Peanut butter bread

For the past year  I have been teaching Russian at the Global Language Network, a DC-based NGO that offers free language courses taught by native language speakers. GLN helped me to understand what a rewarding job teaching is as well as meet wonderful people interested in Russian language and culture. Last semester, my class presented me with a book by Jim Lahey, owner of the Sullivan Street Bakery in NYC and founder of no-knead bread technique. While many food writers and bloggers, including Mark Bittman and Jaden Hair, celebrate the classic no-knead loaf, they overlook other recipes from My Bread. Today, I want to share the share a recipe for ultimate breakfast/snack/dessert  bread that turns American classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich into a rustic, rich, and sweet loaf.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bread 

1 large (about 60 grams) egg, beaten 

2 cups plus 2 Tbsp (280 grams) bread flour            

2 Tbsp (20 grams) whole wheat flour                  

3/4 Tsp (4 grams) kosher salt    

1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) instant or other active dry yeast
1 cup  plus 2 tablespoons (260 grams) cool (55 to 65 degrees F) water 
3 tablespoons (50 grams) unsalted smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup (35 grams) unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, whole
1/4  (35 grams) unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

1/3 cup (100 grams) seedless fruit jam of choice 

nonstick cooking spray 

additional flour for dusting 

Reserve 1 tablespoon of the beaten egg for glazing the bread. In a medium bowl, stir together the flours, salt, yeast, and the remaining egg. Blend the water and peanut butter in a blender until smooth (some settling will occur if this is left to stand, so blend just before using). Add mixture to the flour mixture and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until you have a wet, sticky dough without any lumps, about 30 seconds. Stir in the whole peanuts until evenly distributed. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough is more than doubled in size, about 12 hours.

When the first rise is complete, sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour. Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to scrape the dough out of the bowl in one piece. Lightly flour your hands and gently pat and pull the dough into a rough rectangle about 8 by 12 inches.

Now you're going to make a sort of jelly roll: Position the dough so a long side is in front of you. Spread the jam evenly over the surface of the dough, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides. Lift up the far side of the rectangle and fold one third of it over toward the center, then continue rolling up the remainder into a cylinder. With the seam on the bottom, tuck the ends of the roll under to seal them, so the jam doesn't ooze out during baking. 

Lightly coat the loaf pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle half of the chopped peanuts into the bottom of the pan. Gently transfer the dough, seam side down, to the loaf pan. Sprinkle the remaining chopped peanuts onto the dough. Cover the dough with a towel and place it in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 1 hour. The dough is ready when it has doubled. If you gently poke it with your finger, it should hold the impression. If it springs back, let it rise for another 15 minutes.

About 15 minutes before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 450°F, with a rack in the center.

Brush the top of the dough with the reserved beaten egg. Bake until golden, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. If the peanuts start to darken, loosely cover the loaf with foil. Use pot holders to invert the pan onto a rack, remove the pan, and turn the bread right side up to cool thoroughly. (Don't dawdle--the bread will get soggy if it cools in the pan.

Birthday pate

I am terrible about remembering people’s birthdays. It is embarrassing that a good friend of mine reminds me about my parents’ birthday every year. However, in the past year or so, I found a good method of remembering about birthdays and making birthday presents at the same time. The solution is cake. For some unknown reason, I find birthday cake deadlines much more effective than Facebook,  Outlook, and other gadgets.

In the past, there was Yasaman’s chocolate roll-cake and Amina’s pear tart, but few months ago I received an unusual request from my friend, colleague, and great cook – Jeremy. He asked for a pate as birthday present. 

My conservative and purist views on food eliminated the idea of a cake-shaped pate ala SeriousEats right away and knowing Jeremy’s weakness for duck and pork, I decided to mix the proteins a bit. Roasted pistachios enhance the texture, add natural saltiness, and nutty smokiness to this silky treat. This pate would make a great holiday present, a center piece at a wine party, and a much better snack than a granola bar.

