Sourdough baguettes

I don't know if I've written about our sourdough yet. We make a lot of bread, in general, and like a year ago (more? I have no idea), Ari gave us some sourdough starter. This is a robust starter, that has lived up in the AMC huts, and made a whole lot of bread in its day. Robust is key, because sometimes, we don't make bread for a couple weeks, and just sort of forget about it, and it hasn't died yet. Theoretically, this is more alive than my house plants, but it seems to be surviving a little better.

Anyway, here's a long overdue blog post about bread, and sourdough in particular. Some people get crazy into the details - those are people who are aiming for a consistent product. That's awesome, and good for them, but I like my method, which feels easier and more flexible, and I don't have a kitchen scale anyway. So, the easy thing is to do a no-knead situation, a la NYT no-knead bread recipe.

Feed me
Start with feeding the starter. It's alive, after all. I dump the contents of my starter jar into a big bowl, and mix with 2C warm water and 2C all-purpose King Arthur flour. I've always liked King Arthur Flour, and recently I heard from one of my health-nut friends that the gluten intolerance that lot of people are experiencing is not actually the gluten, but rather the utter shit that passes for flour in some brands. So hey, another excuse to stick with a flour and a company that I know and respect.

So then I re-fill my start jar with stuff from the bowl. Theoretically, leave that out of the fridge to let it feed, but sometimes it only gets 10min outside before I have to leave or whatever and put it back in the fridge. I leave the jar semi-screwed.

What's left in the bowl is the starting point for the bread.

Mix stuff in
No-knead
The quick version is to add another 2C of flour, any sort, and two ish tsp of salt. I tend to do two two-finger scoops of kosher salt from the salt jar. I think that's a little more than a teaspoon each time. Stir this into a shaggy mess, and then leave it alone, covered with plastic (I stick the whole bowl into a big plastic bag), for 8-24 hours. The length of rise can basically replace kneading in terms of gluten development.

Kneaded version
The no-knead is easy peasy. But I'm coming around to preferring the kneaded bread. Takes a smidgeon more time, obviously. First, do everything you did in the no-knead step. Then, walk away for 10-30 minutes, and give the flour a chance to hydrate. The autolyse step, is what this is called. It'll be a lot easier to knead after doing that. Also, if you're making a whole wheat loaf, this step is kind of crucial to avoid kneading in too much flour and making the loaf denser than a brick.

After the autolyse, flour your work surface and knead until it feels right. Add as much flour as you need to. I think 2-5 minutes is what feels right, but I'm also lazy.

Put the dough back in its bowl, cover, and let it rise about 2 hours. This part is flexible, anywhere from 1-4 hours is probably fine.

Shape the bread
Dump it out, and watch this video to shape some little balls for the second rise. The two-cup version of my bread gets me two baguettes. Let the little balls rise another hour, and then form baguettes.

Preheat the oven to 450F, with a pan of water on the bottom rack. That'll make the steam that you need to develop the delicious, trademark, french baguette crust. We recently acquired a baguette pan, which, besides having adorable little hole patterns in the bottom, allows the steam through the bottom of the pan to make the whole thing delicious and crusty. Without the baguette pan, you have to cook a little longer and turn down the heat and remove the steam when you're halfway through.

Cook me
The baguettes don't have to rise a super long time. Maybe 30 minutes? Once you're ready to cook, slash the tops and pop them into the oven. I tend to do about 25 minutes at 450, and then remove the pan of water (carefully!!), and turn down the oven to 350-400 to finish cooking the innards.

Let the loaves cool at least 5 minutes before cutting them open. Same as meat, you gotta let it rest.

Also delicious: rosemary focaccia. Possibly giving you a recipe for that soon, but the gist is to just add a ton of fresh rosemary, chopped, when you mix in the flour. Then the second rise just dump it out on a heavily-oiled sheet pan and smoosh it to the sides. Makes things crispy and delicious and golden. 

Kale salad

Call me a millennial, but I do love a good kale salad. The key thing, though, is to use Dinosaur kale, not the curly sort of kale. Dinosaur kale (also known as Tuscan kale or lacinato kale) seems to have a little more substance to it, which makes it easier and tastier to eat than the curly variety. Also, conveniently, kale doesn't go soggy when you add a dressing and then save some for lunch. 

This was a salad that I think I've had or made before - the toasted almonds and dried cherries make it amazing. Similar to this one. But with more random toppings! Toasted almonds and dried cherries are the important part. Some avocado, because see the millennial part of the first paragraph, roasted golden beets, cooked farro, chopped scallion, and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Feta or ricotta salata would have been better, but I only had parmesan on hand.

The dressing was a maple miso vinaigrette. Equal parts maple syrup and miso, about twice that in rice vinegar, and equal parts walnut oil to vinegar. Pretty tasty. Please make again, future-Alex. 

