Daring Bakers' Tender Potato Bread

“ It’s impossible to think of any good meal, no matter how plain or elegant, without soup or bread in it”. M.F.K Fisher.


Another month, another Daring Bakers challenge and this one was on the savory side, which was quite what I hoped for after having too many sweets lately.

I love making bread. In fact, at my house we only have homemade bread: the whole wheat and honey bread for breakfast and the focaccia for lunch and dinner. But it has been a long time since I kneaded my bread without the help of my Harley Davidson (that’s how I call my Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer. I even sing for my bike when it kneads my bread).
My mother thought me how to knead my first bread when I was about fourteen and I used to hate it. The dough was sticky, my tiny arms were getting tired and when I would ask my mom how to know if it’s done, she would answer: “you should feel it. When it’s smooth and elastic”.

Now, with some experience behind me, I enjoy kneading bread and find it very relaxing and somehow poetic to go from separate dry and wet ingredients to a magnificent piece of bread. Simple yet so comforting.
Making your own bread is very rewarding. Not only you are happy to enjoy fresh from the oven loaf of bread but also your house will smell like a warm bakery on a snowy Sunday morning.

Potato bread is basically: potatoes, cooked then mashed, mixed with whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, salt, a tiny bit of butter and water. I only needed a little less than 8 cups of all-purpose flour for the dough and shaped into two huge loves (1 lb each).
The dough was very sticky at first but then became very easy to work with after the 6 cups of flour. The texture of the bread is just lovely: very airy, light and a little chewy.

It was my first attempt on making potato bread and from my entourage excitement I can assure you it won’t be the last. I enjoyed having my sticky fingers and floury hair again.

Thank you Tanna. And be sure to head over to her blog for more details on the recipe, and to visit my fellow Daring Bakers chefs-d’oeuvre.

Thanksgiving

I realize I am fashionably late bringing my tart to the Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey must be chilling, the menu must be fixed, the pans and pots must be singing and the kitchen is warm and eager to welcome the feast. Some of you must be packing to go see your loved ones. Others must already be at the airport, waiting for their plane to arrive. Wherever you are, you know Thanksgiving is just around the corner and can’t wait to start celebrating and filling your heart with sweet memories, and your tummy with scrumptious goodies.

Off you go my friends. You have a day to be thankful for.

There would be no recipe today, since this apple tart is just a variation of my fig frangipane tart. I just used three Granny Smith apples instead of figs and topped the tart with some roughly chopped walnuts. The filling is made with almonds meal (toasted, skinned then ground almonds) and ½ tsp of freshly ground nutmeg. It can be prepared one day ahead. Prebake the crust, until lightly golden on the edges, and store it at room temperature. Refrigerate the filling. For a shiny finish, you can brush the apples with some honey.

Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Feasting and Happy Memories.

Being a Kid / être un Enfant

There are days like this when being a kid again is just what we need.

We wouldn’t have to think about our weekly chores and monthly bills. We wouldn’t have to think about how we might look or how we should be in public. We wouldn’t have to worry about our social status and our personal ambitions.

We would be kids. Again. Wearing pea dotted jumper and pink boots, we would jump in the mud and roll over crunchy leaves. We would dance at the super market and smile to strangers without looking crazy. We would stuff ourselves with jellybeans, muffins and cookies without thinking about calories and gaining weight. We would ride rocking horses and go on the swing screaming: “Higher! Higher! I want to touch the clouds”. We would be kids. Just kids, if only for one day. Just one day.

At least we can always pretend to be kids, only older kids, by stuffing ourselves to one of these healthy and hearty Rutabaga and Cilantro muffins.

Rutabaga is such a fascinating and intimidating vegetable in appearance, and resembles parsnip and cabbage in taste. I used it in these savory muffins along with cilantro and roasted red peppers to add a little bit of sweetness to the batter. The taste of the rutabaga is very mild in the muffins comparing to the time I made a rutabaga soup. Not a good experience. My hubby ate it just because he is too polite or was too hungry. And I finished my bowl just because it was “good for me” and because I don’t like to mistreat my soups. I am a nice kid.

The use of buckwheat flour can be substituted for another nutty flour of your choice, such as chestnut or chickpea flour. This muffin would be a perfect pair to a soup or a spicy arugula and pear salad on your thanksgiving dinner.

