Homemade bread in five minutes a day

This is a great article in our food section that I want to share by J.M. Hirsch.

Artisanal quality breads in just five minutes a day? Not quite. But for that little effort, even breads that are merely pretty good would be worth baking. And that’s what Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois deliver in their forthcoming book, “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.”

The concept is inspired. Spend about 20 minutes making a large batch of refrigerator-friendly, no-knead bread dough that, following a standard rise, can keep for up to two weeks.

Each day, the desired amount of dough can be removed from the batch, shaped and baked (the basic recipe produces three to four small loaves). Total active time each day you bake is about five minutes.

Testing of the basic white and basic whole-wheat bread recipes (the book also offers dozens of variations and other breads) produced breads anyone would be happy to come home to.

Bread Boule in Five Minutes a Day

Start to finish: 20 minutes active to prepare the dough, 5 minutes active on day of baking.

3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees)
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher or other coarse salt
6 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour (no need to sift)
Cornmeal, for the pizza peel

In a 5-quart bowl, combine the yeast, water and salt.Add all the flour, then use a wooden spoon to mix until all ingredients are uniformly moist. It is not necessary to knead or continue mixing once the ingredients are wet. This will produce a loose and very wet dough.

Cover with a lid (not airtight), or plastic wrap with several holes poked into it. Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse, about 2 hours, but no more than 5 hours.

After rising, the dough can be baked immediately, or tightly covered and refrigerated up to 14 days. The dough will be easier to work with after at least 3 hours refrigeration.

To bake, prepare a pizza peel by sprinkling it with cornmeal. Alternatively, overturn a baking sheet and sprinkle it with cornmeal. This will prevent the bread from sticking when you transfer it to the oven.

Uncover the dough and sprinkle the surface with flour. Pull up and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece of dough (serrated knives are best). Recover the remaining dough in the bowl and refrigerate for baking at another time.

Hold the mass of dough in your hands and add a little more flour as needed so it won’t stick. Create a smooth ball of dough by gently pulling the sides down around to the bottom, rotating the dough as you go.

While stretching, most of the dusting flour will fall off. The bottom of the loaf may appear to be a collection of bunched ends, but it will flatten out during resting and baking. This shaping should take no more than 1 minute.

Place the dough on the peel or overturned baking sheet. Allow the loaf to rest for about 40 minutes. It does not need to be covered. The bread may not rise much during this time; this is normal.

Twenty minutes before baking, place a pizza stone on the center rack of the oven. If you don’t have a baking stone, use another baking sheet. Remove any upper racks. Place a broiler pan on a rack below the pizza stone or on the floor of the oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

When the dough has rested for 40 minutes, dust the top liberally with flour, then use a serrated knife to slash a ¼ -inch-deep cross or tic-tac-toe pattern into the top.

Slide the loaf off the peel or overturned baking sheet and onto the baking stone. Quickly but carefully pour 1 cup of hot water into the broiler tray and close the oven door.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch. Allow the bread to cool completely, preferably on a wire cooling rack.

Makes four 1-pound loaves of bread.

Recipe from Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois’ “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day,” Thomas Dunne Books, November 2007, $27.95.

Russian Pelmeni

On New Year's Eve, Kelly cooked Pelmeni for us. This is a recipe he acquired while a student in Madison.

Pelmeni belongs to the family of dumplings. They are closely related to Polish pierogi and vareniki - a Ukrainian variety of dumplings with a filling made of mashed potatoes or cottage cheese. They are also similar to Chinese jiaozi and potstickers. The main difference between pelmeni is that they are made with a meat filling. Pork, lamb, beef or any other meat can be used. Various spices such as pepper and onions are mixed into the filling.

This is the recipe that Kelly acquired.

