beet, onion, and fennel dish

We tried a beet, onion, and fennel tart tonight.  I would say I would make the middle again but I did not like the the crust.  I know it was gluten free but I was expecting more.  Especially with the flours used and the time put in.  I do find with this author I have to modify anything of hers to make it work with me.  I need to go with the ideas.

So, we are going to go with ideas here.  The filling was good.  You could bake it in a ramekin and serve it as a side, if you like cheese like we do.  

beet, onion, and fennel tart filling (or a side or spread on crackers or ....)

3 beets, large, peeled, roasted until soft and sliced

2 thinly sliced onions

1 thinly sliced fennel bulb

1/4 to 1/2 pound of racellete and/or gruyere cheese, sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Put the olive oil in a cast iron skillet or oven proof pan.  Add the onion and fennel.  Slow fry until golden and caramelized.  Put into a oven proof pan.  Cover with cheese.  Put in the oven for 5 minutes.  Pull out of the oven and cover with the beets.  Back into the oven and bake for 2 more minutes.

This would be good by itself or as a side or on toast.  As a tart, it needs a bit of help.

finnish pulla

Reading Twitter, I came across a recipe that sent me to a blog that made me think this recipe from Red Star Yeast sounded interesting.  The bread had cardamom in it and since I had bought cardamom for cookies....  I think it was my Christmas spice this year.  So my trusty assistant, Small Mister, and I made bread.  He always falls asleep when I am kneading!

This was good.  I changed it again, adding some whole wheat and using sourdough.  If I wishing a bit of spice in my life, and it not cinnamon, I would definitely make this again.  My Assistant thought it was quite wonderful.  But I think he is prejudiced.  He seems to like any bread Grandmomma makes and he helps with!

finnish pulla

Note:  adapted from the Red Star Yeast website

sourdough starter

3/4 cup water

1 cup water

2/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups milk

2 eggs

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cardamom

2 cups whole wheat flour

4 plus cups all purpose flour

The night before you plan to make the bread, mix the starter, 1 cup flour, and 3/4 cup water together in a large bowl.  Cover and let get bubbly.  Before, using, remove 2 tablespoons for use for next time.

To the starter, add the sugar, milk, and eggs.  Mix.  Add the butter and chop up.  Add the salt, cardamom, and whole wheat flour.  Mix well.  Add enough of the all purpose flour to make a softly stiff dough.  Turn out on the counter and knead until smooth or ten minutes.  Put into a clean bowl and cover and let rise until double.  If your house is cold and it will be a long slow rise, oil the bowl, put the dough in, turn the dough over so the top surface is oiled.  This will keep the dough from getting a skin.  I should have done this.

Cover a baking sheet with a silpat or parchament paper.  Divide the dough into three.  Roll out each portion until it is about 16 inches long or the length of your forearm.  Braid the three strands together and tuck the ends under.  Cover and let rise until double.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bake for one hour or until the bottom thunked sounds hollow and the loaf is golden.  My sourdough just usually takes a hour to bake unless it is rolls.

Watch out for assitants stealing bits.  I did like this toasted with just butter.  But I have said before, I like toast.

portuguese sweet bread

It has been an interesting week.  Our internet provider was down (fiber line cut and needing repair).  I have been injured and walking across the house has been hard.  I am better and finally got to bicycle to work yesterday after a week of not.  It made me smile.  Even though it was chilly, the ride made me smile.  I am hoping to be healed enough to skate tomorrow.  It is a wait and see.

One of the things I like about the holidays is that there are so many more recipes running around.  I actually came across a few bread recipes I wished to try.  This one was on npr.org and they were talking about this portuguese sweet bread.  They were talking about family memories and such.  I decided to give it a try, mostly because I have been enjoying putting my hands in dough so much.  I think I could bake every day this week or next week.  People at work are in stress mode and there is only so much I can do so fast.  Part of making so much dough is that I try new recipes.  And I am finding I have more people to share the makings with.

I find this dough is really mild, even with the secret ingredient.  I do like it toasted and with jam.  I really think it is one of those of is it to your taste or not.  I probably will not make it again but it is a good one to have as a just in case or as a basis for something else.

