tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1177169919586842622024-03-19T11:48:17.167-05:00Mulligan Stew MeExploring Southern "Soul Food" with a Blue ZebraBlue Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09447214289877357403noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117716991958684262.post-5545847581282278572007-10-07T13:18:00.000-05:002008-12-09T17:57:42.989-06:00Backstage With Julia<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTVYScE2i2-Faz3oEQYIBEuU4yPQqVE8-wa-6df3gfkdMi3hO56mxFN5Q1tTQYusVt1QU_n1nXZvTRNpTIQ5Oj9m-qj6oGRGpBHxgFCX92cfVVBt26FEN3e184kcwvE2M5RIiDgdx4JQ/s1600-h/08-29-07_1801JuliaBookflatlr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118664998748787794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTVYScE2i2-Faz3oEQYIBEuU4yPQqVE8-wa-6df3gfkdMi3hO56mxFN5Q1tTQYusVt1QU_n1nXZvTRNpTIQ5Oj9m-qj6oGRGpBHxgFCX92cfVVBt26FEN3e184kcwvE2M5RIiDgdx4JQ/s400/08-29-07_1801JuliaBookflatlr.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I just finished reading a very fun book about a woman who influenced my love and respect for fresh ingredients and cooking, Julia Child. </span><a href="http://www.cheftalk.com/content/display.cfm?bookid=160&type=book"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Backstage With Julia</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">, was written by her longtime Executive Chef, Nancy Verde Barr. Yes, even a Southern cook can love a California transplant to New England. I'm happy to say Julia was responsible for teaching me many techniques.<br /><br />I was asked to review this book by my friends over at the very cool, </span><a href="http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Cheftalk Cooking Forum</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> and was eager to dive into</span><span class="fullpost"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> the read and was amazed at how quickly I turned the pages. A quick reading, page turner describes my weekend with Julia. Barr's writing is engaging and really allows you to feel the complex personality that made up Julia Child, America's First Lady of Cooking.<br /><br />You can read the entire review at the </span><a href="http://www.cheftalk.com/content/display.cfm?bookid=160&type=book"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Cookbook Review Forum</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> at </span><a href="http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/"><span style="font-family:verdana;">ChefTalk</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">. You can also buy the book by clicking on their Amazon link. Bon Appetit.</span></span>Blue Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09447214289877357403noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117716991958684262.post-48874728626850300312007-09-29T17:54:00.000-05:002008-12-09T17:57:43.475-06:00It's Nice To Be Nice To The Nice!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjshf4T8fBqmBusG12VCoWR-exrAPwyAuPZceQgBJRMb59zQP9JRmD71_eFKLX_EEo56T-OqGmzqWfBoWk4z38VpQNLJcBPNM3iyDZnWh51ctHMKDGsXtoGatMlPKTnZUY2JbMMbi8HBlM/s1600-h/nicemattersaward.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjshf4T8fBqmBusG12VCoWR-exrAPwyAuPZceQgBJRMb59zQP9JRmD71_eFKLX_EEo56T-OqGmzqWfBoWk4z38VpQNLJcBPNM3iyDZnWh51ctHMKDGsXtoGatMlPKTnZUY2JbMMbi8HBlM/s400/nicemattersaward.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5115765336488691410" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">My friend Tanna over at <a href="http://web.mac.com/tannajones/My_Kitchen_In_Half_Cups...Second_Helping_/My_Kitchen_in_Half_Cups...Second_Helping/My_Kitchen_in_Half_Cups...Second_Helping.html">My Kitchen In Half Cups </a>just gave us an incredible compliment. She gave the zebras the Nice Matters award and I am thrilled, shocked and surprised! The blue zebras are so new to the blogosphere. Each day is a learning experience on blog etiquette and blogging in general.<br /><br />I can understand Tanna receiving the award. Her site is enormously popular and yet she goes out of her way to welcome new bloggers and visitors to her site and to the blog world. It’s been said before of her but bears repeating, she doesn’t only visit the “big bloggers”. Instead, she visits and encourages the small guys and new guys or like me the small and the new! :D I’m sure her time could theoretically</span><span class="fullpost" style="font-family:verdana;"> be so much better spent with posting to the large volume bloggers because that would inevitably send new readers to her site. But she doesn’t “roll” that way and I for one am glad she doesn’t! I feel fortunate in this short amount of time to be able to count her as a friend and fellow Texan!!! :D<br /><br />I think it boils down to the words my Mom gave me long ago. She said, “Treat each person you meet as you would like to be treated.” Now I realize that Mom did not dream up this basic life value. It came from someone much bigger than Mom (ahem, Jesus) and ultimately the big guy upstairs so although I am incredibly human and screw up every day, I still try hard to live up to this one. Feel free to remind me of this if I go forgettin’, ok?<br /><br />Mom also taught me that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Fiddle dee dee, now that is a true Southern sayin’ and I do believe every momma this side of the Mason Dixon line teaches their little ones growin’ up. Hear me now, it works! :D But maybe my most favorite “Nice-ism” in existence was said by Frank Burns on M*A*S*H, the television show. He said, “It’s nice to be nice to the nice…”<br /><br />Indeed it is nice to be nice to the nice. It’s also remarkably easy as well! In the short time Mulligan Stew Me has been up and runnin’ in the zebra pen, we have had the good fortune to meet the nicest people! Everyone is helpful and cheerful and the blog friends I’ve made never fail to make me smile. I will try to live up to this award and not let you down Tanna!<br /><br />And to all my other friends both known and unknown it’s <em>nice</em> to see your smilin’ faces visitin’ and settin’ a spell! Hugs all around!<br /><br />It is my honor to get to pass along this award to seven nice friends. It’s very tough to choose because my cup truly runneth over. How do you measure a cup run amok? :D So, part of the criteria I used to sift through was: Who goes out of their way to reply to visitors to their site and who has helped me as a newcomer when I was sooooo wet behind the ears? I barely managed to narrow it down. It was incredibly difficult!</span><br /><span class="fullpost" style="font-family:verdana;"></span><br /><span class="fullpost" style="font-family:verdana;">I hope you enjoy visiting these Nice Bloggers sites. I wish I could give this award to everyone! Please be sure to congratulate them. Also please don't forget to go see what's happenin' in Tanna's kitchen at <a href="http://web.mac.com/tannajones/My_Kitchen_In_Half_Cups...Second_Helping_/My_Kitchen_in_Half_Cups...Second_Helping/My_Kitchen_in_Half_Cups...Second_Helping.html">My Kitchen In Half Cups</a>. She's so talented both as a writer/photographer and as a cook!<br /><br />Congratulations you Nice Bloggers! Nice Matters! :D<br /><br />Sue at <a href="http://coffeepot.wordpress.com/">Coffee and Cornbread</a><br />Lynn at <a href="http://cookiebakerlynn.blogspot.com/">Cookie Baker Lynn</a><br />Kristen at <a href="http://dineanddish.squarespace.com/">Dine and Dish</a><br />Lisa at <a href="http://champaign-taste.blogspot.com/">Champaigne Taste</a><br />Sandi at <a href="http://whistlestopcooking.blogspot.com/">Whistlestop Café Cooking</a><br />Jen at <a href="http://ilovemilkandcookies.blogspot.com/">Milk and Cookies</a><br />Gattina at <a href="http://gattinamia.blogspot.com/">Kitchen Unplugged</a><br /><br />Blue Zebra NOTE:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVLkGFka2tEaUVHH2OoseVOlqR2ngVEtW8cz1sDtv89nbnB6_jIZbBiFEVGBkbwPLYG9dAikdmGK4yvmPvLpLQz4I50kau6yZlL9jQhxrpHERey1vsoQxibSxI-wGVs8iPmk6FwTrnLWI/s1600-h/nicebook.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVLkGFka2tEaUVHH2OoseVOlqR2ngVEtW8cz1sDtv89nbnB6_jIZbBiFEVGBkbwPLYG9dAikdmGK4yvmPvLpLQz4I50kau6yZlL9jQhxrpHERey1vsoQxibSxI-wGVs8iPmk6FwTrnLWI/s400/nicebook.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117564435655148546" /></a>It's funny the way God speaks sometimes. Seemingly coincidental incidents link together into cosmic understanding! Tanna was gracious enough to extend this award and here I am days later getting a lightbulb moment when seeing an ad for a book that is gaining popularity. "The Power Of Nice". <br /><br />Now, I haven't read it, but you can bet that I will be ordering it shortly! It's all about the success of an advertising company who grew their business based on the power of extending kindness to others and advising their clients to adopt this philosophy in their advertising and business culture. <br /><br />Apparently the movement is growing by leaps and bounds. Not a moment too soon, wouldn't you agree? Here is the website for <a href="http://thepowerofnice.com/index.php?/home/">The Power Of Nice</a>. (By the way, clicking on the Buy Now Link will not take you to their website. That is simply a button still attached to their book image. To buy the book you must visit their website.</span>Blue Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09447214289877357403noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117716991958684262.post-34986594199191334222007-09-23T16:01:00.000-05:002008-12-09T17:57:43.887-06:00Oh Tostada Of Mine, How You Tempt Me<span style="font-family:verdana;">Oh tostada of mine, I love you so, you towering pillow<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8xWvvIyuFMyKmSg7UpXfFbuKCjJCZ4vycX1aBXFZOSk3xKyJkkwshZ6-PeYzmVgcYPl6IO-ZCNf3vSDeA0Xpb2bSjqUmJR8cg3mu0XW716OfOGXCf5eIdEbpKVe3l-u-pOQIhTBhBVxA/s1600-h/IMG00021cropsmall+copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113515658388850370" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8xWvvIyuFMyKmSg7UpXfFbuKCjJCZ4vycX1aBXFZOSk3xKyJkkwshZ6-PeYzmVgcYPl6IO-ZCNf3vSDeA0Xpb2bSjqUmJR8cg3mu0XW716OfOGXCf5eIdEbpKVe3l-u-pOQIhTBhBVxA/s400/IMG00021cropsmall+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a> of TexMex joy. Your piles of deliciously fresh ingredients layer perfectly. Each separate, but giving up a little of yourselves to the next. A testimony to team work, striated excellence, crunches on my fork with each delicate bite. Could you be any more sublime, tostada of mine?<br /><br />By now you may be tired of hearing my “growing up” stories. If so, please drop me a note and I promise I will take your objections seriously! But growing up, Mom must have spent many hours dreaming in her head about ingenious ways to include TexMex meals into our weekly menus so that it felt like we ate what we called</span><span class="fullpost" style="font-family:verdana;">“Mexican Food” at least twice a week. So much was her love that we had meals of tacos one night, tostadas another and occasionally she would break down and make enchiladas.<br /><br />We all loved TexMex, even our dachsunds! Green gobs of guacamole frequently left a taste here or there for one of them to enjoy. I seem to remember eating beans a lot as well; as borracho beans but also as refried beans and even remember chili rellenos a time or two. Chili was of course a staple and you know my feelings about that! We had nachos, then a very sophisticated and unique dish, and her very favorite, tamales at every turn. And when she could scrape up a couple of pennies we would eat at Monterrey House or Loma Linda on the southwest side of a very young suburban Houston. Back then you could get the deluxe meal at Monterrey House for $3.00. It included a chili con queso, taco, tostada, guacamole, cheese enchilada in chili sauce, tamale, rice, beans and a piece of Mexican candy for dessert.<br /><br />I don’t have to think too hard to include TexMex in our weekly menu and indeed, there are many weeks we eat it two or three times! I’m blatant about it. Lucky for me B enjoys it just as much as I do. One of my favorite things to make are homemade tostadas. You can make them full fat with mounds of ground beef and fried corn tortillas, or choose to make a slightly lighter version as I have here, made with ground turkey, oven baked corn tortillas and light sour cream (you could even use yogurt if you really wanted to go low fat.) Although low fat and TexMex sounds an awful lot like an oxymoron, don’t you think?<br /><br />Anyway, please enjoy these tostadas of mine, these lovely towering pillows of TexMex joy!<br /><br /><strong>TexMex Tostadas</strong><br />By Blue Zebra<br /><em>Yield 8 tostadas</em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxVL2w9eWTwCy-wA_OMMq5rXAR-NmN2EW9TOG62hMtMa8bUcWB8iY-Mscfr3j51kvu9Jv5y991MEeDMci79O55ciz9SgmUco5a-qC_3DO8S7fEFufqhmHW6fWZBHiZnDubBOrF5ZHWfb8/s1600-h/IMG00021crop+copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113513936106964658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxVL2w9eWTwCy-wA_OMMq5rXAR-NmN2EW9TOG62hMtMa8bUcWB8iY-Mscfr3j51kvu9Jv5y991MEeDMci79O55ciz9SgmUco5a-qC_3DO8S7fEFufqhmHW6fWZBHiZnDubBOrF5ZHWfb8/s400/IMG00021crop+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><strong>Ingredients:</strong><br /><br /><strong>For ground meat mixture:</strong><br />1 lb ground turkey (ground beef may be substituted)<br />1 onion, chopped coarsely<br />4 cloves garlic, chopped finely<br />1 jalapeno, fresh, stemmed and chopped finely with seeds<br />1/4 cup cilantro, stems and leaves, chopped coarsely<br />1 tsp cumin<br />1 tsp coriander<br />2 tsp ancho chile powder*<br />1 tsp salt<br />1 tsp black pepper<br />1 cup water<br /><br /><strong>For tostadas:</strong><br />8 corn tortillas (ready made tostada shells may be substituted)<br />1 - 1/2 cup refried beans, heated and spiced correctly<br />4 cups shredded lettuce (I use Romaine)<br />2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped<br />1 cup Longhorn cheese, shredded<br />1/2 cup sour cream (light sour cream may be used)<br />1 large avocado, ripe, seeded, and cubed (guacamole may be substituted)<br />Olive oil spray for tostadas<br />1/2 cup salsa<br />salt and pepper to taste<br /><br /><strong>Method:</strong><br /><br /><strong>For ground meat mixture:</strong><br />Crumble ground meat into large sauté pan and combine with all ingredients except water. Cook over high heat, stirring every now and again to allow all the meat to brown and the onions to cook. When meat is browned and onions are translucent, add water and reduce heat to medium low. Allow to cook at a slow simmer for 20 minutes or until water is absorbed. Adjust seasonings as necessary.<br /><br /><strong>For tostada shells:</strong><br />If using ready made tostada shells, follow package instructions to heat the shells. If making your own shells from corn tortillas you can choose to either fry them in a shallow sauté pan using a small amount of vegetable oil or lard, or you can mist the tortillas on one side and place them directly on the rack of your oven. Cook at 400 degrees until the top side starts to get golden. Flip them and mist lightly with a bit more oil then let them complete the toasting process. Remove and allow tocool a bit. The tostada shells will continue to crisp as they cool.<br /><br /><strong>For tostadas:</strong><br />Place tostada shell on plate. If using beans, spread a small layer of beans on shell. Top with a spoon of meat mixture. Add lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese, guacamole, salsa and top with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt.<br />Eat immediately! Yummmm! Then write your own salute to the TexMex Tower of Treats, the tostada! Arrrrrrribbbbbaaaaa!!!<br /><br /><strong>Blue Zebra Cooking Tip:</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Homemade Chile Powder</strong><br />So let's pretend you hate prepared chile powder as badly as I do, ok? If so, then go out and choose what flavor of chile you prefer. Do you want a pure powder of ancho chile? How about a blend of Ancho and Pasilla? All you need to do is grab a handful of your favorite dried chiles and a cast iron pan and go to work!<br /><br />Heat a cast iron skillet to medium high to high heat. Place your hand about two inches above the bottom of the pan and if you can let it stay there to the count of nine, your pan is hot enough. Be careful not to actually touch the bottom of the pan! Add your dried chiles (I wash mine and let them dry the night before). Let the pods toast in the pan, this is called dry roasting. Flip the pods after a minute or two. You will start to smell them toast. If necessary, adjust heat in pan so they toast and don't burn.<br /><br />Be sure to turn your vent on over your stove! One toasted, remove stems and empty out all the seeds from inside the dried chili pods. Place chilis in blender or tear them into pieces and place in your spice/coffee grinder. Grind to a fine powder.<br /><br />Place powder in air tight jar or canister. Use in place of commercial chile powders in all your favorite recipes. Just know that you will need to adjust for salt in your recipes since your chile powder is pure and has no additives or salt added, unlike commercial blends.<br /><br />Enjoy!</span>Blue Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09447214289877357403noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117716991958684262.post-18730483059486568902007-09-16T16:40:00.000-05:002008-12-09T17:57:45.000-06:00Texas Chili Dogs, The National Sandwich of Texas<span style="font-family:verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOibTryEiJIduZeyAcKBUnLj3kGaJzsXcgq5Koz7_Xq44Trek3a5c02MbC_QQCA2dieeNRxb4tlzihi26th-tK0Vu_oLfq7DK3QvFHeCKk4AtjLYY7ZzCLtHXw1ivA4Gv9FZOjNaEPVok/s1600-h/09-03-07_2027finaldog.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110921565802219650" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOibTryEiJIduZeyAcKBUnLj3kGaJzsXcgq5Koz7_Xq44Trek3a5c02MbC_QQCA2dieeNRxb4tlzihi26th-tK0Vu_oLfq7DK3QvFHeCKk4AtjLYY7ZzCLtHXw1ivA4Gv9FZOjNaEPVok/s400/09-03-07_2027finaldog.jpg" border="0" /></a>We’ve talked about the <a href="http://http//mulliganstewme.blogspot.com/2007/09/perfect-set-of-buns.html">perfect buns </a>and you have the secrets to <a href="http://mulliganstewme.blogspot.com/2007/09/chili-national-dish-of-texas.html">Authentic Texas Chili</a>. What could possibly come next? Of course, it’s the Texas Chili Dog, the ubiquitous sandwich of Texas. The chili dog shares versions in various regions throughout the U.S. but it’s the national dish of Texas, the chili, that really highlights the difference between a Texas Chili Dog and a chili dog from any other state.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHmFE8uWoPTHTSiEHloNRl0e2Fke1ArWC8k4GCCEPyI98ChbwtDQoc52pzszG_PlCupRna2yt84TW64-xdOaV4sqGMRZRtjaX3F1_3ZYIK8KPhvvDAk7vuuTKwsrFkl4QU0ItzP6nRtE/s1600-h/Sarniebutton.jpg"></a>Not only is this incredibly comforting chili dog the national sandwich of the great state of Texas but it also happens to be my submission for the best sandwich contest called, <a href="http://http//ayearatoakcottage.blogspot.com/2007/09/show-us-your-sarnie-blog-event.html"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110928416275056850" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHmFE8uWoPTHTSiEHloNRl0e2Fke1ArWC8k4GCCEPyI98ChbwtDQoc52pzszG_PlCupRna2yt84TW64-xdOaV4sqGMRZRtjaX3F1_3ZYIK8KPhvvDAk7vuuTKwsrFkl4QU0ItzP6nRtE/s400/Sarniebutton.jpg" border="0" />Show Us Your Sarnie</a>, being sponsored by my friend Marie, at her wonderful website showcasing English Country Manor Life. Her blog, <a href="http://http//ayearatoakcottage.blogspot.com/">A Year From Oak Cottage</a>, is a charming account of genteel country life, almost old worldly in feel. Each day, I eagerly visit to read about what is happening in Marie's English paradise and what has happened over at "the big house"! Don't forget to go visit and vote for my Texas Chili Dog!<br /><br />In Houston, we have a famous hot dog chain, James Coney Island. Our mom <em>lurrrrrved</em> those chili dogs from James Coney Island and Dad loved their chili. You could even buy bricks of their chili, frozen at the restaurant. Now I could “tolerate” this chili, being made from a hamburger type meat and being mostly gravy, but I still </span><span class="fullpost" style="font-family:verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHFk1EMpl-cGx7FWNpYbThzNuBBlhKTZEHiBnx_wXSIxY286rGdPyunJ1VpgfFqsvAzV-uYrrvjW0enq5Kwwdm-sZU0AxkN7WrhKLHW39CN2VjbeNYngTyo2ToPf460LdZkv4w9RXoyGg/s1600-h/finalstackcd.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110921862154963090" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHFk1EMpl-cGx7FWNpYbThzNuBBlhKTZEHiBnx_wXSIxY286rGdPyunJ1VpgfFqsvAzV-uYrrvjW0enq5Kwwdm-sZU0AxkN7WrhKLHW39CN2VjbeNYngTyo2ToPf460LdZkv4w9RXoyGg/s400/finalstackcd.jpg" border="0" /></a>wasn’t real wild about them. I think part of their mystique is that James Coney Island was part of “early Houston” history. Their first store was downtown, not very far away from our granddad’s saloon, The Inter-Urban Buffet, which was right across the street from the Rice Hotel.<br /><br />To say chili dogs are a big thing in our family is an understatement. To this day, my brother, who lives in Austin, has to hit James Coney Island for chili dogs when he is in Houston. One of my nephews, G’s treats, as a little boy was to go grab a chili dog with Mimi and Pa, as Dad was called by the Houston grandkids. The Dallas part of the family, my oldest sissy, C, and my brother-in-law, F, along with their kiddos and grandkids and F’s mom, dad and siblings have a tradition of eating their big Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve after Mass on Christmas Eve, then having homemade chili dogs for Christmas dinner.<br /><br />So chili and hot dogs run deep in our veins and I dare say, through the veins of many Houstonians and Texans. I have actually become a convert in my later years, due mostly to making our homemade chili. There’s not much to the sandwich once you arrive at the perfect bun and chili. I will make a batch of chili then freeze it in portions for use in later chili dogs. I have even gotten to where I make the hot dog buns and freeze them as well.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4T-o-HhBlEQvIsizQMVBeQhsbwhxBaISU0n_-Hz9e0Rtz588h4VqiRdqYc45SmVdbSoT9HG0DbRdu4CzXo2fSsiPsr_Q3HIZaUOnwmo9kQgMO7TxwQYikvKV0x526agZgTnUevdVe6TE/s1600-h/09-02-07_1630bundogs.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110922386140973218" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4T-o-HhBlEQvIsizQMVBeQhsbwhxBaISU0n_-Hz9e0Rtz588h4VqiRdqYc45SmVdbSoT9HG0DbRdu4CzXo2fSsiPsr_Q3HIZaUOnwmo9kQgMO7TxwQYikvKV0x526agZgTnUevdVe6TE/s400/09-02-07_1630bundogs.jpg" border="0" /></a>The last variable in the quality of the chili dog is the dog itself. Houstonian’s and most Southerners were raised with dogs that are not in casings. They are made and cooked in synthetic casings, then released from the casing and packaged. The dog does not have a “snap” or crispness when you bite them. I am also pretty certain Oscar Mayer and Bryans’ meats had a big portion of the Texas market.<br /><br />I personally go with the Northeast and love the crisp bite of a Sabrettes hot dog, the kind of dog you get at the Papaya King in Manhatten on E. 86th street. I also like Nathan’s in the natural casings. One of the easiest dogs to come by with natural casing is made by Boar’s Head meats. They are readily available in Houston. That’s what we use, the natural casing all beef frankfurters by Boar’s Head. Delicious! So without further ado, I give you the heartbreakingly wonderful Texas Chili Dog, the national sandwich of Texas!<br /><br /><strong>Authentic Texas Chili Dogs</strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK0Qa1mTA5gkv0oP5x1bWnMHDBsmmnRwk40oJpBg_8-URWQthYqUvteavSkyttUOlmoWhGq-oELomstal6_yoeaKmZnECc3Pn7TFlAGCQiM4pXrW68zKRkXAvZlbk3-97T-ixcWR9urdk/s1600-h/perfectbun.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110922678198749362" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK0Qa1mTA5gkv0oP5x1bWnMHDBsmmnRwk40oJpBg_8-URWQthYqUvteavSkyttUOlmoWhGq-oELomstal6_yoeaKmZnECc3Pn7TFlAGCQiM4pXrW68zKRkXAvZlbk3-97T-ixcWR9urdk/s400/perfectbun.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />By Blue Zebra<br /><em>Yield 8 Chili Dogs</em><br /><br /><strong>Ingredients:</strong><br />8 Hot Dog Bun<br />8 Texas Chili<br />8 Boar’s Head All Beef Frankfurters<br />Mustard - French’s<br />1/2 Large Onion<br />3/4 cup Longhorn Cheese (preferably red rind cheddar), shredded<br />Relish, Sweet or Dill (optional)<br /><br /><strong>Method:</strong><br />Preheat oven to 450° F<br />Split hot dog buns but do not separate the top and bottom of the bun.<br /><br />Apply mustard to both sides of the bun.<br /><br />Place hot dog into bun and top with chili, cheese and onions. If you use relish, apply relish to bun after the mustard and before the hot dog is inserted.<br /><br />Bake on foil lined baking sheet for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and chili dogs are piping hot! Serve immediately.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv8HrGuwXgNaTQWMuGogQSEye-FZmd-ycl-4-bXHcUTUd2spvF93NG_G47tUOZZHCgUrJ6m6ZwXsK7l_w_Sk4v4mZF7JNWo9koQljaNlAq4FVIclPUJhOW3O1KhfzfJmQYJNa7QHZl6I8/s1600-h/09-03-07_1232chilidone.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110922991731361986" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv8HrGuwXgNaTQWMuGogQSEye-FZmd-ycl-4-bXHcUTUd2spvF93NG_G47tUOZZHCgUrJ6m6ZwXsK7l_w_Sk4v4mZF7JNWo9koQljaNlAq4FVIclPUJhOW3O1KhfzfJmQYJNa7QHZl6I8/s400/09-03-07_1232chilidone.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>Blue Zebra NOTES:</strong><br />This is a great dish for chilly Fall evening. We like to serve them with oven fries and corn fresh cut off the cob, topped with a dab of butter. Not a high brow dinner by any means! Just a good old song-of-the-South!</span>Blue Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09447214289877357403noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117716991958684262.post-90007565468538282572007-09-13T12:55:00.000-05:002008-12-09T17:57:47.248-06:00Chili, The National Dish of Texas<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBJ1YuOF5cEiqz76lTlUaYOm55BaaMzN-sCcNxl52XTICxG5YYlL_ZHKA7tLzML8-stwSaAScRfW0180JnNWO2TiARe80eAY0xT44NFKsSb-6PjhxzpWXAWkRYmjw7MxbLrVRmagewZsc/s1600-h/Chilis.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBJ1YuOF5cEiqz76lTlUaYOm55BaaMzN-sCcNxl52XTICxG5YYlL_ZHKA7tLzML8-stwSaAScRfW0180JnNWO2TiARe80eAY0xT44NFKsSb-6PjhxzpWXAWkRYmjw7MxbLrVRmagewZsc/s400/Chilis.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109784949951973282" /></a>Chili almost qualifies for an entire food group for the majority of Texans. We’ve eaten it as a stand alone spicy stew and as a garnish or gravy that completes many Tex Mex specialties. We have chili cook-offs and chili teams and Pace for goodness sake, the creators of the home chili kit, Wick Fowler’s Two-Alarm Chili. We Texans eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack.<br /><br />Imagine how odd and out of place I sometimes felt. I spent most of my life thinking I hated chili. I’m from Texas so you can imagine that was almost unheard of…it was sacrilege! I could deal with small amounts of the “gravy” portion but could not handle the meat that went with it. <br /><br />There used to be a commercial on television as I was growing up. A complete campaign for the Wolf Brand Chili company and it asked the viewer, “When was the last time you had a great big steaming bowl of Wolf Brand Chili?”</span><span class="fullpost" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPFphJKYrjQFP9ne_Ss2HBTzMwekgnNNfPJBBJ9we3WHUNELgT3dNUnnFYVRCeWYvoEry-X-6prgt09gwzV_EMECzSZGQsRT4shN-BNlOr30R9F6rca5AjJIzPFzCB0U4KopnEz-uKLvM/s1600-h/09-03-07_1114rawingredients.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPFphJKYrjQFP9ne_Ss2HBTzMwekgnNNfPJBBJ9we3WHUNELgT3dNUnnFYVRCeWYvoEry-X-6prgt09gwzV_EMECzSZGQsRT4shN-BNlOr30R9F6rca5AjJIzPFzCB0U4KopnEz-uKLvM/s400/09-03-07_1114rawingredients.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109784954246940594" /></a> And I would always race to answer, “Not nearly long enough!” Of course, their answer was, “Well that’s too long!” In one entire can of chili, if there was one piece of gristle or tripe or tendon lurking in its brick red depths, it was destined to end up in my bowl, on my spoon and in my mouth. Uggh. Dinner over!<br /><br />I hated canned chili and until Wick Fowler came out with 2-Alarm Chili where you could add you own hamburger, you could threaten me with just about anything and I would still decline to eat it. Not even Wick could save the day if Mom announced she intended to use “chili grind” meat. You see, “chili grind” is a coarse setting for grinding meats and it results in chunks of gristle landing in your bowl, on your spoon and in…déjà vu. So chili grind was just not allowable in my book!