Patty Van Dorin

the good salad

I will be eating this salad a lot this year, it is so good.

The Good Salad
1 1/4 cup Israeli Couscous
2 oranges, peeled and segments chopped
1 avocado chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 cup pomegranate arils
1 cup black beans
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/2 bottle Kraft Greek Vinaigrette

Cook the Israeli couscous according to package directions, drain well.

I use my own precooked black beans in this salad, the kind that come in the dry form. I soak the beans overnight and cook them in the crock pot. I then freeze the beans in one cup amounts. They freeze well  and have less sodium than canned black beans. If you use canned beans, drain the beans well.

I used blood oranges because that is what is currently in season in my garden but any type of orange would work well. My blood oranges are small, so if you use a navel type orange, I would probably only use one. Next time, I might try a Satsuma tangerine in place of the orange.

You could use regular couscous but I prefer the Israeli couscous as it gives more substance to the salad.

Combine all the ingredients and refrigerate a couple of hours before serving.

I love the Kraft brand of Greek Vinaigrette. The flavor is better balanced than the other brands. I think I used about half the bottle on this salad but adjust to your own taste.

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The pomegranate was so good in this salad that I am currently researching to see if I can add a pomegranate tree to my garden. The summer may be too tropical but I think I am going to give it a try.

Has anyone tried growing a pomegranate with high humidity summers?

Happy New Year

The desert that was made for the New Year but didn't make it into 2013

every crumb was devoured before the sun set on this day

so I will have to make more

if you are bored, Google the history behind this desert that is named after the ballerina Anna Pavlova

I love deserts with a interesting history

Pavlova is so very tasty and easy to make, especially with a stand mixer and perfect if you find yourself with a few egg whites

Pavlova Recipe
4 large egg whites
1 cup super fine sugar (I process regular sugar in a food processor)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

Preheat over to 250. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a mixer bowl, whisk the egg whites on medium until they hold a soft peak. Gradually add the sugar, spoonfuls at a time, while beating on high spead. Continue beating until the meringue holds a stiff peak and is glossy. Make sure the sugar is dissolved. To check, feel the meringue between your finger and it should feel silky smooth with no sugar grit.

Beat in the vanilla. Sprinkle the vinegar and cornstarch over the top of the meringue and gently fold in by hand with a spatula.

Spread the meringue on the parchment paper making a 7 inch circle, smooth out the edges.

Bake 60 minutes until the outside is dry and a pale cream color. Turn the oven off and cool completly in the oven. The Pavlova will crack as it cools.

Serve with lemon curd, berrries, and whipped topping. The lemon curd is optional as the Pavlova is good served with frest fruit of choice.

a fool for lemons

That is what I am - a fool for lemons

Fortunate for me, I had a large harvest of lemons.
Determined not to waste a single lemon, I have been busy canning and preserving lemons for the last couple of days.

Both savory and sweet, I love it all. 
It used to be that I preferred sweet lemons with walnuts for my tea but it seems now that I can't get enough of the savory lemon with it's salty goodness. (Not in tea thought, I use the savory in cooking.)

I use the salty lemon in tagines, moroccan recipes, and on roast chicken. It's also perfect in a dressing and in a marinade.
Click here for a savory preserved lemon recipe, the only thing I do different is I add thyme to mine and I add quite a bit more cardomen as I love cardomen.

The savory lemon is good in lemon pasta.

The sweet preserved lemon, is not only good in tea but soothing for a sore throat.
It is so good, I have been know to sneak into the kitchen at night and secretly enjoy it right out of the jar.

Here is a recipe for a basic Lemon Suck recipe because I am too lazy to type one out and I have lemon curd cooking nearly ready to can. 

I add cardomen to the sweet preserved lemon because not only am I a fool for lemon but an even bigger fool for cardomen.

sticky buns

Sticky buns made from the brioche recipe from Ciril Hitz "Baking Artisan Bread".

As I bake my way through Ciril Hitz book, I return to several of the bread formulas, the brioche is one of my favorites.  This weekend I used the brioche dough to make these incredible sticky buns.

So good and easy.  The brioche dough was made ahead of time and since it has to go in the freezer to rest, then sit in the refrig overnight, this made it easy to make up a small pan of sticky buns in the morning.

The only recipe I used with Ciril's brioche dough that I rolled out like a jelly roll, sprinkled cinnamon, brown sugar, pecans and dotted with cold butter. Rolled, sliced and placed into a 8 inch cake pan that had the sticky on the bottom.  The "sticky" that goes on the bottom of the pan is a mix of honey, corn syrup, brown sugar and pecans that I brought to a boil, then poured into the cake pan.

Baked at 350 for around 23 minutes.

easy and tasty

Next time around, I may leave the lemon out of the brioche dough and divide the dough in quarters, that way I can make just a small pan of sticky buns for two. You just know that these are too good to not gobble up the entire pan.

And I am thinking about some not so sticky sweet variations that may include apples or figs, if I can still outwit the squirrels this coming week.

There is a "Baking Artisan Pastries" by Ciril Hitz but I am trying my best to ignore the existence of that book due to waistline concerns. Bread and pastries are my weak point.

