Onion Confit Pizza

Happy New Year everyone!   Most of the decorations are put away, and I'm happy to be back blogging and cooking.  As I write, there are carpenters working on the bakery building adding a "pantry".  It's going to be great.  Lots of room to put away the shelving units that have been taking up space for years.   There will be more room for classes, and I'll be able to welcome larger groups. Since we didn't need two pizzas, and it's the middle of the day.   I invited the guys for lunch.  It's freezing cold and a nice hot pizza sounded good.  It makes me feel a little like Ina Garten!

I decided to use Chianti for the wine.  The kind with the straw around the bottle.  When we were Christmas shopping, I found boxes of the drippy candles that change color as they drip. My dad loves these and so do I.  I could use a regular wine bottle, but since I needed wine and the candles needed a bottle, this was the perfect match.  I need to drink or use about another 750 ml's of wine before the candle dripping can commence but I'm off to a good start.  If you look at the box, you'll see the wine bottle sketched out!  I promise to show you the bottle once it's been dripped.

There are some fun recipes just around the corner.  The recipe for today is from Baking with Julia, by Dorie Greenspan and is part of the Tuesdays with Dorie blogging group.  It's not too late to pick up a copy and join the fun.

On to the pizza...

A few years ago, I was making the Onion Soup from Thomas Keller's Bouchon.  In the recipe, he teaches how to cut an onion perfectly so it will wilt and cook down nicely for caramelized onions.  I used the same technique here and will show you how it's done.

If you run out of room, turn the onion around and start from the other side.  Cutting this way will break the membrane in the layers of the onion and help to make them move tender and softer as they caramelize.

So what is confit (cone-fee)?  It's the process of cooking to make the fruit of vegetable soft but sweet.  Orange peels are confited before being dipped into dark chocolate.  Confiture is jam in French.  So think... tender, sweet onions.

Once the onions (sprinkled with sugar) are in the pan and cooked a bit, the wine, red wine vinegar, thyme, salt and pepper as added.  I simmered the confit for about 1 1/2 hours.  Just the perfect time for the dough to have a second rise.

The dough is very easy to put together and has a wonderful texture and feel.  If you're not planning to make the onion confit, you should still head over to The Boy Can Bake and Paul will have all the recipes for you.

I used a mix of Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago cheeses with an assortment of olives.  A few of the olives were stuffed with blue cheese so they were a great addition.

Exactly 15 minutes later the pizza was crisp, golden and delicious.    I baked mine on parchment on a baking sheet and skipped the peel process.

Have a great time making this pizza!   (and dripping candles...)

Bagels! Baking with Julia

I'm not sure how to spell it, but all I can say is Ei-yi-yi!  This recipe had it's moments, but I'm happy to report that they're really good. This week's Baking with Julia recipe is bagels.  I was driving last week and heard a public radio interview of the book helping us know what to make from scratch, and what to buy already made.   About half way through this recipe, I thought I clearly knew the bagel answer.  Buy them.   When they came out of the oven, so pretty and delicious... it's a coin toss.   It was worth the effort and fretting.

Our host this week is Heather, from Heather's Bytes.  She'll have the recipe, and her tips and tricks at her blog.

When I was in college I had three roommates.  We loved to cook - make that experiment.  There were a lot of firsts.  Quiche, soups, ethnic recipes, pretzels, breads...and bagels.  I don't remember the bagels being bad, nor good.  They must have been college student edible.  It was fun to revisit bagels again.  This time with a few more skills and baking experience.

The dough went to together easily.  The rise was right on time, and into the fridge went the dough.  So far so good.   After the chill, I started with stock pot of water, added the baking soda/sugar and began shaping the bagels.  The dough is sticky and tricky to get into the balls.  I never did quite master the twirl, but I got them into the boiling water.   As they boiled, they puffed and looked like squishy dumplings.  As they were bubbling away,  I was getting ready to tell you about my disaster.   I'm happy to report that  after I put them in the oven, the texture evened out, and the surface began to look like a bagel, a REAL bagel.  The timing was perfect, and out of the oven they came.    The inside texture was nice, and the taste was really good.

 

If you're a bagel lover and looking to try something fun, give the recipe a try.  Top them with your favorite sesame, poppy or crunchy seed and enjoy!