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioGfE7xKjD8ygdjDiMj8L4_-8VYdnG589G0WyM-KuMRwv1PrY_dJAJU9WkcENG9asPhtAC-cWVykRhHflh5xURHNgNcVARS7AYVRTQqw-4DJVxS5VEJnH2kG1sP5Q4KFwXT9vBqHZr5yc/s1600-h/09-03-07_1138rawingchopped.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioGfE7xKjD8ygdjDiMj8L4_-8VYdnG589G0WyM-KuMRwv1PrY_dJAJU9WkcENG9asPhtAC-cWVykRhHflh5xURHNgNcVARS7AYVRTQqw-4DJVxS5VEJnH2kG1sP5Q4KFwXT9vBqHZr5yc/s400/09-03-07_1138rawingchopped.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109785826125301698" /></a>It wasn’t until I was grown and gone and Mom “discovered” an incredible recipe for chili-red as Dad liked to call it. The recipe called for using pork shoulder, cubed and browned in oil with re-hydrated chile peppers and onions, cooked until meltingly tender. I fell in love with that chili but boy howdeeeee! She and Dad sure made it look like a bunch of hard work to make. So I deferred learning to make it.<br /><br />Dad died almost 15 years ago and it wasn’t until about two years ago that I first took a stab at this dish, but I had to do it my way and that meant using good old Texas beef in place of the pork. After all, the American cowboys didn’t cook chili on pig drives, no, they were cattle drives! So I really doubted that they used pork unless they ran across a very unfortunate javelina (which was a real possibility)! I also found it was much less trouble to make than it had first appeared to my inexperienced eyes.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9WEBwX4SLUPcT9IYwfOSFMRQ0ZryYsL55Cp1Lsbv7L2lHhjdyAK4sDX65OOHjgsSZUolLQcYxTdIWn7KlW1BdyvcF6uRhyphenhyphenW3WJGzjZOL9E-9TO7IHhfOX4PsnWH9OBSeheLclk1OymyY/s1600-h/09-03-07_1232chilidone.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9WEBwX4SLUPcT9IYwfOSFMRQ0ZryYsL55Cp1Lsbv7L2lHhjdyAK4sDX65OOHjgsSZUolLQcYxTdIWn7KlW1BdyvcF6uRhyphenhyphenW3WJGzjZOL9E-9TO7IHhfOX4PsnWH9OBSeheLclk1OymyY/s400/09-03-07_1232chilidone.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109785830420269010" /></a>My authentic Texas Chili is sheer perfection in a bowl. This isn’t Wolf Brand Chili. It’s not Midwestern Chili. This is real Texas chili like the old trail bosses or Chili Queens of San Antonio used to make over a hundred years ago. It’s a purist concoction of meat, dried and fresh chiles and spices that will leave tears of gratitude rolling down your face. And nary a piece of gristle or tendon in sight!<br /><br />Historically, chili was a method of wet cooking tough cuts of meat out on the trail. The spices and chili peppers helped kill the bad or “off” tastes of spoiling meat or meat on the edge of turning and also helped kill any bad bacteria. The wet stewing method helped tenderize the toughest saddle leather and worked great with many sides like tortillas, biscuits, rice, beans (never in the chili, please - that’s a hanging offense in Texas) and also with Tex Mex dishes such as chili rellenos, chili and eggs, cheese enchiladas with chili gravy, tacos and more.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8btpHtshIeD1E6qvo_mou_jMwYu3Evu9BdQIUPlKWlCCTOUFNn8uVGlHIDGkJu9h4luHBZnOcwWCLJ3mcnJGx8QHeIZjjfVEFC6IbwKf1kGHJkNyiCeBvXFuHrfMtAI8xZBWt60LX-Dw/s1600-h/09-03-07_1216onionmeat.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8btpHtshIeD1E6qvo_mou_jMwYu3Evu9BdQIUPlKWlCCTOUFNn8uVGlHIDGkJu9h4luHBZnOcwWCLJ3mcnJGx8QHeIZjjfVEFC6IbwKf1kGHJkNyiCeBvXFuHrfMtAI8xZBWt60LX-Dw/s400/09-03-07_1216onionmeat.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109787587061893090" /></a>Beans have no place in real Texas chili! The old fashioned, purist chili of the old timers won’t even have tomatoes. So in the true spirit of the dish, I took Mom and Dad’s Chili recipe and adapted it to the most extreme purist form. What you get is a spicy stew so thick with delicious, rich red sauce it doesn’t even need to be thickened with the masa harina (ground corn flour) typical of Texas chili. But you add it anyway to get the taste of the dish so familiar to us all.<br /><br />The next time you get a hankerin’ for real, old fashioned, authentic Red. Give the national dish of Texas a try. I guarantee you will sit up and sing The Eyes of Texas by the time you scrape and lick the last morsel of brick red goodness from your bowl.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Authentic Texas Chili</strong></span><br />By Blue Zebra<br /><em>Yield 10-12 bowls of chili</em><br /><br /><strong>Ingredients:</strong><br />2 Large Onions, peeled and chopped<br />8 Cloves Garlic, peeled and chopped<br />1/2 cup Olive Oil, Lard, or Bacon Grease<br />7 Dried Red Ancho Chiles, washed, stemmed, seeded<br />5 Dried Red New Mexican Chiles, washed, stemmed, seeded<br />3 Dried Red Guajillo Chiles, washed, stemmed, seeded<br />2 Jalapeno Peppers, stemmed, chopped with seeds (fresh)<br />4 # Beef Chuck Roast, trimmed, boned, and 1” cubes or Ground Chuck<br />2 tsp granulated garlic powder<br />2 Tbsp Cumin, ground (preferably from toasted cumin seeds)<br />1 Tbsp Oregano, leaves (preferably Mexican oregano)<br />1 Tbsp Coriander, ground (preferably from toasted coriander seeds)<br />2 Tbsp Dried Onion Flakes<br />1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper<br />Water to cover meat<br />1 Tbsp Kosher Salt<br />1 Tbsp Black Pepper<br />1/4 cup Masa Harina<br /><br /><strong>Method:</strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQow229XFV_19r2_uwjVev6TkfnIqO7h8HKoZZ_I_GvVIteoo1zZFDKJPxMxwdy9zuTwvI4bEyZTGYlfiQAjI9c3R_3O4phgsHxnyS1qpl-id__ealNSR98MdLYN1YHwGZEKjBAjx10Gg/s1600-h/09-03-07_1134hydratingchiles.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQow229XFV_19r2_uwjVev6TkfnIqO7h8HKoZZ_I_GvVIteoo1zZFDKJPxMxwdy9zuTwvI4bEyZTGYlfiQAjI9c3R_3O4phgsHxnyS1qpl-id__ealNSR98MdLYN1YHwGZEKjBAjx10Gg/s400/09-03-07_1134hydratingchiles.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109788982926264306" /></a>In medium sized saucepan over medium heat, place stemmed, seeded, dried chiles. Cover pods with water. Bring chiles to a slow simmer and reduce heat. Stir occasionally to redistribute chile peppers under the water. Simmer gently for 20-30 minutes.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho_K2ss5kLfKwIxGOGZUMqaoSJQeDc-sZ9jjcArWGjEni8bJVfx_QVOeSGlhclPMEim0EUQBrrfa5JtyKHuigbS6aa8sxJTywS8dG8D4Cbd8Qcd5-0QabZDdYwqvHHgHAoVHnWEfdsA3Q/s1600-h/09-03-07_1139meat.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho_K2ss5kLfKwIxGOGZUMqaoSJQeDc-sZ9jjcArWGjEni8bJVfx_QVOeSGlhclPMEim0EUQBrrfa5JtyKHuigbS6aa8sxJTywS8dG8D4Cbd8Qcd5-0QabZDdYwqvHHgHAoVHnWEfdsA3Q/s400/09-03-07_1139meat.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109790146862401554" /></a>Trim and cube the chuck roast into 1” dice or alternately, you can use ground chuck hamburger grind (or chili grind if you are fearless and don’t mind a bit of gristle here or there).<br /><br />In small saute pan, toast the cumin and coriander seeds until you can smell the oils of the seeds. Be careful not to burn them. I stir constantly, use a dry pan and cook over medium heat. Once toasted, pour into a coffee grinder dedicated to grinding spices. Alternately, you can use a morter and pestle or molcahete to grind the seeds into spice.<br /><br />Using paper towels, blot moisture from the meat. Season the meat with a little of the salt, black pepper, ground cumin, ground coriander and garlic powder.<br /><br />Heat skillet or cast iron dutch oven over high heat and add 1/3 of the grease being used. Add 1/3 of the seasoned meat and quickly sear and lightly brown the meat. Remove from pan and add the next portion of oil. Let the pan heat up again and add the next 1/3 of the meat. Continue with this method until all the meat is browned and set aside. (Note: Each stove is different. You will have to get a feel for how hot your stove cooks. You want just enough heat to brown the meat, instead of boiling or sweating it in juices. This means you need a hot enough pan that the juices emitted from the meat evaporate from the heat in the pan as quickly as they are released, allowing the meat to brown on the outside. Check to make sure you are browning the meat and not burning the bottom of the pan. The meat will still be raw in the center. Remove beef to a Dutch oven and hold until vegetables are cooked. Be sure to add all of the drippings from the beef.<br /><br />Add chopped onion and garlic to the skillet used to cook your meat and sauté over medium heat until vegetables are tender and the onion has begun to turn translucent. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic0ptfGhpf9lL7wvpOdoc2JfamRB2gwWExg23BfOB_g_6Gfq705dLaHYPhQu7z0IBQxVCDIcg0g8f5ZBTHRfBrNON9GNt1zLVjI6b0wu4yFFCHDjW2TaTXNOqfnImEQVR81vOpPI84w5M/s1600-h/Deglazing.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic0ptfGhpf9lL7wvpOdoc2JfamRB2gwWExg23BfOB_g_6Gfq705dLaHYPhQu7z0IBQxVCDIcg0g8f5ZBTHRfBrNON9GNt1zLVjI6b0wu4yFFCHDjW2TaTXNOqfnImEQVR81vOpPI84w5M/s400/Deglazing.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109791435352590386" /></a><br /><br />Add the vegetables to the meat in the Dutch oven. Deglaze the skillet with a ladle of chile cooking water and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. These browned bits are called fond. They add flavor to the dish.<br /><br />Remove the now cooling peppers from the chile water and drain them in a colander. Reserve the cooking water that is being drained off and any chile water left in the sauce pan. This liquid will be added back to the meat mixture when you cook the chili.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgafgkXnyhX1xAI0BCCeuX1NetsAnNuIevb2ZmIC6pFtBZcGJQB0nvErIgliPn6pzyul_akr4EgUScKp8aIsQa8Wz8tzcHjhS_fBCNBoyM0DuU2g8yyuPxS2_gnyFABKFFW79ovY5a16_Q/s1600-h/StrainingChiles.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgafgkXnyhX1xAI0BCCeuX1NetsAnNuIevb2ZmIC6pFtBZcGJQB0nvErIgliPn6pzyul_akr4EgUScKp8aIsQa8Wz8tzcHjhS_fBCNBoyM0DuU2g8yyuPxS2_gnyFABKFFW79ovY5a16_Q/s400/StrainingChiles.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109791435352590370" /></a><br /><br />Place chile pods into the bowl of your food processor fitted with the knife blade or place them into your blender. Add a couple of ladles of the chile water and blend or pulse processor until chiles form a loose paste. At this point it’s up to you. I like to strain my chile mixture through wire mesh strainer. This keeps the course skin separate from the smooth paste of the flesh and the liquid from the chiles. The skin can be tough and sometimes bitter. But straining is not strictly necessary, if you are trying to save time.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2sQqe6D1y9dQEdF-JykxzideSoMc8yGaQC4IcjPmaAwRo8D0y4khsLnPC0TuiRNRmpZ55T_7bvLmibEmrCGrfM0F5ETGNLrxUyVs5pwKY5jAQkzAQ4AmqYn0dBubo9P3PmmHuzxbnIo/s1600-h/09-03-07_1226chiliyoung.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2sQqe6D1y9dQEdF-JykxzideSoMc8yGaQC4IcjPmaAwRo8D0y4khsLnPC0TuiRNRmpZ55T_7bvLmibEmrCGrfM0F5ETGNLrxUyVs5pwKY5jAQkzAQ4AmqYn0dBubo9P3PmmHuzxbnIo/s400/09-03-07_1226chiliyoung.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109797220673538114" /></a>Add the chile puree to the meat mixture. Add remaining chile water to the point where the meat and vegetables are covered. Turn heat to medium and bring up to a slow simmer. Adjust heat to maintain slow simmer. Do not boil. (This should be about low to medium low to maintain a simmer.)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_wv2MR8z_v0dY3kJera4uQRsLUm79DMD0N6oqjYcYr6rekPdEWw_eLYs0xHzKqAvZYe2R0_UaTm7y-XreGGRxZbYSoLe7zbPUYyANp7ed5wFfToUUf7WpnOZoA_Io-fI9b71Kfz60Fsg/s1600-h/09-03-07_1235cooking.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_wv2MR8z_v0dY3kJera4uQRsLUm79DMD0N6oqjYcYr6rekPdEWw_eLYs0xHzKqAvZYe2R0_UaTm7y-XreGGRxZbYSoLe7zbPUYyANp7ed5wFfToUUf7WpnOZoA_Io-fI9b71Kfz60Fsg/s400/09-03-07_1235cooking.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109797628695431250" /></a>Mix all seasonings except salt in a small bowl. Add 1/2 of the seasoning at the beginning of cooking the chili. As the chili cooks, taste and add more seasoning if you like. Add salt about 3/4 of the way to done. Chili will cook about 2-3 hours over low to medium low heat or until chuck is tender and falling apart and all portions of the “broth” are a cohesive red color. Adjust salt as necessary at end of cooking.<br /><br />As the chili cooks, the moisture will evaporate. Keep adding a little of the chili water or plain tap water to the mixture to keep it from evaporating too much. The object is to condense the “stew” but still leave enough moisture to make a thick, liquid broth.<br /><br />Combine the masa harina with 1/2 cup water and shake in covered jar. Shake until well combined and smooth, no lumps. While chili is at a gentle simmer, add masa slurry, stirring continually until well combined. Masa will thicken the chili slightly and add the distinctive flavor associated with Texas red chili.<br /><br />Serving suggestions:<br />Chili with oyster crackers<br />Chili with cheese and onions and saltine crackers<br />Chili over rice<br />Chili and eggs<br />Chili spaghetti<br />Chili cheese enchiladas<br />Chili relleno<br />Tacos<br />Taco Salad<br />Chili Dogs<br />Chili Burgers<br />Chili Mac<br /><br /><strong>Blue Zebra NOTE:</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDsyyvtUXPdTa0-ohPdTv1QD9WLTr_LoxZk-WFrGoQzG0iyrz8dqQzw-yBLokRg_3JqDAm8SGFMNuuL8iTqiPIIyTAHayEptKcShH70CeTU46zW4y6p6yLhrq-hi84gneR6QmbazzM23k/s1600-h/09-03-07_1232chilidone.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDsyyvtUXPdTa0-ohPdTv1QD9WLTr_LoxZk-WFrGoQzG0iyrz8dqQzw-yBLokRg_3JqDAm8SGFMNuuL8iTqiPIIyTAHayEptKcShH70CeTU46zW4y6p6yLhrq-hi84gneR6QmbazzM23k/s400/09-03-07_1232chilidone.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109797628695431266" /></a>I usually cook my chili out on my propane grill or in my oven. I set the temperature to about 300 degrees and allow it to cook with the lid on for about 3 hours. I stir it and check the liquid level about every 20 minutes or so. This keeps it from sticking on the bottom of the pan and allows enough long, slow cooking time for the meat to tenderize and fall apart. You want the meat to be “fork tender” and the broth to be rich and thick on its own.<br /><br />Stay tuned for the Ultimate Chili Dog, The National Sandwich of Texas!<br /><br /></span>Blue Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09447214289877357403noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117716991958684262.post-40620648160251665502007-09-10T19:39:00.000-05:002008-12-09T17:57:49.488-06:00A Perfect Set of Buns!<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I know, I know, mille apologies for taking so long to put the newest post together, but once you see the subject you will understand. Some posts just take longer than others. And when you are dealing with perfection, well the extra time should be understandable. Perfection does not come quickly!<br /><br />Have you ever wished you had perfect buns? I know I have! For the first time it’s possible for millions of cooks to feel the confidence that having firm, good looking buns gives and it won’t even require a torture device hawked by Suzanne Sommers to </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtQsFSU0olpUZBcYf8Tn69HwsxFQ4WxIGBKYNKwpPcDHxNwXW6qHlLe8BW4tBHlyQ5ri9tJznlzdNb3BffbrfNUwkO053kZG5i3sdzz6DnNkcrrShypnLtlOsZ4UhPD0jd4JShzfTbVCw/s1600-h/09-02-07_1614traybunssm+copy.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108943538263982802" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtQsFSU0olpUZBcYf8Tn69HwsxFQ4WxIGBKYNKwpPcDHxNwXW6qHlLe8BW4tBHlyQ5ri9tJznlzdNb3BffbrfNUwkO053kZG5i3sdzz6DnNkcrrShypnLtlOsZ4UhPD0jd4JShzfTbVCw/s400/09-02-07_1614traybunssm+copy.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">get them! All it takes is a little swirl here, a flourish there and a nice stretch or two. Give it a little time and “Bob’s your uncle.” You will have a set of buns that will make you the envy of the neighborhood.<br /><br />Of course there’s a secret or two involved in the process, but nothing too strenuous and certainly nothing too mentally<br /></span><span class="fullpost"><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuREBMicuA1UPTTWhfux0C3FhjjISZZ6x7JBHaVdBjGh7yubDdKYrmzkO8PVR3BKjM33RvmeEyPTvxjX0S-JEeDgSfEQYltwviM6Cn1OtKnycYOhxmxU1fqsKFW9sWOKZB3KJSq6wkuwY/s1600-h/09-03-07_1238singbunsm.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108756135955956146" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuREBMicuA1UPTTWhfux0C3FhjjISZZ6x7JBHaVdBjGh7yubDdKYrmzkO8PVR3BKjM33RvmeEyPTvxjX0S-JEeDgSfEQYltwviM6Cn1OtKnycYOhxmxU1fqsKFW9sWOKZB3KJSq6wkuwY/s400/09-03-07_1238singbunsm.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> taxing. I only know that once you experience them for the first time it will change your life. You will leap tall buildings at a single bound, sing and tip-toe through a verse of “I Could Have Danced All Night” and bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan. I can guarantee once you see how simple it is to have the loveliest buns on Wysteria Lane, you will never again seek to buy them.<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjLb6N8-ThxKeGjEzsm06TQ70lW_I4z6SnF10b9VOTqtt9BXm9i6Ow3EZ56SIFcXXscHQiS5nVfwqx07KU1ho4WcLzfztb4vn-5Nlp6D_uAy7iPTYl3nLO55F7LVkmSTVbBiZMglOvv5I/s1600-h/09-02-07_1614traybunssm+copy.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108757802403267010" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjLb6N8-ThxKeGjEzsm06TQ70lW_I4z6SnF10b9VOTqtt9BXm9i6Ow3EZ56SIFcXXscHQiS5nVfwqx07KU1ho4WcLzfztb4vn-5Nlp6D_uAy7iPTYl3nLO55F7LVkmSTVbBiZMglOvv5I/s400/09-02-07_1614traybunssm+copy.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I must give credit where credit is due. I didn’t invent the perfect buns. Again, the credit must go to my friend, Bill Wraith, a most excellent baker who is an incredible scientist and teacher. I have seen three people including myself reproduce gorgeous buns so am convinced this recipe is one for success and pure brilliance. Let’s face it, having inferior buns can completely ruin the appearance of many dishy showstoppers. So don’t let it happen to you.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">The Perfect Buns</span></strong><br />By Bill Wraith<br />Methodology amended by Blue Zebra<br /><em>Yield 10-12 buns</em><br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3AF7uP-3oSGFsesABcDov5eTssE3Dah8VWCxtPqCu0onCb3QIS6UDupopHMUD8rDc91JwY-kkEvnfRsMbsw2G8Kw0CRX1tRzajgBfgsGcWYf3ZRMW-av15YfTJyp2ZO_Vex6ngjrADNE/s1600-h/baked.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108942644910785218" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3AF7uP-3oSGFsesABcDov5eTssE3Dah8VWCxtPqCu0onCb3QIS6UDupopHMUD8rDc91JwY-kkEvnfRsMbsw2G8Kw0CRX1tRzajgBfgsGcWYf3ZRMW-av15YfTJyp2ZO_Vex6ngjrADNE/s400/baked.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Ingredients:</strong><br />650 grams AP Flour (22.831 oz<br />290 grams Water (10.186 oz)<br />200 grams Milk (7.025 oz)<br />30 grams Olive oil (1.054 oz)<br />13 grams Salt (2.75 tsp)<br />1 package active dry yeast (2-1/4 tsp)<br /><br /><br /><strong>Method:</strong><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5DOFpNE2oocBnF2Kl1dqFx_9uRNBKfpLfY5Zn7nTwnhiGSsIJGSg33pGFP3LHE4KN3D0zwb-TlGw7f83biAm3NEpzoa-txc_DVqAucNGKRQo-HB_rDaU1SO2WzeXtBoBP_zpXxPBhEFc/s1600-h/09-02-07_1049shaggymess.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108912928032063954" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5DOFpNE2oocBnF2Kl1dqFx_9uRNBKfpLfY5Zn7nTwnhiGSsIJGSg33pGFP3LHE4KN3D0zwb-TlGw7f83biAm3NEpzoa-txc_DVqAucNGKRQo-HB_rDaU1SO2WzeXtBoBP_zpXxPBhEFc/s400/09-02-07_1049shaggymess.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Mix flour, water, milk together until it looks like a shaggy mess. Let it sit for 20 minutes. This is considered the autolyse period. It is the period when gluten begins to form and the flour becomes fully hydrated from the liquid components of your recipe.<br /><br /><br /><br /></span></span><span class="fullpost"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDqyQshhUmzJYyraoEyBYNZCz9F01EmTrlxx8dsoOgVB22pQVHe8CpNTuEtZb4xQNZ1hgAtH5SXTo1ZE9Y1Vwhf4OFPzSPFH3dtGFIw1Ghlg8b0Z4-zXeDzrtXBSTioyFCIfrrQ3KAF1M/s1600-h/frissage.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108931233182679650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDqyQshhUmzJYyraoEyBYNZCz9F01EmTrlxx8dsoOgVB22pQVHe8CpNTuEtZb4xQNZ1hgAtH5SXTo1ZE9Y1Vwhf4OFPzSPFH3dtGFIw1Ghlg8b0Z4-zXeDzrtXBSTioyFCIfrrQ3KAF1M/s400/frissage.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Perform a frissage movement on the dough. Using the heel of your hand, smear walnut size pieces of dough along the counter in order to break up any clumps left in the dough. Frissage also helps to continue the gluten development begun with the autolyse phase.<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0wtKDiTvw6S9d-I798pKl-JDMIvxWALT7H67G3Gj2E_SKTaH0dl13txZE7B9_Z4L-a-EoCeuX92nJE0zRHk0bN3sFw-ti5DQw3RHhvpoFDo0rWGl6KcgP1BkZYcBt7qi4N0xc3JdDylg/s1600-h/09-02-07_1153oopsautolyse.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108913237269709282" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0wtKDiTvw6S9d-I798pKl-JDMIvxWALT7H67G3Gj2E_SKTaH0dl13txZE7B9_Z4L-a-EoCeuX92nJE0zRHk0bN3sFw-ti5DQw3RHhvpoFDo0rWGl6KcgP1BkZYcBt7qi4N0xc3JdDylg/s400/09-02-07_1153oopsautolyse.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This recipe is very forgiving. I accidentally missed my 25 minute timer for the autolyse and let it go a full hour. You can see the yeast were particularly active and the dough rose! No problems. I simply degassed the dough (pressed out all the air), and continued with the next step of kneading.<br /><br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn21gwpNqoMJltG0v0cUmqeCCnADtELlRL2xSGuBs1U_dN8v5fRpJexqM6WOAXWeXLcG0id9SZhI-Mkr9kRgnyYUfx0vG5qHiGkgFXyl4bqmkplsDQ6taKBSblonafhoRc3RuIBNYx_SQ/s1600-h/kneading.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108932727831298674" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn21gwpNqoMJltG0v0cUmqeCCnADtELlRL2xSGuBs1U_dN8v5fRpJexqM6WOAXWeXLcG0id9SZhI-Mkr9kRgnyYUfx0vG5qHiGkgFXyl4bqmkplsDQ6taKBSblonafhoRc3RuIBNYx_SQ/s400/kneading.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">It's time to knead in the remaining ingredients. Start by kneading in the yeast until completely incorporated. After the yeast, knead in salt and olive oil, again, folding and kneading until completely worked throughout dough. Knead dough about 5-10 minutes. This is a large window of variability. I knead by hand and usually knead in 3-5 minute increments. Nothing harsh, just a smooth rolling motion of the dough.I will often cover the dough with the top of a bowl and let it rest for about 15 minutes, then return and knead another 3-5 minutes. Letting the dough rest between kneading episodes does a couple of things. It allows gluten to continue developing as the dough relaxes between sessions. Resting allows the temperature of the dough to diminish, since the friction from kneading causes the temperature to rise in the dough.<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzLRc_-_oMOmEtPcUCO7CxbV7KBcNre3BgPXf2DC20sj6mC2q1jXUYT9QZHs_rrnS2zlNuSajPd0r9pjiGyQ5q3_SBq-TaQjb9dPdsXFhEwwhyphenhyphen7Q_SAeWg7NE3-jJgKSbsPcRWZeQobOU/s1600-h/09-02-07_1318primeferment.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108929914627719762" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzLRc_-_oMOmEtPcUCO7CxbV7KBcNre3BgPXf2DC20sj6mC2q1jXUYT9QZHs_rrnS2zlNuSajPd0r9pjiGyQ5q3_SBq-TaQjb9dPdsXFhEwwhyphenhyphen7Q_SAeWg7NE3-jJgKSbsPcRWZeQobOU/s400/09-02-07_1318primeferment.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Once the dough reaches the window pane stage*, it is ready to undergo bulk or primary fermentation. This is about a one to one and a half hour timespan when the dough is coming close to doubling for the first time and when flavors are developing.<br /><br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9KMkh2In1k8SX9yOgkR62-bMJe-iT5s9djvyUfuvJUJP8VjJhAt__FpRaGy_Ch56QoEIHItcNymMVT-SK29LPc2MH3Iov0s8jk15m_TyJJbtBNw90nPsaLoAxjAKD4_tWS2Hy2fAuoxo/s1600-h/StretchNFold.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108934819480371842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9KMkh2In1k8SX9yOgkR62-bMJe-iT5s9djvyUfuvJUJP8VjJhAt__FpRaGy_Ch56QoEIHItcNymMVT-SK29LPc2MH3Iov0s8jk15m_TyJJbtBNw90nPsaLoAxjAKD4_tWS2Hy2fAuoxo/s400/StretchNFold.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">During the bulk fermentation timeframe, I will perform anywhere from 2-4 sessions of the Stretch N Fold in order to further increase the dough strength. Increasing the strength of the dough allows the gluten strands to trap flavor components and CO2 gas within it's protein web, which causes the dough to rise.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTw7021K2mBf90Wc3xK-Y3p3JnCkorvwOV12e9jUvWWhpN_YgZRj2X9A7npC_PS1kmJCB-V-qv6Bpb5JVB3ZnVdZXTejtlCDhyZHMuJIUaWP1IMaCYs_5gcGZDs-U_m_pBJOX4QruwaCo/s1600-h/09-02-07_1432finalrise.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108936679201211026" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTw7021K2mBf90Wc3xK-Y3p3JnCkorvwOV12e9jUvWWhpN_YgZRj2X9A7npC_PS1kmJCB-V-qv6Bpb5JVB3ZnVdZXTejtlCDhyZHMuJIUaWP1IMaCYs_5gcGZDs-U_m_pBJOX4QruwaCo/s400/09-02-07_1432finalrise.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">After the dough doubles for the first time, turn out the dough and scale it. Scaling means to portion the dough into units. You can use a scale for extra accuracy or eyeball it. Roll the dough into balls for hamburger buns or ropes for hotdog buns. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the buns to rise a final time. I use parchment paper to place the final bun dough on for rising and cooking. I also make sure that by the time the buns are fully risen prior to cooking, their sides will lightly touch. This way, they will have two soft surfaces on the sides.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIuE87NlaDiH6TAjBuQ2W1Kep8anTnTjLBoIa3L4dT3ZbDkEFSrnD_ai9AWEOAgzEU-BPjexCCYxyNyFSAnqYBT5ghq-Ogvh6l-KyTI4MApnkA6NkoK8FCcHGSQQtc8JvIL8Qily2XXMQ/s1600-h/09-02-07_1557risen.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108936679201211042" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIuE87NlaDiH6TAjBuQ2W1Kep8anTnTjLBoIa3L4dT3ZbDkEFSrnD_ai9AWEOAgzEU-BPjexCCYxyNyFSAnqYBT5ghq-Ogvh6l-KyTI4MApnkA6NkoK8FCcHGSQQtc8JvIL8Qily2XXMQ/s400/09-02-07_1557risen.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />Cook buns for 10-15 minutes at 460 degrees F. Buns will have a great oven spring (that means they will rise significantly in the oven). As soon as the buns are done (about 205degrees F internal temperature), place them in a plastic bag and allow them to cool slightly. The bag will trap steam and make the outer surface soft instead of crispy. Use immediately for best results.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Buns can be frozen for up to 3 months.<br /><br /><strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOjGN-rbGcmkRte2gRdpO-7ED5GeJblozNfWuZ1fX7ogWc0kf5WXE50EgQjid9j-SAju51YhpZGWmiKy-Dw58KyAH-Ohm1lbkWiVbwUUKCXm_-7OkEK1vb0MysCu7yVTYi99JmExiiXLs/s1600-h/09-02-07_1630bundogs.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108947240525791970" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOjGN-rbGcmkRte2gRdpO-7ED5GeJblozNfWuZ1fX7ogWc0kf5WXE50EgQjid9j-SAju51YhpZGWmiKy-Dw58KyAH-Ohm1lbkWiVbwUUKCXm_-7OkEK1vb0MysCu7yVTYi99JmExiiXLs/s400/09-02-07_1630bundogs.jpg" border="0" /></a>Blue Zebra NOTE:</strong><br />This recipe is very forgiving and easy. Errors and time lapses still result in great tasting bread. You can really feel the dough change dimension as you knead it. It's excellent for beginner bakers. If you have 30 active minutes to cook, make these buns. They cost about $1.00 for all of them and the taste is so far superior to store bought buns. <br /><br />Another thing to note...I added all the ingredients during the so-called "autolyse" period. Purists and professional or artisan bakers would spank me on this telling me in no uncertain terms that I did not use an "autolyse" period if I added salt, oil, and yeast. Autolyse, technically speaking, is only the stage where liquid and flours are allowed to mix and marry and become fully hydrated. But again, I want time saving and I doubt very seriously if the sophistication of my palette will be able to notice the difference. So far, I have not noticed any delay of yeast performance or impeeded risings because of doing this, which leads me to believe even more, that yeast and risen doughs are more forgiving than anyone gives them credit for being!</span></span>Blue Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09447214289877357403noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117716991958684262.post-29286011142911471792007-09-01T10:21:00.000-05:002008-12-09T17:57:50.989-06:00A Loaf of Bread (Sourdough Pagnotta), A Jug of Wine, A Book of Verse And Thou...