Super No-Knead Bread Master Recipe

A few years ago a New York Times writer posted a recipe for "no-knead" bread that involved a long ferment with a minimum of yeast, a very wet dough, and a closed Dutch oven to make an airy, but crispy bread. The downside of this bread was the planning - about 24 hrs of lead time to get started. Not much to do, but we just aren't this organized. OK, I am not this organized :D

So, when I made the Potato Corn Chowder, I went looking for a variant that worked with less time. A faster ferment. Turns out it is pretty easy to do with 2/3 tsp of yeast instead of 1/4 tsp. A shorter rise (only 8 hrs for us, mixed it before we went out fencing and started baking it when we ran out of sun) makes a superior-to-any-store bread.

Now, if only I could get my sourdough starter under control...

Ingredients

• 3 cups of flour (use any combo of white, bread, and whole wheat)
• 2/3 tsp of instant yeast
• 1 1/4 tsp of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of blood warm water

Steps

1. Mix all the ingredients in the morning before you go out to hang fencing. I mixed the dry ingredients by hand and then added the warm water.
2. Cover with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place - the house was cold (mid-50s), so I set the oven to "warm" for 5 minutes, then turned it off and placed the bowl in for 8 hours.
3. When we ran out of light, I came in, pulled the bowl out and turned the dough out onto the counter.
4. Shape the dough roughly into a ball and cover with a towel or plastic wrap again. Let proof for about an hour in a warm place again.
5. While the dough is proofing, heat the oven to 450°F. Put in your Dutch oven to heat.
6. When the dough has doubled in size, put it in the Dutch oven. You may have to pour it, pry it off the baking sheet, or just roll it in - the dough is very wet. Don't worry if it looks a mess.
7. Cover the pot with a lid and bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid and bake for another 15 minutes to let it brown.

Makes a 1 lb loaf.

Potato Corn Chowder

This is one of our oldest recipes - we only have it written down in one place on a notecard. I don't even know where we got it from, but it has been a stand-by for as long as I can remember us being together.

It is a straight ovo-lacto vegetarian recipe, but you could add some sausage to it (I know Bri would like that) or some chicken. I even saw a variant of this with lobster. Lobster! Riiiight.

Or version is big on the potatoes and corn, fresh is best, but where do you get fresh corn when it is cool enough to eat soup? Not around me, at least not with local.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 3 red (or Yukon Gold) potatoes, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• broth to cover (about 1 quart)
• 3 cups of corn
• 2 cups of crushed tomatoes (14 oz can)
• 1 tsp of dried thyme
• 1 tsp of marjoram or oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup of milk, soy-milk or yogurt

Steps

1. Saute the onion for 5 minutes under medium-high heat.
2. Add the carrots and celery and saute 2 minutes more.
3. Add the potatoes and bay leaves, then cover with broth. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.
4. Add the corn kernels (still frozen is fine) and the tomatoes. Bring to a low boil, then add the herbs and simmer for 25 minutes.
5. Remove and mash about 1 cup of potatoes (I inevitably bring along some corn and tomatoes... mush 'em all). This will thicken the soup and make it more chowder-like.
6. Finally, add 1 cup of milk or yogurt and simmer 5 more minutes.
7. Serve immediately with a great bread.

Makes 10 servings.

Baked Shrimp Scampi

We were desperate for some dinner during the fencing project - Carol found shrimp and salmon, both frozen, in the freezer. We have a couple of quick shrimp dishes (Peanut Shrimp and a "Cajun" shrimp recipe from Cooking Light that I should post some day soon). But we have an enormous 3 quart container of harvested garlic (gotta love the "Music" variety). So Shrimp Scampi came to mind quick.

We found this recipe quickly on the web - it is from a Barefoot Contessa recipe, slightly modded for a simpler kitchen. We have fresh rosemary in the house (potted plants rock) and the parsley is still holding on outside (after several nights of 22 F lows). And this is born - and it is good. We have had this one twice this week. Yum.

Ingredients

• 1 lb raw shrimp
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp dry white wine or sherry
• salt and pepper
• 2/3 stick of butter, room temperature
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup onion, minced
• 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/3 cup panko

Preheat oven to 425º.

1. Peel the shrimp and then put them in a bowl.
2. Add olive oil, wine or sherry, and pepper. Let sit at room temperature while mixing the rest.
3. In the stand mixer, add the butter, garlic, onions, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, egg yolk, and panko. Mix this "topping" at medium speed until well combined.
4. Place the shrimp in a single layer in a glass pie pan.
5. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp and then sprinkle the topping over the shrimp.
6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes (the shrimp will be thoroughly cooked and pink).
7. Serve over pasta (spaghetti or shells) or rice.

Makes 4 servings.

