crusty cornstalk rolls

i love gourmet magazine but when i pull a new issue out of the mailbox and a giant hunk of meat has overtaken the cover it takes a little more work and searching to get excited. such was not the case with the february issue. a cover photograph of rolls! all different kinds of gorgeous, golden dinner rolls...i didn't know where i would begin! yesterday i decided on the crusty cornstalk rolls. i'm not sure what made me choose them over the others. maybe it was the shape (a cornstalk!)? the interactive element of ripping off each roll? the promise of a hearty exterior and a chewy interior? or maybe it's just because they didn't require me to buy any additional ingredients (except flour but, ya know, they all kind of require that)?

whatever led me to it, it was a good decision. the dough was easy to make and easy to work with. it only took about four and a half hours to go from mixing ingredients to taking warm bread out of the oven allowing for (near) instant gratification (as far as breadmaking goes). it was really yummy and the texture sort of reminded me of ciabatta. last night we enjoyed it with a lemony-thyme white bean spread. tonight it will become bruschetta. while we were eating it, i thought that this would be a great bread to make for thanksgiving but, of course, by the time november comes around i'll probably forget.

crusty cornstalk rolls

(gourmet, february 2009)

ingredients:

1 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 1/4 cups warm water (105–115°F), divided
1 teaspoon mild honey or sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for kneading and dusting
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoon stone-ground yellow cornmeal, divided

stir together yeast, 1/4 cup warm water, and honey/sugar in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (if mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.)

mix flour, salt, 1/2 cup cornmeal, and remaining cup warm water into yeast mixture with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until a soft dough forms.

turn out dough onto a well-floured surface and knead, dusting surface and your hands with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is elastic and smooth, 6 to 8 minutes. form dough into a ball.

put dough in an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. cover bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours (mine was closer to the 1 1/2 side).

punch down dough (do not knead) and fold into thirds like a letter (dough will be soft), then gently roll into a 12-inch-long log with lightly floured hands.

sprinkle a large baking sheet evenly with remaining 2 tablespoon cornmeal and put dough diagonally in center. alternating sides, make 3-inch-long diagonal cuts, about 1 1/2 inches apart, into sides of log using kitchen shears (ends of cuts should not touch; maintain a center "stalk"). gently pull apart cuts to stretch dough, forming rolls that are separate (about 1 1/2 inches apart) but connected to center stalk. cover with a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours (mine took 1 hour).

preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle.

spray rolls with water, then bake, spraying into oven 3 times in first 5 minutes of baking* (to help form a crust), until golden, about 20 minutes. transfer rolls to a rack and cool at least 20 minutes.

as you can see in my picture, after i cut the rolls they sort of grew and baked back together so the cornstalk element was not quite as dramatic. however, they still pulled apart easily. maybe next time i would just stretch them a bit more after cutting.

*i don't have a spray bottle so i just lightly brushed the dough with water before putting it in the oven. i also put a bread pan with a few ice cubes in the bottom of the oven in place of spraying. it was fine. the bread was crusty.
-d

tofu scramble

i know it's only been a short while since i posted about hashes and tofu scrambles but sorry, i'm at it again! we wanted an easy dinner last night and had some things that needed using and a good ol' tofu scramble just seemed like the way to go. we ate it with a simple red cabbage slaw, a piece of sun dried tomato toast and some sliced up avocado.* i don't believe in using a recipe for a scramble so what follows is merely a guideline to run with as you please.

tofu scramble
ingredients:
1 block extra firm tofu
1 chicken nugget**
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 red onion, diced
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
1 bunch spinach, leaves torn into pieces
1 portobello cap, thinly sliced
1/2 tomato, chopped
olive oil
cumin
coriander
smoked paprika
salt
pepper

drain the tofu and crumble into a pan heated with a splash of olive oil. let it cook for awhile before you start stirring it to let it get nice and browned on the outside. stir occasionally until crumbles are browned all over.

add garlic, onion and jalapeno and cook until onion softens. add a generous sprinkle of each spice. add mushrooms and tomato. add spinach (in batches if needed) and cook until slightly wilted. adjust seasoning to taste.

when you serve, don't forget to scrape out all the yummy crunchy bits. that's the best part!