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh931rftheqWpHKLFkKQ4SYD-XF-0HM5nLvitSogmrBX4UYRRdSoAwcarbVWBr-jDumnBP3QsFUWG5YZDpv41Al8fg9OgZ4BJ1WjIrvT1k_m8SJAcSc9nIGs0n23taylPhFkpXJwvU4nZE/s1600-h/08-26-07_2108bread.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh931rftheqWpHKLFkKQ4SYD-XF-0HM5nLvitSogmrBX4UYRRdSoAwcarbVWBr-jDumnBP3QsFUWG5YZDpv41Al8fg9OgZ4BJ1WjIrvT1k_m8SJAcSc9nIGs0n23taylPhFkpXJwvU4nZE/s400/08-26-07_2108bread.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5105277719252336914" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">...Beside Me, Singing In The Wilderness ~Omar Khayyam <br /><br />You know what happens when serendipity meets innovation? I don’t always know the answer to that either but sometimes, it results in an incredible loaf of sourdough bread! I recently experienced a most excellent outcome as the result of combining techniques described in two recipes for bread; Sourdough Pagnotta and the so called, New York Times No Knead Bread, so popular today among many home cooks.<br /><br />My good friend, at another site, kindly amended a recipe for Sourdough Pagnotta that has quickly become B’s and my favorite bread of all time. The pagnotta has a rich, creamy texture, also known as crumb, while the crust is thinner and crispy. It’s the perfect</span><span class="fullpost" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> thickness. Thick enough for crunch and thin enough that it won’t send you to the dentist for bridge work while you are eating it. That’s got to be great news, right?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzRrAyIB0_PskrVkM-jsAde0bD33niky7sIOb0p9vW4vUd_hmDRDOAeQ7yVdl2PVHn8XBd6nygP196U3S1DErfvZyBPT_EDqaBrB2AdTRw8kAsJMGDORwR_Mq-CUvqmC-Lsynz1UxKsnk/s1600-h/08-26-07_2110loaf.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzRrAyIB0_PskrVkM-jsAde0bD33niky7sIOb0p9vW4vUd_hmDRDOAeQ7yVdl2PVHn8XBd6nygP196U3S1DErfvZyBPT_EDqaBrB2AdTRw8kAsJMGDORwR_Mq-CUvqmC-Lsynz1UxKsnk/s400/08-26-07_2110loaf.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5105320570141049218" /></a>The pagnotta is a very dense bread and the holes in it aren’t quite as open as other artisan loafs, at least mine aren’t. But, you just can’t beat this bread for having an easy recipe. It takes precious little effort to mix and prepare the dough and tastes delicious and flavorful. It’s great artisan bread for only pennies on the loaf. It’s also a versatile bread, taking well to variants like asiago pagnotta, roasted garlic pagnotta and black olive pagnotta. I have even done a really awesome tasting apple, smoked bacon and caramelized onion pagnotta bread that turned out so well!<br /><br />It’s a high hydration loaf. This means that it has a higher percentage of water than other sourdough recipes. I believe a standard sourdough has around a 60-65% hydration and this is closer to 85% or 90% hydration. Scary to work with the first time but once you know the ropes about working with wet dough; it’s a piece of cake. Hmm, maybe not a piece of cake but it surely is a great piece of bread!<br /><br />I had wanted to bring you the history or origins of this bread. But what I found is pagnotta is the Italian word for bread! So essentially this is one of many recipes for a loaf of sourdough Italian bread! Here are a few other words for bread from other countries.<br /><br />bread in Afrikaans is brood<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDtS79g4MrOSlQe7gUfI14ciDS0SX9zGpA60gh6QmsMsAu_h55wuUzesxS34MXH7ODai4oKOvnDaovGdUvPRaf6fUXcLC371zNbkIEsG6S3aElvYxjS0c1lmxrVVo7fvrcHX-Bbbtgfio/s1600-h/08-26-07_1556AfterSnFInBowl.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDtS79g4MrOSlQe7gUfI14ciDS0SX9zGpA60gh6QmsMsAu_h55wuUzesxS34MXH7ODai4oKOvnDaovGdUvPRaf6fUXcLC371zNbkIEsG6S3aElvYxjS0c1lmxrVVo7fvrcHX-Bbbtgfio/s400/08-26-07_1556AfterSnFInBowl.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5105278904663310706" /></a><br />bread in Dutch is mik, brood<br />bread in French is pain<br />bread in German is Brot, Brot, panieren<br />bread in Italian is pagnotta<br />bread in Latin is crustum, panis<br />bread in Spanish is pan<br /><br />And here is your bread quote for today!<br /><br />There is hunger for ordinary bread, and there is hunger for love, for kindness, for thoughtfulness; and this is the great poverty that makes people suffer so much.<br /><br />~ Mother Teresa<br /><br />This bread is perfect for sharing with your special someone. B, my best friend and partner in crime and I love to eat it dipped in olive oil seasoned with a touch of balsamic vinegar, a pinch of salt, fresh ground black pepper, shaved parmesan, and a touch of basil. A wonderful, full bodied cabernet or other rich wine and a few roasted olives or grape tomatoes dipped in olive oil and salt make a great accompaniment to it as well. Add a slice or two of dried aged salami and a couple of black seedless grapes and you have a romantic picnic for two! The pagnotta is also wonderful as a bread accompaniment to any kind of meal you can imagine, roasted meat to casserole and everything in between! Mangia!<br /><br /><strong>Sourdough Pagnotta</strong><br />By Bill Wraith<br /><em>Yield: 1 Large Loaf or 2 smaller Loaves</em><br /><br /><strong>Ingredients:</strong><br />400 grams fresh 100% hydration starter (my starter was taken out of the<br />refrigerator after having been refreshed 3 days earlier. I probably should<br />have used more recently refreshed and vigorous starter) (14.5 Ounces)<br />650 grams water (22.831 Ounces)<br />700 grams KA Organic AP (24.587 Ounces)<br />50 grams KA rye blend (optional - substitute white flour, whole wheat, or<br />other) (1.756 Ounces)<br />50 grams Heartland Mills Golden Buffalo flour (optional - substitute white<br />flour, whole wheat, or other) (1.756 Ounces)<br />18 grams salt (1.264 Tbsp)<br />300 grams pitted halved olives (I used calamata olives) - this is an optional<br />ingredient. (10.537 Ounces)<br /><br /><strong>Method for making bread:</strong><br /><strong>Mix:</strong><br />Mix ingredients until well integrated and there is some resistance to stirring.<br />Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.<br />(Bill’s Note: I think there was slightly too much water for my choice of flours and maybe because of the olives, which made the dough harder to handle. This was very slack dough. I would use a little less water next time, but I'm reporting this as I actually did it.)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3zKgCuRsPvikAkfB1cPQwNiseXGEcQjp00Sv-9KUK3RLFZpMU4SH1rOGPkOBETtkeU_mkxGvrrQxq9j_Qv3prLOsH79stWsq_5vSREm1iTHnAfdDYCfXTKv8X4QpD4osaJLR921oqcYw/s1600-h/08-26-07_1631.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3zKgCuRsPvikAkfB1cPQwNiseXGEcQjp00Sv-9KUK3RLFZpMU4SH1rOGPkOBETtkeU_mkxGvrrQxq9j_Qv3prLOsH79stWsq_5vSREm1iTHnAfdDYCfXTKv8X4QpD4osaJLR921oqcYw/s400/08-26-07_1631.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5105323297445282210" /></a><strong>Fold and Rest, Repeat:</strong><br />Every 30-60 minutes pour the dough out onto the counter, let it spread a little, and fold it up into a ball. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover and let rest 30-60. Repeat this process every 30-60 minutes 3-4 times.<br />(Bill’s Note: I may not have repeated this enough, given the very wet dough I ended up with. The dough was still too slack later when I tried to shape the loaves.)<br /><br /><strong>Bulk Fermentation:</strong><br />Place the dough in an oiled rising bucket or bowl. Allow it to rise by double at room temperature.<br />(Bill’s Note: Actually, I wanted to bake by midnight, so I let it get a little warmer, about 80F, which may have been a little bit of a problem. I think it made the slack dough even a little more slack to also be warm.)<br /><br /><strong>Shaping:</strong><br />Pour the dough out on the table on a bed of flour and cut in two. Work with each loaf separately. Form a ball by carefully and gently pulling the sides toward the center repeatedly to get some surface tension on the smooth side underneath. Do not overhandle.<br />(Bills Note: Here I was a disastrous dough handler. I way overhandled it because it was too slack and would not form a ball. It just kept spreading out quickly. Well, I just decided after way too many times pulling at the sides to stop trying and went for flat bread. So, I can't emphasize enough, don't overhandle. Just make that shape and be done with it.<br /><br />I am doing a second version, and I think I've discovered how to do this. Use thumbs and fingers of one hand to pinch and hold the gathered sides over the center, holding the gathered edges up a little to help the sides stretch and the shape to become more round and taking a bit of weight off the loaf. Use the other thumb and a couple of fingers to pinch a bit of the side, pull the bit out and up and over to the center, stretching the side as you do. Gather that bit in with the first hand along with others as you work your way around the loaf. Try to make it round by gathering a bit from the place that sticks out the most.)<br /><br />Turn the dough over onto a thick bed of flour with the rough side down.<br /><br /><strong>Final Proof:</strong><br />Allow the loaves to increase in size by double.<br />(Bill’s Note: For me, this took about 3 hours. I'm still having a hard time figuring out when these higher hydration loaves have finished proofing. As I said there was too much water, and I never got these loaves to stiffen up very much. They mostly spread out on the counter.)<br /><br /><strong>Bake:</strong><br />Bake at 425 degrees F.<br />(Bill’s Note: This took about 25 minutes, and the internal temperature went quickly to 210F, which I've experienced with these flat high hydration loaves. I didn't get much oven spring. I think the over handling was a serious problem.)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRPnK_5EsGeXc4o6ZCVHxrtHUKxqTciIgi9x92uZP0tfv6r0T4Qkem1weWuyeXVn2qSXhhxK2ThCNeEavv7ZZZwaGUBarRrzI1yaPLcOWDj5isYl-gN0nvLON3kg-fcmE7ol6JKvv62Sc/s1600-h/08-26-07_2115.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRPnK_5EsGeXc4o6ZCVHxrtHUKxqTciIgi9x92uZP0tfv6r0T4Qkem1weWuyeXVn2qSXhhxK2ThCNeEavv7ZZZwaGUBarRrzI1yaPLcOWDj5isYl-gN0nvLON3kg-fcmE7ol6JKvv62Sc/s400/08-26-07_2115.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5105321545098625426" /></a><br /><br /><strong>Cool:</strong><br />Allow the loaf to fully cool.<br /><br /><strong>Results:</strong><br />The flavor was as good as any bread I've made. The crumb was much less open than I had hoped but was soft and flavorful. I think the flatness was because of the over handling and maybe adding too much water to the dough. Maybe another fold or two would have helped. The gluten never really stiffened up enough. Still, this was a great tasting bread. My bad for the handling, but I'm already trying a second one. I also think the olives made the dough wetter, heavier, and harder to handle. The next try will be without olives.<br /><br /><strong>Blue Zebra NOTE:</strong><br />When working with wet doughs, high hydration doughs, the tendency is to be scared because the dough looks more like a batter than a dough. But be fearless! No worries, mon! The secret is wet hands!<br /><br />To make it easier for me, I mix the dough in a bowl with one hand. One hand will be a mess; but that’s ok, it washes! I mix the dough initially until it is just a shaggy mess of incorporated flour, water and starter (I go ahead and add the salt…so sue me, I haven’t had a failure yet because of adding the salt at this phase for this particular dough), cover and leave it for the autolyse period. Then I come back and do my initial folding in the bowl!<br /><br />I pick up a portion of the dough with my hand and stretch high above the bowl as far as it will stretch without breaking the gluten strands! Then I allow it to be pulled into the center mass of the dough. Once that stretch is finished, I turn the bowl a quarter turn (90 degrees) and repeat the action. I will do 8 of these stretch and folds in the bowl at one time, or 2 complete bowl revolutions. I let the dough rest again, covered. By this time, you will have helped form substantial gluten and the batter will resemble a very wet dough rather than a batter.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsucN2uLr2S8ttzj_aNnBx_yMDl5EMJSU3NJykiZquK_zl1U1ElRhAgQvAWMam0Rg6nqaWTiCsoCBGs3nSrkwZ7bzE7fJNjO_oG0obAGJZJO9fWIGwV0cU6GWtyEgCahmVBEIf7uCmsXk/s1600-h/0826071stFoldSeries.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsucN2uLr2S8ttzj_aNnBx_yMDl5EMJSU3NJykiZquK_zl1U1ElRhAgQvAWMam0Rg6nqaWTiCsoCBGs3nSrkwZ7bzE7fJNjO_oG0obAGJZJO9fWIGwV0cU6GWtyEgCahmVBEIf7uCmsXk/s400/0826071stFoldSeries.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5105277723547304226" /></a><br /><br />The next time, I come back to fold the dough, I will pour it out on the counter as Bill describes. It works to use a dough scraper (moisten it with water.) And it also helps to have wet hands. The dough won’t stick to you then. I don’t use any flour on the counter, but since this dough is so wet, I use a light sprinkle on the counter. The wet scraper and wet hands allow you to stretch and fold the dough, pulling gently from the underneath side (the counter side) of the dough with your hand on top of the sheet of dough, guiding it. You try not to flatten or degas the dough while working with it. The gas is what will make great, irregular holes in the final bread.<br /><br />Here is an excellent video of doing the <a href="http://www.sourdoughhome.com/stretchandfold.html">stretch and fold</a> with a some what dryer dough (lower hydration dough). My friend, Mike Avery, at <a href="http://www.sourdoughhome.com/index.html">Sourdough Home</a> developed this video for his student and is an excellent teacher and writer. I highly recommend his books. They are very affordable books and are available as online versions for quick downloads. You can be reading in less than five minutes.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKaYMaG-NUwDEeltNYyzN38w_CowZGBMA10cBIdoU6LHF_T9_QqPw2vbUcWdNKL3vjLFqyYE0bz9eqUCo30tAQS0oJErPz6iVmpHwniM8nlLSgNL83VNNixOIaIdhHdPwx4WiaiSmXOvU/s1600-h/082607_2ndFoldSeries.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKaYMaG-NUwDEeltNYyzN38w_CowZGBMA10cBIdoU6LHF_T9_QqPw2vbUcWdNKL3vjLFqyYE0bz9eqUCo30tAQS0oJErPz6iVmpHwniM8nlLSgNL83VNNixOIaIdhHdPwx4WiaiSmXOvU/s400/082607_2ndFoldSeries.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5105277723547304242" /></a><br /><br />I used my stainless steel Dutch oven to cook this bread because I don’t have my cast iron Dutch oven here. I used the lid for the first 30 minutes and then baked it another 30 minutes without the lid. I cooked the bread for one hour at 460 degrees F, and the final internal bread temperature was 211 degrees. It was perfect even though there was a rather large hole immediately under the top crust. I could have collapsed it with a pin to let the air out but was in a hurry to bake it for dinner.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMqmeMTqyeqVVrQI6i4DQgCAKU7FWzMH3AQqv8pKz2wulbeziucUDIqba93XyiRMpBrZxFqauScvfHEbyXK8is-lKm25RGxNuQTZH1n-uuwnX8u8Ht7JGQJCkaMHrq3vK1IJvlGru5Qh8/s1600-h/082607_3rdFoldFinalRise.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMqmeMTqyeqVVrQI6i4DQgCAKU7FWzMH3AQqv8pKz2wulbeziucUDIqba93XyiRMpBrZxFqauScvfHEbyXK8is-lKm25RGxNuQTZH1n-uuwnX8u8Ht7JGQJCkaMHrq3vK1IJvlGru5Qh8/s400/082607_3rdFoldFinalRise.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5105277727842271554" /></a><br /><br />I hope you will try this bread. Even though I cut into it before it was fully cooled, you can see how moist this bread is and in my opinion, it has much more complexity than the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html?ex=1320642000&en=a55ab31eb6c5a47d&ei=5090">No Knead To Knead bread</a> that is so popular right now.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnZnCVK_QfUqiQH_8GlJe5sIN2slo8rYXJoSrRjcojppBHXlcmYr8bsTlPsdE-sggX99M-ITtbSYaKU8XmGYMvSWKXxxHLZZM-cQv70e-zub9ZQ6ogPodcE-HGquRSDpc2yITdWlae6M/s1600-h/082607_BakingResults.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnZnCVK_QfUqiQH_8GlJe5sIN2slo8rYXJoSrRjcojppBHXlcmYr8bsTlPsdE-sggX99M-ITtbSYaKU8XmGYMvSWKXxxHLZZM-cQv70e-zub9ZQ6ogPodcE-HGquRSDpc2yITdWlae6M/s400/082607_BakingResults.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5105277727842271570" /></a></span>Blue Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09447214289877357403noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117716991958684262.post-45046737982443908852007-08-27T12:32:00.000-05:002008-12-09T17:57:54.581-06:00What In The Fricassee Have You Done With My Chicken? Chicken Stew Secrets Revealed<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij9icbpeonFy6CQ7_rXxnGoWKoyqDqAowEFSQrgLlr5DGrUm3bLFRIAZKQproZxaFT2EMYgonbtEQRf2nRyXbGoNFT48GnK2GdJZyUvlkW8aTlo_4-jFc1944DW0EJg7SnPy4ZOxkeQks/s1600-h/IMG00077meal.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij9icbpeonFy6CQ7_rXxnGoWKoyqDqAowEFSQrgLlr5DGrUm3bLFRIAZKQproZxaFT2EMYgonbtEQRf2nRyXbGoNFT48GnK2GdJZyUvlkW8aTlo_4-jFc1944DW0EJg7SnPy4ZOxkeQks/s400/IMG00077meal.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104543288434655426" /></a><br />Ok so what do you do with a hundred pound chicken? It sounds like the opener to a cheesy joke, doesn’t it? But for those of you who took the time to read <a href="http://mulliganstewme.blogspot.com/2007/08/naked-truth-about-hens-beauty-is-only.html">The Naked Truth About Hens</a>, you will know I’m almost 100% entirely, serious…Well, maybe I’m only about 20% serious, but I did learn one thing much to our chagrin. Clearly, you do not roast a hundred pound chicken, unless you love foul fowl. I found that out quite unequivocally.<br /><br />The voice in my head mocks me and I hear it reverberate again and again. What do you do with a hundred pound chicken-chicken-chicken? In desperation I answer the voice now shouting in the recesses of my aching brain, “The answer is<span class="fullpost">frick, frick, frick, fricassee! You cook the paprikash out of that bird and if that doesn’t work, you smother the little clucker till it makes a sauce piquant! If that still isn’t good enough, then you let it stew in its own juice!” Deep breath. Breathe. At last, the whining voice resides.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigvzVYcUzCbjmOcOpZCAP3uTMCFyXZQnc6ftXkgMJT5C-CHPHL5xsABQYFD7IvUoWcUIcpPKo1y_o3AbKhUm3JNBXm5Cpdz0MVwn8uSoXP7wGie8Y-GUCagID16Av8TAlZZunRfZVo9TI/s1600-h/08-20-07_1756stock.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigvzVYcUzCbjmOcOpZCAP3uTMCFyXZQnc6ftXkgMJT5C-CHPHL5xsABQYFD7IvUoWcUIcpPKo1y_o3AbKhUm3JNBXm5Cpdz0MVwn8uSoXP7wGie8Y-GUCagID16Av8TAlZZunRfZVo9TI/s400/08-20-07_1756stock.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104543679276679378" /></a>Long, slow, moist heat isn’t really much of a secret. Most people who have been cooking any length of time, or have alternately watched one season of FoodTV know low, slow and wet is guaranteed to break down the ropey muscle fibers of a tough cut of meat. But how do you add the flavor to that meat or chicken, in this case?<br /><br />Growing up, Mom used to make a very traditional Southern dish called smothered chicken. Oh my, I still smack my lips thinking about it! She’d bread and fry the chicken pieces until golden outside but still raw inside. Then she made a roux the color of caramel or not-quite-pecan and added onion, bell pepper and celery (the Cajun trinity, don’t ya know), water and chicken and let it simmer for hours. Mom served it over rice with a side of cornbread and turnip greens. You almost couldn’t beat this dish for pure cold weather comfort food!<br /><br />If you add Cajun spice and a healthy dose of cayenne “peppah”, pepper sauce, jalapenos and tomatoes you go from a simple smother to a <a href="http://www.bananacourtyard.com/Lingo.htm">sauce piquant, pronounced sauce pee-cawnt</a>, in a hurry! This is a lively Cajun version of a smother that just rocks my world, completely! The sauce piquant works great for ordinary chicken but it reaches nirvana when you use it to stew dove or rabbit. <a href="http://www.chefpaul.com/">Paul Prudhomme’s</a> recipe elevates it to celestial. It's so fine. It will seriously make you want to sit up and <em>"slap yor mamma"!</em><br /><br />Aromatics like a mirapoix (French trinity), a mixture of onion, celery and carrot is another way to add flavor to stew. Seasoning the chicken pieces with herbs and spices is yet, one more way. Still more secrets to flavorful and tender chicken stews include browning the meat prior to cooking in liquid, making a dark roux, adding acids such as wine, vinegar and mustards or you could just do what we did to tame our hundred pound bird, you could do all of the above!<br /><br />The end result for our hundred pound chicken was tasty, tender, chicken meat in a rich brown, paprika flavored gravy that had a bite of mustard and lingering mellowness of wine with a slight zip of cayenne to wake up your taste buds. I knew immediately it deserved to be accompanied by homemade spaetzle. Lucky for me it was comfort food on crack. Unlucky for you, you weren’t here to sample it, because like most brown and cream colored foods, pictures just can’t possibly do it justice.<br /><br />I heartily recommend you try fricasseein' the devil outta your hundred pound chicken, soon!<br /><br /><strong>Chicken Fricassee aka Chicken Paprikash</strong><br />By Blue Zebra<br /><em>Serves 8</em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaS-oKsR_hKQFi5J8UxHpEHBGW1wljfobCSbbHse0__CHUnweNsscrHCURcZBsAaSqKCsYQBY8wwDkzs5aKCu0t8ELAH2DhGtBFY9zgJ82ciKGhiTJuOOoDFOQ6s1pgXKtWiR6tXOU59k/s1600-h/08-20-07_1849rawing.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaS-oKsR_hKQFi5J8UxHpEHBGW1wljfobCSbbHse0__CHUnweNsscrHCURcZBsAaSqKCsYQBY8wwDkzs5aKCu0t8ELAH2DhGtBFY9zgJ82ciKGhiTJuOOoDFOQ6s1pgXKtWiR6tXOU59k/s400/08-20-07_1849rawing.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104543894025044210" /></a><br /><br /><strong>Ingredients:</strong><br />1 100lb Chicken (hehehe) Carcass with Legs, Thighs and Wings (everything but the breasts)*<br />½ Quart Brown Pan Gravy<br />1 Large Medium Onion<br />1 Green Pepper<br />2 Stalks Celery<br />1 Carrot, Large<br />5 Cloves Garlic<br />1 Quart Chicken Stock<br />1 tsp Thyme, dried leaves<br />1-1/2 Tbsp Paprika<br />¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper<br />2 Tbsp Country Style Dijon<br />½ Bottle White Wine<br />1 Quart Mushrooms<br />1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce<br />1 tsp Kosher Salt<br />1 tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper<br />½ cup Sour Cream<br /><br /><em>*Recipe Note- Ok, if you don't have a hundred pound chicken, use an 8# chicken. If you still don't have one of those, use the carcasses and dark meats from two broilers or fryers or use wings, necks and dark meat to equal about 3-4 pounds of chicken meat. If you haven't previously roasted this meat, you will need to season and thoroughly brown the meat in a saute pan or roast it with veggies in the oven. I recommend roasting it in order to fully develop the brown layer of flavor in this recipe. Make sure to use extra veggies and not the ones listed in this recipe. The ones listed here are for the final compilation of the stew. This can be done the day ahead.</em><br /><br /><strong>Method:</strong>*<br />Remove the skin from the cooked chicken. Separate into pieces. Chop veggies and add with chicken to Dutch oven. Add Mustard, wine and seasonings. Let simmer on very low heat. Do not boil, you want the liquid to barely move. Simmer for 1-1/2 hours or until chicken is tender. Remove carcass and chicken pieces and cover with foil. Let it cool enough to pull meat off bones and chop.<br /><br />While chicken is cooling, turn up the heat so that the simmer of the liquid becomes<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3_YOp0b8uxuC4LI9cUIx-5NM0ne4aPs_GkyWIG-mqyuBNQVcmcPoEvPhlPOdDJyVFhM2-XqWQYGnTM3EkcKcPA1sw6Mcy0omFVs8rukyidSMdjqPbj4pDNgxPZhDyIcI0GR2Fm0hJecE/s1600-h/08-20-07_1917paprikash.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3_YOp0b8uxuC4LI9cUIx-5NM0ne4aPs_GkyWIG-mqyuBNQVcmcPoEvPhlPOdDJyVFhM2-XqWQYGnTM3EkcKcPA1sw6Mcy0omFVs8rukyidSMdjqPbj4pDNgxPZhDyIcI0GR2Fm0hJecE/s400/08-20-07_1917paprikash.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104544598399680770" /></a> more active. You still don’t want it to actively boil. Cook uncovered and allow the sauce to reduce. The sauce will thicken as it reduces because of the flour added to the brown gravy. If it looks too thin to you, you can always mix a couple of tablespoons of flour with a little extra wine and shake it up in a container until smooth. Pour thickener into liquid, stirring constantly to combine. Cook an additional 5-10 minutes to allow the flour to cook and for the sauce to thicken from the addition. Adding flour suspended in a liquid usually eliminates any clumping.<br /><br />Add diced chicken meat back to the liquid in the final five to ten minutes of cooking. Heat through and taste to adjust seasoning. Serve over noodles, macaroni, spaetzle, rice, mashed potatoes…well, serve over just about anything carbalicious and starchy! You can even serve it over homemade bread in a pinch. Sprinkle with a touch of paprika and a little fresh chopped parsley.<br /><br /><strong>Blue Zebra NOTE:</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh44UNg9GD-GDA9xhaJ6uzxd6vdVVM5VOUc4eW3ozkI9c6MNzEqp-1eVgM5cPwzl_5rLsC5GffaAN4_J97NqKGpl9nBaqtbnVAM-90vABphSw_TqBb9Vk2eLqlG1Yr4-9WFTCnXPIyNPgM/s1600-h/08-21-07_1320mac.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh44UNg9GD-GDA9xhaJ6uzxd6vdVVM5VOUc4eW3ozkI9c6MNzEqp-1eVgM5cPwzl_5rLsC5GffaAN4_J97NqKGpl9nBaqtbnVAM-90vABphSw_TqBb9Vk2eLqlG1Yr4-9WFTCnXPIyNPgM/s400/08-21-07_1320mac.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104543679276679394" /></a>I served this like a Hungarian meal would be served: sweet and sour cabbage with caraway seeds, cinnamon applesauce, homemade spaetzle and homemade bread with butter. Not exactly what I would call a summer meal, nor a light meal, either. But necessity dictates. So, the good news is this freezes beautifully. We ate it and froze the rest in vacuum seal bags and now have chicken fricassee aka chicken paprikash aka that-chicken-stuff aka chicken stew primed and ready in our deep freeze and just waiting for Jack Frost to make his first appearance!<br /><br />This stew can also be made using the wing tips from chickens you trim and with legs and thighs only, making this extremely economical. This whole meal with all the side dishes costs about $.85 per serving when made that way. Now, that’s the <em>REAL</em> secret to chicken stew!</span>Blue Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09447214289877357403noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117716991958684262.post-76360210367439735672007-08-23T17:21:00.000-05:002008-12-09T17:57:55.214-06:00The Naked Truth About Hens - Beauty Is Only Skin Deep<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfy10pcO_l9S4Fo3LP78935ol2rpnhVipCWBsAs9z4tqbA3MRy-2MjMX-Ksk46104SprI3ebhCsZoMiNQ5W6o7kV7cW5vlHes3E1S1KmxZhlVrtDoYtFU_ze4XSLB6cisC4x8UVSMARw/s1600-h/IMG00053chick.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102026429009264530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfy10pcO_l9S4Fo3LP78935ol2rpnhVipCWBsAs9z4tqbA3MRy-2MjMX-Ksk46104SprI3ebhCsZoMiNQ5W6o7kV7cW5vlHes3E1S1KmxZhlVrtDoYtFU_ze4XSLB6cisC4x8UVSMARw/s400/IMG00053chick.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Beauty is only skin deep<br />Never judge a book by its cover<br />Tough old birds<br /><br />I could go on and on, but will spare you. The sayings ring clear with truth. As I stood in the kitchen slaving over an eight pound, yes, you heard me – eight pound, roasting hen, I pondered the complexities of communication. I am blessed to have a personal shopper in B. He does excellent work and he is most literal. He spends countless minutes finding and identifying each item on a shopping list and will bring back precisely what is on the list.<br /><br />Because of his punctilious nature, I have learned to be wary of my tongue. I no longer ask him to bring home “a little” of this or a “tiny bit of that”, nor do I request a “ton of such and such.” Should I be so silly to indulge in these expressions, I am likely to get what I request. Upon asking for a tiny bite of something, I have received a miniscule fork full of a substance that is just barely enough to register taste on the palate. I have been given exactly two chips when requesting a couple of chips. A sip of a drink is exactly one mouthful.