Double Dutch Crunch

Alleluia. I made it back into the kitchen.



I extolled the joys of the dutch crunch bread in my last post and I couldn't resist its charms. I honestly plan on bringing it to the east coast on a large scale somehow.

This is not my recipe but I followed this one and it turned out to be pretty good. I researched multiple recipes and this one really does seem to be the best. Nicole, formerly of Bakingsheet, at Baking Bites provided this recipe and she really did do a great job with this one.

As I've said before, recipes are only guidelines, except in baking when measurements are crucial and of utmost importance.

Dutch Crunch Bread

2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (1 packet or 1/4 ounce)

1/4 cup warm water (105-110F)

1 cup warm milk (105-110F)

1 tbsp sugar

2 tsp vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 - 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Today I tried my hand at making the dutch crunch a gluten-free bread, too. It turned out great! I couldn't tell much difference between the all-purpose flour and the rice flour. I used 100% brown rice flour (because that was all I could find at Whole Foods) and soy milk to attempt to make it vegan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine yeast, water, milk and sugar. Stir to dissolve and let sit for about 5 minutes. Add in vegetable oil, salt and about 2 cups of flour. Using the dough hook attachment, mix at medium speed until the dough comes together. Add remaining flour a tablespoon or two at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic.

I was lazy and did not bring out the mixer. I did it old school and prepared everything by hand. I used a spoon to mix everything in a medium mixing bowl and then I turned out the dough on a lightly floured piece of wax paper. Actually, I was trying to reduce my dishes because I really hate washing dishes....

I knead you so much right now.

If you feel compelled, do a windowpane test. Also called a membrane test, it's to determine if the gluten in your bread has been properly developed. After about 5 minutes of kneading, pinch off a small piece and stretch the dough into a thin, translucent windowpane or membrane. If it tears easily, you should knead the dough more. If not, then it's time to proof the bread. If your dough has nuts, seeds, or other large pieces in it, it won't work because the gluten strands are being torn by the additives.

Place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size in a warm place. An example: on top of the refrigerator or television, on the top of an oven that is preheating.

Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 6 equal portions. Shape each into an equal sized ball and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Let rise for 15 minutes while you prepare the topping.

To properly scale dough, weigh the whole amount of dough on a scale, then divide it's weight by the number of servings (which is six in this recipe) to find out how much each one weighs. When dividing the dough, weigh each piece for accuracy. That's how baker's do it. And you can do it too. If you don't have a scale, that's OK. Be like Rachael Ray and eyeball it.

Topping

1 tbsp active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water (105-110F)

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup white rice flour (not sweet rice flour)

Combine all topping ingredients in a medium bowl and mix very well. Let stand for 15 minutes. Once the rolls have risen a bit and the topping is ready, spread a generous layer on the rolls, trying to use all the topping in a thick coat on the top and sides. Let rise for another 20 minutes. Bake at 375F for 25-30 minutes, until well browned. Let cool completely on a wire rack before eating. Store in an airtight container, if necessary.




Overall, I think I did a great job. I'm not a baker but I do it well and I don't have many problems when I put yeasted items in the oven.

I hope your bread turns out just a yummy or even better!

The Expense Of Expense

I'd like to thank my loyal readers for being patient with me while I've been absent from the kitchen the past two (almost three) weeks. To be honest, it's been killing me. I'm well enough to stand up and cook a four-course meal, but now I've succumbed to annual spring allergies and can't go five minutes without sneezing or blowing my nose.


Don't make me go post-nasal on you. Please.



As everyone can tell by their grocery bills, food costs are getting higher and higher each month. Since I cook for sport, business, and personal enjoyment, I am constantly in a furtive search for inexpensive venues and establishments to purchase high quality, low cost foodstuffs. Dean & Deluca is not one of those places. I visited a Napa Wal-Mart multiple times during my visit (I know! I'm an economic slave to the corporate giant!) and the produce was the cheapest I've seen in years. I have no desire to live in Arnold Schwarzenegger's playground, but I might consider it if the price of food is right. I realize now that the labor and delivery of food in California must be close to nil. All you have to do is walk into the backyard, pick what you want, and eat it. As I said earlier, California is the nation's breadbasket. A cheap Mexican bread basket. Or South American one.

