Home made croutons

I love bread. I love croutons. I love olive oil and garlic and balsamic vinegar. It's only natural then that every once in a while I get on a crusty crouton kick and go a little crazy.

Any sort of day old bread (or fresh for that matter, but a little stale is better) will work, but definitely do not use your run of the mill loaf of bread from the grocery store. You need something more airy and rustic, like ciabatta, focaccia or a good loaf of skinny french bread.

Cut the bread into thin strips without squishing it. You'll need a good knife. Place strips on a parchment lined cookie sheet and preheat your oven to about 325 degrees.

While the oven is heating in a small bowl mix olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Coat each sliced piece of bread, on both sides with the mixture (if you don't have a kitchen brush, you could use a new paintbrush or maybe even just a spoon). Once it's ready to go you can add a little extra salt or even some balsamic vinegar to taste.

Put the bread in the oven for 5 minutes and watch it. After 5 minutes check to see if the bread is getting golden and crusty and then just watch it every additional two minutes or so until it's looking like you want it.

Pull out of the oven and let cool. As the bread cools, it will get even more crusty.

These are great to eat alone with an ice cold diet coke for lunch or you can actually put them on a salad.

Or load them up with some bruschetta and enjoy a nice appetizer.

Quick Cheese Steaks

Okay, some background. I love cheese steak sandwiches. Really love them. My love for them didn't really develop until the first time I ate a cheese steak at the Dairy Cottage in a suburb of Philadelphia, Penn. At the Dairy Cottage you either ordered a 12 or 24 inch sandwich and they didn't really recommend sharing.

That sandwich, featured in the above picture was divine. I've been to Philly several times and eaten lots of steaks, but this one takes the cake over all others.

(Admittedly not the best picture. Sorry)

We regularly have a homemade version of a cheese steak for dinner.  It's fast and easy to prepare and makes everyone happy.  I've experimented a lot with different meat (deli meat, cube steak, steak thinly sliced) but I think I found the right combination of steak and cheese (we always use provolone but last night I used Swiss) and marinade and they were pretty awesome last night.

Here's what you'll need:

Good rolls - 2 per person if they're small.  We like the Ciabata rolls from Harmon's

Stir Fry beef already cut into strips.  Buy it that way at the grocery store or see if the butcher can do it for you.

1 large sweet onion

1-2 red peppers

For the Marinade:

salt

pepper

garlic or garlic salt (depends on your tastes)

1 tbsp soy sauce

2-4 tbsp worcester sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

First, place your strips of steak in a zip lock and add the marinade ingredients.  Let it stew for 10-20 minutes.  

Slice the onion into rings and the red pepper into very thin strips.  Place the onion and pepper into a hot skillet with a little bit of olive oil.  Cook the veggies to your liking....I like them black and caramelized.

Take the onion and pepper out of the skillet and cook the meat.  Because of the thin strips it will cook fast.  Give it about 3 minutes and toss.  Then add the onion and peppers back into the mix for another 3-5 minutes.  

Once everything is good and juicy and smells like heaven then add your cheese.  Last night, we used Swiss.  Let the cheese melt into the meat and then serve to family and friends.  The whole process takes about 20 minutes and everyone will walk away full and happy.

Croissants, Round 3 - call them conquered

After stewing all weekend, trying to figure out how Round Two went bad, I got up Monday morning and invented my own recipe. I realized I had a few challenges, the worst of which was altitude. Baking at a high altitude always requires a recipe modification and I'd made none to Julia's croissants.

So, I took matters into my own hands and invented my own recipe. I doubled the yeast, switched from regular unbleached/bread flour to cake flour, and doubled the butter. As soon as I saw my dough rising on the stove my hopes were high.

Throughout the day and I chilled and rolled and chilled and rolled I said silent prayers to the french croissant spirits to bless my pastries. Once I got all 12 rolled out and ready to proof I ran away. It was like waiting for the results of a pregnancy test. Seriously - that dramatic.

