Boiled & Baked Bagels

A couple of weekends ago I decided to try my hand at making boiled bagels. I have been wanting to make them for a very long time, but we now have a great local restaurant that makes wood-fired bagels so I haven't really had the need to make them. But the restaurant is undergoing some changes, and this means that their hours and menu items have been a little wonky. It was starting to irritate me, and motivate me, to make my own.

I used the bagel recipe from Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day, I made up the dough on Saturday night, then retarded it in the fridge so that we could have fresh bagels on Sunday morning.  I estimated that it would only take me about an hour on Sunday to make them up, but I sorely under-estimated. It actually took two hours, and should have taken a little longer because I think the dough could have done with a little extra rising time. I was slowed down a little by boiling the bagels in smaller batches, so next time I might have two pots of water going at a time.

The recipe says that it'll make 20 bagels, so I halved it because I didn't want 20 bagels around the house tempting me. We ended up getting 9 bagels out of the batch - each one +/- 3 oz.

 3 oz. dough balls rising on the pan.

Bagel shapes formed and boiling in water, baking soda and sugar. 

 Boiled bagels resting on a floured dish towel to make sure the excess water is gone. 

I will say that no matter how much flour I put on that towel, the bagels always stuck. This was a flour sack towel, so next time I'll try a different one to see if that makes a difference.

Finished bagels, with a sprinkling of kosher salt on top. 

The bagel circumference is a fairly standard size, but the height of the bagels is a bit shallow. I sliced the first one, but on the second one I just slathered the cream cheese right on top. Next time I'll let them rise a bit longer to see if that makes a difference. I will say that they turned out delicious! We froze half of them as well, and they are still really chewy after defrosting.

While it's definitely easier to run down to the bagel shop and buy bagels, I happen to believe that the boiled ones are the best. If you don't have a local shop making boiled bagels, then making your own is absolutely worth it. And the same recipe can be used for Bialy's and rolls. I actually made both of those last weekend, and they were equally delicious!

It's blueberry season in Oregon!

 

On Friday I took my stepsister Remi's advice and headed out to Sauvie Island Farms to pick blueberries ($2/lb); the berries were large, sweet and easy picking.

And I got two large mixing bowl's worth for $11!

I froze some of them, left a bunch out for eating, and decided to make a couple of mini pies. I thought we'd freeze one and eat the other, but they were just too delicious...

I used the crust recipe from the book A Passion for Baking (All-Butter, One-Egg Pie Dough) and the pie filling recipe from here. I varied the filling by using 4 TB of cornstarch and replacing one cup of blueberries with one cup of raspberries. I also reduced the temp to 400º and the bake time to 30 minutes since the pies were so small - perfect!

Since I was in the baking mood, I also made a loaf of Sally Lunn Bread, and on Saturday used the day-old bread to make french toast, using Alton Brown's recipe. While the recipe required more steps than I've ever taken to make french toast, this turned out to be my best french toast ever. So that's saying something for Alton Brown (and the blueberries)!

Smitten for these recipes

If you haven't already figured it out for yourself, the Smitten Kitchen cookbook is really wonderful. Not only are the recipes delicious, but so are the stories, instructions and photos. I have several cookbooks, and I am always drawn to the ones that have a photo for every recipe.  Sadly, the photos in this post are all iphone photos because I am not a food blogger, and it does not occur to me to take good photos of food. But rest assured, the photos in the book are much, much better, and are right on par with the quality of the recipes.

Eggplant & 3-Cheese Calzone

In addition to the few recipes I tried out right after Christmas, I've tested 6 more in the last couple of months, and all of them were awesome.

