Weekly Cooking (and related issues) Thread

I enjoy a cheese souffle, but I don't always enjoy the work of it. This 'Sturdy Souffle' is adapted from the 1979 edition of the Fanny Farmer Cookbook, and cuts down on the work - no separating or separate beating of eggs. It won't rise as high and light, but doesn't fall as flat as a 'regular' souffle.

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (plus more to sprinkle the baking dish; or just MORE in general)

Preheat the oven to 375. Butter a 3-cup or 1-qt. ovenproof bowl or baking dish. Sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese around the bowl, as if flouring a cake pan. Place it in the oven in a pan containing 1 inch of hot water (I don't always follow this step, and just bake it without the water bath.)

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour and blend until smooth. Cook over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly add the milk and cook, stirring constantly for 3 minutes, until smooth and thick (a wire whisk is good for this).

Add the salt, cayenne, and cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted and blended into the sauce. Remove from the heat.

Beat 3 T. of the sauce into the eggs, then return the egg-sauce mixture to the saucepan, and beat until smooth. Pour into the baking dish and bake for about 20 minutes, until set.

Next, a "Chile Relleno" style casserole. There are many versions of this, some with whole stuffed chiles and some that include meat. This is a quick, easy one. It serves 12, but I've halved it in the past with no problem. (This is also a great very low-carb egg dish.)

Preheat oven to 350. Drain and clean the chiles, and place in the bottom of a large buttered casserole.

Sprinkle the chiles with 1/2 of each cheese, and then top with another layer of chiles, and then the rest of the cheeses.

Mix the eggs with the milk or cream and salt, and pour over the top of the chile-cheese. Bake 30 minutes or until the eggs are set and casserole is slightly browned.

I've only ever eaten one thing at our local Silver Diner; not because I haven't gone there frequently, but because I tend to find one thing I really like at a place like that, and never order anything else. The 'thing' at Silver Diner is the Crabcake Benedict. It seems to have disappeared from the menu, but when I ask for it, they always make it for me.

I found this recipe that looks very like what the Silver Diner serves. If you have a good crabcake recipe, make your own; but if you want them ready-made, the Phillips frozen crab cakes are pretty good - but as mentioned in the comments, it needs the addition of tomato slices.

(I hope in the future to do a thread on traditional Maryland recipes, but I will have to master the Crab Cake, first - which is embarrassing for a lifelong Marylander to admit ;-) If anyone has a favorite recipe, please post.

The souffle sounds pretty good, I’ve never tried to make one. Sounds pretty close to Quiche though. That I do make...

Don’t know if I have a favorite recipe, I make several I have a hard time deciding between...

If anyone has any interest in sour dough bread, I’ll do up a post.

Quiche is pretty simple.

2 eggs
1C milk
1C cheese (Swiss and Cheddar both work well, I use an italian blend too)

Whatever you want to put in it...sausage, spinach, mushrooms, bacon bits, all sorts of things will work. Veggie or not your choice, I always add at least 1 clove garlic chopped up.

Butter the pan, I use a 9 inch pie pan or cast iron skillet.

Beat eggs and mix in milk.

Spread cheese on bottom of pan, add other fillings, pour egg mixture on slowly.

Bake at 350°F about 30 minutes or until it browns.

I have others, sourdough and regular bread, Calzone, Shepherd’s Pie, pizza from scratch, pizza sauce, some of the best baked salmon you ever had...

OK here goes...you asked for it...

Sourdough bread is very old, probably the oldest form of “leavened” bread. It uses yeast, same as modern yeast bread, but the type floating around in the air everywhere. Store bought yeast is basically the same thing, but selectively bred to work faster. As far as I remember sourdough has been around for at least 1000 years. Some European recipes have been handed down for generations for several hundred years. Some people I hear are still using starter brought out west in covered wagons 150 years ago or more.

A couple of things are critical.

1. Never use any metal utensils or containers. Metals set up a chemical reaction that will kill the yeast.

2. Never use chlorinated water for the same reason, chlorine will kill the yeast.

When I was using city water I would fill a plastic gallon water jug and let if sit for a couple of days without the cap to let the chlorine evaporate. Once you can no longer smell chlorine it should be ok. Or use bottled water.

It’s best to get some sourdough starter from someone who already has it, but you can make your own if you’re adventurous. I didn’t know anyone so I made my own.

Sourdough starter is simply a mixture of flour and water that is basically a yeast culture, it has the yeast in it to make bread rise. Yeast is a form of fungus related to mushrooms and mold that is in the air all around you every day. Yes, the room you’re sitting in has yeast floating around in the air. At least 2000 strains of yeast have been identified world wide. Making sourdough starter just cultivates that yeast.

Start with a tablespoon each of flour and water. Rye or whole wheat flour works best, rye flour seems to have the highest concentration of natural yeast.

Mix flour and water, cover the container with a cloth and let it sit 24 hours. Add another tablespoon each of flour and water. By the end of another 24 hours you should start to see bubbles and maybe a light foam. If not, add more and wait another day.

