Have a Heart

This is a super late Valentine's post (due to a trip to Monterey this past weekend), but you could use this idea for St. Patrick's Day by making three braids, coiling each into a circle, placing on the baking pan in a clover shape, and using a bit of dough cut off one end to make a stem for the clover. It would also make a fine triple braid loaf (well actually two triple braid loaves) if you are not into holiday celebration craftiness.

I made the Valentine's heart bread for Grandma L since she invited us for dinner on Valentine's day and she is more of a savory person than someone who likes sweets. She loved it and we ate about half of it with dinner.

I like that it is an easy dough to work with and that it has seeds throughout. There is also the goodness of oatmeal and whole wheat flour plus the happy use of sourdough starter for the leavening. Makes great toast, too. I was making the savory biscotti dough at the same time as this dough, so I put the seeded dough into the fridge for a day and a half which deepened the sourdough flavor and meant that I could bake it up fresh for the dinner party.

Yesterday I made the same dough again, but didn't retard it as long as Grandma's loaf. I also make enough for three loaves, each about a pound and a half. Two became long braids and one a braid coiled to fit a 9" cake pan.

As you can see, this is all about fun with delicious bread as the product.

I'm sending this over to Susan at Wild Yeast for the weekly Yeastspotting event. This is a wonderful weekly roundup of great yeast based recipes, and a few things made using bread. Do jump over there and check it out.

Sourdough Oatmeal and Whole Wheat Bread with Seeds

Poolish
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups sourdough starter

Second
1/3 cup oats
1/3 cup water
1 cup bread flour
1/3 cup water
all of the Poolish

Third
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mixed seeds (I used King Arthur Ancient Grains which also includes some rolled grains) like sunflower, flax, poppy, sesame, pumpkin
all of the Second mixture
1/2 cup milk (I used 2% but any milk will do, even canned evaporated)
1/2 cup water

about 1/4 cup additional bread flour

Olive oil to oil rising container and plastic wrap

Glaze:
1 egg
1 teaspoon water

Poolish:
In a large bowl combine the all-purpose flour and the whole wheat flour. Stir in the water until it is combined and fairly smooth. Stir in the sourdough starter and combine well. Let sit at room temperature about two hours. Tiny bubbles will form in the mixture.

Second:
In a microwave safe bowl combine the rolled oats and 1/3 cup water. Microwave on high one minute. Stir. Return to microwave and cook and additional two minutes. Set aside to cool.
When oatmeal is cool, break it up with a spoon. Take the Poolish mixture and stir in the flour, water and cooled oatmeal. Let sit on the counter 2 hours.

Third:

In a large bowl or measuring cup combine the bread flour, whole wheat flour, salt and seeds.
Place the Second mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the milk and water and beat on low speed with the paddle attachment to combine.

Switch to the bread hook and add the flour/seed mixture, about a 1/2 cup at a time, letting the dough form and climb the hook. As the dough becomes supple it will mostly clean the sides of the bowl. Use the additional flour, if needed, adding it about 1 tablespoon at a time, to keep the dough from slumping off the hook and into the bottom of the bowl. Knead 6 - 8 minutes or until dough is soft and supple.

Use olive oil to prepare a large bowl or container for letting the dough rise. Cover with oiled plastic wrap or a clean shower cap and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured board. Divide into two or three equal portions.

Each portion can be shaped as you wish, put in a pan if desired or put onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or Silpat mat. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and a tea towel and let rise until doubled in bulk.

Glaze the loaves with a wash made of one egg beaten with 1 teaspoon of water.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20-35 minutes (depending on shape) until golden brown and loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the back. Let cool a bit before slicing into bread.

Bread Baking Babes Go Sicilian

Happy 4th Anniversary to us, the bodacious, brazen,wine and whiskey drinking, bread-centric Bread Baking Babes! As the Bread Baking Babes gather around the kitchen table of Lien of Notitie Van Lien blog, our kitchen of the month, we are exploring another type of bread, appropriately spicy in celebration of 4 years of bread baking fun.

Although I have not had the pleasure of being a Babe the whole time, I can tell you that this group of sassy women are good to each other, opinionated in the best of all ways, always up for a bread baking challenge and intensely individual. About the only rule is the one to e-mail the kitchen of the month hostess if you want to be a Buddy. I just wish all groups were this much fun.

This month we are baking Biscotti Picanti (Sicilian Spicy Rusks), a specialty of Castelvetrano in Sicily. The recipe is from Savory baking from the Mediterranean - by Anissa Helou.

Crunchy and just a bit crumbly is a good description for these savory biscotti. Up to now I've only had sweet biscotti cookies, twice baked and dry and none of them has had any yeast in them. This savory version does have yeast. It also has seeds; both the sesame seeds called for in the recipe and a seed mix from King Arthur flour that I used instead of the anise seed since I'm not a fan of that flavor. I also substituted a couple of tablespoons of Meyer Lemon olive oil for some of the olive oil so these have a nicely citrus, seedy flavor, given just a hint of heat from the freshly cracked black pepper.

