-so-slowly because each cut has to be precise, just chill. Step back, put your feet up, drink some wine, read a book, or get out of the house, go and do your thing, perhaps a yoga class, and come home to wonderful goodness waiting at the table, without having to lift a finger. On this day, let him show you that he cares and thinks you are the most special person in the world, and let him do a nice thing that he rarely gets the chance to do.

I just want to share the delicious meals that DFJ made last week. Pardon my poor photography, the pictures do not do justice to how delicious these meals were.  

Chili with Go Chu Jang (Korean red pepper paste)

This chili had a mix of different spices thrown into the pot. For good measure, DFJ stirred in the rest of the go chu jang left in the container. It was so good and so spicy, complemented very well with whole milk Greek yogurt, which added creaminess and staved off the spiciness.

Fajitas with Homemade Taco Seasoning

Very easy: just throw some cumin, paprika, cayenne, chili powder, salt, pepper, and squeeze some fresh lime juice on beef cut up in small strips. Marinate for at least four hours. Sauté some garlic, onions, mushrooms, and bell peppers, then add the meat. Serve on top of corn or flour tortillas and some guacamole or salsa on the side. There you have it, fast, easy, and wonderful!   

DFJ’s Homemade Teriyaki-Lime Marinated Steak

The most delicious teriyaki-flavored steak I have ever had! Soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, a little bit of red wine vinegar, brown sugar, fresh lime juice, a couple cloves of minced garlic, and an equal amount of fresh ginger. All these ingredients went so well together and because the beef sat in the marinade for over a day, the meat was so tender. We didn’t use a grill because it was too cold, but broiling it in the oven worked just fine. DFJ basted the beef as it cooked and that kept the surface juicy.    

I’m not the best at making cutesy stuff because I get too impatient. So, here are links to gorgeous culinary delights that you might be interested in making for Valentine’s Day. I am planning on making these in the next few weeks. There is never a need for a special occasion to make and eat something fancy, right?

1. This Chocolate and Burnt Orange Swiss Roll from Kathryn of London Bakes.
2. These delicious, wintry Squash and Apple Calzones from Kelsey of Happyolks.
3. These beautiful Whole Wheat Raspberry Pancakes with Almond Syrup from Jackie of  A Bittersweet Wife.
4. This bright pink/red Three Cheese Beet Ravioli from Jenna of Eat, Live, Run.


Whoever your Valentine is, make sure this special person knows how much he or she means to you.

La Boulange, Curry-Raisin Couronnes

In the summer of 2010, two girlfriends and I went on a trip to San Francisco. Let’s suffice it to say that I fell in love with the city and never ever wanted to leave. There were so many restaurants I wanted to try, breads I wanted to eat, and hilly streets I wanted to walk up on. That was the summer of killer shin splints attacking me. But I didn’t care, who cares about shin splints when you are in San Francisco?

Every morning I would wake up early and walk around the area of our hotel. On the second day of our stay, I discovered La Boulange Bakery. Walking up the hill on Fillmore Street, the aroma of delicious croissants wafted in the air. Following the scent, I turned on Pine Street and there it was, the quaint blue bakery, beckoning me. As I walked in, there were rustic looking breads on display everywhere, croissants, pastries, tarts, sandwiches, you name it. The little, sample pieces of chocolate croissants begged for me to try them. Despite the urge to buy everything, I settled for a chocolate croissant. No regrets, it was heaven! After that fateful day, I kept going back to La Boulange every morning, tasted the various samples, and bought something different each time, a fruit pastry, an almond croissant, a slice of tart. And on the last day, something to remember the bakery by, the cookbook: The American Boulangerie, French Pastries and Breads for the Home Kitchen by Pascal Rigo and the Bakers of Bay Bread. Now, I can say a proper goodbye to San Francisco… until then beautiful city.

Since then, I have baked tarts and cakes out of this book and everything was always lovely. This week, I finally tried one of the bread recipes. Please excuse my bread’s odd shape, it was meant to be formed into a crown, but that’s not quite what happened. Very interesting flavors though… spicy with sweet raisin surprises and a slight sourness that will remind you of sourdough, but not really, because the bread is so soft. Enjoy this bread with a touch of butter.

Caveat: Because I was unable to form this bread into a beautiful crown, I will just give directions on how to make it into a baguette in my adapted version of the recipe. So, instead of Curry-Raisin Couronnes, this recipe will be...

