Late-summer greens...

This is the time of year that all my friends with gardens start showing up with bags of kale, chard and beet greens. Much as I love them,  I can't face the green blob on my plate every night for a week. Let's face it, North Americans haven't been very inventive with greens despite the fact that every garden from Brownsville to Inuvik is full of them in late summer.  If there is one culture that knows what to do with greens, it's the Greeks. I have been lucky enough to be adopted by the most amazing Greek family. They own a small,  import food store/deli in Edmonton (Hellas Foods) where you can buy a wide range of wonderful European and Middle-eastern foods, not to mention fresh, home-made dips salads, pita chips, specialty cheeses and the most incredible hand-made Greek sweets, including the most delectable of all Greek desserts, baklava. Like all Greeks, my "family" loves to share their culture, their language and especially their hospitality. They have welcomed me into their homes and their lives. I have even been present during the creation of some of Edmonton's best-kept secret recipes. I am sworn to everlasting silence for most of them but I can share this simple, traditional  recipe for spinach and wild greens pie. Hortopita, or as Keith calls it, "Horticultural pita" is a delicious adaptation of spanakopita...I actually prefer it. The subtle flavour differences in the mixed greens and the fresh dill make it incredibly aromatic and delicious.

I say this is a "simple" recipe because I buy my phyllo dough when I visit Hellas Foods. It's one of those things I can't even imagine learning to make from scratch.  There just isn't enough time...in my world, at least.  I usually use a roll of thin pita (it also comes in a thicker version) and I buy Greek olive oil and sheep feta there as well. The rest of the ingredients are entirely up to you. Any fresh garden greens will work. Kale, spinach, dandilion greens, arugula...parsley...you name it. Each offers a slightly different flavour...use any and all that appeal to you.


Hortopita


1 roll of thin phyllo dough

Small dish of olive oil (to preference)

450-500 grams of fresh spinach leaves (washed and dried)

1 bunch of fresh swiss chard

1 bunch of fresh parsley

60 grams of chopped, fresh dill

1 bunch of chopped green onions

1 large leek cut into thin rings

500 grams of crumbled feta cheese (I use sheep feta - Dodoni is my favourite) I'm told by the experts that this is too much cheese...but I love feta. You should probably use about 350 grams if you prefer a lighter flavour and texture.

In a large bowl, (I use my turkey roaster because it's the biggest vessel I have) combine all the greens and crumbled feta. Mix well by hand until everything is evenly distributed.

Spread a little olive oil on the bottom and sides of a 9"x 13" roasting pan. Line the pan with a few sheets of phyllo (leaving an over-hang) and spread a light coating of olive oil on the dough. Add a few more sheets (I usually do two at a time) and brush with a little more oil...you get the picture... until you have at least 8 sheets of phyllo for the base of the pie.

Fill with greens and feta and cover with a couple more sheets of phyllo. Lightly brush the top with olive oil and repeat until you have at least 8 sheets again. Depending on how much you like phyllo crust, you can either roll the over-hanging dough in as is - or trim it with a pair of scissors until you have about 1" over-hang. This is what I do...it's neater and you don't get a big mouthful of pita on the outside pieces.

Lightly brush the top with...you guessed it...and score the top of the pie into 8 or 10 pieces, so it will be easier to cut (the crispy phyllo won't crumble) when it comes out of the oven. Bake at 350 until the top is a rich, golden brown. Serve hot or cold, on its own or as a side-dish. This also freezes and reheats really well.

Clearly, I need to work on my food photography :-)

My late-night kitchen lighting makes the greens look a bit like pesto...you'll have to trust me that the filling is a deep, dark green with chunks of creamy feta.

Winnie's Swiss Steak

The seventies were all about variety shows, police dramas and tv dinners...the favourite of which at my house was the "Swansons Swiss Steak". Remember pulling back the foil to reveal the "sorta steak" drowning in gravy and mushrooms?

Not to be out-done, Mom made the home-made version frequently...usually served it with mashed potatoes and some kind of over-cooked vegetable. Another thing she could do as well as Swanson was over-cook the peas.

When I started to make this, I realized a couple of things. First, this is not only a flavour from my youth...it is a SOUND from my youth. I can't tell you how many times I came home from school to hear my mom hammering the hell out of the round steak.

Funny thing about my Mom...she didn't deviate much...in her life, or in her kitchen. When she found a recipe she liked and that worked well for her...she followed it to the letter, consistently recreating the product.

Funny thing about me...I'm kinda the same. Talk about a recipe box revelation.

