Bread Machine Sour Dough

What a glorious day! I woke up in such a wonderful mood and was quickly rewarded by the Universe: the sun was brightly shining and the boys were particularly happy to see me. Their excitement and love for me each morning is a great way to start the day. It feels good to be needed. Maybe that's why I like making sour dough bread. It kind of needs you to get started.

I have been obsessed with making sourdough bread since we got a bread machine last October. I tried endlessly to get my sourdough starter going with poor results. Everything always started out right, but in a couple of days I would only have a sad jar of yuck. I tried again and again. I finally discovered the King Arthur Flour website and they had just what I needed - Classic Fresh Sourdough Starter and complete directions. Apparently, it is descended from a starter in New England that has been nurtured since the 1700s. Wow, it's more than just an ingredient, it's almost like a pet!

My little plastic jar of started arrived with complete instructions and the request to feed it. I placed it right in the jar that I just had to buy and fed it according to the instructions. Four hours later that starter was going to town! It had more than doubled in size and was bubbling like mad. Finally, I had a happy starter. After a couple of weeks feeding I was ready to make my bread!

Since I was determined to make this in my bread machine, I went to one of my many cookbooks and found what I thought looked like a good recipe. The result? Failure. Boo! The bread was doughy inside. Determined not to give up I searched the web and it didn't take long to find a recipe on Recipezaar. Not only did it have great reviews, it was surprisingly simple. The result? Fantastic sourdough bread. The crust was crunchy and the inside was soft and chewy, just like it should be. I have made this bread four times and each time it's been delicious. I have no idea how it stacks up to other recipes besides the one I tried because this one is a hit!

The recipe below makes a 1 1/2 pound loaf. Use the basic bread setting on medium or light. (We prefer light.) Don't use the delay function with this recipe.

Oh! By the way, this starter is honestly going to town, so if you live near me and want some hit me up!

Ingredients

• 2 2/3 cup bread flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast*
• 1 cup sourdough starter
• 3/4 cup water

Instructions

1. Take your starter out of the refrigerator and feed it about 4 - 12 hours before you want to make the bread.
2. Add all the ingredients to your bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.
3. Bake on the basic cycle with medium or light crust setting.
4. Remove and cool immediately when finished.

Notes

Depending on the brand of yeast you have you might need a little less. The recipe calls for 1 1/2 teaspoons of yeast, but I have found in general that my machine and yeast brand usually requires more than the recipe so I used 2 teaspoons.

Chef Joe's Culinary Salon

I have wanted to take cooking classes for a long time but they always were either totally inconvenient or way too expensive. Enter The Culinary Salon. My friend, Greg, heard about them and asked if I wanted to take classes with him. I jumped at the chance. The location, right in Castro, couldn't be more convenient for me and with the variety of classes and prices I could easily find something in my price range. In fact I signed up for Thursday night classes for the entire month of September.

Chef Joe offered a "Tribute to Julia Child & The Art of French Cooking" series and we decided to take all four of the Le Bistro classes . Since we had just seen "Julie and Julia" the classes seemed perfect. There are only six people in each class so you are sure you get a hand at all tasks. You also get personalized attention from Chef Joe who is not only an amazing chef, but a delightful person.

Each week we prepared a specific menu, but these are not random menus. They are well thought out and not only allow you to make a fabulous meal, but teach you invaluable cooking skills. However, the proof is in the pudding. Can you make these dishes when you get home? You betcha! The weekend following each class I tried my hand at the entire menu and we had four weekends of fabulous eating. I could never have whipped these meals up with such ease and perfection had in not been for Chef Joe. Once you have finished cooking, you dine with the chef and your fellow classmates, who by now are your new-found friends.

Whether you know how to cook or not, these classes are great for every level. There's lots of fun to be had and lots of learning to do. They also make a great gift! Check out Chef Joe's schedule. You are sure to find a class that's right for you.

Since I have personally made all the dishes from the Le Bistro classes I am dying to show off my skills. I will be blogging about each class individually next week, but until then check out this video from my four classes.

