Saturday, August 28, 2010

Jerome's Granola Bars

I developed this recipe like most other people by stealing ideas from others and perfecting it to what we like and my way of cooking.
The Bars are Sweet without being overly so and very satisfying. Enjoy

1 cup corn syrup

1/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup butter, melted

2-3 Tbs. flax seeds
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda 
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup chopped Almonds
1 1/2 cup dried cranberries. 
4 1/2 cups oats. 

Mix by hand the- corn syrup, brown sugar, melted butter, flax seeds


    Mix in the Flour, baking soda, and salt Mix again and add - the Almonds and cranberries. Finally Add the oats 

Lightly press into 12 X 17 sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake at 325° 30 minutes, until light brown on top. Cool 10 minutes, Cut into squares, let completely cool before removing from pan.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Traeger Lil Tex Review

I have had my Traeger Lil Tex BBQ Smoker for about two months now so I thought I would do a quick review of their product.
I managed to get mine as a demo so I did manage to get a better price than the new $1199.00 but that being said I would have no problem paying that for a grill of this quality.

As it was already assembled I can't first hand tell you about that but after reading the instructions and talking to the guy who did do the assembly it seems pretty easy.
The Traeger burns wood pellets at about $20.0 for a 20 lb bag and they are available in 10 different verities of wood flavours. I usually have about 4 different ones on hand so I have a choice depending on the meat. As far as I can tell you will be spending about the same for pellets as for propane but I have done no scientific study to back this up only my observations as to how long a bag of pellets last compared to a tank of propane.
When I was originally shopping for a smoker I found that most only let you smoke the Traeger allows you to also use it as a BBQ for this reason I wanted one of the Lil Tex models as the junior does not give enough head room to the cover to do a chicken or good size roast comfortably.

PROS.
  • I find the unit easy to clean if you cover the catch plate with foil almost all of the grease ends up in the catch bucket.
  • The model I have (the Elite) is controllable in 25 degree increments from smoke to 450 degrees. the standard model only has three positions but it looks like you can up grade it.
  • The food does taste great with a nice smokey flavor even when not doing a smoked meal, I find this flavor lacking on the propane grill.
CONS
  • it does take some time to get the grill up to temperature (about 10 minutes) so you you want to just plop a burger on and be eating in 5 minutes stay with a propane.

  • when you run out of pellets i find that I have to clean out the fire box to get it to relight, or else you end up with a BBQ full of pellets.
All in all if I had my choice of buying a comparably priced Propane grill and the Traeger and could only have one it would be the Traeger. As I do have both I do find that I use the Traeger  more usually do to the family asking me to.

Here are links to the Canada site http://www.traegercanada.com/
Traeger USA http://www.traegergrills.com/

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Rice Pudding


Rice boiled in milk until it all congeals - if that doesn't sound delicious then I don't know how to help you. Rice pudding is an excellent dessert (or breakfast) because it's made from whole grains, has tons of calcium and if you throw some berries or a baked apple on top you've got three food groups right there.

Rice Pudding
Makes 4 desserts or 2 meals

1/2 cup rice
4 cups milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 bay leaf
Pinch of cinnamon, cloves, or whatever spices you like
1 tsp vanilla extract

Bring the rice, milk, sugar, bay leaf and spices to a gentle boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring frequently to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom. When the pudding looks nearly done (thick texture but the grains of rice are not mushy or dissolving) add the vanilla.

Serve hot or cold with fresh fruit or berries, raisins, a baked sliced apple, or just plain.


Ciabatta Bread and more

I found a great site for Bread Information called the Artisan where you can find a wealth of information and in-depth articles on ingredients. they also have some recipes there where I found this one.

Ciabatta - Indirect Method (Biga)

(Slipper Shaped Bread)
Adapted from a recipe in a "Molina Sima" recipe booklet.
Ingredients
Starter
3/4 Tsp. Yeast - Active Dry or 3/10 sm. Cake Yeast (5 g)
1 1/4 Cup Water - warm (300 g)
3 3/4 Cups Flour - unbleached all purpose (500 g)
Dough
1 1/2 Tsp. Yeast - Active Dry or 6/10 sm. Cake Yeast (10 g)
1/2 Cup Water - (120 ml)
775 Grams Starter from above
1/2 Cup + 2 Tbl. Flour - unbleached all purpose (50 g)
1/2 Tsp. Malt (2.5 g) - [See Note Below]
1 1/2 Tsp. Salt (7.5 g)
Note: If liquid malt is used, dissolve it in the 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons of water, before it is added to the dissolved yeast. If powdered malt is used, add it with the flour.
Procedure

