~ BAKING IT OUT ~

I've been cooking by rote the last weeks. Today was the first day in a long time that I cooked happy (at least a little). Guess that's progress. Steps, steps.

I went outside between rains and clipped some crabapple branches that are about to burst into bloom, added some white heather sprigs and placed the vase on the table. I played some fado music and some Vivaldi and when I was feeling a bit better, I hit the kitchen.

Experimenting with alternate flours, I came up with a bread recipe today, which turned out really well. Nice crumb, dense and chewy. Great for toast or sandwiches. I included spelt, for its high gluten content and nutty flavor, as well as a little sorghum flour for extra nutrition. The rest was the usual all purpose white flour. Sorghum is a common crop in arid areas and comes from the seed head of a type of grass. The grains can be popped, like popcorn. It contains high amounts of B-vitamins, potassium and calcium. Spelt is high in protein (up to 25% more than in wheat) and B-vitamins. I cheated and used the bread machine to mix, knead and let the bread rise the first time. Then I shaped it and let it rise in a warm place for the second rise.

Spelt White Bread

1 1/4 c. warm water

1 T. dry yeast

2 T. brown sugar

1 egg

3/4 c. spelt flour

1/3 c. sorghum flour

3 c. all purpose flour

2 T. butter, softened

2 t. salt

In bread machine container, add ingredients in order given. Set machine to "dough" setting. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk. Punch down gently and shape dough into a tight rounded ball, tucking edges under. Set on a lightly floured baking sheet, cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place for another hour. Slash top a few times, 1/4 inch deep. Heat oven to 400ºF. and bake for 30 minutes, or until browned and it sounds hollow when tapped. Cool completely before slicing (yeah, right).

Makes one loaf.

~MEAT MACHINE ! ~

Vegetarians, take cover! I received my Christmas present yesterday ~ a heavy-duty meat grinder and sausage stuffer. Now I can make charcuterie and sausages at my house and not always have to go over to my friend's. But, when we do get together, we can go crazy making meaty marvels!

Of course, I had to try it out today. I still need to get some sausage casings, so sausages were out. I decided on a French-style terrine made with beef chuck, pork back fat, shallots & garlic, Marsala, Cognac, side bacon, pistachios and freshly-ground pâté spices. The grinder worked smoothly and quickly to get the meat and fat very fine. The mixture emulsified nicely when added to the aromatics and panada. So far, so good! I did a quenelle test - good spice and saltiness. Then into the terrine it went -- with great, smacking plops to force out any air. That's fun! Pan into a bain marie and patience, patience to wait for it to slowly cook in its bath. Once out, I weigh it with several cans to compact the meat so it slices nicely. It's a little early to break it out, but I cut a slice for you to see...

I was particularly pleased with the natural gelatin it made - the flavor is earthy and authentic - it tastes like the pâtés and terrines I buy in Europe. The Marsala comes through nicely. Here in the states, more specialty stores are carrying these, but nowhere near the variety available there. The main commercial producer here is D'Artagnan. I guess I'll just be making my own :-) I'm envisioning late spring lunches with a friend or four, serving young salad greens from the garden, homemade terrine slices, some chilled pinot gris and broiled strawberries with vanilla sauce for dessert. Yeah, I can see that. Can you?

A couple of months ago, I made this Pâté Grandmère - made with pork shoulder, pork liver, cream, brandy and spices. Voilà! -

Off on my meaty adventures ... I'm thinking some fresh, smoky paprika sausage for breakfast tomorrow.

♦ PANETTONE RECIPE ♦

My favorite light display

Thanks for patiently waiting for the recipe. This one is based on a King Arthur Flour recipe from their huge baking book. However, I've adapted it to reflect more of the taste I find in the panettoni I find in Italy. I highly recommend using their Fiori di Sicilia flavoring, which you can find at www.bakerscatalogue.com as it is THE right flavor. Otherwise, use equal parts orange, lemon and vanilla extract to achieve that elusive panettone taste. I urge you to seek out really good candied orange peel or make your own. That vile fruitcake stuff they sell at Christmas time should be against the law and using it will ruin this.

Unless you have baker's biceps, you really need a heavy-duty mixer to get through this formidable dough. Making the biga ahead of time, instead of just relying on yeast doing its job in an hour or two, makes a big difference in rising when a bread like this is so dense with sugars and fats.