These are delicious with wine. I served them with the wine I used to make them, a Kenwood Pinot Grigio. Although these keep well because they are dry, I suspect you'll find that they are too delicious to last long but don't worry...they are easy to make, too. I loved the feel of the dough...very easy to knead with all of that olive oil in it.

The smaller biscotti from the ends of the logs were just a bit crisper than the others, which is something that Sweetie loves.

I'm sending these over to Susan at Wild Yeast this week. Do check it out. Yeastspotting, the weekly forum she provides, is a fantastic collection of yeast based recipes for bread, both sweet and savory. Also, do check out the post of these delicious biscotti a the rest of the Bread Baking Babes' sites. Links can be found at the right.

Last, but not least, be a Buddy by baking these, and then sending a photo and description of your baking experience via E-MAIL to Lien at notitievanlien(at)gmail(dot)com by February 29th to be included in the round-up. Looking forward to seeing your take on this delicious snack.



Biscotti Picanti (Sicilian Spicy Rusks)
(makes about 36 rusks)

2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast (1 package = 7 grams)
60 ml warm water
1 ⅔ (± 225 g) cups AP-flour (+ extra for kneading and shaping)
1 ⅔ (240 g) cups semolina flour
¼ cups (25 g) aniseed
3 TBsp (28 g) white sesame seeds
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ cup + 2 TBsp (150 ml/130 g) extra-virgin olive oil (+ extra for greasing the bowl)
¼ cup (60 ml) dry white wine
115 ml water

1. Dissolve the yeast in ( ¼ cup/60 ml) warm water and stir until creamy.

2. Combine flours, aniseed, sesame seeds, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Add the olive oil in the well and rub into the flour with your fingertips until well incorporated.

3. Add yeast, wine and (½ cup (115 ml)) warm water en knead briefly to make a rough ball of dough. Knead this for another 3-5 minutes or so. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
Knead for another 3 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball and let rise in a lightly greased bowl, covered with greased plastic, for 1 hour in a warm place (or until doubled).

4. Divide the dough in 3 equal pieces and shape each piece into a loaf about 12”( 30 cm) long.
Transfer the logs to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and leaving at least 2 inches/5 cm between them so they can expand. Take a dough cutter (or sharp knife) and cut the loaves into 1 inch/2,5 cm thick slices (or if you prefer them thinner in 1"/1 cm slices). Cover with greased plastic and let the rise for about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile preheat the oven to 500ºF/260ºC.

5. Bake the sliced loaves for 15 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 175ºF/80ºC.
Separate the slices and turn so that they lie flat on the baking sheet. Return to the oven and bake for about 1 hour more, or until golden brown and completely hardened (if not totally hardened, return to the turned off oven to let them dry more).Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Serve at room temperature, or store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

(source: “Savory baking from the Mediterranean” - Anissa Helou)

Personal Party Cake

A few years ago the Daring Bakers made Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake, a wonderful lemon flavored confection with raspberry jam and lemon buttercream. A few days ago I was wondering what kind of cake to make for my birthday. Since I love to bake and have few occasions when I can bake cakes these days, naturally I wanted to make my own cake for the occasion.

My usual cake obsession is with chocolate cake but this year for some reason I was drawn to lemon as a flavor. I thought I'd make a repeat of that Perfect Party Cake, but instead I took another Dorie recipe called Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake and turned it into the lemon cake of my dreams. In true Dorie fashion I rubbed the lemon zest from a whole lemon into the sugar before adding it to the creamed butter. To increase the lemon factor without using lemon extract, I also added the juice of that same lemon to the sour cream before adding it to the batter. Since I took out the cocoa powder that would have made it chocolate, I replaced it with all-purpose flour and added a couple extra tablespoons to offset the additional liquid of the lemon juice.

As you can see this became another cake altogether, a personal party cake. I did split it into three layers and raspberry jam, slightly thinned and then warmed, was spread on the two cut layers. Instead of ganache or chocolate buttercream, I used whipped cream to frost the loaf and placed row upon row of fresh, enormous raspberries on the top. Sorry I forgot to take a photo of the candle (at my age one candle is plenty to represent all the other years) but I can tell you that it was a wonderful cake. The cake itself was firm with a nice tight texture, just as a pound cake type cake should be. The lemon flavor had just the right amount of assertiveness. The whipped cream was a nice textural contrast with the cake because it was creamy and soft. A bite which had some cake, some whipped cream and one of those glorious red, fully flavored raspberries was a bite of heaven! Happy Birthday to me.