Swiss Steak


Combine 1/2 cup of flour and 1 teaspoon salt.  Using a mallett or the side of a plate, pound the flour into both sides of 2 pounds of round steak. ( I put the flour and salt in a ziploc bag and beat the hell out of the steak inside a bag. Still messy, but not nearly as bad as it could be.

Heat a large frying pan and add 3 tablespoons of shortening. (I CAN'T bring myself to do this - even in an effort to recreate the authentic meal...I used a couple of tablespoons of good olive oil. Sorry, Mom.)

Cut the steak up into six or eight pieces and brown on both sides. Reduce heat.

Add:
10 ounce can of beef consomme
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup catsup (I don't think mom ever called it ketchup.)
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 medium onion, sliced

Tightly cover the pan and simmer slowly for1 1/2 hours or until meat is tender. Add water to keep meat moist, if necessary. About twenty minutes before cooking time is up, add 1/2 pound of sliced mushrooms.

Mom had a notation on this recipe... "Good".

I agree.

Classic Breakfast Brioche

In order to "earn" the shiny, new brioche tins I am dying to buy, I have to convince myself (and the kinfolk) that this bread is actually worth five bucks a tin. The store clerk informed me that they were expensive because they were FRENCH. Seriously? So...Canadian brioche tins are worth what...three bucks? Not sure why I actually want them more... but I do. It seems fitting that this time consuming, fancy-schmancy bread should be made in fussy, five dollar, FRENCH tins. For the record, you can butter your regular old muffin tins and make perfectly respectable brioche. That's what I'm doing today...and if everyone LOVES it, I plan to march back to the kitchen store and buy myself  dozen of the five dollar tins. It shouldn't be too hard to convince the troops that they are a worthwhile purchase...what's NOT to like about fresh baked, Saturday morning brioche?

I made the dough last night, (with somewhat dubious results) between episodes of "Mad Men" and glasses of Malbec...(I didn't have any good FRENCH wine). It seemed to take longer to rise than it should have...almost struggling to double in size...but I am proceeding this morning with optimism. 

Breakfast Brioche

Make a sponge with 1/3 cup warm whole milk (100 to 110 degrees Farenheit...this matters. If the   temperature goes above 110 degrees, you will kill the yeast.)               
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 large egg
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Pour warm milk into a mixing bowl. Add the yeast, egg and one cup of the flour and mix with a spatula until blended. Sprinkle the remaining cup of flour over the mixture and let rest until the flour on top cracks. When fissures have formed over the top of the mixture, the yeast has done it's job and you're ready to go.


The Dough: 


1/3 cup sugar
4 lightly beaten eggs
1 teaspoon non-iodized salt
1 1/2 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened


Add the beaten eggs, salt and one cup of the flour to the sponge and attach the dough hook to your mixer. On low speed, gently mix ingredients for a couple of minutes, until it looks as if the dough is going to form a ball. Then add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour flour. Once the dough begins to come together, increase mixer speed (I used speed 6 on the KitchenAid) and prepare to get cozy with your mixer for at least 15 minutes. At about half-time, you should be hearing the distinctive "slapping" sound and your dough should be pretty much a ball. It will climb up the dough hook and you'll have to stop the mixer periodically to push the dough back down into the bowl. If this isn't happening...add a couple of tablespoons of flour...until the dough starts to behave like you want it to. After 15 minutes, you can begin to incorporate the butter. Make sure the butter is cool, not warm, and before adding it, either mash it - in traditional fashion, with a rolling pin, or with the edge of your dough scraper...until it is smooth and soft. If the butter is greasy, it's too warm...chill it just a little longer. 
Add the butter a few tablespoons at a time with mixer at a medium speed. The dough ball will fall apart again. Continue to add  butter until incorporated and then turn the mixer back up to medium high and  beat for at least another five minutes. The dough will come back together and once again, you'll hear the happy "slap, slap" on the sides of your (gasping) mixer. If the dough doesn't come back into a ball you can add a couple of teaspoons of flour. When all of the butter has been added, raise the mixer speed to medium-high for a minute, then reduce the mixer speed to medium and beat the dough for about 5 minutes, or until you once again hear the dough slapping against the sides of the bowl. It should be a little sticky...

Butter a large bowl and add the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in bulk. (Up to 3 hours) Gently deflate the dough and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate over night or at least four or five hours. You can freeze the dough at this point if you aren't going to use it. When you are ready to use it, just thaw it overnight in the fridge and allow it to double in bulk before baking.
To make the pretty little, "ball-on-top" rolls you buy at the bakery, take a small portion of the dough and roll it into a smooth ball. Roll the ball into a thick, stick shape, either between your hands or on the counter. With a sawing motion using the side of your hand, create a "head and neck" one end of the dough stick..