My first lunch in Napa Valley was at Dean & Deluca in St. Helena, CA. Dean & Deluca is a gourmet grocery and coffee retailer. I had such a good time in the store, I didn't need to purchase anything to get enjoyment from the atmosphere. Dean & Deluca is not where I will be shopping to purchase my high quality foodstuffs, decorations, wine, stemware, utensils, or anything else I can think of culinary. The place is TOO expensive. Many of the items I found there can be found at any other reputable retailer for 100% less. My local Harris Teeter will do just fine. A set of Peugeot stainless steel salt-and-pepper mills retail at D&D for $120. At my beloved Sur La Table, $55. No lie. No exaggeration.

D&D's ONLY redeeming quality: the sandwich counter in the deli. Nestled in the dimly lit hindquarters of the atelier an array of fresh ingredients were at my disposal to put on the sandwich of my choice. Meats, four kinds of cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, marinated capers, three kinds of aioli, 12 different breads...and the list could go on.

I don't know what drew me to it, but I chose a Dutch crunch bread first. I'd never seen or heard of this bread but it looked so fresh and wonderful. I piled turkey, avocado, bacon, red onions, lemon aioli, and Swiss cheese on this sandwich. Well, I asked my sandwich artist, Andrew, to do it. I fell in love with this meal.

I searched for Dutch crunch throughout the trip and I found it two other places, Whole Foods in Fresno and Napa and Cafe Fanny in Berkeley. It must be a west coast bread (like really good sourdough) because I tried to find it at my Whole Foods in Winston-Salem and I got crazed looks from the bakery staff.

My D&D creation. One of the best sandwiches I've ever eaten. And I eat a lot of food.

Today I found it. I found a recipe for the Dutch crunch bread. I have yet to try it out but I found I am not the only one that thinks this bread is one of the best things on earth. Nicole of Baking Bites thinks so too. The recipe is here.

In, Out, On, Around, About...

I eat more fast food that I'd like to admit. Every day I struggle with the decision to get a fast food item or two or go home and slap together some semblance of a meal and feel healthy. As much sumptuous food as I ate in California, I managed to lose some weight while I was there. We went to Starbucks every day (partaking in the breakfast sandwiches and wraps that are to be discontinued later this year), Safeway for groceries (soy milk, cereal, soups, candy, Nabisco snacks, and cake) and ate mounds of good food in good restaurants.

On the way to Yosemite, we stopped at an In N Out Burger. My first time ever. I'd heard of the freshness and inexpensive lure of the burgers in the western part of the United States.

This is my first In N Out burger. Ever.

It reminded me of a Wendy's burger, but a bit fresher. There's nothing better than having a hot hamburger nestled a top a bed of fresh, cool lettuce, a juicy tomato, tangy onions, and a toasted bun. They add a special sauce but I didn't notice the sauce until I looked at my empty hands and needed to lick my fingers to savor the last bit of m In N Out experience.

The fries were very fresh, but I prefer my fast-food fries injected with beef flavoring.

Dinner: Not A Spectator's Sport

"We invite you to relax and settle into your meal with "Today's Temptations,"
which is an array of delicious "small" bites to be shared by all at the table.
Our chef calls them temptations because they are inspired by the culinary
artisans, farmers and foragers who bring their tempting products to the kitchen
door everyday. Enjoy the variety of flavors with a glass of sparkling Querenica
Brut Rose, a Greystone exclusive. Then, perhaps, sample one of our first-course
soups, salads, or pastas. What better place to experience the mingling of food,
wine, and friends than the Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant, in the very
heart of California's wine country."--CIA Greystone Website

The Culinary Institute of America is the United States crowning glory of a culinary school. It churns out hundreds of petit chefs in three locations (Hyde Park, NY, San Antonio, TX, and St. Helena, CA) each year. Being a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu myself, I jumped at the opportunity to visit a rival school's restaurant.

