Bread Letter

Photo Credit: Jaden Hair, Steamy Kitchen

Uhg. Sometimes the best thing to do when you are frustrated is to create something positive. So here it goes..

Today - my students were on the second day of the Pennsylvania System of School Standardized Assessment (a high stakes, state standardized exam that we spend all year getting ready for... and take in March or April). While I am not at liberty to discuss the specific content of the exam, one of the essay questions was quite challenging in ways that I thought were classist against my students (I work in a high poverty urban school). I'm being purposefully vague, so as to not disclose any of the content of the test, but for reals. So yeah. I'm annoyed. The topic, however, was making bread.

Last year, my 7th graders (now most of which are my 8th graders) and I made bread as a two day science and math lab. It was the most fun I think we've had in a classroom. Well not the most. Science survivor was pretty fun too. But that's another story.. Not only had none of them had previous experience making bread, but I got to watch them work cohesively as a unit to make loaves of delicious bread (which they later ate with a plethora of toppings. WHO DOESN'T LOVE NUTELLA ON FRESH BREAD?).

While we didn't get too fancy as far as equipement goes (we used very clean hands), I was glad to see many of my students incorporating their previous experience into their responses. Experiential knowledge cannot be replaced by text books. I think every middle schooler in America has some favorite bread memory (or two).

The recipe I used with my students (and use at home often) is super easy. It's taken from Jaden Hair's blog "Steamy Kitchen." I've made it many times and it always comes out great! I'm ready to start mixing it up, I think it would be a good base for a Kalamata Olive loaf, or perhaps a rosemary and olive oil loaf with roasted garlic. I'll let you know how it turns out. I'm being a little boring, huh? Well, what about a sun dried tomato and red pepper flake loaf, maybe with some cayenne for spice? What do you think? Anyone have any crazy, fun, delicious, interesting, or new bread flavors I should try, or that you haven't tried yet and want me to test out for you? I do love bread.

I have included the recipe below for your convenience, but I encourage you to visit her blog as well in order to see her son at age 4 show the procedure step by step. Yes, it really is that easy.

http://steamykitchen.com/168-no-knead-bread-revisited.html


no knead bread recipe

Servings: One 1-pound loaf Prep Time: Cook Time:
No Knead Bread Recipe is adapted from Mark Bittman of NY Times who got it from Sullivan Street Bakery. When the recipe first came out, it was the blogging community who took the bread to new heights, especially Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of The Bread Bible. I followed Rose's experiments through the weeks and learned from her recipe adjustments and the why's of how this bread works.

ingredients:
3 cups bread flour (I like Harvest King bread flour)
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon fine table salt (or 3/4 tablespoon of kosher salt)
1 1/2 cups warm water

Covered pot (five-quart or larger cast iron, Pyrex, ceramic, enamel...something that can go into a 450F oven.)

Directions:
1. Mix dough: The night before, combine all ingredients in a big bowl with a wooden spoon until the dough just comes together. It will be a shaggy, doughy mess. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 12-20 hours on countertop.

2. Shape & preheat: The dough will now be wet, sticky and bubbly. With a wet spatula, dump the dough on a floured surface. Fold ends of dough over a few times with the spatula and nudge it into a ball shape. You can use your hands if you like, just keep your hands wet so that the dough does not stick. Generously dust a cotton towel (not terrycloth) with flour. Set dough seam side down on top of towel. Fold towel over the dough. Let it nap for 2 hours. When you've got about a half hour left, slip your covered pot into the oven and preheat to 450F.

3. Bake: Your dough should have doubled in size. Remove pot from oven. Holding towel, turn over and dump wobbly dough into pot, using your hands to get the dough off the towel. Doesn't matter which way it lands. Shake to even dough out. Cover. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover, bake another 15-20 minutes or until the crust is beautifully golden and middle of loaf is 210F. Remove and let cool on wired rack. If not eating right away, you can re-crisp crust in 350F oven for 10 minutes. Best way to eat it? Smear a warm slice with some good butter (Kerrygold and Lurpac are both found in your grocery stores, usually on top shelf)

Hope you enjoy Jaden's recipe and how to's and send me some GREAT bread ideas!