<br /><br />So it came as no surprise to be on the receiving end of two eight pound roasting hens when I sent him to the store for whole</span><span class="fullpost"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> chickens. I told him I would be roasting them for dinner when he asked why on earth I wanted whole chickens. Further pondering the question, he confirmed that chickens did indeed come whole and not only as “parts”. It was almost as if he expected me to tell him I planned to use them as sacrificial offerings to the god of garbage disposals or Fridgidaires.<br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF7LJOhji8Pjuxhgsd1CaYOR_HTXiMb7DA32wBv4tU0Ik0hxWDZXIjCVg7pkE-GYXx6usagyII6LA5RRCEctTFhG7d5laP4jYLOzrAzSJNuFQKjobVIFMV9SgoXSHiL92Ttza8YBw0HBI/s1600-h/IMG00054chickclose.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102026970175143842" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF7LJOhji8Pjuxhgsd1CaYOR_HTXiMb7DA32wBv4tU0Ik0hxWDZXIjCVg7pkE-GYXx6usagyII6LA5RRCEctTFhG7d5laP4jYLOzrAzSJNuFQKjobVIFMV9SgoXSHiL92Ttza8YBw0HBI/s400/IMG00054chickclose.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />I neglected to educate B about chicken adjectives like Fryer or Broiler. Going to the store and picking out a three to four pound chicken seemed an easy thing for me. I’ve been doing it for years. A whole chicken in that weight category will almost automatically fall into one or the other and either would work fine for this purpose. No, he knew I was going to roast the birds and I can only imagine his delight upon finding something chicken-shaped that said “Roasting Hen” smack dab on the label of this tidy package. To add to the confusion, I requested frozen birds and these babies were certainly frozen! Sitting right between the turkeys and the ducks, the honorable eight pound roasting hens were ready and waiting and you know what they say about a “bird in the hand”.<br /><br />Ok, so we have a bouncing big bird here; correction, two bouncing big birds. One went directly into deep freeze and one went into the open arms of the third shelf of the fridge to begin a leisurely defrost. I must admit, I needed the time to think and to research the behemoth. I plead ignorance, blithe ignorance. I’d never seen, eaten, nor cooked one in my entire life and had only heard of them in some vague recess of my useless and arcane facts database locked securely within my cerebellum. As big as Baby Huey from cartoons of old, I decided I would indeed roast this bird and treat it like a turkey since it was practically that size. The thing cost over $7.00. Gadzooks, Batman! That’s a lot of bird.<br /><br />I had only one question after setting my course. Why did the package instructions advise removing the skin prior to serving? How ridiculous! Every Southerner knows one of the best things about eating chicken in its chickular-form (i.e. as a whole bird) is the crispy, golden-brown skin, rich with unctuous fat and seasoned to perfection, warm and comforting from the oven. I planned a fitting tribute of apricots and peaches for this noble creature. I poo-pooed their instructions. I knew better! Sure the skin on the breasts looked a little past its prime, but from one old bird to another, we can’t all be pageant queens.<br /><br />I stuffed that moist piece of poultry with onion, celery, garlic, lemons and apricots and trussed it within an inch of its life, lovingly basting it in white wine mixed with the rendered drippings. A hint of thyme mystified as it beguiled. The neck and giblets roasted lazily with more onions, celery and a whole head of garlic in preparation of the dark gravy to be served along side the meat and mashed potatoes. Sparkly golden peach jam mixed with Country-style Dijon Mustard and a soupcon of ginger formed an enticing glaze that tempted even this jaded chicken eater to lick my lips in anticipation.<br /><br />The ticking clock and stalwart timer made stern taskmasters. The bird cooked to the appointed 190°F. The timer said it was done. Julia said it was done as 8 pounds x 20 minutes per pound equals 160 minutes at 375° and the Joy of Cooking staunchly supported Julia’s instructions. I even allowed it 10 extra minutes to be generous. Removing this trophy of culinary perfection to the waiting platter, I lightly genuflected in reverence. Behold I give you roasted hen.<br /><br />Gifted and talented cook that I am, I offer you the pristine perfection of a single roasted fowel. Magic. Sheer envy from other cooks. I am Creative Genius. They should pay me to cook, with my mastery of the art. This succulent scion of poultry pulchritude arched coyly for the camera, seeming to tuck its left thigh and drumstick demurely back and slightly behind its mate like a shy Southern school girl at catechism class. To look was to love this creature of beauty and to lust after its savory meat.<br /><br />Then I cut it. *gulp*<br />Then I got a larger and sharper knife and cut it. *bigger gulp*<br />Then I got the electric carving knife that hadn’t seen the light of day nor inside of an electrical socket in over 15years, not since the last time Dad used it, no doubt. *three huge gulps in a row*<br />I felt a little queasy.<br /><br />The damn thing was raw inside! Oh sure the breast was done. It had a severe case of turkey-itis; dry-as-dust breast meat, leg and thighs pink and oozing red juices. Tough ligaments and muscle fibers resisted the sharp blade of the knife as if parrying a thrust with a boastful, en guarde! The beauty of this baby began and ended with the flirtatious Southern-peach glaze, the skin so tough and foul of feather. Only the most liberal covering of gravy made the breast meat edible and only then, after the skin and the beautiful glaze had been removed per the package instructions…The dark meat was left to fight another day.<br /><br />The moral of this story, you ask? Beauty is indeed, only skin deep. So please, whatever you do, practice, practice, practice those communication skills carefully lest your personal shopper bring home a roasting hen for you to roast just because it claimed to be one on the outside of its pretty package.<br /><br /><strong>Peach and Dijon Glazed Roasted Chicken with Brown Gravy</strong><br />By Blue Zebra<br /><em>Serves 4</em><br /><br /><strong>Ingredients:</strong><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CAT4TOIQoXQ/Rs4Nl2fAf8I/AAAAAAAAANM/6VxqB1DdTlc/s1600-h/IMG00064plate.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CAT4TOIQoXQ/Rs4Nl2fAf8I/AAAAAAAAANM/6VxqB1DdTlc/s400/IMG00064plate.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102030371789242306" /></a><br />1 3-4lb Broiler or Fryer Chicken, Whole (not a Roasting Hen!)<br />1 Chicken Neck, Gizzard & Heart (do not use liver)<br />1-1/2 Onions, coarsely chopped<br />2 Celery Stalks, coarsely chopped<br />1 Lemon<br />1 Package Apricots, dried<br />5 Cloves Garlic, peeled and cloves left whole<br />1 Tbsp Kosher Salt<br />½ tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper<br />1 tsp Thyme, dried<br />½ Bottle White Wine, Dry or Dry Sauterne<br />½ Bottle Peach Preserves<br />½ tsp Ginger, ground<br />1 Quart Chicken Broth or Stock<br />2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard (preferably Country-style)<br />4 Tbsp All Purpose Flour<br />2-3 Tbsp Butter, unsalted and ice cold (optional)<br /><br /><strong><br />Method for roasting and glazing the bird:</strong><br />Wash the inside and the outside of the chicken, thoroughly. Dry the bird well. Smear with 1 tbsp of Country-style Dijon mustard. Sprinkle with a tsp of salt on the outside of the skin.<br /><br />Chop onions, celery and peel garlic cloves. Combine with apricots and quartered lemons. Sprinkle remaining 2 tsps of salt and ½ tsp of pepper and 1 tsp of thyme over the veggies and fruit.<br /><br />Stuff the bird with these fillings trying to get as much as possible inside the cavity.<br /><br />Truss bird using butchers twine.<br /><br />Place any veg and fruit that didn’t fit inside the bird into the bottom of the roasting pan and add the neck, gizzard and heart to the pan bottom. Season them with a touch of salt and pepper. (Do not use the liver here. See my note under Blue Zebra NOTES).<br />Place bird breast side down on top of veggies or if you have a roasting rack, place bird on rack and place the pan into a preheated 450 degree oven.<br /><br />Meanwhile mix ½ bottle of peach preserves with ½ Tbsp Dijon mustard and ½ tsp ground ginger. Cook in small saucepan over medium heat until preserves melt and become a glaze consistency.<br /><br />Let it cook for 5 minutes then turn oven down to 350. Roast bird breast side down for 45 minutes, total. You won’t be basting during the first 30 minutes since the chicken will just be starting to cook and brown a little. At the 30 minute mark, spread the back and sides with melted peach glaze. Pour about ½ cup of wine into bottom of roasting pan. You want enough wine to give a little liquid but not so much in the bottom that you boil the veggies. You want the veggies to start browning.<br /><br />At the 45 minute mark, flip bird right side up on the rack or on top of the veg. Baste with wine and pan drippings and check to see if there is wine in the bottom of pan. If not, add ½ cup more wine to roasting pan. Spread bird with glaze. Throw the remaining whole head of garlic into the bottom of the roasting pan.<br /><br />Baste every 15-20 minutes with wine and re-coat breasts and sides with a thin layer of glaze. Check for doneness at about 1-1/2 hours. Yes, I know this is more than 20 minutes per pound but with the cavity of the bird stuffed with veggies and opening the oven door to baste, the cooking time will be a bit delayed. It will take about 30-45 minutes or so longer than the weight calculations of the bird to fully cook. That’s good because you want the veggies in the pan to go very dark brown.<br /><br />The bird is done when the thermometer reads about 185° F. You will know that it’s done because wiggling the drumstick will cause it to move loosely up and down and you can push it to the side and see some separation of the thigh. If it isn’t done, the hind quarter will have much resistance. If it isn’t done, keep roasting and basting it with wine and the glazing liquid until it is. I usually remove my bird at about 180-182° F and let it finish coming to temp out of the oven. There is residual hold-over or heat build up that occurs.<br /><br />Remove the bird from the pan and check to see if the veggies are brown.<br /><br />Cover the bird with aluminum foil and allow it to rest while you make the gravy. The gravy will take about 15-20 minutes to make. No worries, mon!<br /><br /><strong>Method for making the sauce:</strong><br />It’s time to make the gravy. If the veggies are brown, then it’s time to make the sauce. If they aren’t, put the roasting pan back into the oven and crank the heat up to 450 ° F. Cook veggies until very deep copper penny brown but not black.<br /><br />Pour off all but about 3 Tbsps of fat from the baking pan. Be sure not to pour off the liquid and juices, just the fat.<br /><br />Place the roasting pan on top of the stove burners and turn on two burners to medium heat. The pan should fit on the two burners but if it is too small, then only use one. It’s important not to use a pyrex or glass roasting pan on the stove top, so it’s preferable not to use it to roast this bird.<br /><br />Pour about ½ cup of wine into bottom of pan with the remaining juices, fat and veg and scrape with a spatula to deglaze pan.<br /><br />The sticky bits at the bottom are called the fond. These are precious cuz they deliver a power pack of flavor. The roasted veg will also give off flavor and color as well.<br /><br />Allow the liquid in the pan to reduce by half.<br /><br />Sprinkle flour over the veggies in the pan and quickly whisk to incorporate, stirring out any lumps that may form. Cook the flour for 3 minutes, stirring continuously.<br /><br />Add chicken broth and stir to combine. I add about 1-1/2 to 2 cups to begin with and stir. Let it cook to thicken and incorporate all the flavors and bits.<br /><br />Add the last ½ Tbsp of Dijon mustard to the sauce and whisk to combine.<br /><br />Taste for seasoning. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and thyme. If sauce is too strong tasting (too dark tasting), add more liquid. Don’t panic. It simply means the flavors are too concentrated. Add more broth until it’s the flavor you prefer. Cook about 10 minutes and check for correct consistency.<br /><br />If necessary, shake a couple more Tbsp of flour in a jar with wine and add it to the gravy to make it thicker. Cook for another 5 minutes.<br /><br />Turn off heat and pour contents of pan through a wire mesh strainer. All the browned bits and roasted neck and giblets will be strained off leaving you with a smooth, delicious and dark brown gravy.<br /><br />You can return this to a sauté pan and finish with a tablespoon or two of cold butter for an extra silky mouth and rich mouth feel but that is really simply gilding the lily!<br /><br /><strong>Method for Finishing Glaze to become Peach Sauce (Optional):</strong><br />Combine the remaining jar of peach preserves with ¼ cup of white wine or port. Add about ½ cup of pan gravy made from the recipe above. Let simmer and correct for seasoning with salt and pepper. Add a sprig of fresh thyme during the cooking or a pinch of dried thyme. Finish with a couple of tablespoons of unsalted, chilled butter once you remove from the heat. Serve on the side.<br /><br /><strong>Blue Zebra Cooking Tip: Roasting and Pan Gravies</strong><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CAT4TOIQoXQ/Rs4TGmfAf9I/AAAAAAAAANU/C67F10cXWi0/s1600-h/IMG00055pan.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CAT4TOIQoXQ/Rs4TGmfAf9I/AAAAAAAAANU/C67F10cXWi0/s400/IMG00055pan.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102036431988096978" /></a>Roasting is a core cooking technique or fundamental that once mastered opens the door to many recipes. This recipe is a classic in terms of ingredients and methodology, only deviating with the use of the peach glaze which is easily omitted if you do not have a taste for it.<br /><br />There are different schools of thought on roasting: start high, finish low; or start low, finish high; and more recently, start AND finish high – a quick roast method. I personally prefer the old Joy of Cooking method of starting high and finishing low because it fully allows time to roast the veggies and develop the flavors in the roasting ingredients and meats. There is generally a time/lb element that works, but for most accurate cooking, I recommend using a thermometer, especially if you are just beginning to learn to cook. Although I have been cooking for many years, I still prefer this fail-safe method. All it takes is one over-cooked prime rib to make a convert.<br /><br />The key to success in roasting is adequately drying and seasoning the meat. If the meat can be kept off of the bottom of the pan, more even browning will occur. This recipe will work for all types of poultry: chickens (yes, even roasters), ducks, geese, guinea hens and goose. The recipe would also work well on pork as well as beef, buffalo and game such as venison, elk and antelope. The sweetness of the peach and fruity bite of the apricot in conjunction with the tart saltiness of the mustard and acidity of the wine make a rich foundation for a roasted dinner.<br /><br />Pan gravies are another fundamental and go hand in hand with roasting. The caramelization that develops in the juice drippings, fond and veggies just beg for a finish of deglazing with a wine or spirit, followed by some form of broth or stock and thickening agent. Multiple types of thickeners work for this, ranging from flour to cornstarch, arrowroot, tapioca powder, pureed veggies, to grains like farina and even pure butter or guar gum and xanthan gum for those low carb options.<br /><br />One caveat to pan gravies and roasting!! Roast the liver by all means but only roast it for the cook! Then remove it quickly! Cooking liver overly long or as a flavor element in a sauce will only cause angst and disappointed tears from you as the cook. Liver that is over cooked becomes bitter, bitter, bitter. Let me repeat it's bitter, ok? So don't do it. However, seasoning and roasting the liver in the bottom of the pan until it is just barely pink in the middle is a perfect treat and snack for the chef! Remove it at this point, eat it with glee and move on.<br /><br />Enjoy!</span></span>Blue Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09447214289877357403noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117716991958684262.post-90233800703129171182007-08-18T15:01:00.000-05:002008-12-09T17:57:56.359-06:00Vermont Sourdough - A Southern Bread?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOLPtScrC1LE34S_0zt4geqGvGQrhMkRrgbPtWCR3PbvAaXPq7VFemPc-UiFPD3dIr3zKYIdTr7MCGz_C-OJ1aAQlU0TIr6p1NM7q7nnSDhDMPw7wSWjf_qvbFzVJiUWoVzBbuYORiUGA/s1600-h/08-16-07_0918flat.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100136248262033122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOLPtScrC1LE34S_0zt4geqGvGQrhMkRrgbPtWCR3PbvAaXPq7VFemPc-UiFPD3dIr3zKYIdTr7MCGz_C-OJ1aAQlU0TIr6p1NM7q7nnSDhDMPw7wSWjf_qvbFzVJiUWoVzBbuYORiUGA/s400/08-16-07_0918flat.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">You know, the birthday celebration for Julia Child got me thinking. Julia wanted to let every American housewife know and understand that cooking flawlessly brilliant meals was at their fingertips; that everyone could do it. She was living proof. Clearly, more of her books and t.v. rubbed off on me than imagined, because that’s the basic premise for this blog. I want everyone to understand that good food, no, awesome food is easy. With a minimum investment of time and money, anyone can make incredible food; food that feeds the soul. The hardest step is to get over your fear of whatever you’re “askeered of” and do it quickly!<br /><br />My greatest fear was fear of yeast and all things involving kneading and rising. I always assumed that yeasted items were fragile and depended so tightly on measures and rules and it frankly scared the</span><span class="fullpost" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> bejeezes outta me. I avoided it like the plague. Our family was not a family who baked other than the basic biscuit, good old fashioned pie, occasional muffin or cake and maybe a quick bread or two at Christmas. But with the exception of one batter bread, aptly named “Dilly Bread”, because of the loads of dried dill in it, we never saw loaves rising on the counter.<br /><br />But I knew I had to conquer my fear and de-mystify the process of baking if I was<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPrBlpw7AnmQ_1qi97mhJVIaO7e2vVn2mYfOps0J9U4FIOf2ini4QPT3IGRzqFhX6yus5WJ4p0BkLOwUSCkp8mEABBtktyqxGeWWq128oRLrh06VPRooBTahvd2mKUp1zfkaPzzkDbrM0/s1600-h/08-15-07_1528flat.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPrBlpw7AnmQ_1qi97mhJVIaO7e2vVn2mYfOps0J9U4FIOf2ini4QPT3IGRzqFhX6yus5WJ4p0BkLOwUSCkp8mEABBtktyqxGeWWq128oRLrh06VPRooBTahvd2mKUp1zfkaPzzkDbrM0/s400/08-15-07_1528flat.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100147569795825458" /></a> ever going to be able to do what I wanted most. Namely, I wanted to quit spending the outrageous sum of money per loaf for “artisan bread” from the market. I am a tightwad. Frugal doesn’t even come close to my relationship with money and yet, I never seem to have any extra – no matter how tightly I close my fist. I come by this honestly, unfortunately. Few people know, now thousands will know, that for most of my life growing up, we had very severe money issues and were even homeless for almost a two year period, save for the charity of friends and family who let us live with them and who lent our dad money when he lost his business.<br /><br />It seems like life was divided for me – b.w.d. and a.w.d. or “before Wawa died” and “after WaWa died”. Wawa was Dad’s mom, our grandmother, who lived with us from before the time I was born until the day she died. She died handing me a glass of orange juice at the breakfast table, one Sunday after Church, in September. It felt like all the kids left in the house (my oldest sissy had married and moved away only months before) as well as mom and dad, had a mysterious shake-up and reversal of fortune from that moment onward – but that will be another post. Needless to say, I learned the value of a dollar as a very small girl and it was a large and painful lesson, especially for me and my sissy, A!<br /><br />So back to bread…curmudgeonly begrudging $3.00/loaf for bread, I determined to make it myself or die trying. I believe fear is the worse part of baking. Bread dough and bread recipes are not shrinking Southern violets. They are fairly tolerant of great abuse and in fact are amazingly resilient: under kneading, over kneading, lack of moisture, over hydrated, cheap flours, chlorinated water, filtered water, over proofing, under proofing, under baking, over baking, you name it! The dough will rise and transform into bread through baking, given enough time and patience. Even the worst loaf of homemade bread on the worst day will taste better than the best store bought bread on any given day. I promise.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFDr74YXmal0cikoDMabJnGVBvgM9i28WtXIQE4gV_AHPd-RBE5M2__BsQgSG7hVE0ElY0leSTvuIoatv9ELsHEPcYnnoQ4nyljbFDGYHdwubt3NZdhfesnrRaTswJRpBS4CzIpdBQR48/s1600-h/beforeafter.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFDr74YXmal0cikoDMabJnGVBvgM9i28WtXIQE4gV_AHPd-RBE5M2__BsQgSG7hVE0ElY0leSTvuIoatv9ELsHEPcYnnoQ4nyljbFDGYHdwubt3NZdhfesnrRaTswJRpBS4CzIpdBQR48/s400/beforeafter.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100147170363866914" /></a><br /><br />The real secret to baking is to have mentors, or people who have been there, done that. They will hold your hand, wipe your brow – metaphorically or even virtually and basically reassure you that God is in his heaven and all is right with the world. Thanks to the internet there are whole sites dedicated to nothing but bread baking and these sights are populated by fantastically talented amateur and professional bakers, alike.<br /><br />I encourage you to find one of these sites. Face your fear. Then break out the flour, water, salt and yeast and have a bread orgy! That $3.00 loaf will cost you about $0.20 cents to make and take you about 15 active minutes of cooking once you learn the methodology or as Julia said, “Once you learn the techniques, you will free yourself from recipes.” Well, maybe not quite! Baking bread will always at minimum require that you apply a balance or ratio of ingredients, but master the techniques of baking and you will be free to experiment with a window of grace attached. Bon Appetit!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtSn8x2SXotep_uDs1vvD6verZCIPbhLtg63_cZzHagap9eduQ_K79YrZrBHu6aU2PGtawQsFOx2KFDJbsAdrY2ij6r5aJtGcAPNthguUBjcm5kIOTatDk2jj0eXA0HKisHvTXBnmPaTQ/s1600-h/08-15-07_1756shaped.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtSn8x2SXotep_uDs1vvD6verZCIPbhLtg63_cZzHagap9eduQ_K79YrZrBHu6aU2PGtawQsFOx2KFDJbsAdrY2ij6r5aJtGcAPNthguUBjcm5kIOTatDk2jj0eXA0HKisHvTXBnmPaTQ/s400/08-15-07_1756shaped.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100459839688048466" /></a><br /><br />Oh the other secret I learned? You have two choices with dough/gluten development. You can either knead the heck outta it and challenge the gluten, building protein strands as you go or you can let time and hydration do the dirty work and develop it for you. Guess which one I choose? :D<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Vermont Sourdough Bread</span></strong> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtEAZPOg-TfmFOGIRT2tikBKf2nLwUHOBTFoCHhnqcx8dc8bcj_1jeJi53tPQ5jJFPyAhVtCm7F2N1qLaZ7fi5MTFNBnVVXx-lbK6YxQrAhVJ-reEG8voxGG_CYBYjhzo4hWgUr7NGkcg/s1600-h/08-16-07_0918flatcloseup.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100136871032291058" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtEAZPOg-TfmFOGIRT2tikBKf2nLwUHOBTFoCHhnqcx8dc8bcj_1jeJi53tPQ5jJFPyAhVtCm7F2N1qLaZ7fi5MTFNBnVVXx-lbK6YxQrAhVJ-reEG8voxGG_CYBYjhzo4hWgUr7NGkcg/s400/08-16-07_0918flatcloseup.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />By Jeffrey Hamelman – Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes<br />As posted by Weavershouse on another site<br /><em>Yield – 2 loaves (batards)</em><br /><br /><strong>Ingredients:</strong><br /><strong>LIQUID-LEVAIN BUILD:</strong><br />150 grams Bread flour (5.269 oz)<br />188 grams Water (6.603 oz)<br />30 grams Mature culture (liquid) (1.054 oz)<br /><br /><strong>FINAL DOUGH:</strong><br />750 grams Bread flour (26.344 oz)<br />100 grams Whole-rye flour (3.512 oz)<br />462 grams Water (16.228 oz)<br />19 grams Salt (1 TBSP + 1 tsp)<br />338 Liquid levain (all less 30 g) (11.872 oz)<br /><br /><strong>Method:</strong><br />1. LIQUID LEVAIN:<br />Make the final build 12 to 16 hours before the final mix, and let stand in a covered container at about 21 °C/70°F<br /><br />2. MIXING: Add all the ingredients to the mixing bowl, including the levain, but not the salt. In a spiral mixer, mix on first speed just until the ingredients are incorporated into a shaggy mass. Correct the hydration as necessary Cover the bowl with plastic and let stand for an autolyse phase of 20 to 60 minutes. At the end of the autolyse, sprinkle the salt over the surface of the dough, and finish mixing on second speed for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. The dough should have a medium consistency. Desired dough temperature: 22 °C/ 76°F<br /><br />3. BULK FERMENTATION: 2 1/2 hours.<br /><br />4. FOLDING: Fold the dough either once (after 1 1/4) hours) or twice (at 50-minute intervals), depending on dough strength.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP2uken3O-eGM4q4etW4U2KTq5D5Ta-lsS8cDjwYkePX93f54x9kmWRYYKiAcYAbde2noyZfAtE-VUiI_N4F_e3ipeNbEfM0yAZxPRRQGuiQgNJQq0mvwV4TDXpgaf1Dale80dsbDc8zU/s1600-h/beforeafter.jpg"></a><br /><br />5. DIVIDING AND SHAPING: Divide the dough into 1.5-pound pieces shape round or oblong.<br /><br />6. FINAL FERMENTATION: Approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours at 22 °C/76° F (alternatively, retard for up to 8 hours at 10 °C/50 °F, or up to 18 hours about 5,5 °C/42 °F).<br /><br />7. BAKING: With normal steam, 240 °C/460 °F for 40 to 45 minutes. More often than not, this bread is retarded before the bake. The result is a loaf with moderate tanginess and a sturdy crust that conveys a lot of bread flavor.<br /><br /><strong>Blue Zebra NOTE:</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcgnVdIllLkS5mi027r36Kq-HVVfU48a57vCTOSZaplw8Kr_E44eqFgks53G5J1gBKjRDUPnr5lLqPJsUvlyTOZy5gNhA_ZeTkOif1nD5t9UE9GFDRPqaJMjx2beYY7JSM4sHQkppcUNI/s1600-h/composite.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcgnVdIllLkS5mi027r36Kq-HVVfU48a57vCTOSZaplw8Kr_E44eqFgks53G5J1gBKjRDUPnr5lLqPJsUvlyTOZy5gNhA_ZeTkOif1nD5t9UE9GFDRPqaJMjx2beYY7JSM4sHQkppcUNI/s400/composite.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100784904287846242" /></a><br />I followed the directions without any tweaks and folded the bread twice after the autolyze period: at 1 hour and at 2 hours. It rose to double in about 3 hours. I divided, rested, shaped and did a final rise of about 2 hours and baked.<br /><br />This bread was only slightly tangy because I did not retard (refrigerate) the dough following the bulk fermentation. Had I done so, I believe it would have had a much more sharp, sourdough flavor. The texture of the crumb, while not as open as I’d like, was lovely – tender and moist. The crust crunched with just the right thickness and sharp crackle. You could actually taste the color brown when you bit into it. What does brown taste like? Brown tastes like a good piece of toast. Brown tastes like oven-ny goodness. This truly was the best sourdough bread I’ve baked and the prettiest. Hope you will give it a try! Oh, and I used my hands to mix and produce this bread. It still only took 15 minutes of active time, so don't be discouraged if you do not own a Kitchen Aid or other stand mixer! Also sourdough starters can be purchased online from several sources or you can start your own. <a href="http://www.sourdoughhome.com/">Mike Avery</a> is an excellent teacher for this Also, a great tool to have at your fingertips is this nifty <a href="http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/gram_calc.htm">gram converter</a>. It doesn't take into account specific gravity of an ingredient but here's where I draw the line in the sand. If I need to be talking and thinking in specific gravities, then the recipe is doomed to failure before it hits the mixing bowl. As you can see in the first piccy of the bread...we managed just fine with this little tool. :D However, if you need more precision, here is the <a href="http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/cookingconversions.asp">gram converter for specific ingredients</a>.