Personal Vacation

Life is a constant balancing act, and I’m just barely getting by at this point. This weekend was my personal vacation off, and I made the most of it by spending most of my time lounging around in my PJs and staying warm in my bed. When I did gather enough courage to get out of bed, my energies were spent in the kitchen, and voila! Delicious, toasty, warm, focaccia bread. Perfect for dunking in olive oil & balsamic vinegar or warm marinara sauce. Nomnom. So easy, and the entire house smells wonderful afterward.

Focaccia
Source: Epicurious
I did everything by hand, and it came together surprisingly easily. I made several batches and had my roommates, my parents, and grizzly’s family try it out. So far, positive reviews. I tried an Herb Oil topping and the original Epicurious topping. I liked both, but I think it would be fun to try different topping combinations next time. Jalepeno and cheddar cheese. Carmelized onions and blue cheese. Sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella. Also, I added a dried herbs to the flour mixture just to add more flavor and oomph. Enjoy.

Ingredients
2 1/4-ounce packages (5 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
2 c warm water (105°‐115° F.)
1 tbs salt
5 + 1/2 c flour
1/3 c olive oil
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves [rosemary], minced
2 tbs cornmeal
1/2 c coarsely grated Parmesan
coarse salt for sprinkling
freshly ground black pepper for sprinkling

Directions
In a large bowl, mix together warm water, sugar, yeast, and let stand for 20 minutes until foamy. In a separate bowl, stiry together 5 cups flour & salt. Add oil into yeast mixture. By hand (or paddle attachment of stand mixer), gradually work in flour to yeast mixture, just until combined, soft and just slightly sticky.

Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead in enough remaining flour to form a soft but not sticky dough. Form dough into a ball and put in an oiled large bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead thyme or rosemary into dough. Form 2 oval dough balls of roughly the same size, and let rest under inverted bowl for another 5 minutes for easier rolling. [*I divided the dough into fourths and baked them in little pie tins]

Preheat oven to 450° F.

Oil two 13- by 9-inch baking pans and sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon cornmeal [I used 4 pie tins]. On lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll out dough balls to fit baking pan [or pie tin], about 1/4″ in thickness. Use fingers to gently fit dough into pan. It is OK if it doesn’t touch the edges. Cover each pan with a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 20 minutes.

Sprinkle dough with Parmesan, coarse salt and pepper [Parmesan is optional if you are using the Herb Oil]. With lightly oiled fingertips make indentations, about 1/2 inch deep and 1 inch apart, all over dough rectangles and bake in middle of oven 12 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm.

Herb Oil
1/2 c olive oil
1 tbs fresh rosemary, thyme, sage, minced
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper

Heat oil in microwave until warm. Add other ingredients and combine. Generously brush herb oil onto dough before baking.

Four more weeks until graduation – soo close, I can smell victory. Both grizzly and I are graduating this winter – he with his masters, and me, my bachelors. Winter break is going to be soo sweet. Until then, I will be playing around with different types of stout (ssh, it’s a surprise – details later), and baking up a nice turkey for my students when we are in Tahoe.  Lots to do. Take care and until soon lovelies!

AnhD.

Hiatus

Friends, readers, blog surfers, I bid thee farewell – temporarily anyway. The next 7 weeks leading up to graduation are going to be the most difficult 7 weeks of my life thus-far, and I am unable to continue producing these entries for your viewing pleasure. I will, however, continue to post pictures and recipes when I have the time, but for the most part, this blog is going into a short-term hibernation. I will be back in exactly 7 weeks, so mark your calendars.

Love and thank you so much for your continued support.
AnhD

Rustic Pear Galette
Quick notes: (1) Play with the filling to your heart’s content! This time I used an anise-clove-cinnamon syrup that I had make a while ago for baklava to poach the pears, giving this this wonderfully aromatic and spiced warmth that complements these autumn pears sooo well. Contrarily, you can just as easily douse the sliced pears with a few tablespoons of melted butter, then dust with sugar. Play around and have fun. (2) This is my favorite dough recipe. Super easy and very quick to make – even if just using your own hands. (3) I actually made mini-galettes from this dough, and they turned out very cute and convenient for controlling portions.

Ingredients
Dough:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, just softened, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
3 1/2 tablespoons chilled water
1 egg, beaten
Raw sugar for sprinkling, optional

Filling:
4-5 pears, peeled and sliced [I used a variety]
*Please read quick note above.
Poaching Syrup (1/2 c honey + 1/2 c water + 1 stick cinnamon + 1 whole dried anise flower + 1/4 tsp clove; bring to simmer in saucepan and allow to cook until syrup infused with spice flavors)

Directions
For dough: mix flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add 2 tbs of butter, and blend until dough resembles coarse cornmeal. Add remaining butter, mixing until biggest pieces look like large peas. I like to use a wooden rice paddle to work this all in, when I don’t have a food processor handy. Just remember, minimal heat and as little working as possible to prevent a tough dough.