• Cheddar Swirl Breakfast Buns
• Almond Date Breakfast Bars
• Eggplant and 3-Cheese Calzone
• Spaghetti Squash and Black Bean Tacos
• Sesame-spiced Turkey Meatballs
• Olive Oil Ricotta Cake with Lemon Glaze

 
The only one that I probably wouldn't make again was the Cheddar Swirl Breakfast Buns. While tasty (when isn't bread and melted cheese?), they were extremely time-consuming. Also, the last step was to coat the tops in melted butter and I just couldn't do it (I have an aversion to melted butter). Sadly, it's really necessary to making them look appetizing, so I was a little put off by their pasty appearance. In reality, I'd probably just make myself a grilled cheese sandwich next time.


The Eggplant and 3-Cheese Calzone was one of the best! Since I was sick the night we had this, Mike actually made it while I assisted (read the recipe and handed him the tools). It was really flavorful and tasty and not at all difficult (and was the first time I've ever made anything with eggplant). Since we were running late we ended up using store-bought pizza dough, which was the only down-side.
 

Unknown Orange Squash

We made the Spaghetti Squash and Black Bean Tacos in January at my dad's house because they don't eat a lot of meat. Another quick and easy dish. We didn't actually use spaghetti squash since we didn't have any, but I don't think it really matters (and to make it really simple - we just used canned black beans). We paired it with the Cabbage / Cucumber Slaw from the book, which I've now made 3-4 times.

Squash Tacos, with Feta, Avocado and the Cabbage/Cucumber Slaw

The Almond Date Breakfast Bars were delicious. My sister Sara made them first and gave me a good tip about buying the pre-diced date pieces. It saves a lot of work as cutting sticky dates is not fun. They have also been a great addition to the granola I make. I didn't have any almond butter on hand so I substituted peanut butter. The only thing I noticed is that they were a little crumbly. Next time I'll do the second "chilling" in the fridge that Deb recommends. I ended up throwing these in a cup with some plain yogurt and eating it at my desk for breakfast. It traveled well and paired perfectly with the yogurt.

The Sesame-spiced Turkey Meatballs are probably my favorite recipe in the book so far. At least, I've made them the most. They are so easy, and incredibly light and flavorful. We just pair them with hummus, pita, feta and chopped cucumber. Sara made them with the recommended Smashed Chickpea salad, which she said was delicious. Her only complaint on the salad was that the recipe didn't make enough, so her suggestion is to double it.

Lastly, the Olive Oil Ricotta cake... so lovely. It's a really simple cake, but as Deb says, it's really flexible. The recipe includes instructions for a Grape Coulis, but I don't tend to keep Concord Grapes on hand, so I went with her "cooking note" alternative: the lemon glaze.
This cake will be made again.

Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

I managed to score some pretty cool gifts for Christmas too. One of which was the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman. Since I was down with the flu over the holidays and not really up for eating, let alone cooking, I only managed to peruse the book. As luck would have it, my sister Sara also got the cookbook and was very much up for cooking. So as I stood by offering my "assistance" (read: encouragement), she made the Chocolate Chip Brioche Pretzels and the Gingerbread Spice Dutch Baby. The pretzels were delicious, though as a regular maker of soft pretzels, I would say that maybe they weren't quite worth the effort. I definitely wouldn't be adverse to eating them again, but I think we were both a tad let down that they weren't more amazing. Then again, I'm not a big fan of chocolate chips or brioche, so maybe the letdown was in my own expectations. The Gingerbread Spice Dutch Baby was fantastic and well worth making, however - hard to go wrong with eggs, butter and ginger.

After I left for home Sara also made the Pancetta, White Bean & Swiss Chard Pot Pies and Butternut Squash and Carmelized Onion Galette (you can see a photo of it front and center on the above book cover). I was sad to have missed those, but luckily by that point I was feeling better and up for digging into the cookbook myself.

I started with the Vinegar Slaw with Cucumbers & Dill because I love cabbage and anything pickled. It's appropriate that "Vinegar" is the first word in the title - it's a strong component! I made the salad for an after-work dinner with friends, so I actually made it the night before our scheduled dinner so that it would be done in time. As a result the salad sat in the dressing for about 20 hours. I paired it with some wet burritos, so the vinegar sharpness of the salad was a nice counterpoint to the richness of  the main dish. My friend said it was "very bright". The downside is that cukes will pickle quickly, and after 20 hours they were a little too bright. Next time I'll add the cucumbers later so that they only soak for a couple of hours. The cabbage held up really well, and we ate the leftovers over the following weekend.