<br /><br />Here's a little toast and jam as requested by my friend browndog! The jam is storebought *wah* but it is good, B assures me. It's peach amaretto with pecans. Now I can say, the peach and pecans are definitely Southern and even Texan. Our peaches from Fredricksberg and Fairfield are equal to any Georgia peach you want to try.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKULJDgdFzNDD0VFp887gCbgTP8jNw8eSpV5oCeY0WuIc9w_iD5kQG5YPuvfrLHIUYVhyjlhnRdatS1Xe5pd5FSh3OK4i7z4utrnomsgjithnbP3cl447FfrhNwJgSMGJaEhK4g-VeLgk/s1600-h/IMG00051toast.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKULJDgdFzNDD0VFp887gCbgTP8jNw8eSpV5oCeY0WuIc9w_iD5kQG5YPuvfrLHIUYVhyjlhnRdatS1Xe5pd5FSh3OK4i7z4utrnomsgjithnbP3cl447FfrhNwJgSMGJaEhK4g-VeLgk/s400/IMG00051toast.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100456115951402818" /></a></span>Blue Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09447214289877357403noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117716991958684262.post-72281277423361241832007-08-15T10:42:00.000-05:002008-12-09T17:57:57.082-06:00Dinner With Julia - Happy Birthday, Julia!<em><strong>Chicken Provencal with Roasted Rosemary New Potatoes and Zucchini & Red Pepper Julienne</strong></em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBEIwqrKubYAvTnLbXa4BIeLIC7tLWHC1jAt4Yh99-I6qCZI4VxsiVO3I1Irtjj8OOi9ihpPMbyEfMJahKWbD53u6AARLNKRGOhUMwUDbVqpOU5yOq_l5t3lM1CQRGRXiSwU5w5ShcEOg/s1600-h/chickenprovencaledinnerflat.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBEIwqrKubYAvTnLbXa4BIeLIC7tLWHC1jAt4Yh99-I6qCZI4VxsiVO3I1Irtjj8OOi9ihpPMbyEfMJahKWbD53u6AARLNKRGOhUMwUDbVqpOU5yOq_l5t3lM1CQRGRXiSwU5w5ShcEOg/s400/chickenprovencaledinnerflat.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098954093404461426" /></a><br />We had dinner with Julia tonight. I know this for certain. I’m pretty sure I channeled Julia and felt her with me as I made dinner! Tonight I made Chicken Provencal from Julia Child’s, “The Way To Cook,” in honor of her birthday. <br /><br />My friend Lisa, at <a href="http://champaign-taste.blogspot.com/2007/07/second-annual-julia-child-birthday.html">Champaign Taste</a>, is throwing Julia’s second annual birthday party tomorrow and asked everyone to prepare a dish from one of her recipes. When I heard about the party, I immediately and unashamedly begged to be included.<br /><br />The meal turned out gloriously. Oh my. Seldom do I make meals that leave me smacking for more. I’m usually so critical of my own cooking. Usually by the time I’m through in the kitchen and plates are served, the last thing I want to do is sit down and “dig in”. But this meal enthralled me from the prep on! From the first cut of the onion, I felt Julia’s presence in my humble kitchen.<span class="fullpost"><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinllXz-h8JIknObeeYATZBURkvpB_q9fH7Aj_WHk_0FEpT1bhc-ZGIJZCC1HBS_3AQ3ZCDjFHRc1XiUM27ZUvoAwWbscenEgCsX6Hnb3frHRrMUpcMlz_n60mx1EXlb5fYgFEjkginbZU/s1600-h/potatoesflat.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinllXz-h8JIknObeeYATZBURkvpB_q9fH7Aj_WHk_0FEpT1bhc-ZGIJZCC1HBS_3AQ3ZCDjFHRc1XiUM27ZUvoAwWbscenEgCsX6Hnb3frHRrMUpcMlz_n60mx1EXlb5fYgFEjkginbZU/s400/potatoesflat.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098954759124392322" /></a>I made a beautifully simple dinner based on “my need for speed” being a weeknight and all. It’s actually a combination of two of her recipes: Chicken Breasts Meuniere and Chicken Provencal. From start to finish it took 45 minutes to get food on the table and most of that time was cooking time, not active prep time. Even allowing for dropping everything I touched, the meal cooked quickly. My clumsiness was legend! And as B poured my glass of wine, I felt Julia smiling down and laughing with me!<br /><br />I loved Julia Child. I adored her from the first moment I watched her on PBS as a young girl, and saw her masterful way of laughing at herself and finding joy in everything. I loved her command of food. I loved her knowledge and I loved that she was a clutz. I can’t remember her without remembering the old Saturday night spoof with Dan Ackroyd as Julia, clumsily chopping his/her hand off…macabre I know, but Julia adored that skit! I love that she loved it! She, as much as my family, influenced my desire to decode the mystique of cooking and entertaining. I wanted to be her when I grew up.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1mhiKNfDuczEwxZelDn-_Y-MMo-q0abUSQ4aDWt-nHnNbHIrhxhEs0ACsr7KAxIAFiJTeI-RwqoDBMJDpJC5Ehgomjn4T-FddX3XtT-XtUAoPiquDyLb-JvCqjTS-b67myTq-_ou6CiU/s1600-h/zucchiniflat.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1mhiKNfDuczEwxZelDn-_Y-MMo-q0abUSQ4aDWt-nHnNbHIrhxhEs0ACsr7KAxIAFiJTeI-RwqoDBMJDpJC5Ehgomjn4T-FddX3XtT-XtUAoPiquDyLb-JvCqjTS-b67myTq-_ou6CiU/s400/zucchiniflat.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098954900858313106" /></a><br />Lisa, thanks for allowing me to have the fun of celebrating Julia’s talent and life. We laughed and had a spectacular time this evening. And every bite was appreciated. In her honor, I prepared Chicken Provencal, served with oven-roasted rosemary new potatoes and a julienne of zucchini and red pepper. Served along side homemade French bread and a gorgeous cabernet (Yes, I know there’s a white wine in the picture…I had that too! *blush*, but the Provencal was cooked with the chardonnay), the meal hit every comfort note you could want.<br /><br />So, without further adieu, I give you Julia Child’s Chicken Provencal. And actually, it’s two recipes as mentioned above; Chicken Breast Meuniere and Chicken Provencal.<br /><br /><strong>Chicken Breast Meuniere</strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKRs5eveaB5r16NK85mfHKhRVPnSqwYRJHVaQAnRS5Q6_AlX2knU6IIv2CTunI6jhAcAXiPYz8okWrFuM4BM7CDcvOFEAg9jfLAKd2EpuWzmDJpJg4OrEfyOUonCxE5nq48XnqUOTGJIQ/s1600-h/chickprov.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKRs5eveaB5r16NK85mfHKhRVPnSqwYRJHVaQAnRS5Q6_AlX2knU6IIv2CTunI6jhAcAXiPYz8okWrFuM4BM7CDcvOFEAg9jfLAKd2EpuWzmDJpJg4OrEfyOUonCxE5nq48XnqUOTGJIQ/s400/chickprov.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098955042592233890" /></a><br />By Julia Child – The Way To Cook<br /><em>Yield 4 Servings</em><br /><br /><strong>Ingredients:</strong><br />4 Boneless and skinless chicken breast halves<br />Salt and freshly ground pepper<br />1/2 tsp of thyme leaves, dried<br />1 cup Flour in a plate<br />2-3 Tbsp Clarified Butter<br /><br /><strong>Optional Lemon-Butter Sauce</strong> (I omitted this sauce and substituted a Provencal Sauce)<br />2 Tbsp Butter<br />½ Lemon<br />2 Tbsp Minced Fresh Parsley<br /><br /><strong>Special Equipment Suggestions:</strong><br />A heavy 10-inch frying pan (no-stick recommended), hot plates or platter<br /><br /><strong>Method:</strong><br />Season the breasts lightly with salt, pepper and thyme. The moment before sautéing, dredge them in flour, and shake off the excess.<br /><br />Set the frying pan over high heat, add the clarified butter, and, when very hot but not burning, lay in the chicken breasts.<br /><br />Sauté one minute on one side and turn, and sauté on the opposite side. The meat is done when springy to the touch. Remove it to hot plates.<br /><br /><strong>Optional Lemon Butter Sauce Method:</strong><br />Swish the fresh butter in the pan, and heat for a moment until it turns a light brown. Squeeze drops of lemon juice over the chicken and pour on the hot butter.<br /><br />Sprinkle with parsley and serve at once.<br /><br /><strong>To Accompany Chicken Breasts Meuniere:</strong><br />Try baking tomatoes and fresh buttered spinach or broccoli. Sautéed potatoes would also be welcomed as would a light red wine like a pino noir or Beaujolais.<br /><br /><strong>Sautéed Chicken Provencal – With Tomatoes, Garlic and Herbs</strong><br />By Julia Child – The Way To Cook<br /><br />Provencal always means “with tomatoes, garlic and olive oil and often olives and other typical ingredients from that sunny clime.<br /><br />Sauté the chicken in olive oil, as in the master recipe for Sautéed Chicken. Remove it to the side and spoon the fat but not the juices out of the pan. Stir in 2 cups of ripe red tomato pulp, a sprinkling of mixed Provencal herbs and a couple of pureed garlic cloves. Boil several minutes to thicken the sauce, correct seasoning, stir in several tablespoons of dry white French vermouth and return the chicken to the pan. Baste it with the sauce, cover and simmer several minutes to warm through, basting 2 or 3 times.<br /><br /><strong>Sautéed Chicken Provencal – With Tomatoes, Garlic and Herbs</strong><br />By Blue Zebra<br />Adapted from instructions by Julia Child – The Way To Cook<br /><em>Serves 4</em><br /><br /><strong>Ingredients:</strong><br />3 tbsp olive oil<br />3 Roma tomatoes, skinned and seeded<br />½ Carton Grape Tomatoes, halved<br />4 Cloves of garlic (large), sliced<br />1 Onion, sliced in strips<br />3 Tbsp Capers<br />16 Nicoise or Kalamata Olives, pitted<br />1 Lemon, zested<br />1 tsp Fines Herbes <br />1/8 tsp Thyme Leaves<br />1/8 tsp Rosemary Leaves<br />½ tsp sugar<br />1 cup of White Wine or dry French vermouth<br />Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste<br /><br /><strong>Method:</strong><br />Sauté chicken breasts as described in Chicken Breasts Meuniere recipe above and remove from pan. <br /><br />Add olive oil to remaining butter/juices in the sauté pan and add garlic and onion slices. Sauté until translucent.<br /><br />Add capers, olives and tomatoes and stir to combine. Cook until you see the tomatoes starting to stick in the bottom of the pan. This means that the liquid of the tomatoes has reduced and the sauce can take the next addition of liquid, the wine. <br /><br />Add the wine and all seasonings except salt and pepper. Add the lemon zest but do not add lemon juice and sugar. Stir to combine and let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes.<br /><br />Add the breasts back to the pan, placing them underneath the sauce. Cover and allow to simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Do this slowly. The sauce will tighten up and become “melded” with all the flavors and those of the chicken. If it looks too thick when adding the chicken back in, add more white wine to make it thinner. The liquid will reduce while cooking the chicken and the wine alcohol will cook off.<br /><br />When breasts are tender and sauce is thickened, remove from heat and serve. <br /><br /><strong>Blue Zebra NOTES:</strong><br />This is absolutely one of my new favorite recipes! The flavor of the fines herbes is fantastic! You can taste the tarragon and the camphor taste added by the rosemary just adds delicious taste notes when combined with the acidity of the tomatoes and the earthiness of the olives and sharp tang of capers. The sugar helps to balance the acidity. This sauce works great for both boneless skinless breasts and also more rustic presentations with bone in chicken pieces.</span>Blue Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09447214289877357403noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117716991958684262.post-53952493232174817252007-08-15T09:13:00.000-05:002008-12-09T17:57:57.890-06:00Pizza Club Part 2 - Getting Saucy<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKf3Nl5EZQxZPnz1kp6tAIdO308nuAusPiK2NK67lgxjJHn5mEk0X7DFHbAWFaFwPp6CUUFq0qpU8IED1td-toEoZJFEGhAqNs2045KzFfj-C6sihyJ2whgRVyTKZUTU5rsP87rEVvMO8/s1600-h/pizzasflat.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKf3Nl5EZQxZPnz1kp6tAIdO308nuAusPiK2NK67lgxjJHn5mEk0X7DFHbAWFaFwPp6CUUFq0qpU8IED1td-toEoZJFEGhAqNs2045KzFfj-C6sihyJ2whgRVyTKZUTU5rsP87rEVvMO8/s400/pizzasflat.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099049935599671730" /></a><br />It was Friday in the Zebra Pen and that can only mean one thing, Pizza Club. What is Pizza Club? Pizza Club began with my niece, my sissy and brother-in-law back in Dallas. It was all about great friends and family, great pizza and welcoming the weekend! To other blue zebras out there, Pizza Club is all about discussing and making great homemade pizza.<br /><br />In continuation of our Pizza Club series, I promised we would get saucy this week - talking about anything having to do with sauce. When you really think about it, pizza has three main components that define its quality level: the crust, the sauce, and<span class="fullpost">the cheese. Get these three things right and the toppings will almost take care of themselves - almost. It sometimes seems as if there are as many variations of each of these components as there are pizzaiolos or pizza makers in the world, so let’s explore the options.<br /><br />Marinara sauce, sliced tomatoes, chopped tomatoes, olive oil and garlic, alfredo sauce, barbeque sauce, taco sauce, ketchup, hoisin sauce, tiger sauce, or no sauce. This just skims the surface of sauces! I kinda feel like Bubba Gump here but how do you know which sauce to use? Personal preference and trial and error wins every time. What are the conditions under which you are cooking? Meaning, are you making an authentic Neopolitan pizza? Do you need or want to adhere to “the rules” of Neopolitan pizza making? Do you have a high temperature brick or deck oven?<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD0KImOlUFjoPaOhyphenhyphen8nVwsqDfdH9GQCB_zGH0Ton52HEzNiUvJ1XG9npG42Fe_NSdA_xGjlvgmRfzxR-6TD3q51qh5X0BAzwHJrbBRNCfnJdBXqSkePFF6EEhROWRGt_lCGkpRk5mUcUU/s1600-h/tomatoes.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD0KImOlUFjoPaOhyphenhyphen8nVwsqDfdH9GQCB_zGH0Ton52HEzNiUvJ1XG9npG42Fe_NSdA_xGjlvgmRfzxR-6TD3q51qh5X0BAzwHJrbBRNCfnJdBXqSkePFF6EEhROWRGt_lCGkpRk5mUcUU/s400/tomatoes.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099050588434700738" /></a><br />Purists follow strict guidelines depending on the regional specialty they are cooking. Still others will tell you it’s San Marzano tomatoes, canned or fresh and a pinch or two of spices, a grating of parmesan and badabing badaboom, fuhgeddaboudit…there’s your sauce!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CAT4TOIQoXQ/RsIqu4dlmUI/AAAAAAAAAIM/hTBkH8KO-3w/s1600-h/SanMarzano.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098684713055656258" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CAT4TOIQoXQ/RsIqu4dlmUI/AAAAAAAAAIM/hTBkH8KO-3w/s400/SanMarzano.jpg" border="0" /></a>But once you decide which flavor profile you want: red, white, stylized, funkalicious, then there are other things to take into consideration.<br /><br />Just as there are three main components to a great pizza, there are also three main variables to determining how to sauce. The most important is determining the heat of the oven along with the length of cooking time. The number and order of toppings also influences sauce integrity. If the sauce is going next to the crust, then the last variable affecting the sauce is the thickness of the cheese and coverage.<br /><br />Many pizzerias use an uncooked sauce because commercial pizzas cook under high heat in brick ovens or pizza ovens. Temperatures can reach 750°F or more! Temperature this high has the potential to overcook or burn the tomato sauce, especially when cheese is placed in chunks or slices intermittently around the surface area as opposed to grated cheese covering the sauce 100 percent. Using raw sauce effectively combats the over cooking problem.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CAT4TOIQoXQ/RsIuqodlmWI/AAAAAAAAAIc/5Z4Ep_LzKfU/s1600-h/pizzacrop.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098689038087723362" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CAT4TOIQoXQ/RsIuqodlmWI/AAAAAAAAAIc/5Z4Ep_LzKfU/s400/pizzacrop.jpg" border="0" /></a>Most home ovens usually heat up to a maximum 550°F, unless you use the cleaning cycle and I won’t even begin to address that option in this installment! So I don’t really feel like the home pizza cook faces the same types of heat degradation presented by commercial ovens. It’s more important to pick a sauce that carries delicious flavor that won’t break down into water. Water + raw dough = soggy mess when cooked. If that happens, the dough underneath the sauce will never crisp. So choose your sauce, raw or cooked, fresh or canned, traditional or get-down-funky by flavor preference, just watch the water content of it!<br /><br />As far as red sauces go, I have used cooked sauce, raw sauce and sliced fresh tomatoes. I actually prefer the taste of the raw sauce over cooked and thickened marinara sauces. It tastes “more authentic” whatever that means. For raw sauces I’ve been using canned tomatoes. Again, I feel the flavors are more intense using canned over fresh because of water content. I either use whole canned, seeded and drained or diced and drained. I tend to like the diced and drained better, because it seems like there is higher tomato volume per can. If you do decide to use raw sauce, be sure to allow ample time for the tomatoes to drain using a mesh strainer. At some point in the near future, I will try using roasted tomatoes as a base.<br /><br />I also like white pizzas either made with an alfredo sauce or a simple olive oil and garlic sauce. In fact, this is my preference for pizzas with non-traditional toppings like artichokes, shrimp, clams or chicken. These simple sauces seem to allow the toppings to take more of a starring role in the pizza.<br /><br />I have on occasion made specialty pizzas using crazy sauce bases like barbeque sauce and hoisin sauce. They produced good tasting pies but I don’t tend to feel they remind me of pizza from a pizza = comfort food standpoint.<br /><br />Here is my technique for making fresh sauce. What’s your favorite sauce?<br /><br /><strong>Chunky Pizza Sauce - Raw</strong><br /><em>Yield 3-10" Pizzas</em><br /><br /><strong>Ingredients:</strong><br />1-28 oz. Can Diced Italian Tomatoes<br />3 Cloves Garlic, minced finely<br />1 Tbsp Dried Italian Herbs (2:1:1 Mixture of dried basil, oregano, thyme)<br />1 tsp Kosher Sauce<br />1 Pinch Cracked Red Pepper<br />3 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese, grated<br />2 Tbsp Olive Oil<br /><br /><strong>Method:</strong><br />2 Hours before topping pizza, place diced tomatoes in strainer and apply 1 tsp of Kosher salt to allow them to give up much of their water. Try to remove as much liquid from the tomatoes because that will allow the crust to crisp.<br /><br />After tomatoes have drained fully, combine all ingredients and set aside.<br /><br />When pizza dough has proofed in the pan, quickly brush dough, lightly, with olive oil then top with raw, chunky sauce and remaining toppings and cheese. I place slightly less sauce in the middle of the pizza than I do around the outer area of the crust. Also, leave 1" around edges, unsauced in order to give a lip to the pizza.<br /><br />For those who desire a smooth, raw pizza sauce, simply place tomatoes in bowl of food processor and pulse to puree or else, use a burr (stick) blender until smooth. Then add remaining ingredients.<br /><br /><strong>Blue Zebra NOTE:</strong><br />I made two different doughs this week, experimentation on the perfect crust continues. The thin crust grilled dough version from Cooks Illustrated using the traditional yeasted method was used to make the thin crust. I also used another recipe from a forum member at EpiCurious Forums to make the Chicago-Style deep dish pizza. B voted the Chicago Deep Dish as a 9 out of 10 and within the top 3 pan pizzas to date. I voted the thin crust at about 8 out of 10. I like the sourdough version of it better. I also think there is a preferable dough out there and I will experiment with it next week. Stay tuned, the next pizza club will talk about cheese!</span>Blue Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09447214289877357403noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117716991958684262.post-80620224055431733872007-08-08T12:01:00.000-05:002008-12-09T17:57:58.680-06:00Rustic Guacamole - A Purist Approach For a Special Treat<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy7hNOLIcB0SqCKle-Lix7OAVP5tCk5-lP66aR_WBUi9cczT2AICiWaGynPb_y9ZpfkEwGmoI7EjhxgrHWNSW5pqZnsyViq-fk1UPU7UtpSpW-1T_GSOKy-COuJ9izt5_B62L-s_zkdNQ/s1600-h/Smallavocadocropflat.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5096695838254930002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy7hNOLIcB0SqCKle-Lix7OAVP5tCk5-lP66aR_WBUi9cczT2AICiWaGynPb_y9ZpfkEwGmoI7EjhxgrHWNSW5pqZnsyViq-fk1UPU7UtpSpW-1T_GSOKy-COuJ9izt5_B62L-s_zkdNQ/s400/Smallavocadocropflat.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">When we were kids, we got three special things for our birthday. Every year it was the same and we looked forward to it. In the early years, with five kids in the house and parents who both worked, we actually had chores. As the youngest, I managed to skate by a lot of them but still, inevitably, was caught and pressed into what I thought of as slave labor. So it was that our birthday treats held real meaning!<br /><br />We were kings and queens for a day! No toil befell us. Not a finger did we lift nor tire with burdensome buckets and cloths. We had zero, zip, nada, N-O-spells-No - chores! No cleaning, no don’t-forget-to’s, no take so-n-so here or there! We had the day to loaf and tarry and do as we pleased and we got to watch the other kids in the house do what we didn’t have to do that day. It was glorious! Really, I highly recommend it! Take the day off! I will write you a note.<br /><br />We got to choose our birthday dinner and choice of cake or dessert as another treat. We rarely had desserts so getting to have a homemade pie or cake or shortcake was incredible and Mom or WaWa (my dad’s mom who lived with us) sometimes lost their heads as with the case of my older brother and made a birthday dessert for him alone in addition to the one for the family. Long after the family coconut cream pie was gone, he ate his with relish and glee. He did not share. He in fact ate it bite by bite in front of us. The bastard! ;)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_jufu_7ecIIYuTUQe1-1dhkOOdxy4Y47UtP_imz_XCF-rr5AyTWvuzgn4fuU19V3XYSVgzKHmsIis6pHFodb4GNMBVQ28u5amPRKVCPwaOK3nvBWZSd9O2Nqwewcjq3yMvs6aG13lAY/s1600-h/IMG00026guacclosflat.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5096694257706965026" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_jufu_7ecIIYuTUQe1-1dhkOOdxy4Y47UtP_imz_XCF-rr5AyTWvuzgn4fuU19V3XYSVgzKHmsIis6pHFodb4GNMBVQ28u5amPRKVCPwaOK3nvBWZSd9O2Nqwewcjq3yMvs6aG13lAY/s400/IMG00026guacclosflat.jpg" border="0" /></a>But the main treat on our special day was a treat so great that to this day, I still buy for myself and consume bite by bite, slowly savoring each delicious spoonful, melting in my mouth. We got to have our very own ½ of an avocado. Gasp! I hear you gasping! Yes, we got to have our very own HALF of an avocado!<br /><br />The avocado. Precious. And limited during the ‘60’s and 70’s and so very expensive in Houston, Texas. Such a wicked indulgence. We all wanted that creamy green goodness. It was laced with true decadence. Even our dachshund, Heidi, was green with envy on our special day for she too was allowed to have avocado on her birthday; she too had learned to love the precious green orb.<br /><br />I do not know from where our fixation with avocados stemmed. I suspect that Mom and Dad, living in Laguna Beach, California after they were first married may have something to do with it. Dad fought in WWII and also served during the Korean War as a gunnery instructor at Camp Pendleton. Avocados and olives, abalone and seafood were abundant in California and cheap. I think Mom fell in love with the avocado then and passed it down to her children, the sins of the mother coming full circle.<br /><br />Looking back, I still remember those days with fondness. Nothing makes you want something more than being told you only have a limited opportunity for consuming it. I still carry on the tradition of King and Queen for the day: no chores, special birthday dinner of choice that includes dessert and of course a half of an avocado for your very own. Of course now days, avocados are relatively cheap and plentiful (at least in the land of TexMex) but that does not dim it’s allure one bit.<br /><br />Avocados are such a good source of vitamins and so called “good fats”, the mono-unsaturated fats. I convince myself that it’s a good fat delivery system if you’re going to eat fat. I use them in many dishes, and salads are heavenly<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLd0wPE1oPXUY4lRk6KabUmeDKs3vpkTZZRLqs5ydSRHYPtyDTnygv0EnvbR1BjDjb0YZPuEYeyEFy-APJHLc4QaQjaTV-oLHkRFGlAf303epj33RkjHI6yu9O_aGSw2g-_kNCV0saK28/s1600-h/IMG00026jalapenoflat.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5096694523994937394" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLd0wPE1oPXUY4lRk6KabUmeDKs3vpkTZZRLqs5ydSRHYPtyDTnygv0EnvbR1BjDjb0YZPuEYeyEFy-APJHLc4QaQjaTV-oLHkRFGlAf303epj33RkjHI6yu9O_aGSw2g-_kNCV0saK28/s400/IMG00026jalapenoflat.jpg" border="0" /></a> when spiked with a bit of their unctious richness. One of my favorite dishes of all times is guacamole and make no mistake. I make a great one! *blush*<br /><br />I am purist in my approach. No tomatoes. Only a hint of fresh jalapeno and onion. A touch of tart lime to add mystique. A smidge of Worcestershire to add a smoky secret element of depth. A tad of olive oil to gild the lily. A hit of kosher salt and a pinch of fresh ground pepper. It’s a salute to the Carmen Miranda of the fruit world! The queen of sexy, sultry Hispanic culture saluted by supporting cast members but never upstaged! So here without further ado…I give you, Guacamole.<br /><br />Anything tasting this good and Tex-Mexy should come with its own band of Mariachis playing <em>Guantanamera</em> in the background!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Guacamole – Rustic Style</strong></span><br />By Blue Zebra </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>Serves 4-6, depending on portion size!<br /></em><br /><strong>Ingredients:</strong></span> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNccN1kjJG1D03e_vqojyd0qvrGOFphJFP6u6KFM7oQZOEnCsB9vrRjF2du1TrbA99KmzPGBDvbnqzDp7JSQBK_rDtbQ8QFHbuY63urXbDPGBAgYIgqCqz8cCa30-G2rZ-H7lV6YExwzo/s1600-h/IMG00026guacmndcropflat.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5096690323516921842" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNccN1kjJG1D03e_vqojyd0qvrGOFphJFP6u6KFM7oQZOEnCsB9vrRjF2du1TrbA99KmzPGBDvbnqzDp7JSQBK_rDtbQ8QFHbuY63urXbDPGBAgYIgqCqz8cCa30-G2rZ-H7lV6YExwzo/s400/IMG00026guacmndcropflat.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">2 Avocados, ripe but firm<br />3 Tbsp Onion, chopped<br />1 Jalapeno, Fresh, chopped with seeds<br />1 Clove Garlic, pressed or minced<br />½ Lime, fresh<br />2 Dashes Worcestershire Sauce<br />1 Tbsp Olive Oil<br />Kosher Salt and Pepper, to taste<br />Fresh Cilantro, to taste (optional)<br />12 Grape Tomatoes, whole (optional)<br /><br /><strong>Method:</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Halve avocados lengthwise and remove the seed. Reserve seed. Using a large, thin-edged spoon, scoop pulp out of peel and place in non-reactive bowl.<br /><br />Add chopped onion, chopped jalapeno, minced garlic, Worcestershire, and olive oil and gently mix to combine. You do not want to break the avocadoes up too much. You still want to retain big chunks of the fruit.<br /><br />Squeeze the juice of ½ of a lime over the guacamole and fold to combine.<br /><br />Season with kosher salt and pepper and add cilantro if desired.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9fgeWvOsfS3rTsAsE8J9A4MAc21YJGHXieMnr-uu0JLAduAGpL1KsMb17X76xgxYJB4M5i9lkVVnLfoWTQKp3AaGi_W6KxYcNaXLAwVXk6iRMNByKlk0HwPnsKyX1HRme5WzNKaCvfs/s1600-h/IMG00025nachocropflat.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5096691659251750930" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9fgeWvOsfS3rTsAsE8J9A4MAc21YJGHXieMnr-uu0JLAduAGpL1KsMb17X76xgxYJB4M5i9lkVVnLfoWTQKp3AaGi_W6KxYcNaXLAwVXk6iRMNByKlk0HwPnsKyX1HRme5WzNKaCvfs/s400/IMG00025nachocropflat.jpg" border="0" /></a>Again, fold to combine and taste.<br /><br />Adjust seasoning and lime juice as necessary.<br /><br />Serve with a bowl of grape tomatoes on the side and crunchy tortilla chips.<br /><br />If you are not serving immediately, you may add the seeds back to the guac and place a layer of plastic wrap directly on top of it, smoothing out as many air bubbles as possible. This helps keep the avocado from going black with oxidation. Serve as soon as possible but in a pinch, this method will hold it with only minor darkening for about 12 hours.