french toast

Exactly a week ago today Mia and I had the most decadent of breakfasts.


We had French Toast with strawberries, Greek yogurt and powdered sugar. It was as would be imagined to die for. One of the things that really made this was that we went heavy on the vanilla in the "batter" for the toast, and didn't put nutmeg or cinnamon in at all. The vanilla really helped smooth the strawberry and yogurt tartness out. Also it is important to note that strawberries when used as a condiment like this always benefit from a bit of sugaring before hand.

a nothing

To me, a true sign of a good cook, is the ability to create something delicious out of nothing, in no time.

It is not everyday that you have the time or patience to go off and create labor intensive meals, certainly I love it, but the majority of the time lets face it, you arrive home from work starving and want something delicious and fast! There are some standards that work here, almost any stir-fry, the Ma-Po Tofu that I love to make, a quick fresh sauce for pasta, lots of things will be successful.

There are days when there is also not a great deal of ingredient in the house and you have not even the patience for these stand-bys. I will admit that on days like that I sometimes admit defeat and eat out of the fridge. However I find that egg-drop soup is an excellent solution for days like this. All you really need is chicken broth and an egg. The other night I was cold (this was a little while ago) and feeling a bit under the weather, so soup was exactly what I wanted. In addition to the broth and egg I added a dash of curry powder, diced jalapeños, and spinach. I am happy to report that it was a total success!

baking

I have always had a knack for baking with yeast. Part of this is practice, and part of this is pure luck it seems, because I've done some things that by all accounts should have ended in tremendous failure but didn't.

The best example I have of a should-have-been-failed endeavor was at my parent's house. I decided that I would make cinnamon rolls for the next morning's breakfast. I of course decided this rather late in the game so was trying to get about two risings and baking starting when I was already tired. This particular recipe (and I believe most for cinnamon rolls) has you scald and skim milk, then let it cool down until you can add the yeast to start in the milk. I scalded and skimmed, and then did not have the patience to let it cool down, but I knew it would kill the yeast if I didn't, so I stuck it in the freezer for as long as my patience would allow; which was probably a maximum of five minutes. I took it out added the yeast and went on my way, despite the fact that the yeast had formed balls and fallen to the bottom, something that I decided to just ignore.

Needless to say, when I returned to look at my dough, it was not risen. So I decided that I would start some yeast with sugar and water and then just knead it in with the appropriate amount of flour. This actually worked and the buns turned out just fine, not even particularly tough from being over kneaded. So yes I would say that this is an example of the luck that I so depend on in my knack for baking with yeast.

Recently I baked concha rolls to bring to a party at Alex's. I followed the recipe and was rewarded with really lovely dough, and some tasty buns, my only complaint was that the bottoms were a little too brown, I still have no idea how to bake in a gas oven

Mexican Concha Rolls

3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 packages (8 grams each) Active Dry Yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine, cut into pieces
2 eggs
Cinnamon-Chocolate Topping (recipe follows)

In bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, undissolved yeast, and salt. Heat water, milk, and butter until very warm (120° to 130°F/50° to 55°C). Gradually add to dry ingredients; beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add eggs and 1/2 cup flour; beat 2 minutes at high speed. With spoon, stir in enough remaining flour to make soft dough. Knead on floured surface until smooth, about 4 to 6 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top.

Cover; let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 35 to 45 minutes. Punch dough down. Remove dough to floured surface. Divide dough into 14 equal pieces; shape into balls. Place balls on 2 greased baking sheets. With palm of hand, flatten each ball slightly. Flatten each portion of Cinnamon-Chocolate Topping into a 2 1/2-inch round; place 1 round on each dough ball. With sharp knife, make cuts, 1/4 inch deep, on rolls to resemble seashells. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 20 to 40 minutes. Bake at 375°F/190°C for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from sheets; let cool on wire racks.

Cinnamon-Chocolate Topping: In large bowl, stir together 1/2 cup sugar and 1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened. Stir in 1 egg yolk, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa, and 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon. Divide mixture into 14 equal portions.