2 1/2 c flour
1 c milk or water
1/2 ts salt
1 tb vegetable oil
3 eggs
1/2 pound beef
1/2 pound pork
1 onion
salt and pepper to taste

sour cream
Sriracha hot chili sauce (found in Asian aisle)
Rice vinegar
Curry powder (optional)
cilantro

Method:
1. Grind beef and pork twice in meat chopper. Then add chopped onion, salt, and pepper. To make mincemeat more tender and juicy, add a bit of milk. Reserve.

2. Mix flour with eggs and milk, salt and oil until a soft dough forms. Knead on floured surface until dough is elastic.

3. Roll out dough on floured service until 1/16 inch thick.

4. Take a glass or a cup (2 inches in diameter) and cut circles out of the dough. Fill each circle with 1 teaspoon of the mincemeat, fold into half-moons.

5. Pinch edges together and connect the opposite sides. Pelmeni can be frozen to be cooked later ( you can keep them in the freezer for a long time), or cooked immediately.

6. To cook pelmeni, boil a large amount of water, as they can stick to each other. Carefully drop pelmeni into boiling water. When they float to the surface cook two more minutes. Then transfer to a pan with melted butter and saute until light browned.

5. mix equal parts of rice vinegar with Sriracha hot chili sauce or mix according to taste preference)

6. Put pelmeni in a bowl and top with cilantro, sour cream, curry powder and Sriracha mixture. Stir to cover all pelmeni.

Note: Sriracha hit chili sauce is spicy so you might want to try less and increase if you want spicier. Picture above does not have Sriracha mixture on it.

Homemade Tortillas

I found this recipe this morning in the LVRJ. It looked so easy I wonder why I haven't cooked tortillas from scratch before. Flour tortillas are simple — flour, water, salt and a bit of fat, often lard. For health reasons a nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening would be better. Canola could work but will affect the moisture content and the amount of water will be needed to be decreased. Other important things to know before you make the tortillas. Do not overwork the dough, because this strengthens the gluten and can result in tough tortillas. Once the water is added, just 10 seconds or so of processing is plenty. Roll out the dough between sheets of parchment or waxed paper helps ensure tender tortillas. Rolling on a floured surface can incorporate too much flour into the dough and result in dry tortillas. When cooking avoid cooking sprays. Tortillas are cooked dry and won't stick to the pan.

FLOUR TORTILLAS 1 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 ­teaspoon salt, 2tablespoons vegetable shortening 1/3 cup warm water

In a food processor, combine the flour and salt. Pulse several times to combine. If desired, add dry seasonings, such as paprika or chili powder and pulse again to blend. Add the shortening, then process for about 10 seconds to thoroughly combine. With the processor running, drizzle in the water and process another 10 seconds. The dough should look powdery and dry and will not have come together. It should hold together when pinched. Use your hands to ball the dough together and transfer it to a clean work surface. Form the dough into a log and divide into five equal pieces. One at a time, place each piece between sheets of parchment or waxed paper. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough until about the size of a salad plate. Heat a dry flat griddle or large skillet over medium high heat. One at a time, place each tortilla on the griddle. Cook until the tortilla just begins to puff up and the bottom has a few small scorch marks, about 30 seconds. Flip and cook another 20 to 30 seconds. Wrap the tortilla in a thick towel to keep warm. Repeat the process with remaining dough. Serve immediately.

Makes 5 large tortillas Start to finish: 20 minutes to prepare

Hot pepper variation: After mixing in the shortening, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of jalapeno pepper slices or diced roasted red peppers. Process until thoroughly combined. Drizzle in the water as directed above, but reduce it to about cup. Proceed with the rest of the recipe. Other good options include sun-dried tomatoes, fresh herbs such as cilantro, and dried spices such as paprika.