Starter
Dissolve the yeast in 1 1/4 cup warm water and allow it to stand for approximately 5 -10 minutes. Add the unbleached all-purpose flour (3 3/4 cup) and mix until the flour is absorbed and a firm dough is formed. Cover the starter and allow it to remain at room temperature overnight.
Dough
Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup water and allow it to stand for approximately 5-10 minutes. Combine the flour (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons), malt (1/2 teaspoon), and salt (1 1/2 teaspoons).  Place the flour mixture on the work surface (or in a large bowl), and make a well in the center.  Gradually add the dissolved yeast, and starter, mixing well between additions. Continue to mix until the dough begins to hold together. Knead the dough to a soft consistency.   Continue to knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.  The dough will feel sticky.
Place the dough in a lightly floured bowl, cover with a cotton towel (or plastic wrap), and allow it to rise at room temperature until doubled, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Turn the risen dough onto a flour dusted work surface. Divide it into two portions. Pat each portion into a rectangle approximately 4 by 8 inches long and dust each portion with flour.  Dust a piece of canvas (untreated, 100% cotton) or a proofing board (lumber core plywood) with flour. Transfer each portion to the floured canvas or proofing board. Dust each portion with flour. Cover the dough and let it rise at room temperature until doubled, about 1 hour.
As the dough is rising, place a baking stone in the oven and set the temperature to 500 F. Allow the oven to heat for 30 minutes.
Turn each portion of dough onto a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, elongating and stretching it in the process.   Slide a baker’s peel beneath the parchment paper. Lower the oven temperature to 425 F.  Slide the parchment paper from the peel onto the baking stone. Introduce steam into the oven during the first 10 minutes of baking. Allow the dough to bake until it is a deep golden color, about 5 - 10 more minutes.
Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool on a rack.

I did have some problems (I put in 1 cup of water instead of a half) as I did get distracted my my kitchen helper.














Instead of baking it on a pan as they suggest I baked it in loaf pans as my family finds making sandwiches easier. The bread turned out well I cut it a little early and the photo does not show the texture as well as it could


 As I was Baking I received s book that I had ordered, Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day.
Where I found a recipe for Pain a l'Acncienne Focaccia on page 57. the instructions cover 3 pages so I did not reproduce them here, so go buy the book it is well worth it. 






 

I topped it with Pizza sauce I had in the freezer, Sausage, and a mixture of Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.The taste was amazing and it was very filling.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Rib Rub and Ribs

I had a mess of people coming over, but did not know who was staying for dinner so I made a mess of ribs.

RUB makes about 1 cup + -

2 1/2 tablespoons Smoked paprika
2 tablespoons Salt
2 table spoons Granulated Garlic
3 tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon Chili Powder
1 tablespoon Ground Pepper
1 tablespoon Onion Powder
2 teaspoons Chipotle powder
1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
1 teaspoon Dries Thyme

Mix all ingredients together and store in a glass container.


When ready to use rub a generous amount onto the ribs.


Place the ribs in the smoker and smoke 6 hours.











Remove from the smoker and place in a casserole dish with about 1/2 inch of apple juice cover tightly with foil and bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. you can stop here until ready to continue later or the next day

Brush with sauce place back on the smoker at 275 for about 1 hour.

I cant give you the recipe for the sauce because I mixed two different ones I had made earlier into one but it turned out well.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Italian Bread


This bread takes a while to make because of the pre-ferment, but it's worth it.

Italian Bread (From Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice)
Makes two 1-pound loaves

3 1/2 cups biga (instructions below)
2 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
1 2/3 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon diastatic barley malt powder (optional)
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup to 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water, lukewarm
Semolina flour or cornmeal for dusting

Remove the biga from the refrigerator 1 hour before making the dough. Cut it into about 10 small pieces with a pastry scraper or serrated knife. Cover and let sit for 1 hour to take off the chill.

Stir together the flour, salt, sugar, yeast, and malt powder in a large bowl. Add the biga pieces, olive oil, and 3/4 cup water and stir together until a ball forms, adjusting the water or flour according to need. The dough should be slightly sticky and soft, but not batterlike or very sticky. If the dough feels tough and stiff, add more water to soften (it is better to have the dough too soft than too stiff at this point).

Sprinkle flour on the counter and knead the dough for about 10 minutes, adding flour as needed, until the dough is tacky, but not sticky, and supple. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl.

Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.
Gently divide the dough into 2 equal pieces, and carefully form the pieces into two loaves, degassing the dough as little as possible. Lightly dust with a sprinkle of flour, cover with a towel or plastic wrap, and let rest for 5 minutes. Line a sheet pan with baking parchment or dust with cornmeal. Place the loaves on the pan and lightly mist with spray oil. Cover loosely.

Proof at room temperature for about 1 hour, or until the loaves have grown to about 1 ½ times their original size.

Preheat the oven to 500°F, having an empty sheet pan or cast-iron frying pan on the bottom rack or oven floor. Score the breads.

Pour 1 cup hot water into the steam pan on the bottom rack and close the door. Lower the oven setting to 450°F and bake until done, rotating 180 degrees, if necessary, for even baking. It should take about 20 minutes for loaves.

Biga

Makes enough for one Italian bread recipe

2 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons to 1 cup water, at room temperature

Stir together the flour and yeast. Add 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the water, stirring until everything comes together and makes a coarse ball. Adjust the flour or water, according to need, so that the dough is neither too sticky nor too stiff.

Sprinkle some flour on the counter and knead for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the dough is soft and pliable, tacky but not sticky.

Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover and ferment at room temperature for 2 to 4 hours, or until it doubles in size.

Knead the dough lightly to degas then re-cover. Place the bowl in the refrigerator overnight. You can keep this in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze it in an airtight plastic bag for up to 3 months.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Peach Tart

So what is the difference between a pie, tart, or flan??? see this link at the Pastry sampler
Peach tart adapted from the "Joy of Cooking"
Preheat oven to 400
Line a tart pan with a pie dough (see below) I used a whole double crust, what can I say I like crust.

Line the tart shell with sliced peaches (mine were cut into eighths)










Combine

2 eggs yolks
2 tbsp flour
2/3 to 1 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
pour this mixture over the sliced peaches.




Bake 15 minutes at 400, then reduce the heat to 300 and bake 50 minutes longer.

Double crust Pie Dough

Here is my Mom's Pie Dough Recipe, unlike her I will tell you the secret  on how to get it nice and flakey and tender. I took me about 4 years to get that out of her.

  • 2 cups sifted flower
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 2/3 cup shortning
Mix the flour and salt in a bowl
Flour and salt

(here is the seceret part)
Water and flour paste
Take 1/4 cup of this flour and mix it with the 1/3 cup of warter to form a paste, set aside.











Yes that is a dime for size
 Using a pastry cutter cut in the 2/3 cup of shortning, until 1/4 inch peices










 mix in the paste ( I find my hand works best) to form
a ball.











Cut in half for a double crust, I try to make it just a little larger than half for the bottom crust as you need just a little more.


Flatten slightly on a floured surface,
and roll out to the desired thickness










to cover the bottom of the pie plate.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Bread and Butter Pickles


(Recipe from Smitten Kitchen)
Makes 4 cups of pickles, filling a 1-quart jar

1 pound cucumbers, sliced 1/4-inch thick — pickling or kirby cucumbers work best
1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
1/8 cup salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, or 1/2 tablespoon ground
1/4 teaspoon celery seed

In a medium bowl, combine the cucumbers, onion and salt. Mix well. Cover the mixture with ice. Let stand at room temperature for two hours. In a pot, bring sugar, vinegar and spices to a boil. Drain cucumbers and onions. Add to vinegar mixture and bring almost back to a boil. Remove from heat and cool; store in an airtight jar in the fridge.

They will begin tasting pickled in just a couple hours. I made mine around 5 pm today and they were almost ready when I had dinner at 8 - I had another around 10 pm and they were just about perfectly pickled.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Corn on the Cob

It as amazing but a lot of people do not know how to cook corn on the cob, so I thought I would give some general directions.

1     Get your corn for a good source, around Elmvale I have found Valley Farm Market to be the best source, as they have the facilities to keep it fresh all day (all corn is picked in the morning no matter where you get it) and only bring it out when they need it most road side stands just let it sit in the sun deteriorating all day.

2     Shuck the corn just before you use it no more than 1 hour before it hits the pot.

3     Prepare your water you will need about 1 quart of salted water per cob in a large pot (the larger the better) bring to a roiling boil.

4     Place you cobs in the pot and bring back to a boil before you start timing you will need to boil the cobs for 5 to 10 minutes depending on how soft you like it. Most people do not cook their corn long enough and think the corn was bad or old. Don't forget fresh corn takes longer to cook than frozen as the frozen is parboiled prior to freezing.

