Tarta de Santiago - A Random Recipe

Tarta de Santiago and tea ...

Random Recipes - Crusty White Bread

... a return to Random Recipes brings me to an artisan bread worthy of a good soup ...

Random Recipe and We Should Cocoa - Chocolate Rugelach

Soft and lighter than air with a dark chocolate crumbly filling, and a shiny sugar glaze  ... mmmmm!

SB needed a special something to take to a potluck dinner that he is attending this evening for his tree-hugger group. Wendy, the director of the home office requested something with chocolate. How fortuitous! Dom has told us that this month's Random Recipes is having a sweet collision with Choclette of We Should Cocoa. Sometimes the stars align.

Short Reads with MFK Fisher - Random Recipes

                                                                                                                                     Image by: Carla Porter

The tree is on the brush pile and the snow is still coming down

Christmas has come and gone. I am slowly and sparingly working my way through the books that came wrapped in paper and bows. One of them, An Alphabet for Gourmets, has given me small readings that I have enjoyed before bed or first thing in the morning with my hot coffee. Its author, MFK Fisher, led such an interesting life. Fisher, the daughter of a newspaper editor, came to writing early in life and despite forays into writing for her father's paper and trying to write novels, it was her frank, witty, and sometimes sensuous descriptions of food and food culture that brought her fame and a very distinguished circle of culinary friends.

And speaking of culinary friends ....

The Random Recipe challenge this month was to open one of the food-oriented books one received at Christmas and make what one finds. Well, I happened on MFK Fisher's discussion on 'Quantity' - a lesson in discretion. Here, Fisher admonishes cooks to learn the rules before you break them. She pokes fun at her childish attempt to make Hindu Eggs, a warm variation on Deviled Eggs that have the yolk filling flavoured with curry powder. They were perfectly flavoured when she had them made by her mother. When she made them, however, her love of curry powder caused her to think 'more is better'. The lesson here is ... more (curry powder:quantity) is not necessarily better when it comes to spices, sauces, herbs, et cetera. Learning that favorite flavours become 'favorite' because of their nuanced presence in different dishes was a key experience for MFK. Later in life, though, she also learned that once one has made the recipe and perfected technique, one can experiment and she uses the old peasant dish called Roasted Kasha as an example. Her love of the grain and its subtle nuttiness leads her to heighten that flavour by roasting it longer to a nutty brown before adding broth and simmering it to slowly soften it. She loves the combination of nuttiness and butter flavours, so she added far more butter than the traditional preparation recommends. In this case, 'more is better' as far as MFK's concerned.

See the whole groats vs the mid-grind groats? MFK swears by whole groats

Random Recipes and Baked Ziti Straight From the Jumbled Pantry ....

Sometimes one has to dig deep, snuffle around, shift things here and there to come up with all the necessary pieces of the puzzle called 'supper' .... welcome to my pantry cupboard. Well one of them, that is.

New Cookbook - New Cake ! Random Recipe !

Well, it's official. My collection of cookbooks is out of control. I have become a cookbook junkie and everyone in my life knows about it. To boot, they're aiding and abetting my obsession! This past week a new friend popped through the back door with gifts for SB and I ... he got a map cover for his biking maps and I got Mollie Katzen's cookbook called Still Life With Menu Cookbook. The look of this book is so interesting; Mollie's original painted illustrations highlight each short collection of recipes that are themed to make an entire vegetarian meal from appetizer or soup to dessert. I like that. I often wish that every cookbook recipe would have a brief snippet about what other dishes go well with the recipe or how the recipe might be incorporated into a larger meal.

At any rate, I have already turned each page of this newest addition to the cookbook shelf and have slipped little markers into a few pages for dishes and desserts that will make it onto our dinner table or onto the party buffet table come holiday time.

Puddings, Cakes, and Bakes ... A Random Recipe

This month's random recipe brings us to the back of the book, so to speak ... the sweets and baked goods that end a good meal or give us a little bit of sweetness alongside tea or coffee. So here we go ...