Birthday pate

1 Tbsp butter

.1 pound guanchala (smoked pork fat)

1 medium shallot

5 sage leafs

2 springs of tarragon

1.25 pound chicken liver

.5 pound duck liver

 1 duck lung (very well cleaned)

1/3 cup dry red wine

5 Tbsp soft unsalted butter

1/3 cup roasted salted pistachios

salt/pepper

splash of red wine vinegar

Butter "seal"

1 Tbsp butter melted

1Tbps of  chopped cup roasted salted pistachios cleaned from the outer skin

2-3 small sage leafs

Melt butter and guanchala in a steal or cast iron pan over medium heat. Add finely chopped shallots, sage, tarragon to the pan, and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add meat to a hot pan and cook for 3 minutes or until livers are just slightly pink in the middle. Add wine, scraping the bottom of the pan reduce the liquid to 3 Tbsp. Turn off the heat and put 4 livers on a side.

Cool the meat. Add the meat (with all pan juices), pistachios, butter, 1 tsp salt, 1/3 tsp black pepper, and a splash of red wine vinegar to a blender or a food processor. Whiz the mixture until it is smooth. Move the pate into a large bowl.

Chop reserved livers and gently fold chopped livers into the pate. Fill up sterilized ramekin or jar with pate leaving 1/3 inch of space on top. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Pour 1 Tbsp of melted butter over the pate to seal it. Refrigerate for 5 minutes. Sprinkle chopped pistachios over the butter and garnish with fresh sage. Serve with toasted bread.

 

Good foods and good company

I like to host parties, which explains my love for all sorts of holidays.  I treat Thansksgiving, Christmas, 4th of July, etc. as perfect excuses to invite a few friends, plan a menu and cook.  This makes the long stretch of winter after January 1st and before, well, before its warm enough to walk around with bare legs, rather difficult.  Recently though, I realized that I don't need a formal reason for a party and that the fact that its a long winter is reason enough.  So, on a lovely sunny Sunday afternoon a couple weeks ago I had a few girlfriends over for cocktails, a chat, and a few bites.  We drank lovely cocktails of Aperol, fresh grapefruit juice and cava, a bubbly variation on Pamplemousse - just bitter enough to not feel like brunch.  We ate hearty slices of braised beef with its sauce reduced and rich, a sort of tomato and meat jam, seared square of polenta topped with soft mushrooms and sharp cheese, some cheese and olives, including the wonderful Humboldt Fog, and gushy squishy Whoopie pies.  The food was hearty, as I don't believe in the notion of "girlie" food, the drinks cool and refreshing, the conversation flowed and we all enjoyed as the afternoon winter sun faded into the evening.  Maybe I can manage until it is warm enough for bare legs after all.

The polenta squares are really easy, especially if you use the oven method of cooking the polenta. I would recommend making it the evening before, so that it has time to set overnight.  Another way to serve this would be to top the hot, soft polenta with the mushroom ragu, to which I would add about a cup of tomato sauce or a 14 oz. can of tomatoes.  The most difficult part of Whoopie pies was finding marshmallow fluff, which I have never bought before and which was oddly sold out in my local Key Foods.  I used Gourmet's very good recipe, but did not bother measuring the fluff (have you seen how sticky it is!), and added an extra 1/2 stick of butter.  I also scaled back on the confectioners sugar to 1 cup.

Polenta squares with mushroom ragu
For polenta
2 cups of polenta, grits, or medium-grind corn (same thing, sometimes differently priced)
8 cups of water
2 tablespoons of olive oil to cook the polenta and another 4 for frying
2 teaspoons of salt

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the polenta, water, and 2 tablespoons of oil in a 9 x 13 baking dish or a medium pot.  Bake, uncovered, for about 1 hour and 2 minutes.  Stir in the salt and taste.  If the polenta is still a bit tough, add water if it looks dry and not all creamy, return to the oven for another 10 - 20 minutes.  At this point, you can either serve the polenta hot with the ragu or let it set and fry it.

Let the polenta cool fully and refrigerate for at least 6 - 8 hours or until firm.  Cut into 15 squares. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and fry the polenta squares for 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and crusty.  By then the inside will warm through and get gushy and soft.  You may need to fry polenta in batches and keep the fried pieces warm in the oven.

