Cranberry-Orange Buttermilk Rolls

I was just trying to find this recipe so I could make my shopping list for the week, and it looks like I somehow neglected to post it here. I made this last year for Thanksgiving, and actually ended up baking another big batch the next day to eat with our leftovers. It's a tweaked version of the raisin bread recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes.

orange-cranberry buttermilk rolls: 
The basic method is described here: https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/dining/211brex.html

The recipe theoretically makes 3- 1 1/2lb loaves; I instead made plum-sized balls of dough and bunched them together in a pan.  You could do smaller batches in a brownie pan or pie plate.  If you don't use the dough all at once, it will keep for a week in the fridge in a lidded container.

• 2 C lukewarm water
• 1 C buttermilk
• 1 1/2 Tbsp yeast (1 1/2 packets)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp salt
• 1/3 C white sugar
• 6 1/2 C AP flour
• 1 C (or so) dried cranberries
• zest from two large organic oranges
  
• butter or something to grease the pan (I usually use this stuff: http://www.amazon.com/Spectrum-Canola-Baking-Spray-Flour/dp/B001HTNBNG)

Mix all the dry ingredients together.  Mix in the cranberries and orange zest.  Mix in the liquids; keep going until ALL the flour is incorporated.  Cover loosely and allow to rise until the dough rises and collapses (or at least flattens on top): 2-5 hours.  (It's much easier to use the dough when it's allowed to cool in the fridge overnight, but you can go on to the next step right away if you need to.)

Shape the dough, and put it in your greased baking pan.  Allow to rise for at least an hour (up to about 4 hours should be fine - 2 hours or so is ideal).  Twenty minutes before you're going to bake the rolls, preheat the oven to 375F.  Bake the rolls on a center rack for 30-45 minutes, until golden brown.

"The Simplest Potato & Leek Braise"

Our cookbook club (see here for an excellent description of what a cookbook club is and how to start one) met for the second time this month. We had two books this time, both by Molly Stevens: All About Braising and All About Roasting. I only have the braising book, so that's where I chose my recipe from.

It was great - comforting and tasty; it would be fabulous served alongside a ham, I think, although it certainly went well with the wild assortment of braised and roasted foods everyone brought to the potluck. (There were two different roasted chickens, a roasted goat leg, braised white beans, roasted broccoli, a pasta salad made with roasted tomatoes, and roasted brown-sugar pineapple. Plus probably some other things that I've forgotten. It was all very tasty.)

The Simplest Potato & Leek Braise
from Molly Stevens, All About Braising

• about 1 1/2 pounds leeks
• 1 1/2 lb yellow-fleshed potatoes
• 1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
• pinch of freshly-grated nutmeg
• coarse salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 1/4 C chicken stock, heated to near boiling
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/4 C heavy cream

Heat the oven to 325F. Butter a shallow baking or gratin dish.

Trim the leeks of their leathery green top parts. Clean them, and cut the tender green and white parts into 3/4" sections. Peel and chop the potatoes.

Mix leeks, potatoes, thyme, nutmeg, salt, and pepper in the baking dish. Spread the potatoes out into a relatively even layer and pour the hot stock over them. Dot the top with butter.

Cover tightly with foil and braise (without disturbing) for about 45 minutes until the leeks and potatoes are almost tender. Remove the foil and gently stir with a rubber spatula. If there's not much liquid left, re-cover with the foil. If there's liquid halfway up the sides of the dish (or more), leave the foil off. Continue to braise until completely tender (another 20-25 min).

Remove the dish from the oven, and increase the oven temp to 425F. Remove the foil if you haven't already and pour the cream over the potatoes. Return to the oven, uncovered, and bake until the top is browned and bubbly, another 25-30 min. Let rest at least 5 min and serve directly from the baking dish.

serves 6 as a side dish

Valentine's Day 2012

We don't usually do anything especially elaborate for Valentine's Day, but often we make a slightly more elegant dinner for ourselves. For some reason, Kahlua-Cinnamon Brownies have become part of that tradition (looking back at the orange binder, I see we first made them for Valentine's Day in 2003!).

This year, we made steaks following this technique and topped with crispy baby leeks. We also had a potato-and-parsnip mash.

We followed the above recipes as written; for the leeks, Victor cleaned and cut them into 2" segments. After browning the steaks, I tossed in the leeks and sprinkled them with salt (use more than seems strictly necessary - they should taste "salty" at the end, since they're the only additional seasoning for the steaks). I stirred them just enough to keep them from blackening (although they did get blistered) and kept going 'til they were crispy. Then remove from heat and set aside while the steaks cook.

We steamed the potato and parsnip chunks and Victor mashed them once they were very tender (and added some cream, butter, and salt/pepper).

Neither of us is particularly skilled with making steaks; I think this recipe will be our go-to one from now on. They were perfectly cooked (to about 135F) in 40 minutes.