Random Recipes - Zuppe di Pesce with Brandy and Cream

The soup bowls have been empty for the past few weeks, as SB and I have enjoyed traditional summertime fare! Our grill has been going far more often than the stove top! That all changed, though, when Dom handed off this month's Random Recipe challenge and I counted out the cookbooks and then counted out the pages.

Miso Salmon and Soba Noodles

You know how sometimes you just need to make yourself a plate of something that will stick to your ribs? You know how often times that something turns out to be a pasta dish that not only sticks to your ribs, but goes directly to the pit of your stomach and then, miraculously to your hips and thighs? Yeah ... me too. I know alllll about it ... but wait! There has to be a way to have your pasta and not feel guilty.

Pain Grenoblois - A Random Recipe

Baking bread is one of the most satisfying of baking ventures and it seems that Dom, our dear friend over at Belleau Kitchen, has tapped his inner baker and become a blogging bread fiend! Well, he's in good company here! In fact, when he suggested that May's Random Recipe challenge was to collect one's bread baking books and randomly choose a bread recipe to make and post, I was pretty excited! I only hoped that I would choose a bread recipe that was new and untried! Score!

This French recipe comes from Paris Boulangerie Patisserie, Linda Dannenberg's excellent book of recipes from the most famous and well-established bakeries in Paris. On opening the book to a random page, I  was greeted by a raisin and walnut bread that comes from the countryside in the southeastern region of France. This bread had me doing something I have never done before in my bread baking. It calls for making a yeast starter dough called Pâte Viennoise and letting it rise for 45 minutes. Then, another dough is made that incorporates the starter dough in during the kneading process. This white wheat flour starter combines with the second rye and wheat flour mixture to make a striated dough, rich with butter, raisins, currants, walnuts, and a bit more sugar than usual ... really a beautiful combination!

Random Recipes - Cathy Rothwell's Teryaki Sirloin Tips

It's that Random Recipe time of month again! Every month, our cyber friend Dom gives us a new way to find a recipe from one of our cook books that we might not have seen, might have passed over, might have been afraid to tackle, might have ...

This month, Dom has challenged us to use his random number generator thingamabob to come up with a random number that corresponds to one of the books on our cookbook shelves; we are to open that particular book, make the recipe, and then "eat and of course, enjoy" ! My number is 128. Well, counting the books on the shelf brought me to the first of two of our family cookbooks - these binders hold recipes that I have diligently saved over the years from family, friends, magazine articles, newspaper slips, labels, etc. They're the one's that I have tried and loved and made the commitment to preserve. I have slowly transcribed them to word files, printed them out, placed them in waterproof plastic page liners and placed them in the huge binder/cookbook - they're there for all time! Anyway, flipping to a random page, I came to my friend Cathy's recipe for sirloin tips - her shiny, sweet, tangy, juicy steak bites.

This recipe is all about the simple marinade. I always soak the tips all day - for flavouring and tenderizing purposes. Then, I make slivers of onions and green peppers and give them a fast stir fry in the wok while I use a grill pan to sear these tips (or if the weather is nice, I grill them) to a perfect medium-rare. It's simple, but so wonderful! Sometimes, we have the tips with steamed jasmine rice and an Asian vegetable side dish, but at other times we have them with roasted spears of sweet potato and a simple salad. However you make them, I hope you enjoy them!

Cathy Rothwell’s Teriyaki Sirloin Tips

One day before you want to grill these, make the marinade and place the tips in a zip-lock bag. Seal and massage the tip with the marinade. Store the bag in a bowl in the fridge and give the meat a toss and a squeeze every now and then during the day.

Grill to medium-rare for the best and most tender chew, brushing the steaks with some of the marinade while they cook.  Sprinkle on the scallions and sesame seeds and serve hot from the grill.

Marinade:

½ c. soy sauce

¼ c. brown sugar

½ c. orange juice

1 large clove garlic minced

1 tsp. black pepper

1 – 2 lbs. sirloin tips or steak of your choice

Garnishes:

scallions, sliced into thin coins

sesame seeds, toasted

Accompaniments: Green pepper and sweet onion strips stir fried in peanut oil, black pepper and ginger root and garlic aromatics.