*because i have a very hard time passing up a perfect avocado at the grocery store and tend to find a way to work them into as many meals as i can.
**we had one chicken nugget leftover from a super bowl batch of Vegan Dad's hotwings.
-d

bagels (an ongoing quest)

to those who know me, it's no secret that i love bagels. in fact i'm obsessed with them. aside from my wonderful friends, they are one of the very few things that i miss about boston. my love began when i was young as i have early memories of enjoying garlic bagels from the late royal bagel in atlanta. when i moved to boston i became a bagel snob thanks to my beloved bagel rising. after enjoying their deliciously perfect bagely morsels several times a week for years (and taking every single one of them for granted) it's no surprise that upon moving to san francisco my body went into bagel shock. san francisco is a wonderful city with many culinary treasures, but bagels? i was unemployed when we moved here and, i kid you not, i wandered this city and tried every bagel place i could find. katz bagels have become the go-to weekend bagel spot (and how convenient that they are only a few blocks from home AND they have tofu spread) but they are no bagel rising bagels.

that whole search got me thinking that maybe i should try making my own bagels. i mean, i'm not getting amazing bagels anyway...surely i can make non-amazing bagels and, who knows?, maybe they'll turn out better than i think!

i've been holding off posting about my bagels for quite awhile because i was waiting until i had them perfected. but let's face it, my bagels may never be perfect. and as erin pointed out, not everything needs to be perfect anyway. after several attempts, my best bagels thus far have come courtesy of my good friend the easy bread guy. you can see his bagel video here.......
naked bagels!
the first time i did just what he said. the taste was good but i thought they were too flat. so the next time i didn't roll them out as thin when i shaped them. much better! a bagel that was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside...just as a bagel should be. another recipe i tried used a different shaping method - when you cut your dough into pieces, instead of rolling them out, pick up each one and poke your thumbs through the center to shape into a bagel. that worked well too.

my favorite bagel is the everything bagel. and i don't like when people skimp on the everything. i like lots of seeds, onion, garlic...i like my bagel covered on the top and the bottom. so far i have only done sesame and poppy (cause that's what we always have in our cabinet) but i have not been successful in getting the seeds to stay on the bagel. sure some of them stay, but more fall off. i've tried rolling the bagels in seeds right after they boil when they're sticky, i've tried brushing them with a cornstarch mixture (in place of an eggy mixture) and then sprinkling. i've tried baking them for 5 minutes then taking them out and seeding and baking some more...it's always the same result. so, dear readers, anyone want to enlighten me as to how to seed a bagel?


and yes, these pictures are from several different bagel baking attempts. you can see how the pre-baked seeded ones are nice and fat.
-d

bread 2.0

I find it refreshing when we can reign in the ego a bit and admit to our mistakes. Which is why I am writing about bread. While Darcy is an accomplished bread maker, I am not. A big part of the problem is that I have serious issues with directions. Try as I might, I never seem to follow them. I in general find this to be one of the more endearing aspects of my personality, but a great bread baker it does not make. So the other day, while reading of Orangette's cooking tribulations, I realized that we shouldn't just blog about the good /great dishes. We need to discuss the failures because - hey! - it's not a perfect world. And maybe you can all learn from some of our missteps! Which is, again, why I write today about bread.

Last week was attempt number one at bread making. I have watched my mom make rolls and things, but had never tried my hand at it. So I decided, with the guidance of a Mark Bittman cookbook, to make my first attempt. I can't say it was an abject failure, but the result was inedible. My mistake - using a white whole flour in place of standard all-purpose flour (I wanted something healthier). I knew from the beginning something was not right. The dough took much longer to rise than indicated in the recipe, and it lacked the desired spring in a well-risen dough. Only after my very flat sandwich loaf emerged from the oven did I decide to research what might have gone wrong. And it ends up, it is all in the flour. White whole white is not a blended flour (as I thought) but rather a different variety of wheat (whole wheat flour is made from red wheat, white whole wheat from white wheat). And wheat flour takes longer to rise. About twice as long. For both rising times. So really, I just needed to give my bread a bit more time! I do not have a picture of my sad little loaf, as I was not impressed; but it did not go entirely to waste, and nourished some very happy little birds.

Not one to accept failure, I gave breadmaking another go last night. Whereas version 1.0 was made entirely by hand, I listened to Mark Bittman's advice and used my food processor (it really makes everything so easy!). Instead of a sandwich loaf, I decided on french bread. Easy enough, right? So I made my sponge last night, around midnight, and as directed, left the whole thing in the food processor, covered it with plastic wrap, and went to bed. This morning, I awoke to a yeasty explosion on my kitchen counter. The sponge had risen a bit more than expected and literally oozed down the side of my Cuisinart. But all was not lost.