If you don't have a traditional panettone pan, you can use a pandoro pan or tube type pan to avoid a doughy center. If you want to be totally traditional, specialty cooking supply stores sell the typical waxed, brown papers to hold the dough in the pan and help force a high rise.

And, should you have leftover panettone ... Jamie Oliver has a recipe for Christmas panettone bread pudding that is the definition of decadence! Rich, rich, rich. We've had it as our Christmas Eve dinner dessert finale four times and I recommend it. For the recipe, go here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-oliver/panettone-bread-and-butter-pudding-recipe/index.html

HOLIDAY PANETTONE BREAD

For the Biga (starter):

1 1/2 c. unbleached flour

1/2 c. water

1/2 t. instant yeast (SAF is a good one)

Dough:

3 large eggs

1/2 c. unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2 1/2 c. unbleached flour

1/3 c. sugar

5 t. instant yeast

1 1/2 t. salt

2 t. pure vanilla extract

1/2 t. Fiori di Sicilia extract, OR 1/4 t. EACH of pure orange and lemon extract

***

3/4 c. golden raisins

1/4 c. European style candied orange peel

1/4 c. pine nuts (optional)

Pearl sugar

For the Biga:

Combine the flour, water and yeast, kneading briefly to make a stiff dough. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a towel and let rise at room temperature overnight. Alternatively, if you want to start it farther ahead, you can place the dough in the refrigerator and cover with plastic film and allow it to rise for up to 24 hours.

For the Dough:

In the bowl of a heavy mixer, combine the biga with all the remaining ingredients, except the fruit, nuts and pearl sugar. Knead the dough until it's smooth - it will be sticky at first, then come together nicely. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, covered, in a warm place and let rise for an hour.

Remove dough to board and knead in the fruit, just until the dough accepts the fruit. Don't overhandle! Let it rest for ten minutes or so, then shape into a long log and cut in half. Place each half into the panettone pan lined with the paper or lightly greased or a lightly greased tube pan. Press pearl sugar into the top of the dough, about 2 T. each loaf. Return to a warm place to rise for 2 hours. It may not rise much, but it will become puffy and soft.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 45 minutes, tenting with foil if it seems to be browning too much on top. Remove from oven and turn onto a rack to cool. Once cool, store in airtight container.

**Note: if you want to make small loaves, bake at 325 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Watch carefully, as they tend to bake quickly and you don't want them to be dry. Instead of pearl sugar, you can dust with powdered sugar while still warm (not hot).

FESTIVE PANETTONE

There is nothing quite like the smell of panettone, the Italian Christmas bread found virtually everywhere in Italy when the holidays approach. In the U.S., it's becoming easier to find, although most of the pre-packaged ones can be dry and you should check the date to be sure it's as fresh as possible.

When you first slice or tear into it, the scent is elusive ... notes of citrus, vanilla, honey, flowers ... all mixing and separating ... first one, then another, then one gorgeous scent at once. Can you tell I love the stuff?

Last night I made a batch of panettoncini - mini panettone loaves. I usually bake a whole loaf, but after seeing all the sizes available in the Italian pasticceria OVA, on Milan's fashion street, I decided that individual ones would be perfect both for giving and for breakfast with my latte!

I'm on vacation at the moment, so will post my recipe when I return. Buon Natale!

~ POLENTA & SQUASH TORTA ~

I came up with this recipe recently, while visiting a friend in Italy. Seeing all the vibrantly-colored squashes in the outdoor markets inspired me. I came home with a gorgeous red kuri squash, dug through the cupboards and got cooking. The prep time is about an hour, but you can make it ahead (up to two days) to the refrigeration point and finish it in the oven when you're ready. This would be a vegetarian recipe by simply omitting the bacon (gasp!), unless you're a vegetarian who doesn't eat cheese, in which case my blog is probably not for you - heeeee.