Cranberry Walnut Pumpkin Loaf - Baking with Julia

This recipe is the essence of autumn.  Our host this week is Rebecca from This Bountiful Backyard.  Rebecca will have the recipe on her site when you're ready to make is extra special treat.

The cranberries proved to be a little more difficult to find than I expected.  I went into the grocery expecting to find a huge pile of bags.  Not one.  I checked the frozen fruits, none. I went back to the clerk and asked about cranberry whereabouts.   She told me "it's not cranberry season."  What?  It's fall for crying out loud, and it's Cranberry Festival in Warrens, WI.  How can they have cranberry festival without cranberries?   I mentioned my dilemma to my friend who just by luck had some frozen in his freezer.   I only needed 2/3 cup, so we were back in business.

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The title of the recipe sounds like a quick bread, doesn't it?   It's not.  It's a yeast bread.  It rises once, then into the fridge overnight.   After a long wake up (3-4 hours) to warm to room temperature, it's then shaped and rises one more time.   The actual hands-on time was about 15 minutes.  Please don't let the long resting times scare you.   It's well worth the wait.

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The recipe mentions using the dough hook to combine the dough like brioche.  This gave me an idea.   Since I don't have any little pans, making the loaves the bread in the style of brioche in brioche pans might just work.   After the long overnight rise, I divided the dough into 4 large portions, and 6 smaller.

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After the second rise, the autumn brioche were ready for the oven.

When they first came out of the oven, there was a moment of panic when I tugged on the sweets balls of bread and they showed no signs of wanting to release from the brioche pans.  Never fear, after a few minutes of cooling they popped right out the tins.

I really like the flavor of the bread.   Very subtle pumpkin flavor, nice texture with the walnuts, then bang!   A burst of cranberry.   I added a smear of butter when I tasted mine.   Then I had an idea (flash!).   Orange goes so well with all the ingredients, how about an orange butter to go with the bread?  I know, there's plenty of butter in the recipe, but it just needs a little something.    I thought about making slices of French toast, and using the orange butter, with some maple syrup.   Doesn't that sound great?   Or, even better... cubing the bread and making a wonderful bread pudding for brunch.   The options are endless.

Here's my recipe for Orange Butter.  It's SO good on the pumpkin bread.  Just refrigerate if you don't use it all right away.

To print this recipe, click HERE

Orange Butter

1/2 stick (4 T) Salted butter, at room temperature

zest of 1 orange

3 T powdered sugar

Combine all the ingredients together, and serve.

Orange butter

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Whole Wheat Bread

Grown up flavors.  Greek yogurt, Russell sprouts, spinach, rutabaga.   I may need to add whole wheat bread to the list.  I'm old enough to have grown up on white bread.  No, not the "W" bread, but white bakery bread.  We'd stop by Lanes and have a few loaves sliced for the week.  I really don't remember seeing whole wheat bread until college.  I can't say I loved it at first bite.    My roommates and I tried to make it, and it was a much better door stop than bread.   Over the years, I've grown to like it.  In fact, I prefer it now.  Fortunately, little kids today see plenty of whole grain breads. I'm assuming they've acquired a taste for them.   I've learned the key to making is good hydration of the flour and plenty of kneading. This summer, we've been making whole wheat bread each week for the farmers' market using a recipe from the Great River Mill.  Our recipe uses both whole wheat and 7 grain flour, and lots of honey.  Here's another twist on whole wheat bread using whole wheat and white wheat flour.

Our Baking with Julia recipe this week is wonderful whole wheat bread.   I don't want to scare anyone who might want to try this as the first bread they make.  I think white bread is a little easier to start with, but this one is very forgiving and you should get good results with the recipe.

To get started, you'll need the recipe.  It's in Baking with Julia, or join this week's hosts are Michele of Veggie Num Num, and Theresa of The Family that Bakes Together.   Just head to their sites, and you'll find the recipe.

Now on to assembling all the ingredients.   You'll need both all-purpose and whole wheat flour.  I'm crazy about Great River Milling Company.  It's here in Wisconsin near La Crosse.   You can go to the mill and pick up big bags, or better yet, you can have it sent to you via Amazon.  They have it set up so the shipping is free for the 25# bags.   I'm not getting a commision, promise!     The Great River Whole Wheat flour is organic and a perfect texture.   If you don't have the time or inclination to use this flour, pick up a bag of whole wheat flour at your local grocer.  For the all-purpose flour, be sure that it's unbleached and unbromated.

