I had friends over for dinner last evening. I made a very simple
dinner which turned out to be, they said, one of the best ever.
Maybe it was the simplicity. Most likely, seems more often than not
the simple things turn out to be the best. Simple preparation lets
the food shine.

Of course you have to use high quality ingredients that actually have
their own fresh flavors.

No dessert. No appetizer. None of us needed the extra volume or
calories.

Filet Mignon rubbed with garlic salt and black pepper. Cooked on
extremely hot outdoor grill.
Served with a freshly made Romesco sauce, recipe follows.
Fresh pencil asparagus, blanched, drained, pat of butter and seasoned
with a little Nature's Seasons.
No knead artisan bread....my recipe that I use all the time. Recipe
follows.
A 2002 pinot noir that I had squirreled away and had aged
wonderfully....yum.

That's it. And it was gooooooood.

---------

The filets were rubbed liberally with black pepper and garlic salt and
allowed to sit till room temperature. Grilled over a very hot fire
to sear and then moved to a cooler part of the grill
to finish. Served medium rare....medium for the one wuss in the
crowd.

Asparagus: they had fresh baby or pencil asparagus in the store and
looked really good so
I got some of it. In a large skillet I brought water and plenty of
salt to a rolling boil and
blanched the asparagus till bright green and still barely crunchy.
Drained well and put back in the skillet with butter and a shake or
two of Nature's Seasons. (this was done as last minute as possible as
the steaks came off the grill to rest so the asparagus was still crisp-
tender.)

Romesco Sauce: I made this earlier in the day.
1 small red bell pepper
1 cup ripe red cherry tomatoes - or 3 medium ripe red plum or round
tomatoes
2 large cloves garlic
2 tablespoons almonds
2 tablespoons hazlenuts
Heat a cast iron or heavy skillet to very hot and put the above
ingredients in the skillet
and shake them around till the tomatoes and pepper are blistered and
beginning to char
in spots.

Remove to your food processor and add:
1 teaspoon ground hot new mexico chili
1 teaspoon hot spanish paprika
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil

Process by pulsing till smooth but still with little chunks. Taste
for salt. Taste for tang and add a tiny bit more vinegar if you
think it needs more. If you like it with a bit more bite add
Tabasco...I did and the smoky tabasco made the sauce, IMHO.

Speedy No Knead artisan bread - made earlier in the day and baked off
in the late afternoon.
I sliced the bread, barely buttered it and toasted the slices so that
people could use the Romesco sauce both on the steak and on the bread
as a crostini if they liked. They liked.

3 cups bread flour
1 package yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups water -- warmed
1/4 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1. Combine flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Mix vinegar in the
water and add to flour mixture. Stir till blended. Dough will be
shaggy. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest at least 4 hours
in oven with oven light turned on and oven door closed.

2. Lightly oil work surface and place dough on it. Fold it over on
itself a couple of times. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let
rest 30 minutes more while oven
is heating up.

3. While the dough rests on the counter, heat oven to 450 degrees.
Put a heavy covered pot (cast iron, stainless, enamel, pyrex or
cereamic) in the oven while it is heating so that the pot is heated as
well.

4. When dough is ready and pot has heated for 30 minutes, carefully
remove pot from oven. Set lid aside. Slide your hand under the dough
and put it into the pot, seam side up. Shake the pot once or twice if
the dough is unevenly distributed...it will straighten itself out as
it bakes.

5. Put the lid on the pot and put it back in the oven and bake 30
minutes. Remove the lid and bake 15-20 minutes longer, until loaf is
beautifully browned. Shake bread out of pot and cool on a rack.

Note; If you don't have a cast iron or enamel pot, a heavy stainless
steel pot or the ceramic insert out of your crock pot works great.
The whole idea of baking the bread in a covered pot is to create the
same atmospheric conditions that professional bakers have in their
institutional ovens.
This methodology seals in the moisture needed to get that great crust
and soft interior.