Easy Gyro Sandwiches

Found this easy recipe in a Las Vegas magazine. It took a little time to prepare and cook but well worth it. This is one of the best gyro's I've tasted. No need to head out to the Greek restaurant to get your gyro fix once you make this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 lb. 30%fat ground hamburger (do not use lean)
1 lb. ground lamb
3/4 cup onion chopped very fine
2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp oregon
1 tsp marjoram
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Pita bread
Tzatzki (cucumber sauce) sauce -available at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods or make your own
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Onions
Feta cheese

Drain onion by wrapping tightly in a paper towel and squeezing out excess fluid. Usiny your hands, combine meats, onions, spices, sugar and lemon juice in a large bowl. Once combined, and working in batches if necessary, finely grind meat mixture in a food processor, blending approximately 1 minute until paste like. Hand pat and tightly squeeze mixture into a medium size glass loaf pan, pressing down to eliminate any air pockets. Cover and chill overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover loaf and bake for 50-60 minutes until somewhat dry. Drain fat and place a brick wrapped in foil atop loaf to compress further, leaving intact for approx. 20 minutes. Slice meat thinly and wrap in warmed pita bread, serving with Tzaziki, tomatoes, onions and feta. If desired, brown slices in a small amount of olive oil in a frying pan before assembling.

Pita Chips

I found this recipe on allrecipes. Tim and I thought they were so good that we would have them again and use a couple of different dips.

These fresh-from-the-oven triangles--pre-brushed with olive oil and herbs--have a warm and crunchy warm snap that you just can't get from a store bought bag. I think they are better than what my brothers buy from Sam's Club.

INGREDIENTS:
12 pita bread pockets
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried chervil

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Cut each pita bread into 8 triangles. Place triangles on lined cookie sheet.
3. In a small bowl, combine the oil, pepper, salt, basil and chervil. Brush each triangle with oil mixture.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for about 7 minutes, or until lightly browned and crispy. Watch carefully, as they tend to burn easily!

Ropa Vieja

The local restaurant reviewer for the Las Vegas Review went downtown and tried Mamacita's, a Cuban/Mexican restaurant. She has traveled the world and said that the Ropa Vieja at Mamacita's was the best she ever ate. I had never heard of Ropa Vieja so I did a little recipe hunting on the internet and found a recipe with great reviews. So last Saturday we tired it. It was great. I served it with black beans, fried plantains and yellow rice. A nice Cuban meal.

Before I could put the recipe on my blog, I had to first go to Mamacita's to taste the original recipe. Last Tuesday Tim and I went to Mamacita's. As the newspaper article said, he was a great restaurant. The Ropa Vieja tasted just like what I had prepared.

Ropa vieja means old clothes in Spanish. This meat is cooked, shredded like rags, then briefly cooked again which gives it the Spanish name. Cubans love peppers, both fiery ones and the green bell peppers.


This is great shredded beef served on tortillas or over rice. Add sour cream, cheese, and fresh cilantro on the side




INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 pounds beef flank steak
1 cup beef broth
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 small onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper, seeded
and sliced into strips

2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chopped fresh
cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the flank steak on each side, about 4 minutes per side.
2. Transfer beef to a slow cooker. Pour in the beef broth and tomato sauce, then add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, tomato paste, cumin, cilantro, olive oil and vinegar. Stir until well blended. Cover, and cook on High for 4 hours, or on Low for up to 10 hours. When ready to serve, shred meat and serve with tortillas or rice.

The first time I made this recipe I served it with yellow rice, black beans and fried plantains. A couple of days later I served it wrapped in a tortilla. I put in the meat, some yellow rice, cheese, sour cream, cilantro and sprinkled some fresh lime juice over it. I thought this way tasted the best.

Capriotti's Bobby recipe

Capriotti's is a sandwich shop in Vegas voted number one by the The Las Vegas Review. The review from Frommers Las Vegas:"Best Inexpensive Meal: Capriotti's, serves beautiful, fresh, monster submarine sandwiches. They roast their own beef and turkey on the premises and assemble it (or cold cuts, or even vegetables) into delicious well-stuffed submarine sandwiches, ranging in size from 9 to 20 inches, and most of them under $10. We never leave town without one . . . or two."

The menu shows all the sandwiches they offer. My favorite is the Bobby, turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and mayo.


