Once Upon a Plate: Breads

Showing posts with label Breads. Show all posts

Wednesday

"The Legend of The Villa della Luna" ~ by Jana Kolpen

Hello and welcome! Today I am joining the Novel Bakers as we take a look at the charming book "The Legend of The Villa della Luna", written and designed by Jana Kolpen and Mary Tiegreen.
(This is the second in the series, following "The Secrets of Pistoulet" which we visited two days ago.)

(Click the image to learn more)

Mlle. J has been invited from Paris to visit Italy ...

To give you a little background; from the back cover:

"Welcome to The Villa della Luna where the past embraces the future. Within our gates are doors to be opened, tastes to be savored, old legends to be traced, and new ones to be created."
"When Mademoiselle J. arrives at The Villa della Luna, she is searching for a way to open her heart. As she wanders through The Villa's ancient gardens and strolls along the rugged Italian coastline, she comes to learn the legend of the rose garden that blooms throughout the year, a memorial to a tragic accident that took one lover and left the other afraid to love again. Should Mlle J. approach this grieving man? Helping her to decide are three wise teachers and the fortitude of such recipes as Pasta Vivante, for those are are afraid of the passion of life, ant the Focaccia of Forgiveness and Release, for those who need to let go of an emotional burden."
~*~*~*~*~

The books are adult fairy tales, but with words and lessons of wisdom woven throughout.

