Daring Baker's February Challenge - Pain Francais

The Daring Baker's challenge for February was hosted by Breadchick Mary over at The Sour Dough and Sara over at I like to Cook. Drum roll please! It was Julia Child's Pain Francais. (click here to see more photos of this challenge)

When I first read the recipe given to us by Breadchick and Sara, I was scared, very scared, 15 pages of instructions! WOW, this was going to be the mother of all challenges for me thus far. I was sure I was going to use this as one of my two I could bail on. Then I stared reading other comments from fellow DBs and I became inspired, should we say very inspired or just DAMN INSPIRED! I could not wait!

There was only one weekend in the entire month that I could do this and we were kind of busy - friend in from Hawaii, errands, dinner with friends - but, I knew I could make it work. So, Saturday rolled around and I did errands, worked, picked up the house, blah blah blah and dinner time hit! "Damn, I forgot the bread and now I had plans on Sunday with the friend!!!" But, I was confident that I could make it work ......

I got up early Sunday, started the lengthly process. So, far very good! The first rising was perfect and right on my tight schedule! Got it all ready for the next round of keeping warm and headed out for lunch and shopping with friend. It was hard to cut it short and fast because of a loaf of bread, so it ran a little late. Got home, still perfect! All was working out so well. I was very confident and very happy. Proceeded with the remaining steps and then molded the dough with my new pastry canvas and tucked it all in next to a warm heater and headed out to dinner! We had a fantastic dinner with friends but once dessert ended I started watching the clock and thinking about my perfect little breads at home. Again, I did not want to bolt over a pan of bread, so I held out as long as I could and finally told L. we had to leave. Then they started talking about after dinner drinks - NO!!! Thank god the host decided to kick us out since it was a school night!

Got home and all still looked perfect! I could not believe I had done it and still had a day of fun without sitting at home waiting for all the rising to take place. Now was time to unmold the beauties and get them ready to bake! Only 30 minutes until I could call it a wrap and head to bed!

Well, let's just say - never be over confident when baking bread, especially this bread! They collapsed! They were flat baguettes! The color as beautiful! The texture was fantastic! The flavor was well, very french! But, something happened when I unmolded them - lost all their air, they were flat!

Moral to the story ..... Never be over confident until they come out of the oven! Was it a challenge - of course! Was it fun - definitely! Will, I make them again - on our next rainy weekend!!

Pizza

We had some left over dough from a Jamie Oliver night - tossed it into the freezer, thawed today and then let it rise for a couple hours tonight, while we were at spin class. It came out wonderful! Topped it with some caramelized shallots and garlic which I added some crushed fennel seeds and chili peppers to while it cooked. I topped the crust with a very small amount of mozzarella and then tossed the shallot mixture and some arugula over the top. The finishing touch was some pancetta, crushed pepper, sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil!

Was fantastic!

Simple Salad

We are back on our spin schedule, which means we need to come up with a couple easy meals for Tuesday and Thursdays. Not only did we get home late but there is nothing really left in the fridge since we were playing in Yosemite last weekend instead of doing house stuff.

I was able to toss a a couple cutlets(who knew Lil's cutlets would go so far) into the freezer, from the other night; before, L. devoured them. At least we had some protein to work with. As well we had a half of a head of butter lettuce in the fridge and some frozen pizza dough left over from the HHDH #17 challenge. What did I come up with, you are asking yourself?

I rolled the dough out very thing, topped it with some fennel seeds, olive oil, sea salt and crushed pepper and baked it into a thick and crispy cracker. While the pizza was crisping away, I tossed in the chicken cutlets to warm them up. In the mean time, I tossed a salad together of lettuce, red onions, chick peas and made a light dressing of olive oil, red vinegar, and lemon juice. Once everything was cooked and warmed, I chopped up the chicken and tossed it into the salad. Simple and easy and ready in 30 minutes.

Gift from Austria

We received a very nice gift from a business colleague in Austria - two bottles of Klug-Voltl Gelber Muskateller Wine and a bottle of Kernöl Oil, otherwise known as pumpkin seed oil.

In keeping with the RSBC superfood challenge, we used the Kernol oil as our pumpkin - after all, it is made from pumpkin. Does this count? To start off our meal I tossed together a salad of red butter leaf lettuce, thinly sliced red onion, toasted hazelnuts and then I drizzled the Kernol oil over the top. The oil is rather rich in flavor and texture, instead of the usual balsamic vinegar, I squeezed some Meyer lemon over the top as the acid part of the dressing. Tossed it with some sea salt and crushed pepper. The oil is not only rich in flavor and texture but also very nutty, it definitely complimented everything in the salad. It was very good!