A key tip for making this cake is to be sure to be patient and beat the ingredients for a long time if the recipe calls for it...no short cuts or you'll be sorry. Everything should be at room temperature. I did end up tenting the cake with foil for the last 15 minutes, so do check it at that point. Make sure your berries are dry and that you whip the cream enough for it to hold its shape, but not so long it turns to butter. Just keep a close watch on it as it whips and you'll be fine.


Lemon and Raspberry Personal Party Cake
inspired by a cake in Dorie Greenspan's Baking, From My Home to Yours

2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon, colored part only
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream at room temperature
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup best-quality raspberry am
1 teaspoon water
8 oz. heavy whipping cream, chilled
1 teaspoon sugar
6 oz. fresh raspberries, washed and dried gently

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, with a rack in the center of the oven space.
Butter a 9 1/2 x 5-inch loaf pan, dust with flour, and tap out the extra flour. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer, beat the butter in a large bowl. While the butter is creaming, rub the lemon zest into the sugar in another bowl. Add the sugar to the butter and continue beating at medium speed for 3 minutes, until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition for about a minute. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the sour cream and the lemon juice. Mix for a minute to fully combine. With the mixer still on low speed, add the dry ingredients and continue mixing only until most of the dry ingredients have been incorporated into the batter. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides and beater and to finish blending any remaining dry ingredients into the batter. Use the spatula to put the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly.

Bake for about 60 minutes, checking at 45 minutes to see if the top is getting too brown. If it is, tent with foil loosely. When cake is done a knife inserted into the center will come out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then turn out of the pan onto the rack. Cool to room temperature.

Heat the jam and water over low heat or in the microwave just until boiling, stirring to combine. Let cool.

Slice the cake into three layers. Place the bottom layer on a rectangular cake or board and spread half the jam mixture over the layer (1/4 cup). Top with the next layer and repeat with the rest of the jam. Top with the final layer. Chill in the 'fridge while whipping the cream.

Whip the cream at high speed in a chilled bowl with chilled beaters, adding the sugar after the cream has started to thicken (I drape a tea towel over the mixer at the beginning to stop spattering, then remove it when the cream starts to thicken). When the cream is thick enough to hold its shape use an offset spatula to frost the sides and then the top of the cake, swirling if you like. Take the prepared raspberries and decorate the top of the cake. Chill finished cake for at least an hour to firm everything up.

To serve, cut with serrated knife. Makes 12 servings.

Chicken and Dumplings Today

I was looking through a book that has been languishing on my cookbook shelf for a while, James Beard's Theory and Practice of Good Cooking (from 1977). My impression is that Mr. Beard was a teacher and I must admit that his introduction to the Boiling chapter was as comprehensive a discussion of what happens in cooking when heat is applied to a liquid as you can imagine. Poaching, Steaming, making of Stock, Soups, Pasta and more are illustrated as you go through the chapter with wonderful recipes for each category included.

When I reached Dumplings and Gnocchi and saw Old Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings I realized that I already had a great recipe from my Mom for that. Sure enough, when I checked out the recipe it was for simmered chicken topped with dumplings that become cooked and light via steam...from boiling liquid. It is old fashioned comfort food, warm and savory. Just the thing for a chilly winter night. It is also apparently part of a renewed interest in Southern cooking. Nothin' wrong with that. It photographs as sort of plain, not an uncommon problem with some poached foods, but don't let that put you off. Give it a try!

My mother's version is only a bit different from Mr. Beard's. My updated version of my Mom's recipe includes using boneless, skinless chicken pieces, not because they are superior to whole chickens but because that's what I had on hand. Again, they don't look too pretty but this dish has FAR less fat than fried chicken, another newly popular Southern food (which does, indeed, look better).

I think a fuller chicken flavor would have been possible if the chicken had at least had bones. I also removed the chicken from the broth once it was just cooked. The bowl with the chicken stayed warm in the closed microwave, with a layer of foil over the dish since I wasn't actually going to microwave it. While the chicken stayed warm I reduced the broth by about 1/3 which helped strengthen the chicken flavor without toughening the chicken itself. Perhaps if I had started with a whole chicken I would have been comfortable keeping the chicken in the boiling stock. Might have to try that next time.

When it came time to cook the dumplings, I just put them right into the simmering stock, closed the pot lid tightly and let them steam 15 minutes. Once the dumplings were cooked I removed them to the bowl with the chicken, then thickened the stock with a flour/water paste. At last all the elements could be mingled with the dumplings being placed around the edge of the pan and the chicken in the middle. I spooned some of the sauce over the chicken and served it up. Green peas added some green to the dish.

Although the chicken itself, napped with sauce, was delicious, I must admit I enjoyed the dumplings. They were as I remembered them from childhood; the underside was moist and succulent from the broth, the top was dry but tender and the center was light and tender, too. The parsley added color and just a bit of herby flavor. It's amazing that I've not made this dish in ages. It does take a little time since you simmer the chicken, then have to steam the dumplings, but it isn't difficult and it's pretty healthy and low fat since I use non-fat milk for the dumplings and skinless chicken, too.

