Hooray for Bread!

 Love doesn't just sit there, like a stone; 

it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new.  

 --Ursula K. Le Guin

Mmmm. Fresh-baked bread.

While I love to bring home paper-wrapped artisanal loaves from our local bakery, there's just something about making bread with your own hands.

I have a lovely weekend routine of bread baking here at Chez Gourmess. My go-to recipe for the past several years has been Jim Lahey's "No-Knead Bread" -- it's so easy to make and comes out the oven golden brown and perfect. Every time. You can add chopped nuts, olives, raisins, herbs, flax seed, etc., to the dough -- there doesn't seem to be a way to mess it up. I usually make the dough before I go to bed and let it rise overnight. A couple more hours of rising the next morning, and it's ready to go. The bread is usually in the oven by the time Chris is done reading the Sunday paper. Voilà! 

 

And now, I've found another bread recipe to add to my culinary repertoire, thanks to Food52.com. It's one of my new favorite food communities, and one of the prettiest food sites around. There are tons of great recipes, and I recently discovered a post there with Dan Leader's 4-Hour Baguette recipe. Ooh la la, baguettes! When we were in Paris this past fall, I loved seeing everyone walking around with their morning bread -- how great would it be to have fresh baguettes every day? Now it looks like I can do just that. (At least on the weekends.)

The recipe is relatively easy, with minimal effort, and the bread is simply délicieux. (I actually made it one-handed due to an injured wrist, and the three loaves turned out beautifully despite my clumsy, GourMESS efforts.) Of course, like any baguette, these taste best when they are still warm from the oven, but if you do have one or two left, don't worry. At the two-day mark, they still seem to be just fine for sandwiches and toast.

 

Yum. I will definitely be making these baguettes again this weekend. Why don't you get the recipe here and join me?

After all, le pain est l'amour.
xoxo

Dessert is the New Dinner: Savory Bread Pudding

Who needs breakfast for dinner? I'm on a roll with dessert for dinner. First it was a lovely Tomato Pie, and now, below is a lovely recipe I pulled together for a savory bread pudding filled with sausage, butternut squash and the queen of all greens: kale. What's next? Ice cream for dinner? Wait, I've done that. (I couldn't resist a pint of Häagen-Dazs if my life depended on it.) But, back to the bread pudding -- with a hint of spice and a dab of sweet, it's delicate yet dense, rich, and delicious. Served with a lightly dressed salad and a glass of wine, this makes for a terrific twist on a favorite dessert, er dinner.

Savory Bread Pudding
Ingredients:
1-2 cups butternut squash, peeled, seeded, diced
Olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup green, red or yellow pepper, seeded and diced (optional)
4 links sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
2 TBS brandy
3 TBS unsalted butter
1 bunch kale, stems removed, leaves chopped
1 TBS parsley, finely chopped
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Salt/pepper
6 cups cubed bread (Italian, French, Sourdough, etc.)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream  (or 1 cup whole milk plus 1 cup light cream)
3 eggs
1 tsp nutmeg
1 TBS maple syrup (not pancake syrup)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
3 TBS goat cheese

To Do:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Toss squash in olive oil to coat and roast for 25-30 minutes, until tender and starting to brown. Remove the squash from oven and set aside. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees.
• In the meantime, cook garlic with a bit of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat until tender. Crumble the sausage and cook over medium-high until browned. (Note: I had some diced yellow pepper handy, so I added a handful to the pan, but you can omit if you want.) 

• Stir in the brandy and butter and let cook about 5 minutes before adding in the kale.

• When kale is tender but still bright green (about 3 minutes), remove the pan from the heat and stir in the roasted squash, parsley and red pepper flakes. Season mixture to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

• While your sausage is browning or your squash is roasting, cut your loaf of bread into bite-size cubes. (I find it easier to cut the loaf into thick slices first, then cut those lengthwise into strips, then crosswise into cubes.)

• In a large bowl, whisk together the cream and eggs until well combined.
• Add the nutmeg, maple syrup, ginger and garlic powder, and a pinch or two of salt and mix together.
• Add the bread cubes and gently stir until moistened. Let soak for about 10 minutes until liquid has absorbed completely.
• Stir the sausage/kale/squash mixture (including any liquid) into the bread mixture and combine.

• Transfer to a large, greased baking dish and pat down to fill completely.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes, covering with foil for the first 30 minutes. 
• When browned and lovely, dot the top with the cheddar and goat cheese, then bake for about 5 minutes more.

• Let cool 10-15 minutes, then serve with a simple salad.

Delish!
(Who says you can't have dessert first?)

xoxo

Grape Focaccia

This recipe is really grape!

I mean, "great!"

I was cleaning out the freezer (making room for more goodies) and came across two bags of seedless red grapes from an organic box of the past.

I think they were left over from the Soup Cleanse days, although for a while, I also tried to eat frozen grapes as a low-calorie alternative to ice cream -- but you can image how long that lasted.  So, the poor grapes languished in the freezer until I came across this great recipe from the New York Times: Grape Focaccia that was folded up in my "Cookery Ideas" binder.

Not only does the recipe give you a really easy focaccia base you can use again and again, it transforms this boring, lunchbox fruit into something worthy of your next wine and cheese party. And, did I mention it's really easy?

