September Diary Part One

 Some of what I have been cooking/baking 

in the first half of September. 

More Bread.  Two 500g batches. In the fridge for two days. 

Baked seven small baguettes and a small boule.

Saved enough to make Matt a 3 cheese veggie pizza for dinner.

Topped with sliced tomatoes, green and red peppers and green and black olives.

Burgers for a late breakfast one morning.

Made from ground chuck

and served with homemade fries. 

Pan seared halibut, finished in a hot oven.

Top with a chopped tomato, Kalamata Olives, 

garlic, fresh basil, lemon zest and lemon juice, salt, pepper and olive oil "salsa".

Had a craving for Moussaka.

Hadn't made it in quite a while.

Pollo Alla Marengo 

This was actually breakfast for Moe.

I took the same to work for lunch. 

 with Linguine Puttanesca.

Made this dinner to take over to our friends and neighbours. 

Celebrating Clif's retirement with one of his favourite dinners. Prawn Etouffee.

Roast chicken is a staple and

this one was roasted specifically for  

Hot Chicken sandwiches with homemade twice fried french fries

and of course the traditional canned peas. 

We have a glut of homegrown tomatoes

so Caprese Salads have been

on the menu often.

This one served with homemade focaccia.

and this share one with 

 Capocollo and Genoa salami, and olives.

Recent Bread and Pizza Bakes

All from the same bread dough recipe.

Which can be found here:

Artisan Bread Recipe

Pepperoni Deluxe

All Pizzas are baked on a stone on the Grill

at about 600°F.

Rim Shot.

Matt's pizza.  Matt is a vegetarian.

This time he wanted just a simple three cheese pizza.

Rim Shot.

This was a 500g flour batch of dough at 75% hydration.

Same day bake.

Crumb shot. 

Got to love our Canadian flour.

Pain d'Epi

Second half of a batch of dough left in the

fridge overnight.

Shiny Crumb.

Dressed and ready to go on the stone.

Pepperoni, mushrooms and olives.

Rim Shot

Matt's Pizza

Cheese, two types of olives, tomatoes from our garden

and homemade pesto sauce. 

Love a puffy rim.

First half of the same dough the Pain d'Epi.  

Only this batch was baked the same day. 

One of Matt's pizzas.

This one topped with artichokes and pesto.

Another rim shot.

Moe and I shared a pepperoni and olive pizza.

Rim shot

And another. 

Decided to make rounds instead

of baguettes this time.

Nine  small rounds 

and three small Boules

Matt's Pizza Margherita 

Rim Shot

Puff Pastry Savory Tarts

These are easy to make.  

Use frozen store bought puff pastry

or try the recipe below.

A quick and easy puff pastry

based on one of Julia Child's recipes.

Filling for this tart was caramelized onions with garlic,

spooned into the middle of a 6 inch square.  

Topped with sliced tomatoes, feta cheese

and Kalamata olives.  A couple of sprigs of

fresh thyme and a tiny drizzle of  olive oil.

Baked  at 450° until golden brown. 

Easy to adapt.

I like it with eggplant and tomatoes 

and a little pesto.

Or use spinach, artichoke hearts, green or black olives,

Parmesan or mozzarella cheese, blue cheese, etc. 

Unlimited possibilities. 

Pastry is based on Julia Child's Fast French Puff Pastry.

2 1/2 cups of flour

1 lb of butter

Cut into small cubes (1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces)

Add 3/4 teaspoon of salt

and the cubes of butter to the flour.

Add enough ice water to moisten and

then tip out on to a floured board.

Mixture will be shaggy.

Using hands bring together and then

roll out into a rectangle

and fold like an envelop.

Roll and fold four times and then

refrigerate for an hour.

Cut pastry in half and roll out each half

into a 12" square.

Cut each square into four 6" squares.

Note: Optional. My grandmother always added a little baking powder

to her pastry dough, so I usually add 1/2 a teaspoon.

Buttermilk Apple Fritters

Moe wanted a donut.  

Unfortunately a yeast dough donut takes too long to

make on short notice.

But there is always Apple Fritters.

They can be made from start to finish in less than an hour. 

Buttermilk Apple Fritters

=========================

2 cups Flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon Salt

2/3 cup Sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

1 cup Buttermilk

2 Eggs

2 Tablespoons melted butter

2 cups finely chopped apple (2 to 3 apples depending on size).

Cooking Oil enough to fill pan a few inches

Toppings:

Brown Butter  Glaze.

powdered sugar

cream or buttermilk

vanilla extract

.

Peel and finely chop apples.

Can be used as is, or I like to saute them in a little butter and

brown sugar until softened.

Note:  If sauteing first, drain off any excess liquid before adding

to batter.

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, cinnamon and

nutmeg together.

Beat eggs and add buttermilk, vanilla and melted butter.

Heat oil to 340°F  to 350°F.

When oil is ready, add Buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and

mix until well combined.  Add apples.

Drop by spoonful into hot oil.    When one side has browned, turn

over and cook until golden.   They don't take long to cook.  Just

a couple of minutes on both sides.  Drain on paper towels.

Glaze

Sorry I never measure when making a glaze.

Here is the basic outline. 

Brown two or three tablespoons of butter.

(don't burn)

Add to powdered sugar along with a splash of cream or buttermilk

and vanilla.

Stir until smooth.

Dip warm fritters in glaze and place on wire rack.

Stuffed Baby Back Ribs

Stuffed Baby Back Ribs. 

This is one of my mom's recipes.

Baby Back Ribs stuffed

with a bread sage stuffing. 

Ready for the oven.

With mashed potatoes, 

fresh shucked peas and squash.

Recipe can be found here

Stuffed Baby Back Ribs

Homemade Rye Bread and Smoked Corned Beef

Rye Bread started with a Biga the night before

and bread made and baked the next day.

Four loaves from a 1000g batch.

Hand-mixed. 

Using the stretch and fold method.

Picked up a small corned beef from local grocery store.

Decided to smoke it on the grill using

the pellet tube.

Moe had smoked corned beef on rye with 

dill pickles for dinner. 

LINK TO RYE BREAD RECIPE