The fabulous baker boy

TheCookingShow's Blog

I used to sneer at bread machines before I went to a garage sale and paid $5 for that snazzy Magic Chef number up above. It took a little bit of orienting myself to the different controls, and meanwhile it sat in its box in the basement for two years. But now it fascinates me.

As the song goes, you can't always get what you want, but sometimes, you get what you knead!

Hahahahaaaaa! Anyway.

A bread machine is its own little home entertainment center! It is hilarious to watch.

You pour in all the ingredients in the order listed, wet stuff on the bottom, dry stuff on top. Then the machine grunts into motion. It makes one stir. Then another stir. Then faster and faster, as the dough gradually gathers into a ball. It makes noise. There is a window so you can watch, either that or just lift the lid and poke your head in the way I do. I love watching the thing toss around the ball of dough, hitting all the corners, gathering up all the extraneous bits.

The best thing is, no cleanup! When you knead the dough by hand, you wind up with flour all over the kitchen. Well, I do anyway.

I read that the bread machine is a Japanese invention because their kitchens are tiny and they do not have Western-style ovens as we do. That is why the machine will even bake the bread for you. Sometimes I let it do that, just for fun. Garcon! Boulanger! One loaf, s'ils vous plait, and have it ready when I come home.

But often I like to take the dough out after it has risen and then I deflate it and put it in bread pans and bake it in the oven. It is shaped better that way.

To end we shall quote Julia Child: "A house is not a home without a bread maker."

My friend Ari Silverstein repeated that quote to me and we laughed ourselves silly. But now I have seen the light.

The red light on the bread maker that says "Start"!

Now let's get cooking.

WBIG.TV  Make bread. Don't make any plans! 

RECIPE

This is for a kind of lazy baker's sourdough bread, pictured above with a jar of homemade strawberry preserves that I made once when I couldn't sleep. (Another story for another day!)

 It comes from a 17-page bread-making booklet that I picked up at another garage sale. It is yummy and works great in the machine.

YOGURT WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Put the little stirring attachment into the pan. Do not forget this step!

Now pile in these ingredients in the order listed:

3/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup (I used honey)
1 1/8 cup whole wheat flour
1 2/3 cup bread flour
1 1/2 tablespoons wheat germ (I don't have this so I either skip it or use rolled oats)
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. dry yeast (I use instant yeast)

Plug in the machine and let it rip!

You could also make this by hand. Here is how I would do it: Put the yogurt and the warm water in a bowl, make sure it's not too chilly or too hot, put in the yeast. Add the oil and honey and, gradually, the flour. (By the way I personally use all whole-wheat flour.)

Knead it until it's smooth. Let it rise in an oiled bowl with plastic on top. Deflate it, put it into pans, let it rise again, and bake it for 40 minutes at 375 degrees.





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Pork project

TheCookingShow's Blog

Good day and welcome to our cooking Web log in which we chronicle everything we cook and eat. We begin with a excellent and show-offy recipe for roast pork loin. It takes about two hours but it is hardly any work.

Notice how cooking magazines have all kinds of recipes for pork tenderloin but next to none for pork loin? Not that we do not love pork tenderloin but this is an unjust imbalance. We begin now to correct it. I cannot recommend this recipe highly enough. My little niece and nephew loved it. We had Movie Night last night. We watched Disney's "Cinderella." And before that they ate this pork with big wedges of boiled cabbage -- a highly underrated side dish -- and they told my brother, their dad, that it was the best meal they had ever had in their lives.

The night would have been complete had we made the pork while wearing the Cinderella Apron, pictured above. But nevertheless our story ends happily ever ever.

Now, let's get cooking.

Arista is Tuscan Herb-Infused Roast Pork.

THE RECIPE

This recipe is called Arista and it comes from Bruce Aidells' Meat Cookbook. Arista is Tuscan Herb-Infused Roast Pork.

Aidells has a funny intro in which he talks about discovering this dish at a truck stop. He says truck stops always have the best food! When you try this at home the secret is not to overcook the meat. You want it a little bit pink.

Our family is German and so we ate the pork with chunky homemade applesauce -- I just threw some together in a skillet -- and also with the aforesaid boiled cabbage. Boil the cabbage unapologetically, add salt and a bit of butter and crank on lots of black pepper. Our kids loved that, the pepper. Sour cream also goes great with boiled cabbage although last night we got distracted and left it out.


ARISTA

1 4-pound center-cut boneless pork loin, with a thin layer of fat left intact, or an 8-pound double pork loin roast, tied and trimmed (double the herb rub recipe)

      Arista Herb Rub for pork loin: 
      1/4 cup finely chopped fresh rosemary or 2 tablespoons dried
      2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage or 1 tablespoon dried
      2 teaspoons crushed fennel seeds
      1 tablespoon kosher salt
      1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

      Pan sauce: 
      2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
      10 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
      1/4 cup dry white wine
      1 cup chicken or beef stock
      Salt and freshly ground black pepper
   
      To make Arista Herb Rub, combine the rosemary, sage, fennel, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub all over the meat to provide it with a generous coating.
      Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Brush the meat with 2 tablespoons oil. Brush a shallow roasting pan with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil and scatter the sliced garlic on the bottom to provide a bed for the roast.
      Lay the roast on the garlic, fat side up. Put the pan in the center of the oven and roast for 15 minutes.
      Turn the oven down to 300 degrees and roast for 1 1/4 hours longer if cooking a 4-pound roast, 2 hours longer for a double roast. When the center reads 145 degrees to 150 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, remove the meat from the oven and cover it loosely with foil while you prepare the sauce.
      To make the pan sauce: Pour off the fat and add the wine to the roasting pan and bring it to a boil over high heat, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom.
      Add the stock and cook until the sauce is reduced by half. Strain the sauce, taste for salt and pepper, and serve over 1/4-inch-thick slices of the meat. Serves 8 (4-pound roast).

      Per serving: 400 calories; 19 g fat (6 g saturated fat; 43 percent calories from fat); 2 g carbohydrates; 147 mg cholesterol; 498 mg sodium; 52 g protein; 0.3 g fiber.

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