A Daring Marathon -- French Bread

A month ago, i joined a group called Daring Baker : )
It's a group consisting of a huge group of food-loving,
courageous, persistent, knowledgeable... people --
who join in for a baking challenge every month!

Being a novice like me, of course i gotta be a part
of this group, in order to push myself further
to sharpen my culinary skills! : D

This is my firth month... and the challenge is...
**drumroll**

OH MY! MAKING BREAD FROM SCRATCH!

Everyone from Daring Baker (DB) pointed out
that this takes A LONG TIME...
(anywhere ranging from 7-11 hours!)
On top of that, the recipe was like 10 pages long,
with 13 steps & countless paragraphs of instructions!
So i figured, it's necessary for me to
set the President's Day aside for this challenge : 0

(& Goh goh thought i was a lil' nuts... -_-"
**Sigh...**
can't men be more encouraging sometimes?!)

I've never played with yeast before '_'
& i imagined it to be scary looking...
kinda like some squirmy germs or something?! 0_o

Oh but they turn out to be just some brown powders,
except with a weird smell... -_-

Dunk the yeast into warm water '_' Mix!

Dough in the mixer : 0
It's interesting how French Bread requires salt,
but not sugar '_' hmmm... the dough smells funky.

Kneading with hands!
The sensation reminded me of
playing with play-doh 0_o?!

Kneading some more with the dough hook '_'
Then leave it in the oven with the oven light on...
and wait for it to RISE! : D

3 hours later... the tiny dough -> POOF ->
occupy half a mixing bowl!!

A close-up of how it looks : 0

Take the POOFed dough back out,
and KNEAD! and KNEAD! and...
yeah you guessed it, KNEAD SOME MORE!

Then what?
Put it back and let it RISE... some more : )

Ahhhhh... Another 2 hours later...
such a pretty, creamy-yellow, POOFed ball : D
(It still smelled funky... -_-")

Then... duh!
KNEAD SOME MORE : 0

Cut the dough into small rolls '_'

The recipe called for Canvas Linen...
but i don't have any : /
So i ended up using my Crate & Barrel
lovely Christmas kitchen cloth ; ) hehe...

Guess what the towel's covering?

Taaaa Daaaaa!
The cut-up + kneaded + twisted doughs : )
In my opinion, they almost look just like
Shanghai's Soupy Dumplings / 小籠包 : 0
Except with no fillings...

(BOOOO... i never liked bread all that much,
but those with yummy fillings are worth trying : b
So these bread rolls that i'm making,
is really more for satisfying my curiosity
and desire to conquer a culinary challenge,
than the plain "YUM! I WANNA EAT THAT!" reason.
Well, coz i'm not interested in eating these at all -_-")

Another 2 hours later...

Put flour on the cookie sheet / doughs '_'
The recipe called for cardboard / wooden plank,
but neither i nor goh goh could understand
the instructions : (
hey, i thought my English is bad...
but perhaps there is a foreign baking language
to be learned over time... : /

SLASH! the doughs : 0
I didn't realize that the French slash their bread
differently...
so i ended up slicing the doughs as if
they were Pineapple buns / 菠蘿包
from the Chinese bakeries '_'

Sorry, Julia Child!

After baking them... they needed to be cooled down
for 2-3 hours before putting into the fridge.

A close-up shot : )

It was 2am by then, and i just could stay up
any longer -_-
So i left them out overnight...

The following day, goh goh tried to appear
supportive by asking to try one of the rolls...
& i tried to make it a more special treat,
by putting my newly acquired ALMOND BUTTER
as a filling : )

Verdict?
- it was hard as a rock...
- tastes nothing like bread but everything like yeast...
- the inside doesn't have the beautiful bubbles
that other DBs' bread pictures show : (

* SIGH!
a major defeat, i suppose!

It doesn't hurt my ego too much though...
coz:
a) I'VE TRIED MY BEST!
b) I PERSEVERED THRU THOSE 14 GRUELING HRS!
c) I DON'T EVEN LIKE BREAD! : b

haa : b oh well... hopefully next month's
challenge would turn out better than this ; )
Stay tuned!


Useful links:
The Daring Bakers Blogroll
-- A list of all the DBs : )
Go take a look at all these beautiful sites ; D
(oh yeah... & the ones that made the Bread successfully!)

http://breadchick.com/?p=336
-- The original Julia Child French Bread recipe : )

Pear Chips?

You've probably had sweet potato chips,
Red delicious Apple chips,
Granny Smith Green apple chips...

But what about Pear Chips? : D



i saw these @ tangers outlet's Harry & David's --
How could i resist getting them? ; D

Taste test verdict:
hmmm... it's ok '_'
not spectacular, nor yucky : b
Could be a 'healthy' alternative to potato chips, i suppose?

Go ahead! Serve Each Other : )

Last Friday, my church fellowship -- YCF
(Youth Career Fellowship) had a special program:
SERVE EACH OTHER DAY!

It originated from the past years' Valentine's Day
celebrations -- when one year the guys surprised
all the girls by preparing dinner/programs/
decorations / gifts all on their own...
then the following year the girls returned the favor : )

We had very fond memories of love & surprises
that sprung from these events...
but it also involved a lot of work/pain that takes
to plan / prep / make events like these a SURPRISE!

So this year, we went a 3rd route...
and established the SERVE EACH OTHER DAY instead!

We all signed up for various roles...
& without hesitation, i, of course,
signed up for COOKING! duh!

Here's GG cutting the parm. cheese for Goh goh /
biting them off because his tummy's rumbling...

Here's the 3 trays of Baked Ziti with Sausage
that goh goh made : )))



My favorite cooking partner Jules was so helpful
in chopping the various veggies & garlic for me *0*

While Shirls was the main coordinator that
helped us transport the trays from 4/F down
to the basement... for a couple of times!