<br /><br /><strong>Blue Zebra NOTE:</strong><br />I like to serve guacamole as a feature attraction of Tex-Mex Tapas. I hear you asking! What are Tex-Mex Tapas?? I serve accompanying bowls of Tex-Mex treats, just little nibbles like nachos, bowls of grape tomatoes with lime and sea salt, bowls of fresh jalapenos, red and green salsas, sour cream, marinated shrimp, bowls of refried beans, succulent bites of spicy albondigas (meatballs), spicy cayenne toasted pecans, marinated onions, marinated carrots, watermelon fire and ice salad cruda, hot bowls of crispy tortilla chips. It’s a great summer feast. Great with tangy margharitas or festive sangria served over mountains of ice. Equally decadent with a full bodied Zinfandel or one of the spicy Chilean cabs. Ole’!<br /></span>Blue Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09447214289877357403noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117716991958684262.post-10826909911102891102007-08-06T12:55:00.000-05:002008-12-09T17:57:59.027-06:00Phee, Phi, Pho, Phum-Mmmmm!<div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxDHn30L2SWnRUYARaZPOZANpoLVgmpk-gmHUI8XwJ1QgqV_FvWchO3uBbJWYpADjbFim2qYBsStfBt22JX-l6Y0NOVcVNbLuJDFkAqGWyNY3a3wN9WiWOcuD2A1Pd_EEC40HwNL3Ckk/s1600-h/IMG00028phoflat.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5095651864849258418" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxDHn30L2SWnRUYARaZPOZANpoLVgmpk-gmHUI8XwJ1QgqV_FvWchO3uBbJWYpADjbFim2qYBsStfBt22JX-l6Y0NOVcVNbLuJDFkAqGWyNY3a3wN9WiWOcuD2A1Pd_EEC40HwNL3Ckk/s400/IMG00028phoflat.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#cc6600;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><em>Spicy Faux Pho, The Cure For What Ails Ya</em></strong><br /></span></span><br />Our usual Friday Pizza Club was called this week due to illness. It’s been postponed until this coming Friday, so be prepared to show up and act saucy, cuz this week it’s all about the sauce!<br /><br />I don’t know about you, but when I’m sick with chest or nose stuff the only thing that sounds good to me is spicy soup, as hot as I can stand. It can’t be just any type of soup, either. It must have a clear broth infused with gorgeous ginger and garlic overtones that merge with a hint of onion and maybe a little taste of anise. The broth must be bold, so I can taste it against all odds, and it needs to drink like a tea.<br /><br />What do I mean by broth “drinking like tea?” Well, it means the broth must be a stand-alone. It must taste as wonderful by itself as it acts as a foil or perfect backdrop for crisp veggies cooked “to the tooth” or al dente, chewy noodles and moist bits of meat sprinkled here and there only support the satisfying warmth of the broth. I must feel confident that simple straining would produce a clear <em>tea</em> that tastes better and more comforting than any camellia leaves from any virgin tea plant in all the world.<br /><br />As far as I’m concerned, there are only two soups that meet this criteria; matzoh ball soup, almost considered a Jewish institution and the Vietnamese equivalent to soupy goodness, just-like-Mom-made, pho. Most people want to pronounce it pho as in “foe”. But it’s actually more of a Fa, pronounced “fuh”, rhyming with “duh.” So maybe the title should read Fee, Fi, Fo, Fuh-Mmmmmm! Anyway, we’ll save matzoh balls for later this fall. Today we’re going to focus of Pho and however you decide to pronounce the name, it will still drink like a tea and eat like a nourishing bowl of comfort.<br /><br />Houston has a burgeoning Vietnamese community, the second largest in the United States, according to the Houston Institute for Culture. There are noodle houses or Pho shops all over. The little mom and pop places seem to beckon and one thing is certain. You will not find a national chain, food mill among them, at least not yet.<br /><br />Pho is a relative newcomer to the evolutionary soup world. Its origins are as mysterious and varied as its condiments. Some say it began in Hanoi around the turn of the century, late 1880’s, as a result of the French occupation of Vietnam. The French loved beef steak and beef began appearing in markets and shops. Prior to the French invasion, Vietnamese mostly ate pork, chicken and seafood by preference.<br /><br />With the slaughter of beef for steak, there was also a need to use lesser cuts and bones left over from the prime cuts. The Vietnamese being a thrifty culture, believe in using every last bit of an animal and wasted nothing. So the French pot au feu, literally meaning <em>pot on the fire</em> became popular. Pot au feu is a traditional boiled dinner of beef, marrow or oxtail, veggies, broth and starch of some kind. Others, however, claim that Pho derived from the Chinese occupation because of the noodle and anise influences of the dish.<br /><br />Either way, the Vietnamese put their stamp on the hearty soup and consumption of the dish spread from the North into the South, each area putting their own telling spin on it. From the North we get a simple dish of hearty noodles, warm, nourishing broth and beef, well-cooked or rare and sometimes both. From the South, we get a soup that has many more garnishes and vegetables, additions of hot sauces and bean pastes. There are even versions that include chicken and pork based broths and meats. In some houses money did not stretch to include the meats, only bones.<br /><br />The soup took Vietnam without a single shot being fired and it’s no surprise the dish followed immigrants to the new world after the fall of Saigon. In only a few short years, Pho just as easily, captured the imagination and palates of Americans far and wide. Any doubts about this can be summed up in two words, Ramen Noodles, a staple of any American college student’s diet.<br /><br />Although Ramen is NOT pho, it has the same concept of piping hot broth, chewy noodles and rich Asian spices, conveniently mass-produced, packaged and available 10 for the dollar at almost any super market. But Pho, with very little extra work, can be practically as simple to prepare with the added bonuses of less salt, better nutritional value, and veggies and let’s not forget the protein!<br /><br />I call my soup Faux Pho because if I’m out of homemade broth in the freezer, I don't let that stop me! I make it quickly and easily using the popular broths-in-a-box as substitution. While not the preferred base for the soup, it will certainly <em>do</em> in a pinch. I also add more veggies and treat the ginger a bit differently. I will include two recipes for you. One is for my quick variation of Faux Pho On The Fly and uses my secret phlegm fighting ingredients! The other is an authentic Pho recipe originating from Mai Pham, chef/owner of Lemon Grass Restaurant and Café in Sacramento. She wrote the book, The Best of Vietnamese and Thai Cooking. Email her at maiphamibm.net.<br /><br />Whichever one you choose to make, don’t forget to park your face over the bowl and let the steamy goodness permeate your senses and relax you. The soothing warmth will surely convince you to move mountains or at least leap tall buildings in a single bound. Enjoy!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZz8lUakcjgvEDQq539II9ihM5z0Hi4NDQCH_2wiuyknJlkeUiRdqPaflltYBFQb8_7xBG26wQGy6LgJT6sByikrL7PUvdlJBm4l9XrhK_sZ2AAjv_u9fsdflxAXM07pjP-w0I_ki3SQ/s1600-h/IMG00029arialphorxcropflat.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5096038605179426754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZz8lUakcjgvEDQq539II9ihM5z0Hi4NDQCH_2wiuyknJlkeUiRdqPaflltYBFQb8_7xBG26wQGy6LgJT6sByikrL7PUvdlJBm4l9XrhK_sZ2AAjv_u9fsdflxAXM07pjP-w0I_ki3SQ/s400/IMG00029arialphorxcropflat.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Faux Pho On The Fly</span></strong> </span></div><br /><div align="left"><span style="font-family:arial;">by Blue Zebra<br /><em>Makes 4-6 servings</em><br /><br /><strong>Aromatics and Ingredients for Broth:</strong><br />2 Boxes (2 Qts) Natural Goodness Chicken Stock (or Organics Brand), Homemade preferred</span></div><br /><div align="left"><span style="font-family:arial;">Onion, seared and sliced thinly<br />4-6” Ginger, fresh, seared with the skin on (I use a lot!)<br />5 Cloves of garlic, thinly sliced<br />2 Sprigs Thyme, fresh (1/4 tsp dried leaves)<br />4 Sprigs Parsley, fresh (1/4 tsp dried leaves)<br />½ tsp Sugar<br />1/8 tsp Coriander, ground<br />1/8 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (or 1-2 Dried Thai Chilis)<br />1 pinch Five Spice Powder, ground<br />1 pinch of Black Pepper<br />1/8 -1/4 c. Fish Sauce (Noc Mam) – optional<br />½ c. Baby Carrots or ½ Large Carrot, peeled, julienne<br />½ c. Water<br />Salt to taste<br /><br /><strong>Veggies & Noodles for Broth:</strong><br />½ Medium Zucchini, ribbons<br />1c Mushrooms, sliced thinly<br />4 Green Onions<br />½ c Snow Pea Pods, sliced on bias or Frozen Green Peas<br />½ lb Flat Rice Noodles – thin or 1/8” wide<br /><br /><strong>Condiments for Broth</strong> <em>(these are all optional, add to your taste a little at a time as you eat the pho):</em><br />½ c Meat Leftovers<br />Lime wedges<br />Mung Bean Sprouts, fresh<br />Mint, fresh<br />Thai Basil or Regular Basil, fresh<br />Cilantro, fresh<br />Green chilis (Serrano, Thai, Jalapeno), thinly sliced with the seeds<br />Srirachi Rooster Sauce<br />Sambal Oelek<br />Black Bean Sauce<br />Hoisin Sauce<br /><br /><strong>Method:</strong><br /><strong>Making Stock (This can be made ahead and kept in fridge!):</strong><br />Heat broth in dutch oven or very 3qt saucepan over medium heat.<br /><br />As the broth or stock is heating, brown the outer sides of an onion and a peel 4-5” finger of ginger over high heat in a heavy saute pan. (I use cast iron). Do not use any oil. You are trying to char it a little. You can also do this outside or over a gas flame on your stove but I only have electric and I’m usually feeling too bad to do this.<br /><br />Remove the charred onion and ginger and when they are cool enough to touch, cut the onion in half lengthwise, then slice thinly to make “matchstick slices of onion.<br /><br />For the ginger, slice in 1/8” thick pieces along the length to make flat discs. Take each disc and slice it very thinly into matchsticks as well, cutting along the length. You can cut the julienne of ginger to 2” lengths.<br /><br />Repeat this technique for the carrots.<br /><br />Peel and thinly slice the garlic cloves. If I have the fresh herbs available, remove the leaves and lightly chop the thyme and parsley. If not, simply use dried. No big deal at this point, remember we’re making a tea.<br /><br />Add all other broth ingredients and let the broth steep or gently simmer for about an hour. Stock will reduce slightly. You don’t want it to come to a rolling boil. This is about infusing flavor and keeping as many nutrients alive as possible. I use low heat to do this.<br /><br />At this point you have the Blue Zebra home remedy for the common cold or sinus problem! I will make this by the pot full and sip on it all day as hot as I can stand it, just like I would use tea. The ingredients are almost all mucalytics, which means they loosen congestion and allow you to get rid of the nasties.<br /><br /><strong>Making the Soup:</strong><br />But if I’m making this for a meal, I will continue on - if the body is willing!<br /><br />Using a vegetable peeler, make thin slices down the length of the zucchini, stopping when you reach the seeds in the middle. Rotate the zucchini as you do this to keep the slices about ¼ to ½ wide. Add these to the broth and cook.<br /><br />Thinly slice mushrooms of your preference. Add these to the broth and cook.<br /><br />Clean and slice green onions on the diagonal into ½” pieces. Add these to the broth in the last 3-5 minutes of cooking.<br /><br />Wash and string snow pea pods or frozen peas. Slice on the diagonal into ½” pieces.<br /><br />Add these to the broth in the last 3-5 minutes of cooking.<br /><br />Add any leftover meat into your broth and allow it to be brought to temperature. (Pulled pork or brisket is great here. Also, leftover rare steak or meat is yummy!)<br /><br />In a separate pan, cook rice noodles until just starting to become flexible. Take out and partially cool with running water, then drain well. They will finish cooking<br />when they are placed into the hot broth. Do not add to broth until ready to eat or else the noodles will become soft and mushy.<br /><br /><strong>Eating the Soup:</strong><br />Assemble all of your condiments in small bowls.<br /><br />Ladle the piping hot broth into a bowl, about 2 cups or more. I like to add some of the julienne aromatics from the main broth and eat them (ginger, garlic, carrots, etc.).<br />Add some of the noodles and bits and pieces of your favorite condiment(s) a little at a time, as you eat the soup. The idea is that you are only adding a bite here and there in order to keep the broth as hot as possible! Don’t feel as though you have to add all of them! Also, you can easily substitute or omit ingredients as you have or don’t have them. <strong>Sometimes I completely omit the extra veggies!</strong><br /><br />Use chopsticks or a fork and spoon. Chunky doesn’t have a monopoly on the soup that eats like a meal! Sip as much of the broth as you desire. Anything goes with this oh so filling pho!<br /><br /><strong>References:</strong><br />Houston Institute for Culture<br />San Francisco Chronicle<br />Viet World Kitchen<br /><br />****************************<br /><br />Now for the authentic stuff! Enjoy!<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">VIETNAMESE BEEF NOODLE SOUP (PHO BO)</span></strong><br />By Mai Pham (chef/owner of Lemon Grass Restaurant and Cafe in Sacramento)<br /><em>Serves 6 to 8.</em><br /><br /><strong>Note:</strong> You can prepare the beef broth in advance and assemble just before serving.<br /><br /><strong>INGREDIENTS:</strong><br /><br /><strong>The Broth –</strong><br />5 pounds beef marrow bones<br />3-pound chuck roast<br />2 (4-inch) pieces fresh ginger, unpeeled<br />1 large yellow onion, peeled<br />1/3 cup Asian fish sauce<br />5 tablespoons sugar<br />8 whole star anise<br />3 whole cloves<br />1 tablespoon salt, or to taste<br /><br /><strong>Noodles & Assembly -</strong><br />½ pound beef sirloin steak, slightly frozen, then sliced paper thin<br />1 ½ pounds fresh or dried flat rice stick noodles (about 1/8 inch wide)<br />1 yellow onion, sliced paper thin<br />4 green onions, chopped<br />½ cup chopped cilantro<br />1 pound bean sprouts<br />20 sprigs Asian basil<br />20 leaves saw-leaf herb (optional)<br />3 tablespoons chopped fresh Thai bird chiles, or thinly sliced serrano chiles<br />2 limes, cut into thin wedges<br />Pepper to taste<br /><br /><strong>INSTRUCTIONS:</strong><br />Bring 6 quarts water to a boil in a large stockpot.<br /><br />Place the bones and chuck roast in a separate pot with water to cover; bring to a boil and boil vigorously for 5 minutes. Using tongs, remove the bones and meat and add to the first pot of boiling water. When the water returns to a boil, reduce to a simmer.<br /><br />Using metal tongs, hold the ginger and onion over a gas burner until slightly blackened and aromatic. (If you have an electric stove, dry-roast the ginger and onion in a skillet.) Rinse the ginger and onion and add them to the pot with the meat and bones.<br /><br />Add the fish sauce and sugar to the pot. Simmer, skimming off the foam, until the meat is tender, about 1 ½ hours.<br /><br />Remove the chuck roast and submerge in a bowl of cold water for 15 minutes. This prevents the meat from darkening and drying out.<br /><br />Place the star anise and cloves in a dampened spice bag and add to the broth. Add 2 cups water to the pot. Simmer for 1 hour, then remove and discard the spice bag and onion. (Cooking the spices too long makes the broth dark and pungent.)<br /><br />Add the salt to the broth and keep at a low simmer while preparing the noodles.<br />The broth should be rich enough to serve after 2 ½ hours total cooking time. It will taste salty, but will balance once the noodles and accompaniments are added.<br /><br /><strong>Noodles and Assembly:</strong><br />Cut half of the roast into thin slices; reserve the remaining roast for another use.<br /><br />Cut the partially frozen sirloin into thin slices. Place the sliced chuck and sirloin on separate plates and set aside.<br /><br />Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place a handful of fresh noodles (enough for 1 serving) in a sieve and lower into the boiling water. Using a fork or chopsticks, stir for 15 seconds, then lift and shake off excess water. (If using dried noodles, soak them in warm water for 20 minutes. Cook them all at once until al dente, about 2 to 3 minutes. Rinse extremely well in warm water.) Divide the noodles among heated serving bowls.<br /><br />Arrange a few slices of roast and sirloin on the noodles in each bowl.<br /><br />Bring the beef broth to a rolling boil.<br /><br />Season with salt (if necessary) and pepper.<br /><br />Ladle 2 to 3 cups into each bowl.<br /><br />Sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon sliced yellow onion, 1 tablespoon green onions, 1 tablespoon cilantro and pepper to taste.<br /><br />Let diners garnish their bowls with bean sprouts, Asian basil, saw- leaf herb, chiles and squeeze of lime as desired.<br /><br /><br />PER SERVING: 390 calories, 28 g protein, 51 g carbohydrate, 6 g fat (2 g saturated), 66 mg cholesterol, 1592 mg sodium, 2 g fiber. </span></div>Blue Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09447214289877357403noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117716991958684262.post-21264668362676284882007-08-01T11:13:00.000-05:002008-12-09T17:57:59.449-06:00Better Living Through Breakfast Tacos<span style="font-family:arial;">I am a Texan, bred, born and raised. Our <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipXlVWEFXtxGhxbgxfdrTDdrCr6dPSSi83F3nzM5eqUy0c2PlIQ3rvQzfUvGjh3Q6HRb0h0jL3F65UtJ-gBT9xzCHkLa1X_MqUyQiB8_Rfn4P6FNGhhxJvJ-6Jiqrr0BW4HC1jZCINd1E/s1600-h/iStock_000000508953XSmallSanJacMonflat.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5093770566094395234" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipXlVWEFXtxGhxbgxfdrTDdrCr6dPSSi83F3nzM5eqUy0c2PlIQ3rvQzfUvGjh3Q6HRb0h0jL3F65UtJ-gBT9xzCHkLa1X_MqUyQiB8_Rfn4P6FNGhhxJvJ-6Jiqrr0BW4HC1jZCINd1E/s400/iStock_000000508953XSmallSanJacMonflat.jpg" border="0" /></a>family dates back for generations in the U.S. to the American Revolution. Our ancestors not only fought in the War for Independence from England, we also had at least one relative who fought in the War for Texas Independence during 1835-1836. My Mom used to regale us with the stories from her mom about how Grandpa Gilbert fought with General Sam Houston against General Santa Anna, commander of the Mexican army in the infamous 18 minute Battle of San Jacinto, the battle that ended the war and resulted in Texas independence from Mexico.<br /><br />The Battle of San Jacinto took place just 20 miles due east, along what is now Interstate-10 and present-day, downtown Houston, in San Jacinto. This famous battle resulted in the surrender of the Mexican forces, capture of their general and the creation of the Republic of Texas, never recognized by our Mexican friends. It wasn’t until Texas became a state, about 9 years later, that we officially became Texans.<br /><br />We lived this lore as children and often took road trips to see the giant monument. Erected at the turn of the 20th Century, it memorialized the brave men who fought in the battle. <a href="http://www.sanjacinto-museum.org/">The San Jacinto Monument</a> stands 15 feet taller than the Washington Monument, for which it was modeled. To a child, it inspires dreams and fantasies of life during that time. Seeing Grandpa Gilbert’s name in writing on the monument only served to fuel the fanciful dreams of seeing General Sam Houston under the famous oak tree, just after battle, accepting the surrender of Santa Anna and our grandfather standing right beside the renowned leader…of course that did not happen. Our grandfather was not standing beside Sam Houston.<br /><br />I also remember the respect and admiration my dad and mom had for the Mexican people. I believe they honored them, in part, because of a shared belief in the ideal that is the sanctity of family (not that our family wasn’t as dysfunctional and torn as the next, cuz we’ve certainly had our issues). But they shared a common, strong commitment to family.<br /><br />Dad worked with many Mexican workers in the construction business of a young Houston and I still remember the day he came home raving about this delicious breakfast one of the men shared with him. He called them tacos and they were made with egg, potato and salsa. He described them as one of the best breakfasts he’d ever tasted.<br /><br />It wasn’t until my college years in Austin, however, that I really became indoctrinated into the “way and philosophy” that is the Breakfast Taco. A sandwich that isn’t a sandwich, an icon of TexMex culinary excellence, the breakfast taco could just be the perfect food. There are so many combinations: potato and egg, bean and egg, meat and egg, bacon and egg – the list continues for miles. It is cheap. It is filling. It is fast food cooked from slow ingredients. It is comfort food for the soul of every Texan, worldwide.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Blue Zebra Breakfast Tacos</strong></span><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">Yield 4 Tacos (6-7” tortillas)</span></em><br /><br /><strong>For breakfast tacos:</strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxO2wUlKvdMv_-NiFeGaG-1hpxHIR16rgy7Jj3J_j0nUI4EGeneKoMRlkgYiP-gGKmVO3OG6Jc8K_wid56a997Ag04oqpVd9c0qwz-hgg1oa_GwPFxky3zosOGmoQpQImS0pfQ5B8kwVw/s1600-h/072707IMG00001BrkfastTacostestflat.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxO2wUlKvdMv_-NiFeGaG-1hpxHIR16rgy7Jj3J_j0nUI4EGeneKoMRlkgYiP-gGKmVO3OG6Jc8K_wid56a997Ag04oqpVd9c0qwz-hgg1oa_GwPFxky3zosOGmoQpQImS0pfQ5B8kwVw/s400/072707IMG00001BrkfastTacostestflat.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5094833604859893666" /></a><br /><br />4 Eggs<br />1 Tbsp Water<br />½ - 1 Tbsp Olive oil, butter, or bacon grease<br />2 oz Leftover Meat (I use bacon, sausage, leftover brisket or pulled pork)<br />¼ Cup Cheddar or Monterey Jack Cheese (optional)<br />¼ Cup Salsa* (optional)<br />4 Flour Tortillas* (6-7” Diameter)<br />Salt and Pepper to taste<br />Cilantro<br /><br /><strong>For cottage fries:</strong><br />4 Baby New Potatoes (1-1/2” diameter)<br />1/8 tsp Garlic Powder<br />1/8 tsp Cumin Powder<br />1 Pinch Coriander Powder<br />1/8 tsp Paprika (smoked paprika is awesome in this)<br />Salt and Pepper to taste<br />Olive oil<br /><br /><strong>For sautéed veggies:</strong><br />½ Zucchini, cut in ½” pieces<br />½ Yellow Squash, cut in ½” pieces<br />¼ Onion, coarsely chopped<br />4 Mushrooms, sliced<br />½ Tomato, small, seeded, ¾” dice<br />1 Clove Garlic, sliced<br />Salt and Pepper to taste<br />Olive oil<br /><br /><strong>For tacos:</strong><br />Crack eggs into bowl and add water. Using a fork or wire whisk, vigorously beat the eggs until the yolks and whites are well-mixed and the eggs are frothy. Using water, keeps the eggs tender. Milk or cream can actually make them tough. It’s also cheaper to use water, right?<br /><br />Prep and assemble all of the elements for the tacos: shred the meat, grate the cheese, make the salsa (or open a jar), separate a few cilantro leaves if you have them. These fillings can be as sumptuous as you want or as bare-bones and empty cupboard as necessary. This is a poor man’s breakfast but kings of all nations love them, too! Have the potatoes cook and the veggies sautéed and waiting.<br /><br />Heat a skillet to medium heat. Add about a tablespoon of oil. Do not use margarine here (as much because of transfats as because the water in the margarine will separate and cause problems with sticking).<br /><br />When the oil is heated, give the eggs a final stir and pour into pan. Slowly move the eggs around, scraping the bottom of the pan, forming curds. For those who are unfamiliar, this is called scrambling eggs.<br /><br />Just before done, remove eggs from heat and finish stirring. Salt and pepper the scrambled eggs. Eggs should be moist and fluffy, they will continue to cook for the next few minutes. Remove to a plate.<br /><br />Add flour tortillas to the pan and cook one at a time, heating briefly on both sides. (Option: place 4 tortillas on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and nuke in a microwave for about 30 seconds to heat them through).<br /><br />Assemble your tacos and enjoy! Add salsa, avocado, cilantro, lime or other condiments.<br /><br /><strong>For Potatoes:</strong><br />Wash and cut potatoes in quarters and then in half (you will have 8 pieces per potato). Don’t bother drying the potatoes because the moisture will help keep them plump while cooking in the microwave. Place on microwave safe plate. Cover with 2 layers of wet microwave safe paper towels. Nuke for about 3 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.<br /><br />Heat skillet to high heat and add oil. When oil is hot, remove paper and pour potatoes into pan. Do NOT stir them!<br /><br />Sprinkle the tops of the potatoes with seasonings. Again, do not stir the potatoes around. Let them sit for about 2-3 minutes before stirring to rearrange them. This will allow them to brown on the first side. You are trying to get them crispy and brown outside and keep them moist and creamy inside. Microwaving until done is the secret to getting potatoes that are browned on the outside and cooked through on the inside!<br /><br />Potatoes will take about 6-7 minutes to fully brown on all sides. Remove potatoes and reserve for tacos. Serve them either on the side or as part of a potato and egg taco. Amazingly awesome!<br /><br /><strong>For Sautéed Veggies:</strong><br />Wash and dry veggies and split squash in half lengthwise. Cut into ½ inch pieces. Prepare all other veggies as noted in above recipe. Heat skillet to high heat. Add oil and heat through.<br /><br />Add veggies, except for tomatoes, and seasonings and saute over high heat until “just tender” or al dente, about 8-10 minutes. Don’t over stir. You want them to be browned in places. In the last 2 minutes of cooking, add tomatoes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove from pan and reserve for tacos. Serve veggies either on the side or as part of a veggie version of breakfast tacos. So great!<br /><br /><strong>Blue Zebra NOTE:</strong><br />*Flour tortillas and salsa are available at most grocery stores. They will “do” in a pinch and works as a quick solution for the time-conscious. But for the very best result, making these elements from scratch is always going to make a better taco. There is a night and day difference.<br /><br />The recipes for flour tortillas and salsa choices will be available soon. I will post them under the recipe section as soon as we solve the recipe database dilemma, so please have patience with us! :D<br /><br />Breakfast tacos, as previously stated, can have many fillings. One of the favorite ways to use leftover meat in our house is to use a couple of ounces in our breakfast tacos, about ½ ounce per taco. I do not warm the meat because it imparts a re-warmed taste. Instead, I let the heat from the warm tortillas and hot scrambled eggs warm the meat up to temp.<br /><br />But meat isn’t essential to making great breakfast tacos. Two of my favorite BTs are potato and egg or bean and egg made with pinto beans, mashed and refried a bit, prior to assembling. I also use the veggie saute, shown above, with great success. Veggie BTs are so satisfying you don’t even recognize the lack of meat.<br /><br />The humble breakfast taco is nourishing, and will “stick to your bones” as my grandmother, WaWa, used to say about food that carried a person through the day. The breakfast pictured above is a HUGE serving for most and only costs about $1.10 to make per plate, including 2 cups of coffee with cream. It’s simply another illustration how the egg is man’s best friend for people on a budget. So take my advice, make breakfast tacos at any time of the day. <em>Better living through breakfast tacos!</em></span>Blue Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09447214289877357403noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117716991958684262.post-75356518049546534402007-07-29T15:24:00.000-05:002008-12-09T17:57:59.993-06:00Little Miss Muffet and Her Crumpets<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjE4GyoadaKnC-mXlllDApYAYLU9w8ychoPJQZYXkv-vqGhYyLA125S_G90AKv8uEbclNncIqQcqeL8n8_k9ExLO6MGqQJHVasR-FBCgUzI5ORFkr_E438k1QqfQn7xvmpqbEUYq5msTk/s1600-h/IMG00020crumpetbrkfast+copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5092722598369138466" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjE4GyoadaKnC-mXlllDApYAYLU9w8ychoPJQZYXkv-vqGhYyLA125S_G90AKv8uEbclNncIqQcqeL8n8_k9ExLO6MGqQJHVasR-FBCgUzI5ORFkr_E438k1QqfQn7xvmpqbEUYq5msTk/s400/IMG00020crumpetbrkfast+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Little Miss Muffet sat on her crumpet, eating her curds and whey… (Ok, maybe she didn’t sit on a crumpet, maybe it was a tuffet! But I don’t exactly know what a tuffet is either. We don’t have tuffets in the South…but we do have princesses and Sweet Potato Queens!)