The vegetables can be varied and you could add some white wine, too, for additional flavor, but the one thing you must have is a pot with a tight fitting lid so that the steam stays trapped for cooking the dumplings. Otherwise you might have lumps more like bricks than clouds and that would be a shame.

Chicken and Dumplings
Serves 4-6

2 lbs cut up chicken (I used boneless, skinless...if using chicken with bones, plan on additional simmering time)
2 parsley sprigs
1 bay leaf
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 lb mushrooms
1 carrot cut in half and sliced
1 stalk celery, cut in three pieces
1/2 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
for Dumplings:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup milk

Clean the chicken with cold water and put into the refrigerator until ready to cook. Using a pot with a tight lid that will hold the chicken and about the same volume of other ingredients, cover the bottom with the herbs, mushrooms, carrot, celery and onion, distributing the ingredients throughout the pot.

Place the chicken pieces over the herbs and vegetables and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Barely cover the chicken with cold water. Cover tightly and heat to boiling. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until tender, 1 - 2 hours. Check at 1 hour to see how close to being done the chicken is.

When chicken is tender, remove with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl or pan, cover with foil and keep warm. (I put the bowl into the microwave but didn't use the microwave at all while the chicken sat). Remove the parsley sprigs, thyme sprigs, bay leaf and celery pieces and discard.

Increase the heat and, with pot uncovered, boil the broth to reduce by 1/3. While broth is still at boiling point, add dumplings (recipe below), cover tightly, reduce heat to simmer, and steam dumplings for 15 minutes.Keep the lid on the whole time...no peeking!

After dumplings are cooked, remove them to the bowl with the chicken, again using a slotted spoon. Thicken the broth with a flour/water paste (the amount will depend on the amount of broth...usually 1-2 tablespoons all-purpose flour mixed with slightly more water than that) and simmer until thickened.

Return the chicken and dumplings to the pot, basting the chicken with the thickened sauce. Cover and keep over low heat for 1 minute to return everything to a hot temperature. Serve at once with a green vegetable or salad, being sure to include at least one dumpling and some sauce with each serving.

Slept Through the 31st

What a way to end the month of posts...I slept through most of the 31st. Took a flu shot but seems like I got some sort of flu anyway...fever, painful joints, super sleepy, no appetite, sneezing...you get the idea.

So this will have to count as yesterday's post...and all it is going to be is a photo of Get Well Soup. To get the recipe go HERE.

It was a blast doing the daily posts but I think February will be more like most months last year. Do check in on the 16th for the Bread Baking Babe post.

Well, back to bed. Hope you, dear reader, are feeling tip top and healthy. I'll get there soon, too.

XO Elle

Pork Yumminess for a Cold Night

Sometimes things just come together. The plants go in the ground just before a gentle rain falls, followed by warmth and sunshine, so they grow well from the start. A job opens up after months of not much interest when resumes were sent, then housing nearby is easy to find and the move happens just before a big snowfall. Requests for a speaker for an important meeting fall through and then, at the last minute, you get a 'yes' from the speaker you wanted the most. Things like that brighten you day, week or month.

Today things came together on the dinner front. I knew we had some boneless pork that needed to be cooked, I had a yen for polenta, inspection of the produce bin showed that we had both fresh mushrooms and baby spinach. After that it was just a matter of remembering other dishes that were good and borrowing from them. Sautéed onion, mushrooms, celery and garlic can be the base for any number of delicious savory meals. Sage and thyme go so well with pork and with mushrooms.

Julia Child often threw some orange peel into this kind of braised meat dish, so why not this one? Ditto with the red wine and touch of tomato sauce. My mom's stew recipe uses Worcestershire so I added some of that, too, plus a bit of leftover chicken broth to keep the meat submerged in liquid as it braised.

I've always loved polenta with a little Parmesan cheese added and I know that this sort of hearty braised meat goes well with polenta. The spinach? It was the thing that pulled it all together, plus the bright green color is so appealing.

Have fun with this. The wine could be replaced with beer, ale or stout, or even white wine. The fresh mushrooms could be replaced with dried and reconstituted ones. Add more garlic, skip the orange peel, replace the celery with fennel. I'm sure you will still have a wonderful dish that will warm you up on a cold night as it did Sweetie and Elle.


Pork Ragout with Spinach over Polenta

2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
4 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/4 lbs boneless pork (I used country rib meat), cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh sage
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried orange peel or a 1-inch by 2-inch piece of fresh orange peel minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
Polenta for 2 - 4 people
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups baby spinach leaves, rinsed and drained

In a large, heavy bottomed ovenproof pot heat 1-2 tablespoons of the olive oil and saute' the onions, mushrooms, celery and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes, stirring often.