I start with very small amounts to keep from losing 3 cups of flour if it fails. Once you see consistent bubbles and a little foam on top, you’re off to a good start. Feed your starter once daily, one cup water and one cup flour. Stir well each time and always remember to never use metal utensils.

Your starter is ready to use when it rises in the container to twice its original size. This is important, if it can’t double its own size it is not yet strong enough to rise your bread.

Once it gets to that point it can be stored in the fridge and fed once a week. I use rye flour. My starter has been going for almost a year now, my last batch lasted around 3 years until I took a road trip and mold took over. A healthy starter will work because the yeast takes over the mini ecology inside your jar, no other forms of mold can survive. I use a glass wide mouth gallon jar. Crock should work or plastic, but never a metal container.

Making bread is very similar to making traditional yeast bread but takes longer.

You’ll need:

2 C starter
1 C water
3 C flour, I use unbleached
2 TBSP olive oil
4 tsp sugar (adjust as you go to taste)
2 tsp salt

I add a teaspoon or two of cocoa, it’s supposed to help bring out the flavor of rye flour, and I promise you can’t tell it’s there.

Mix all but flour. Gradually add flour until it forms a wet dough. On a floured board knead the dough adding flour until it develops a rubbery texture. Those of you who have made traditional yeast bread will know what this feels like. If not I can’t really explain it, the dough just starts to feel rubbery.

Cover with a cloth and let it rise until doubled in size, 3 to 5 hours depending on temperature.

Split into two sections, form each into a loaf and place in greased pans. Let rise again until doubled in size. Bake at 350°F until browned.

Notes -

I use butter in my bread pans, and coat with a layer of flour, makes it almost totally nonstick.

I use antique Fire King glass bread pans, I think metal pans would work but haven’t tried it. Broke a Fire King lately and had to buy a new Pyrex one...dammit...

Kneading takes 10 minutes or so, lots longer than traditional bread.

Do some Googling, you can order starter online, just add water.

Some recipes I’ve found mention using a “sponge”, I don’t know how to do it, the recipe I posted above makes very good bread without a sponge.

Split each loaf lengthwise just before baking, that lessens the chance of a hollow area forming inside the loaf while cooking.

Place a small oven safe dish of water in the oven while preheating to create high humidity and also use it to brush the top of the bread a few times while cooking, around 20-30 minutes or so. Cooking time varies with actual temperature and altitude.

Here’s the part that sucks...fresh bread is great, I know...but that traditional sourdough flavor forms while it cools. I know it sucks, but right out of the oven it’s just home made bread...let it cool before digging in.

I ate this every day in Spain!

Tortilla Española

Tortilla española is essentially the national dish of Spain. You can eat it as a tapa, for breakfast, in a bocadillo (sandwich), or for dinner with salad and a bit of jamon. From “Spain...On the Road Again” by Mario Batali, serves 4 to 6 as a tapa or appetizer.

Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/4 pounds waxy potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 extra-large eggs

Directions
Heat the oil in a large cast-iron skillet or nonstick pan over medium- high until very hot but not smoking. Add the potatoes and onion, season with salt and pepper, reduce the heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat if necessary so that the vegetables do not brown, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife, 15 to 20 minutes.

Beat the eggs with salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl. Combine the potatoes with the eggs in the bowl; add to the skillet, spreading the potatoes evenly in the pan, and cook for about 1 minute, just to set the bottom of the egg mixture. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes, or until quite set.

Carefully flip the tortilla over (invert it onto a plate if you must, then slide it back into the pan, bottom side up) and cook for 5 minutes longer, until set. Flip out onto a clean plate and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I like the version. Green Shakshuka 1 tablespoon olive oil  2 leeks, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced  1 celery stalk, sliced  3 garlic cloves, minced 1 spicy pepper (any variety would work here), sliced 1 bunch of swiss chard, cut into 1/2 inch ribbons 1 cup spinach (tightly packed)  1/2 tablespoon dried oregano  1 teaspoon ground cumin  Salt and pepper, to season  1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese  4 large eggs Preheat oven to 375°F. Over medium heat, warm the olive oil to a 9-inch cast iron skillet. Add the sliced leeks and celery. Cook until leeks soften, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and sliced spicy pepper, and sauté for another 3 minutes. Toss in the swiss chard, spinach, oregano and cumin. Season to taste with salt and pepper (make sure not to over-salt the mixture, the feta adds saltiness as well). Once the swiss chard and spinach have wilted, scrape down the sides, and pat down the mixture. Sprinkle the crumbled feta over the greens mixture and carefully crack the eggs over the top, one at a time and spaced slightly apart. Add some more freshly ground black pepper. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 7 to 10 minutes (longer if you prefer your eggs cooked more, or less time for runnier eggs). Serve immediately with fresh crusty bread. Goat cheese and blue cheese are really good with this as well. Serves 4.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.