For mushroom ragu
2 pounds of mixed mushrooms, such as creminis and shiitakes, rinsed, de-stemmed and caps sliced across
1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms, rinsed well
1 medium yellow onion, chopped finely
3 garlic cloves, chopped finely
1 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons mixed herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, savory, or whatever you have
1/4 cup of wine
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2-3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Soak the porcini in 1 cup of water or stock until soft, about 15 - 20 minutes.  Chop the soft porcini finely and strain the liquid to remove any sediment.  Warm up a large skillet on medium heat and melt 1 - 2 tablespoons of butter and a bit of olive oil, then saute the mushrooms in 1 layer.  You may need to saute in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan and ending up with a soggy heap of steamed mushrooms.  Let them cook well and brown on each side, then flip.  Once all the mushrooms are sauteed, melt the remaining butter with another splash of olive oil and saute the onion until lightly golden. Add the garlic, the herbs, the tomato paste and a healthy pinch of salt, and cook for a few more minutes.  Deglaze the pan with wine and simmer until the wine almost evaporates, then add back the sauteed mushrooms, the porcini and their soaking liquid.  Bring to the boil, turn down to medium-low heat and simmer for another 20 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the ragu has a soft, spoonable consistency, but holds its shape.  If you plan to serve it over soft polenta, add the tomatoes along with the porcini soaking liquid and simmer for 30 minutes.  Let the ragu cool slightly, season with salt and pepper, and stir in the parsley.

Spoon a generous tablespoon of ragu on to each polenta square and garnish with shaved parmesan.

Enjoy with a lovely pink cocktail and good company.

Roasted mahi-mahi with lentils and braised carrots and leeks

It has been a crazy busy few weeks, but I won't bore all of you with the details.  Let's just say that finding myself at home last Friday with enough energy to cook a nice meal, just for myself, was a much-desired treat.  I think that a fish fillet is particularly suitable for dinners for one, so on a quiet evening I seasoned Le Puy lentils with mustard and creme fraiche, slowly braised carrots and leeks in olive oil and listened to fish skin crackling in the oven.  A glass of Hanging Vine Chardonnay, the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy on the laptop, and a proper dinner were the perfect reminders that sometimes bliss is in slowing down for a few hours every few weeks.

Oven-roasted Mahi-mahi with Le Puy lentils and braised carrots and leeks

For the fish:
1 fillet of Mahi-mahi
Olive oil, salt, pepper

For the lentils:
1/2 cup of Le Puy lentils
2 teaspoons good mustard
2 tablespoons creme fraiche

For the vegetables:
3 medium carrots, cut across into 1/4 inch coins
1 leek, halved, rinsed well, and sliced into 1/4 inch semi-circles
1 small onion, cut in half and sliced
2 cloves of garlic
3 - 4 sprigs of fresh thyme, rinsed
1/4 cup of olive oil
Salt and pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees for the fish, along with the skillet you plan to cook the fish in.

Rinse the lentils in cold water to remove any debris, then cover with 1 cup of water, bring to the boil, add a healthy pinch of salt, reduce the heat and simmer, covered for 20 - 30 minutes until tender, but still toothsome.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and saute onions and leeks over medium heat until they begin to caramelize.  Don't rush it; a lot of the flavor is developed here.   Add the garlic, carrots, and thyme and another 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Reduce the heat to low and braise the vegetables, covered, for 20 minutes until soft, but not mushy.  Turn off the heat and add a good drizzle of balsamic or sherry wine vinegar to give the vegetables a bit of brightness.

Meanwhile, pour about 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the hot skillet, season the fish with salt, and place it in the skillet skin side down.  Roast in the oven for 10 - 12 minutes or until the fillet is opaque and flaky, but still moist.

The lentils should be done now.  Mix the mustard and the creme fraiche and taste to see if they need more salt.  Spoon the lentils onto a plate, place the fish on the lentils and top with braised vegetables.  Add a few grinds of fresh black pepper if you would like.  Remember how much you enjoy cooking and eating a proper meal.