The recipe also calls for malt syrup, commonly used in brewing.  If you can't find it, you can use molasses, corn syrup, or just skip it.   The aroma is wonderful and it helps to condition the dough.  Look at the gorgeous color!

The dough will go together very nicely.  Remember, that adding water to flour creates gluten.  Gluten is the structure that holds the CO2 the yeast gives off as it metabolizes the sugars in the dough.  Kneading and rest develop the gluten.  Be sure the check that you've got good gluten develpment by gently stretching a small piece of dough.  You should see a translucent "window" of dough.  If the dough rips, rest the dough, then keep kneading.

I used my kneading machine for about 4 minutes, then rested the dough (autolyse), added the salt and finised kneading by hand.  I added about 1 cup more water than the recipe called for .  I like to work with dough that has more hydration.  You'll find the perfect hydration for you.  I'm sure the recipe will work well as written.

The dough rose according to the schedule and shaped easily into the pans.  I made a double batch so I had four loaves, each weighing about 775 grams or about 1.7 pounds.  Good hearty loaves!

 After an hour, and bread had risen to about 1 - 1 1/2 inches over the top of the pans.  Into the oven it went.  My loaves backed for 45 minutes to reach an internal temperture of 180 degrees F.   They easily released from the pans to cool.   The knobby loaf in the back had lots of bubbles under the surface.  Not pretty, but still delicious!

 Time to slice the bread...  Enjoy, and talk to you soon!

Nectarine Upside Down Chiffon Cake

this is my invariable advice to people:  Learn how to cook, try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and have fun.   Julia Child.  From My Life in France.

This has been my mantra for the past week getting ready for this recipe..   Learn from your mistakes, try something new, have fun, try new recipes, have fun... be fearless.  Got it!

As one of this week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe hosts, my job is to provide the Nectarine Upside Down Chiffon Cake recipe, and give you the best tips and tricks I can.  Marlise, from The Double Trouble Kitchen, is your other host. I've been wanting to be a host for a long time.   I'm so happy to provide you with the recipe and be one of the "blogs of the month"!  It takes me back to being the child in school who got to pass out the graham crackers, or put up the calendar numbers on the bulletin board.    When I saw the title, my first reaction was, chiffon?  Oh boy...     I really wanted, and hoped it would be fine on the first try.  After all, I'm supposed to know what I'm doing and be able to teach others.   Time for some fun and fearlessness.

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This is a grand, big girl/boy recipe.  It's a  boeuf bourguignon of desserts.  Multiple steps, a few tricky details, and magnificent results.   I know you can do it.  Follow the recipe and the tips, and you'll have a great, fancy dessert to share.

The first step was to find a 10" spring form pan.   I rummaged through my collection of pans, got out the ruler to measure, and ta-da... check.   Don't be tempted to use a smaller pan.  The recipe just fits into the 10" model.   If you must, just don't put all the batter into the pan.   It will be almost to the top.

This recipe used the last of my vacation peaches.  What a perfect recipe for such wonderful fruit.   The recipe calls for nectarines, so what's the difference?  Peach fuzz.   I popped the peaches in boiling water, counted to 20, rinsed under cool water, and slipped off the peels.   They were juicy, and perfect for the recipe.

You'll start the recipe by melting some of the butter in the bottom of the pan, adding brown sugar, and arranging the sliced fruit on top of the sugar.  Not so bad at all.   Be sure to wrap your pan in foil so the butter doesn't drip on to the floor of your oven when the cake goes in.  Even with the best foil work, you may still have drippage.

Butter Sugar Fruit Layer

Now on to the streusel.  I used chopped pecans instead of almonds, and didn't toast them before adding them to the other ingredients.   Add the ingredients to the food processor and pulse until you have nice clumps of streusel.  The baking time of 12 minutes was perfect.  The kitchen smelled great!   Warm, buttery and delicious.

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The third step is the chiffon batter.   You'll be making a classic French meringue.  Be sure your egg whites are in an extra clean bowl, free of any yolk specs.  You may want to place the bowl over another bowl of warm water to gently warm the egg whites.  They'll whip faster and fuller than if they're cold.

