Tuscan Kale Inspiration

Sometimes you come across an ingredient that is just so beautiful it demands to have its picture taken. This Tuscan Kale was just like that. A wrinkly, green supermodel pouting up at me.

"You can't ignore my charm."

Well, when I was only beginning dinner at 8:15pm last night, I really WANTED to ignore its charm, but, alas, I couldn't.

Gorgeous, right?

The organic produce guy at the Swiss Cottage Farmer's Market never fails me, though I sometimes get overwhelmed by the wall of greens he's got going on this Autumn.

Kale (see Tuscan, above)
Rainbow Chard
Pak Choi
Spinach
Rocket
Tatsoi
Cress
Red Lettuce
Green Lettuce
Sorrel
Claytonia

I've been dabbling in a bunch of them, but this kale really stood out last week and, well, I miss Tuscany.

That's me in Arezzo on a day trip from our home in Orvieto during '09. Open wine bottles in public are classy. But seriously, the vendor who sold it to me at the market opened it for me!

Lots of people don't like kale at all, including the woman from whom I adapted the recipe below, but when it's swimming in piping hot broth and cooked juuuuust right, I don't see how it's possible to hate on kale if you like any other green and leafy, hearty plant.

So, you get a bonus recipe this week because this kale was too pretty to leave unrecorded.

Tuscan Kale and Chick Pea Stew with 

Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper Pita Chips

Majorly adapted from here. 

*I was ready to make toast for dinner because I felt like I had an 'empty fridge,' but this type of soup is always make-able if you've got a relatively stocked pantry. I love surprise deliciousness from a depressingly vacant fridge.*

Baguette Apizza

Do I only eat pizza, you ask? Well, in a perfect world and in my version of Heaven, yes. Only good pizza, of course (I affix the prefix "a" to pizza that makes the cut).

So, this "pizza" is really more like bruschetta or an open-face panino, but what the hey.

These were created after a visit to a ten year anniversary celebration at Roots Market in Olney, MD. However, ingredients were items I almost always have on-hand. Just add a freshly baked baguette and you have dinner (or at least a very sharable appetizer).

Assembling these things is not rocket science, but ingredients are vital. For example, I like the firm, fresh mozzarella that comes bobbing around in liquid or that can be plucked directly from the liquid at an olive bar. When combining cheeses along an Italian theme, I like gorgonzola with my mozz. Plain, pitted calamata olives add oodles of flavor to everything and marinated artichoke hearts are divine. As always, fresh herbs are the icing on the savory cake.

I don't need to do much explaining, but here's the play-by-play on putting these babies together.

More Biscuits, I Say! (This time with Feta & Green Onion)

Can there EVER be enough biscuits in this world? I really, truly don't think so. The following recipe is going to do nothing but perpetuate my addiction. The combinations are endless. I've already done two variations (in three days) and I plan to add to that list very soon.

Here is the most recent variation:

Feta and Green Onion Drop Biscuits

The preparation is dangerously easy. Though, once I run out of buttermilk, I will probably take a break from filling my stomach with these lovely things. Wanna make them?

Honey Wheat Bagels

Ok, so I want to continue refining my baking skills, but the sweets are getting a little out of control (if there is such a thing as too much dessert). Plus, I realize that I have given away my weaknesses by blogging primarily about pizza and cookies. I see now that these trends make me seem a bit like, oh I don't know, a seven-year-old child. I'm cool with that, but I'm sure my readership would appreciate a little variation. Don't worry! I won't lose all the dessert; I can't live without it. Want to know what else I can't live without? Bagels.

Today's mix-it-up-a-bit recipe was a total blog theft. By clicking around a little bit on facebook, I came across these homemade bagels on an acquaintance's blog and I though I'd give them a try. Bagels fresh from my oven? Yes, please!

They are shockingly simple, though slightly time-consuming. And, I can guarantee that most bakers will have all the ingredients easily accessible. Let's make bagels.