Not sure what to serve with the wine, so we opted to make some of Lil's chicken cutlets. This time I threw fresh rosemary, thyme, garlic and a chili pepper in the food processor with the bread crumbs and made a very fragrant breading. The flour mixture I added some smoky paprika, salt and pepper to it. The different layers of the wine (pear, melon, a little green apple as well as a bit of mineral) really complimented the cutlets. We really enjoyed this meal full of new and exciting flavors!

We thought the crispness of the wine would also be perfect for a summer picnic - guess what we will be doing with the next bottle! Thank you Rainer!

In keeping up with the RSBC Challenge, I ran 3xs and we both biked 15 miles.

My Birthday

I have been on the "I am 40 fence" for the past year, yesterday around 7 am (birth time - it really is not your birthday until that time) I jumped over the fence and I am officially in my 40s. WOW! I do not feel 40; but, then again, what is a 40 year suppose to feel like? We laugh about how we take more vitamins now and how we have to exercise like a crazy person to drop those 5 pounds; otherwise, I am not 40. :)

I am lucky that I have a supporting family, fantastic friends and a man who is always there for me! I think Jen over at Use Real Butter really summed it up when talking about doing things for the one you love; L and I feel the same exact way. Now for a birthday, I feel that, this day is yours and only yours and you should definitely do what you enjoy. We did spend the day at the office working - we are starting a business together - which is exactly what I wanted to do. Then he surprised me by telling me he was going to cook dinner for me. Now this is BIG! He never cooks and when he does it is the one thing he knows how to make, his signature dish, Chili. While, I LOVE to cook, I was welcoming this evening of relaxing! And he seemed very excited to surprise me with an evening of food by Laudalino.

Let me set the visual for you - we have a tiny one bedroom apartment, maybe 450 sq feet in total, and our kitchen (kitchen part is no more than 20 sq. ft.) is part of the living room/dining area, so there is no where to go relax unless I want to go for a run in the garage, leave the house for awhile or take a nice glass of Lillet into the bedroom and work. I took the Lillet and left him in the kitchen to have fun! It was humorous when our friend D. stopped by with flowers and gifts, to have her come into the room I was confined too; but, we laughed as we (L and I) always seem to make it work!

While I am sipping and chatting with D. there was the occasional dish falling or pots being banged in some strange matter but not once did L. ask for help. I was becoming even more impressed, he was doing it! I was so happy and surprised to come out and find the table set (with candles even), a small gift (a little journal, a "love" journal) and a wonderful meal of his ever so famous chili right down to all the extras - avocado, sour cream, cheese, onions, corn muffins and a nice bottle of wine. It was really fantastic! I was very surprised and very happy - My MAN did this for me! I was very touched by his love for me!

We did laugh during the meal as he started a whole new food craze last night - instead of Euro/Asisan food it was Euro/Mexican food. He made the chili not only with beef but Italian sausage. The "cheddar" cheese was actually a hard orange cheese from France - very flavorful and rich. The wine was very full bodied Italian. As well he admitted to how tired all this prepping and cooking left him (notice him falling asleep during dessert) and that now he knew why I was so tired at the end of the night. Puzzling?!

It really is the little things that matter the most. The fact that he put all this effort into making my day special, was the best gift of all! We will be taking Chez on the road to Yosemite this weekend, for the rest of the birthday celebration and to just chill, read some books, shoot some photos and completely reconnect; so, until next week .... have a great weekend!

Come dine with us soon!

Guess What was for dinner ....

You guessed ..... right! Again & again. What more can I say? Hmmm, we hate leftovers and have had the same thing three nights in a row - we can not believe it! Thank god it is like a fine wine, ages well with time. To shake things up, I tossed together a green salad with tiny sweet tomatoes and goat cheese! Promise we will be eating something new very soon.

Do come back and dine with us again!

Leftover Night

I was bumping around the world of food blogs today, when I should have been working, when I stumbled upon Sunita's World. Sunita hosts a monthly event about spices we have never taken part in this; but, after I began reading about it, I became interested. I saw that the current month's challenge involved Star Anise, now I was not sure what I would make with it as I usually just use it as a prop in photos, then I suddenly remembered that I used it in our Japanese Pot Roast and since we ate out last night we were dining on this outrageous meal again, tonight! Let me tell you after sitting in the fridge for a day, the flavor really blended even more, it was even more fantastic. You have to try this recipe!

So, here you have our entry for Sunita's very fun event!

Japanese Inspired Pot Roast

While, we have only joined Meeta in one of her Monthly Mingles - we had a great time. I was not going to do this months only because it was a "one-dish" meal and what comes to mind for us involves a crock pot food or casserole type meal, neither appealed to us, so we decided to sit this one out.

I was getting ready to put away my February issue of Food and Wine, when I decided to take one last flip through it. There on the cover was the topic, "the Ultimate One-Pot Meal". I slowly turned to page 101, thinking it was going to involve a crock-pot or would be a casserole. So happy to see it was a nice slow braised meal cooked in one-pot and in the oven. The perfect meal for the lazy Saturday night we were planning.