Potato Leek Soup

One thing Joey and I both want to do this year is lose weight. We all know it's "easy." All one needs to do is eat healthily and exercise. I wish there was a way to divide up those duties. I would gladly let Joey do the exercise part and I would do the eating. It seems totally fair to me. Of course that is not the case, so we need to do both together.

Another thing we want to do this year is save money. That ranks right up there with exercise for me. I have visions of myself waddling to The Dollar Store to buy discount SlimFast. At least I would have all my bases covered. Rather than do that I am going to focus on low-fat, inexpensive, healthy meals. I was shocked to find it surprisingly easy. There are a myriad of low-fat cookbooks out there and I have most of them! I recently purchased 1,000 Lowfat Recipes by Terry Blonder Golson and along with all the other great recipes is a fantastic soup chapter. I had a lot of potatoes and found this great recipe. Not only is it 123 calories per serving, it's completely nonfat. As with most soups you can make this well ahead of time and it can be served hot or chilled. Either way it's a light yet satisfying soup.

Ingredients

• 3 cups chopped leeks, including the light green part, washed well and chopped
• 4 cups peeled, shredded all-purpose potatoes
• 6 cups reduced-sodium, defatted chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 Tablespoon minced fresh chives
• 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup plain non-fat yogurt

Instructions

1. Simmer leeks, potatoes, broth, and salt in a pot for 30 minutes.
2. Add the chives and parsley.
3. Cook for 10 minutes more.
4. Season to taste.
5. Puree if a smoother soup is preferred.
6. Chill or serve immediately with a dollop of yogurt.

Notes

• I chopped my leaks first thing then soaked them in cold water while I gathered up all the other ingredients or ten minutes. Then rinsed and drained them. Leaks can have a lot of sand.
• If you intend to puree the soup, you can just cut the potatoes into small pieces, which faster than shredding them.
• I didn't have chicken broth so I used mushroom broth and vegetable broth. It was really tasty and is a great vegetarian way to make the soup.

Challah Bread Pudding with Chocolate and Raisins

My goodness, it's been way too long since I wrote in my blog! Where did all the time go? Not that I really mind 2009 coming to an end, but I feel like the last few months have just flown by! With 2010 right around the corner and New Year's resolutions popping up, I felt it time to get back on the ball and start writing again. And, I have the perfect recipe for it! Dave Lieberman's Challah Bread Pudding. This is one of my all-time favorite recipes and it's really super easy. In fact, I not only made it once, but twice over the weekend! The first time was for Christmas at our friend Suella's house and the second was for Joey's reunion party. I am pleased to say that both times it was a hit. That's really saying a lot for anything put up against Suella's food!

When I was preparing this, I made it two ways. One with the bread sliced in 1 1/2 inch slices, which is what the recipe calls for (pictured above); and, one with the bread in 1 1/2 inch cubes (pictured below). While the taste is the same, I prefer the bread cubed, which is great because it actually was a mistake on my part. I love it when mistakes turn into happy accidents!

This is a dish everyone should try. It's so creamy and delicious and honestly is not all that hard to make.

Ingredients

• 4 cups whole milk, warmed
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, melted in microwave
• 1 1/2 cups sugar 6 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 loaf challah bread, cut into 1 1/2-inch slices or cubed
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup raisins

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Combine warmed milk and melted butter with the sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Whisk until incorporated and smooth.
3. Line a large baking dish with two-thirds of the challah slices. Sprinkle with half the chocolate chips and half the raisins. Top with remaining challah slices, layering them one on top of the other, and then remaining chocolate chips and raisins, making sure the chips and raisins get inside the layers created by the challah slices.
4. Pour milk mixture slowly over the top of everything and let stand until the bread has absorbed almost all of the liquid, 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Wrap the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and cook 10 to 15 minutes longer until set in the middle and lightly browned on top.
6. Remove from oven and let cool before serving.

Notes

Try to use as deep a baking dish as possible as this tends to really puff up and spill while cooking making a huge mess of your oven. I learned this the hard way.

Clams In White Wine With Garlic

I got it in my head the other day that I wanted to have tapas - those wonderful little Spanish dishes that are packed with flavor. I decided I would make Croquettes and Steamed Clams. The Croquettes were one big chore to make so I will blog about them later. The clams, however, were not hard at all and they were surprisingly delicious.