<br /><br />I was having a conversation with a friend of mine over at another site, about what people in the UK call English Muffins. Someone made the comment they thought they were called crumpets and from there we completely threadjacked the original poster’s thread on English Muffins. I admitted that I’d never had a crumpet before and I don’t even think I’ve seen one. Have you?<br /><br />Growin’ up we often had a big Sunday breakfast, brunch really. We would go to church and then everyone would get in the kitchen and start cooking and visiting with each other. We sometimes sat at the table and visited for hours. It was a lazy and delicious way to catch up with everyone and just treat the day easily.<br /><br />We had the usual Southern fare: biscuits, pancakes, waffles, toast, muffins or the like; never all at once, mind you. It was an either/or proposition. Occasionally we would have an English muffin, but they were expensive and a real treat in our house. I think I maybe only had them 4 or 5 times in my first 18 years of life. So it’s no surprise, despite having visited many different types of restaurants in many towns, that I would not be familiar with crumpets.<br /><br />I vowed to make up for that blank spot in my culinary history. I decided to make them. Thanks to browndog for passing along the recipe from Elizabeth David’s English Bread and Yeast Cookery. Elizabeth David, so I am told, writes recipe books with an insight into English history and is “chatty” in her delivery. She sounds like someone I’d love! :D <br /><br />I added her book to my wish list but I will go ahead and post the recipe here.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">English Crumpets</span></strong><br />By Elizabeth David’s English Bread and Yeast Cookery<br /><em>Yield: 8-10 Crumpets</em><br /><br /><strong>Ingredients:</strong> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvxgzwNvxTQDrz7siJL-HoC_QBPx8ZBfYopHuzRoaOtQuo37V97RO2UMob05sjENkHO_iDj920rnj8h_8zAEU0pv8luTUKu9RlPSj2-GxyLs8Ad3z0kGLmPT6o07h093ql3hdMasJkbE/s1600-h/IMG00016crumpets+copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5092722963441358642" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvxgzwNvxTQDrz7siJL-HoC_QBPx8ZBfYopHuzRoaOtQuo37V97RO2UMob05sjENkHO_iDj920rnj8h_8zAEU0pv8luTUKu9RlPSj2-GxyLs8Ad3z0kGLmPT6o07h093ql3hdMasJkbE/s400/IMG00016crumpets+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />3 cup or so unbleached all-purpose flour<br />1 tsp dry yeast (1/2 oz. fresh)<br />2 1/2 cup milk and water mixed (a generous measure)<br />1 Tbsp salt<br />1 tsp sugar<br />2 Tbsp oil<br /><br /><strong>Second Mixing:</strong><br />1/2 tsp baking soda<br />2/3 cup warm water or a little more<br /><br /><strong>Method:</strong><br />Warm the flour in an earthenware bowl in a low oven for 5 minutes.<br /><br />Warm the oil, milk, water and sugar to blood heat. Use a little of this to cream the yeast. (I proofed active dry yeast in 1/2 cup warm water and reduced the quantity of milk showing here by 1/2 cup.)<br /><br />Mix the salt with the warm flour, stir in the yeast, pour in the liquid, and stir the batter very well and vigorously, until it is smooth and elastic. Cover the bowl, leave batter to rise at room temp until the whole surface is a mass of bubbles and the mixture looks as if it were about to break. This will take 1 1/2 to 2 hours.<br /><br />Forestall the natural falling of the batter by beating it down yourself with a wooden spoon.<br /><br />Dissolve the baking soda in the warm water and stir it into the bowl. Cover the bowl and leave the batter to recover, for about 30 minutes. This time, put it in a rather warmer place, unless you need to delay the cooking of the crumpets, in which case use cold water for dissolving the soda and remove the bowl of batter to a cool place.<br /><br /><strong>Cooking the crumpets:</strong><br />Grease the griddle very lightly, also the crumpet rings.<br /><br />Put 4 rings on the griddle; pour enough batter into each to come almost to the top. Let them cook very gently, 7 to 10 minutes. By this time there should be a mass of tiny holes. If the holes haven't appeared, the batter is too thick. Add more warm water or milk to the batter before cooking the next batch.<br /><br />Once the crumpets have set, it should be easy to slip off the rings and turn them over. They only need 3 minutes on the other side. (Just enough time to add a little color to the 2nd side.)<br /><br />Browndog comments, “Here is what Elizabeth David has to say about her crumpets: ‘Personally, I find crumpets edible only when freshly cooked, warm and soaked in plenty of butter. Toasting makes them tough and alters the whole structure. I think it preferable to reheat them in a covered dish in the oven, with butter. When all is said and done, crumpets are only yeast pancakes confined to rings and so made thick and of a uniform size.’”<br /><br /><strong>Blue Zebra NOTES:</strong><br />This recipe was very easy. I used 3-1/2” rings that I bought at Sur La Table for $0.95 each. I was a little skeered cuz I just didn’t know how thick to <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0B27F1z0dcza0dl13Nq1ULIU_Hwn8an002HY15cqE5g522CXyVUi8VonNMPZlqZkgZYA9aolZa9wiqntsPbipm-nQ8zyDO9eFH0C_rnfSWlwaeZjt6svToJDfUzzSxilzM3tANozYw4E/s1600-h/IMG00010overfill+copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5092724071542921026" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0B27F1z0dcza0dl13Nq1ULIU_Hwn8an002HY15cqE5g522CXyVUi8VonNMPZlqZkgZYA9aolZa9wiqntsPbipm-nQ8zyDO9eFH0C_rnfSWlwaeZjt6svToJDfUzzSxilzM3tANozYw4E/s400/IMG00010overfill+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a>make the batter. As my spill-over pictures show, don’t fill your rings any more than 2/3 full or you will have trouble. I cooked the crumpets about 12-13 minutes over low heat, in a cast iron skillet. I then flipped them and cooked for another couple of minutes on the second side. I only removed the ring after cooking on both sides.<br /><br />These are delicious. They taste quite like a very thick blini (yeasted pancake) and much, much better than your average pancake. They are totally worth making again. The next time I make them; I will begin the batter the night before and retard the batter in the fridge over night.<br /><br />I made a big Sunday breakfast. It will be the only thing I will cook today. Dinner tonight will most likely be watermelon salad and leftover chicken. The breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs, cheese grits, bacon, homegrown tomatoes, and homemade crumpet with butter and amaretto/peach/pecan jam, and a slice of watermelon. It’s incredible to me, but again, this entire huge meal was only about $1.10 including 2 cups of coffee. Amazing, yes?</span>Blue Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09447214289877357403noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117716991958684262.post-88314656684892104522007-07-28T08:01:00.000-05:002008-12-09T17:58:00.546-06:00Friday Pizza Club - The Dough (Part 1)<span style="font-family:arial;">It was Friday in the Zebra Pen yesterday and that can only mean one thing, Pizza Club. What is Pizza Club? Pizza Club began with my niece and my sissy and brother-in-law back in Dallas. It was a fun celebration of the end of the week and featured my niece and one of her friends and the neighborhood pizza hangout named Slider and Blues. It was a great, family place with games for the kiddos and ice cold beer for the adults - loud, bright and hoppin’ with people. It wasn’t your basic Chuckie Cheese, although Lord knows, we’ve had our share of outings there as well.<br /><br />Slider and Blues made the most fantastic pizzas. The crust was super thin and crunchy, almost cracker like, with excellent flavor. Toppings ranged from routine to exotic and everywhere in between and it was the perfect food to end a crazy week, especially when you threw in the ice cold brews to wash it down.<br /><br />Since that time, Sliders is long gone and my niece is now a lovely young lady, all grown up and graduating from college. She moves to Atlanta this month and begins a new job and a new life and although I am so proud of her, the part of me that holds onto the past still treasures the memory of that precious little girl and her best friend sitting there eating pizza with us. Time passes so quickly, so don’t forget to enjoy the moment now, while you can because it will be long gone before you know it.<br /><br />I’ve tried replacing the pizza from Pizza Club night in an effort to stem nostalgic waves and so far, have been spectacularly unsuccessful in my attempts. I’ve found no pizza places in Houston who can compare (with the exception of Fuzzy's Pizza) and all the national chain suspects fail dismally with ice cold, cardboard pizzas delivered with congealed cheese in pools of fat. Hardly appetizing and sadly not in keeping with the fun spirit that was Pizza Club!<br /><br />Six months ago, out of desperation I threw out our last piece of ratty, cardboard, look-alike pizza and made the dreaded statement, “I can do better than this!” These are fightin’ words in our house. This statement is usually followed by, “This place is on my black list and I will never eat at ‘x’ place, again…as God is my witness!”<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZ2JROLWrAZhSjs3Y_JflH96Y7cfVJG9kr7jVuIH6n81vGVHyoyiJCRiMvxWTgWyBnTa9N1m7zqJyFGMyW0BdZxknAIWWAeyrgH54srW9h16x9E3e4UH-YYh2ZIFC0QnBKP-l_TSmPAM/s1600-h/IMG00057SirStinky+copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5092247574986200754" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZ2JROLWrAZhSjs3Y_JflH96Y7cfVJG9kr7jVuIH6n81vGVHyoyiJCRiMvxWTgWyBnTa9N1m7zqJyFGMyW0BdZxknAIWWAeyrgH54srW9h16x9E3e4UH-YYh2ZIFC0QnBKP-l_TSmPAM/s400/IMG00057SirStinky+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a>Well get down Scarlett! No one ever wants to be included on my black list. And so it began - my desperate experimentation into pizza, which actually initiated my forays into baking and sourdough. First, let me introduce my starter, Sir Stinksalot, aka Stinky, for short. He is much maligned, but a sure trooper. He’s endured abuse and neglect and kept on growin’ despite my feeble inconsistency as a nurturer and care-giver. He deserves a medal.<br /><br />Over the last months, I’ve tried about ten different dough recipes from heavy-hitters such as Peter Reinhardt to Jeff Varasano, the obsessed Pizza guy from New York. None of the doughs produced what I was looking for when made by me. I don’t know if it’s the fact that my doughs are hand-made and I’m still not fully developing the dough or that I’m doggedly using All-Purpose flour instead of high gluten flour or bread flour or what. But I don’t get the oven spring with the crusts that I expect. Maybe I’m under-proofing them? <br /><br />Anyway, I found a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated for Grilled Pizza to serve as inspiration for the latest evolution of dough. But I couldn’t just “make it as written”. Oh no, that would be way too simple, right? Yeah, sheesh! So I translated it to a sourdough version. So far, this has been the best recipe for my thin, cracker crust. I would give this a 9, in a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest). B says that he likes this pizza dough when made into pan pizza, his preference, and gives it 9 out of 10. I made an “original crust” which is similar to a hand tossed and I think I must still continue to work on technique. The crust was not thick and fluffy on the outer edge.<br /><br />Well, each Friday, I hope you will experiment with me as we continue our quest for the perfect pizza. Here are the pictures of this weeks supplicants (can you tell I’m Catholic?) :D. I included the current crust recipe. I apologize for the length of the recipe. There really is no easy or short-winded way to discuss all the variations of this dough. It's simple to make but complex to explain.<br /><br />In next week’s Pizza Club installment, we will discuss tomato sauce or sauce options for Pizza. Mangia!<br /><br /><strong>Blue Zebra Pizza Crust</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Based on the recipe from Cook’s Illustrated</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>Make 4 (12") original or thin crusts or 1 (10-1/2") Pan Pizza + 2 (10-12") original or thin crusts</em><br /><br /><strong>Preferment:</strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJJItVzxII4K2N0DOEc-_54npgYmqA3Xy8CZ8AuVm_BZy8QBCs5NnCYo6mVAnahWQ-msLO-sp1DeLf0V1SjDBVMfnKn9QDeXZKXDxRYv8wre-Nv5rmGdTp9vmf37EBp8DHF3ZK1XjfEmk/s1600-h/IMG00002pan+copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5092247587871102658" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJJItVzxII4K2N0DOEc-_54npgYmqA3Xy8CZ8AuVm_BZy8QBCs5NnCYo6mVAnahWQ-msLO-sp1DeLf0V1SjDBVMfnKn9QDeXZKXDxRYv8wre-Nv5rmGdTp9vmf37EBp8DHF3ZK1XjfEmk/s400/IMG00002pan+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />7.33 oz All-Purpose Flour<br />1 cup Starter by volume (1:4:4 ratio = 1 part starter: 4 parts flour: 4parts water)<br />1 cup Water by volume<br /><br /><strong>Remaining Recipe:</strong><br />6oz of All-Purpose Flour, +/- 3oz or All-Purpose Flour<br />1 Tbsp Whole Wheat Flour<br />2 tsp Sugar<br />1-1/4 tsp Iodized Salt<br />½ tsp Instant Yeast<br />2 Tbsp Olive Oil<br /><br /><strong>Method:<br />Preferment:</strong><br />Combine Starter and water and mix to incorporate into a thin slurry. Add flour and mix with a sturdy spatula or dough whisk until mixture forms a doughy paste, similar in texture to “glumpy oatmeal”. Stir it vigorously for about 2 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to ferment. Mixture should sit until doubled (that takes about 4-5 hours for mine at 80 degrees but it will vary depending on the strength of each starter). Once preferment has doubled, place in fridge to retard or immediately mix into the remaining dough ingredients. **See note below to discuss why this is important.<br /><br /><strong>Crust:</strong><br />Fit food processor with the plastic dough blade. Don’t use the metal one, because of the heat build up. Add remaining flours and starter and pulse to combine. Allow this to sit for 20 minutes in the bowl with the lid in place to autolyse, this is a time when gluten structure really begins forming and where the liquid from the water will completely hydrate the flour grains. Once the 20 minutes are up, add the yeast and sugar and pulse to incorporate. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse to mix well.<br />(Note: All the water for this recipe was added during the preferment. You will want to add water because logic tells you, that you don't see any in the bulk of the dough recipe but trust. Wait. Mix. If the dough is too dry, then add water a tablespoon at a time...but it won't be. Trust.)<br /><br />Once all the ingredients have been incorporated using a brief, pulsing technique, you will be looking for the dough to “come to together” or “clear the sides of the bowl”. Depending on humidity and your flour that day, it may or may not be too wet. Using 15 second pulses, spin the blade in the dough and watch to see the dough condition.<br /><br />If it does not come together, measure out ¼ cup of flour and add it by tablespoons until dough forms a very moist ball that sits on top of the blade. This could take you as much as ½ cup of flour added incrementally. When you’ve made this recipe once, make a note of how much additional flour you had to add, that way you will know within limits the next time you make the dough and it will be an easier recipe to recreate.<br /><br />Transfer dough to the counter and knead a couple of times to form a ball. Dough should be smooth and elastic but still be wet and a good deal sticky. When in doubt, err on the side of wet. Place dough ball into a lightly oiled bowl and coat dough on both sides. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow dough to double in size. This could take 1-2 hours, more or less!<br /><br />When dough has doubled, gently deflate dough and cut into portions. I get 3 crusts from this recipe: 1 thick crust/pan pizza (10-1/2”) which uses almost ½ of the dough volume and 2 thin crust pizzas (12”) splitting the remaining dough volume.<br /><br />If making dough for later in the week, place dough in lightly oiled plastic baggies and place in fridge. These will keep up to six days in the fridge because it’s sourdough. If needed, you can freeze the dough at this point. Move dough from the freezer to the fridge the day prior to using.<br /><br /><strong>Forming the Pizzas:</strong><br />Allow dived dough to rest on a lightly floured counter for about 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent crust from forming. Resting allows the gluten “to relax” so that the dough becomes extensible (able to be gently stretched).<br /><br /><strong>For pan pizza:</strong><br />Gently coax dough to fill a 10-1/2 cast iron skillet that has been liberally sprinkled with cornmeal or semolina, leaving thicker edges. Cover skillet with plastic wrap and allow dough to rise for 45 minutes. Top and bake at 550 for 20 minutes.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzzG1vYLL3Rhm6Xp41k3ixB6y2u45MoPE7gRic79FEC0kXAiOB9XcvgUblGjl_XxMCPkTopu7ZqGofWBoCG0sFxZi9KuUYw5G7mXEsb2tgWBKdrUPJsbGhzjqBGLi9dTltIys5pb7nNkk/s1600-h/IMG00004HandToss+copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5092247596461037266" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzzG1vYLL3Rhm6Xp41k3ixB6y2u45MoPE7gRic79FEC0kXAiOB9XcvgUblGjl_XxMCPkTopu7ZqGofWBoCG0sFxZi9KuUYw5G7mXEsb2tgWBKdrUPJsbGhzjqBGLi9dTltIys5pb7nNkk/s400/IMG00004HandToss+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><strong>For hand tossed pizza:</strong><br />Flour your hands and wrists well. Form dough into a disk and gently start working your fingers around the edges of the dough, letting the dough suspend in the air and letting gravity help pull the disk bigger. Once big enough, put both fists underneath the dough and use them to gently pull the dough into a larger circle. You are trying to uniformly thin the dough out in the middle while keeping the outermost edges of the dough built up and thicker. If the dough fights you and resists stretching, set it on a lightly floured counter, cover with plastic and allow dough to rest for 5 minutes. Come back and continue stretching until dough is about 10-12” in diameter. Place dough on parchment paper, sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover with plastic wrap and an inverted baking sheet with 1” sides and allow dough to rise for 45 minutes. Top and bake at 550 for 8-10 minutes.<br /><br /><strong>For cracker thin crust:</strong><br />Lightly flour disk of dough and roll out to 1/8” thickness using a rolling pin. Dust <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi00ppWJaYmXW5YXVveLwZ_THPOsHzem-Ws3ptFXgQD6Mxvb2OMnLGB4pEqZXRJ6OrZMxsa2nhz1lv2fGoIAS0vyTrfhR27k5MASrGEQO8jaaFwTXVTR4VGHRDsuw8vESyWJbMHp7hnOTI/s1600-h/IMG00006Thin+copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5092247596461037282" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi00ppWJaYmXW5YXVveLwZ_THPOsHzem-Ws3ptFXgQD6Mxvb2OMnLGB4pEqZXRJ6OrZMxsa2nhz1lv2fGoIAS0vyTrfhR27k5MASrGEQO8jaaFwTXVTR4VGHRDsuw8vESyWJbMHp7hnOTI/s400/IMG00006Thin+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a>top of dough very lightly with flour and gently rub into dough to make it less sticky. Dock dough with tines of a fork to prevent crust from rising during baking. Top with cornmeal. Multiple doughs on parchment can be stacked on top of each other until ready to bake. To blind bake thin crust dough, place the parchment with one dough round into 550 degree oven for 3 minutes. Dough will set and be just at the point of browning on the bottom. Remove from oven and gently flip dough upside down onto parchment. Dough will now have the cornmeal side “down”.<br /><br />If parchment has browned, pull off browned edges or use a new sheet of paper. Top newly exposed and slightly browned surface and bake at 550 for 6-8 minutes or until cheese is melted and edges are brown and crisp.<br /><br /><strong>** Blue Zebra NOTE:</strong><br />Sourdough is a natural levain. That means, there are natural yeasts that eat the sugars available in the dough and create the by-products of carbon dioxide and alcohol. Carbon dioxide causes the dough to rise when the gluten strands trap it and contain it within the dough. Alcohol just adds a little bit to the flavor.<br /><br />The primary taste producing agents are the undercover buddies of natural yeast, lactobacilli, which are naturally occurring pro-biotic bacteria. These guys are good guys. They are great for your digestion and are found in a healthy human gut. They are also found in naturally fermented foods like yogurts, etc. and help you by helping to break down food and keeping the unhealthy gut flora in check (from over running your body). These guys love yeast because yeast produce the food the lactobacilli eat. LBs (lactobacilli abbrev.) in turn, digest this food and give off their own bi-products, acetic acid and lactic acid.<br /><br />These acids flavor the bread, reduce the pH, making it resistant to spoilage and mold, and generally make a very pleasant sour taste distinctive of sourdough.The down side of LBs is that they cause an acid environment so if you use too much of a starter, it can sometimes cause the gluten strands to fail because the acid tears down the gluten structure and releases the CO2, resulting in dense hockey pucks and door stops.<br /><br />That is why in this recipe where I use a large amount of starter, I want to retard (or put the guys into a sleep) as soon as the preferment has doubled. You could use a smaller portion of starter in the preferment and let it ferment longer. Either way will produce more flavor components in your crust.These pizzas are sooo good, you will never buy take-out pizza again. So says Scarlett and God who were our witnesses ;) !</span>Blue Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09447214289877357403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117716991958684262.post-15321789233937739032007-07-24T08:40:00.000-05:002008-12-09T17:58:01.761-06:00Ode To The Homegrown Tomato<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsq69BcOascwhj_WCt0UuqondwIhPwWDs4uH10DZDEl1-MQU_e3LboBQ9nWmh7SgjW-BYkBD_W0hp7dguBTzl1IpCMHxEta54HiXKOJtP07nk7UibEb6cP0nciiwfPASv3NtS5TG5BxW4/s1600-h/iStock_000002461193SmallTomatoes+copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090760451149895282" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsq69BcOascwhj_WCt0UuqondwIhPwWDs4uH10DZDEl1-MQU_e3LboBQ9nWmh7SgjW-BYkBD_W0hp7dguBTzl1IpCMHxEta54HiXKOJtP07nk7UibEb6cP0nciiwfPASv3NtS5TG5BxW4/s400/iStock_000002461193SmallTomatoes+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Nothing says, “Summer,” like a homegrown tomato.<br /><br />Ok, I hear you out there in blogland. You are sneering. It’s coming through, loud and clear. And you know what? You are R-I-G-H-T! I do have a brown thumb and every attempt to grow my own tomatoes has sucked wind…badly. (Is it even possible to suck wind in a good way? Hmmm, I will have to investigate that…)<br /><br />Yes, so I am agriculturally challenged. And I have the PETP folks after me most of my days because anytime I buy plants from the garden store I automatically sign their death warrant. Poor dears, they have a good week or two at least and they tend to get an abundance of water and food. *sniff* By the way, for those of you who aren’t aware, PETP = People for the Ethical Treatment of Plants. ;)<br /><br />So I cheat...a little. What’s a little cheating amongst friends, right? I buy my homegrown tomatoes. I’m not afraid to admit that one iota. And I adore our farm stand. The stand is more of a little produce shop, really. It’s owned and run by a family who has been in the area for generations and whose family helped to settle the area. The stand sits next to their farm which is a good place for it to sit; since they are selling farm produce…They sell everything this Texan lusts after during the dog days of summer, with my beloved tomatoes topping the list:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Tomatoes – Great big beefsteak tomatoes, juicy yet meaty<br />Cucumbers – Vine ripened and delicate tasting<br />Summer Squashes – Several varieties to choose from here, gorgeous<br />String Beans – Tender and fresh off the vine<br />Okra – Crisp and small, tender all the way through<br />Potatoes – Fingerlings and beyond<br />Onions – All colors sweet and hot<br />Green Onions – Crisp and grassy with huge fragrant bulb ends<br />Jalapenos & Cilantro – What Texan could live without these?<br />Fresh beans and peas – Pintos, Purple Hull, Cream Peas, Black ‘o’ peas<br />Corn – Sweet, tender and juicy<br />Peaches – Fresh and in-season from Fairfield, TX (famous for peaches)<br />Watermelon – Sweet and juicy and waiting for a seed-spittin’ contest<br />Cantaloupe – Golden globes of juicy perfection<br />Plums – Sweet and firm with juice that drips down your arm as you eat it<br />Berries – Fresh in season (alas, we are past berry season here)<br />Eggs – Fresh from the chicken with orange yolks that stand tall & proud<br /></span><br /><br />After a visit to my farm stand, I come home rabid for a good Southern-style veggie dinner. It always begins the same way: sliced tomatoes with a side of sliced onions and cucumbers marinated in home style vinaigrette, followed closely by fresh okra and tomatoes, cream peas cooked in salt pork, corn on the cob and homemade macaroni and cheese made with farm-fresh eggs. A big slice of buttered corn-bread rounds out the menu. If there’s room after, we’ll have a gorgeous lattice-topped peach cobbler, bubbling and juicy and topped with a dollop of homemade Blue Bell Vanilla Ice Cream. Who needs meat with a menu like that?<br /><br />Some of my best food memories were eating meals like this during the summer. We never had a garden. Not exactly sure why but I think it had a lot to do with having five busy kids and both Mom & Dad worked long hours. Most of the time, we subsisted on veggies from the grocery and as it was during the ‘60s, much of the veggies were either canned or frozen. Somehow though, we found ways to get at least one or two meals made from fresh veggies produced by local farmers. And those were meals I relished with glee and still make me nostalgic, today.<br /><br />Another personal favorite of mine is the fresh tomato sandwich. And if you are lucky enough to have a bit of bacon, a BLT is a nice combo, too! The Southern Tomato Sandwich is so simple to make. Take two slices of fresh sandwich bread (the fresher the better), Hellman’s Mayonnaise (it must be Hellman’s), Salt and Pepper and heeeeeewwwwww doggy! It’s awesome! Some people add lettuce to this sandwich or else a slice of onion. Those are both great but not necessary in my book. I also adore getting some of the green tomatoes and frying them in a cornmeal breading. Now that’s the taste of a Southern Summer!<br /><br />Here’s a great, old-fashioned recipe for Homegrown Tomatoes:<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Tomato, Cucumber & Onion Salad</span></strong><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>Serves 4 –</em> <em>6<br /></em></span><br /><strong>Ingredients:<br /></strong>2-3 Large Beefsteak Tomatoes<br />2 Cucumbers, peeled<br />1 Medium Purple Onion<br />Mustard Tarragon Vinaigrette<br />Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper, to taste<br /><br /><strong>Method:<br /></strong>Wash, dry and core tomatoes. Cut each tomato into 8 vertical wedges. Add to medium, non-reactive*, salad bowl. Slice cucumbers in half, lengthwise then cut cross-wise into ½” chunks. Add to bowl. Trim ends off of purple onion and peel off tough, outer layers. Cut onion in half vertical and slice it into thin vertical wedges about ¼” thick. Onions will become separated when you toss it with the dressing. Combine veggies with about 1/2 cup of the dressing and place in a container with a lid, in the fridge. Every few hours go in and turn the bowl to rearrange the veggies within the dressing. This is best made about 2-4 hours ahead but in a pinch, can be served immediately. It will also be good the next day.<br /><br /><strong>*Non-reactive bowl tip:</strong> Tomatoes are an acidic food. Using a stainless steel, glass or plastic bowl eliminates any chance of having a chemical reaction occur from the acid and metal coming into contact with each other.