ALS Association Hot Chocolate 2011 - The Chocolate and The Sharks

It takes a lot to get me out last minute on a Thursday night during the school year. Especially in the pouring rain. Especially when out means, across the Ben Franklin Bridge, and into Camden, NJ. However, last Thursday I had an extremely good reason!



Any event that is described to me as a "chocolate frenzy," sets the bar of expectation REALLY REALLY REALLY high. I mean REALLY. The Philadelphia ALS Associations' Hot Chocolate, which took place at the Camden Adventure Aquarium Ballroom this year on March 10, 2011, was every chocolate addicts' dream. I mean, I'm already blocking out my calendar for next year's event.

Invited by a coworker after school (who happens to be the sister of one of the co-chairs of the event), I raced home to change and brave myself to go back into the monsoon of a rain storm that had been going on all day. It had been a long week.. and she promised that there would be chocolate and drinks EVERYWHERE. She did not lie.

When I walked in with my admission ticket, I was invited by the soothing background of the Adventure Aquarium's giant shark and sea life tanks. The Aquarium's tanks are beautiful by day, but transform into the "Currents Ballroom" providing a breathtaking backdrop at an evening event. As soon as I dropped my gaze from the sharks to find my friend Julie, I was entranced by the rivers of chocolate fountains and well paired dipping foods (pinnacles of pineapple, streams of strawberries, mountain's of marshmallows, plains of pretzels, caverns of cookies, caves of cakes.. I could go on..)



Julie found me and pulled me out of my stupor, immediately escorting me to the chocolate martini bar. Delicious. Chocolate syrup squirted in the glass, topped with chocolate infused vodka, creme de cacao, and chocolate liqueur. Oh. Em. Gee. Why yes, I'll have one, thank you very much. And some moscato to pair with my chocolate tasting? Oh yes. Of course.

After introducing me to a handful of people, she led me through the back ballroom to explore chocolate sculptures, bar tables of chocolate treats, sandwiches for sustenance (amateurs), a wine bar, what seemed to be upwards of 25 handcrafted chocolate vendors (some from states away!), massage chairs, tables of donated gummi, chocolate, and largely manufactured items (larger companies like Tasty Cake, Zitner's, and Just Born - makers of Peanut Chews - sent never ending cases of their product for distribution), and silent auctions. I have never been around SO much delicious, quality, aesthetically pleasing chocolate at one time. It made Hershey Park look like Six Flags Mediocre Adventure. That's right. A NON-chocolate themed amusement park that just is not as cool Six Flags Great Adventure. It was a ballroom full of relaxation, with side rooms of MORE relaxation. It was a giant candy store for adults. Willie Wonka, what up. I have seen your glory. And I loved it.




Wine! Friends!



Chocolate vendors just giving away stuff in pretty little packages! (This one in particular had AMAZING chocolate peanut butter brownies... that I most certainly took home several of...)



A steel drum band playing in front of a giant cartoon shark! I mean who could NOT love that? Who? No one.



I could literally feel my blood pressure drop while watching these guys and indulging in delicious chocolate tastings.



Beautiful chocolate sculpture egg.



Really neat sea life.

So, the entire thing was amazing, and seemed to be a huge success for the charity. I would wager that they raised a ton of money for ALS, so once I was done being so excited by all the chocolate and general awesomeness of the event, I felt good that my admission ticket (as well as all the silent auction items people bid on, and raffle tickets that were bought) went to a good cause. The speakers were fabulous and reminded us what the event was truly about (helping those with ALS - more commonly known ask Lou Gehrig's Disease), and the co-chairs graciously ensured that everyone had a great experience.



Check them out. Larry and Jill Kaplan have been pulling this event off for several years, while working full time and raising a family. Role models!

On the way out, everyone gets to take home a cute martini glass from the event, stuffed with a very necessary toothbrush. So adorable. But that's not all...



Julie and I made off with this giant tray of fudge to bring into work the next day. We had so many friends on Friday.