Curry-Raisin Baguettes (Makes 2 baguettes)
(adapted from The American Boulangerie, Pascal Rigo)

1 ¼ cups water, lukewarm

1 tbsp + 1 tsp yeast (active dry yeast)
½ tsp sugar

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp Kosher salt
2 tbsp curry powder
1/3 cup raisins (or more)

In a small bowl, stir together water, yeast, and sugar. Let rest until foam forms on top, about 8 minutes, or until you have done the next step.

In a big bowl, whisk the flours, salt, and curry powder together well. Add the raisins and whisk well.

Pour in the yeast and mix until well combined. Tip the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead using your fingers and palms until smooth for about 6 minutes. Form the dough into a ball and using your hands, coat with a few drops of olive oil. Move it back to the bowl, cover with a tea towel, and let rise until the size doubles, about one hour and a half.

Tear the dough in half and form each into about 12-inch logs. Move to a baking pan greased with butter and lightly dusted with flour. Let the dough rest for about 10 minutes.

Roll each log one last time into the exact shape you want them to be. Cover with a tea towel and let rise until the size doubles, about 35 minutes. Make diagonal slashes across the top right before putting these in the oven.

Place a roasting pan on the bottom rack of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Once the oven is heated, pour in a cup of water into the pan. Then quickly, but carefully, move the baking sheet with the baguettes in the oven. Make sure to do this as quickly as safely possible to trap the steam and to not allow too much heat to escape.

Bake until the baguettes are a nice shade of golden brown, 24-28 minutes. Move to a wire rack when done.

P.S.

I wanted this bread to look like a crown, not a ginger root.

So, I gave you the directions to keep it as a baguette.

It’s safer that way.

How to Rescue an Almost Ruined Cake or Bread

We all know Jenna Weber of Eat, Live, Run, right? I love her blog and it is one of the food blogs I visit daily. So, when she posted her Meyer Lemon Bread with Blood Orange Glaze last Wednesday, I was almost drooling. Something had to be done because it was all I could think about the whole day. After work, I ran to the store and scoured the fruit aisle for some blood oranges. I almost missed them because they were right next to the navel oranges and looked exactly the same. The feeling of devastation started coming… how can I make that gorgeous pink glaze now, darn it?!? But oh, wait a second, that says blood oranges. SWEET!!!

As much as I love everything sugary, chocolatey, and sweet, I am not a big fan of glazes or frosting, especially if it’s tinted with food coloring. However, after being introduced to this natural pink coloring from the blood oranges, I was sold. This is the most gorgeous shade of pink I have ever seen and there’s absolutely nothing fake about it!

On a rainy Thursday afternoon, I made this Blood Orange-Cranberry Cake-Bread, inspired from three different cake recipes. Time for experimenting! I used different types of flour, substituted half the butter for some yogurt, and lessened the sugar. Usually, these combinations work, but this time it didn’t. So… after taking pictures and being all excited about this cake, I had my first bite… sad! So, so, so sad! The blood-orange glaze was great, fabulous, wonderful… but the cake was not. It was too dense and seemed like it didn’t rise enough. What did I do wrong? The taste wasn’t horrible, but the texture was pretty bad. I berated myself and thought that I should’ve stuck to tried and tested recipes instead of making my own. I was so tempted to pull out mixing bowls, whisks, flour, butter, sugar, and eggs right then to redeem my mistake, but self-control won over.

Because the not-so-great cake that was my attempt at being inventive did not turn out right, the recipe will not be shared. But, here is Jenna Weber’s blood-orange glaze recipe. It is so darn good, you’ll want it on everything!

Fast forward two hours later… an epiphany: I’m going to turn this cake into a pudding!

So, that’s exactly what I did. If you baked something and found out that you messed up, turning it into a pudding will save it and change it into a winner dessert!

Here’s my oh-so-simple recipe…

Save-the-Dessert Bread Pudding

messed up bread or cake, cut into ½-1 inch cubes

2 cups milk (whole milk, low fat, non fat, all are ok)
½ cup sugar (or as much as you prefer, I added the rest of the blood orange glaze, so I didn’t use any extra sugar)
cinnamon (as much as you prefer)
nutmeg, freshly grated (as much as you prefer)
½ tsp allspice

2 large eggs

Grease a large, glass, baking dish with a bit of butter. Place cake or bread cubes in the dish.

Heat the milk over medium-low in a sauce pan until just warm. Add sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Stir.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat eggs well.

Pour the milk into the egg bowl. Whisk well.

