Italian Wedding Soup and Fresh Bread

09-27-15-bread

The Pope is in town so I thought I'd bake some bread in case he stopped by and wanted to feed the neighborhood, or something. Victor made soup - Italian Wedding Soup - because even though the Pope is from Argentina, his father was born in Italy and his mother's parents were born in Italy - and you know how Italians are around here... if your grandparents, great-grandparents, or great-great-grandparents were born in Italy - you're Italian. End of discussion. We thought Wedding Soup was fitting because he was here for the World Meeting of Families, not to mention we have an abundance of greens in our garden, right now!

We decided to stay out here in 'burbia instead of trekking into the city. I just couldn't imagine dealing with the crowds, barricades, security checkpoints, and all that. Even after a fun and uplifting day, I imagine I would be a cranky guy trying to get my SEPTA train back home, tonight.

And speaking of home... the garden has gone crazy! We planted lots of fall greens and they are really coming through! Tomorrow night I'm cooking up New Zealand Spinach, and some of the beets are looking like they're almost ready. Fun, indeed!

The bread, today, was my favorite Pane Pugliese. I have been making this bread for nigh on 35 years. It really is one of my favorite breads and it never - ever - fails. I try to keep a biga on hand for those almost-spur-of-of-the-moment loaves of bread since it needs to be made a day in advance. This was concept-to-table in 4 hours.

And while the dough was rising, Victor was making soup.

09-27-15-italian-wedding-soup

This is such a great soup. Victor also made fresh chicken stock from the bird I roasted the other night so it is really homemade!

Italian Wedding Soup

Meatballs

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1/2 cup onion, minced
  • 1 tsp garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
  • 1 large egg
  • Salt & Pepper, to taste

Soup

  • 3 qts chicken broth
  • 1 lb escarole, chopped
  • 2 large eggs
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Make meat balls: Mix all ingredients together and form into very small meat balls- about the size of a prize shooting marble. Place on a sheet pan off to the side.

Make the soup: Bring the broth to a boil in a large pot. Add the meatballs and escarole and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through and the escarole is tender – about 10 minutes.

To add the egg: Whisk the eggs to blend. Stir the soup in a circular motion. Slowly drizzle the egg mixture into the moving broth, stirring gently with a large fork to form thin stands of egg.

Ladle into bowls and add additional grated cheese and a drizzle of good-quality olive oil.

The soup is deeply satisfying and made all the better with crusty bread. And... there's enough left over for lunch, tomorrow.

'Tis a good day, indeed!


Milk Bread and Daisy Organic Flour

 

Finally a recipe from Bon Appetit that I feel like making! The magazine has changed too much for me. I don't like the layout, the photography, or the lack of page numbers. I get that I'm not the demographic, anymore, but...

So... as I was perusing the September issue, I found a recipe for Milk Bread. I do love my bread and I love baking new recipes, so this one was a natural. And since I have 10 pounds of Daisy Heritage Lancaster Red Wheat Flour in the pantry, this seemed like the perfect place to start.

I've bought Daisy Flour in the past, but this is the first of the Lancaster Red that I've bought. It doesn't get much more local - it's grown and milled just 50 miles from us. And it is awesome flour!

daisy-1

My 'everyday' flour is Antimo Caputo "00" from Italy.Yes, I use imported Italian flour for everyday use. I've reached that age and point in life where it just doesn't make sense not to. I like how it feels, tastes, and bakes. End of discussion.

flour-1The Lancaster Red also has its roots in Italy. It was brought over to the US from Genoa in the early 1800s. It is hearty without being heavy. Local, heritage, and organic. It doesn't get much better.

Back to those rolls...

I followed the recipe pretty much as written but when it came to putting the dough into "Six Jumbo Muffin Tins" I had enough dough for 12. I have no idea the size of the tins they were using, but these rolls are huge as it it - a double amount would be a loaf of bread!

Size or no, they came out fantastic!

They were light-textured, rich in flavor, and had a great, chewy crust! Everything I like in a loaf of bread!