Anddddd this is my bag of loot stuffed with delicious confections from the amazing chocolate vendors at the event. Chocolate covered pretzels I snagged for the boyfriend, peanut butter brownies for.. um.. myself.. obviously, gummi candies and tasty cakes, for my students, and all sorts of delicious treats!

What a wonderful Thursday night. What a wonderful night, period. The only question left is... who is coming with me next year?!

Fabulous Farmers' Market Find

Ok chocolate lovers.. especially Philly chocolate lovers... who doesn't love a good farmer's market? Who doesn't love a good chocolate table at the farmers market?

That's right. While wandering through Rittenhouse Square last weekend, I stumbled upon a farmers market, and there was John & Kira's crafted by hand chocolates. What? You've never heard of John or Kira? Hmm.. I hadn't either.. until last Saturday.. and now I can't stop eating their chocolates. (Yes, obviously I bought a box).

So, from what I learned talking at the Farmer's Table, John & Kira's chocoalates are made in North Philadelphia (yes, right here!) by a small team of chocolate experts. They HAND CRAFT each piece, and I may sound crazy, but you can taste the care and love that is put into each piece. The "Bee" chocolates I purchased from the spring "Bee and Lady bug collection" are filled with a runny and with sea salted local honey caramel (for reals). But the folks at John & Kira don't stop there. No. They HAND paint (I can't get over this) each chocolate with colored cocoa butter to look like little bees, (but not in a scary way if the insects terrify you - take it from me, they cause me to run away screaming frequently). STILL, our chocolate enthusiasts are still not done - they buff each piece so that it shines! SHINES! BY HAND! See:



And, they put little bee and lady bug facts underneath the cups in the bee & lady bug collection boxes. HOW CUTE IS THAT? Great locally made chocolate! In cute packaging! Made with love and care! John & KIra - where have you been all my life?



I am so impressed with the company's commitment to quality chocolate and detail. These are things you just don't find anymore. And they are LOCAL! Which is just super cool - because I not only am getting chocolate, but when I do, I feel good about supporting local business initiatives. And you should too! Go America! Go chocolate!

I most certainly will be a repeat customer after my farmers market experience, and am really excited after perusing their website (http://www.johnandkiras.com/) to try all their other flavors and chocolate creations (which I can't vouch for yet, but am sure will be delicious!). I am so excited about this find that I had to share it with others! Thanks for reading! Has anyone else found some great food finds either in Philly or somewhere else recently? Let me know, I'd love to try the things that you're really excited about too!

The Year of the Rabbit

My friend Elaine is one of the coolest people I know. Seriously. I know people say that about their friends, but Elaine is really cool. She is super intelligent, gorgeous, fun, great to talk to, knows lots about "scenes", and is able to get people with lots of different perspectives and personalities to convene for traditional Lunar New Year fare on a Thursday night where we discussed food, culture, and the significance of both. If you don't know Elaine, stop telling people that your friends are cool. You need the authentic experience before you can make false claims.

As I mentioned, Elaine hosted a gathering to celebrate the "Lunar New Year," which I always called "Chinese New Year," but apparently that's not politically correct. See, she's cool, I never would have learned this if it wasn't for the discussion taking place at dinner. She cooked up a ton of dishes that were traditional and delicious. I hope to post one of her recipes here at a later date once I get to debrief with her. :-)

Here she is debriefing us quickly on what everything is before we eat!



The night was casual, we sat around a huge short table (which we were informed was one of her roommates' "kid's table" during family gatherings as a child. Kinda cool. But by this point, you shouldn't be surprised.) eating delicious food and drinking wine.
The cuisine was full of flavor. See all the happy faces, and Elaine hiding how tired she MUST be!



No complaints here either...



For dessert, since I know nothing about real Chinese food whatsoever, I whipped up a batch of Mexican Chocolate Cookies, an idea inspired by the spices of cinnamon, cayenne, and chili powder I've had mixed in Mexican chocolates and drinking chocolates. I had my first mexican chocolate, chili, and cherry bar this last summer. So good. These cookies turned out delicious. Light, fluffy, and spiced, with the chocolate flavor providing undertones of deep, earthy flavor. Perfect for sharing with friends who love to talk about food!