The latest recipe I've tried is the Balsamic and Beer-braised Short Ribs with Parsnip Puree. Not an extremely appetizing photo (above), but it tasted delicious. Because the process for this dish takes place over several hours, getting the timing right is important. I managed to go wrong in a few places because I was rushing, or making assumptions based on other recipes. I misread the amount of tomato paste needed and threw in the whole can instead the required 2 Tbsp. I substituted garlic for the horseradish. And, I quickly dumped the boiled parsnips into a colander and then into the food processor and didn't ensure that all the water had properly drained off. As a result too much water got into the puree and it was a bit on the runny side. I did include the recommended amount of butter and cream, but next time I'll lessen the cream a little. This is a personal preference because I have an aversion to creamy things. My husband, however,  does not, and he thought it was just perfect. There were a couple of optional steps in the recipe which included finishing off the braised ribs in the oven and creating a brown sauce to go with them. I opted in for both of those steps and I think it was well worth it. The meat isn't flavorful enough to carry both itself and the parsnips, so the sauce really ties the two together.

Despite my mistakes the recipe managed to turn out really well, and I will definitely make this again - perhaps for Remi and Andrew to thank them for giving me such an awesome cookbook!

Thankful for it all

I love this time of year - the food, family and festivities make the freezing rain seem bearable.

Mike and I spent the thanksgiving holiday at Papa's house - 4 lovely days of food, sitting by the fire, antiquing, watching football and working on projects. Between us all we had a myriad of projects going on:

Papa, Mike and Aidan brewed a batch of IPA (some details on the process here)

Papa and I made cinnamon rolls from the Grand Central Baking Book
(thanks Remi & Andrew!).

They were delicious, and time consuming.

Pa and Sharon have been hard at work on getting a railing up around their loft area. With a little help from Mike and Aidan they managed to get the vertical support beam in place...

... and several of the horizontal rails bolted in place. You can see the ladder that Pa recently made to the loft at the right of the photo. Aidan and I spent some time reading his new book up there. It's nice and cozy.

Papa, Susanna & I also bottled and corked 184 bottles of red wine!

In addition:

• We stained some kitchen stools, decided they were ugly, and sanded the stain off.
• Worked on a sewing project (to be revealed after it's gifted).
• Crocheted a baby sweater.
• And made a ton of Thanksgiving food! 

As you may have noticed from all the above involvement of my father, my need to have lots of projects going on at one time is genetic. In the Fall issue of West Sound Home & Garden magazine, Pa and Sharon's house & a sampling of all their projects were the focus of an article, complete with a ton of photos. For any interested family and friends who haven't seen it, below are images of the magazine pages. Click on each one and it will enlarge for reading.

Coconut Cookies

This crappy weather makes it really hard to take photos of the projects I've been working on. And when the sun does come out, I have to get out into the garden!

Until I can take photos and post again, might I suggest this cookie recipe from SkinnyTaste.com.

To Die for Coconut Cookies

They are delicious! I've made them twice, once with cornflakes and once with some random fiber cereal. They are super sweet, so enjoy them with some tea while you watch the rain!

I got myself a new crock pot!

We've been cooking at lot at our house lately - dishes that are primarily protein and vegetables. Soups and stews work really well because we're then able to take leftovers to work for lunch the next day. We've been in the habit of making a big soup meal on Sunday, and then eating the leftovers all week for lunch. I found several great recipes that don't require a crock pot (see below), but they do require a time commitment on my part, which is a little hard to tackle during the work week.  So, based on the recommendation of Gina at Skinnytaste.com, I purchased the Hamilton Beach "Set & Forget" 6-quart Programmable Slow Cooker. Unlike my existing crock pot (inherited with my marriage), this new one is programmable! Which means I don't have to limit my crock pot cooking to anything that takes at least 10 hours. I can program this one to cook for 4 hours, and then it just switches to warm. It also comes with a meat thermometer, which I can stick in a roast for instance, and the crock pot will switch to warm once it reaches a certain temperature. Genius! At least in theory - I haven't tried it yet.