While vegetables are cooking, heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Blot the meat cubes if necessary. Dry meat browns better than cubes with moisture one them. Brown the pork cubes on all sides, working with about 1/4 of the meat at a time. As the pork finishes browning, transfer to the vegetable pot.

To the vegetables and pork add the sage, thyme, orange peel, salt and pepper, red wine, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce and chicken broth. Cover the pot and place over medium heat on the stove top while you preheat the oven.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. When oven is hot remove the pot of pork and vegetables from the heat and put it into the oven, still covered. Cook for 1 hour, checking in the last 15 minutes to make sure there is still enough liquid so that the contents don't burn.

When the pork has about 15 minutes left, prepare polenta according to the package directions. When cooked stir in the Parmesan cheese.

When the polenta is almost done, remove the pot from the oven, stir in the spinach, and set aside, covered for 2-3 minutes to wilt the spinach. Serve the pork and vegetable mixture over the polenta in wide bowls. Garnish with more grated Parmesan if desired. Serves 2- 4

One for the Cookbook

The Family Food cookbook revision is coming along. I've gotten some additional old favorites thanks to the Wolf's wife, Second Sister Down, and Big Sis. Still hoping for the new rendition of Lane Cake from Mandy. She figured out how to make it almost traditional but with no artificially candied fruits so it would be a great addition.

You many not be blessed with as many siblings as I am but I'll bet you have shared stories and the occasional (or not so occasional) difficulty between siblings. I think that is the way of it. A lot of the books I've been reading recently seem to have stories that hinge, in one way or another, on relationships between siblings. My own relationships with my siblings are mostly warm and friendly but we only communicate now and then with each other...the Internet helps there...but when we are face to face you will see us talking non-stop. This can be puzzling to anyone else, including spouses. It is not the result of bad feelings between us (usually) or not caring about each other, or selfishness or indifference; the root lies in our childhood (now that's different, right?)

One of the reasons we don't just pick up the phone and get some of that talking done when we are apart is that we were raised to only use the phone when absolutely necessary...like calling a friend for the homework assignment if we were home sick. With each call no matter how short having a cost attached and with 8 children you can see how that became the rule...and is was sensible. Unfortunately even as adults many of us don't feel comfortable just calling someone for no good reason, just to chat. I suspect that this is unusual. What is your experience in this regard dear reader?

So it may take a while before I call around and get the rest of the recipes the cookbook might be missing but in the meantime I want to share our recipe for Fried Oysters. It was passed down by Dad to me as the Friday cook and to other siblings but certainly to the Wolf, who passed them on to sons Captain and Cucumber Spraygun.

I'm going to give Dad's recipe with a few tips from the latter three. I use this recipe but my variation is to use Panko instead of dry bread crumbs. I like the lightness and crunchiness of Panko coated fried oysters.

Raw oysters look so nasty that it is totally amazing that anyone ever tried to eat one. They must have been pretty hungry. Of course once they tasted them and got that briny deliciousness imprinted on their brain it is quite understandable that shell mounds soon followed.

If you have trouble with the idea of eating a raw oyster, do try this fried version. The oysters become creamy and almost light and the crust has some crunch that is a great counterpoint in texture and flavor. I add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice while Sweetie likes Chili sauce with his. Plain ketsup is good with them, too. Just be sure to serve them hot. Don't those look delicious?


Fried Oysters

1 jar oysters for two people
1 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs
1/4 cup water or milk
2 cups fine dry bread crumbs or Panko
Vegetable oil or shortening...enough to come up 1 inch on your frying pan when hot

Drain the oysters in a strainer or colander. Discard the drained liquid or reserve to flavor oyster stew.

Prepare the breading: In one bowl combine the flour and salt and pepper. In another bowl beat the eggs with the water. (Note: the Wolf and sons use milk in their egg wash and make it an eggy wash, not so much liquid.) In a pie pan or similar wide shallow bowl place the fine dry bread crumbs (plain, not seasoned)or Panko crumbs.

Line a sheet pan with waxed paper or parchment paper. Using a fork or spoon, transfer an oyster to the flour bowl and dredge with flour. Transfer to the egg mixture bowl and coat with the egg mixture, then transfer to the bread crumbs or Panko and coat with that. Lift the oyster up to dislodge excess bread crumbs or Panko and place the breaded oyster on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat this process until all of the oyster have been breaded. Chill the oysters for at least 15 minutes, up to 30 minutes to set the breading.



Slowly heat the vegetable oil or shortening in a frying pan to about 1 inch depth (the Wolf and sons might have it deeper, more like 2-3 inches), until oil is very hot, just shy of smoking. When the oil is hot, fry the oysters, about 6 - 8 at a time, turning to the other side when the first side is golden brown. When golden on both sides, remove from the oil with slotted spoon or tongs to a tray lined with absorbent paper. Add the next batch of oysters, then transfer the ones on the absorbent paper to a cookie sheet in a warm oven to keep them warm. Put them in to fry at intervals so you don't cool the oil.

