So...whats for dinner?

Was googling earlier today for storm total maps to see how much they are actually predicting and came across this.... I thought it was pretty funny especially since at first glance I thought it was a real map!

Tonight's dinner is beef barley soup and sourdough bread.  I don't know what's going to happen to my sourdough starter when I go south next week for 3 weeks without anyone to feed it.  I knew I shouldn't be responsible for another living thing.

Ha! Seaside,

I think that RI is in the Totaly Scre#d section.  Govenor states everyone in RI off the roads by noon. State says expecting 18-24 inches ( some say 3 feet now)  coming down at 2-3 inches an hour with high winds starting by sunrise. Warning through Saturday.

I'm defrosting salmon and trying to find a recipe for poaching it?  Does anyone have one?  So I can serve it cold?  I have lots of books and firelogs so this sounds like a day in Heaven to me without guilt, as long as everyone else is OK.  

Bedo,



How about this one... It's from Martha Stewart and looks straight-forward and doesn't require a lot of ingredients.... http://www.marthastewart.com/337705/simple-poached-salmon And I think it would be would be good cold similar to tuna....

Nancy,



I have been really into the recipes lately from America's Test Kitchen (same parent company as Cook's Illustrated but you can sign up for a free trial with minimal information)... Thus far have been very impressed with the recipes we've tried! Hope your soup tastes just as good as it smells!

Nancy, don't worry about your starter, they are very forgiving.  After three weeks it might look a little funky but just stir it up and use as normal.  When I had pancreatitis I was hospitalized for a week and then spent six weeks in a nursing home.  Didn't even think to check it for a couple of weeks more when I got home and then I was still to week to use it.  Just stired it up and stuck it in the freezer until I was strong enough to make bread again.  It was fine!

Thanks chabba. It wouldn't be the end of the world if it died, as I have two other sources for it. But I've grown somewhat attached to it now and have the flavor right where I want it so am reluctant to start over.

Bedo:

Even easier if you have power - I now poach salmon in the microwave.  My personal preference is with dill weed, but you could shake any other seasonings you like over it.Directions from our newspaper some years ago.

Place the thicker portions toward the outside of the baking dish - skin side down.Add 1/4 cup wine or water. Cover w/wax paper.  Microwave on high for 3-4 minutes per pound. To avoid over cooking, remove fish from microwave when the outer edges are opaque but the center is still slightly translucent.  A few minutes of standing time will finish the cooking.

I saw Jim in Boston on the Weather Channel today.  A friend's explanation of naming the storms is that it has something to do with home insurance.  The insurance company doesn't have to pay for certain kinds of damage when the storm is named.  Do not know whether this is accurate.

Dinner tonight was a tasty chicken noodle soup that dh cooked while I was at the dentist's office this afternoon.  We ate it with my home-made Tuscan bread and butter.

I have been feeling "queasy" since Tues. and haven't been eating much.  Haven't even had a cocktail or wine! 

I will be happy to share the biga or starter that I made on Mon. to use on Tues.  This is not sourdough starter.  In making Italian artisan breads, you almost always use a starter in addition to the yeast in the recipe. 

Starter for Pane Toscano Scuro (Dark Tuscan Bread)

1 tsp. active dry yeast, 2/3 cup warm water 1 1/3 cups (175 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour.  Stir the yeast into the water and let stand until creamy, about 10 min.  Add flour and stir with 100 strokes of a wooden spoon or with the paddle of a stand mixer for 1 min.  (I use a stand mixer.)  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until tripled, 6 hrs. to overnight.

You can refrigeratore this starter for a week or so if you don't use it right away.  You can also freeze it for later use.  Just set it out on the counter and let it come to room temp. or thaw out and it will start to bubble.

In case you'd like to make the bread, here's the recipe.  Very simple.

Ingredients:  1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast, 1/3 cup warm water, 1 cup water at room temperature, 1 /4 cup (30 grams)unbleached all-purpose flour, 3 3/4 cups (475 grams) stone ground whole wheat flour.  For lighter bread, use more all purpose and less whole wheat.  Just keep the total measurements the same. 

Stir the yeast into the warm water in the bowl of stand mixer.  Let stand until creamy, about 10 min.  Add the cup of room temperature water and the starter.  Mix with the paddle to break up the starter.  Or use your hand to break it up if you're not using a mixer.  Stir in the flour two cups at a time, if working by hand.  With the mixer, dump the flour in and stir with the paddle until the dough comes together.  Change to the dough hook and knead until firm and elastic, 3 to 4 min. Finish kneading briefly by hand on floured work surface.

 By hand you knead the dough on a floured work surface about 8 to 10 min.  Place dough in oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.  This dough is forgiving.  You can let it rise longer than that if you get busy.

Turn dough out onto floured surface, flatten gently to expel air.  Shape into one round loaf or two small oval loaves.  Place on parchment paper on peel or baking sheet.  Cover with dampened towels and let rise until doubled, 45 min to 1 hr.

Baking:  Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  If using a baking stone (I do), turn the oven on 30 min. before baking.  Score the single round loaf with a tic-tac-toe patter with razon or sharp knife.  I use a tomato knife.  I made the two oval loaves and lightly scored them with several diagonal cuts.  If using a peel, slide the loaf or loaves onto the baking stone.  The parchment paper makes it easy to deposit the loaves.  Bake 15 min.  Reduce heat to 400 degrees and bake the smaller loaves 20 min and the large round loaf 25 to 30 min.  I use an instand read thermometer to make sure the bread is 200 to 210 degrees.  Cool on racks.

The first ten minutes of baking, spritz water onto the loaf or loaves 3 or 4 times. 

Did you notice that there is no salt in this bread?  Tuscan peasant bread is saltless because salt was too expensive for anyone except the wealthy to have on hand. 

This recipe is from Carol Field's The Italian Baker.  It's a very interesting book to read, full of bread-making history as well as recipes from the various regions of Italy.  I bought my copy used on Amazon.

Bedo, you've probably already poached your fish but a good method is to make a courtbouillon in a saute pan or skillet.  Water, salt, pepper, onion, celery, carrots and garlic, if you like garlic.  Simmer for 30 min. to let all the flavors release into the water.  Then poach the fish in the courtbouillon. 

You could use your own favorite herbs, spices and aromatic veggies to create a poaching liquid.

If I need to leave my sourdough starter for awhile, I'll feed it, let it sit out for a few hours until it gets bubbly, and then put it in the refrigerator. My starter is probably 15 years old and when it's refrigerated, it has gone a month between feedings.



Eric

Carole, does this bread look familiar to you? DH just came across it.



http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/New-Orleans-French-Bread



Looks yummy!

Eric, that is exactly what I plan to do.



IMHO, one really doesn't need an excuse for ice cream ;-)

re: sourdough.

I have sorely mistreated my sourdough starter. It's been in a jar with the lid on, not refrigerated, literally for years. I suspect the good yeast will have died and it will have gone anaerobic. I'm afraid to open the jar for fear of releasing some foul stench! Is there any hope of reviving this or should I just toss it in the trash without opening it?

Those of you who have a starter, how did you get it started? Did you get a bit of live starter from someone, or catch a wild yeast?