My inaugural crock pot recipe was Asian Pork with Mushrooms from the aforementioned Skinnytaste. Her recipes are generally simple and low calorie, so I searched for crock pot recipes and bookmarked all the ones that sounded interesting. It didn't disappoint. I served it over rice noodles and under cilantro. It does make quite a bit, and the asian flavor means it's not quite as versatile in using up the leftovers. Next time I'll either make less, invite friends over for dinner, or find more ways to be creative with it.

Below are a few other recipes that we've made recently, not necessarily in the crockpot.

Beef Barley Vegetable Soup

This was made partially in the crockpot and partially on the stove - resulting in deliciousness. Mike  requested that I make a soup like this, so I searched online until I found a recipe with lots of good reviews. I never would have thought to make this because it reminds me of canned soup, which I cannot stand. This was great though, and it goes into my recipe binder to make again.

Next was Carne Guisada, a Columbian version of beef stew.
This is a pretty thick stew served over rice (I may have served it with Quinoa - my new favorite grain). I didn't have the adobo or achiote, so I think the flavor was a little bland. I tried to compensate with other seasonings, but I wasn't too successful.  That said, I would make it again and try to get my hands on the missing ingredients.

Lastly, Mike made us a meal (don't ever let him fool you - he knows how to cook)! In order to get Mike to make dinner "willingly" he does have to be excited about what he's making, so he chose to go with Jamaican Brown Stew and Red Beans & Rice. He grew up with meals of this sort in Florida, so he was excited to make it for me and our good friends. He's much more methodical than me when he cooks, so when he found out that I hadn't gotten all of the exact ingredients, he had to go to the store to pick them up (I tend to improvise - which does sometimes result in bland meals - see above). The chicken in this meal stays on the bone, so it didn't quite seem like a "stew" per se. It was also a little harder to eat (particularly when sitting on the couch watching a basketball game). I'm not sure why the chicken had to be on the bone, so I think this would be worth making again with de-boned chicken thighs (allowing the chicken to mix in with the veggies and therefore be more stew-like). It would also stretch further, as the individual chicken pieces ensured that there was a limited number of servings.

Bakin' Bread

Bakin' bread has been a goal of mine for quite some time. With the help of my Pa, and the practice of our cob pizza oven, I have gotten quite comfortable with the making & baking of pizza dough, but bread was a little more daunting. For Christmas I asked for a copy of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, and dubious though he was, Papa obliged. Since then I have been baking on a weekly basis, and there hasn't been a fail yet.

I've mainly stuck to the Master Recipe of Boule (free-form loaf), but I've played around with the flours (all-purpose, bread flour and wheat flour). I usually form the loaves into ovals or circles, but I have played around with making small rolls, and even once tried the Pain d'Epi (wheat stalk bread), but my "wheat stalk" pattern was not photo-worthy (it's harder to make than it looks).

The idea behind making bread in 5 minutes a day is that you make a master batch of dough and it sits in your fridge for up to 14 days. One can periodically cut off 1 lb portions and bake it up throughout the 2-week period. This works well for us because a 1 lb loaf is not very big, and in our 2-person household I've thrown out a lot of stale or moldy bread because we don't eat it fast enough. We generally manage to get through these small loaves before they go bad.

In order to make this work there are a few "tools" that make the process easier:

A 6-quart plastic (food-grade) tub with a lid (not air-tight) is very handy. I use this container to mix the dough and store it in the fridge. I bought two of these Cambro tubs at Amazon for $17. I use one for dough and the other houses my flour.

