Eating is Art

This recipe is adapted from Paul Hollywood's book 100 Great Breads. Personally, I think his directions lack something. However I'm experienced enough of a breadmaker I worked it out and it was divine! One way it's "adapted" is that I accidentally doubled the butter. No really, it was an accident. A happy one.

4 cups bread flour
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fennel, crushed
3/4 cup currants
zest of one orange
1 tablespoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1 cup warm water, divided
1/3 cup milk
3 eggs, hardboiled and dyed red (this product will give a deep red)
1 egg, well-beaten, for eggwash

Mix flour, butter, sugar, cinnamon, fennel, currants, orange zest, and salt in a bowl. Whisk the yeast in half the warm water. Stir the yeast mixture and milk into the flour mixture. Add remaining warm water until you have a nice soft dough consistency.

Take dough out and knead on a lightly floured surface for about five minutes. Put back in the bowl to rest for one hour.

Divide dough into three strips and braid together. Place on a floured baking sheet and let rise until roughly doubled in bulk, about one hour. Preheat oven to 400. Brush dough with egg wash and place colored eggs along the top of the bread. Bake for 25 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Let it not be said I don't take shortcuts nor enjoy comfort food. This stew is lovely but I imagine high in sodium and throwaway white bread calories. Yay!

1 round peasant or sourdough loaf
1 1/2 - 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
4 carrots, scrubbed or peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 stalks celery, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
3 potatoes, scrubbed or peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes (I use petite dice)
2 bay leaves
1 - 2 cans beef broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Take your sourdough loaf and cut out the top, leaving the "wall" of the bowl about one inch thick. Slice the top crust off to make a lid and set it aside with the bowl. Take about half the remaining bread and shred; put aside on a plate. You can freeze the rest of the bread for later use as croutons, bread crumbs, etc.

In a large saucepan (or dutch oven) over medium heat, brown the stew meat; drain. Add the meat to a large covered casserole dish. Place the chopped carrots, celery, potatoes, and bread on top of the meat. Combine the tomatoes, bay leaves, 1 can of beef stock, cornstarch, sugar, salt and pepper. Pour into the baking dish. Add remaining beef stock or water as needed; it does not need to cover the veggies but you don't want the stew to dry out. Cover and bake for 2 hours, or until meat and vegetables are tender (alternatively, you can bake for 4 hours at 325).

Take the stew out of the oven to briefly cool; raise the temperature of the oven to 400 and place the bread bowl and lid inside to warm and crisp it. When the bowl is done, ladle the stew into the bowl (it won't all fit) and top with bread lid. Refill the bread bowl as needed until you're scraping into gravy-soggy bread - the best part of this dish!

I love the toasty flavor of graham flour. You can make a whole wheat confection that is decidedly lighter and more tender than you'd typically predict. This recipe is adapted from a Sunset, April 1990 recipe. The directions are for a loaf, but the parenthetical instructions are for a larger amount (i.e. what I'm making for Sophie's kindergarten class today).

2 (3) cups graham or whole-wheat flour
1 (1 1/2) cup all-purpose flour
1 (1 1/2) cup semisweet chocolate baking chips
1/2 (3/4) cup chopped almonds or walnuts
1/2 (3/4) cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 (2 1/2) teaspoons baking soda
1/2 (1) teaspoon salt
2 (3) large eggs
1 1/2 (2 1/4) cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, mix graham flour, all-purpose flour, chocolate, nuts, sugar, soda, and salt. In a small bowl, beat eggs and buttermilk to blend; add to dry ingredients, stirring until moistened. Pour batter into a buttered 5" by 9" inch loaf pan (13" by 9" baking pan).

Bake until edges begin to pull from pan sides and toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, about 1 hour (45 minutes). Let cool in pan 10 minutes. Tip bread out of pan and let cool on a rack.

This is my great-aunt's recipe and much celebrated in my FOO. She was full-blooded Polish and skinny as a rail, if that can possibly excuse this fat-laden dish (I mean please - mayonnaise, condensed cream soup, and butter!?!).

3 full chicken breasts
2 head broccoli*
2 cans cream of mushroom soup**
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon butter
2 oz. cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350. Cook chicken 40 minutes. Cook broccoli ten minutes. Arrante broccoli lining casserole dish. Put chicken in center. Combine soup, mayonnaise, and lemon juice to pour over. Sprinkle crumbs, dab butter, and sprinkle cheese. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

* Original recipe called for 2 packages broccoli, whatever that means.

** Original recipe called for cream of chicken soup but I can't bear to use it.