FW gives you four options and we chose the Japanese style. We did use a few potatoes instead of the Daikon. As well I cooked Udon noodles instead of the egg noodles they suggest. The pot-roast was very easy to make and while it is cooking the house smells truly incredible. Great way to get the mood going for a "lazy but romantic" evening.

While the roast was slowly cooking we used up the left-over bubbly from our pre and Valentine's dinners. We added a couple splashes of Bonny Doon Framboise and garnished with raspberries. What a great way to end your day and start your evening!

Then it was time to really chow down on the pot roast and buttered udon noodles. The roast was very tender and the carrots and potatoes were not over cooked, a slight crunch to them still. The broth was very flavorful - the saltiness of the Soy Sauce, and the sweetness of the Mirin and the Star Anise (which I almost did not add as I like to photograph with them) brought a very interesting flavor, a little spicy and not overwhelming, very exotic, definitely worked very well together - we loved it! Served a hunk of crusty bread with it and we popped open a lovely Bordeaux from the Loire Valley. For dessert we had a couple meringues left over, which, I made with my sweet little 4 year old friend, E. for Valentines - she is all about pink and love - I topped them with raspberries and drizzled deep dark chocolate over the tops.

Truly a great evening with the one you love!

Second Week of Run, Swim, Bike and Cook

Happy to report that we are still doing the challenge with Chou over at Balance. We did much better this week and are beating down the cold, that we both seem to have now! I got in three power walks as well as a run - felt great! L. got in a spin class and some bouldering. Next week should be a better week!

As for the cooking portion of the RSBC challenge, the food was Quinoa or Beets and it had to be a dessert. Well, since I could not figure out a way to add a beet to dessert and for that matter, L. does not really like beets, I went with Quinoa. We love Quinoa - we actually eat it a lot; but, mostly as a side with dinner, not a dessert. This was a challenge. I found one recipe on the Food Network for a pudding . Figured it would be somewhat like rice pudding so I went with it. It came together easy enough, smelled good, looked good and tasted okay. I put it into some cute little bowls, put it in the fridge to chill while we had dinner with some friends and half way through dinner I just had second thoughts - thank god I did not serve it, it was terrible!!! Oh well, guess we will stick with Quinoa as a side with dinner. Great challenge, though, Chou!

Valentine's Day

L. and I really do not "celebrate" V~day. We both are strong believers that all these special "things", should be things that are done throughout the year, not saved up for one "big" day. And, since we eat pretty well on a nightly bases, why should this night be any different or for that matter stuck out at a restaurant, paying over priced prices for food that is not that good because it is so busy - save it for a rainy day! In the same breath, it is kind of hard not to get a little sucked into all the pink & red fluff everywhere, so I do always pick up a little token of my love, a bottle of pink bubbly and a card.

Now, since I LOVE to cook as well, I know L. was expecting the big fancy french meal; but, I surprised him with a Jamie Oliver pizza of Pancetta, artichoke hearts and an egg! He was quite surprised!

For dessert I made L.'s favorite dessert, Iles Flottantes - a big Thank You to Tartelette for a wonderful recipe! Not only was it delicious but very easy.

Pre Valentine's Dinner

We had our friends M. and C. over for a little pre-Valentines Day dinner. We popped open a bottle of bubbly and L and and I made this Jamie Oliver quiche - Tiger's Quiche. The photos (and you can not see them because BLOGGER is blogging) do not do it justice - it was fantastic!! Served a light green salad and some warm crusty French bread with it. Fun evening of bubbly, food and friends!

Flat Leaf Parsley and Pasta

Cookthink is hosting a monthly challenge and this month it just happened to be Flat Leaf Parsley. I was not even planning on entering this challenge because this is basically just a staple dish in our house and then I realized after finishing the meal, that it may be perfect!

We keep three fresh herbs in the kitchen, in a vase on the counter at all times - Basil, Cilantro and Flat Leaf Parsley. Whenever you are in a pinch for some extra added flavor or maybe a little bit of garnish to your dish. A favorite standby in our house when we are either tired or pinched for time is a simple dish of sauted garlic and olive oil with the added bonus of Flat Leaf Parsley - to give that nice clean and fresh taste, kind of like early spring, as well as a dash of color!

Thai Chicken Coconut Soup

We are trying to be somewhat healthy this month and are trying to stay motivated with the Ironman meets Ironchef challenge over at Balance. I found this Thai Chicken Coconut Soup and we decided to give it a try. While it was good, it was just okay. We will probably not make this particular recipe again as it was rather brothy (is that a word), not enough substance, even for a soup. It was just lacking something .....at least it was healthy!

Fried Dough ...

Also, known as Malassadas or Filhoses.