"Before climbing into the oversized bed with many down pillows, Mademoiselle filled the inviting claw-footed tub with warm water. Attracted by a slender bottle of gardenia bath oil sitting on a glass shelf, she put several drops in her bath."
~~~

Of course, I am particularly drawn to the recipes of the books, so that is what I'll be focusing on in this post!
Very little verbiage needed as everything is fairly self explanatory ~ I hope you enjoy!

I had planned on having a small outdoor picnic, but the weather did not cooperate, so we're indoors for the day:

"Afternoons were spent in the cucina with Rita ..."

"One one such afternoon, Rita was preparing a pasta sauce she calls 'Vivante'. The aroma of tomatoes, [along with Pancetta, garlic and Porcini mushrooms] strong and exciting filled the air with joy."

We truly enjoyed this pasta sauce!

In fact, it was my favorite recipe in the book.

I'm sure you could surmise this as I shared so many pictures of it !
Boring?
I apologize, I couldn't help myself. :o)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My second favorite recipe was for the Amaretti Cookies.

They are so EASY to make, just ground almonds, sugar, egg whites, and almond extract. (They are Fat-free and Gluten-free.)

Roll the dough into balls approximately "three fingers wide" balls*, (instructed the recipe), sift powdered sugar over the raw cookies, and let them rest for one hour before baking in a preheated 300º(F) oven for about 25 minutes.

Note: My fingers are of average size; I hoped for average sized Amaretti cookies so I made the balls about two-fingers wide, rather than three as the recipe suggests. Hmmm, they spread more that I would have liked, making larger cookies than I had hoped. It could be that my hen eggs (the whites) were larger than those in the recipe. That is one negative about the baked recipes in these books, they are entertaining, but rather vague, and if you're a baker you know that accurate measurements are important.
Not so important when it comes to cooking, but baked recipes require accuracy. (My 2 cents.) ;) Next time I would make the dough even thicker with more ground almonds, or fewer egg whites, and form balls about the size of a small cherry tomato. The recipe is very good though, and if anyone wants it, you can find it on my recipe blog.
Click here for Amaretti Cookie recipe.
* * *

After baking, cool them thoroughly and wrap in tissue paper . . .

. . . and put them on a pretty platter.

Preferably an Italian one. :-)
I've had this one for years and years . . . I'm not so much into acquiring new serving pieces at this stage of my life. I know... BORING.

PARTITO!

My cookies spread out to about 2 1/4-inches, a bit larger than I was aiming for ~ but no matter, they go very well with:

(just a few roses left blooming, not many more until Autumn here...)

And a few hours later, after our feast, at bedtime, it would be extra nice to place one of these:

Under your pillow for a calming and restful night.
buonanotte!

~*~*~*~*~*~

Thank you very much for coming to visit today, friends!

Please stop by to visit the other Novel Bakers today to see their gorgeous photos and interpretations of "The Legend of The Villa della Luna":

A Quiet Life
Home is Where the Boat Is
Rattlebridge Farm

Please check back Friday, when we'll meet up in Ireland with "Circle of Kindness", the third book in the series.

Have a wonderful day.

Monday

Scones: Butternut Squash with Cinnamon Icing (Sage is optional)

Whenever possible I love to incorporate the herbs from my garden into the food I make, so when I came across this recipe for Butternut Squash with Sage from "Food 52" I knew I wanted to try it.
Because they are not overly sweet they make a good addition to holiday dinners alongside roast turkey, or ham... (You can omit the cinnamon icing and just brush with cream & garnish the top of each scone with a sage leaf.)
The great thing is, these scones are actually better if you mix and shape them in advance and freeze them, then bake from frozen ~ so they are ready at a moments notice if needed.

I've made them both with the sage, and without ~ Predictably, those who aren't fond of sage or those who are not fond of somewhat unconventional flavor combinations prefer the scones without the sage. I happen to love the flavor of sage, and I liked them both ways.

The addition of the butternut squash puree helped keep these scones more moist, and a little more cake-like than traditional all-butter scones. As with most scones they the texture and flavor is best while still warm from the oven. However, I never let a cold or day-old scone go to waste . . . Although they are too fragile to stand-up to toasting in a traditional electric pop-up toaster, you can just split them as you would an English Muffin and toast or broil in an oven, or toaster oven... and little pat of butter doesn't hurt, either. ;)

If you give them a try, I hope you like them!
Thanks for stopping by for a visit today. :)

Blessings, ~mari xo

Friday

Easy Country-Style Bread ~ Mix, Rise, Bake in One Pot!

It's a super easy country-style bread recipe from Jacques Pepin. Jacques Pepin is a genius!
Not only is this a no-knead dough, you literally stir the ingredients together, let rest, and refrigerate then bake ~ all in one pot.

It is crucial to use a non-stick pot in order to keep this a one-pot recipe ~ I used a 4-quart saucepan.
Although you could mix up the dough in a bowl, then transfer to a greased baking vessel ~ that would defeat the idea of a simple one-pot bread, yes?
Here's what you need and how to do it:
Non-stick pot

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups lukewarm water
2 tsp salt
1 tsp yeast
4 cups flour

Method:

In a non-stick pot combine all ingredients with a wooden spoon. Place lid or cover on pot and proof at room temperature for 60-90 minutes.
Break proofed dough down (deflate), replace lid and place pot in the refrigerator overnight; 10 to 14 hours or so.
When ready to bake, remove lid and place pot in (preheated) 400º(F) oven ~ bake for about 40 minutes until deep golden brown. If you're not sure, an instant read thermometer inserted in the hot-from-the oven bread should read between 190º to 200ºF.

As you can see, this is truly a "country-style" loaf with coarse crumb, and wonderful airy holes to capture your spread of preference.
Jacques give a great tutorial for making the bread during the first few minutes of this youtube video:

As Jacques suggests, I mix up the dough about an hour before retiring for the evening, then it's ready to bake in the morning.

It's excellent toasted, and you can also vary the recipe by adding herbs of your choice, minced onion, roasted garlic, etc. to the dough while mixing the flour, yeast and water together.
One of my favorite ways of serving it ~