Our favorite place to get steamed clams in at Anchor in Castro. This little place truly has the best and I really wanted to replicate that. I found a recipe in a cook book I have: Tapas: Sensational Small Plates from Spain by Joyce Goldstein. This recipe came quite close to Anchor and was fantastic. This meal was also really cheap. The clams only cost me about $8.00. I served them with a loaf of homemade bread from our new breadmaker. YUM!

Ingredients

• 2 pounds small clams
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic, finely minced
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1/4 bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Dash of sherry vinegar (optional)
• 2 Tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

Instructions

1. If clams are not cleaned, scrub them under cold water. If you have time you can soak them for 1 hour or so in cold salted water in a covered container in your refrigerator.
2. In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat.
3. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and bread crumbs and saute for a few minutes
4. Add the clams and then add the wine.
5. Cover and cook until the clams open (about 3 - 6 minutes) shaking the pan occasionally.
6. Remove from heat and discard any clams that have not opened.
7. Add vinegar, if using, and transfer to a serving dish.
8. Sprinkle with parsley.
9. Serve immediately with bread.

Apple Pie

I can't believe it's already November! Time just seems to be zipping by these days and it's hard to keep up with everything. Now with the holidays coming up full swing it's time to get organized and get with the program.

I have been cooking a lot lately and trying new things. One thing I have been doing is baking. I really am NOT a baker so this it completely new to me. It all started when Joey brought home a huge bag of apples from his mother's tree. I stared at that bag and thought, "What the heck am I going to do with those?" They are small little apples, but have a great taste and texture. The first thing I tried was Apple Strudel. This is all I am going to say about it - phyllo dough is NOT fun to work with. I kind of ended up with an apple burrito! It tasted okay, but it just wasn't all that great.

So, what next? Ah! Apple pie! I had never made one before and it seemed to be the easiest thing I could do. The recipe I used is super simple and I did not make my own crust. I know that is cheating, but after the phyllo dough I just wanted to test this out. I used the frozen pie crusts and they worked perfectly. Actually, the pies were a huge success and I have made a lot of them! I even made one for Joey's mom! I think the secret is using the mandolin to slice the apples really thinly. Of course the hard tart apples also made the pie.

Below is my super simple recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 frozen pie crusts
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 to 7 cups apples cut into thin slices
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Remove two frozen crusts from package.
• Remove first crust from pan while frozen and set aside on waxed paper.
• Let crusts thaw about 15 minutes while you are preparing the filling.
• Place second crust on baking sheet.
• Core, peel and slice the apples in to very thing slices
• In a medium bowl combine the apples, with the brown and white sugar.
• Add flour, cinnamon and continue mixing until they are well coated.
• Pour the filling into the shell on the baking sheet.
• Press first crust gently to flatten; repair any cracks.
• Lift waxed paper with crust and carefully turn over; centering crust over filling.
• Gently peel off waxed paper.
• Press edges of crusts together firmly with tines of fork to seal.
• Sprinkle a little sugar and cinnamon over the pie.
• Cut several slits in top crust.
• Bake for approximately 55 minutes.

Notes

If that pie crust for the top is all in pieces don't worry. Just place them on top of the filling like a puzzle. In the end it will all work out and look beautiful!

Put A Little Love In Your Lunch

Once in awhile my inner Martha Stewart kicks in. Not often, but sometimes. One Martha thing I do is put little scrolls along with Joey's treats in his lunches. It's pretty easy and makes us both feel good.

Awhile back we started listening to Louise Hay and were really inspired by her positive affirmations. So much so that I thought it would be fun to add them to Joey's lunch. Every week I pick five affirmations and make little scrolls for him. Now I am not artist, I use a super simple program to make them, but it's really the thought that counts. Along with each scrool I include a sweet snack and a savory snack. I try to find something healthy and on sale. Last week, I made little bags of Japanese crackers along with yogurt bars. I put them together and tie them up. It's a great way to give encouragement, send love and show you care. You can download a sample of our affirmations here.

So, put a little love in your lunch! Even a small hand-written note would mean the world to your special someone. Your inspiration can come from any place, as long as it comes from your heart.