Sage Rosemary Time But No Parsley

So, Silver Sage was put into action last week to create my Sourdough Rosemary Raisin bread.



As the first test, I only made a fourth of the recipe and was pleased to discover that I should be able to make half a recipe without compromising the mixer.



I may need to find a larger bowl, though, for the rising process.




I ended up with 2 loaves. But, to prevent myself from eating both, I immediately took one warm loaf over to my neighbor's, leaving only one to tempt me.





For the first time in over a year I'm looking forward to some 'free' time. On Monday and Tuesday I will be going on my first Girl Road Trip without children! Hooray! Three friends and I are driving to Reedley in central California for an overnight trip. I have convinced them that it will be mandatory to stop at the Superior Dairy in Hanford for some divine homemade ice cream (my favorite flavor there is lemon custard). One serving is huge enough to feed 3 people. It will be fun to see what kind of adventure we will have.

Upon my return, it will be back to class on Wednesday and Thursday, after which I can finally tackle various projects that have been taunting me for months. Updates will be provided. (And, I might have to make my Herb Sourdough Rolls so I can use some parsley.) ; )

Demented piecrust

Now, I've been making pie crusts since I was 15 (Dark Ages) and I've made so many that the recipe is firmly embedded into my brain. It's delicious, too, so no other pie crust compares. That being said, I am not necessarily set in my ways and am willing to experiment when some new version comes along.

So, when Cook's Illustrated described their vodka-laced pie dough, I thought I'd give it a shot. (oops, no pun intended) Now, the dough was definitely softer/moister and much more short than my standard dough, but watch out for the fumes! I let the dough rest in the fridge overnight. True to the description, the dough does require more flour when rolling it out, and it needs a slightly different touch, since it is so soft. I put 2 pie shells, 2 tart shells, and some miscellaneous dough pieces in the oven to partially bake. (Hey, fledgling -- the dough pieces were ALL mine this time -- woo hoo!) When time was up, I removed the various shells, BUT to my horror, the darn things had shrunk! As I said above, I've made hundreds of pie shells and rarely do they shrink, so I will have to analyze the dough and process and see where the problem is.

On the plus side, the dough is very tender (I would guess because of the shortness rather than the vodka), and even a third roll produced a tender, flaky product.


Now, just for the record, the 2 pies turned out just fine, despite the demented-looking crust. #1 was my 4-color sweet pepper quiche; #2 was the Crunch/Custardy Peach Tart from Dorie Greenspan's book (p.346). Perhaps I will feel brave enough to take photos later today.

I think, though, that I will go back to my regular pie crust recipe, although I may experiment with the vodka in that recipe and see what happens. Unless the fumes get to me first......

Baking favorite

My current favorite cookbook is Dorie Greenspan's Baking From my home to yours (now celebrating its first birthday). I've made about half a dozen recipes so far, which isn't bad. [Somewhere I read that the average number of recipes tried from most cookbooks is about 3, 7 at most. Some cookbooks are best used as references, some for the photos, and some are just workhorses. In my collection, there are quite a few I've never used, some from which I've used one or two recipes, and a small group that get a lot of use. Over time, my tastes have changed, but I find it difficult to part with any cookbook.]

Anyway, my favorite recipe so far is the Swedish Visiting Cake. It is simple and delicious. My goal is to try at least one recipe from each section and then start all over again. It's fun to read the recipes and drool over the photos in the meantime.

Silver Sage

That's the color of my new KA mixer that arrived today. It fits right in to the current kitchen decor. Now, I can hardly wait to use it!

I will still keep my vintage KA -- harvest gold (can you guess when I bought it?) -- and over 30 years old. It's still going strong, but, lately, with all the breadmaking, it's little motor is being taxed, and I would be devastated to lose it. So, Silver Sage has joined the gang. I do believe it's time to retrieve Henry from the fridge and make some rosemary raisin sourdough bread.

If I ever get the digital camera I've been promised (and paid for), I will start including photos.