Let the bread COOL before you cut it. I know it's hard not to dive in
with a knife and a pound of butter as soon as it comes out of the
oven.....but let it cool down.

----------

Nature's Seasons is a seasoned salt made by McCormick. I discovered
it a few years ago.
I really like what it does for vegetables.

On Sun, 7 Feb 2010 11:15:51 -0800 (PST), ImStillMags
> wrote:

> Speedy No Knead artisan bread - made earlier in the day and baked off
> in the late afternoon.
> I sliced the bread, barely buttered it and toasted the slices so that
> people could use the Romesco sauce both on the steak and on the bread
> as a crostini if they liked. They liked.
>
> 3 cups bread flour
> 1 package yeast
> 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
> 1 1/2 cups water -- warmed
> 1/4 teaspoon red wine vinegar

What does the vinegar do?

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

sf wrote:

> On Sun, 7 Feb 2010 11:15:51 -0800 (PST), ImStillMags
> > wrote:
>
>
>>Speedy No Knead artisan bread - made earlier in the day and baked off
>>in the late afternoon.
>>I sliced the bread, barely buttered it and toasted the slices so that
>>people could use the Romesco sauce both on the steak and on the bread
>>as a crostini if they liked. They liked.
>>
>> 3 cups bread flour
>> 1 package yeast
>> 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
>> 1 1/2 cups water -- warmed
>> 1/4 teaspoon red wine vinegar
>
>
> What does the vinegar do?
>

Makes it faux sourdough. And I do mean faux.

If you put too much of that stuff in, you have to
boost the yeast because the acidity will start
to kill it off.

I say don't bother putting vinegar in your bread. Learn
how to make a real sourdough.

--
Mort

On Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:59:28 -0800, Mort > wrote:

> sf wrote:
>
> > On Sun, 7 Feb 2010 11:15:51 -0800 (PST), ImStillMags
> > > wrote:
> >
> >
> >>Speedy No Knead artisan bread - made earlier in the day and baked off
> >>in the late afternoon.
> >>
> >> 3 cups bread flour
> >> 1 package yeast
> >> 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
> >> 1 1/2 cups water -- warmed
> >> 1/4 teaspoon red wine vinegar
> >
> >
> > What does the vinegar do?
> >
>
> Makes it faux sourdough. And I do mean faux.
>
> If you put too much of that stuff in, you have to
> boost the yeast because the acidity will start
> to kill it off.
>
> I say don't bother putting vinegar in your bread. Learn
> how to make a real sourdough.

Thanks. I read somewhere that said not to wash out the tub when
replenishing and eventually wild yeast would set up shop to give your
bread a sourdough flavor.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

sf wrote:

> On Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:59:28 -0800, Mort > wrote:
>
>
>>sf wrote:
>>
>>>What does the vinegar do?
>>>
>>
>>Makes it faux sourdough. And I do mean faux.
>>
>>If you put too much of that stuff in, you have to
>>boost the yeast because the acidity will start
>>to kill it off.
>>
>>I say don't bother putting vinegar in your bread. Learn
>>how to make a real sourdough.
>
>
> Thanks. I read somewhere that said not to wash out the tub when
> replenishing and eventually wild yeast would set up shop to give your
> bread a sourdough flavor.
>

I've heard that one too. Fortunately for us our fine city
is full of Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis and it's really
easy to get a starter going out of thin air. I normally just
mix warm water and flour, keep it at about 80 F, and replenish
once a day. In a week to 10 days you've got yourself a
lively great tasting starter.

--
Mort

On Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:54:18 -0800, Mort > wrote:

> I've heard that one too. Fortunately for us our fine city
> is full of Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis and it's really
> easy to get a starter going out of thin air. I normally just
> mix warm water and flour, keep it at about 80 F, and replenish
> once a day. In a week to 10 days you've got yourself a
> lively great tasting starter.