POLENTA & SQUASH TORTA

Ingredients:
1 lg. onion, chopped
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 T. butter
Salt
4 sprigs thyme, leaves stripped
3 T. sweet Marsala wine
5 c. vegetable broth
1 1/2 c. coarse polenta
1 lb. Kuri or Kabocha squash, prepared (see below)
4 slices meaty bacon, fried and crumbled
1/2 c, sour cream OR 3 oz. cream cheese
Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated

Begin by preparing the squash. Quarter it (be careful), seed and peel. Cut into about 1 inch chunks and place in large saucepan.Barely cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer gently for 25-30 minutes, or until very soft. Drain well, then mash to a puree and set aside. In a saute pan on medium-low heat, combine 2 T. of the olive oil, the tablespoon of butter, a generoussprinkling of salt, thyme leaves and the chopped onions. Saute very slowly, stirring occasionally,until onions caramelize. Take your time with this. It will take about 40 minutes. If they start browning too quickly, add a tablespoon of Marsala to slow them down and lower the heat to continue. Once the onions are caramelized, add the Marsala to deglaze the pan, then add to the squash puree, along with the crumbled bacon. While the onions are cooking, get out a large, non-stick stock pot.Combine the broth and polenta, whisking well. Bring to a boil, whisking often to keep it smooth. Reduce the heat to a bare simmer, whisking often, and cook the polenta for at least 30 minutes, until it is very thick. Remove from heat and stir in the squash puree mixture and the sour cream, stirring until smooth. Butter a deep, 10 inch pie plate or a shallow, round casserole. Pour the polenta in, smooth over the top and allow to cool completely in the refrigerator to set. You can cover it at this point and wait up to 2 days to bake the torta. Unmold the polenta torta upside down onto an oiled baking sheet, brush it with olive oil, and bake in a 375F oven for 40 minutes. Cover top of torta with grated Parmigiano cheese and bake 10 more minutes, finishing briefly under the broiler to brown the cheese. Cut into wedges and serve.
Serves 6-8 as a main course with a salad.

~SQUASH-Y SOUP ON A RAINY NIGHT~

Outside, it's very evident that we live near the Olympic rain forest. The yard is a series of small lakes which I shall start naming soon, the cats are in a foul mood, a flood watch is in effect through tomorrow night and I think I see the beginnings of algae forming between my toes. The only happy ones are the ducks. They think it's marvelous! On a day and night such as this, all I want is comfort food. Today, that meant tackling the enormous hubbard squash from the garden. The thing weighed 14 lbs.! I gave a third of it away, used a third and still have a 5.2 lb. piece left. And more squashies still on the vine.

Big 'un, eh? Hubbards do tend toward the large, but it's only the two of us. So, out came the long Santoku knife and I went to work! I'd been mulling a recipe in my mind since last night. Of course, I wanted to use my own home-cured pancetta. The stuff is freaking delicious! I'm thrilled at the depth of flavor and how easy it is to make. It really only requires patience. That's a bit difficult for me, but I managed it by making two big slabs at once, so now I can start a new cure before I'm all out. Anyway, back to the soup. I cut about a 6 lb. piece of it into manageable slices, peeled and cut it into big chunks. Into an oiled baking pan they went. I painted the tops with more olive oil, sprinkled on coarse sea salt and a generous grinding of black pepper and into the oven for roasting, to intensify the flavor of the squash.

Pretty, huh? The house smelled very autumn-y. I like that word. It's cozier sounding than autumnal. But, I digress. I fried the pancetta, more than I needed to, since I always snitch a fair amount of it. A crowd of dogs and cats was gathering in the kitchen as it crisped. Sorry, guys. No sharing of this stuff! Yes, I actually do say no to them sometimes! And on I went, forgetting the dumping rain outside. Soon, there was hot, sweet, earthy soup to soothe my soul.

HUBBARD SQUASH SOUP WITH PANCETTA

Serves 8

Squash sizes vary a lot, and if you can find one of a 3 lb. size, you can halve this recipe and serve 4-6 people.

Feel free to substitute other squash varieties of a similar texture. The amount of chicken broth is variable, depending upon how thick or thin you like your soup. Nice served with crusty bread or toasts.

Ingredients:

A 5-6 lb. Hubbard squash

Olive oil - about 1/2 c. total

2 large cloves garlic, sliced

1 medium onion, chopped

1/4 t. red chili flakes

4 sprigs thyme, leaves stripped and rubbed

4 oz. pancetta, diced

6-8 c. chicken broth, preferably homemade

Approx. 1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil

Coarse sea salt

Black pepper, freshly ground

Heat oven to 375 F. Cut squash into thick slices, seed and peel. Cut squash into large chunks - about 2 x 3 inches. Place chunks in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan which has been oiled with 3 T. extra virgin olive oil. Brush squash pieces with olive oil, sprinkle coarse sea salt over them and grind a generous amount of black pepper over all. Roast, uncovered, for 45 minutes, turning halfway through.