The restaurant of any culinary school is an exciting place to eat and to work. Many schools allow senior-ranked students work in the restaurant for a period of time for graduation credit and sometimes it is a culinary student's first experience working in a restaurant. Nevertheless, gourmet dishes and presentations are available to customers with discerning and curious palates. If there is a culinary school anywhere near your area, call to find out if there is a restaurant. It will give students practice and give you a chance to eat some great food.

All that said, this restaurant had a lot of hits and misses. I have to touch them all.

I was disappointed to find out from our waiter that this restaurant is not run by students. It's a professional restaurant created in a partnership with Wine Spectator magazine and the CIA. Everyone who worked there is a full-time employee, he said. By the look of everyone's young face, I assumed the opposite. I asked if the students came to work in the kitchens of the restaurants and his response was, "We let them come in for a few weeks near the end of their time at the school." Upon further investigation, the school does not have a restaurant, bakery, or even a minuscule cafe for the public to taste to wares of once and future culinarians.

After that severe letdown, I perked up at the prospect of superb food.

Hahahahaaaa

It's an open kitchen so all activities and conversations carry into the dining room and vice versa. The kitchen and bar area were in a furied frenzy on this early Friday night.

Our first course: a spring garlic soup with black trumpet mushrooms, crispy sunchokes, and lemon oil. This was one of the highlights of the meal. This day was cold, rainy, and dreary dusk had started to set in. The creamy consistency of the soup coated our palates; the sunchokes (also known as Jerusalem artichokes) and trumpet mushrooms provided a great texture contrast to the otherwise flawless soup. The lemon oil seemed to be an afterthought that did not detract or add to the overall flavor.



On a second glance of the menu, I noticed more oysters. We declined. Because of the poor showing at COPIA we did not want to be disappointed again.

Indian spiced chickpeas. The best set legumes I ever put into my mouth. The bowl was full, steaming, hot, and luscious. I wanted to fall into this sea of garbanzos and stay. Luckily, we brought Beano along with us because we couldn't get enough mouthfuls of garlic, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, peppers, and other spices I couldn't readily identify.


According to the menu, I ordered harissa marinated quail with preserved lemon date couscous and sauteed arugula salad. I substituted the couscous for sage späetzle (I'm not partial to preserved lemons and I wanted to semi side-step heartburn). Harissa is a very spicy and hot North African/Middle Eastern red sauce made from smoked or dried chili peppers, garlic, sometimes tomatoes, coriander, cumin, and caraway seeds. I have Creole blood and I crave all things spicy. I was expecting a tender quail with a crispy, fiery skin.

That is not what I received. The plate was beautiful. But the quail had no spice at all whatsoever. It was overly salted and I almost choked on the späetzle because not only was it too salty, there was a bed of tangy sauerkraut under it. I brought all of this to my waiter's attention and he said,

"We don't like to heavily spice our food here."

"Well, you don't have a problem with salting your food. Can I have another with no sauerkraut and more harissa? I ordered this quail because I thought it was to be spicy. As a matter of fact, please bring some harissa on the side since you don't like to spice your food here."

Instead of new pieces of quail, they re-fired my same pieces that I had poked, prodded, and chewed upon. I assume they attempted to add more harissa, but it looked the same, just a bit darker. The second plate was greatly improved (as was my morale) with the addition of heaps of harissa. According to the restaurant's Website, that night they served Grilled Tolanas Farms Quail with a harissa vinaigrette. I believe that is what I received.

Our waiter did not offer any wine suggestions or perform any tasks outside of the perfunctory duties of a waitstaff. There were young gentlemen who filled our water glasses and bread basket with gusto; With more aplomb than our tin man of a waiter who was supposedly working for tips.





A view of the Wine Spectator magazine offices. All of the windows were blacked out. I'm not sure if it's to keep us out or the employees in...

Julia and Me. Kind of.

Julia Child needs no introduction, but her kitchen surely does. Housed in Copia in Napa, California, Julia's Kitchen it is a cultural and gastronomical center of a restaurant. Julia was on the founding board of COPIA and helped its non-profits grow. The kitchen was named after her and she was a part of operations until her death in 2001.


