Bread for Mom's Day

In a family full of women, the question always rolls around on Mother’s Day, “So… Who’s going to do the cooking??” Generally, we try to make it a pretty laid-back affair with minimal fuss, and this year was no exception.

Since Mom had already celebrated with my sister and the munchkins earlier in the week, Sunday ended up being just me, Mom, and the girls. Didn’t really accomplish much other than bemoaning the state of the weather (I’m not sure Oregon’s seen a 65 degree day yet, and the few sun breaks haven’t really allowed for much-needed yard work to get done) and taste testing the bottle of wine that O1 bought for me (still trying to get used to the idea of having a child that can buy alcohol), but we relaxed, laughed and had a goodtime.

I decided to keep the meal simple, using the standby that everyone seems to enjoy (which, oddly enough, I also made for Mom’s birthday) and included some roasted zucchini slices with garlic, and a loaf of French bread.

For dessert I played homage to Mom’s favorite candy - Almond Joy. We had homemade brownies (a tried and true recipe from the Hershey’s cookbook that I’ve been using for years) with ice cream, candied almonds and toasted coconut. Very satisfying combo, I have to say.

I also wanted to bake some bread for the occasion and at the same time try some of the hazelnut flour I had been given by a friend from work. I ran across a similar recipe to what Carley had given me for a mocha hazelnut bread, but since my no-knead bread recipes have not been the most stunning successes in the past (I’m quite sure there’s something key I have overlooked- I just haven’t figured out what it is yet), I opted for a traditional yeasted bread with a few modifications. This turned out to be a nice, soft bread, probably more suited for a sweet topping, or just plain butter, than for a savory application. But it did make for good breakfasting.






Mocha Hazelnut Bread

4 cups whole wheat bread flour, divided
½ cup hazelnut flour, sifted
2/3 cup sugar
2 packages active dry yeast
1 tsp salt
½ cup cocoa powder
1 packet espresso powder (about 2 tsp)
1 ½ cups milk
1 stick butter
½ cup sour cream
1 egg
1 cup chopped, toasted hazelnuts

In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer, combine 2 cups whole wheat flour, sugar, yeast, salt, cocoa and espresso powder. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add milk and sour cream. Stir until sour cream melts and remove from heat. Do not allow mixture to become too hot. If it does, allow to cool to lukewarm.

Slowly pour warm milk mixture into flour mixture. Using a hook attachment, combine the mixture at a medium setting just until flour is incorporated. Stir in hazelnuts.

Add another 1 ½ cups of whole wheat flour, and the ½ cup of hazelnut flour to the mixture. Mix until flours are incorporated. Add the remaining ½ cup of bread flour, a ¼ cup at a time, mixing on low speed.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead for 5 minutes, adding more flour if dough is too sticky. Form into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover and place in a warm area, free from draft, until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down and divide into 2 loaves. Place in greased loaf pans, cover and allow to rise another 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oven to 350º. Bake in center of oven 27 - 30minutes or until the loaves sound hollow when tapped. Turn out of pans immediately and cool on wire rack.

A Tale of Two Condiments

After a lot of painstaking soul searching, I have made my peace with a stunning realization about myself.

I am a sauce freak.

I’m sure it’s rooted somewhere deep in my childhood when I would employ every strategy I could to cover up the taste of food I was being forced to eat against my will.

Like peas.

Carrots.

Beef tongue.

My first standard cover-up was my grandfather’s barbecue sauce. This was more of a staple around the house than ketchup (which I was never a big fan of, anyway). And it had enough zip and flavor to adequately disguise some of those evil food products my mother subjected me to.

Like beans and ham hocks.

Can you tell I grew up in the South?

As someone who likes to play with her food, I have long sense ventured from the super secret family barbecue sauce recipe (which I was chastised soundly by my sister for threatening to publish) to any number of equally, if not more satisfying, recipes.

For the latest family barbecue, I thought I’d try one that was a nice combination of smoky, fruity and spicy. It went (I thought) very well with the grilled chicken we were having.

And of course for the traditionalists in the group, I made Granddad’s sauce as well.

The barbecued chicken was so good, I thought I’d whip up some barbecued chicken quesadillas this week for a quick dinner.

Smoky Apricot Barbecue Sauce

4 slices smoked bacon
½ cup sweet onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup water
1 cup tomato ketchup
¼ cup Dijon mustard
½ cup honey
½ cup apricot preserves
¼ cup apple juice
¼ cup cider vinegar

Brown bacon in a large saucepan until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and add the onion. Sauté over medium heat until onion begins to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and spices. Cook, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar and water and bring to a simmer. Add remaining ingredients and bring back to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to cook about 20 minutes.

Puree the mixture with a hand blender.


* * *

For the quesadillas I spread the barbecue sauce on two flour tortillas. I added cooked chicken, cheese, green onion and crumbled bacon (which I had reserved from the barbecue sauce) to one of the tortillas and cover with the second tortilla. Heat a small amount of oil in a cast iron skillet and cook the quesadilla on one side until golden. Flip and cook the other side.

* * *

As an accompaniment to the curry I made the other night, I wanted some mango chutney, but rather than spending $5 for a little bottle of it, I decided to just make a batch of my own. Much more satisfying (and economical). I’m thinking that the leftovers would be really good on a Cuban type sandwich with sliced pork and some cheese.

Mango Chutney

2 firm-ripe mangoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
½ onion, finely diced
½ jalapeno, minced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup golden raisins
2 cardamom pods, cracked, hulls removed and seeds crushed
¼ tsp curry powder
1/8 tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup apple cider vinegar

Place all ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat. Allow to come to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook, stirring frequently, about 30 - 45 minutes until thickened.