Poke a hole in the "body" of the dough and pull the head through the hole...

Gently shape the bun around the ball and place in a buttered, muffin tin...or a five dollar, FRENCH brioche tin...if you are so inclined.

Let rise for another couple of hours, until doubled in size and make an egg wash with an egg and a tablespoon of cold water. Gently brush the tops of the rolls and bake at 375 until golden brown.

  

They smell like heaven, when they are baking...buttery and yeasty and in spite of the fact that I didn't have high hopes for these rolls, they came out looking light, spongy, flaky and delicious...

Remove from tins immediately and cool on wire racks.

The muffin-tin-brioche-rolls have been pronounced worthy of a re-do. I'm off to buy tins! :)

(Practically Perfect) Ciabatta with Sausage and Corn Chowder

I stumbled upon this recipe early last summer and since then, it has become an absolute staple at my house. Keith and I agree. It's practically perfect for just about everything we eat that involves bread.

This makes enough dough for two large loaves. Typically, I make one large loaf and two smaller, "one-meal-for-two" loaves. (We do a lot of eating for two around here these days.) Occasionally, I make four personal ciabatta buns...or any combination of the above.
You get the picture.

I follow this recipe to the gram...and I have never had anything less than "practically perfect" results.
(The olive and cheese mini-loaves make a great Italian sandwich...with proscuitto, provolone, salami, fresh basil leaves and roasted red pepper spread...just sayin')

Ciabatta

500 grams of bread flour
2 tsp bread machine yeast
15 grams salt
Between 450-490 grams of warm water (I always use 490 grams - I live in Alberta. It's dry here.)

Measure ingredients in the largest bowl of mixer. Have both the paddle and the hook attachments at the ready.

Use the paddle attachment and beat at speed 4 until mixture starts to climb the paddle. (About three minutes.) I might add that you really DO NOT want to walk away at this point, or the batter will crawl up the paddle and into the guts of your mixer. When it starts to happen, it happens QUICKLY.

Remove paddle (I would suggest that you wash it immediately because this batter hardens to something akin to industrial cement.) Let stand for 10 minutes.

Attach the hook to the mixer and mix on speed 6 until the dough has completely come away from the sides of the bowl - and then a little longer. Seriously...you will probably have to sit on the counter and hold the mixer down because it hops all over the damn place. This whole step usually takes about seven minutes. Dough will be very wet.

Lightly coat a bowl with vegetable oil (I use spray oil) and pour dough into bowl. (Yes, I said pour. Did I mention this was a really wet dough?) Cover and let stand until doubled in bulk. (1 1/2 - 2 hours)

Turn dough onto a floured surface (it is still very wet) and divide by half (for two large loaves), quarters (for four, "one-meal-for-two" loaves), or eighths (for eight buns). Transfer the portions to a couple of baking-stone-sized sheets of parchment paper. Then, shape the loaves...You will probably want to sprinkle a little flour on them and coat your fingers...use a light touch and just kind of "shift" the dough into the shape you would like it to be. Then poke it with your fingers so that the air bubbles pop...Cover and let stand for another rise...at least 45 minutes.

After dough has risen again, lift and flip one more time. Re-poke. Sometimes, I sprinkle the loaves with cracked pepper, sliced, garlic-stuffed green olives, cheddar and/or parmesan cheese and a light sprinkle of garlic powder. Or...chopped fresh rosemary and thyme...whatever your heart desires, really. Transfer to a baking stone in a 400 degree oven.(For a nice thick crust, add water to a pan on a lower shelf or spray the sides of the oven with water to create a nice bread sauna.)

Bake until golden brown and transfer to wire racks to cool.

One of the best ways to eat this bread is just-out-of-the-oven with a hearty bowl of soup. This stick-to-your-ribs chowder is one of Keith's favourites...I am making it today to placate him because he's likely going to realize that my friends and I have made a pretty big dent in his bottle of espresso flavoured Vodka (also, his favourite).