I hid upstairs for an hour and when it was time to gently lay them in the oven, I came downstairs, smelled the goodness that is bread dough, and walked over to the the oven to take a peek on top.

They were puffy. They looked soft and lovely. I was a bit excited. So excited in fact that I sat on one of the kids little red chairs in front of the over with the light on for 13 minutes while my little babies baked.

As I pulled them out of the oven I was near tears. They smelled better than anything I had ever smelled. They looked flaky. They looked perfect. I grabbed one by the corner and lifted it.....light as a feather.

Croissants were conquered!

The final test was to taste one. Now, I've never eaten a hot out of the oven croissant in my life and let me tell you, it was a little piece of heaven melting in my mouth.

I was told, by my three year old assistant that, "mommy, these are the best croissants I've ever eaten!"

By damn, I think he's right.

Now I just have to figure out how to do it again.

Croissants, round two

Okay -

The first round of Julia Child croissants sort of blew up in my face. In the end, all I made were rolls.

I resolved for Round Two to do things a bit differently.
1 - do a flour mix instead of straight up bread flour
2 - follow the chill times exactly
3 - be nicer and a bit softer in my rolling of the dough

You see, I realized that not only did I beat the dough up, I also didn't use enough butter. I doubled the recipe but didn't double the butter. What a dork!

Fast forward to this past weekend and Round Two.


I painstakingly followed the directions. I was soft and delicate and used enough butter. Everything seemed to be going really well. The dough seemed to be working in my favor. I pulled the lovely beauties out of the oven. They looked right. They smelled right.

They were all wrong.

I was devastated. The outside was beautiful and crisp and brown but the inside was...a roll. No fluffy and flaky layers of croissant and butter. Instead, I just had french tasting rolls. They were yummy, but not quite right.

It was sad. I almost cried. Instead, I sat down at the computer and tried to figure out what went wrong. I read dozens of recipes and watched videos on YouTube of chefs and french bakeries making these delicate little treats.

A few things became clear.
1 - high altitude is a bugger
2 - i needed more yeast - the croissants just aren't rising enough
3 - more butter! double, in fact.
4 - different flour - cake flour
5 - patience and love

Faced with yet another failure in the bread department (oh, Julia. Why is it so hard?) I am determined to continue the fight (the 9 hour fight) and end up with something any real french baker would be proud of.

It may take me the rest of my life.

But, when I woke up this morning, only one thing was on my mind. Today is the only day I have to try Round three this week and right now, as I type, a dozen reformed croissants (you see I invented my own recipe this morning) are proofing on the stove.

Stay tuned.

A few thoughts on salads

I didn't eat my first salad until I was 21 years old. I was a super picky eater, afraid of vegetables and things that grew in the ground. I thought lettuce tasted like dirt. But, on a trip with a teacher friend of mine I had to suck it up and eat lettuce.

And I liked it.

I still like salads - and can't ever figure out why they are always so much better at a restaurant or for take out than at home. Real food, that I cook for my family is generally always as good or better than something we'd go out and buy. But a salad - that's a tough one.

Yesterday though, I gave it the old salad try...twice.



For lunch?
Romaine lettuce
Croutons
Crispy shallots
Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil as a dressing

Garlic bread



For dinner?
Butter leaf lettuce
Shredded Carrots
Sun dried tomatoes
Green Onions
Wonton Strips
Grilled steak

Balsamic and Olive Oil


Both were yummy...

Trial and Error - Croissants, the first try

There are a few reasons I'll divulge at a later date, but I've decided to try my hand at croissants.

Yes, the authentic french kind.

Full of butter.

Melt in your mouth.

Bread is not my friend.  Every single time I've tried to follow a bread recipe it doesn't work.

Same thing for my croissants.  I tried this recipe - the authentic Julia Child one and, well, they were yummy.  But my croissants were just delicately shaped rolls.  No layers.  No flake.  No oui oui!

But, I'll try again this weekend, too.