Homemade Honey Wheat Bagels (This recipe is a modification of the recipe found here):

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (roughly . . . I honestly have no idea where they got this measurement)
2 packages active dry yeast (each package is 1/4 oz.)
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 Tbs. honey
1 Tbs. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 Tbs. molasses

In the bowl of your mixer, whisk together the Wheat Flour and the Yeast.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk Water, Honey, and Salt together (I love that the flavors inside these bagels are simply honey and salt).

Add the warm water solution to the dry ingredients.
Beat with the mixer for half a minute on low speed.
Scrape the sides of the bowl clean.
Beat at a medium-high speed for 3 minutes.

(Do you like my Chucks?)

Then, by hand, mix in enough All-Purpose Flour to make a moderately stiff dough (See what I mean? I have no idea how much additional flour I added in the end. Just do it by feel, I guess).

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (about 8-10 minutes).

Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

It will expand dramatically and look beautiful when uncovered.

Cut risen dough into 9 to 12 equal portions (I did 12, but kind of wish I had done fewer, larger bagels).
Shape portions into smooth balls.
Poke a hole in the center with your finger and enlarge the hole while working the bagel into a uniform shape (I swung it about my finger to stretch it, which worked really well).

Cover dough rings and allow to rise for an additional 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, start to bring a gallon of water to a boil and preheat the oven to 375º.
Add the Sugar and Molasses to the water pot, stirring to dissolve.

(I just thought the molasses looked cool on the bottom of the pot. Right?)

Reduce to a low boil.
When the bagels have risen, put 4 bagels in the water and boil for 2-3 minutes.

The bagels will expand in the water, so be sure to use a pot that gives them plenty of space to do so.

Turn bagels over and boil for an additional 2-3 minutes (Here mine looked a little wrinkled).

Remove from the water and drain the bagels on a towel for a few minutes, turning once.

Sprinkle the top with whatever flavor you like best (e.g. kosher salt, brown sugar, poppy seeds, parmesan cheese, etc.).
Place on a greased cookie sheet OR a "cornmealed" pizza stone and bake for 30-35 minutes (keep your eye on them!).

Here is the result on a pizza stone (The outside is crisp and the center is fluffy and wonderful! The bagels pictured at the top of the blog are from the batch I baked on a greased cookie sheet. The major difference between the two was the bottom of the bagel. The cookie sheet ones had a slightly harder bottom . . . but I did cook them a little longer, too):

**(Someone please try this method below and let me know how they turn out. I kinda wish I had done this with a few to see what would happen) For a glossier surface, place the raised bagels on an ungreased baking sheet prior to boiling them. Broil five inches from heat for 1-1.5 minutes on each side. Then put them into the hot water to be boiled as above. NOTE: They will need less baking time in this case, 20-25 minutes.

I'd also love to see how they turn out with various flavors: plain? egg? blueberry (my favorite)? cinnamon raisin? The possibilities are endless.

Naaaaaaaaaaaaaan!

My plea for Naan assistance has been answered and the recipe card slot for delicious Naan has been filled! Thank you, UncleCharlieDad, for finding the recipe, daring me to make it, braving the 550º oven for me, and enjoying the results with me.

I got a call yesterday from my father-in-law, the aforementioned donor of Naan info., asking me to prep some dough during the afternoon in hopes of a second, more successful try at Naan pizzas for dinner. He had been previously convinced that Naan would make a fantastic base for a pizza to emulate the Neapolitan crust my husband and I came to love at Pizzeria Charlie in our four-month hometown of Orvieto, Italy (Since moving back from Orvieto, we have discovered 2 Amys pizza in NW Washington, DC. This place offered my husband and me a seamless transition back into Stateside life after our at-least-once-a-week visits to Pizzeria Charlie, only a block from our monastery home. Thank God for 2 Amys!). So, ready to bake, I went to the link he had provided in response to my request for Naan recipes (Found at the bottom of my very first blog entry about Caprese Salad). I had watched this entertaining YouTube Video starring Chef Sanjay Thumma when Dad originally posted it, but viewing it as an instructional guide to actually making Naan was quite a trip. I encourage you to watch the video when you attempt this recipe because his explanations are fun and interesting. BUT, I also encourage you to have my instructions close at hand because he leaves a few things out like, you know, measurements.

