Cinnamon Rolls
/Last weekend I made these "Shortcut Cinnamon Buns".
My boyfriend politely ate them, but I didn't finish mine. They were way too dry to enjoy. Very little flavor and not a great experience.
Last weekend I made these "Shortcut Cinnamon Buns".
My boyfriend politely ate them, but I didn't finish mine. They were way too dry to enjoy. Very little flavor and not a great experience.
I made baked eggs last weekend for John and I somewhat following this recipe.
I substituted mushrooms for the onions.
I then sliced some light rye bread into strips and toasted them. They worked well for dipping into the soft egg yolks. I also made some Morningstar veggie sausage to go along with the meal. It was very creamy and delicious.
Tonight John met me after work and we went up to Becky and Peter's and then we all went up to Devon.
We went to dinner at Udupi Palace, an amazing vegetarian Indian restaurant. I have been there a few times and it is always amazing.
We also went to a nearby grocery store and John and I came away with all of the goodies you see here and more. I am super excited about using these things. Some highlights: thin sheets of dried apricot, fig marmalade, pistacchio halva, rice flour, fenugreek, assorted olives, and tahini.
We are going to need to seriously re-organize our kitchen to fit it all.
Udupi Palace
2543 W. Devon
Chicago, IL 60618
Last night Harold invited me to go to the Green Zebra (which I have learned is a type of heirloom tomato). It was out of both of our normal price ranges, but his grandmother had told him to take a friend out to dinner on her for his birthday and he sweetly invited me. Harold had been there before and gave it rave reviews, so I was thrilled to hear I would be able to go as well. The Chicago Tribune describes the restaurant as an “inventive, almost entirely vegetarian small-plate menu (a few chicken and fish dishes are thrown into the mix) is among the city's most sophisticated. Its globally inspired menu, which changes frequently, may include options like avocado panna cotta and chilled organic beets with a creamy mascarpone foam; poached organic chicken breast; and Alaskan halibut with shaved artichoke, pearl couscous and tandoori spices.”
The restaurant is beautiful and simply designed. It is small with room for about 50 guests. As we sat down our server (who was a very animated, excited, and sweet woman) brought us four small bowls as our amuse-bouche. The first was simple air-popped popcorn seasoned with garam marsala. It was a simple idea with a superb result. I was quite impressed. Second, edamame which was pre shelled. Third peanuts with a mix of exotic spices and fourth, yellow beans with a citrus-vinegar seasoning. All were fantastic and had distinctive and well-complimented tastes.
We ordered NV Pinot Noir, “H”, Hamacher, Willamette Valley, Oregon and then proceeded to order our food. The menu was split into three sections beginning with lighter flavors and moving towards the most heavy and rich. Harold and I each ordered one item from each section and then shared the six dishes as each course arrived. Here is what we ordered (all descriptions take from the Green Zebra website unless otherwise noted):
Gemma:
Avocado Panna Cotta, with tomato gelee, crème fraiche and sweet corn chips
-this was incredible. The avocado was so creamy and the other textures were a great contrast. It melted in my mouth. Truly outstanding and unique.
Cave-Aged Gruyere Soufflé, endive, and heirloom apples
-this was also quite good. I am not well-versed in soufflés but the top seemed a little too thick and dry. However, once I got to the center it was divine. The endive and heirloom apple salad was superb. It was garnished with watercress which was a fantastic touch.
Greengold Farms Chicken Egg, spinach puree, lentils & country sourdough
-Amazing. The presentation was superb. And all the flavors were rich and velvety. The egg was perfectly boiled with a warm liquid center. You could definitely taste that they used fresh farm eggs.
Harold:
I could not find their description for his first course, so here it is from memory. A warm and creamy celery soup with walnuts, a bit of black truffle and topped with black truffle oil.
-This was also fantastic. Harold and I were both surprised and pleased with how well the different flavors complimented one another. It was very rich, but wonderful. It went nicely with my first course, especially in texture and temperature.
Prospera Farms Baby Carrots, carrot cake, black truffles and aged balsamic vinegar
- I have to say that I think this was the winner of the night. Amazing. The baby carrots were julienned and cooked in a balsamic reduction and black truffle oil. There were flakes of black truffle interspersed as well as some watercress. There was also a 'carrot cake' on the side. Ultimately neither of us were too thrilled with this. It was interesting, but rather dry and without a whole lot of flavor. Alone it would have been enjoyable, but it was overpowered and overshadowed when served next to the other carrot offering.
I also could not find their description for his third course. (This memory is a little hazier, most likely due to the increased wine consumption at this point.) A tiny bowl made out of buttery, flaky pastry with a lid. The bowl contained steamed red cabbage, black truffles, small walnut pieces, all topped with black truffle oil.