Pour the milk-egg mixture into the baking dish. Allow the bread/cake to absorb the liquid for about 5 minutes, mixing once or twice to make sure every piece is soaked through.

Bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees F for about 45 minutes, until the liquid has almost solidified and the top pieces are golden brown.

Serve warm!

 Share your cooking mishaps and what you did to save your dish! 

On Making Bread + Cottage Loaf

Do you ever feel like wanting to escape to a quiet place where you can be at peace with yourself and your surroundings? I’m sure we all do. There are times when I just need to hear myself think and do a Q and A with myself out loud, when no one is around me, of course. A long time ago, I used to wake up early (like 6:00 early), on Saturday mornings, to make bread. There’s something about making bread that appeases me. Mixing the dough and kneading it by hand allows me to expend a little bit of energy to awaken me. Waiting for the dough to rise hones my patience. The final rolling and shaping of the dough, egg washing, dusting, and slashing the top or sides, invigorates me. By the time it’s ready to be baked, butterflies in my stomach start to flutter and I worry that the bread might not turn out great. Then the aroma wafts in the air and soothes my nerves. When the beeper goes off, I take the bread out of the oven and marvel at my finished product, tapping the sides and bottom to find out if it’s done… the hollow drumbeats are like music to my ears. Then, the first warm bite of freshly baked bread made by my own hands tastes like no other. It is the taste of satisfaction from hard work, love, and peace within myself.

Hello there bread making, welcome back to my life! Making bread is something I used to dream about after I read The Baker’s Apprentice by Judith Hendricks. The main character, Wynter, is a broken-spirited baker in Seattle. Somehow, I felt a connection towards her and the life of a lonely baker just appealed to me. Maybe because I felt the same way… Sometime later, I randomly picked out a weekend read called By Bread Alone by Sarah Kate Lynch. From this book, I gained some knowledge on how sourdough starters work and some good life lessons as well. I’m not going to lie, but the thought of baking bread with a candle burning nearby (like what Esme, the main character in the book, did) just seemed incredibly sexy. Finally, I got brave and made the French bread recipe from Mireille Guiliano’s French Women Don’t Get Fat, a fun book full of inspiration, wit, humor, and healthy recipes. Her French bread seemed easy enough for a newbie... Surprisingly, my first attempt was a success! And then I was hooked. Making bread became my ritual on Saturday or Sunday mornings.

However, months later, I learned the art of sleeping in on weekends and didn’t have time for baking bread anymore… Last Sunday, I gave it a new try. All those feelings came rushing back and I’m in love with baking bread again.

Here it is… a cottage loaf. This is great practice bread for beginners like me because it is quite easy to make. Later on, as I get more acquainted with the art of making bread, maybe I can move to fancier stuff.

   

This bread is thick and has a nice, well-salted taste, with a slight buttery texture. It is best paired with some jam or a drizzle of honey. Always, bread is wonderful with chunks of cheese, but because of this bread’s flavor, I would recommend serving it with mild cheeses.

Cottage Loaf (Makes 1 loaf)

(adapted from 100 Great Breads, Paul Hollywood)

2 2/3 cups white bread flour, plus extra for the dusting
1 ½ tsp salt
26 g yeast

2/3 stick butter, softened (salted or unsalted, both are ok)

1 cup warm water

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and yeast together, well. Add the butter and pour in the water. Mix with a wooden spoon until the dough is soft enough to knead.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead with your palms and fingers for 5 minutes.

Form the dough  back into a ball and coat the it with the leftover softened butter so it pulls away easily from the bowl after rising. Gently return it to the bowl. Let rise for an hour in a warm spot in your house.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Transfer the risen dough back to the floured surface. Tear apart 1/3 of the dough and form it into a ball. Then form the rest of the dough into a bigger ball. Place the smaller ball on top of the larger one.

Gently flatten the top of the dough with the palm of your hand. Then push your pointer finger down the center of the loaf until you feel the counter. With a knife, make straight slashes on the sides of the loaf, from top to bottom.

Grease a baking sheet with butter and bake for 30 minutes or until the bread is golden brown. Move to a wire rack to cool.  

This is a note on how I knead:

First, form the dough into a ball.

Then, slightly flatten it with your palms.

Fold it in half and press it with your palms until it is slightly flat. Turn the dough and repeat the process until you have kneaded for however long the recipe requires.

Keep in mind, practice makes perfect.

 Tell me your bread making stories… I would love to hear it.