Sausage and Corn Chowder with Cheddar

2 Tbsps olive oil
3 Tbsps chili powder
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 large onion chopped
6 cloves of garlic minced
2 small cans of cream corn
1 large can of black beans
1 roasted red pepper chopped
3 or 4 cups of frozen corn
½ cup green onions
½ cup fresh parsley chopped fine
1 pkg. fresh chives, chopped
1 can 4-oz. diced green chilies, drained
2 oz jar pimientos, chopped
4 large spicy sausages grilled (chorizo or hot Italian work well)
3 cups chicken broth or bouillon
1 cup whole milk
½ cup of sour cream
1 cup (4-oz) Cheddar cheese, shredded

Sautee onion and garlic in olive oil with half of the chili powder
Add creamed corn, chilis, pimentos, and salt and pepper.

Add other ingredients except sour cream and cheese. Once vegetables are tender add sour cream and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add cheddar cheese to individual portions before serving.

This is what I was referring to when I said, "a pretty big dent". ;)

Summer Saturday Sleepovers and Sesame Buns

It goes without saying that Saturdays are my favourite days of the week. Sunday awaits with all it's slothful potential...and the fifth and final day of the work-week is just a memory. Also...Saturdays are the days that Lauryn and Jude most often come for sleep-overs.

Today was a glorious late-summer Saturday...warm and still. The leaves are just barely starting to turn, the lawn is lush and thick and the blue jays were cooing with delight over the peanuts waiting on the ledge of the deck.

Bear with me as I wax poetic...but today was such a perfect day I can't help myself. Lauryn and Jude arrived around 5:00...we made a hop-scotch on the walk and the two of them ran around the yard and played happily in the sunshine. We left only briefly - on a mission to get a "Smurfette" toy (yes, I let them have Happy Meals and no, they did not have the much coveted Smurfette). We came back and ate without plates outside. We made orange Jell-O, ate little bowls of strawberries and blueberries had ice cream floats for dessert. Two, brightly coloured, hot-air baloons floated lazily above us...close enough to delight and frighten the kidlets with the hiss of the flame. They called out and waved, watching them until they sank below the tree line.

After the little angels were scrubbed, smooched and tucked in for the night, I decided to give brioche a whirl...

Just for Keith...for putting up with us all day and for the awesome burgers we are going to eat tomorrow.

Here is the most promising recipe I have been able to find. Touted as the "best-ever" brioche and lifted from the New York Times. After weeks of searching...I think this might be IT...the Holy Grail of yeast creations. The soft, sweet, sesame bun that Keith pines for every time we make burgers...


Light Brioche Burger Buns
Recipe from the New York Times via Comme Ca restaurant in Los Angeles
Makes 8 (4 to 5-inch) burger buns

1 cup warm water
3 tablespoons warm milk
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups bread flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Black and white sesame seeds and/or poppy seeds (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a glass measuring cup, combine one cup warm water, the milk, yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about five minutes. Meanwhile, beat one egg.

2. In a large bowl, whisk flours with salt. Add butter and rub into flour between your fingers, making crumbs. Using a dough scraper, stir in yeast mixture and beaten egg until a dough forms. Scrape dough onto clean, well-floured counter and knead, scooping dough up, slapping it on counter and turning it, until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. (You may also use a stand mixer for this, eliminating the need for a bench scraper – but bread from hand always tastes and feels better than bread from machine) You want the dough to remain slightly tacky, as the more flour you add, the tougher they will be when baked.

3. Shape dough into a ball and return it to bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using dough scraper, divide dough into 8 equal parts. Gently roll each into a ball and arrange two to three inches apart on baking sheet. Cover loosely with a piece of plastic wrap lightly coated in nonstick spray and let buns rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours.

5. Set a large shallow pan of water on oven floor. Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack in center. Beat remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush some on top of buns. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using. Bake, turning sheet halfway through baking, until tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

I followed the recipe with no changes...The dough is lovely and soft and a little tacky to the touch...a pleasure to bat around a little bit.

The second rise has brought me to 11:00 pm...so I'm going to set my trusty iPhone alarm for 1:00 and I'll wake up to bake them. They should still be warm when Keith gets home from work. (Domestic Goddess..oh, YEAH.)

2:00 am update: They sure LOOK like they could be the Holy Grail...


I love it when a plan comes together! This is a great recipe...the buns are sweet and soft, with a light texture...good yeasty flavour...now...for the ultimate burger! Stilton and thick cut bacon with fresh tomatoes, avacado, carmelized onions and pea-shoots.

Napa Valley Barbeque Chicken

Much to Keith's chagrin, I am going to use the second-most mocked and dreaded cooking ingredient in this vintage recipe from "the box". Ketchup. This is topped only by the first-most mocked and dreaded cooking ingredient...mushroom soup. In my house, any recipe that includes either of these ingredients is subject to scorn before it even makes it to the stove-top or oven.