Tim and I cooked a 18 pound turkey for Thanksgiving. With the leftovers we will be making Bobby sandwiches. Here is the recipe if you have extra leftovers from your Thanksgiving.













The Bobbie

1 (9 inch) submarine sandwich bread
mayonnaise
4 ounces thinly sliced roasted turkey
4 ounces fresh turkey stuffing
2 ounces cranberry sauce
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Innocent Indulgences - Nonalcoholic drinks

I found these non-alcoholic drink recipes in AAA magazine. Look too good to pass up.

Pomegranate Lime Fresh - The Fairmont - Chicago, Illinois

2 oz pomegranate juice
1 oz orange juice
1 oz lime juice
Sprite
Ice
Pomegranate seeds

Combine mixers in a pint shaker glass. Fill glass full of ice. Shake vigorously for 6 seconds. Strain over fresh ice into large glass. Top with Sprite. Garnish with pomegranate seeds.

Horse's Neck - Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, Michigan

Spiral orange peel.
Ice
Ginger ale
Splash of grenadine

Place the orange peel spiral in a soda glass and drape one end of it over the rim of the glass. Fill with ice cubes. Add remaining ingredients. Stir well.

Chocolate Apple cider - Immigrant Restaurant & Winery, Kohler, Wisconsin

4 cups fresh apple cider
4 tsp. Melange du Charmonix tea
1 oz hazelnut flavored Monin syrup
4 cinnamon sticks
4 lemon twists

In a saucepan bring apple cider almost to a boil. Remove from heat, add tea and cover for 4 minutes. Strain. Stir in hazelnut syrup. Serve with cinnamon stick and lemon twist. 4 servings

Recipe websites

Tim was reading my blog and made a suggestion on a future post. He said I should write about recipe websites. I'm sure there are many recipe sites online but I think the most popular are:

Allrecipes.com

epicurious.com

recipezaar. com

I'm more familiar with Allrecipes. I've signed up as a member (free) and each day I'm sent new recipes to try. Tim use to say that I had only 20 recipes that I would continually use over and over. Now we are trying all different foods. In one of my earlier blog posts I wrote about Tim's Banana cake. He found that on allrecipes. Each recipe lists comments and ratings from people who have tried the recipes. Some readers even leave comments on how to improve the recipe. I think this method is much better than trying to find something in a cookbook. How many times have you tried recipes and it turned out much different than you thought?

Tim needs to eat low sugar low fat foods for his health. These websites have special sections for people who require special diets. Allrecipes has a recipe box set up for you so while your browsing different recipes you can save recipes into your box for future viewing.

Check out the sites and let me know what you think.

Saturday night with a twist of lime.

Tim and I love to cook special meals on Saturday nights. This is usually "our" special time together and we both share in the cooking. This Saturday the meal was based on limes. So each part of the meal had a lime in it. We started the meal out with Mojitos. Nice drink for a summer evening.

3 fresh mint sprigs
2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 1/2 oz light rum
club soda

In a tall thin glass, crush part of the mint with a fork to coat the inside. Add the sugar and lime juice and stir thoroughly. Top with ice. Add rum and mix. Top off with *chilled* club soda (or seltzer). Add a lime slice and the remaining mint, and serve.


The main meal was Chili-Lime Chicken Kabobs.


Chicken cubes are marinated in a chili-lime sauce and then grilled. Serve with white long grain rice and grilled veggies for a delicious dinner



INGREDIENTS:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine
vinegar
1 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
cayenne pepper to taste
salt and freshly ground black
pepper to taste
1 pound skinless, boneless
chicken breast halves - cut into
1 1/2 inch pieces
skewers

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, and lime juice. Season with chili powder, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. Place the chicken in a shallow baking dish with the sauce, and stir to coat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 1 hour.
2. Preheat the grill for medium-high heat. Thread chicken onto skewers, and discard marinade.
3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill skewers for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the chicken juices run clear.