Still warm from the toaster smeared with room temperature Cambozola cheese and a drizzle of local honey. (Cambozola is a cow's milk cheese, a combination of a French soft-ripened triple cream cheese and Italian Gorgonzola.) It's very creamy and much milder than a straight blue cheese.
For a printable copy of the recipe, you'll find it HERE.
If you give this one a try, I hope you love it as much as I do. :)
Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a wonderful weekend everyone. xo ~mari

Greek-Style Rotisserie Lamb and 50% Whole Wheat Pita Sandwiches

Forget the overly-sweet mint sauce ~
There is something about the Greek way of grilling lamb, marinated in lemon, garlic, salt, pepper and fragrant dried oregano, that makes it irresistible and utterly delicious.
The anticipation (and aroma) while the spit slowly turns is part of the pleasure . . . knowing that there will be a fine meal to come.
This time I selected a smallish 4+ pound bone-in leg, minus the shank portion, I like to roast it slowly for maximum juiciness and flavor, so I use the 'indirect method' of roasting the meat on the Weber gas grill. (Front and back burner on medium heat, center burner in the off position.)

To go along, I served lemon-scented orzo with toasted pine nuts, and one of my favorite summer salads ~ Greek, with lots of goodies from the veggie garden; red tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, herbs as well as some marinated locally produced Feta cubes, a mix of Greek olives, and onion, all tossed with a fragrant red wine vinegar & herb vinaigrette.
It is one of my favorite meals, we don't have it often and we really savor it when we do.

HOWEVER . . .
The thing about lamb is that I don't find it anywhere near as appealing when served as leftovers. Unless, that is, it's thinly sliced, gently warmed and served in warm pita pocket bread with lots of other flavorful goodies tucked in.
Where I live the freshest pita bread comes from my own oven ~ If you've never made it you might be surprised to learn how fun and easy it is to make your own. This time I used 50% 00 Italian flour and 50% home-milled whole wheat flour.

You can use a bread machine, stand mixer, or food processor to make the dough, or mix it by hand if you prefer. (There is a link at the bottom of the page for the pita bread recipe.)
As I mentioned, I'm not so fond of lamb leftovers, so when making a lamb roast, I always plan on making pita bread too, for the leftovers.

(See the grapes in the background? We planted the vines three years ago and this is the first crop!) Can you tell I'm excited?! :D They are so sweet and juicy . . . wish I could share some with you.
When assembling the stuffed pita sandwiches I add lots of other flavorful goodies and just a few thin slices of the warmed lamb.
Slices of red and yellow tomatoes, cucumbers, and baby salad greens from the garden (see below.) Thin slices of sweet purple onion, and a generous spoonful of tzatziki (cucumber & garlic, and sometimes dill, in plain yogurt) then sprinkled with ground Sumac* to add a bright finish.
Incidentally, this is the first year I've grown this particular variety of yellow tomatoes; the name is 'Lemon Boy' ~ I highly recommend! Medium to medium-large size they are bright yellow, meaty and juicy with few seeds and a nice, mild low-acid flavor.Yum! You might keep them in mind for next year.

*Sumac? I love that stuff! It's delicious sprinkled on vegetables eggs, rice & other grains, pizza, chicken, fish and any kind of meat. Just a little sprinkle before serving really adds a nice bright flavor, to almost anything. It's slightly lemony and not spicy at all.

As many of you know our property is located in thickly wooded forest land ~ so most of our vegetables and herbs are raised in raised beds and containers.
One of the things I like to plant each spring is a large container of baby mixed salad greens, I keep this one on the back deck near the kitchen door. This one grows well under a huge Douglas Fir tree which the deck was built around.
You can cut a few leaves from each plant and they will continue to grow, or you cut the entire plant and grow another pot or two, each two weeks apart, for successive harvests. The other advantage of planting these tender lettuces in pots is that you can move them to the shade in the hottest part of the day to prevent them from bolting (going to seed) prematurely.
(My kitty is old and she doesn't climb up to sample the greens, but it you have active pets, you might want to elevate the pots.)

I picked this particular mixed packet of seeds at a local (& ordinary) hardware store/nursery. This one is offered by Plantation Products (in MA.), it's called "Italian Salad Blend" and contains 6 different Italian lettuces:
AttrazioneBiondaFoglia di Quercia RossaFreckles :)Meraviglia delle quattro StagioneRossa di Trento
Along with other Italian varieties of greens: Arugula Chicory: Pallo Rossa & Castelfranco Endive: di ruffec & Cornetto di BordeauxSpinach: Riccio d'Asti & Gigante d'InvernoSwiss Chard: Argentata

You can allow the plant to grow to full mature size, but I prefer to harvest when the leaves are small and tender. We liked the variety, and I would definitely plant this mix again.

I'll miss you Greek Salad ~ It won't be much longer until we have to say good-bye until next summer. (By the way, this salad is also fabulous tucked into a pita pocket either plain or with some tzatziki spooned over, and you can add tuna, sliced chicken, sliced hard cooked egg, etc. to add protein.)

If you would like the recipe for the 50% Whole Wheat Pita bread, you'll find it over on the OUaP recipe blog, click here.

Thanks for stopping by friends! I hope you have a very nice weekend.
Until next time! ~m

Saturday

Brioche Buns ~ No special pan needed

Brioche (pronounced: [bʁi.ɔʃ]) is a highly enriched French pastry, whose high egg and butter content give it a rich and tender crumb. It is "light and slightly puffy, more or less fine, according to the proportion of butter and eggs"[1] It has a dark, golden, and flaky crust, frequently accentuated by an egg wash applied after proofing. [Source: Wikipedia]

This is the first time I've made Brioche using our own hen's eggs and I was rather astonished at how golden they turned out.

Buttery, Eggy, slightly sweet ~ more cake-like than bread, the dough is often baked in traditional French (small or large Brioche) pans:

Actually you can use any baking pan, a round cake pan, or loaf pans work well.

Brioche was the very first bread I posted about on my blog in August, 2008 ~ back then it didn't occur to me that Brioche could be made any other way except in baking pans. Live and learn.

Without a pan, the texture of the bread is a little different; not quite as light and airy, a little firmer, but still full of that buttery, eggy delicious flavor.