-Yes, lots of black truffle and black truffle oil. Absolutely wonderful. Obviously Harold had a more consistent theme to his selections. We both agreed that this dish went the best with the wine. It was a perfect match. The pastry was amazing, very buttery. And the cabbage mixture was delicious. I think the highlight was the texture combined with the warm temperature.
For dessert Harold and I split the Tasting of Creme Brulees, jasmine green tea, Japanese yuzu and lavender
- We were a bit stuffed, but I had to try these. As I told Harold, I am fool for green tea flavored desserts. They were superb. The lavender was actually a lavender-ginger. Creamy, rich, and full of flavor (not to mention the fantastic aromas. The presentation was clever as well. It was served in three small cuts on a long board which was vaguely reminiscent of Japanese serving ware.
To begin with, it was awesome to go to a restaurant where I could order off the whole menu (with two exceptions) and moreover this was one of the most delicious meals I have ever had. Perhaps the best.
Afterwards, Harold and I went to Sonotheque. It was a very nice lounge behind a misleading facade. The crowd was small and chill. The service was efficient and polite. The drinks were normally priced and there was no cover (I hear there is on the weekends though). It was dimly lit, stylishly designed, and it had fantastic music with an outstanding sound system. The music was consuming but it was not an effort to speak over it. This is my kind of upscale lounge. Inexpensive, chill, relaxing, and no dancing. Whew.
It was an amazing night and I owe Harold much gratitude for inviting me with him.
Green Zebra
1460 W. Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
Sonotheque
1444 W. Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
The other night I met my Mother and Grandmother for dinner and I had some time to kill. I did this by buying french sea salt and caster's sugar from Williams & Sonoma
I have been running across a number of recipes lately calling for these things and I am excited to use them soon.
Williams & Sonoma
900 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL
I was bored so I made a quiche. I used the reserved and frozen portion of the pate brisee I had prepared for my blueberry tarts for the crust.
I cooked half a white onion in butter on the stove. I then added chopped broccoli, cherry tomatoes, and chopped green bell pepper to the pan and covered it to steam the other vegetables.
I then combined three eggs, 3/4 C of heavy cream, and 1/2 C of finely shredded cheddar and bleu cheese. I beat these together and seasoned with salt and pepper as well as a pinch of nutmeg and a pinch of cayenne.
I then salted and peppered the steaming vegetables and added a pinch of nutmeg to them as well.
I then arranged the vegetable mixture in the bottom of the unbaked pie shell and poured the egg-cream mixture over it all. Finally, I sprinkled about a T of slivered almonds on top before baking the quiche for 50 minutes in a 350F preheated oven.
I used a silicone baking dish that my mother gave me to bake this. I had never used one before and I have to admit I was wary of them. Other than the slightly gas-like smell they seem to give off while they bake, I had no real complaints. In fact, it turned out quite well.
Question: Has anyone else used any of this silicone bake ware and what was your impression?
I'm still a little sketched out by them for some reason and I always kind of feel as though I am cheating whenever I use some fancy new product that does not seem 'traditional' to me.
We had a lazy Saturday (well, besides our landlord bringing a real estate agent here unannounced) which included eating, reading, drinking coffee, listening to npr, playing board games, and eventually --baking. I decided to try to make panmarino after hearing of it for the first time on Il Forno. The recipe I used can be found here.
We oddly happened to have fresh rosemary around the house and therefore I used this instead of dried.
It turned out wonderfully. I should have tucked the bottom seams in better after forming the loaf, but other than that it was a very attractive one.
Reading through the comments for this particular bread on Il Forno I learned that using a razor blade for slashing has good results for some. I found the same.
The bread came out of the oven and I proceeded to enjoy nearly the entire loaf with John and our new roommate and friend, Aviva.
I would definitely make this bread again. I am curious to see how it fares with dried rosemary. It is a highly aromatic bread which is a pleasure to bake.
Chicago experienced a miniature blizzard yesterday and shortly after we devoured the bread, John and I took Fenya (the dog) out for a long run through the snow. She was having the time of her life. It was excellent.
I received the Martha Stewart book that I had purchased, Pies & Tarts, on Friday and I decided to bake something out of it today.
I followed her pate brisee recipe to make the tart crust. I then took components from a few recipes to make a glaze and a cream filling.
I have made a number of pies and tarts and this crust turned out the best thus far. It was lovely, golden, and flakey.
I baked the tart shells first. I removed them from their rings, glazed them, and let them cool. I then added the cream filling, the blackberries, and finally glazed the berries.