Rutabaga and cilantro Muffins

Recipe:
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup buckwheat flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
- 1 tsp freshly ground coriander seeds
- 1 tsp honey
- 2 tbsp cilantro leaves, chopped
- 1 ½ cups rutabaga, peeled and finely shredded
- 1 red pepper, roasted, peeled and diced
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400F. Butter and flour 12 muffin-pan cups.
In a bowl, stir together the all-purpose flour, buckwheat flour, baking powder, salt, ground black pepper, cilantro and the ground coriander.
Beat the eggs until blended. Add the milk, oil, honey, red peppers and shredded rutabaga and beat until blended. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until moistened.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin-pan cups. Bake for 15- 18 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out just a little moist. Do not overbake them.
Let them cool in the pan on a wire rack for two minutes, and then invert them onto the rack.
These muffins can be stored for up to 2 days in an airtight plastic container. The muffins are good on the first day and even better on the second.

Muffins de Rutabaga et Coriandre

In francais please:
- 200g de farine
- 75g de farine de sarrasin
- 2 c.c de levure chimique
- ¾ c.c de sel de mer
- ¼ c.c de poivre noir, fraîchement moulu
- 1 c.c de graines de coriandre, fraîchement moulues
- 1 c.c de miel
- 2 c.s de feuille de coriandre, hachées
- 185g de rutabaga, râpés
- 1 poivron rouge, grillée et coupe en dés
- 2 gros oeufs
- 250ml de lait entier
- 80 ml d’huile d’olive

Préchauffer votre four 200C. Beurrer et fariner un moule à muffins de 12.
Dans une jatte, mélanger les deux farines, la levure chimique, sel, poicre, coriandre et graines de coriandre.
Fouetter les oeufs un peu, puis ajouter le lait, l’huile d’olive, le miel, rutabaga et poivrons rouges et batter jusqu’ à ce que tout soit bien incorporé. Ajouter alors les ingredients secs et mélanager juste afin que le mélange soit bien uniforme. Ne pas trop mélanger afin d’avoir des muffins tendres.
Verser la pate a muffins dans votre moule a muffins et faites cuire pendant 15-18 minutes, jusqu’ à ce qu’un cure-dent inséré à l’interieur des muffins en ressort à peine humide.
Laisser refroidir dans le moule sur une grille à patisserie pendant 2 minutes, puis démouler. Servir accompagnés d’une soupe ou une salade de roquette ou de frisée. Ces muffins sont délicieux le premier jour, mais encore meilleur le second.
Ils peuvent se garder pendant deux jours dans une boite en plastique à fermeture hérmetique.

Pomegranate / Grenade

The Pomegranate is a fruit cultivated in some parts of Asia (Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Iran and Japan) in California, Arizona and Latin America, and over the whole Mediterranean region.
It is the symbol of the city of Granada in Andalusia, Spain and the official logo of many cities in Turkey.

Fresh pomegranate season is from September to November in North America.

How to choose it:
The pomegranate should have a pronounced red color and a shiny skin, with no blemishes or bruises. It should also be heavy for its size to guarantee a juicy fruit.

How to peal it: (a very easy way)
After halving it with a knife, remove the white casings and invert the pomegranate in a way that the outer skin will be facing you and the inner seeds will be facing a bowl. Take a tablespoon and tap the pomegranate with the back of the spoon. The seeds will pop out of the pomegranate into the bowl.

How to eat it:
The seeds can be eaten raw or in a fruit salad and goes very well with lamb’s lettuce (mâche). It can be used in making syrup, juice, jelly, liqueur, sauces or jams. In India and Pakistan, they are widely popular in chutneys, relishes and curries. In Turkey, pomegranate sauce is used in salad dressings and to marinate meat while pomegranate syrup (thank you Hande!) is used in Muhamara (Turkish red pepper, cumin and walnut spread) and Güllaç (a famous Turkish dessert).

This recipe is my favorite way, if not the only way, I eat pomegranate since I was a kid.
It is basically pomegranate seeds scented with orange blossom water, which results in a refreshing and very aromatic fruit salad. Orange blossom water, if you are not familiar with, is distilled water that contains the essential oils of orange blossom. It is very sweet-scented and a little goes a long way.

A Simple, easy and very satisfying dessert. That's how I like to start my weekend.

Happy weekend everyone.