What makes this French meringue?   Since the cake will be baked, the egg whites are not  heated as they are in Swiss Meringue.  The sugar in French meringue is not cooked (that's Italian meringue!).   This meringue is medium peak egg whites whipped together at the end with sugar until shiny and firm.   This is the easiest of meringues, but still requires special attention.   Once your meringue is shiny, and firm, you'll fold it into the yolk mixture.

To fold:  Hold your spatula perpendicular to the surface.  Cut straight in and down, then follow the edge of the bowl, up and over the top allowing the whites and yolk mixture to gently fall from the spatula.  Gentle!  Rotate the bowl, about 1/4 turn and repeat.  It will take several folds.  The batter should be light and homogeneous.

Place 1/2 of the over the fruit, add all but a few tablespoons of streusel, then add and smooth the remaining batter over the streusel.   The chiffon cake recipe states that it should be for 45-50 minutes.   I checked mine at 45, 55...65...75...85...90... minutes.   At this point, I was worried sick, and making plans for a redo, and writing the story in my mind about how I had tried and failed at this classic dessert.  Remember... be fearless and have fun!   Just past  1  1/2 hours of baking, the cake was firm to the touch and the toothpick came out clean.  The surface was golden brown, but I had no idea of what the fruit and sugar were going to look like at the bottom.   In another 25 minutes, I'd find out.

Puffed and fully baked

Twenty five minutes later, I attempted to release the springform ring.  The edges were stuck and I was about to rip the cake.  Whoops!   I used a butter knife to gently release the cake from the side of the pan.  It released perfectly, and was ready for the flip.

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You can see the little dimples from the bottom of the spring form pan.  A sprinkle of streusel and the beautiful chiffon cake was finished.

To print this recipe, click HERE

Nectarine Upside-Down Chiffon Cake

For the Topping:

1/2 stick (2 oz) unsalted butter

1 cup, packed brown sugar

3-4 ripe medium nectarines (the number will depend on size), each cut into 8 pieces

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Cut the butter into 3 or 4 chunks and toss them into a 10 inch springform pan that's 3 inches high.  Place the pan directly over medium-low  heat and melt the butter, tilting the pan so that the butter covers the bottom evenly.  Remove the pan from the heat and scatter the brown sugar evenly over the butter, patting it down with your fingertips.  Arrange the nectarine pieces in concentric circles over the sugar.  For a fancier effect, alternate the way the nectarines face from circle to circle.  Wrap the bottom of the pan in aluminum foil to catch any butter that might drip during baking and set the pan aside.

For the Streusel:

1/4 cup unblanched whole almonds

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/2 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup quick cooking oats, (not instant)

Put the almonds on an ungreased jelly roll pan and bake them until golden brown and fragrant.  About 10-15 minutes.  Stir frequently so that they toast evenly.  To test for toastiness, break on open, it should be light brown in the center.  Cool the almonds before proceeding.

Line the jelly-roll pan with parchment paper and keep at the ready.

Put all the struesel ingredients, including the almonds, into the work bowl of the food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse just to mix the ingredients and chop the almonds and butter.  The mixture will be rough and crumbly.  Spread the streusel out on hte pan and if you'd like to have a few largish lumps for textural interest, squeeze some the streusel lightly between your hands and then break the big clumps into smaller bits.

Bake the streusel for 10-15 minutes, stirring once or twice, until golden brown.  Transfer the pan to a rack an cool while you make the cake.  Keep the oven at 350 degrees F.

For the Cake:

1  1/2 cups sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

4 large eggs, separated

1/2 vegetable or safflower oil

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

2 large egg whites

Ice cream or whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Sift together 1 sup of the sugar, the flour, baking powder, and baking soda onto a sheet of parchment or waxed paper; add the salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together the yolks, oil, and lemon juice until blended.  Gradually add the dry ingredients to the yolk mixture, whisking all the while; set aside.

Beat the 6 whites in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or work with a hand-held mixer.  At low speed, beat the whites until thy're foamy and form very soft peaks.  Increase the mixer speed to medium -high and gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, beating until the whites are thick and shiny and hold peaks.  (If you run a finger through the whites, it should a leave a smooth, even path.)  Fold about one third of the whipped egg whites into the yolk mixture to lighten  it, then turn the yolk mixture into the whites and fold it in gently but thoroughly.