In spite of the spate of "trailer-park cookin'" jibes that will most certainly be coming my way at the dinner table this evening, my palate (and my heart) are craving a dish that I ate frequently with my mom...it was one of her famous default dinners. For some reason, I have never attempted to make it, in spite of the fact that I really like it...so tonight, as it was so many years ago, Napa Valley Barbeque Chicken (ketchup and all) will hit the table with plain, long-grain white rice and corn on the cob...

The base recipe was clipped from what I can only assume was the "Lethbridge Herald", but as with all things "Winnie" it has been modified somewhat to suit her palate.

About 2 lbs fryer quality chicken - dip cut pieces into beaten egg

Shake into mixture of 1/4 cup flour - 1 tsp paprika - 3/8 tsp salt - 1/8 tsp pepper

Brown chicken in 1/4 cup butter - set aside

Mix 1 cup KETCHUP, 1/2 cup of cooking sherry (Mom ALWAYS used Harvey's Bristol Cream), 1/3 cup water, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 medium minced onion, 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce, 2 Tbsp melted butter and 1 Tbsp brown sugar into a pan. (There's a side-note on the recipe that reads "2 Tbsp tried, but it doesn't say whether or not it improved the flavour...you will have to decide by yourself.)

Bring sauce ingredients to a boil and pour over browned chicken in flat dish or casserole - bake covered 1 1/4 hours at 325 Farenheit.

Libby's (and Grandma Winnie's) Chili Con Carne - for Cara

Many of the recipes in the recipe box are for things I never remember eating. A number of them are for things I recall sampling once or twice and then never tasting again as Mom moved on to the next thing she came across that tempted her palate.

Not so, chili con carne. My mother made chili almost as often as she made fish...which...in my house growing up was very nearly EVERY Friday.

I know for a fact she LOVED chili, because I can actually tell you the story of the first time she ever tasted it. I recall her telling me that that she first tried it, was at a chalet after a long, cold day of skiing. She swore she had never eaten a more satisfying meal. It really was one of her all-time favourites and she always ate it with a piece of white bread and butter.

Cara called me a couple of weeks ago with a rare request for kitchen assistance...wanting to know how I make chili. After numerous creative but pretty dissatisfying attempts to make some really SOUL satisfying, gourmet chili over the past few years, I resorted to telling her what I remembered learning to make as a teenager at home.

I promised to have the recipe posted that day...and true to my nature...was taken away from the task. Also true to my nature, it has bothered me since...so here, for Cara...is Grandma Winnie's Chili Con Carne.

It was, without fail, always created in the big, steel frying pan that was at one time (before I can recall), electric...but had long since had the guts and wires removed...

I know the recipe started out with the basic recipe on the back of a can of Libby's Kidney Beans, because it's taped to the inside cover of her old Purity Cook book (so... not REALLY from the recipe box because I couldn't bear to remove it and store it in the tin.) The Purity Cookbook with all it's frayed corners, ripped cover and notations, is almost as sacred as "the box."


Here is what I refer to as the "base recipe" from Libby's label:

Brown 1 cup of chopped onion, 1/4 cup of green pepper (which, for the record, I NEVER remember seeing in any version of mom's chili), 1 lb of ground beef in 2 tablespoons fat (Also something I never remember her adding. I would just skip the fat.) Add one 14 oz can of Libby's Kidney Beans,1 and 3/4 cups Libby's Tomatoes,(Libby's might disagree...but I'm pretty sure you can use any kind of beans...or tomatoes, for that matter.) 1 to 2 tablespoons of chili powder,1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper and 1 tablespoon of vinegar. (Plain, white vinegar) Simmer for one hour. Makes 4-6 servings.

Beside this recipe, on the inside front cover of the sacred book...mom wrote the following. I'm not sure if she preferred it this way or if these were just substitutions for when she didn't have all of the ingredients in the cupboard...but here is what it says.

Double recipe only 2 teaspoons salt
1 14 oz can of tomato soup
1/4 - 1/2 cup Heintz "Catsup"(Winnie always called ketchup "Catsup") instead of canned tomatoes 28 fld oz.

Mom faithfully simmered this chili for at least an hour. Clearly, she was prepared to make some substitutions (eg. green peppers) but she was NOT prepared to sacrifice the simmer - even for a starving teenager.

When I was a kid, we didn't have a microwave, so I remember eating this cold...right out of the fridge the next day...and I think I almost liked it better that way.