I am a great fan of dishes which combine bread with a filling (dumplings, calzone, empanadas, etc.) or with a topping (pizza, etc.) This is a slightly unusual variation on the Greek feta triangles made with phyllo, which are called Tiropites. These use a home-made dough, olive oil instead of butter, are less rich, and are adapted from Read More …
We really should use beer more as an ingredient in cooking, especially full flavored beers like Guinness stout. This excellent variation on Shepherd’s Pie uses Guinness and is adapted from a cookbook I bought in Heathrow Airport at few years ago, Gordon Ramsey’s Great British Pub Food. Makes 8 servings 2 Tbs. olive oil 2 Read More …
Since Carol’s paternal grandparents came from Lithuania, I keep my eyes open for good Lithuanian recipes. These tasty buns are a cousin to the Tex-Czech Kolaches with a similar enriched dough. This is an adaptation of a recipe in Bernard Clayton’s Complete Book of Small Breads. Use the best quality bacon for this recipe. Read More …
A few years ago there was a media sensation when the New York Times published an article on an innovative way to bake bread from Jim Lahey, owner of the Sullivan Street Bakery. http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/11376-no-knead-bread . There were two key ideas in this approach. First, was that adequate gluten can be developed through the action Read More …
This family favorite has been served at nearly all Christmas or Christmas Eve breakfasts for the last 30 or so years, including this Christmas Eve morning. I also have successfully cooked it in a Dutch oven while camping, including teaching it to each patrol in a Boy Scout troop. It is an adaptation of a Read More …
Hot biscuits ready to enjoy. I read on Serious Eats that good biscuits can be made with only two ingredients, and it is true. For two people all you need is: 5 oz. self rising flour (I use King Arthur) – about 1 cup 5 oz. by weight of heavy cream These two ingredients have Read More …
We learned how to make this Ligurian leaf-shaped flatbread at King Arthur Flour’s baking school in Norwich, VT in December 2012, and it has since become a favorite. This is our variation of their recipe: Preferment 1/8 tsp. instant yeast 4 oz. (1/2 cup) water 4 oz. (1 cup) King Arthur All Purpose Flour (this Read More …
Pitas are more about the technique than about the recipe, although a wet dough is necessary. This batch was made from a variation of the standard dough which I discussed in the pizza posting. I modified the dough this time to make it less glycemic and to add a bit of whole wheat flour Read More …
One of the strangest multicultural experiences I ever had was during a visit to Prague to teach an accounting course. I had lunch at a Thai restaurant with the Italian Payables manager and one of his senior Czech staff. During lunch I mentioned that a food of Czech origin, kolaches, is very popular in Texas. The Read More …
Now that I have moved to the Richmond area, I am working on increasing my Southern cooking skills, and what could be more Southern than buttermilk biscuits! This is a very simple dish, and like all simple dishes good ingredients and good technique make a difference in the final results. The two key techniques are Read More …