 

While not crucial, a pizza peel is very handy for transferring the dough into the oven. I let the dough rise on my peel for 40 minutes then slide it directly into the oven. The finely ground cornmeal you see below also helps in sliding the dough smoothly. This is a trick Pa taught me in transferring pizzas into the cob oven and it's saved a lot of pizza toppings from sliding off the dough and hitting the oven floor.

A baking stone and broiler pan are also important to achieving that perfect crust. The broiler pan contains a cup of water and turns that hot oven into a little steam room, and the baking stone helps to evenly distribute the heat.

While it certainly takes more than 5 minutes, it does take relatively little time to bake this bread, and it truly does seem to turn out fine every time.  The other great thing about this book is that in addition to all the bread recipes (including cinnamon rolls, bialys, bagels, pretzels, pizza, etc) there are recipes for dishes to accompany the bread.  For instance, there are pizza topping ideas for the pizza dough, kebab and fattoush recipes for the pita and even a recipe for preserves to go with the chocolate bread. While I haven't tried any of these extra recipes yet, their mere presence makes me quite excited for the possibilities.

Portland's Culinary Workshop

Last night Mike and I took a class from Portland's Culinary Workshop. I came across this place when they ran a Groupon in the fall (which I failed to purchase) and I've been periodically checking their class calender waiting for the right opportunity.  It came in the form of "Culinary Travels through Latin America".

The location of the workshop is very convenient (just a few miles from work and next to a brewery - which was extra convenient as we arrived early and needed a place to cool our heels before the class started). The space was light-filled, with tall ceilings and plenty of workspace. Susana, our instructor, was a great teacher with an equally great sense of humor.

Our menu for the night was:

       Mojito-garlic Dipping Sauce

       Tostones (fried plantain chips)

       Palmito (hearts of palm) & Jicama Salad

       Moqueca De Peixe (Coconut fish stew) served over Yucca

       Dulce de leche with Poached Papayas

It was a very hands-on class, which I appreciated since I am a learning-through-doing kind of person. We spent a fair amount of time prepping ingredients and learning a few tricks (like the best way to peel garlic cloves, make a garlic paste and cut onions). The actual "cooking" portion of the meal did not take long, and we only did a little of it personally. We prepped the Yucca but it was boiled by the sous chef (this was fine, as I can only assume that most of us already knew how to boil water). The sous chef also poached the Papayas, but we were all able to observe how the poaching liquid was put together (note: always poach in flavorful liquid) and it was just another example of heating water. The other part we didn't do was prepare the Dulce de Leche. This process takes two hours so it was done before we arrived. However, making dulce de leche goes like this:

• buy can of condensed milk
• peel paper label from can
• put can in pot of water
• simmer for two hours
• chill can in fridge
• open can

We all felt okay not doing this portion personally, and man did it taste delicious.

The verdict:

I would definitely make the mojito-garlic dipping sauce again, as I think it would be a good accompaniment to empanadas.

Tostones are a little too "fried" for my taste, but they were delicious and I'd make them again for a dinner party.

The Palmito & Jicama salad was very refreshing, and definitely a good vegetable side dish for any of my Mexican dishes.

The coconut fish stew was good, but a little lacking in flavor. I think that the instructor didn't want to add too much spice since it was a mixed crowd. She did add a few thai chilis, which didn't seem to permeate the stew too much, but did do a hell of a number on my mouth when I inadvertently bit into one (yeoww). The other down-side to this recipe is that it calls for Dende Oil (palm oil) which seems like it could be rather pricey and hard to find. 

The Yucca is a starch much like a potato, but a little firmer and with a little more flavor. I thought it tasted great, but I do have a "thing" against Yucca so I'm not sure if I could bring myself to buy some in the future. 

The dulce de leche was fabulous and I would make this again to drizzle over ice cream or brownies. I wouldn't make the poached papaya again because I think it's a rather bland fruit, but I might substitute mango, pears or apple however.