Mexican Chocolate Cookies

for the dough:
1 cup of flour (a little extra for sprinkling if your dough appears too sticky)
1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp of cayenne or chile powder (Cayenne is the spicier powder. Use the one that best suits your tastes)
3/4 cup of sugar
A pinch of sea salt
1/2 tsp of cream of tartar
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1 stick of softened butter
1 egg

for rolling the dough in:

1/8 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp chile powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl mix your dry ingredients together. In a large bowl use an electric mixer *or prepare to get an arm workout and cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. It should be a pale yellow color. Add the eggs to your wet ingredient bowl and beat in, then slowly combine in your dry ingredients. I recommend folding in about 1/4 of the dry ingredients at a time.

Mix your rolling sugar, cinnamon and chile powder together in a small bowl or on a small plate. Roll a generous tablespoon into a the sugar and spice mixture and press down to form a small disc. Bake on parchment lined baking sheets for 10 minutes leaving room for the cookies to spread. Let cool on wire racks before storing, or enjoy warm *that's how I found them to be best.

Getting Crafty

I was inspired again. The fabulous "Crafternoon" party thrown by a group of New York ladies featured in Martha Stewart Living got me going. Off to the craft store!

I invited a few of my girlfriends over to craft. Something we hadn't specifically scheduled a get together around since, oh, childhood. Out came the scissors, cardstock, stickers, markers, glue, quilling tools, and of course, glitter! We created hand made Valentine's for loved ones, friends, family, co-workers, random people walking down the street *we seriously made that many. To say that the gathering was therapeutic would be a gross understatement.



After mentioning a break to eat about 6 or 7 times, we finally were able to pull ourselves away from our creations for some delicious warm stuffed sandwiches as per suggested by the original "crafternooner's" spread (my favorite combination: pizza dough stuffed with kalamata olive, artichoke, roasted red peppers, mozzarella cheese, and roasted tomato, and arugula), chocolates, cookies, and of course some pink prosecco. Yum.

But after eating we got right back to it for a couple more hours. It was amazing. AMAZING. How much fun we had! The best part is, we were able to share our creations with everyone else, and now with you too!

Have any of you ever gotten crafty with your friends? Let me know! Or if you're contemplating a craft party - I'd love to hear about it! Let's chat! I'm certainly considering doing something like this again, perhaps with another holiday theme. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Chocolate Month is Here!

The Dunkin' Donuts commercials with Chocolate Addicts protesting February as the month of chocolate make me laugh. "3 more days! 3 more days!" I agree. Chocolate certainly deserves a longer month! There is so much you can do with it!! Well, maybe we can protest later, but for now, it's time to get excited for National Chocolate Month and savor every day that it's here!



What better way to kick off chocolate month than to review a chocolate recipe! I haven't had the time to create one myself, but when I got the February edition of Martha Stewart Living, I didn't really need to! There was a spread of tantalizing chocolate treads in glossy print for me to drool over.. and i just couldn't wait to try this one: The BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE MOLTEN CAKE.

Moist chocolate cake oozing with dark chocolate filling did not disappoint. If you like chocolate on the bitter side (like I do!) so that you can appreciate the depth of the cocoa flavor, you may want to cut out a tiny bit of the sugar, but not a ton, as the cake is a bit sweet. However, it is also extremely easy to make for your Valentine's night in, for your girlfriends, or um, for yourself. On a Monday night. When you just really need some chocolate cake. Why not?

You fill ramekins greased and dusted with cocoa and bake, just enough so that the center never sets.



When it comes out, just invert your ramekin and dust with powdered sugar if you're so inclined (I was not).




And there you have it. Delicious bittersweet chocolate molten cake. Pretty impressive. Looks like you took hours. But you didn't. Now have your cake and eat it too.

For the full recipe go pay Martha a visit at: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/molten-bittersweet-chocolate-cake




Happy Chocoloate Month!

