you can call me Martha Stuart

I am going to my boss' house tomorrow night for a dinner with the coworkers, and we were each asked to bring something along. I decided this was a perfect excuse for round deux of bread making 101...obvs. Round one did not go so well, something Ike and his family can attest to unfortunately. well this time, as it were, I believe that I might've mastered this baked enigma. actually, homemade bread recipes seem very simple. maybe I just suck at baking...something I've suspected  for awhile now. anyhoo, I give you my homemade rosemary olive oil bread + the recipe for all you bakers out there.

What you'll need

* 1 cup warm water (between 100 and 110 degrees)

* 1 package yeast 

* 1 cup fresh rosemary

* 1 tablespoon olive oil

* 1 tablespoon salt

* 1 tablespoon sugar

* 2 cups flour

* butter/shortening for greasing bowl

Start by mixing together the flour, salt, and rosemary in a bowl. In another bowl put the warm water (2 cups) and sprinkle yeast and sugar on top. Mix together and it should become a milky color. Let sit for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes the yeast mixture should have doubled in size-this means the yeast has been activated*. Pour the yeast and water into the flour mixture. Add the olive oil. Cover the bowl with a hand towel and let sit for 30 minutes. After thirty minutes put bread on a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, wash out your mixing bowl and then butter and flour it to keep bread from sticking. Allow dough to rise in the bowl (again covered with a towel) for an hour. The bread should triple in size during this time. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Take bread out of the bowl and put onto a baking sheet that has been either greased or covered with cornmeal (again to keep from sticking). Put bread in oven for 1 hour. To check whether the bread is done take it out of the oven, flip it over and tap it hard with your thumb. It should sound hollow. You can also use a meat thermometer to measure the internal temperature, which should be right around 200 degrees. 

As a side note...I also made this gem. It didn't look like it rose the way a cake is supposed to, but it was damn good. You can find the recipe for this Reine de Saba avec Glaçage au Chocolat (aka chocolate almond cake with chocolate butter icing) in Julia Child's book, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking".

* The warm water is crucial. Use cold or room temperature water and you'll end up like me...wasting 3 packages of yeast trying to figure out what went wrong.

tasty tidbits

I love cooking shows. all of them. and now I have a new hour and television to add to my must-watch list every week. it's called Chef Academy and I'm mostly a fan because I feel like I'm learning cool new recipes when I watch it. this weekend Issac and I decided to try Grandma Louise's  Tomato Sauce. it's super rustic and simple, and most importantly...so so delicious. I copied the recipe here straight from the website:

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 lb (2.7 kg) Beef or Heirloom tomatoes

• 4 Star anise

• 1 Vanilla pod

• Sea salt & cracked black pepper to season

• White sugar

• 2 Sprig fresh thyme

• 1-2 Bay leaves

Infusion

• Fresh garlic

• 28gm bunch fresh basil

• Extra virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Place a heavy cast pan to heat up.

2. Wash the tomatoes and halve roughly.

3. Place into the hot pan and season with salt, pepper and a touch of sugar.

4. Add the anise and vanilla.

5. Allow the tomatoes to start to cook then press them gently with a masher to help them to release their juice.

6. Reduce the heat down to just simmering and continue for about 1-2 hours until a thickened paste. This slow evaporation of the moisture from the tomatoes will produce a deep color concentrated flavor without any bitterness.

7. Crack the garlic and add along with the basil which is just halved and throw in.

8. Combine with the warm paste and finish with a good amount of olive oil to finish the infusion. Allow to cool before storing ready for use.

**you'll notice that the recipe never tells you when to put the thyme in (which I found odd being that it's listed under the ingredients), nor does it tell you when to put the bay leaf in (also odd). I added the bay leaf as soon as it started simmering, and I added the thyme with the basil. it worked pretty well, and the sauce was amazing.

mash tomatoes and let simmer....

add basil and thyme....

slap on top of some spaghetti, or in my case fettuccine, and enjoy!

this sauce was delish!! perfect with some garlic bread and a glass of wine. of course everything goes well with a glass of wine.

part deux

continuing on to my favorite part of the NYC lunch, the grilled cheese. I'll be honest, I've made a few of these in my day but this one was definitely one of my favorites. also super simple which is always a plus.

what you'll need:

* 2 slices of sourdough bread (or whatever you like best. texas toast would be great too)

* 3 slices white cheddar cheese (2 is probably sufficient but more cheese is always best in my book)

*white onion

*butter

*dijon mustard

start by caramelizing the onions. do this by heating up the butter (a tablespoon or two) in a skillet on medium heat and adding the onion (in long slices). keep the heat on med/low and stir continuously to ensure that the onion caramelizes correctly and doesn't burn. once the onion is done butter one side of each of the bread slices. spread dijon mustard on the other side of each piece. add the cheddar and onion and throw on the skillet until golden brown. 

I was craving something spicy the last time I made this so I added some slices/sauteed jalapeno which turned out to be delicious.

enjoy!

tasty tidbits

I just realized that it's been an insanely long time since I shared a recipe with you all.  last February while in New York for fashion week, {*tear} I walked into Rue 57 for a little lunch. I have to admit, when I check out the menu which included french food, american food, and sushi, my first thought was wtf is this place? in this city that is filled with uber chic restaurants (and people) I was having a monster craving for a grilled cheese and {lucky me} they actually had one on the menu! this was not just any grilled cheese. it was a white cheddar grilled cheese with caramelized onions on sourdough with a frisee salad on the side. I've decided to break this recipe into two, mostly to make you wait for the best part. so...check out my version of the frisee side salad that is super simple and equally delicious.

what you'll need:

*frisee (you can buy it in bulk at Central Market)

*bacon

*granny smith apples

*balsamic vinaigrette 

*olive oil

cook the bacon and chop into small pieces. cut apples into very thin slices. throw some frisee on a plate. on top add your apples and bacon. whisk together the balsamic vinaigrette and olive oil (I just add a tidge of olive oil but it's totally up to you). toss the salad with the dressing and voile! you have a delicious, oh-so-simple side salad. if you are someone who enjoys blue cheese or gorgonzola {I am not} you could easily add one of those in for even more flavor.

bon appetite!