Note: If you choose to use a steak for this marinade, don’t forget to poke it all over with a meat fork to let the marinade really work its way into the slab of meat.

Random Recipe - Stohrer's Cake aux Olives et Jambon

I recently ordered a few used cook books through alibris.com and thinking about Dom's 'do it your way' option for this month's Random Recipe, I decided that I would make the first recipe in whichever book arrived first. Well, today's morning mail offered up Linda Dannenberg's Paris Boulangerie et Pâtisserie .

Carnitas - Alice Waters & A Random Recipe Story

This is a lunch or supper recipe that can really satisfy your urge for a hit of authentic Mexican cooking, but I will warn you that it takes time to make it right. The recipe comes from Alice Waters' book The Art of Simple Food , a book that sits on Sprout Sara's cookbook shelf. My on-line friend, Dom chose to have us mix up the concept of random recipes a bit this month and call a fellow foodie to ask them to provide the randomness. Clever boy, that Dom!

Random Recipe Meets Danish Apricot Pinwheels

What pretty little crumbly confections! They are sitting pretty on my countertop because I was instructed to pick a random recipe ...

The Butcher's Sauce - Random Recipes

 

 

an ode to orange ... 

 

What's at 'the back of  beyond' in your cupboard  (or freezer, in my case) ? This month's Random Recipe challenge was to reach into the back of your pantry and bring out a box, can, bag, packet, what ever! Next, go to a cookbook and find a recipe that uses that 'forgotten' ingredient. Well, that's clever, Dom!

Random Recipe - Caraway Seed Cake and More Tea!

All that talk of the perfect tea accompaniment in the last post reminded me that Dom's monthly Random Recipe challenge was coming to round-up! Oh dear ... must make more sweets for tea, but first a short update. I have been sooo good on my diet, everyone! I am down just over 20 pounds and am still motivated to lose another 20 ... these will be the hard ones, so I have to be savvy about the sweets that I make.

Dog Days and Tapas ...

It was so hot yesterday. These are the dog days of summer. The late summer sun bakes everything and the gardens go blowsy and the grass is parched in places. The Corgis rush out the back door full of energy and drag themselves back after a brief run around with their tongues hanging low. They flop ... and pant ... and drop off to sleep.  They inspire me to do much the same. I get things done in spurts and then flop and pant ... talk about people resembling their pets!

The Random Cookbooks ... Random Recipes

This month, Dom has challenged us to show off our stuff ... as in, cookbooks. Where DO we get the inspiration for all this cookery stuff? Well, I get it from a multitude of sources and in a few places around the house. I have a lot of cookbooks, recipes, and magazines. They sit in various places in the grey cottage but, interestingly enough, only a few sit in the kitchen.

Spicy Peanut Sauce ... and a Dish to Go With

the random cookbook and the middle recipe in the book ... what might it be?

Random Recipe - First or Last ?

This month Dom has challenged us to randomly pick a cookbook and decide whether to make the very first or the very last recipe in said book. Well, THAT'S fun! We get to choose this month!

My random cook book is one that is a recent addition to the collection. It's called Farmstead Chef and it has a mish mash of recipes that revolve around homesteading and agricultural advocacy - that is, families on small farms and in residential settings that use their homes and acreage for producing their own foods and supporting the local farmers that supplement with their fresh and local produce. The key here is homemade, preserved, less processed and more fresh and local meats and produce, and making the process of mealtimes a family affair. The authors are enthusiastic and fun-loving and the recipes reflect that ... the book has everything from homemade play dough and homemade cocoa mix for the kids to  Rhubarb Cordial and Creamy Leek Pastries for the more sophisticated palate ... it's a good little cookbook.

I chose to make the last recipe in the book - Lentil and Polish Sausage Soup. It's been a chilly cloudy day here and I have a big loaf of multigrain bread and a chunk of Cheddar that would sit nicely beside a big hot bowl of soup.