What's for Dinner #53 - the Start of the New Decade Edition - January 2020

Chicken cutlet paprikas over egg noodles tonight, served up with peas and leftover broccoli. We all enjoyed - kiddo ate peas! I dredged and browned the chicken before finishing in the rich sauce.

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LOL, the one sitting at the table always complain!

Not really. It wasn’t very sweet and very high butter ratio compared to flour. It was okay, I expect the surface to be smoother, I hope my next dough will be better!

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Belabored (really belabored) Potato Soup was WFD tonight. It turned out well. Stick to your ribs soup with crusty rolls from Bommarito Bakery delivering TPSTOB:

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Damn that looks good. I love potato soup. But that crusty roll with the TPSTOP is to drool over.

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Was it well kneaded before that first proof?

Turkey meatballs flavored with garlic, ginger and cilantro over coconut rice and a quick pickle. Omnipresent broccoli. Yummm!

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Yummy! What’s your coconut rice method?

I do the okra in the microwave.

Cut round or long - toss well to coat with spices and some oil, plus some besan/gram flour or cornstarch. Add only half the intuitive salt (lot of shrinkage).

Microwave - checking a few mins at a time first, then sooner bec it goes fast at the end.

If you have chaat masala, sprinkle some at the end. If not, anything a bit tart but dry.

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@Saregama Thanks :+1:

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Sounds so good!

Super simple. 2 c brown Jasmin rice. A can of full fat coconut milk plus another 1c or so of water. Simmer 30-35 min sometimes longer with a bit more water. Salt at the end. When you fluff it up.

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Pan-fried chicken gyoza, quick-pickled broccoli slaw, chili crisp.

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BF made a wonderful potato, kale, Rancho Gordo cannellini bean soup, with slices of Calabrian sausage. Really delicious. Garlic-rubbed toast and tomato salad on the side.

I’ve got guisado de pollo for tomorrow night’s dinner on the stove, along with a cheater version of Moros y Christianos (Cuban black beans and rice dish). I was out of dried black beans but had a can. looking forward to that dinner…

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Pizza night . 3 day fridge ferment . Didn’t notice a lot of difference from the 2 day . 2 1/2 hour rise . Clam , pecorino , tomato , oregano. Cheers .

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Would the BF be willing to share his soup recipe? It does look fantastic. I’m trying to expand my soup repertoire. Thanks!

I think he wings it, but I’ll ask him.

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Very good question! I think this is where the problem lies, I have made recently twice brioches, both times problem with non raising dough (first time i’ve used expired frozen fresh yeast) and dough remaining sticky even after kneading after long time (half an hour?!). When I noticed dough didn’t raised, I added dried yeast (+ warm water)and more flour to fix the additional liquid problem, dough was well kneaded and non-stick in the end. It raised during the rest and baking but the brioche was dried and hard after baking. The texture was more cookie like I would say.

The second time, which you saw above, same sticky problem with newly bought fresh yeast even after long kneading with Kitchen Aid. I just ignored the temptation to add flour. Result you saw, very long time to make yeast active. It was quite edible, but I could control the proofing time.

I’ll try to make another brioche this weekend and see if I can solve this mystery. Many years ago I had more success making brioches without machine and with dried yeast. I wonder also if it can be the butter I added was too cold.

I’ve never made brioche, but whenever I use yeast I use the method where you bloom it first in warm water with sugar, before adding flour. I use only dried yeast (that I keep in the freezer). This checks that the yeast is active before you add (waste) other ingredients.

I do agree that cold butter would change the environment for the yeast as well.

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Yes. +1 to the blooming option. I like my water or milk to be warm (120ish degrees). Too hot and it will kill it. Also, this helps to ensure your yeast is actually active before you waste the time and effort making a bread that won’t rise.

I do like using fresh yeast (also known as cake yeast) but I can only find it by me around the holidays and it is way more fickle than dried yeast.

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I’m lying in bed, at the end of a flu, with time to mull other’s problems. So much more interesting than our own. And I am very saddened, ccj, to read of your stressful and taxing days. I flashed back to our Old English Sheepdog who required a similar amount of coat attention. Because this dog spent a lot of time in the country, we were always battling burrs and foxtails as well as the normal demanding daily grooming. Our solution, which was happily received by the dog, was a utility clip, i.e., like a sheep. He hated having his undercoat combed and this kept that to a minimum. Plus he was adorable.

Fast forward to pomeranians -> this super cute shape. It is said to be a favorite with show dog owners during off-season. Might give you less time brushing and more time cuddling.

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