I don't often make breads with milk, but this one shall be a keeper, for sure! They worked on every level.

Because the recipe is available all over the web, I'll go ahead and reprint here, as well...

Kindred Milk Bread

  • 5 1/3 cups bread flour, divided, plus more for surface (Kindred uses King Arthur)
  • cup heavy cream
  • 1/3 cup mild honey (such as wildflower or alfalfa)
  • tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder (such as Alba)
  • tablespoons active dry yeast (from about 3 envelopes)
  • tablespoons kosher salt
  • large eggs, divided
  • tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
  • Nonstick vegetable oil spray
  • Flaky sea salt (optional, but shouldn't be)

Cook ⅓ cup flour and 1 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a thick paste forms (almost like a roux but looser), about 5 minutes. Add cream and honey and cook, whisking to blend, until honey dissolves.

Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and add milk powder, yeast, kosher salt, 2 eggs, and 5 cups flour. Knead on medium speed until dough is smooth, about 5 minutes. Add butter, a piece at a time, fully incorporating into dough before adding the next piece, until dough is smooth, shiny, and elastic, about 4 minutes.

Coat a large bowl with nonstick spray and transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

If making rolls, lightly coat a 6-cup jumbo muffin pan with nonstick spray. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and divide into 6 pieces. Divide each piece into 4 smaller pieces (you should have 24 total). They don’t need to be exact; just eyeball it. Place 4 pieces of dough side-by-side in each muffin cup.

If making a loaf, lightly coat a 9x5" loaf pan with nonstick spray. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and divide into 6 pieces. Nestle pieces side-by-side to create 2 rows down length of pan.

If making split-top buns, lightly coat two 13x9" baking dishes with nonstick spray. Divide dough into 12 pieces and shape each into a 4"-long log. Place 6 logs in a row down length of each dish.

Let shaped dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size (dough should be just puffing over top of pan), about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375°. Beat remaining egg with 1 tsp. water in a small bowl to blend. Brush top of dough with egg wash and sprinkle with sea salt, if desired. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until bread is deep golden brown, starting to pull away from the sides of the pan, and is baked through, 25–35 minutes for rolls, 50–60 minutes for loaf, or 30–40 minutes for buns.

f making buns, slice each bun down the middle deep enough to create a split-top. Let milk bread cool slightly in pan on a wire rack before turning out; let cool completely.

Do Ahead: Bread can be baked 5 days ahead; store tightly wrapped at room temperature.

 

These will also make great burger buns. Maybe there will be a Last Hurrah BBQ before the snow falls!

Around here, anything is possible...

 


Smoked Maple Peach BBQ Sauce

A month or so ago, my friend, Ruth, sent me a link for Smoked Maple Syrup. Obviously she knows me well, because while many folks might possibly show disdain for such a product, I immediately ordered a quart! I had no idea what to do with it, what it would taste like, or anything else - but I knew I needed some.

And Ruth came through! The stuff is pretty awesome!

It's not exactly the stuff one would put on pancakes, but it's definitely the stuff one would put on bacon - or, in this case - mixed into a homemade Peach BBQ Sauce.

Rather awesome stuff, if I do say so, m'self.

The recipe evolved as I made it so I don't have actual amounts of anything, but to make 21 pints, I used:

  • 10 pounds Peaches
  • 6 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles
  • 4 cans diced green chiles
  • 4 onions
  • 1 head garlic
  • chipotle powder
  • ancho chile powder
  • fresh long hot peppers from our yard
  • fresh jalapeño peppers from our yard
  • 1 cup Jack Daniel's
  • 1 1/2 cups Smoked Maple Syrup
  • brown sugar
  • salt and pepper

I chopped the onions and fresh peppers and sauteed them in olive oil, added the garlic, the tomatoes, peaches, etc., and let it all simmer. I mixed everything together with an immersion blender, and let it all simmer, some more.

All the while I was tasting and tweaking ingredients until Victor tasted it and gave me a big smile.

So... Another tiny bit of the Christmas foods have been made.

I love my pressure canner - and I love friends who know me so well!