I just finished eating mine (I am giving the other to my roommate who is here this weekend, our other roommates are out of town). This has been my most successful crust experience, which is fantastic. Other than the crust the tarts were delightful, but a little too sweet to finish. I think next time I might try to blend some lemon zest into the cream and use an orange marmalade jelly to make the glaze (I used redcurrent this time). Perhaps this will balance the flavors a bit better and cut the sweet and heavy tastes slightly.
Thank you for the few sweet comments I have received. I appreciate the encouragement!
I made baguettes tonight. I tripled the recipe and made two loaves while reserving one third to refridgerate. I used the baguette recipe (with some minor modificiations) from Ultimate Bread by Eric Treuille & Ursula Ferrigno.
They turned out well. I put a pan of water under the bread pan in the oven to provide moisture and I also threw a 1/2 oz. of water onto the bottom of the oven 4x during the last five minutes. They turned out to have a nice, crisp, golden crust and a light and wonderfully textured interior.
Unfortunately the loaves did not look as beautiful as some others I have seen, but I will work on the cosmetic quality.
I served the breads with three variations of brie which obviously went perfectly with warm bread.
Overall, it was successful (I had made baguettes before with little success) though there is clearly room for substantial improvement
Last night my boyfriend made a delicious Indian dinner and I decided to make naan to accompany it. I used the naan recipe from Bread by Christine Ingram & Jennie Shapter.
I grew impatient while waiting for the groceries to arrive so I tried a first batch with some modifications. Namely, olive oil in place of vegetable oil and vanilla yogurt in place of plain yogurt. As one can imagine these were not nearly as good as the final product, but it was nice to practice and to start baking once the drive hit.
When the true ingredients arrived I was feeling confident. They turned out well and ended up puffing and browning nicely. They were perhaps a little chewier than I would have liked.
I used quick-rise yeast (again, I get impatient) which, while I don't know for sure, I have the feeling that some serious bakers would look down on that. I will try to cut down on my not constant, but often use of it.
The naan only needs to rise 45 min, so it was a pretty easy thing to bake in conjuction with a dinner menu.
After rolling the dough into tear-drop shapes, I set each side of the dough briefly in a plate of olive oil and sprinkled one side with sesame seeds and fresh chopped garlic. I then baked them on inverted cookie sheets which had been heated in a 500°F oven for ten minutes. They baked about 4 minutes.
I reserved a portion of the dough (I had quadrupled the recipe) and made the rest in the morning (with cheddar and veggie bacon). The dough kept well in the refridgerator. I kneaded it a few times and let it come to room temperature before rolling out and baking. The texture may have actually improved with the wait.
Here is the full recipe: Here is the naan recipe that I used: 2 cups unbleached white bread flour 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 oz fresh yeast ( I tripled the recipe and used one packet quick-rise yeast) 4 tbsp lukewarm milk ( I used to 2%) 1 tbsp vegetable oil 2 tbsp natural yogurt 1 egg 2-3 tbsp melted ghee or butter for brusing (I used olive oil with chopped garlic) This recipe makes 3 naan as is (hence, why I tripled it) 1. sift flour, salt together in one bowl. 2. cream yeast (or sprinkle if you are using dried) with the milk and let sit until active (about 15 min.). 3. combine the yeast mixture, oil, yogurt, and egg with the flour/salt mixture. it should form a soft dough. 4. turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead 10 min. dough should become smooth and elastic. 5. place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover ( I used lightly oiled saran wrap to do this. It traps heat nicely) to rise 45 min. 6. preheat over to 450F and place inverted baking sheets in the oven at this time to heat with the oven. 7. turn out the dough to the floured work surface and knock back. Divide into 3 equal pieces (or 3x how many times you doubled the recipe) and form into balls. 8. cover all but one to reserve (or at this point you can reserve in the refridgerator for later use. they kept well for the 24 hours I reserved the dough. they will continue to rise actively, so be sure to place them in a lightly oiled bowl with oiled film). 9. roll out the ball into a teardrop shape about 10in long, 5in wide and 1/4in thick. 10. place each naan ( I did two at a time) on the baking sheets for 3-4 minutes. remove when puffed and slighly browned. (I flipped a few of them and it didn't seem to damage the end result). 11. while baking the rest keep the naan warm. I kept mine in the microwave. The heat from each additional naan kept the others warm in the confined space.
Here are the baking books I currently own:
The Bread Bible by Beth Hensperger
Bread by Christine Ingram & Jennie Shapter
The Old West Baking Book by Lon Walters
Ultimate Bread by Eric Treuille & Ursula Ferrigno
I also just bought Pies & Tarts by Martha Stewart. It has not arrived yet.
As you can see I am more inclined towards bread baking than other kinds of baking.
While searching for advice on baking naan for dinner with my housemates I stumbled across il forno a fantastic baking blog that links to several others. I decided that although I am a beginner, I would attempt to offer my baking experiences up for consumption as well.