Steak and potatoes

About as "normal" as food gets around here. I wanted creamed spinach, and I had this idea in my head of the creamed spinach we'd made many years ago with bacon and gruyere and a poached egg on top, but I couldn't remember where that recipe was (turns out, it's on my blog. Should have searched here first, duh. That's why I keep this stupid thing! Click here for recipe). So anyway, I remembered the part about the gruyere, and thought that it had been blended, but I was wrong, and we ended up with a pile of green goo. It was a pretty tasty green goo, but kind of disappointing considering what it could have been.

Coming soon: recipe of how to use up your green goo.

Anyway, green goo acquired, and when I was in Russos picking up spinach I got a tenderloin steak, because they often have small half-pound steaks, which is just fine for us, especially when sliced. We may not eat that much steak, but I do love it. Some fingerling potatoes on the side (toss with olive oil, chopped fresh rosemary and salt, and roast for 20-30 minutes at 400F), and a couple roasted carrots just because. Dinner is served! Tasty, arguably healthy, but not so cheap.

Served with a pretty amazing oak-aged stout by Founders. And pink Himalayan salt, because according to the lady at the store that gives good energies. (Kook alarm going off). But the salt bowl is pretty!

Beet & black bean burgers

I wanted to make some beet burgers. I had an idea of mixing in some faro or wheat berries or something to make a chewy patty of grains and veggies that you could fry til crispy. Then I realized that black beans would make an excellent binder, as would chickpea flour. The trouble, of course, with making veggie burgers of any sort is that for them to taste good, you need to have a gazillion ingredients. Worth it, though! These have a really nice flavor, and excellent textures. And, they satisfy the tasty/healthy/cheap trifecta!

If you're looking for a meatless Monday option, or just want to try a beet burger, look no further.

The actual recipe is super flexible. The base components are:
- shredded root vegetable (beets, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, etc)
- a can of beans (any variety)
- egg (to bind)
- flour (of any variety)
- grain (preferably a whole grain that'll have some chew, because the point is to add texture. So, barley, wheat berries, faro, bulgur, quinoa, rice, whatever)
- flavors (think herbs, garlic, spices)
- salt (duh. everything is better with salt)

This version headed down a Mediterranean route. It was both tasty and very satisfying.

- 2 beets, shredded
- half a carrot, shredded (I had half a carrot languishing in the fridge, which was the only reason for its inclusion)
- 1 can of black beans, roughly mashed
- 1/2C chickpea flour
- 2 eggs
- a buttload of parsley, chopped
- ~1/2C wheat berries, cooked
- 1/4C sunflower seeds
- ~1/4C pickled onions, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp peppercorns, ground
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp turmeric



The only pre-mix step is to lightly toast the garlic, in some oil, because I don't really like raw garlic. Then, mix everything together in a big bowl.

Generously oil a baking sheet, and form little patties. Bake the little patties at 400F, flipping after about 20 minutes, for about 40 minutes total. The goal is that the outside is crispy, and the inside still has a little moisture. Oil your pan generously for extra crunch. The next step, which I didn't try, but will try next time, would be to coat the patties in panko or bread crumbs before baking, for extra crunchy outsides!



These guys definitely have enough structural integrity that they make pretty darn good travel food, if you're looking for things you can eat with your fingers. But, they're also pretty good drizzled with a lemon tahini sauce, or in a pita with some pickled cabbage.

Served with some roasted cauliflower and some socca (that's for a different blog post. Definitely worth making!!)

Liege waffles

A Belgian waffle is not the fluffy thing you get at an American diner. It's dense and light at the same time, crunchy caramelized sugar on the outside providing a perfect offset to the deep chewy flavorful interior. No toppings necessary, these things are magic. The first one I ever had was at a Belgian beer festival, and I was hooked. I haven't had a "real" waffle in Belgium, yet, the kind from a truck, probably, oozing hot sugar all over my fingers. Someday, I'll visit the homeland, and do it right. Til then... it's gotta be homemade or at beer festivals here.

The challenge here is that you've got to knead in all the butter. One piece at a time. Basically, you make a brioche. And, without a stand mixer, that means you need some serious arm power. Good thing I'm a skier! Getting all the butter mixed in without melting it was a chore, but totally, totally, TOTALY worth it. I couldn't get through the full 14 tablespoons, to be honest - my arm gave out. But, the 12tbs that made it in were good enough. 

I highly recommend the recipe by Deb at Smitten Kitchen. Recipe here: https://smittenkitchen.com/2015/05/liege-waffles/. The main difference between what I made and what she made is that she's better at this food cooking and blogging stuff. Oh, and has a stand mixer.

Some comments -
- Get the butter as warm as possible without letting it melt
- Swedish pearl sugar is indeed a different beast. Next time, I'm trying the smashed sugar cube approach
- Don't leave out the vanilla. I was out, but it could have used that extra heady flavor
- The waffles you cook later are the tastiest, as the sugar has started to really caramelize

In goes the butter, one tablespoon at a time. I would use my spoon to smash it and stretch the dough around it until it was fully incorporated. Don't do this on a hot day, or the butter will melt.

Making my own dough hook out of a spoon and some arm power.