Winter Cheddar Honey Goat Cheese Pierogi in Brown Butter

Ah, snow day. See off this blog, I fill my time teaching math and science at a Philadelphia Public School. Hells to the yeah. And I'm finally getting myself together and posting because those two beautiful words were uttered by the district superintendent today. You know, people think kids love snow days, but it's really the teachers. I never appreciated a snow day as a student, even in college, the way that I do now. Sure, we have to make up the day in the summer. Sure, digging my car out will be a chore. But, I didn't have to go to work today. I got to work from the comfort of my own home.





A few weeks ago, I started craving pierogi. The delicious small dough pockets with various fillings that originated (to my knowledge, I wasn't there) in Poland during the Catholic season of Lent, as a meat free alternative for meals during this period of sacrifice. For that reason, I started the tradition of making pierogi for Easter last year, when I invited my boyfriend, Chris, up to the mountains of NY to visit my Dad and Stepmother. We made a ton of pierogi for an easter feast, and my uncle Tom loved them so much he was glad we made extras, so that he could take some home.

Really, who doesn't love dough stuffed with cheese, potato, cabbage, and all kinds of other fillings now a days?

Which brings me back to a few weeks ago... so here I am craving this laborious recipe, until finally, I didn't want to eat anything else. I had to have my pierogi! So what do I do, I scaled down the recipe to make a small batch, and got to work. Now you can too from home. You'll be craving them too. I made these using things I had in the house, so this is more of a process than a recipe, but comment if you run into any questions!

Winter Cheddar Honey Goat Cheese Pierogi in Brown Butter Sauce


3 Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes
3 -4 oz Honey Goat Cheese (don't have honey goat cheese? mix in a slight squeeze of honey to your regular goat cheese)
2 Tbsp Butter (substitute 1 Tbsp out for a Tbsp of nonfat greek yogurt if you have a guilty conscience)
4oz Grated Extra Sharp Cheddar

__

1 Egg
1 Tbsp Nonfat Greek Yogurt
1/2 Cup milk
1/2 Cup water
2 - 3 Cups flour
__

1/2 Stick of butter
1/2 Chopped Onion

First make the dough. Mix together the egg, yogurt, milk, and water until blended. Stir in flour 1/2 cup at a time. You want to only add enough flour until you have a loose sticky dough.

On a floured surface, turn out your dough scraping it and dusting with flour as necessary. Knead the dough with your hand and scraper until it because somewhat elastic and no longer sticky. Do not over knead or over flour! You will toughen your dough. Cover it loosely with plastic wrap *I prefer using a bowl that has been inverted* and let rest for 1 hour.

In the mean time, quarter and peel your potatoes, then boil them in salted water until they are tender enough to mash with a fork (takes 10-15 minutes). When they are ready, strain, and either process them with a potato ricer, or just beat them up with a fork or potato masher. You want the consistency of mashed potatoes. Then add all your cheese and the butter, and mash them up some more! Great stress relief. If you have more filling than necessary with the pierogis, congratulate yourself, you have some killer mashed potatoes for later in the week. Lucky you.

When the dough has rested, roll it out on a lightly floured surface until its about 1/8 of an inch thick. Cut out circles about 3 inches in diameter using a cookie cutter or rim of a glass.



Now fill those circles with a bit of your potato mixture. Just enough so that you can stretch and fold the dough over it and pinch the sides (tightly) so that it doesn't leak out on you. Your little pockets should look like this:



Once you're done with all the filling, boil a pot of water. While you wait for a boil to roll, chop your onion, and melt your butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add your onion to the oil and let both brown.

Take your pockets to the pot of salted boiling water, and boil a few at a time (depends on the size of your pot). When they rise to the surface, let them cook for 2 minutes more, and then take them out with a slotted spoon, shaking off as much moisture as possible.

Add the pierogis to the saute pan of butter and onion and let them cook at medium heat until they are brown and golden on both sides. Repeat until all of your pierogis are cooked. Enjoy!

Remember, pierogis are a process more than a recipe, so if they don't come out exactly right the first time you try them, don't get discouraged! Every batch I make comes out better than the last, and the result is certainly always delicious. If something doesn't work out, let me know, and we can brainstorm for your next plan of attack! Good luck and good eating!