Listen to me. The girl who hates measuring complaining about no measurements! I'm growing!

Here it is. My favorite bread of all time—now conveniently make-able in my own home—Naan.

(Please bear in mind that most of these measurements are estimates, based upon the visuals from Chef Thumma and my successful batch yesterday)

• 2 lbs bread flour (Chef Thumma used all purpose flour, but I really liked the results with bread flour. Also, I determined the total flour only after I had liquid left over when my first bowl-full of flour became sticky dough. So, I poured another bowl of flour and used up the liquid instead of discarding it. This is how much I love Naan.)
• 2 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 packet quick-rise yeast
• 1 heaping spoonful of sugar (I used a literal tea spoon, not a measuring utensil, just like Chef Thumma)
  
• 1 slightly-less heaping spoonful of salt
• 1/2 cup milk (whichever percentage fat your prefer)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Place most of Flour in large bowl, reserving about 3 oz. for later use.
Set both aside.
Pour Warm Water into medium bowl.
Add Yeast to water and gentle incorporate with a few swirls of the fingers.

Allow yeast and water to sit for a minute or two while you gather the other ingredients (Isn't yeast an interesting thing? I still hate having to wait for it, but it's an interesting thing nonetheless).
Stir Sugar and Salt into warm water mixture.
Add Milk to warm water mixture and stir gently.
Add Egg and beat gently until it is mostly broken-up and incorporated into other liquids.
Add 1/4 cup of the Vegetable Oil and stir in gently (Sorry there are no pictures of this process; it wasn't very pretty and I was too busy panicking about his detail-less preparation! SIDE NOTE: Words that end in "c" normally, but add a "k" in different forms are some of my favorite words. NERD ALERT!).
Create a well in your pile of flour and, in several small installments, add the warm liquid, mixing gently and slowly with your hand. It will be very sticky.

Once a (very sticky) dough has been formed, drizzle the remaining oil over the dough, COVER, and allow to rest for about 30 minutes.

Once rested, remove cover and turn the dough over a few time to distribute the oil that hasn't seeped in.
Separate the dough into 5 or 6 even sections by covering your fingers and each portion you are extracting with the reserved flour. This will remove the stickiness and allow you to shape the balls of dough into smooth rounds.
Place the rounds onto a floured surface.

Cover the rounds with a towel and allow to rise for 1-2 hours. I know this is a long span, but I was done with this recipe much sooner than I thought I would be, so mine sat from 4:30pm to 6:30pm when the gentleman came to help me turn these into pizzas! They almost doubled in size during that period, so give them space to expand.

**I did do one of these rounds as a plain Naan before the gentleman got home, so that's the picture you see at the top (I forgot to take a picture before I dove into this buttered goodness . . . sorry about the bite mark).
To accomplish the plain Naan, I used Chef Thumma's second method of cooking: Stove Top. You can also cook it in a very hot oven (as high as it will go) on a non-stick cookie sheet, flipping once to cook evenly (see his video).
I stretched the dough out as evenly as I could and placed it on top of the largest mesh splatter-guard I could find.
This I placed directly over the flame of a gas burner.
Always moving the mesh in a circular motion over the flame, the bottom of the Naan began to brown.
I flipped the Naan and did the same thing on the other side.
Once it had cooled down a bit, I buttered the top and sprinkled it with a tiny bit of kosher salt.
It was so good I forgot to stop for a picture, as I stated above.

Then the boys came home! And this is what ensued (To see instructions for the preparation and cooking of homemade pizzas, see my entry from January 11, 2010):

Mozzarella, Fresh Tomato, & Basil Naan Pizza

Mozzarella, Goat Cheese, Sausage, and Rosemary Naan Pizza

Mozzarella, Green Pepper, Fresh Tomato, Sausage, and Basil Naan Pizza

Mozzarella, Goat Cheese, Fresh Tomato, Sausage, and Basil Naan Pizza

We also did one as a Garlic & Butter Naan, following Chef Thumma's instructions for oven-baking. The flavor was astounding!