After mixing in the final cup of flour and kneading smooth

After kneading in the sugar and cutting into chunks. I loved how this was dough, and not batter.

I nearly forgot to take a photo of the finished product. We were eating these with our hands, but since I'd also made a more traditional batter waffle (kind of made the batter for that one before deciding I wanted the challenge of the liege dough), we were loading those ones up with fruit, yogurt, apple butter, maple syrup, you name it.

Eaten side by side, the liege waffles were so superior. I mean, it's like comparing a cake to a piece of cardboard. Worth the investment of time and effort!

Gail's salmon

Gail makes this amazing salmon on the grill, this mix of sweet and sour and spicy and savory, and the other day I called her up to actually get the recipe. Of course, then I lost it, so I had to call her again to post it here. 

This is totally worth making, even if you don't have a grill. Though, the grill makes it all crispy and delicious, so obviously that's the better approach. 

Brown sugar

Chili powder

Lemon zest

Coriander

Salt

Guessing at quantities:

2 tbs brown sugar

1 tbs chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1/8tsp salt

1/8tsp black pepper

Make this! You won't regret it, I promise. 

Tabouleh

We had a dinner yesterday that felt like a very typical weeknight dinner, and I realized I don't think I've ever written down my tabouleh recipe. It's delicious. This whole thing was delicious, but dinner should be delicious, especially if you have a beagle mentality and all food is something to be celebrated. Start to finish about 45min, which, for us, is a pretty quick dinner. Because half the time we're also washing last night's dishes and we're always making stuff from scratch and yadda yadda yadda. I have colleagues who say they won't make dinner if it takes more than 20 minutes, and I just wonder how that's supposed to work. You can't have popovers, then. 

Anyway, this is a dinner that relies mostly on the oven, and considering the recent break in the heat wave, this was a good night for that. You're looking at roasted cauliflower and broccoli, tabouleh with roasted chickpeas, and popovers. 

I already broke my popover in half to let out the steam, but they look way cooler when it's a leaning mound of puffed eggy custardy awesomeness. 

Start by turning the oven on to 450F. Roughly chop the broccoli and cauliflower, lay it out in a single layer on a sheet pan, drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Drop that onto the bottom shelf of the oven as it pre-heats. This will maximize your brown bits without overcooking the veggies.

Take a can of chickpeas, rinse them, shake dry and dump onto another sheetpan. Toss with some oil, salt, and zaatar or other spice mixture. Put these onto the top shelf of the oven, which is still preheating. 

Make your popover batter. Make sure the mixture is warm! and that your muffin tins are well greased! I wrote up the recipe here: http://alexjospefood.blogspot.com/2011/12/popovers-update.html. It works, and gets an excellent Ed-rating. We were actually calculating the cost of a batch of popovers, because at one of our favorite farm-to-table type restaurants, you can get a basket of popovers instead of bread, and $10 gets you four popovers. One batch, in the recipe above, yields 6 huge popovers, for about $0.12 apiece. As if you needed another reason to make your own popovers.

Anyway, flip the brassicas if you smell any burning. They probably want 5-7 minutes a side. Once the oven is pre-heated, remove the chickpeas, and put in the popovers. You'll want to not open the oven again until 15 minutes is up, so hopefully your brassicas are done at this point, otherwise they're staying in. Because it's summer, who cares if your broccoli is room temperature? The room is warm. 

While the popovers are doing their thing at 450F, make the tabouleh: 

Tabouleh

1 large tomato

2 mini cucumbers

1 bit bunch of parsley

2/3C dry bulgur

1 lemon

olive oil

salt

Boil 2/3C water. When it boils, remove from heat, stir in the bulgur, and let it sit, covered, for 5min or so. 

Chop the tomato and cucumber relatively finely. Chop the parsley finely. Stir those together in a big bowl with the juice of the lemon, a glug or two or three of olive oil, and a few healthy pinches of salt. When the bulgur is cooked, stir that in. 

This will be even more delicious tomorrow, when the flavors have sat. You can add things, adjust things, whatever - super versatile grain salad. Basil and mint are excellent additions, if you've got them.

Ok, now you have your tabouleh and the popovers are done with the 15-minute period at 450. Drop the oven to 350, and let the popovers cook another 15-20min. Pop the chickpeas back into the oven - they would do best with like 40 minutes at 300F, but that's not what we're working with today, and slightly-roasted/slightly-burned chickpeas are still better than straight-out-of-the-can chickpeas. 

Use your 20 minutes of wait-time wisely. 

When the time is up, if you aren't immediately consuming all 6 popovers, poke them all with a knife and return to the turned-off oven for 3-5 minutes while you put the rest of the food on plates. Sprinkle the chickpeas on top of the tabouleh, or just eat them straight, because they're delicious.

Oh, and bonus if you have some tahini sauce in the fridge - literally just tahini, lemon juice, salt, and water, taste and adjust until it tastes good. It's pretty delicious on the cauliflower and broccoli.