How do you keep your wannabe starter at a consistent 80°?
BTW: Do you hang out in the baking group, Mort?


--

Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.

sf wrote:

> On Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:54:18 -0800, Mort > wrote:
>
>
>>I've heard that one too. Fortunately for us our fine city
>>is full of Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis and it's really
>>easy to get a starter going out of thin air. I normally just
>>mix warm water and flour, keep it at about 80 F, and replenish
>>once a day. In a week to 10 days you've got yourself a
>>lively great tasting starter.
>
>
> How do you keep your wannabe starter at a consistent 80°?
> BTW: Do you hang out in the baking group, Mort?
>
>

I use a box of some sort and a light bulb. It's pretty easy.
You don't need to be exactly 80 F. Just a notch above
room temp to help speed up fermentation a bit.

I used to really enjoy the bread group way back when. There
were some seriously capable bread people there back when
I was reading it.

--
Mort

On Feb 8, 12:26*am, sf > wrote:
> On Sun, 7 Feb 2010 11:15:51 -0800 (PST), ImStillMags
>
> > wrote:
> > Speedy No Knead artisan bread - made earlier in the day and baked off
> > in the late afternoon.
> > I sliced the bread, barely buttered it and toasted the slices so that
> > people could use the Romesco sauce both on the steak and on the bread
> > as a crostini if they liked. * They liked.
>
> > * * 3 * * *cups * * * * *bread flour
> > * *1 * * * package * * * yeast
> > * *1 1/2 *teaspoons * * salt
> > * *1 1/2 *cups * * * * *water -- warmed
> > * * *1/4 *teaspoon * * *red wine vinegar
>
> What does the vinegar do?
>
> --
> I love cooking with wine.
> Sometimes I even put it in the food.

That tiny bit of vinegar accelerates fermentation and gives a hint of
sour.
It's not faux sourdough bread. I have made the bread both with and
without the vinegar. I like the results with.

On Feb 8, 9:36*am, Mort > wrote:
> sf wrote:
> > On Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:54:18 -0800, Mort > wrote:
>
> >>I've heard that one too. Fortunately for us our fine city
> >>is full of Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis and it's really
> >>easy to get a starter going out of thin air. I normally just
> >>mix warm water and flour, keep it at about 80 F, and replenish
> >>once a day. In a week to 10 days you've got yourself a
> >>lively great tasting starter.
>
> > How do you keep your wannabe starter at a consistent 80°? *
> > BTW: Do you hang out in the baking group, Mort? *
>
> I use a box of some sort and a light bulb. It's pretty easy.
> You don't need to be exactly 80 F. Just a notch above
> room temp to help speed up fermentation a bit.
>
> I used to really enjoy the bread group way back when. There
> were some seriously capable bread people there back when
> I was reading it.
>
> --
> Mort- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

The oven with the oven light on keeps drafts out and keeps a constant
temperature that works very well.
You don't have to be a bread snob to make my recipe. It works very
well for those who are not as experienced as you seem to be.

ImStillMags wrote:


> That tiny bit of vinegar accelerates fermentation and gives a hint of
> sour.
> It's not faux sourdough bread. I have made the bread both with and
> without the vinegar. I like the results with.


The former is a factual point, and your assertion is provably wrong.
Lower pH (higher acidity) lowers the rate of fermentation linearly
in all cases.

The latter is an issue of taste and has no right or wrong answer.
Your assertion about your own tastes is correct by definition.

--
Mort

ImStillMags wrote:
> That tiny bit of vinegar accelerates fermentation and gives a hint of
> sour. It's not faux sourdough bread. I have made the bread both with and without the vinegar. I like the results with.
>

If I am out of red wine vinegar can I use another vinegar or should I go
to the store?