So, I will report on Silver Sage in the next few days as I start baking through the list of all the breads I've been putting on hold. (Oh, and I neglected to say that Silver Sage is a Professional 600 model -- what can I say -- it was late last night!)

Henry

Henry is doing extremely well, thank you very much. This past weekend he was all effervescent and bubbly, more so than usual. Maybe it's because I fed him bread flour rather than AP flour? Right now Henry is on vacation, in the fridge. After baking some gorgeous little sourdough boules this week, I discovered, to my horror, than my freezer is beginning to overflow with homebaked bread. Yikes! The fledgling needs to return home! Or my friends need to live closer. Or both. Not baking is not an option.

To make matters worse, in baking class this week, we made a brioche-style bread, called Casatiello, that is loaded with butter, and, in my case, bacon, and swiss cheese. It's from Peter Reinhart's book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice, which we are using as a text. There was no time to bake it in class after the various proofing stages, so I took it home with me on Wednesday night, thinking to bake the 2 loaves on Thursday afternoon. But, by the time I arrived home, some 50 minutes later, the 2 loaves had risen past the top of their baking containers, so, I said what the heck, turned the oven on as soon as I walked in the door, and popped them in. After 40 minutes, they were done and set out to cool. Recommended cooling time: 1 hour. Cruel. I waited 55 minutes, then sliced one loaf. Oh Lordy! The warm bacon, melted swiss cheese, and buttery texture were to die for! The fledgling will definitely be tasting that one over winter break.

So, the quandary is, to bake bread or not to bake bread (for a little while, perhaps). Maybe it's time to spoil the neighbors, because, as I said above, not baking is not an option.

Mortality

It's amazing to me that the human body can appear generally healthy and fit on the outside, while simultaneously being so very delicate on the inside. Over the last few years, I have suffered the losses of more than my fair share of family and friends. This past week I can dangerously close to losing another friend.

One of my culinary classmates had a heart attack during class. We've shared numerous classes over the last few semesters, and, because we're both on the older side of the 'student-body,' we have more in common. After our early morning wine class last Thursday, we both headed off to our next respective classes, so I didn't hear about his attack for several days.

The good news is, that after open-heart surgery the following day, he is recovering. Sad to say, he won't return to finish the semester, but he is optimistic that he can return for the spring semester. I hope so. I miss our camaraderie, and I still don't know how his kitchen remodel turned out!

I guess that no matter how we appear on the outside, we need to take really good care of the inside.

Empty Nest

For the first time in 37 years I am truly on my own. It’s been 4 weeks since the youngest fledgling abandoned the nest and flew off to college in western New York. (Oh, why so far? Was it something I cooked?)

Ah, well. I am slowly adjusting. At least I have some diversions with school beginning once again for fall semester.

Some background: two years ago on New Year’s Eve, while encountering an unexpected fork in the road of life, I made the firm decision to pursue my life-long dream of getting formal credentials in Culinary Arts. Three weeks later, I was sitting in a classroom at Santa Barbara City College, ready to fill in the gaps of my culinary knowledge. The journey had begun.

Now, as I begin my fourth semester, I am learning that wine for breakfast is not such a bad concept; artisanal bread is delicious anytime; I can, indeed, make 350 panna cottas; and my new-found friends/classmates are just as weird as I am. (Alas, it will take me longer than the average young recruit to receive my certificate since I have to keep the roof over my head without the help of dear ol’ mom & dad, so I’m not quitting the “day” job.) While I have only learned a few new things cook-wise since I began, I have added to my knowledge-base regarding cost controls, purchasing, and restaurant operations and made some good friends along the way.

So, for continuing personal challenge and satisfaction, in addition to school, I intend to succumb to the various baking and cooking challenges that the world has to offer. Photographs will come later, since the above-mentioned fledgling absconded with the batteries to my digital camera. A new camera is in the pipeline, and when it arrives, I can document my continuing journey and all of its varied challenges. (To wit, the Milk Chocolate Caramel Tart from Daring Bakers turned out perfectly the first time round, but you’ll have to take my word for it, since it won’t likely be around when the camera finally arrives.)

À bientôt.