All you need is about 2 hours (1 for rising, the rest for assembly/baking) extra virgin olive oil, active dry yeast, all-purpose flour, cornmeal, rosemary leaves (fresh or dried), sugar, salt, seedless grapes, pine nuts and sea salt. Follow the recipe, and you're set. You could even make two batches at a time!

Your efforts will earn you a lovely, dense dough and a perfectly balanced mix of salt and sweet on top.

I will be making this one again soon, and I might also try my hand at a few other variations, such as a version with olives, one with bacon and shallots, or perhaps pecans and raisins, or maybe a lovely hard cheese...

Delish!
xoxoxo

Slow-Down Sunday

I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate. --Julia Child

Chris and I had a crazy hectic week this past week.  We only had time to sit down to dinner together a few nights, and even then we were preoccupied with our Blackberry devices and reading for work, etc. I have been waiting all week for us to just slow down and just enjoy life a bit.

Yesterday (Saturday) was a hot one -- mid 80s and probably the last warm day of the year. I had some potatoes left from my organic box and wanted to make something homey for dinner.  Chris was working in the city all day, so I figured I could make a mess and heat up the already humid kitchen a bit more in his absence and make a roast or a gratin, or something that required using the stove and/or oven (I've been in a bit of withdrawal not having 3+ hours of cooking to do each day, now that I've finished my course).  But, the day got ahead of me and after running some errands, I realized I still hadn't settled on what to make--and it was late enough in the day that it probably would end up being for Sunday dinner instead.

I started to brainstorm, and then I glanced up to the shelf above our kitchen pantry and saw our slow cooker, and I knew what I wanted.  Roasted, lemony, garlicky, olive-y slow-cooked chicken with rosemary, baby carrots and those lovely fingerling potatoes: Fancy Chicken Stew. So, I covered the bottom of my slow cooker pot with baby carrots, some small potatoes, rosemary sprigs, half a dozen peeled garlic cloves, some sliced shallot and a couple handfuls of olives (use a nice briny kind). Then, I stuffed/tied a roasting chicken with more rosemary, about 12 garlic cloves (peeled) and 2-3 lemons, seeded and cut in wedges. The chicken went on top of the veggies (breast side down is best but either way is fine) and then I poured 2 cups of chicken broth and 1/2 cup of lemon juice over it, then sprinkled on some salt/pepper and Herbes de Provence, then dotted the whole thing with 1/2 a stick of butter and put on the lid. I put the cooker on the 6 hour setting, cleaned up the now semi-cooler kitchen and fixed myself a cocktail while I waited for Chris to come home.

I also started another batch of bread -- this time, I used bread flour (you can use all purpose, too) and added in 1/4 cup of dried rosemary to the dry ingredients.  By 10 p.m. the house smelled lovely from the slow-cooker, and this morning, after I made the bread -- it was heaven on earth. Rosemary is under appreciated, I do believe.

Today, about 40 minutes before we wanted to eat, I took the chicken out of the slow cooker insert, separated the meat from the bones and put the rest of the stew and chicken in a big pot on the stove. The slow-cooker does marvels for a chicken -- it literally just slides off the bones and becomes almost instantly shredded once you gently stir it. It's also unbelievably tender and juicy. I slowly re-heated it to a low simmer, then ladled it into bowls and served with the fresh-baked rosemary bread and some white wine. Chris and I took our time as we savored some lazy Sunday evening conversation and this lovely chicken stew.  Terrific.

Life is good.

xoxoxo

Welcome Fall

I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate. --Julia Child

Fall is officially here and I am ecstatic!  I love fall.  The colorful leaves, warm sweaters, apple-picking, the chill in the air that hints of cozy evenings by the fire.  The produce is lovely this time of year--going to the farmer's market is a must.  I love love fall. And, I love the food.

Fall is when I get out my beloved No-Knead Bread recipe from the New York Times and make a loaf every weekend. If you have flour, yeast, salt, water and a dutch oven, it is the easiest thing in the world--and there's nothing like the smell of fresh-baked bread to help you ease into Monday.

Rivaling fresh-baked bread is fresh-baked fruit crisp, and I've made two in the past week.  I got my lovely box of food from my organic co-op and there were so many plums, peaches, pears and apples this time, that I had to do something or risk them all turning to mush.  So, I peeled them and cut them into bite-sized chunks and put them in the bottom of a casserole dish until it was almost full.  Then, I mixed together 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup almond flour (you can use ground almonds), a dash of almond extract, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar (you may need more or less, depending on how ripe your fruit is, so be sure to add more/less to taste), a pinch of ginger, and several dashes of nutmeg and cinnamon. Then, I slowly poured in some melted butter (about 10 TBS), stirring it into the dry ingredients with a fork until crumbly. I let the crumb mixture sit for about 15 minutes before I covered the fruit with it and baked in a 375 degree oven for about 35 minutes, until brown and bubbly.  (Those apple-cinnamon scented candles we buy don't hold a candle--pun intended--to the aroma of a fall fruit crisp baking in the oven.)  Scoop the still warm crisp into bowls and top with homemade vanilla or ginger ice cream-- or even whipped cream does the trick.   What a treat!

Happy Fall!
xoxoxo