Tag: bread

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Gougères

gougeres
gougeres
Cheese puffs for adults.

Fairly recently we were invited to a potluck. One of the dangers of a potluck is that everyone could bring macaroni salad. Which might be okay, depending on how different the macaroni salads are, or, if macaroni salad is one of your all-time favorite dishes. For us, it’s not. One of us will eat macaroni salad if it’s there; the other will casually transfer the macaroni salad to the other’s plate in hopes that it, too, will be eaten. Which is likely to happen, unless the person making the macaroni salad believes that store-bought mayonnaise is best in large quantities. I’m sure you’ve had that type of salad, the sort in which there’s so much mayonnaise that it puddles underneath the noodles. If you like your macaroni salad that way, great; next time we see you, we’ll provide you with our share.

Now, where were we? Oh yeah, the potluck. To ensure that there would be at least a couple of different dishes, we tried to think of something a little different to bring along. Maybe something that a few people have never had before, even. But it should be pretty easy, too, as we were already bring the Perfect Party Cake (see previous post), so, what could it be?

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Lavash

six lavash
six lavash
A stack of fresh lavash. Yum!

We had had several moderately rich dinners in a row and were hankering for something a bit more humble and hearty. For us, one dish in particular always fits the bill: beans and rice. We think that we could eat beans and rice nearly every day and not get tired of it. Of course, with beans and rice, it’s nice to have a bread product to sop up broth and wipe out the bowl. So, what kind of bread? While we have a number of choices in the freezer (bagels, pita, boules), we wanted something fresh and hot. Being mid-afternoon, it must be fast, which leans towards some sort of flat bread. Tortillas are easy and fast; nah, we just had them. What about chapatis? Nah, too close to tortillas. Oo, oo, ah, ah, how about lavash?

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Mennonite Butterhorns

butterhorn
butterhorn
Not a croissant, but a butterhorn!

No, we’re not Mennonites, but we did find a recipe for these in Eat Drink Delta, by Susan Puckett, and thought we’d try it out. The book isn’t really a recipe book at all; we guess that we’d best describe it as part travelogue, part travel guide, part reviews of establishments, with a few recipes scattered throughout. Whatever it is, it made us want to go explore the back of the roads Mississippi Delta (hint: it’s not south of New Orleans).

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Ballymaloe Brown Bread

Simon Pearce is probably our favorite restaurant in the country — everything we’ve had there is just so scrumptious. We no longer go there very often, at least since we’ve moved across the country, but our memories of the food are vivid, and we plan to refresh those memories this June when we head back to New England for a niece’s wedding.

One of our favorite parts about dining at Simon Pearce is the small breads they serve when you’re seated: Ballymaloe Brown Bread and Rory’s Scones. Now, we know that we’ll never match those made at the restaurant — for the Brown Bread, the restaurant imports a wholemeal flour from Ireland — but we try.

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Irish Soda Bread

Irish soda bread with butter

Ah, St. Patrick’s Day. Here in the U.S., it seems as though it is a time for eating corned beef and cabbage, drinking too much Guinness, and, following that up with a slice or two of Irish Soda Bread. We’re pretty sure that in Ireland it isn’t the party atmosphere; instead, it’s more of a religious holiday, a time to get together with family and friends — not that the Irish need a holiday for getting together with family and friends, that just happens. And, of course a pint of the black stuff won’t go amiss, either. But let’s get back to the Irish Soda Bread. We aren’t sure this is an authentic Irish recipe; we got it from a co-worker quite a number of years ago and it has become our recipe to beat. Continue reading “Irish Soda Bread”

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Rory’s Scones

rory's scones

Years ago when we lived in New England, we would occasionally take a day trip up into New Hampshire and Vermont, our goal being a stop at Simon Pearce for lunch. It was always delightful sitting out on the deck/dining room, overlooking the river and the falls while we awaited our food. To help pass the time, they would bring out two little breads: Rory’s Scones, and Ballymaloe Brown Bread. Both are wonderful, just the perfect little smackerel to tide you over those few minutes until your meal is served. Now, one of the great things about Simon Pearce is that they provide recipes (they used to, but no longer) for some of their dishes, including both breads, so we have taken it upon ourselves to whip up some scones from time to time. Now, unfortunately, we can’t quite get the scones just right. Ours are a bit too tough, but that just means that we have to try again. And if you’re willing to try, too, now’s your chance. Continue reading “Rory’s Scones”

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Kings Cake

King Cake

Tomorrow is Mardi Gras, and, for some reason, it’s on a Tuesday this year. We thought that everyone should celebrate Mardi Gras, regardless of the day. And what better way to celebrate than with a cake? Kings Cake, to be exact.

Last year we made Kings Cake with a recipe that we found at Allrecipes.com, and we thought it was really good, and fairly easy, so we figured, why mess with something that already turns out?

With that in mind: Laissez les bons temps rouler.

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