GG helped out a lot : )
Here he's washing some of the veggies i got...
Although... he got confused about the difference
between Choy Sum (菜心) /
Dau Miu (Snow Pea Green豆苗) /
Bok Choy(白菜)......
GG: "I DON'T KNOW MY VEGGIES!"
; ) hehe that's ok... as long as you eat them : b



Here's my lovely sis Karen,
posing with a full plate of food that
each of us was served : D



P.Al & Cindy made some VERY DELISH beef stew!
Could you please tell me the secret to your dish?! 0_o




Other dishes --
Jules: Puerto Rican Arroz con Pollo with plantains;
Justin: Drippin' w/ Butter Mashed Potatoes;
My Veggies Delight A: Slightly Salted Edamame

P.Al & Cindy: Fresh Bread (to go with the beef stew!)
My Veggies Delight B: Garlicky Soy Sauce Choy Sum
My Veggies Delight C: Spicy Snow Pea Greens
My Veggies Delight D: Garlicky Broccoli

My Veggies Delight E: Soy Sauce w/ scallion
over Enoki + Button Mushrooms & Asparagus

Desserts:
Megin's Spice Cakes (below)/
JJ's Spiked! Tiramisu
(which i didn't get to take a pic of : / )

Everybody was full at the end of the night,
as was God's love & abundance obvious : )
YAY!!!

***********************************************

Usually, when a group of people get together to eat,
i'd always wait to see what others make / order,
and come up with something that compliments /
balances the meal : )

This time, i signed up for VEGGIES for the same reason.
But i've never been a Vegan nor
had any signature dish that is based
primarily on veggies '_'

Hence, this was yet another challenge / experiment! : D
I named my dish(es) Veggies Delight,
because i had no idea what would be
in it until that night! : b

I picked up a book from the library --
Great Dishes -- Just Blanch and Eat!
(See my book review at: http://365booksayear.blogspot.com/
2008/02/book-32-great-dishes-just-blanch-eat.html)
hoping to be inspired...

& it sure did! : D

I ended up buying 7 kinds of veggies,
blanching them,
& then drenched them in the 2 sauces i whipped up ; D

WOOOHOOO! : ) STF Mission Accomplished!
Maybe we should have more
Serve Each Other [FOOD] nights! ; )

Valentine's Dinner #2 -- OMAHA

I'm a little behind in posting this...
but here's our 2nd Valentine's day dinner! ; )

Since goh goh wasn't able to schedule the Kittichai
dinner on Feb. 14th, he decided to go the extra mile
& cook a special homemade meal ; )

Here's the mushroom / onions / diced Tilapia side dish
bubbling in the red wine / Balsamic Vinegar : )

When goh goh announced 2 weeks prior to V-Day,
that he's gonna cook and has planned a special meal,
i knew that something's up.

But i definitely didn't think he'd go so far...
as to order Omaha Steaks!!!



I ended up picking out Ribeye &
Pork chops for the night...

Pork chops were cooked on the stovetop
in a corningware dish -- i didn't know that
could be done!
It's so true that you can learn something new
every day : ) hehe...

Here's the chef's content smile,
with a special occasion drink: Sparkling cider!
(Although, we both agree that the traditional
Apple flavor tastes better than the berries / peach!)

Yipppeee! : ) Such a wonderful meal ; )

Thanks, goh goh : D

** p.s. In terms of the Omaha Steaks,
we agreed that they didn't really live up to the hype,
the fame and the $$$.

A normal Ribeye, i suppose, would be much thicker
than what we received in the package.

It doesn't taste bad,
but it doesn't taste any better than
the fresh ones we can get at Stop n' Shop either.

It wasn't an unpleasant experience,
but neither was it spectacular : 0

Well, let's see if the other cuts are better
(we still have the filet mignon & the burger patty
in the freezer).
I'll certainly let you know '_'

Yummy Tummy Medicine

For quite a long while,
(before Coke Zero came out, to be exact)
Ginger Ale was my favorite soda.

Strange how i hate ginger in my food,
never dared to try Ginger Snaps (cookies),
but like to have it in my soda : )

Did you know that it's not merely a soft drink,
but a great tummy medicine also? : )

Out of the 3 most common brands in NYC,

- Canada Dry

- Schweppes

- Seagram's

The 3rd one has always been my favorite : )

hehe... what about you?

Challenge: Cook whatever's home!

What's more fun than having friends over for dinner?

: D The answer is... not much!



So this time, we had the NGs over : )

Since i cooked for the past few times
when guests came by,
this time around,
we had goh goh cook instead : b

To make it challenging,
goh goh had to use whatever he can find
in the fridge / pantry : )

What did he come up with, then? : D



Creamy broccoli x spinach : )


Parmesan Cheese Crusted Tilapia Filets


Highlight of the meal:
Sprite marinated Pork tenderloin!


In other words,
Homemade Roast Pork aka Cha Siu : D


A miracle happened after our meal:
NO LEFTOVERS!!!!! *_*

This almost never happened...
But obviously,
a) Goh goh did a great job estimating the portions
of food;
b) the food tasted YUMMMM : )
c) we invited some great guests!!! : D

Afterwards, we got to enjoy some beautiful
+ tasty desserts our guests so graciously brought:


Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie


Pear Pie / Clementine Pie /
Chocolate Mousse Dome Cake /
Espresso Marshmallow Chocolate cup /
Strawberry Cream Eclair

: DDDD we also had Haagen Dazs coffee ice-cream /
Friendly's Orange cream ice-cream /
Bread Pudding : )

OH... SO FULLLLLLLLLL... *0*