And in the end, the bread turned out beautifully. Two nice little boules. I of course had to slice one open within minutes of removing them from the oven. It was perfect. Warm, yeasty with a nice crust. I can't wait to make it again!




Overnight French Bread
from Mark Bittman, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

3 1/2 cups bread or all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp salt

Put 2 cups of the flour in a food processor, add the yeast and half the salt, and turn the machine on. With the machine running, pour about a cup of water through the feed tube (ed. note: I used about a cup and a half). Process until you have a smooth pancake-like batter. Cover and let rest in a cool place overnight, or for at least 6 hours.

Add the remaining flour and salt to mixture, turn the machine on, and add water, a little at a time, until a moist well-defined ball forms (ed. note: this took about half a cup of water). If the dough sticks to the side of the bowl, you have added too much water. Add about 1/4 cup flour and keep going.

Dump the lump of dough into a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap, and let sit at room temperature for at least an hour.

Dust a counter or work surface with a little flour. Shape the dough as you like (I made boules, but you can make rolls, baguettes). Preheat the oven to 400 degrees while you let the bread rest, covered with a towel.

When you are ready to bake, slash the top of each loaf once or twice with a sharp knife. Bake on a stone or a lightly oiled baking sheet. Turn the heat down to 375 degrees, and bake the bread! The baking time will vary, based on the shape of bread you choose to make. Rolls take about 15 minutes, baguettes about 25 minutes, and the boule 35 to 45 minutes. Bread is done when it makes a hollow sound when tapped. Enjoy!

- e

mushroom risotto

I often find the simplest things, made well, to be the most appealing. This is not to down play complexity; but I find that by using wonderful ingredients and highlighting their inherent complexity yields delicious results. Risotto falls into this simple/complex category for me. It is comfort food at its finest. Executed properly, it is sublime. I have been making risotto since I was about fifteen years old, when we bought my mom a risotto cookbook for Christmas one year. I fell in love with both Italian food and cooking challenges at an early age, and over time perfected my risotto technique. I love different kinds of risotto - leek and spring pea; butternut squash; sausage and mushroom; asparagus and lemon; the list really goes on - but time and again, I turn to my classic, a simple mushroom risotto.

And the nice thing about this is you can play with different types of mushrooms (shitake, chanterelle, cremini, porcini) to achieve varying levels of, shall we say, mushroomy-ness. I would steer clear of using white button mushrooms in this dish, as they have very little flavor of their own. For this version, I used both creminis and reconstituted dried porcinis (soak them in boiling water for about fifteen minutes, and drain, as there may be some silt. You can either reserve the soaking liquid or use a few teaspoons to intensify your risotto!)

In this dish, you can very easily omit the goat cheese, but it adds a somewhat decadent creaminess. And I like the addition of lemon zest, as it serves to brighten up the flavors and cuts the richness a bit!

Mushroom Risotto

Makes approx. 4 servings

3-4 cups vegetable stock (I prefer homemade)
1 sprig of thyme, plus extra for garnish
1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
1 1/2 cups arborio or carnaroli rice
7 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup white wine
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup grated parmesan, plus extra for garnish
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
1 tbsp lemon zest

1. Bring vegetable stock with spring of time to a boil, then reduce to simmer.

2. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil to a 4-5 quart saucepan (or a risotto pan, if you have one). Once oil shimmers, and onion and saute until softened and golden, 5 to 7 minutes.

3. add rice, stir to coat/toast.

4. add white wine, cook until evaporated (and stirring all the while)

5. begin to add broth by the ladle, making sure all liquid has before adding more. the risotto should be stirred constantly to prevent sticking. about halfway through, add the sliced mushrooms. continue until all stock is absorbed, and rice is tender (you can check by sampling).

6. remove from heat, add butter, cheese and lemon zest, stirring to combine.

7. serve, garnished with extra parmesan, crumbled goat cheese, and a few thyme leaves.

- e

raisin pecan oatmeal cookies

A very dear friend of mine is going through a rough spot, and despite being the pickiest eater I have ever encountered, he loves desserts. Especially cookies. So, because I love baking, and because what nourishes the body nourishes the soul, I decided to make him cookies last night. I flipped through a few new cookbooks, and came upon this one in the newest Barefoot Contessa book, a classic with a twist. I also need to take a moment to mention how much I love the Barefoot Contessa (aka Ina Garten). I love her show. I love the melodiously soothing tone of her voice. And I love love love her kitchen. Basically, I want to be her new best friend, and be invited over for dinner every weekend.