Baking the Cake:  Pour and scrape half of the batter into the fruit-lined pan.  Smooth the top, using an offset spatula, and sprinkle ever the streusel, keeping a little in reserve for decoration the finished cakes.  Top with the remainder of the better, smoothing it with the spatula, an place the pan on a jelly-roll pan.  Bake in the 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove the cake to a cooking rack and let it cool for at least 25 minutes before inverting onto a cardboard cake round or a serving platter.

Serve the cake with ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream if desired and a sprinkle of the remaining streusel.

Storing: The cake is best served just warm or at room temperature the day it is made.  However, you can cover the cake and keep i t at room temperature over-night.

Makes 8-10 servings.   Contributing baker, Mary Bergin

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The cake is just as it's described in Baking with Julia.  It's  light, buttery and delicious.  The streusel and peaches were a perfect pair.  I hope you'll try this recipe.   Try a new recipe, be fearless and have fun!

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Popovers

Beef Wellington, check.   Blue cheese Souffle, check.  Graham crackers, check.   These are all things I've made in the last year that I've always wanted to try.  Call it a culinary bucket list of sorts.  What's on your list?   Maybe it's simply roasting a chicken.  No one will make fun of you.   Give it a try.   What's the worst thing that can happen?  Frozen pizza?

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I can't believe that this is the first time I've ever made popovers.  In the past I've tried to make the Dutch/German puffy pancakes without much success.  It seemed like a popover was in the same mystery family, so I've always found another option.  Today was the day.  Thanks to Baking with Julia and the Dorie Greenspan Tuesdays with Dorie group, Popovers made it on the calendar.

Much to my surprise, they were easy!  A quick brrrrr in the blender, 45 minutes in the oven and ta-da!  Tasty, dreamy popovers.  And without gooey centers, I might add.

The ingredients are super simple.  Flour, eggs, milk, salt and a butter.  The usual suspects.

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 When all the ingredients are at room temperature, they get a quick brrrrr in the blender.  I've always wanted to include an overhead blender shot, so here it is!

Blender with popover batter

I don't own a popover pan, so I opted for the muffin cups with 1/4 cup batter in each cup.  I very skeptically put the pans in the oven and walked away.  Then walked back and turned the oven light on.  This was too good to miss.   After a few minutes the popovers started to pop, and I knew I was in business.  Twenty-five minutes later, I reduced the oven temperature and waited for the finished beauties.   They were crisp, light, and best of all... not gooey in the middle.   I split one open, spread a little more butter and drizzled it with honey.  Why was this the first time I'd made these?    I hope you'll go to Paula's blog, Vintage Kitchen Notes, or Amy's blog, Bake with Amy to find the recipe and give popovers a try.

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Now on to the next new-to-me recipe...  I think it might be pretzels using real lye!  Stay tuned.

Hazelnut Biscotti with Affogato

Happy Summer!  What have you been doing to enjoy summer?  Popsicles?  Pedicure?  Any good summer books?  I'm reading Lies Beneath, by Anne Greenwood Brown.  It's young adult fiction (beachy!) It takes place near and on Lake Superior. The vampire stuff didn't appeal to me, but this book is all about mermaids.  It will make you think twice before you hop on an air mattress. This summer I've been really enjoying an occasional affogato.  What's that you ask?  It's SO good.   Two small scoops of vanilla gelato or ice cream with espresso/strong coffee poured over the top.  A perfect dessert.   Think... root beer float for grown-ups.   Add salted caramel ice cream and it's even better.  Crunchy biscotti are meant to be dunked.  Wine is good, coffee is good, and an affogato... great!   There's really not a fancy recipe for the delight.  Find a cute, small clear glass, add the ice cream, top with coffee/espresso and ta-da!  You'll love it, I promise!

The hosts this week for Baking with Julia are Jodi of Homemade and Wholesome, and Katrina of Baking and Boys.  Just click on one of their links and you'll find the biscotti recipe.

I'm late getting this post out, but... better late than never, as they say!  It's been so hot, and so dry, and I really didn't feel like baking today.   However,  biscotti recipe is very easy and fun.  So I cranked up the A/C and here they are!