When all are fried, mound on a platter and serve with lemon wedges and ketsup or chili sauce.

Cake for Year of the Dragon

One of the excellent things about belonging to a baking group like the Bread Baking Babes is that members sometimes steer you to a blog you might not have noticed. Recently we were told to check out Farine and I'm glad I did. She baked an unusual cake to celebrate the Year of the Dragon...Dragon Blood Cake, using blood oranges.

Blood oranges are similar to naval oranges, but have a dark orange-red juice that resemble blood color. This cake would have benefited from some extra blood orange juice drizzled on after it baked to jazz up the color, but the cake itself was full of flavor with both orange and ginger giving it some fire.

Another unusual thing about it is that it starts with sourdough starter and is without dairy ingredients. The texture more closely resembled pudding when Sweetie and I had some, but then it was still slightly warm. It was enjoyable as a different sort of cake, but I probably won't make it again quite this way. I think I'd like to use some almond flour in it, too, and a little less zest.

Since the lunar New Year started Monday you may want to celebrate the Year of the Dragon (Water Dragon this time) by trying this cake, too.


Farine's Blood of the Dragon Cake
http://www.farine-mc.com/2012/01/blood-of-dragon-healthy-new-year-orange.html?showComment=1327441695491#c8750413475984627340

For the starter
• 180 g mature levain (starter)
• 180 g white whole wheat pastry flour
• 180 g cultured buttermilk
• 25 g ginger syrup

For the batter
• 80 g extra-virgin olive oil
• juice and zest of 2 blood oranges
• 100 g unsweetened applesauce
• 50 g bits of crystallized ginger
• pinch of salt
• note: the oranges I used were very sweet and with the crystallized ginger and the bit of syrup in the starter, I didn't need more sugar. You should taste the batter prior to baking (one of the advantages of baking without eggs is that you can actually have a taste) and determine whether or not sugar should be added Elle's note: I added about a tablespoon of honey to sweeten it up a bit)

For the finished cake
• blood oranges
• confectioner's sugar


Method:
1. Starter is prepared at least 4 hours before baking: mix all ingredients with wooden spoon, cover tightly and let rise at warm room temperature

2. When the starter has doubled, add other ingredients, mix with wooden spoon and pour in oil-sprayed pan. Bake for 40 minutes in pre-heated 350°F/177°C oven

3. When done (a cake tester comes out clean), turn off the oven and leave the cake inside for another 5 to 10 minutes with oven door ajar. Cool on a rack

4. Dust with confectioner's sugar

5. Serve with freshly sliced blood oranges. Alternatively drench with blood orange juice before serving.

Spirals

Spirals are fascinating. Think of spiral staircases spinning up and down, the spirals in a shell found on the beach, the curl that can add charm when it escapes the updo and froths around the neck or ear or forehead.

Another spiral that I love is the one created when you roll things up jelly-roll fashion, including jelly rolls themselves. For Christmas I made some amazing spiral swirled cinnamon rolls using a family recipe of a friend. If I get her permission I'll post them. Like the successful after-Christmas-party herb rolls using the same roll-'em-up, cut-'em-off techniques and thawed frozen bread dough, I once tried doing it with cinnamon roll ingredients. Awesome!

You can do this one even if you are unsure of your bread dough skills...the frozen dough makes it easy and your family and friends won't know it isn't totally from scratch if you don't tell them. Just try it and take a bow.


Cinnamon Buns the Easy Way

2 1-lb portions frozen bread dough, thawed
1/4 stick (4 tablespoons) soft butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup raisins or currants, plumped**
Optional icing*

On a large flat clean workspace like a breadboard, granite, marble or melamine counter, dust work surface generously with flour. Place the two thawed portions of dough side by side. Using a floured rolling pin or your hands spread the dough out into a 14 x 16-inch rectangle, pinching the two mounds of dough together where they meet, to create one rectangle. If the dough resists spreading, walk away for a minute or two, then try again.

Spread the rectangle with the softened butter, leaving a 1/2 inch space around the edges free of butter.

In a small bowl combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice and salt. Once combined sprinkle the mixture evenly over the dough rectangle, keeping it within the buttered part. Over that sprinkle the nuts and raisins or currants (or you could substitute another dried fruit here). Roll up jelly-roll fashion along the long side of the rectangle. Don't roll too tightly. When the end is reached, pinch it to the roll to seal.

Using a sharp knife or dental floss, cut into 16 rolls, about an inch thick. Place half of the rolls in each of two greased 9-inch cake pans, leaving some room between the rolls for rising and expanding. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F while the rolls are rising.

Bake risen rolls 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove pans from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Design Instead of Food

Today, and part of yesterday, plus a day a week ago, I was really glad that I spent the time last fall and winter learning InDesign. Sometimes it comes in handy to know a bit about Illustrator and Photoshop, too.