All in all, I had a great time, learned something, and I would love to take another class. I have my eye on making cheese, decorating cakes, canning veggies and preserves, and learning the 5 key sauces!

What's New?

Cauliflower

This vegetable is not in heavy rotation at our house. Not for dislike, but rather because I don't know what to do with it. Other than serve it raw, or in a marinated salad (my contribution to our 2009 Thanksgiving dinner) I have always drawn a blank. Until I came across a little blurb in one of my magazines about mashed cauliflower. So I gave it a try last night - very tasty!
Far fewer carbs than mashed potatoes, and aside from a bit grainier texture, I'd say they are just as good.

Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower (medium), cut into florets
1 sweet yellow onion (medium), cut into rings
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup buttermilk
salt & pepper

Steam or blanch the cauliflower until it's fork tender.
Saute the sweet onions.
Add all ingredients to a food processor and "process" until smooth.

The texture is a bit grainy, but also creamy, and the onions make it quite sweet! I imagine that you can add/subtract any number of items to suit specific taste preferences. Next time I'll add a bit of cumin...



Kindle Fire

Mike bought me a Kindle Fire for Christmas, and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I haven't given up books, but having the Kindle has become incredibly handy, particularly since I've had to ride the bus for the last 6 weeks. The Fire is also awesome because it's a fully-functioning tablet, allowing me to access the internet, email, play games, watch movies, etc.  I've taken full advantage of the Amazon Prime lending library too (I just finished Sugarland, which I fully recommend).

Zumba

Old to many, but new to me. This is my second week of trying Zumba and I really like it. I think that I'll love it as soon as I learn all the moves and don't have to think so much. I get bored easily so every year I try to find a new exercise regimen. Since I love to dance, Zumba is a good fit. And an hour of exercise has never gone by so fast!

Mosaic

Mike and I signed up for a class through Portland Community College and we met for the first time last week. We spent the weekend picking up tools, sifting through bins of stained glass and searching the web for image inspiration. This Saturday is our big workshop day and I can't wait to see what we create by the end of it.

Thankful for Turkey

Thanksgiving has come and gone - I took six days off to prepare, enjoy and clean up. We spent the time surrounded by family and food. We relaxed plenty, crafted some, and shopped a little. It was perfect (except that Sara and Bobby weren't here - that would have been perfect).

Mike and I hosted the holiday meal in Portland this year for one very important reason - we wanted to meet our new niece!

Remi and Andrew welcomed their daughter Freya on the 22nd, but were unable to leave the hospital until the 26th. With the family in town we were all able to get up to the hospital repeatedly for visits, and even bring them turkey dinner (courtesy of New Seasons).


For those of us not at the hospital, we gathered at our house on Thursday afternoon for some hanging out, football and food.

We ended up with a Yam dish, a Potato dish and two Sweet Potato dishes. We also had Pumpkin Fondue and two Pumpkin pies. There was a cranberry relish and a cranberry jelly roll. Not least were the Bread and the Bread Pudding. In the center of it all was our 22-pound Turkey. Simply cooked, and simply delicious.

 

Post-dinner, Pre-pie

Leftovers

 Aidan & Mike played endless games of Xbox football.

I asked Papa & Sharon to cut shapes out of re-positionable vinyl for use in marking glasses. I only asked for simple shapes, but they went above and beyond...

We got the hot tub wired up and completed in time for Thanksgiving (check that one off the list).

Aidan got an early Christmas present from Mike and I - tickets for he and Mike to go to the Civil War game at UO. In preparation, Susanna and I decorated masks for them to wear to the game (and one for me, for next year). We used Sharpie oil-based paint pens (awesome) and glow-in-the-dark hockey masks.

Mike said they had a great time, and that it was so much fun to see the excitement on Aidan's face. After the game they were able to go down on the field and toss the football around. Something we've never done before, and Aidan was pretty thrilled. It made the 8 hours in traffic all worth it.