Meanwhile, in a large stockpot, heat 3 T. olive oil over medium-low heat. Add onions, garlic and chili flakes and sauté until translucent. Add thyme leaves, remove from heat and let stand until squash is done roasting. When squash is tender and browned in places, remove from oven and add to onion mixture. Add 6 cups of the chicken broth to the pot, cover and bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Simmer for 25 minutes, until squash is very soft. Remove from heat. While soup is simmering, fry pancetta pieces in 2 T. olive oil until crispy and set aside. Using a stick blender, blend squash soup until smooth. At this point, you can decide if you need to thin the soup more or not. Add more chicken broth, as you prefer. Once blended, stir in the crispy pancetta. Allow to stand at least 20 minutes for flavors to blend before serving. Top with parsley, a bit of shredded parmesan or croutons, as desired.

FAVAS AT THE END OF SUMMER

my fava plants

Every year, I choose an experimental vegetable or two for the garden. This year, I chose fava beans, cantaloupe and watermelon. In our climate, the latter two are definitely in

the 'unlikely to work' category but after last year's crazy hot summer, I thought I'd risk it. Naturally, this summer was colder and wetter than in many years, so we can move the melons to the 'complete bust' category. The cantaloupes look like tiny, fuzzy

testicles a

nd the watermelons are ... pretty leaves. But, happily, the favas were a great success!

big bowl of beans

I'd always thought of favas as long-season vegetables (true) that needed a lot of heat and dry weather (false). I saw on the seed packet that they do well in coastal climates so I gave them a try. They grew less like beans than like small trees. I could see where the Jack and the Beanstalk story might have come from! The flowers were beautiful - black and white and fragrant - out of which the bean pods slowly emerged. I usually think of fava beans as a spring food, served as a salad with pecorino cheese, mint or parsley and olive oil and salt to dress them. But, here I am in late September harvesting huge pods. I got to work shelling them. The pods are pithy and soft i

nside - the beans grow in a downy bed. The size of beans can vary in each pod.

cozy beans

Favas are fairly labor-intensive to prepare. The process is: shell the beans from the pods, blanch in boiling water for 3-5 minutes, when cool enough to handle, slip the

outer skins from the beans and then proceed with recipe. It's a lot, but I enjoy the process - I just kind of use it as a meditative time. It'd definitely be more fun to do with friends around the table, though. I ended up with about five cups of fava beans from 18 plants.

Many cultures use fava beans in their cuisine. Referred to as broad beans in the UK and other countries, the beans are used in a variety of dishes. Mexico and South American countries eat them fried, as a snack. A typical dish of Puglia is fava bean puree with chicory; the salad with pecorino cheese I mentioned is popular in northern Italy, Umbria has a dish called scafata using favas and chard - Italy has many recipes using fava beans and there are interesting folklore stories surrounding this legume. In Greece, they are eaten in salads and boiled in stews. The middle eastern countries use the dried beans in falafel and also eat it in various purees. In the spirit of the ending of summer, I made this for dinner tonight, in an Italian fashion. Now I want more favas to cook with!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

SUMMER'S END WARM FAVA BEAN SALAD

(Insalata fave alla fine dell'estate)

1/4 lb. guanciale, chopped fine (or use pancetta)

4 T. olive oil

3 small zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

4 green onions, white part only, sliced

1 large clove garlic, minced

2 T. fresh lemon juice

4 c. shelled, blanched and peeled fava beans

2 T. finely chopped Italian parsley

Freshly ground pepper

pinch salt

1/4 t. red chile flakes

Heat olive oil in large skillet and add guanciale. Cook over medium high heat until crispy. Add zucchini, green onions and garlic and saute, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Squeeze lemon juice onto vegetables, add fava beans and continue sauteeing for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat, stir in parsley, pepper and salt to taste. Pour into serving bowl and sprinkle with red chile flakes. Serve warm or cold.

Serves 6 as a side dish