Sprinkle in 1 tbs water, mix, then add in 1 tbs more, just until dough holds together. Toss with hands, letting it fall through fingers, until it’s ropy with some dry patches. If dry patches predominate, add another tablespoon water. Keep tossing until you can roll dough into a ball. Flatten into a thick disk, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400*F. Before using, allow to soften until malleable, but still cold. Roll out onto a floured surface, about 1/8″ thick. To make a free style galette, simply place dough onto baking sheet. Arrange pear slices in the center of the dough. You can arrange them nicely in a flower patter, or if you are constrained for time, just dump your pear slices onto the center and just arrange to even it out. Leave about a 1.5″ edge to form the galette.

Taking the sections of the dough’s edge, fold toward the center so it covers the closest pears. This is free-form, so don’t worry too much about shape. Brush the crust exterior with egg wash, then sprinkle a healthy amount of raw sugar crystals. Bake for about 40-50 mins or until golden brown and beautiful. Enjoy.

The Doldrums

All silent on the kitchen counter. No splattering pots, no simmering pans, no sizzling plates. Static. There are no fragrances of freshly grated ginger for molasses cookies, nor pungent balsamic vinegar deglazing a hot pan. The inactivity is quelling. Somewhere in the dark cabinet corner, a neglected bay leaf longs for attention. Thus is the sad state of my kitchen – Stagnant. Insipid. Stale. At some point over the last few days/weeks/months, I lost my motivation. I lost my personal inspiration. I lost the voice that urged me to keep going. I lost a companion to appreciate and fuel my passion. And it’s metastasized to other parts of my life – blog senescence; my mechanical/zombie-like attitude; my apathy toward most things; my aversion to crowded places; my inability to FEEL and EXPERIENCE like I use to. That SPARK, that EXCITEMENT, that PASSION is gone. Where’d you go? I miss you dearly, and would greatly appreciate it if you came back.

Despite having an amazing support system, I know I’m not functioning optimally. But not all is in the doldrums. I found out that I’m graduating a semester early – that’s 3.5 years to complete my bachelors at Cal. Woo!! This, of course, opens a whole new can of worms… I am also teaching 2 sections for Public Health 116, applying to grad school, preparing for the GRE, developing a curriculum for my new Vietnamese class, working 20 hours a week, juggling family, friendships and boyfriend. You think I have any energy left to pursue my kitchen passion? But then again, I’ve always been this busy… what makes it different this time?

Corn & Cheese Arepas
Source: Mark Bittman
Today’s recipe is for Argentinian Arepas, which Mark Bittman demonstrated on Bitten not too long ago. This is honestly the most satisfying one-person-meal I have ever made! It is very quick to whip together (15 min. tops), and absolutely hits the spot. They can be used like English muffins (sandwich buns), but I honestly just munch on the individual pancakes plain. Hit then with some sour cream and guacamole and you’re good to go. I can totally see myself making this for my kids (if I ever have any) as an after school snack… you know, like between extracurriculars and before homework time and dinner? And once you’ve got it the first time, tweaking the recipe is cake… or rather, Arepas! My changes/suggests are in [brackets].

Ingredients
1 cup yellow cornmeal [1.5 cups]
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup milk
2 tbsp butter, more for serving, optional
1/2-3/4 cup fresh sweet corn kernels, or frozen kernels, thawed
1/4 cup chopped scallion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced, optional
corn oil
[*I think a diced red onion would be nice]

Put milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until steam rises, then add butter and stir until melted. Remove from heat. In a large bow, combine cornmeal, salt and cheese. Stir milk-butter mixture into cormeal until thick batter is formed. Fold in the corn kernels, scallion, cilantro and chili if using.
Allow batter to rest until it thickens into a soft dough, about 15 minutes. Gently shape 1/2″ thick patties, using your palms. Or if you are too impatient (like me!), my batter tends to be a bit runny, and I just spoon the batter into a hot skillet like pancakes.
Heat oil in a large skillet on medium and cook arepas, working in batches, until golden brown, about 5 minutes, then flip and cook for another 3 minutes on other side. DO NOT USE HIGH HEAT, as these BURN very very quickly.
Optional: When all arepas are cooked and cool enough to handle, carefully slice them through the middle. If desired, serve with butter or stuff with beans, vegetables or sour cream (sour cream + salt + dill + cilantro = delicious) .

So when I am not sulking about how absolutely uninspired I’ve been, I waver between anxious/nervous and just very stressed. And all this coincides with my new Donna Hay coming in the mail. I used to be so excited and expectant, but now it’s just an unwanted reminder. So to sum it up, my week has been less than ideal. I’ve been cranky and irritable and overall just very unpleasant (I apologize if you’ve been on the receiving end of this), resulting in unclear skin and ugly frown lines. I left Berkeley in a hurry, and with each blur in the scenery, each bend in the road, each passing exit, the negativity gradually dissipated out of me. And when I got to San Jose, all it took was a smile, a kiss, a tight bear hug, to remove the remnants of it. Enough to encourage me to hop back into the kitchen again anyway…

Thank you.
AnhD