5    Remove your corn using tongs, it helps to avoid burns from splashed water.

6    Prepare you corn as you see fit. I like to roll it in butter and sprinkle salt on it.

7    Enjoy!

Summer BBQ dinner


What can you say about a dinner like this except MMMM!
the potatoes were done on the smoker BBQ sliced about 1/2 inch thick and covered with olive oil and Lawery's seasoned salt and q-ed at 275 I thought low and slow would be good. Next time I will increase the temp to 375-400 for about 10 minutes a side the tune it down. The steaks were excellent with a little Montreal steak spice and the corn was also good, although we did have to let it set maybe a little too long waiting for the steaks.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Brioche Burger Buns


I made these buns for my barbecue on Saturday and they went over really well. I actually deviated a lot from the recipe that I am posting here, but I'm sure that they would be equally as delicious if one decided to, say, read the directions before making the dough.

For the curious, I originally forgot the water and added both eggs to the batter, so when I eventually added the water the dough turned out really sticky and I had to add about an extra half cup of flour. But they turned out okay anyway.

Brioche Burger Buns (Recipe from The New York Times)
Makes 8 4-to-5-inch burger buns

3 tablespoons warm milk
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups bread flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Sesame seeds (optional)


1. In a glass measuring cup, combine one cup warm water, the milk, yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about five minutes. Meanwhile, beat one egg.

2. In a large bowl, whisk flours with salt. Add butter and rub into flour between your fingers, making crumbs. Using a dough scraper, stir in yeast mixture and beaten egg until a dough forms. Scrape dough onto clean, well-floured counter and knead, scooping dough up, slapping it on counter and turning it, until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. The dough will be on the sticky side so it can be a bit messy, but keep in mind that the more flour you knead in, the tougher the buns will get. Try to leave them tackier than you would a round loaf.

3. Shape dough into a ball and return it to bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, one to two hours.

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using dough scraper, divide dough into 8 equal parts. Gently roll each into a ball and arrange two to three inches apart on baking sheet. Cover loosely and let buns rise in a warm place for one to two hours.

5. Set a large shallow pan of water on oven floor. Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack in center. Beat remaining egg with one tablespoon water and brush some on top of buns. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using. Bake, turning sheet halfway through baking, until tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

I made this side dish to go with our BBQ'ed pork chops and fried potatoes.
The recipie comes from Laurie Ann March's "A fork in the trail" an exceptional cookbook for camping meals that are to be dried to make them lighter, I find that I use quite a few of the recpies for everyday use as they are so good and very comfort orientated.
Laurie has a few sites that are worth checking out.
A fork in the Trail about her outdoor cookbook.
Outdoor adventure Canada, a web site dedicated to camping, canoeing, and other outdoor activities. (check out the forum a great source of information)
Wilderness Cooking, about cooking in the wilderness.

2 medium sweet potatoes peeled and cubed (I had about 4 cups)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh line juice
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 canned chipotle pepper, chopped (that's one pepper out of the can)
1/2 teaspoon adobo sauce from the can of peppers
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter

Boil the potatoes until fork tender, about 15-20 minutes.
drain and mash with the sour cream, lime juice and zest.
add the rest of the ingredents.

We found that I had a bit much lime, (I cook by feel not measuring) and maybe too much Chipotle for some of the family, but I was fine with it.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Sour Dough Bread


Thanks to my daughter Coady I have started making bread again, I have started with a French sour dough Baguette.

Here is the recipe I used and adapted to my style of cooking

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 c. warm water
2 tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 c. sourdough starter
4 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
More flour (1 c.)
cornmeal

In large mixing bowl, sprinkle dry yeast over water. Let dissolve 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons sugar, sourdough starter then gradually add 4 cups flour mixed with salt.
Cover bowl with damp towel, let rise 1 to 1 1/2 hours in warm place.
Turn dough onto floured board, work in about 1 cup more flour until dough is no longer sticky, then knead until satiny (about 5 minutes). Shape dough into 1 large or 2 long oval loaves. Set on cookie sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Let rise again in warm place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Put shallow pan of water on lower shelf of oven, preheat to 400 degrees. Make diagonal slashes in bread, preferably with razor blade so dough does not fall.
Bake 40 to 50 minutes, until crust is medium-dark brown. Set on rack to cool.


Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Welcome ! ! !

I have set up this blog to share my and my family's love of food.
So sit down and enjoy>