All-in-all, a pretty successful day of baking, I would say.




NOTE: If you try any of these recipes or think of a better way to do anything, please tell me! Comments are the most exciting part of my day.

Nice Biscuits

Part of the motivation for this blog was to help me overcome a lifelong fear of baking. I admit it; I'll take meat preparation any day over anything involving sifting. I find more freedom in a recipe that won't suddenly flop on me because my baking soda was stale or I didn't shake down and level off each portion of the 4.75 cups of flour.

So, to combat this impatience-induced frustration, I am working up to comfort with a rolling pin by starting with a recipe that meets two very important criteria:

1. Relative simplicity in preparation (none of this rising yeast stuff or multi-day prep)
2. My husband's happiness as I finally unveil a biscuit that tastes "right."

Since I started cooking for two, I have tried to get away with some of those prepackaged (pre-tubed) varieties, but he and I both found them to be a sad excuse for domestic comfort in the form of warm, buttered carbohydrates. Popping that cardboard tube is just not as satisfying as preparing something with my own hands of which he'll want "seconds."

With this motivation in mind, I set out to find the "perfect" biscuit recipe. Now, my idea of a perfect biscuit and your idea of a perfect biscuit may be very different indeed, but I knew exactly what I wanted:

• Buttery, fluffy on the inside, easily pulled into two pieces, good for both breakfast and dinner, and, I'll say it again, easy to prepare.

My search took me through my father-in-law's The Complete Book of Breads from the 50s and several recipes in The Joy of Cooking. Sadly, none of these even remotely compared to what my Connecticut mind imagined being served on the real tables down in the real South. So, I decided to look to a trusted Southern chef, who also happens to be my husband's favorite cooking show host. Good old Alton Brown. It is here that I found the elusive Perfect Biscuit.

Below is the modified recipe that I will being using from this day forward, thanks to Alton Brown and a couple of practice batches:

The Perfect Biscuit
(This recipe is a modified version of the recipe found here: Alton's Biscuits (hehehe) )

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cake flour (Sorry. I know this is not a "normal" item . . . but you'll keep it in your pantry once you've tried these biscuits!)
  
• 4 teaspoons baking powder (That's right! And this is definitely the secret to these delicious suckers)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (Alton almost always calls for more salt than I like, so this is scaled-down from his original amount)
  
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons shortening (omit and double the butter if you prefer or if you don't have shortening handy!)
  
• 2/3 - 1 cup buttermilk, chilled (I know most people don't have this lying around, but I've heard you can use lowfat plain yogurt as a substitute . . . Also, the amount of buttermilk will depend on the absorbency of your flour, so aim low, incorporate slowly, and add if you have to.)

**For your first time, you can do this tiny batch, but once you've perfected it, you'll almost always at least double this recipe.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large mixing bowl. Using your fingertips (or a pastry-cutter to avoid melting shortening), rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together (I admit I never knew what this really meant, but I think it's when there are no dry ingredients left out of the clump of dough. Always aim on the low side of stirring to avoid tough biscuits). The dough will be very (very, very, very) sticky.

Plop dough onto (generously) floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 3 or 4 times. Press into a 1.5-inch thick round. The thicker the round, the higher the biscuit will rise! Cut out biscuits with whatever circular thing you have lying around. I've seen people use the rim of a wine glass or the top of a jar. If you are the proud owner of biscuit-cutters, then you probably already have a biscuit recipe you like, don't you? Be sure to push straight down through the dough. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Re-form scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting. (Biscuits from the second pass will not be quite as light or pretty as those from the first.)

Bake until biscuits are tall and golden on top. I won't give you a time because it varies, but check them around 10 minutes and keep your eye on them!

These are great for any mealtime. The leftovers will actually get eaten instead of fed to the birds. The best is making them with dinner to sop up gravy and then making egg sandwiches in the morning with the extra biscuits. Sorry if I'm ruining everyone's New Year's Resolutions...but ya gotta try 'em.