As I know I've mentioned in the past, I belong to a great group of gals called P.E.O. Chapter AJ. We are part of the larger P.E.O. International organization, which is a philanthropic education organization, meaning a large number of women working together to fund educational opportunities for women. Just this year our Chapter has been part of awarding over $6,000 in scholarships to 7 women. Organization wide we are talking millions of dollars to help women reach for the stars and meet their educational goals. We've been around since January of 1869 in the U.S. and for almost that long in Canada.

So why am I telling you these two things dear reader? Because yesterday and today I spent the time I probably would have used to cook or bake something (which could be posted here) to create an invitation to our Chapter's 100th Birthday party.

We're going to invite all of our Chapter members and some friends to a tea party...and I got to create the invitations graphics and text...and print them...and cut them...and fold them...and stuff the envelopes...and address and stamp them. It's the kind of thing I'm good at and enjoy...and it's for a very round number birthday. You know that I love birthdays!

So tomorrow I'll be back with something yummy I cooked or baked and photos of the same but for today I only have photos of the filled envelopes and the front of the invitation. Wish you were going to be coming.

If you have any questions about P.E.O. send me an e-mail or leave a comment. There are chapters throughout the United States and a womens' college, Cottey college, too (http://www.cottey.edu/). If you live in California, I know that there are a number of scholarships given at the state level to support many kinds of majors and those can be applied for just by visiting the California P.E.O. website (http://www.peocalifornia.org/) and applying. In these difficult financial times when college is so expensive this information might just help a woman you know.

Stupendous Milkbar Cookies

It isn't often that I come across a completely new concept in baking. For years and years and years I've browsed cookbook, magazines and (lately) the Internet picking up cooking and baking ideas and techniques from sources old and new.

For example when I had my muffin company I scoured old cookbooks to see what variations there were for muffins...and found more than the way I had grown up making them! Learning to make sponge cakes was such fun when all I had known was cake mixes and then batter cakes that start with creamed butter. Yeast raised waffles are different from ones where the rise comes from baking powder and/or folded in whipped egg whites. You get the idea...I like to understand the process as well as enjoy the product.

So when I picked up a copy of Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook and started looking through it the sensations I felt were excitement and confusion. Who knew that things call Crack Pie and Compost Cookies start with components called crunch, crumb and soil and things like pumpkin ganache and liquid cheesecake? Had to have a copy for my own, so was thrilled to get one thanks to Natasha...yay Christmas! If you love sugar and butter you will come to agree that Christina Tosi is a genius, too.

The first thing that I figured out was that all that crunch, crumb, soil, crust and so on is predicated on making a lot of these desserts. That's fine for a commercial bakery or restaurant but not so great for this homemaker plus hubby...we don't need trays and trays of cookies. A lot of the components freeze which would be fine if I had lots of freezer space, but I don't. I still think it is an awesome book and that the recipes sound amazing, but I think I'll need to save some of it for when I can do a lot of 'baking and giving away the results' at one time.

One recipe that I did figure out how to make without storing components was Compost Cookies. They really sound cool...a buttery cookie dough gets combined with ground coffee, rolled oats, potato chips, pretzels and other goodies like mini chocolate chips. Then the mixture gets chilled, then baked into enormous, gigantic cookies that are so delicious you want to eat every single one of them! This is dangerous people. I might have to make Crack Pie after all.

A key thing to know about this recipe is that it requires patience. You absolutely want to cream the butter and sugar for the full 2-3 minutes and definitely want to beat for the full 7-8 minutes after adding the egg and vanilla. That is about 9 minutes longer than, say, Toll House cookies. After the fun part of just barely mixing in the rest of the ingredients you do want to follow the recipe and chill the portioned dough for at least an hour. Worth the wait, believe me.

I'm going to give you the measurements for the actual amount of Graham Crust that the recipe calls for. If you buy the book you might want to make the whole amount because there are other great recipes that call for that component. I'm also going to give the ingredients by teaspoons and cups because that's what I used to make 'em.


Compost Cookies
from Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook by Christina Tosi (makes 14-20 cookies)

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup tightly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons glucose (couldn't find this so used same amount of Golden Syrup)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips (I used regular since the market was out of the mini ones)
1/2 cup butterscotch chips (instead I used 1/4 cup toffee bits and 1/4 cup white chocolate chips...hay they said to put in the stuff we like...and so can you)
the Graham Crust (recipe follows)
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 1/2 teaspoons ground coffee (whatever you use to brew coffee with...but not the grounds you have already brewed coffee with...nor instant coffee granules either)
2 cups potato chips (I used Ruffles but might try Kettle chips next time)
1 cup mini-pretzels

Combine the butter, sugars, and glucose (golden syrup) in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle then add the egg and vanilla and beat for 7 to 8 minutes until light and fluffy.