Biscotti require two baking sessions.  The first time is about 35 minutes.  This bakes the log shape.  Then, after a short cooling period, the biscotti are sliced, they're baked again on a wire rack to dry and toast the sweet cookies.  I found that it went quickly.  There was the perfect amount of dough to make about a dozen good sized biscotti.  Some to eat, and some to share.   I stayed pretty true to the recipe.  Though I used chopped hazelnuts that I only toasted and didn't boil, and used Cointreau for the liqueur for the nice subtle orange flavor.

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First the dough is pressed into a log and 12 inches by 3 inches.

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Once it's baked, it's sliced on the diagonal and placed on a wire rack.  Then back into the oven for another 15 minutes or so, until light brown and crunchy.

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 Stay cool, bake when you can, and try an affogato soon!

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Strawberry Cream Cake

 

What a treat!  Don't you LOVE strawberries?  I do.  Very much!

Last summer I went to the close-out sale of the Farm & Fleet garden center.  They set it up each spring, and close it sometime in June, or July.  I found four strawberry plants that needed a home.  They didn't have a variety or pedigree, they were marked "strawberry".   I brought them home and planted them in the little herb garden behind the wood oven next to the oregano and thyme.   I ddn't expect much from them, but hoped they would at least survive.  And survive they did.   One day on late May I was weeding, and found at least three that were nearly ready to pick.   They were very early... with a few others nearly ready as well.

My parents were visiting (inportant note:  My dad has a degree in horticulture and agronomy...) and I proudly picked two ripe berries.  We shared them, and ooh'ed and ahh'ed about how delicious they were.   I named them One and Two.   A few days later,  I picked Two and Three, followed by Four, Five, Six and Seven.    I won't bore you with the details, but suffice to say that I grew 14 strawberries!

The berries in the photo came from a berry farmer about 1 mile from our house.  We picked them on the second day of the season.   The berries have had a tough year.  Early, dry, hot, and just plain mixed up.  I'm hoping that my berries will be back next year, I'd love to be able to make a whole cake with them!  The berry on the top of the strawberry cake is one of mine.

The best part of the dessert this week is that I was able to take it to dinner with good friends celebrating their 40th Anniversary! 

The recipe this week is hosted by Sophia of Sophia's Sweets and Allsion of Think, Love, Sleep, Dine.  They'll both the recipe for you.

I've said it again and again.  Simple recipes with few ingredients are some of the most difficult.  Genoise is in that group.   It's not hard, though it takes a great deal of respect for the ingredients.

Eggs are the leavening agent in this tender cake.  They need to be at room temperature to maximize the loft from whisking.   Rather than leave them at room temperture to warm, here's a tip.   Place them in the stainless steel bowl, then place that bowl over warm water.   I like to swish them around a little bit.   Once the chill is off, you're ready to go.

After several minutes of whisking, the eggs and sugar reach the "ribbon" state.   A gentle ribbon of the mixture will set on the surface when drizzled from the whisk.

Then, the sifted flour is carefully folded into the egg/sugar mixture.  The last step, folding the melted butter into the mix.

The genoise smells SO good as it bakes.  Once it's cool, top the layers  with the macerated (berries mixed with sugar), and fluffy whipped cream mixture.

 I decided not to frost the whole with cream, but just dollop it on the top.

 

Oasis Naan and Chicken Tikka Masala

This week's Baking with Julia is extra special.  One of the hosts for the recipe is my friend Maggie, who writes Always Add More Butter.  Her blog is fantastic!  You can find the Naan reicpe on there.   Check it out, I know you'll enjoy it.  Phyl, is the other host.   You can find her blog at Of Cabbages and King Cake The recipe with week is Oasis Naan.  So, what it naan?   It's an Indian flatbread.  Most countries have something like it.   In France, they have fougasse, and uses very similar dough to make baguettes.  Naan are cooked quickly, and topped with scallions, garlic or served plain.  They're pillowy, and so delicious!  There are so many sauces in Indian cooking.  This perfect bread make a great mop for picking up that last bit of sauce.

And sauce it is!  I've been feeling badly about writing and not providing any recipes. just photos.  Today, I have a recipe.... without photos of the recipe process.   But trust me, it's great.   Gary and I love Chicken Tikka Masala.  I wanted to create a recipe that tasted rich and flavorful, but didn't have the fat and calories of the restaurant version.   I found a great recipe and made some substitutions.   I think it turned out well, and with fresh naan, it was really good!