 

pain de mie

Formula Seven: Pain de Mie

While not perfectly shaped, I am more than happy with my first attempt at Pain de Mie. Nest time, I will shape it without dividing the dough (twisting the two halves together) and I will increase the time on the final proof.

My new pullman pan is a 16" and the pan size called for in Baking Artisan Bread is a 13", so I had to increase the recipe. Sometimes, that doesn't work but today it did. I have never used a pullman pan before, so I was guessing with the math. My new pan arrived yesterday and I couldn't wait to try it out. I will be making this bread in place of my standard white loaf, the results were that great.

This is the pullman pan that I purchased and I am pleased with it's quality and recommend it.  I ordered the 16" but they come in a couple of smaller sizes.

***for some odd reason, pullman pans are sold without the lid. The lid has to be purchased separately. Many companies will show the pan with a lid but it is often not included. Odd, because a pullman pan isn't anything without a lid***

Next up Bagels, as I bake my way through the book Baking Artisan Bread.

 

a favorite cookie

not a cookie for everyone but it is one of my favorites
this cookie freezes well and just one cookie will satisfy a chocolate craving

Chocolate Cayenne Cookie

3 1/2 teaspoons butter, melted
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 light corn syrup
1/3 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix butter,sugar, corn syrup, applesauce and vanilla. Mix the rest in a bowl and then add to butter sugar mixture.

Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes.

other additions:
toasted coconut
peanut butter chips

Formula One: Baguettes

Today's baguettes

While not a perfect baguette, they tasted good. I still need to work on shaping and not falling asleep during the second proofing. So, I am not sure I can cross off baguettes yet as I work my way through Ciril Hitz's "Baking Artisan Bread".

Brioche

The brioche turned out remarkably well considering all the problems I had making the dough. Just as I was starting to mix the dough, my mixer blew out and I was forced into mixing and kneading by hand. After I had the dough mixed and ready for the freezer, I realized I had forgotten to add the sugar. Maybe, I should have dumped the dough and start over but I kneaded the sugar in and reshaped the dough. AND, the grandma's old brioche pans ended up not usable.

Despite all the problems, the end product was very good and I will be trying again to perfect the brioche.

This week, I have a new mixer being delivered which I am looking forward to.

Cuban Press Sandwich

A cuban press sandwich without a panini press

When you have a tiny kitchen like mine, there is no room for appliances like a panini press. Don't get me wrong, I would love to have one if I had the space and the money but it is easy to get the same results with a couple of bricks and heavy duty aluminum foil.

The cuban is one of my favorite sandwiches and easy to make at home.

Ingredients:
Loaf of Cuban bread
butter
mustard
mild flavored ham
roast pork (in today's cuban, I used pulled pork shoulder that we smoked)
dill pickle slices
baby swiss cheese

Cut bread in half lengthwise.  Butter top and inside of bread. Spread mustard on top slice. Layer with pickles, pork,ham and then cheese.

Grill on hot pan with foil covered bricks to press sandwich.

Ciril's biggest fan

Now that it is too hot to garden, my summer plans are to bake my way through Ciril Hitz "Baking Artisan Bread".

My goal when purchasing this book was to perfect my baguette. The flavor and texture of the dough that I use is good, could be better (ten fold better than my local French bakery) but my shaping needs considerable improvement.

Today's baguette


My family loves my baguettes but I am striving for consistent perfection with not only a good taste and crumb but a perfectly shaped bread.

I bake two baguettes a day and it is near impossible to have enough left over to make crostini. With fig season coming up, I may have to double up on my baking.


Below is my favorite baguette video, I am too embarrassed to tell you how many times I have watched it.

I have a couple of bread challenges that I have to tackle. Many of my baking issues can't be changed, such as having the smallest kitchen in the U.S.  My entire kitchen is 8 foot by 8 foot which includes a standard sized refrigerator, standard stove and a dishwasher, so I can tell you that I have a tight working area. In addition, my countertop is unusally high which makes mixing, kneading and shaping dough difficult, not to mention a small work surface.

With the heat of the oven, I am not able to use a baking stone because of the time it takes to heat the stone. Living in a tropical area, having a hot kitchen is the summer is hard on the utility bill.  I am thinking of getting a second gas oven and putting it in my garage until we can build a summer kitchen. Mulling over the pros and cons of this idea.

The above issues are easy, my biggest challenge in baking was when I was living in the gypsy wagon and had only a small electric convenction toaster oven to bake with.  With a bit of practice, I was able to make a good boule using a dutch oven artisan bread technique.

and I even experimented and came up with a lovely chocolate cherry version which made the best grilled cream cheese sandwiches.

Sorry, no recipe for the chocolate cherry as I just added to the basic boule recipe.

Back to the "Baking Artisan Bread" book, I have read it cover to cover, devoring every word. This is going to be a summer of bread baking and I thought I would start with perfecting and tweaking my baguette and work my way through the book chapter by chapter. I have decided instead to start on chapter/formula nine: Brioche.

The pans have been pulled out of storage and I am ready to bake tomorrow.

I love good bread and I am planning a bread vacation where we take the gypsy wagon on the road wandering and sampling bakeries along the way.
My dream is to attend one of these workshops.
Guess you could say I am Ciril Hitz biggest fan.