Orange Scented Pomegranate

Recipe: Serves 4 people
- 2 pomegranates
- 2 small tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp orange blossom water

Remove the seeds from the pomegranate and place them in a bowl. Add sugar and orange blossom water and mix using a spoon. Cover with a plastic wrap and chill for at least ½ hour before serving.

Grenade parfumée à l’orange

In francais please: Pour 4 personnes
- 2 grenades
- 2 petites c.s de sucre en poudre
- 2 c.s d’eau de fleur d’oranger

Récupérer les graines de grenade et les mettre dans un bol. Ajouter le sucre et l'eau de fleur d’oranger et mélanger à l’aide d’une cuillère. Couvrir de fil plastic et mettre au frais au moins ½ heure avant de déguster.

Sunshine in a Bowl / Un Rayon de Soleil

It’s hard to be a soup these days.

You are rarely at the family table. We see you when we are out of inspiration for dinner or when the kid has a cold. You have never been understood by the humans.
They call you names like dull, boring, you look funny; and you still come back, happy to warm up our heart and body on chilly nights.

You are mistreated. You are served too hot at home, too cold at the hospital when you are not supposed to be a gazpacho. You are thickened too much and not enough let to bloom peacefully on the stove. You spend days in the fridge alone; with only friends to talk too a pot of jam who doesn’t say much and a butter who plays it tough. They reheat you and burn you and drain you down the sink when they have enough of you.

You are mocked by children, hated by adults on diet and abused by toddlers who tickle you and give you the headache.

Still you come back in our kitchen, happy in our pots and waiving at us when we stir you gently. You know how to delight us when we treat you well and how to light up our days like sunshine in a bowl.

I really fell in love with this soup. I would never thought of a soup as something enjoyable to make and to get excited about, but this one is more than just a soup. It’s a medley of spices and places. You get the natural sweetness of the butternut squash and the apple cider mixed with the warmth of the cinnamon, the cardamom, the ginger and the all spice. And the color of the soup is just wonderful. The soup should be really velvety and silky to your tongue, so make sure to blend it well.

Like many things with warm spices, this soup improves with time. It’s delicious on the first day, but it’s magnificent on the second and out of this world on the third. At least if it stays that long.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Recipe: Serves 8- 10 persons
- 1 butternut squash (3 lb)
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp cardamom
- 1 tsp allspice
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 3 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 2 cups apple cider
- ½ cinnamon stick
- 1 cup Half and half
- Salt, pepper
- Toasted almonds flakes

Preheat your oven to 425F. Peel, seed and cut your butternut squash in cubes. Place on a sheet tray and drizzle with some olive oil. Season it with salt and pepper and cook until tender, about 20 minutes.
In a heavy saucepan, reduce the apple cider on high heat, uncovered until you have 1 cup.
In a heavy large pot or a Dutch oven, sauté the onion in 1 tbsp of butter and ½ tsp vegetable oil until caramelized. Add ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, all spice and cayenne pepper. Cook for 1 minute or two until fragrant.
Add squash cubes, chicken or vegetable stock and the reduced apple cider and simmer for 25 minutes.
Discard the cinnamon stick and puree the soup using a stand blender until very smooth.
Add the half and half and cook until it thickens and reaches a velvety consistency.
Season with salt and pepper if needed and serve sprinkled with some toasted flaked almonds.

Soupe de Potiron Rôti

In francais please: 8-10 personnes
- 1 potiron (1.5 kg)
- 1 oignon, émincé
- 1 c.c de gingembre en poudre
- ½ c.c de cardamome
- 1 c.c de piment de la jamaique
- ¼ c.c de poivre de cayenne
- 750 ml de bouillon de volaille ou de légumes
- 500 ml de cidre de pommes
- ½ baton de cannelle
- 250 ml de moitié-moitié
- Sel, poivre
- Amandes effilées, légerement grillées