I was first made aware of this place during season one of Top Chef on Bravo. According to leaflets and information from the Web site, between 60%-80% of the produce comes from the center's Edible Gardens. Local products rule here.


Does this look familiar? Yes, it is the wall to Julia Child's TV kitchen. In the foyer before you reach the captain's stand of the restaurant, you see this. She outlined each of her pots and utensils so she'd know where each one belonged. I'm not so sure what happened in the bottom left-hand corner. But, we'll let that go...



The reason why we're here...the food...

We started with a pairing of oysters. I'm into oysters these days. Since my last cooking class, I've been shucking and eating oysters like a crazy woman (apparently they're an aphrodisiac). Spring is in the air! Go figure! Our choices were between a margarita granité oyster, panko-crusted oyster with strawberry gastrique, and a bloody Mary granité oyster.





We opted for two of the panko-crusted delights. Two; One for each of us. It was fresh. It was crispy. It was presented beautifully. It was the size of a pea. OK, make that two peas, minus the pod. These mollusks were Lilliputian next to the shrimp fork we were given. And I believe they mixed up the strawberry gastrique with a huckleberry one because last I heard, strawberries aren't small, circular, and purple. At $3 each, we were sorely disappointed.

Then came the entrées.

First was the COPIA arugula and frisee salad. Caramelized apples, house-cured Berkshire pork belly, shallots, and violet mustard vinaigrette.

There is something to be said about fruit and meat together in a dish. Mincemeat pie comes to mind and then fruit cake comes shortly after that, but my mind was far from both of these chronically seasonal disasters.

Braised Spring lamb and purple potato ravioli with sauteed snap peas, edamame, green garlic, and garden mint jus.

Each pillow of lamb and potato was fresh and minty-filled. The pasta melted in my mouth and the jus was the right bit of saltiness to make my umami jump. The vegetables were indeed fresh and unbelievably crisp.

Last, but not least: Spring garden vegetable risotto. I don't remember the exact description, but there were peas, carrots, a hint of mint, and even a garnish of edible violets on top. I could tell they added cream to the dish (which is apparently a no-no in purist circles) and I wish they hadn't. Arborio or Carnaroli should thicken and be creamy on its own when cooked properly. I worked in a "premier" restaurant where cream was added to the riso and I was taken aback then too.

Overall, it was an enjoyable experience. I'm a closet alcoholic, I wanted to drink a glass of wine with every course but it was my turn to drive. We didn't open the extensive wine menu. Our steward didn't offer any suggestions either. I wish he had. Wine is still a daunting world to me and I plan on taking many trips back to Napa to learn and experience more.

California Dreamin'

Don't worry, kids.



I've just been on vacation in California for the past week or so. After returning to North Carolina, I seem to have contracted a nasty cold/flu thing from somewhere. Most likely the plane :( Even though I am a believer in Airborne and Emergen-C it did not protect me as well as I had hoped.



When I am back up to speed (or at least a minimal crawl) I'll be back to cooking, posting, and having a good time. I really don't want to see me in the kitchen right now dripping all over everything.



As a matter of fact, the next week will be completely devoted to my California culinary adventures. There were plenty.



Until then...a teaser:

California is the bread basket of America. From the Sierra-Cascade region down to the San Joaquin Valley, a great variety of crops are produced here including fruits and nuts, vegetables, field crops, and livestock.

The Golden State is an epicenter of its own cuisines: California and New American. A fusion of culturally diverse and fresh foods characterize the region's facade that forced the rest of the nation to look at its eating habits.

A list of restaurants and venues visited:

Copia: The American Center for Food and Wine

Julia's Kitchen

Wine Spectator Greystone at Culinary Institute of America

Brix Restaurant & Wine Shop

Chez Panisse

Cafe Fanny

Dean & Deluca

Sutter Home

In N Out

Yosemite National Park

Sequoia National Forest

Sequoia National Park

Kings Canyon National Park