Here's the recipe, then on to the naan.  I let the Tikka Masala simmer about 1 1/2 hours on low.  The chicken was very tender and the sauce was rich and thick.   Brown rice will add fiber and extra health benefits.   Invite a few friends over, and have a true Indian restaurant meal!

To print this recipe, click HERE

Heart Healthy Chicken Tikka Masala

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 T oil (grapeseed, olive, canola, or vegetable)

2 small onions, chopped

2 T.  grated fresh ginger

5 gloves garlic smashed, peeled and chopped

2 T ground cumin

2 T garam masala

2-3 tsp tumeric

2-3 tsp chili powder

salt and pepper to taste

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes (with juice), or 3-4 fresh

1 cup greek yogurt (or plain yogurt strained in a cheesecloth for about 1 hour)

1 cup skim milk

3-4 large chicken breasts, chopped into 1 inch pieces

Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

Instructions

In a large dutch oven or saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the chopped onion and saute until transluscent.  Add the ginger and garlic and cook at about one minute.   Add the spices, and cook for about one minute more, stir often to prevent the spices and garlic from burning.

Add the tomatoes with their juice, and cook for 3-4 mintues.   Add the yogurt and milk, stir and bring to a simmer.

Add chicken and simmer for about 20 minutes, until  the sauce thickens and chicken is fully cooked.   Top with sprinkles of chopped cilantro.   Serve over basmati or brown rice.

The naan got an extra special treatment.  I baked it in my wood oven rather than on quarry tiles.  It was the only the third fire in the oven for the season, so it's still shaking off the damp, cold winter.  After the oven get up to about 800 degrees, the coals die down, and all the ash is removed.  The oven door is closed and the temperature equalizes throughout the oven.  It's really interesting to bake with this oven.  It makes the breads extra special.

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I have to admit that I love quirky recipes.  I think it's because I always spin bread three times, then flip it in the bowl before covering it to rise.  The naan reicpe asked that you mix the dough with a wooden spoon, 100 times, all in the same direction!  LOVE that!  And did I do it?  You bet.  Exactly 100.  The gluten developed beautifully.

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The dough had a very long rise.  About 3-4 hours.  I gave it a few turns to push it down, and it didn't seem bothered at all.  The rounds were easy to shape, and fun to poke.  I have a docker that I rarely get to use so that was my utensil of choice.  It's was almost the siize of the naan, to it came a little close to the edge.

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The oven floor was 500 degrees when I started.  The naan had a nice crisp bottom and light puffy top.  The scallion and salt made it SO good!  We ate one just as it came out of the oven, then saved the rest to go with our Tikka Masala.

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What a fun meal!  The perfect early summer night, great friends and great food!

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Sticky Pecan Rolls - Baking with Julia

It's Prom season.  Did you go to your prom?  Do you remember what you wore, who you went with?  What was in style? It's been a long time, but I still remember it well.  I dated a boy from the "other side of town", and we went to his prom which was in a fancy hotel instead of our high school's gym.   Being tall, my mom had friend sew lace on the bottom of my dress so it looked longer.  It looked funny, but it made me feel better.   We went out for dinner, went to the dance, and had a really nice time.   I don't exactly remember, but I think I fretted much more about it before hand, than it took for the whole evening.  Every time I hear "Carry on My Wayward Son" by Kansas, I think of that boy and our sweet prom.  Sigh.

Well, I'm all grown up and have been enjoying watching photos appear on Facebook of our friends' kids at their proms.  It's fun to see all the pretty dresses, hair, and makeup.  Mixed with just the perfect amount of awkward.

This  week's recipe is like a prom date.  Lots of careful prepartation and a really fancy finish.

The recipe from Baking with Julia can be found at Lynn's  of Eat Drink Man Woman Dogs Cat and Nicole's  of  Cookies on Friday.  You can view other posts and expericences with this recipe at Tuesdays With Dorie.

The brioche recipe uses a starter dough.  It's loosely mixed, then covered with flour.  As the started expands.  It cracks the flour.  Really!

 Here's the before and after... about 45 minutes apart.