Préchauffer votre four à 218C. Laver votre potiron et éplucher la chair à l’aide d’un couteau économe. Enlever les graines et couper en petits cubes.
Mettre les cubes dans une tôle allant au four. Verser un filet d’huile d’olive sur les cubes de potiron et assaisonner de sel, poivre. Bien mélanger. Faites cuires jusqu’a ce qu’ils deviennent tendres, environ 20 min.
Dans une casserole à fond épais, faites réduire le cidre de pomme de moitié sur grand feu.
Dans une cocotte, faites sauter les oignons dans une c.s de beurre et ½ c.s d’huile jusqu’à ce qu’ils caramélisent. Ajouter, le gingembre, cardamome, poivre de cayenne, piment de jamaique et le baton de cannelle. Faites sauter une à deux minutes jusqu’a ce que cela devienne bien aromatisé. Ajouter les cubes de potiron aux oignons puis le bouillon de volaille, ou de legume, le cidre de pommes réduit et laisser mijoter pendant 25 minutes.
Jeter le baton de cannelle et mixer la soupe à l’aide d’un mixeur a purée avec lequel on mixe les purées de bébé (je ne me rapelle plus comment on l’appele) jusqu’à ce qu’elle devienne bien lisse.
Ajouter le moitié-moitié et laisser cuire sur feu doux jusqu’à ce que la soupe devienne onctueuse . Assaisonner de sel et de poivre si nécéssaire et servir saupoudré d’amandes effilées légerement grillées.

Bon Anniversaire Mon Ninou adoré.

Together For Dessert / Ensemble Pour Le Dessert

Men and women are completely different.

While it would take hours to outline what set us apart, from the emotional part to the every day life part, I thought I would only highlight this typically masculine aspect that can sometimes drive a lady crazy: Not paying attention to details; at least when we want them to.

Men can’t understand how details are important to us. Take telling a story for instance: ladies attach more importance to details than to the main story.
You would more likely draw our attention if you said how your cousin’s daughter met her soon to be husband then by just saying that she is getting married.
And you would more likely get a sweet hug if you have noticed how fresh we are after our facial then by saying: “You look pale. Is everything all right?”

Men, on the other hand go from the main story and pause for a minute, leaving you jaw dropped to your counter top and begging him to turn off that TV and go on with the story. They then continue and finish the story suddenly without warnings. And you are here waiting for something juicier to happen, something he might have forgotten: “And…?” “And what? That’s it!”

But what men never seem to overlook and what they always rave about for hours and hours is The Dessert. You can make them a mean roasted chicken with some delicious roasted vegetables, he would always say at the end of the meal: “you know what would be perfect after this? A nice chocolate mousse.”

After all, dessert is supposed to be what everyone would remember after a nice dinner, even when you are a man.

Chocolate and Coconut Mousse

Recipe: Serves 4
- 8 oz Bittersweet chocolate (62%), chopped
- ½ cup unsweetened coconut milk
- 2 egg yolks
- 4 egg whites, at room temperature
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp sweetened coconut flakes

In a saucepan, melt the chocolate with ¼ cup of the coconut milk following the Bain Marie technique.
Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and thick. Add the remaining coconut milk and the melted chocolate, and whisk until well incorporated.
Beat the egg whites to a medium peak.
Using a rubber spatula, fold one-fourth of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Then gently fold in the remaining whites just until no white streaks remain.
Heat a small sauté pan. Add the coconut flakes and toast them until lightly golden without stopping stirring. Invert into a small plate.
Divide the mousse evenly among the prepared ramekins or pots. Sprinkle the coconut flakes on top of each pot and chill for at least 3 hours before serving it.

Mousse au Chocolat et Noix de Coco

In francais please: Pour 4 personnes
- 200g de chocolat noir à 62%
- 125ml de lait de coco, non sucre
- 2 jaunes d’oeuf
- 4 blancs d’oeufs
- 3 c.s de sucre en poudre
- 2 c.s de flacons de noix de coco, sucre

Dans une casserole, faites fondre le chocolat, avec la moitié du lait de coco au bain-marie.
Battre les jaunes d’oeuf avec le sucre jusqu’a ce que le mélange devienne pale et mousseux. Ajouter le reste du lait de coco et le chocolat fondu et continuer a mélanger.
Battre les blancs en neige. Eviter de trop les batter ou ils deviendront graineux.
Faites chauufer une petite poele. Ajouter les flacons de noix de coco et faites dorer sans cesser de remuer. Retirer du feu et mettre dans une assiette.
A l’aide d’une maryse, incorporer le quart des blancs en neige au chocolat pour l’alléger. Puis incorporer légerement le reste des blancs en neige jusqu’a ce que les blancs soit bien incorporés.
Mettre la mousse dans des ramequins ou des coupes et saupoudrer de flacons de noix de coco au centre des mousses. Mettre au frais au-moins 3 heures avant de servir.