Double Apple Bundt Cake

I found this near perfect recipe in Dorie Greenspan's "Baking". Superfabulous and it uses up apples, which is always a blessing when I get over-eager and come home with a bushel of Macs. You can make the applesauce fresh (we use the slow cooker overnight to caramelize it well) or use last year's quarts which seem to be hogging the pantry shelves now.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup apple-butter or thickened applesauce
• 2 apples, peeled, cored and grated (I used Macs)
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• 1 cup plumped raisins

Steps:

1. Center rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Butter a 9-to-10 inch (12-cup) Bundt pan.
3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.
4. Working with a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until the mixture is smooth, thick and pale.
5. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each addition; you'll have a light, fluffy batter.
6. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the apple butter - don't worry if it curdles the batter.
7. Still on low, add the grated apples and mix to completely blend.
8. Add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the batter.
9. Fold in the nuts and raisins.
10. Roll the batter into the Bundt pan and smooth the top of the batter with the rubber spatula.
11. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a thin knife instered deep into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
12. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 10 minutes before un-molding.

Ab-Fab ColeSlaw

Coleslaw is a sorta shredded "salad" of some member of the broccoli/cabbage family - usually cabbage, but also broccoli (and even cheese?!?). It is never pickled, but regardless of whether it is garnished with a vinegar-based sauce or a mayo-based sauce, it should always be crisp.

Here is a recipe with a mayo-based sauce (which according to WikiP could not have arisen any earlier than the first mayo, which was invented in Europe in the 18th Century). I found this over at the infrequently updated "Toast", which has some fabulous recipes, especially of hearty things (like this and this).

Toast says that she got this recipe from a Peter Reinhart cookbook and it has the 'perfect' proportions. I agree - tastes just like the Marie's Coleslaw Dressing from the store if you add celery seeds.

Ingredients:

• 1 small or 1/2 large head of cabbage, finely shredded (I use the processor)
• 3 carrots, finely chopped (again with the processor, different blade)
• 1 1/2 cup of Hellman's Mayo (only the best, no Miracle Whip Need Apply)
• 1/2 cup of white sugar
• 1/4 cup of cider vinegar
• 1 tsp of coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 tsp of celery seeds
• salt to taste (ours is about 1 tsp)

Steps:

1. If you have one, use the food processor to shred your cabbage. I core mine and then cut it into quarters. They get dropped onto the disk blade that has one long open groove. Voom voom done.
2. Then use the disk blade with the small holes and send the carrots through the processor. We like carrots a lot, so I add more than I wrote above.
3. In the large bowl you will be letting your slaw rest in, add the rest of the ingredients and mix together well.
4. Add the cabbage and carrots and toss until the whole thing is well coated.
5. Chill for 2 hrs at least in the fridge and then serve. Yum.

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Easy skeezy, lemon peasey - we mostly just boil our fresh sweet corn for 3 minutes, drain and serve with butter and salt. It should be sweet, salty, buttery and smokey! The great thing is that by soaking the husk, you steam the corn first before you grill it - this insures your corn cooks in a reasonable amount of time.

But on camping nights, we cook out at the firepit and this is how we make grilled corn. You could also do this on a barbecue grill in almost the same way (I would add a few more minutes to a normal load of briquettes or add 25% more briquettes to make it hotter while the corn cooks, definitely cover the grill while it cooks to increase the temp and the smokey flavor).

Steps:

1. Sorta husk the corn - pull back the green outer leaves without pulling them off.
2. Remove the silks and the first one or two layers of pale inner husks.
3. Push the outer husk back down over the corn again.
4. Submerge in a pot of water for 15-30 minutes.
5. Once you have a good hot fire, place the corn on a grate 12-18 inches over the fire and let it cook for about 10-15 minutes. The husk will begin to blacken. This is good.
6. Carefully remove the corn and husk it properly.
7. Place the corn back on the grate and cook for another 10 minutes, turning it once or twice. Some blackening may occur.
8. Serve hot with butter and salt.

Cucumber and Red Onion Salad

After much trial and error, we decided that we liked our cucumber best sliced thickly and on a diagonal. This kept it from getting soggy, and was pretty as well. But do that you like best. The longer you chill the more the flavors will meld, but the cucumbers will continue to soften. The cucumber will also release juice because of the salt in the dressing. But it’s no problem. just toss again with all the liquid right before serving.

Ingredients:

• 3 - 5 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and sliced
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp celery seed
• 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 garlic cloves, finely minced

Steps:

1. In a medium size bowl, combine the cucumber and onion.
2. In a small bowl, stir the other ingredients.
3. Pour the liquid (really a vineagrette) over cucumber and onion and toss to coat.
4. Chill for 2-4 hours for flavors to meld.
5. Toss again before serving.