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Mustard Tarragon Vinaigrette</span></strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Ingredients:</strong><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">2 Cloves Garlic, minced or pressed<br />1 Scant Tbsp Country Style Dijon (You can sub out regular Dijon)<br />1-2 Tablespoons Fresh Tarragon<br />1/3 Cup Lemon Juice, squeezed from fresh<br />½ Cup Olive Oil<br />1 Pinch of Granulated Sugar<br />2 Tbsp Water</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Method:</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">In small non-reactive bowl, whisk together minced garlic and mustard. Whisk in lemon juice and water. Once combined, slowly drizzle in olive oil, whisking with the addition to make an emulsion. Add chopped tarragon, salt, pepper and pinch of sugar. Whisk to incorporate.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Recipe Note:</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">This is not a sweet dressing. The pinch of sugar will be virtually indistinguishable. The purpose of the sugar is to cut a bit of the acidity of the lemon and help balance it. The licorice or anise flavor of the tarragon is a great combination with both tomato and cucumber, especially when paired with the citrus of the lemon.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">This dressing is completely awesome with any veggie salad. It works great with mushrooms and also works well with artichokes and fresh asparagus. You can easily substitute any herb in place of the tarragon, to make it versatile with other dishes. (i.e. Serving a salad to go along with lamb? Sub out the tarragon for fresh mint!)</span><br /><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;">_____________________________________</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">You know, I always marvel after a visit to “the stand”, how little it costs. Veggies and fruits have become outrageously expensive in the grocery store. For $1.99/lb you too can have hydroponic tomatoes, picked green and ripened off the vine! $1.79/lb will get you zucchini trucked in from California and full of ripped skins and pock marks.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I have estimated that we save at least 50% by buying farm produce and sometimes, it’s as much as 60%! I even get “seconds” which are tomatoes that didn’t make the first cull for only $0.50/lb. Can you imagine only paying $0.50/lb for a homegrown tomato? What’s not to love about buying produce so fresh that only that morning it was on the vine or still in the ground? I love knowing WHO grew my veggies. I heart knowing that my money helps support their family and helps perpetuate the livelihood of the small, family farm.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Hug a farmer! Go buy your homegrown tomatoes today! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong>Blue Zebra Shopping Tip:</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Who isn’t on a budget these days? It feels like inflation is going through the roof, even though the government claims there isn’t any inflation. That’s kinda like saying, “What purple elephant dancing in the middle of the living room?”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">But the point is, it’s so hard buying nutritious food when your budget is sooo tight you barely have food factored into it. One of the things that helps me tremendously is shopping for veggies at the farmer’s market or farm stand. I can save 50-60% on my produce costs AND get produce that is often freshly picked the morning of purchase. It has more flavor, better nutrients and saves me money. How cool, yes?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Another thing, when you are at your farm stand, either look for or ask about “seconds” or “culls”. My stand has “culled tomatoes”. These are fruits that have blemishes, or spots or cracks or something that keeps them from selling at full price. They are only $0.50/lb at my market! Can you imagine a fresh tomato for $0.50/lb? What do I care about its looks? It could have giant ears and buck teeth as long as it tastes great! I use them for cooking sauces or for freezing. I just cut off the bad spot/s and move forward through the fog with it. It eats the same! I also will just slice or chop around it and use the tomato as purposed, in salads. It’s a bargain.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">You can often find peaches with the same dilemma. Bruised spots can be cut out. So try your local farmer’s market or farm stand and experience the economy provided by cutting out the middle man. Get “it” fresh off the vine!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">(“This message brought to you by the family farmers of America.”) ;)</span></p><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span>Blue Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09447214289877357403noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117716991958684262.post-45021124710224529272007-07-22T15:24:00.000-05:002008-12-09T17:58:03.059-06:00Mulligan Stew For Me, Please<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhornUsWuVn4qke933s8j95JLO-RhcxfaIXFbsfWhfo21PAxb8e8ZDwLYMbpfkeVUm9nvzHsgGawmIQoUAhfYKQRHc4KT3-TelHEJSr6mLM3hlyHYnV5nWyLJHs_NBC9BT444fixcwIJhQ/s1600-h/IMG00074PoachedSepcrop+copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090122957744084450" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhornUsWuVn4qke933s8j95JLO-RhcxfaIXFbsfWhfo21PAxb8e8ZDwLYMbpfkeVUm9nvzHsgGawmIQoUAhfYKQRHc4KT3-TelHEJSr6mLM3hlyHYnV5nWyLJHs_NBC9BT444fixcwIJhQ/s400/IMG00074PoachedSepcrop+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Can you believe this individual breakfast serving, as large as it is, included 2 eggs, Mulligan Stew, a homemade <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">English</span> muffin, a huge serving of grits with real, unsalted butter and coffee and only cost $1.00 to make? It's true!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Eggs as most people know are an excellent way to stretch a food budget. Why do you think coffee houses are so successful? Everyone seems to adore breakfasts no matter the time of day, served as an eye-opener in the morning or late at night after a long evening spent dancing and partying with friends. It's a perfect way to start or end the day! With the mark-ups on breakfasts what they are, the coffee houses are making a fortune cooking it for us! Well, ok, maybe not a fortune but they are turning a tidy profit.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">But ask any mom from circa 1950 and she will tell you that breakfast for dinner was one of the savvy ways to stretch a dollar when money was tight, especially towards the end of your pay period or month! I remember eating breakfast for dinner at least one time every week and sometimes more often! Figure that today a dozen eggs can cost as little as $0.79 cents/dozen. The fresh, brown farm eggs I use only cost me $1.40/doz at my farm stand, just $0.12 each! They pack a wallop of superior protein per egg and work great in so many dishes.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Mulligan Stew is a great dish to serve with or without eggs. The combinations of these ingredients and the cooking method may very well have other names in different states or even countries, but in my family it was called Mulligan Stew and it originated during the Great Depression which occurred after the big stock market crash in 1929. My mom's mom, we called her Gay, created this as a way to feed her growing family, having very meager food and money at her command.<a ref="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgouRdrgwy2IjegHKaWpBPJAQmwhYnBw9PiKHjPTwm07q2GsKteaK3DLCjdXj-uIW-iq6H4oNA2xWafFwv7-ADk6TSe2fINVGZPhkyhjxAbaE-xFX2EOOTPmfBM1aO248Wo-P70-m2qQbk/s1600-h/IMG00072Gritscrop+copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090139768246081106" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgouRdrgwy2IjegHKaWpBPJAQmwhYnBw9PiKHjPTwm07q2GsKteaK3DLCjdXj-uIW-iq6H4oNA2xWafFwv7-ADk6TSe2fINVGZPhkyhjxAbaE-xFX2EOOTPmfBM1aO248Wo-P70-m2qQbk/s400/IMG00072Gritscrop+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">The original recipe I am going to share with you stretched to serve 6 people: a mom, a dad and 4 growing children (3 girls and 1 hungry boy). She fed these 6 people on 3 strips of bacon, an onion and a can of tomatoes or tomato sauce (whichever she happened to have in her empty pantry). </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Also, the original dish was served over toasted slices of your basic five cent loaf of sandwich bread and each person received two slices of toast with a bit of the Mulligan Stew topping the toast. No eggs were served. No grits graced the table. It was coffee (if they had enough money for it) or plain <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">ole</span>' water. I asked my mom how on earth this recipe fed 6 people and she replied, "The momma and the papa didn't get much to eat."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">We had 5 kids in our family and until she died, our grandmother(Dad's mom, WaWa) lived with us, making it 8 people in a tiny cracker box house that kinda resembled the houses being built in the movie "It's a Wonderful Life", the typical 1950s style ranch houses on standard little lots. It's funny, but I remembered our house feeling big and the yard being "enormous" lol. To drive by it today, it is so small. I still don't see how we all lived so well within its comforting walls. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">I digress, though. My mom used to make this recipe for us as children. It too was a way to make her budget stretch further than it had any right to stretch. I want <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVzoNYT73gOTmdPyqDgcQ3krK2B6-6J51u3Awdtins3fPfeo-NdGjVSoKrmacu-y4CyKWXuHH9Ztdy2HItVg6FWC3cuf6OX8Wuu93csTgl4jBHWY4fEGOib-hrLyZ7VoXODqvmgZeVSb0/s1600-h/IMG00073PoachinStewcrop+copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090138548475369010" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVzoNYT73gOTmdPyqDgcQ3krK2B6-6J51u3Awdtins3fPfeo-NdGjVSoKrmacu-y4CyKWXuHH9Ztdy2HItVg6FWC3cuf6OX8Wuu93csTgl4jBHWY4fEGOib-hrLyZ7VoXODqvmgZeVSb0/s400/IMG00073PoachinStewcrop+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a>to remember seeing this dish at the end of every month...but reality was that we probably saw it throughout the month! She never got tired of eating it. To this day, Mom still loves Mulligan Stew. Imagine feeding 5 children on about 3-4 slices of bacon, 10 slices of bread and a can of tomatoes!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Wow! It's so easy to forget how blessed we are and that right now, today, despite the economic prosperity most of us enjoy, there are people who are making "dishrag soup" out there, trying to feed their babies on a nickel or less per day. Not to be maudlin, I just find that it helps to keep things in perspective and keeps me counting my blessings and thanking God instead of whining about what I want and don't have...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">So back to Mulligan Stew. I was feeling nostalgic and thought I would go ahead and reveal the dish that inspired the name for my blog. This is a wonderful dish, penny-wise or not. It can appear very basic and easy or it can take on an elegant slant, depending on how it's served and with what accompaniments. To me it embodies the flavors of the South. Forget about pouring off the fat, here. This dish was meant to let the fat help assuage hunger signals by giving a rich mouth feel and a satisfied tummy. It isn't greasy, believe me! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">I hope you will try this recipe. It is so quick and easy to make and warms you up all over. It's basic comfort food! And for those of you who have never experienced Southern grits! They are a perfect butter delivery system. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:130%;"><strong>Mulligan Stew</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;"><em>Serves 4 or 6 (in a pinch!)</em></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">3 Strips Bacon, cut up, raw<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnriJkxAyJxMNK2-skZsMRPkOP7DW4LCe0qbz9Hr7YbCtleC-6ugIgHjcdzaUNne36f1T1eoxGk_fr_8f7vB82u6JZKi-Pn8JwedY-JH1FT-uW4Y7vDInGCZub4a8P3t18RQUHwFzwa4A/s1600-h/IMG00070Sweatingcrop+copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090142070348551778" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnriJkxAyJxMNK2-skZsMRPkOP7DW4LCe0qbz9Hr7YbCtleC-6ugIgHjcdzaUNne36f1T1eoxGk_fr_8f7vB82u6JZKi-Pn8JwedY-JH1FT-uW4Y7vDInGCZub4a8P3t18RQUHwFzwa4A/s200/IMG00070Sweatingcrop+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">1 Large Onion, chopped coarsely</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">1 15-1/2 oz Can Tomato Sauce or </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Chopped Tomatoes (I used chopped), with juice</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">1/4 - 1/2 tsp Granulated Garlic Powder, or </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">2-3 cloves Fresh Garlic, crushed -</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">(It depends on how garlicky you like it!!!)</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">1/2 can Water, measured in tomato can to rinse it out</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Salt and Pepper to taste</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><strong>Method:</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Sautee the bacon on medium low until about 3/4 of the way done. You want to "sweat" out and render the fat, so you are looking for a slow cooking here in order to keep as <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeF5yVUUKu5QxKLxpTU5ET0GM3zrgNOhXCT7PwegBb0VUY-CNgzjrUxiTigt4jE4YhzZwqe2KEzkbW-Bg1mV-4EWZn8dqGYAEHd4mFpewQiZTbMz1QSMF1XniFv6MHwZ122QgGYEOifjI/s1600-h/IMG00071HardSautecrop+copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090133111046772258" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeF5yVUUKu5QxKLxpTU5ET0GM3zrgNOhXCT7PwegBb0VUY-CNgzjrUxiTigt4jE4YhzZwqe2KEzkbW-Bg1mV-4EWZn8dqGYAEHd4mFpewQiZTbMz1QSMF1XniFv6MHwZ122QgGYEOifjI/s200/IMG00071HardSautecrop+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a>much of the liquid in the pan as possible. Add chopped onion to bacon and grease in the pan and continue to saute over medium low until the onion is soft and translucent. You will actually cook the onion beyond the translucent stage and will cook it until the edges start to brown and caramelize. Add the can of tomato product with it's juices, along with the 1/2 can of water. Add the garlic and salt and pepper. Allow Mulligan Stew to simmer over medium to medium low heat until the sauce has thickened a bit, about 20-30 minutes. You still want it a bit on the soupy side, so that it will "go further" and feed more people! Taste at the end of cooking and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve hot off of the stove!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Blue Zebra NOTE:</span></strong> </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">I like to serve this dish plain as it was originally intended to be served, over toast. But it makes an excellent brunch or breakfast dish (or dinner!) when served with eggs. Fried or poached, both preps work well from a taste perspective. It's also easy to poach the eggs right on top of the stew in the same saute pan. Simply crack your eggs on top of the stew (I like to make a little "egg indention" for each egg) and cover with the lid to the pan. Poach for 3-5 minutes or until whites are set and yolks are still lovely and runny. So rich! You'd forget you were penny-pinching with this recipe! Scoop the poached egg and stew out together and serve on top of toast or toasted English muffins as I did today. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">For a low carb and more upscale alternative, serve the stew and poached egg over an artichoke bottom or a sauteed Portobello mushroom cap or on top of a "raft" of asparagus spears instead of the toast or muffin. Serve toast points on the side if you have the carbs to spare. Mmmmmm!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Mulligan Stew works great as a quick sauce for pasta or as a tomato based sauce over chicken, pork or fish or seafood (scallops, shrimp and crawdaddys are fabo-tastic). If you are going to use it as a sauce for meat or fish, simply season your meat/seafood with salt, pepper and granulated garlic powder (not garlic salt!!) and sear in a pan with a bit of oil or butter until it's brown on the outside but still raw inside. Transfer to the Mulligan Stew pan and let it simmer with the lid on for about 30 minutes or until the meat is done and the sauce is thickened.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Blue Zebra Cooking Technique Tip: Saute, Sear, Sweat</span></strong> </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Sauteing, searing and sweating are three basic techniques of cooking. Doing each of these properly results in completely different taste elements to the same ingredient! Learn how to do each one well and the technique can be extended "laterally" - which means you can apply it to any number of different ingredients, preparation steps and recipes. It opens a whole new arena and repertoire of foods you can cook!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">A "saute" generally tends to use a higher heat and a shorter period of time on the heat. The object is to let it cook undisturbed so that the side of the ingredient exposed to the pan surface will sear and get a caramelized crust. The purpose for this is because this browning builds flavor and complexity. The browning consists of sugar molecules and proteins actually caramelizing from the heat. Often, cooks look for the browned residue left in the bottom of most non-stick pans after the browning has been completed. This is called "the fond" and is particularly wonderful if the heat is moderated during sauteing so that you promote browning but avoid burning. The fond is usually deglazed, or released from the pan bottom by the use of a liquid addition and gentle scraping with a spatula. Once released, the liquid and browned bits are allowed to reduce and then seasoned and used as pan gravy or juice. With sauteing, you are generally looking for the food to be cooked and ready for plating.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">A "sear" is done like a saute only much, much shorter time and maybe even a little higher heat. The objective of a sear is to caramelize the outside surface layers of an ingredient without cooking it throughout. With a sear, you want to seal the outter surface in order to protect the moisture inside of the ingredient. It effectively "seals" the substance, providing you don't pierce the seared surface. Usually 1-3 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the ingredient is all that would be required to sear something over high heat in a heavy saute pan. The thicker and heavier a pan, the less likely something is to burn while searing and generally, the heat will be more even. Meats or fish and some shellfish are prime examples of items that would be seared in a pan prior to adding to a sauce or liquid to finish cooking or prior to putting into an oven to finish roasting.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">A "sweat" is done at a lower temperature from a saute. The purpose of this technique is to soften the ingredients and break down the cell walls, releasing the sugars within the product but doing it without any browning. It not only keeps a sauce lighter in color, since there is no caramelization but there is also a more delicate flavor associated with this technique. You will usually see this technique applied most frequently with ingredients such as onions and garlic or mirapoix, a French word denoting the "French Trinity" or combination of onions, celery and carrots in varying degrees of "chop". The sweat is usually a first step in building complex flavors for soups, stews, braises and sauces of many types. You would rarely sweat a meat or protein, for example.</span>Blue Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09447214289877357403noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117716991958684262.post-8695277115631673932007-07-21T12:01:00.000-05:002008-12-09T17:58:03.581-06:00The Summer of Sourdough<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb2f4eMG1lYKCTyI6UgEEl4kAupkpeC0tpcwSZ3N1PKE07QU4DTJMjujhADvFgVKEP29S9xSrJY8NKg-b-OkWlrhsb9V7zhvlicVzhLKZdJl-5uUg63CKK71REgy0tnEhDTBZJdGXC-WQ/s1600-h/07-21-07_1040EngMflat.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5092275801511270130" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb2f4eMG1lYKCTyI6UgEEl4kAupkpeC0tpcwSZ3N1PKE07QU4DTJMjujhADvFgVKEP29S9xSrJY8NKg-b-OkWlrhsb9V7zhvlicVzhLKZdJl-5uUg63CKK71REgy0tnEhDTBZJdGXC-WQ/s400/07-21-07_1040EngMflat.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I tend to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">catalog</span> the passing of time by key events that happen within each year. Just as 1969 is remembered as the "Summer of Love" to so many American baby boomers</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, 2007 will be remembered by me as the "Summer of Sourdough." I gave birth to a one ounce jar of odorific yeasty joy about two months ago after determining that I would </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">no longer be held hostage by my fear of yeast and breadmaking in general. Armed with a set of tongs, a clothespin for my nose and a pair of safety goggles I b</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">egan my intrepid experimentation with sourdough starters.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I believed with enough perseverance and patience (neither of which is my strong suit), I could breathe life into inanimate flour and water. And I did! Along the way however, my starter, nicknamed Sir Stinksal</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">ot went thro</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">ugh many phases before he became a bonifide sourdough levain. Some of his nick names have included such heralded ti</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">tles like General Chaos, Mister Mea</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">ner and just general, a</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">ll around, "Stinky" for short.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I am no authority on sourdough and am certainly not an acclaimed baker, by any means. I am a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of cook and in my experience that type of attitude rarely bodes well for baking. Baking is an exact science as much as an art. Working with yeast is even more of an artful science and when you get to the subset of natural levains or natural yeasts like sourdough, the bar rises exponentially and almost exists in a completely alternate world. </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I am happy to say, however, that with the exception of several unintended "door stops" and "bricks" and a few over-zealous toxic spills resulting from <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeV_Dmku7aBRaDg2KQO14Jmyl67dnN_bmoNWKwk4-VralnASIuigpvqzIg4PdHhnLtnAQeK4hxZpJiTRXG5O2fJqoHtP6EFBOofXn4jlzvDVe7KVQ5Uq7TXY1XVPmrVO0_-snkpc_2-7c/s1600-h/07-21-07_1047McM2.jpg"></a>overly-risen preferments onto innocent counter tops, there have been very few casualties in this combat zone I call "The Sourdough Wars." Mostly we've just had many loaves of mediocrity and the biggest reward thus far is being able to make the claim that I am baking bread that only costs about $0.25/loaf. Compared to $3.00/loaf - that's gotta be worth somethin', right?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">B usually knows when to shut up and take one for the team. I thin<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjead9ETOPmpahGF5Bo2jaGg8rg8JZ4bHveS4UnGDqc22V5VBBbwmuOkyjr26vd8HIhPo2l49kc3Tz7uCbsVHld1tOIQUunJNG8evhCN47JhbwoJm4RjPXqDjTIRF2eJL5CotWc84oCenA/s1600-h/07-21-07_1047McM2flat.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5092279478003275538" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjead9ETOPmpahGF5Bo2jaGg8rg8JZ4bHveS4UnGDqc22V5VBBbwmuOkyjr26vd8HIhPo2l49kc3Tz7uCbsVHld1tOIQUunJNG8evhCN47JhbwoJm4RjPXqDjTIRF2eJL5CotWc84oCenA/s400/07-21-07_1047McM2flat.jpg" border="0" /></a>k it's a certain "get off of my cloud" look I wear that warns him I might possibly be in the throws of channeling Elle May Clampitt or something. He says very little about uber-dense bread and brickets loosely referred to as biscuits. He is a good sport.</span> And clearly he loves my attempts at penny-pinching. They are usually as successful as my zany and impractical get-rich-quick schemes and ideas for new businesses...um, which isn't "very!"<br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I was particularly pleased (not to mention blown away) this morning to have succeeded so spectacularly with the English Muffins pictured above. I got this recipe from a friend of mine, Katie, who participates at another site and she makes wonderful bread or at least, she makes wonderful pictures of bread! Tending to trust her accounts as accurate, I'm thinking if this recipe is any judge, she DOES make excellent bread.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The texture of the crumb is moist and light at the same time - unexpected, really. They have enough body to act as a great "delivery system" for yummy things like egg, bacon and cheese while still retaining a delicacy you just don't find in a store bought English muffin. I made homemade egg mcmuffins for breakfast and they tasted soooo awesome! My McMom would be proud. Mickey D eat your McHeart out! Here's Katie's recipe:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;"><strong>Katie's Sourdough English Muffins</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><em><span style="font-size:85%;">Makes about 12</span></em></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Ingredients: </strong><br />1/2 C starter (mine is a 100% hydration "white starter" from all-purpose flour)<br />1 C milk<br />2-3/4 C AP flour<br />1 TBSP sugar<br />3/4 tsp salt<br />1 tsp baking soda<br />Semolina or cornmeal, for dusting</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong></strong><br /><strong>Method:<br /></strong>Combine starter, 2 C of flour and milk in a large bowl. Stir to combine, cover with plastic wrap, and leave out for 8 hours or overnight. After the overnight rest, add remaining flour, sugar, salt and baking soda and mix well. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 4-5 minutes. Roll out to 3/4" and cut with a biscuit cutter into rounds. You can re-roll the scraps, but you may need to let the dough rest before cutting more muffins from them. Place muffins on a piece of parchment dusted with semolina and let rest for 45 minutes. Spray griddle or skillet lightly with spray oil. Heat griddle to medium and cook muffins for about 6-8 minutes on each side, or until browned on the top and bottom and cooked through. These have great griddle spring and rise quite a bit during the "baking". Split with a fork and enjoy with your favorite topping! I don't even toast them if I want to eat them right off the griddle--they don't have that raw taste that store bought English muffins have.<br /><br /><strong>Blue Zebra NOTE:</strong> I rolled my muffins out to 1/2" and set them on a parchment paper lined pan that had been sprinkled with cornmeal. Let them rise to a little less than double in about 45 minutes to an hour. The recipe made 12, as promised. I used a cast iron skillet to cook them. They fit 3 to a pan and I'm able to control the cooking better than I can in stainless or on the cast iron griddle. I don't use any oil, just the age-worn "seasoning" that remains on the cast iron. I cook them over medium to med-low for about 2-3 minutes per side. You have to have the heat strong enough for a good rise but low enough so they don't burn on the bottoms. Once done, remove them and place on a cooling rack. When all 12 are finished, I pop the rack directly onto my baking stone in a pre-heated 350 degree oven and finish cooking them for 4 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them cool. Nothin' says lovin' like somethin' from the oven, right Pillsbury Doughboy? Enjoy! </span>Blue Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09447214289877357403noreply@blogger.com10