When I saw that Helen of Tartelette and Peabody of Culinary Concoctions were hosting the first ever Fried Dough Fest, I knew I had the perfect recipe! L.s' mothers Malasada. The first time I ever had one was not with L. but instead over in Honolulu at Leonards. I fell in love ... who could resist fried dough, stuffed with coconut cream! I love them so much that I eat them twice if not three times a day when I am over there; nothing like stuffing oneself before stuffing yourself into a swimsuit! Then I met L. and found out he was Portuguese and from San Miguel Island, where these morsels orginated - what a lucky girl was I, a hunky guy who's mother could make these for me or better yet teach me how to make them, then I could stuff myself silly full of fried dough!

They are really pretty simple to make. A easy yeast dough that you let rise for a couple hours, heat up some FAT and fry baby, fry, then dust them with a little sugar! Remember, not to think about your diet as you are inhaling them, because one is never enough!

First week of Run, Swim, Bike & Cook

We have joined Chou over at Balance for Food for the annual RSBC. I hate to inform Chou and everyone else that we/I did not do as well as we/I would have liked! See my sorry excuses that I sent Chou!

We are participating; but, not too well this week. L. had to travel for business, I came down with a crappy cold which is lingering this weekend and I did not get a chance to make the Kale Hash I wanted to make for breakfast today. But, on the upside, we did well with the working out part, or at least I did. I walked Monday - Wednesday, anywhere from 2 - 3 miles, on the hills of San Francisco & mind you not a leisurely stroll but a hustle of a walk and I ran a mile two days, as well - I think the run triggered the cold to settle in my chest. So, we did part of this great challenge; but, not enough in my opinion. Next week for sure!!!

Soba Noodle Salad

Our friend B. introduced us to this creation of his - we love it! Quick and easy and full of flavor.

Dark Chocolate Madelines

with essence of fresh Seville Oranges. I love Seville Oranges and I always buy them when we are in Europe. Unfortunately, I have never seen them in the Bay Area; which, has bummed me out as I have wanted to try making David Lebovitz's Orange Marmalade.

Today was my lucky day. I stumbled upon Seville Oranges at one of our favorite little neighborhood markets, Bi-Rite. I had to buy them! All the way home I thought about what I would do first besides the obvious .... devour them! Then it hit me, I had to come up with something sweet and chocolately - Death by Chocolate like - as well, I wanted something for L. to take back to Boston for his family.

These little cakes are perfect for someone you love or for a sweet sinful little snack - as well they are simple to make!

Not Superfood

but Superbowl highlights!

We went to our friends D. & JT's house for the superbowl - a low key Sunday afternoon with good friends and lots of beer and great food - warmed olives flavored with oranges, garlic, & rosemary, lots of veggies with spinach dip, homemade guacamole, lots of chips and salsas and then grilled sausage with a warm red & yellow pepper slaw on toasted bread - YUMMY!!!

Thanks, D & JT!

Jellie Bellies Unite!

Dust off your bikes, unpack that swimsuit at the bottom of your dresser, pull out your running shoes from the way back part of your closet, it is time for you to join us while we jump start our year! You may even enjoy it as well!

January was incredibly busy for us - lots of extra hours of work, trying to catch up with friends that we had neglected during the previous year and just attempting to regroup for the new year. All this "busy" time left us no gym time or for that matter very little exercise time - the crappy weather we have been having has not made it easy either!

I stumbled upon Balance, when I was looking at Lemon Meringue Pies and saw that Chou was hosting the Ironman meets Iron Chef event - I knew that this was the perfect thing to get our Jelly Bellies off of the couch and back into the swing of things! As well, we had been cleaning out the fridge and pantry for the past couple of weeks, so we would definitely have some room for some great Superfood.

Check back weekly for an update as to how we are doing!

Sushi Saturday

Sushi Party Photos

Almost a year ago, I took a culinary course on making sushi - great gift from L. We were making sushi every Saturday for a couple months; but, then we got busy with life and have not made it in awhile. So, we invited our friend, R. over for dinner and we rolled!

Making sushi is not as hard as one thinks. The hardest part is getting your rice cooked and seasoned just right. I am not there yet, definitely need to practice more. The next part that is the most time consuming is all the prep work. Lots of washing, dicing and slicing. I always figure the above will take about 3 hours to complete. I usually wait to roll when our guests arrive, as well, it is fun to be the "sushi" chef ... rolling, laughing, drinking sake; a very social evening.

We picked up lots of sake, Japanese beer, Salmon, Maguro, Dungeness Crab and Tuna - you MUST use sushi grade! I get most of the fish at a Japanese market as well Whole Foods does have sushi grade fish, once in awhile, you have to ask for it. We also used ginger, spicy little Portuguese peppers, cilantro, avocado, green onions, mango and sesame seeds and sesame oil for filling and for seasoning.

The end result - a great evening of homemade sushi and sashimi!