By the way, I used sourdough like always.

portuguese sweet bread

sourdough starter

1 cup flour

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup milk

1 cup sugar

6 plus cups flour

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

3 eggs

2 tablespoons whiskey or lemon juice

2 teaspoons salt

The night before you wish to make the bread, mix the sourdough starter, 1 cup flour, and 3/4 cup water together.  Cover and let sit overnight and let get bubbly.  When you are ready the next day, take out a couple of tablespoons of starter for the next time.

Add the milk, sugar, butter, eggs, and whiskey into the starter.  Add 1 cup of flour to help the mixing process.  Add the salt and mix well.  Add enough of the rest of the 6 cups of flour to make a stiff dough.  You may need more.  Turn out onto a clean, floured surface and knead until smooth or ten minutes.

Put in a clean(ed) bowl and cover.  Let rise until double.

Punch down.  Butter two cake pans or loaf pans.  I did the loaf pans.  Cover and let sit for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour ( I find 1 hour works best with sourdough).

Like I said, good toast.  I am a toast person.  I do have other recipes that turn out as well without as much sugar, eggs, and milk so I will probably use those instead.  I could not tell any significant difference with the whiskey added.  Maybe you could if you did not use sourdough.  What is sourdough, really?  Homemade hooch (that is the liquid that separates).

duck confit

We like duck around here.  I read food blogs.  I happened across Manger and read about here confitting duck.  It is both a dish and a process.  It has everything I like when it comes to cooking a dinner.  Lots of time needed, not much action.  Reminds me of sourdough.  But then, I have been told I can compare everything to making bread.

The biggest issue was to make sure that I had duck fat and duck.  This takes a lot of duck fat.  I used 2 pounds and could have used another pound.  My butcher told me these were lovely ducks when they were alive.  Yes, that is the butcher shop around the corner.  Around the corner is two blocks and they have lovely milk as well.  It is actually how I saw the duck.  I went in there for  milk.

I confit the duck and then I roasted it.  My Beloved's response was, "When are we having this again?"

confit duck

duck legs - I used four

coarse salt

duck fat - I used 2 pounds but I probably should have had 3

potatoes, garlic cloves, and other root vegetables

The night before you plan to start the cooking of the duck, wash the duck.  Cover it with coarse salt and put in the refrigerator.  

You  need two to three hours of baking time.  Pull the duck out when you have that much time the next day.  Wash the salt off and pat dry.  Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.  Melt the duck fat.  Lay the duck legs in a single layer in a shallow pan.  Cover completely with the melted duck fat.  Put in the oven and bake for 2 hours.

When the time is done, remove the pan.  Remove the duck legs.  Pour the duck fat through a sieve.  The legs you are planning on not eating right away, put in a container and pour the duck fat over them.  Let them cool.  You wish at least a half inch of coverage.  This actually preserves the meat.

For the duck you wish to eat right away, turn the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Put a layer of potatoes, root vegetables, and garlic cloves on the bottom of a shallow pan.  Put the duck legs on top.  Roast for 25 to 30 minutes.  The skin will be crispy.

This fed my Beloved and myself.  I had purple potatoes in the refrigerator.  

This was easy.  I have two more duck legs to roast.  So yummy.

Small Mister's favorite soup

I have been trying to make a lentil and pumpkin soup that I like all autumn and winter.  I finally found one.  Small Mister thinks it is the bestestest!  He eats it hot and cold.  My Beloved will not always heat it up for his lunch and Small Mister shares.

The first time I made it a fancied it up with plain fried scallaps and homemade purple potato chips.  Every time since it has been simple.  It is good both ways.

red lentil and pumpkin soup

6 cups vegetable broth (or a mix of pumpkin water and vegetable broth)

1 cup red lentils, well rinsed

3 cups of pumpkin

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dry thyme

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 small potatoes, peeled and diced

Make your life easy, put the pumpkin and lentils with the vegetable broth in a slow cooker and cook for four to six hours or until done. 

In a large pot, heat the oil.  Add the onion and let cook until translucent.  Add the garlic.  Let cook until the garlic is a little bit brown.  Add the potato, thyme, pepper, salt, lentils, and pumpkin.  Bring to a boil.  Turn down to a simmer and let cook until the potatoes are done.  Take an immersion blender to the pot and blend until smooth.

This is the fancy version with the potato chips and scallops.  Quite lovely.  I go the idea form Small Plates and Sweet Treats.  I changed the recipe again due to what was in the house!  What else is new?