Dessert we made Key Lime Pie. Delicious!



INGREDIENTS:
5 egg yolks, beaten
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened
condensed milk 1/2 cup key lime juice
1 (9 inch) prepared graham
cracker crust

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Combine the egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk and lime juice. Mix well. Pour into unbaked graham cracker shell.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Allow to cool. Top with whipped topping and garnish with lime slices if desired.

Key West Barbecue Sauce

I've had a couple of request for this barbecue sauce. So here is the recipe. Makes 10 cups. You'll have plenty to freeze to use later over any meat on the grill.

3 cups ketchup
2 cups (packed) dark brown sugar
3/4 cup mango juice or nectar
3/4 cup fresh or frozen reconstituted passion fruit juice blend
3/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup golden syrup
1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup grapefruit juice
1/4 cup finely grated onion
1 1/2 tbl dry mustard
1 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp coarse kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 tbl plus 2 tsp cornstarch

Whisk all ingredients except cornstarch in heavy large saucepan. Transfer 1/4 cup sauce mixture to small bowl; add cornstarch and stir until dissolved. Which cornstarch mixture into sauce mixture. Cook over medium-high heat until sauce comes to boil, stirring constantly. Boil sauce 1 minute. Serve warm or at room temperature.

June 17, 2007 First Posting

Happy Father's Day! Today we start our first entry into this blog. We've enjoyed reading our daughter's blog so much we decided to jump on the band wagon and have our own blog. The big decision was to decide on what to write that wasn't too boring. We both love to eat (only one of us shows it) so decided to have our blog food related. We'll share some of our best recipes and write about our great restaurant finds.

Since this is Father's Day, Tim has decided he wants his favorite rib recipe. We have tried many recipes and have decided this is our best.

Korevec's Best Ribs

Prep Time: 30 MinutesCook Time: 2 Hours
Ready In: 10 Hours 30 MinutesYields: 4 servings

"Ribs are marinated in pineapple juice and spices overnight before being slowly cooked in the oven, then thrown on the grill and slathered with barbecue sauce at the last minute. The result is a tender baby back masterpiece."

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups pineapple juice
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons mustard powder
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 pounds baby back pork ribs
1 (18 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large baking dish, mix together the pineapple juice, brown sugar, mustard powder, ketchup, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, and soy sauce. Season with cloves, ginger, garlic, and cayenne pepper. Cut ribs into serving size pieces, and place into the marinade. Cover, and refrigerate, turning occasionally, for 8 hours or overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (80 degrees C). Cook ribs in marinade for 1 1/2 hours, turning occasionally to ensure even cooking.

3.Preheat grill for medium heat.

4. Lightly oil grate. Grill ribs for 15 to 20 minutes, basting with barbecue sauce, and turning frequently until nicely glazed.

For dessert we are having apple pie.

Apple Pie

You can make your own pie crust but I prefer to use the pillsbury pie crusts in the dairy section at the store. The secret to making good apple pie is to use different types of apples. Types I use – Mcintosh, 1 green granny smith, red or golden delicious, Jonathan, Cortlands.

2/3 to ¾ C. Sugar
2 T. flour
½ tsp. Cinnamon
½ tsp grated lemon peel
1 – 2 tsp. Lemon juice
6-7 C. thinly sliced, peeled and cored apples
1 T. butter or margarine
milk

Prepare pastry and line 9-inch pie plate. In small bowl combine sugar (amount depends on tartness of apples) and next 5 ingredients. Place ½ apples in pie crust and sprinkle with half of sugar mixture. Top with rest of apples and then rest of sugar mixture. Dot the filling with butter or margarine. Preheat oven to 425. Roll out remaining pastry for top crust and using a floured cookie cutter cut out a design. Place crust over pie and trim edges. Pinch to form a high edge. For a golden glaze, brush the top crust (not the edge) lightly with some milk. Make pie for 40-50 minutes or until crust is golden.