Reduce the speed to low and add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix just until the dough comes together, no longer than 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.

Still on low speed, add the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips (or your choice of mix-in snack food), graham crust component, oats, and coffee and mix just until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add the potato chips and pretzels and mix, still on low speed, until just incorporated, hardly at all.

Using a 2 3/4 oz ice cream scoop (or a 1/3 cup measure) portion out the dough onto a parchment-lined sheet pan. Pat the tops of the cookie dough domes flat. Wrap the sheet pan tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 1 week. Do not bake your cookies from room temperature dough - they will not bake properly.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Arrange the chilled dough a minimum of 4 inches apart on parchment or Silpat lined sheet pans. Bake for 18 minutes. The cookies will puff, crackle, and spread. After 18minutes they should be very faintly browned on the edges yet still bright yellow in the center. Give them and extra minute or so if that's not the case. Try to avoid watching the State of the Union Address while the cookies are baking as I did...they probably cooked a minute or two longer than they should...but were still addictively good.

Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before transferring to a plate or an airtight container for storage. At room temp cookies will keep fresh for 5 days; in the freezer they will keep for 1 month. Good luck with having any left after 1 week much less 1 month!

Graham Crust (enough for 1 batch Compost Cookies)

Toss 6 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs, 1 tablespoon dry milk powder, 1/2 tablespoon sugar and a scant 1/4 teaspoon salt together in a medium bowl to evenly distribute the ingredients.

Whisk together in a small bowl 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 tablespoon heavy cream.

Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients and toss again to evenly distribute. The mixture will resemble small clusters of graham cracker crust. Set aside until needed for the Compost Cookies.

Hanging In There

Why on earth did I decide to try to post everyday during the month of January? I must have been feeling New Years euphoria or something. It gets harder as the month passes. All the 'extra' posts that I had photos for have been used up. So have some of the 'things about me you might want to know', although we still may go there. Curiosity about others never seems to wane. I do have something yummy for today and (I think) tomorrow, but we may get to parlor games by the end of the month. Still, as anyone who knows me can testify, I am super stubborn, so now that I've started I'm determined to finish.

Do you have any challenges you set for yourself that you later questioned your own sanity for making?

So, slightly insane, today's goodies are ones that I had been meaning to make before Christmas as a surprise Christmas gift for Sweetie. He always buys the things he wants when he sees them so it is difficult to find a gift he both needs and wants. That leaves unneeded and/or unwanted. Given that we overindulged over the holidays this probably qualifies on both counts, but we each stopped ourselves after a small taste. The rest will probably be given away to some lucky fire fighter, mail person or librarian.

The recipe I adapted this from used additional toppings I didn't have on hand when I finally made this a few days ago. No peanut butter cup candy, not Reese pieces or peanut M&Ms, but honestly it wasn't needed. Since the peanuts I used were unsalted, I did sprinkle on a bit of sea salt and I'm glad I did, but if you use the honey roasted or even salted peanuts you can follow the recipe...or not. It is fun to mix your own combination and if you use good quality chocolate almost anything you like will taste good this way.


Peanut Toffee Bark Candy
Makes about 2 pounds or 30 two-inch pieces
• PREP: 20 minutes
• TOTAL: 50 minutes
Recipe adapted from one of the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen, October 2010

Ingredients

• 1 pound bittersweet chocolate chips
• 3 1.4-ounce Skor or Heath toffee candy bars, cut into irregular 3/4-inch pieces or 10 oz. toffee candy pieces (I used the Heath bar pieces from a bag)
• 8 0.55-ounce peanut butter cups, each cut into 8 wedges
• 1/4 cup honey-roasted or regular roasted peanuts
• 3 ounces high-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina), chopped

Preparation
• Line baking sheet with foil. Stir chocolate chips in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until melted and warm (not hot) to touch. Pour chocolate onto foil; spread to 1/4-inch thickness (about 12x10-inch rectangle). Sprinkle with toffee candy or pieces, peanut butter cups, and nuts, making sure all pieces touch melted chocolate to adhere.

• Put white chocolate in heavy small saucepan. Stir constantly over very low heat until chocolate is melted and warm (not hot) to touch. Remove from heat. Dip spoon into chocolate; wave from side to side over bark, creating zigzag lines. Scatter Reese's Pieces and M&M's over, making sure candy touches melted chocolate.

• Chill bark until firm, 30 minutes. Slide foil with candy onto work surface; peel off foil. Cut bark into irregular pieces.


Elle's note: I only made 6 oz. of chocolate (Scharffenbergers instead of chocolate chips, with a few drops of vegetable oil added) worth of this, scaling down the ingredients to fit. Left out the peanut butter cups, used unsalted peanuts instead of honey roasted, but sprinkled on some sea salt after the peanuts were added.)