Now that I have expressed my super-fanatacism, I must say these cookies are DELICIOUS! They are both chewy and crunchy and bake beautifully. For most of my life, I harbored an intense dislike of raisins, and only in the past few years have I come to terms with them. I still cannot eat them straight out of the box, but enjoy them in things, like these cookies. So if you have a friend who needs some comforting, or need a little yourself, these are just perfect!



Raisin Pecan Oatmeal Cookies
from The Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

makes 30 to 35 cookies

1 1/2 cups pecans
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed (I used light brown sugar)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 extra large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp kosher salt
3 cups old fashioned oatmeal
1 1/2 cups raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place pecans on a sheet pan and bake for 5 minutes, until crisp. Set aside to cool. Chop coarsely.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, add eggs one at a time, and the vanilla.

Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to butter mixture. Add the oats, raisins, and pecans and mix until just combined.

Using a small ice cream scoop (or a tablespoon), drop 2 inch mounds of dough onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper (ed. note: the parchment is not necessary, but makes clean up easier). Flatten dough mounds slightly. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a baking rack and cool completely.

*before baking, I sprinkled the cookies with granulated sugar for a little extra crunch!

e

chocolate hazelnut rugelach

over thanksgiving i found cookbook at my mom's called the cookie jar that marjorie and i bought a long long time ago during a cookie-baking obsession phase. i brought it back home with me to give the recipes another go...and because i saw a rugelach recipe that i really wanted to make. i don't remember the last time i ate rugelach but i remember loving it whenever those long ago times were.

so now here we are and my mamoo's* birthday is fast approaching. i wanted to make her a birthday treat but what would it be? rugelach i thought! until word came through my mom that mamoo is not a fan of delicious little crescent roll shaped cookies filled with yumminess. crazy if you ask me but afterall she's the birthday girl. so i came up with another cookie for her but still had rugelach on the brain. i made them anyway and mailed them along. i bet she tries one and i bet she likes it too.

so here's the recipe. i veganized the dough from the book and did my own thing for the filling.

chocolate hazelnut rugelach
dough ingredients:
8 ounces tofutti cream cheese
3/4 cup margarine, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
filling ingredients:
3/4 cups chopped dark chocolate (we had part of a fancy chocolate bar laying around, i used that)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed dark sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts**
3 tablespoons softened margarine

to make the dough, beat tofutti, margarine, sugar and vanilla until fluffy. add flour and stir until a soft dough forms. divide dough into 3 balls and wrap in plastic and chill overnight.

to make the filling, coarsely chop the chocolate and nuts (either by hand or in a food processor). place in a bowl with the granulated sugar, dark sugar and cinnamon and stir to combine.

preheat oven to 350. on a heavily floured surface*** use a floured rolling pin to roll 1 ball of dough at a time into a 12 inch circle. carefully****spread 1 tablespoon margarine over dough circle. sprinkle about 9 tablespoons of filling over the buttered dough and press lightly into the dough.



using a pizza cutter, cut dough into quarters and then cut each quarter into three wedges. beginning at the wide end, roll up each wedge. transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake 15-20 minutes until edges are lightly browned. transfer to a wire rack to cool.

i'm really pleased with the way these turned out. i love them and i hope maybe, just maybe, they can convert mamoo into a rugelach lover! and if not, i know my mom will step up and eat them.

*that would be grandma to those not in the know
**to toast hazelnuts, place them on a baking sheet and bake at 300 for about 15 minutes. keep an eye on them so they don't burn. take them out and place them in the middle of a coarsely textured kitchen towel. ball it up, roll them around, open it up and the skins (or most of them anyway) are off!
***if you're like me you might think "i'll just roll it out between two sheets of parchment. less to clean." don't do it, it doesn't work. it sticks to the paper and then you have to flour it, scrape it off, ball it, roll it blah blah blah. it really is much easier to just start with the floured surface.
****very carefully. i'm glad i had three balls of dough to work with. by the third one i finally had it all figured out. i found the easiest way to do the margarine was to hold it in my hand (to soften it a bit more) and just spread the tiniest little amount at a time. it took longer but i didn't mangle the delicate dough circle like i did the first time.

-d