This month's second recipe was chosen by Andrea of Nummy Kitchen. She chose white pizza with arugula. mmmm I liked this recipe and it's pretty damn easy too.
I suck at reading recipes. I saw the garlic, thyme and red pepper flake in the ingredient list but didn't see where they were being used so I kneaded them into the dough. I thought it was a little weird but that's OK. Then I see the instructions for the garlic oil. Oops. Oh well.
Oh and I used my fancy unbleached bread flour. I can definitely taste the difference in the crust. It's good. You should try it. Unless you already use it and I am just slow to the party. Which is a definite possibility.
These came out pretty good. What I did was I put the entire ball of dough in the fridge and then I pull off a chunk for a personal pizza when I want one. Then I cooked it on a skillet, kinda the way you grill a pizza except in a pan. I still have some dough left but I am figuring it'll make about 6 9" pizzas.
Hopefully I'll get around to posting these pics too.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Daring Bakers: Dobos Torte
I really had the intention of trying to make it pretty at some point. Or least to make it decent looking. But that didn't work out so well.
My buttercream definitely came out more like a ganache. I probably should have chilled it a bit before trying to put it on the cake. That would have helped thicken it up so there wouldn't be a pool of it running off the cake in every possible direction. Oh well.
I poured the extra caramel onto the pan and let it cool with the cake layer. When it was still somewhat warm and sticky I pulled off some of the extra stuff and pulled it around and tried to make some random stringy shaped caramel things. So those went on instead of hazelnuts.
I made it but I don't think I will be making it again. You don't get a good cakey texture because they are so thin and there is so much frosting. I guess it's interesting looking although that's never really been my thing. Oh well. Maybe I'll like next month's pick better.
I have been meaning to upload my pics but so far that hasn't happened yet.
The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful
of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos
Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite
Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.
My buttercream definitely came out more like a ganache. I probably should have chilled it a bit before trying to put it on the cake. That would have helped thicken it up so there wouldn't be a pool of it running off the cake in every possible direction. Oh well.
I poured the extra caramel onto the pan and let it cool with the cake layer. When it was still somewhat warm and sticky I pulled off some of the extra stuff and pulled it around and tried to make some random stringy shaped caramel things. So those went on instead of hazelnuts.
I made it but I don't think I will be making it again. You don't get a good cakey texture because they are so thin and there is so much frosting. I guess it's interesting looking although that's never really been my thing. Oh well. Maybe I'll like next month's pick better.
I have been meaning to upload my pics but so far that hasn't happened yet.
The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful
of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos
Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite
Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Century Eggs and Tofu
This is one of those things I had a bunch when I was growing up. It was one of those easy throw on the table, no heat, good for hot days dishes. It's usually served as one of a number of dishes family style with rice.
The picture is... maybe not the most appetizing. And this might be a bit of an acquired taste. Century eggs are a bit pungent and rich and musky. I don't know how else to describe it. It's one of those you just have to try to understand things. I bought a box of 6 for $4 and they are a pantry item. As far as I know of, they don't go bad like ever. It doesn't cost much to try it and it's definitely authentic. You won't find this at any sort of takeout place. At least not around here.
The sauce is definitely an eyeball thing. Just don't go too heavy with the fish sauce or sesame oil. Probably could use more soy sauce but I'm not big on a lot of salt. Could also throw in anything you want, teriyaki sauce, oyster sauce, sweet chili sauce come to mind.
Century Eggs and Tofu
2 century eggs (preserved duck eggs)
1 block silken tofu
a small bunch finely chopped chives
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
a couple drops fish sauce
Drain and chop up the silken tofu into chunks.
Peel the century eggs and cut into small pieces, about 1/4-1/8" cubes, and sprinkle on top of the tofu.
Sprinkle with chives
Drizzle all the sauces over.
Serve chilled.
The picture is... maybe not the most appetizing. And this might be a bit of an acquired taste. Century eggs are a bit pungent and rich and musky. I don't know how else to describe it. It's one of those you just have to try to understand things. I bought a box of 6 for $4 and they are a pantry item. As far as I know of, they don't go bad like ever. It doesn't cost much to try it and it's definitely authentic. You won't find this at any sort of takeout place. At least not around here.
The sauce is definitely an eyeball thing. Just don't go too heavy with the fish sauce or sesame oil. Probably could use more soy sauce but I'm not big on a lot of salt. Could also throw in anything you want, teriyaki sauce, oyster sauce, sweet chili sauce come to mind.
Century Eggs and Tofu
2 century eggs (preserved duck eggs)
1 block silken tofu
a small bunch finely chopped chives
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
a couple drops fish sauce
Drain and chop up the silken tofu into chunks.
Peel the century eggs and cut into small pieces, about 1/4-1/8" cubes, and sprinkle on top of the tofu.
Sprinkle with chives
Drizzle all the sauces over.
Serve chilled.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Barefoot Bloggers: Mango Banana Daquiri's
... but not really. So I had a dilemma. The recipe is for a daquiri but I don't drink. It's not that I am opposed to drinking or whatever, but I just don't.
I decided to make a Mango Banana Smoothie instead. Pretty much replace the liquor with yogurt. And I halved it so I could make it in my magic bullet. Because I am cheap and don't own a real food processor or blender. One of these days I will get one, I swear.
I used an orange simple syrup. I could try to claim things about subtle the subtle citrus flavor it gave it but really I used it because I have a quart of it in the fridge and need to find uses for it. And I wasn't going to make another batch of simple syrup when I have that one sitting there waiting to be used.
Anyway, my smoothie was good for breakfast. Check out other Barefoot Bloggers to get a real Daquiri.
I decided to make a Mango Banana Smoothie instead. Pretty much replace the liquor with yogurt. And I halved it so I could make it in my magic bullet. Because I am cheap and don't own a real food processor or blender. One of these days I will get one, I swear.
I used an orange simple syrup. I could try to claim things about subtle the subtle citrus flavor it gave it but really I used it because I have a quart of it in the fridge and need to find uses for it. And I wasn't going to make another batch of simple syrup when I have that one sitting there waiting to be used.
Anyway, my smoothie was good for breakfast. Check out other Barefoot Bloggers to get a real Daquiri.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Bagels
J sent me this article about what foods were worth making at home and what should be bought. One of the items that the said you should make is bagels.
I did something that was a combination of Smitten Kitchen's bagels and Alton Brown's pretzels.
69 g bagels are about the same size as Lenders bagels. I think it's a better size than the big New York style bagels. I know, I'm not a very good New Yorker. But the smaller bagels are a much better portion size. If you are one of those healthy types then having one bagel is a nice healthy size portion. If you are not, it means it's small enough you can have a couple with different flavors. Your choice how you want to look at it.
I did something that was a combination of Smitten Kitchen's bagels and Alton Brown's pretzels.
69 g bagels are about the same size as Lenders bagels. I think it's a better size than the big New York style bagels. I know, I'm not a very good New Yorker. But the smaller bagels are a much better portion size. If you are one of those healthy types then having one bagel is a nice healthy size portion. If you are not, it means it's small enough you can have a couple with different flavors. Your choice how you want to look at it.
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