 

Once the started is complete the remaining ingredients are added and mixed until very smooth.  I  started with the dough mixer and finshed by hand so I had really well developed dough.

Now for the big show.  It's time to knead in the butter.  I choose to do the kneading my hand instead of with the mixer.  It takes about 20-30 minutes, but makes for a wonderful texture.   The key is to pull, fold, flip and slap the dough against the table.  You'll know the dough is ready when there's no dough sticking to the table.  Here's the dough at the start, in the middle, and at the end.

After a good proof(rise), the second rise took place in the refrigerator overnight.  End Day 1.

The next day, the dough was treated like croissant dough and folded with butter for even more layers.

The butter, added to the surface of the dough.

Roll and fold into thired, then repeat.  After another rest, the dough was brushed with egg wash, then topped wtih sugar, cinnamon and nuts.

Then rolled up, jelly-roll style and frozen overnight.  End of day 2!

The dough was sliced and placed in a pan.  The pan was coated in butter, brown sugar and nuts to make the beautiful caramel topping.

Notice the layer of butter swirling through the layers of dough.  As the butter gets hot in the oven, the steam will push the dough apart creating beautiful layers.

I didn't take a final photo of the rise, but here's the finished product.  Well worth three days of pampering the brioche dough.  Pretty as a Prom Queen!

Hungarian Shortbread - Baking with Julia

 This week's recipe is really fun, and very good.  If you'd like to follow along with the recipe, this week's hosts are Lynette of 1smallkitchen, and Cher of The Not So Exciting Adventures of a Dabbler.  They've got the recipe posted on each of their blogs.  

The main ingredients for the shortbread are butter, flour, sugar, eggs & salt.   Nothing strange.   It's the way the ingredients are put together that makes this really unique and  fun.   After the ingredients are combined, the dough is divided into two portions, wrapped and frozen.   When the dough is really firm, it's grated with a box grater into the pan.  Topped with jam, then the second portion is grated onto the top.  The pan is baked until golden, then topped  while still very hot with powdered sugar.  The sugar immediately melts into an icing for the shortbread.    I was so amazed with the process that I forgot to get some action shots.  There's nothing really tricky about the assembly, so you'll be a-ok.  I bet some of the other bloggers have included some process photos.

I didn't make the rhubarb jam from scratch as suggested.  I had some fig jam that looked perfect for the filling.  It was sort of a Fig Newton vision.

The shortbread is the perfect tea party sweet.  Sweet, buttery, crumbly in a cute way, and no strong flavors to interfere with a lovely cup of tea.

Speaking of tea.  I'd like to share two of my favorite teas, and their corresponding tea bags.  I know that real tea drinkers steep loose tea, but these little charmers are so cute that you'll want to use a tea bag instead.  The first one is from Fauchon.   The shop is located on Place de la Madeleine, Paris and is a destination for food lovers everywhere.  The first things you'll notice is every vegetable artistically placed, and each jar and box presented like a gift.  A trip inside, and you'll be swept away.  I refer to their tea bags as "underpants tea bags"  They're made a sheer silky fabric that you can't believe someone used just to make a tea bag.  Inside, the perfectly cut tea leaves.  This one is arome du pomme, apple tea.  it sounds strange, but it was recommended to me to try on my first visit, and has been a favorite ever since.

The other tea bag is form  Mariage Frere,  a shop in the Marais, Paris.  The tea bags are made of muslin, and also very cute.  This is the tea salon to hit after a big day of sight-seeing or shopping in Paris.  The waiters are very handsome and dressed in cream-colored linen suits.  The retail area sells beautiful tea pots and exotic tea from all over the world.   Here's a tea bag with Sur le Nil, or On the Nile.  It's an infusion tea which is very fragrant and delicious without a lot of caffeine.  You can find both teas on online and sometimes in specialty shops here in the United States.

If you're heading to Paris and would like better directions and more tips and tricks,  you can visit my Notebook.   It's got addresses and more locations for food-related travel in Paris.

I hope you'll make the shortbread, wrap it in waxed paper, tie it with a ribbon, then share it with a friend or two.   Then, brew any kind of tea and spend some time savoring the sweetness of Spring.

p.s.  Just in case you'd like help on how to brew that perfect cup of tea, a found a nice article  from the Telegraph to help.  British of course!