Becca

On Feb 8, 2:48*pm, Becca > wrote:
> ImStillMags wrote:
> > That tiny bit of vinegar accelerates fermentation and gives a hint of
> > sour. *It's not faux sourdough bread. * *I have made the bread both with and without the vinegar. *I like the results with.
>
> If I am out of red wine vinegar can I use another vinegar or should I go
> to the store?
>
> Becca

White vinegar should do just fine.

In article >, Becca >
wrote:

> ImStillMags wrote:
> > That tiny bit of vinegar accelerates fermentation and gives a hint of
> > sour. It's not faux sourdough bread. I have made the bread both with
> > and without the vinegar. I like the results with.
> >
>
> If I am out of red wine vinegar can I use another vinegar or should I go
> to the store?
>
>
> Becca

You can use apple cider vinegar, but it won't be quite the same. Better
than plain white tho'. Balsamic would be an even better substitute
imho, but you'd need to reduce the amount. That stuff is rich. ;-d
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>

Subscribe:

ImStillMags wrote:
> On Feb 8, 2:48 pm, Becca > wrote:
>
>> ImStillMags wrote:
>>
>>> That tiny bit of vinegar accelerates fermentation and gives a hint of sour. It's not faux sourdough bread.I have made the bread both with and without the vinegar. I like the results with.
>>>
>> If I am out of red wine vinegar can I use another vinegar or should I go to the store?
>>
>> Becca
>>
>
> White vinegar should do just fine.
>

Thanks.

Becca

ObFood:

Eggplant Shrimp Boats

1 large eggplant
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped bell pepper
1 teaspoon mashed garlic
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 egg, well beaten
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried sweet basil
8 ounces cooked medium shrimp
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
4 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash eggplant and cut off the stem end. Cut
eggplant in half lengthwise, and remove the "meat" from each half,
leaving 1/4 inch on all sides and the bottom. Sauté onion, celery, bell
pepper, garlic and eggplant meat in cooking oil until softened; remove
vegetables to a large bowl. Add egg, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, basil
and shrimp; mix well. Sprinkle salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon olive oil on
the inside of each eggplant boat. Fill each with the sautéed mixture and
top with parsley and 4 tablespoons cheese. Place in a small baking dish
and bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

On Feb 9, 2:55*pm, Becca > wrote:
> ImStillMags wrote:
> > On Feb 8, 2:48 pm, Becca > wrote:
>
> >> ImStillMags wrote:
>
> >>> That tiny bit of vinegar accelerates fermentation and gives a hint of sour. It's not faux sourdough bread.I have made the bread both with and without the vinegar. *I like the results with.
>
> >> If I am out of red wine vinegar can I use another vinegar or should I go to the store?
>
> >> Becca
>
> > White vinegar should do just fine.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Becca
>
> ObFood:
>
> Eggplant Shrimp Boats
>
> 1 large eggplant
> 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
> 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
> 1/4 cup finely chopped bell pepper
> 1 teaspoon mashed garlic
> 1 tablespoon cooking oil
> 1 egg, well beaten
> Salt and ground black pepper to taste
> 1 teaspoon dried thyme
> 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
> 1/2 teaspoon dried sweet basil
> 8 ounces cooked medium shrimp
> 2 teaspoons olive oil
> 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
> 4 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
>
> Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash eggplant and cut off the stem end. Cut
> eggplant in half lengthwise, and remove the "meat" from each half,
> leaving 1/4 inch on all sides and the bottom. Sauté onion, celery, bell
> pepper, garlic and eggplant meat in cooking oil until softened; remove
> vegetables to a large bowl. Add egg, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, basil
> and shrimp; mix well. Sprinkle salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon olive oil on
> the inside of each eggplant boat. Fill each with the sautéed mixture and
> top with parsley and 4 tablespoons cheese. Place in a small baking dish
> and bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

That looks yummy. Thanks. I love stuffing veggies, ever find a
zucchini that was hidden and got to the size of
large eggplant? Those are fun to stuff to......zuccanoes!!