Prayer of Thanks

O God, when I have food,
help me to remember the hungry;
When I have work,
help me to remember the jobless;
When I have a home,
help me to remember those
who have no home at all;
When I am without pain,
help me to remember those who suffer,
And remembering,
help me to destroy my complacency;
bestir my compassion,
and be concerned enough to help;
By word and deed,
those who cry out
for what we take for granted.
Amen.

We Give Thanks

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person.
Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.
ALBERT SCHWEITZER


Happy Thanksgiving to one and all. May your Blessings be many and your hardships be few.

Pork Carnitas, the stuff addictions are made of!

Pork Carnitas is this delectable, flavorful, melt in your mouth dish that is regularly served at the finer Mexican restaurants. If the Chef is worth his salt you will return again, and again to partake of the addictive stuff. El Tequileno is our local haunt, and after having to make many trips to get my fix, the owner told me the secret was orange juice. I searched until I found a recipe that included orange juice and found this one on About.com. I have heard that milk has the same tenderizing effect, but to my preference the citrus adds more flavor.




Carnitas
Adapted from About.com

3 lbs pork shoulder or butt
5 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 bay leaf
1 onion, peeled and quartered
3 cups orange juice
Broth to cover meat
Lard or oil for frying (Lard adds more flavor)
Salt to taste

In a large saucepan, brown the pork on both sides. Pour in the orange juice, then add broth to cover meat. Add in garlic, bay leaf and the onion. Bring the liquid to a boil then turn it down to a simmer for 3 hours.

Remove pork from liquid and pull apart into chunks, discard any excess fat or bones. You will be amazed at the tenderness of the meat! Lightly salt pork chunks. Heat lard in a large frying pan and fry the chunks of pork for 2-3 minutes until brown and crispy on the outside.

Serve Immediately.

We served ours with frijoles and Spanish rice, with homemade tortillas.

The Infamous Ciabatta

Once again, from the Bread Baker's Apprentice, an offering of Ciabatta. The whole thing will follow (patience Cyndi) but for now I needed to show you how big and beautiful my first attempt came out. Instead of splitting the dough and making three loaves, I wanted one big loaf to perhaps make sandwiches from. I put the loaf on the stove to cool. I placed a measuring cup next to it to show how big an beautiful it was. I went to another room to sit and rest a bit. My two boxers came running into the room, madly chewing at something. The kids followed after them and told me the Ciabatta was missing. Here is what we humans missed out on. Oh and by the way, I am not a photographer or a food stylist. I apologize for the layman's photos, but what the heck. I am trying.

Pastilla

Several years ago, my son T had a friend who would bring his father's homemade Pastilla when he came to visit. It was always devoured shortly upon arrival. Yousef was the sweetest thing, and his dad was an awesome cook. I stuck my foot in my mouth one day and said it must not be hard to make, because he brought it to us so often. Little did I know.

Unfortunately, Yousef doesn't visit anymore, so I have to go to Mataam Fez restaurant when I want it. The place is great, authentic decor, superb service and belly dancers, but hubby can only stand so much of it.

Pastilla is a wonderful pie made with phyllo dough, seasoned chicken, eggs, crushed almonds and topped with powdered sugar. A sweet savory delight that is eaten direct from the plate with your fingers, if eaten traditionally. My first Pastilla had far less sugar than the one served at Mataam Fez. Hubby didn't like the sugar, so mine was made with just a light dusting. Making the pie became easier than finding the right recipe for it.

Since I thoroughly enjoyed his father's version, I called Yousef and asked for his recipe. He was able to give me this
link. Not exactly the same but very close. I suspect his dad is still angry with me for making light of the process.

I didn't like the Spanakopita style of wrapping, so I asked my friend Stephanie of Chef Tess Bakeresse for a recipe. She gave me this link.

It sounded absolutely wonderful, but again very time consuming. I went to YouTube to view a few demos of how to layer the pie, because I really wanted one big pie made in my cast iron pan. There are oodles and oodles of videos, so after watching a few of them, I believed I had if figured out.

This is the recipe I used in the end, because it was less labor intensive. Their photo is "prettier" too!

Moroccan Lemon Chicken

A few months back, I flipped through Bon Appetit when I came across a recipe for the most awesome flavorful chicken I have had in a long time. Hubby decided to give it a try and lo and behold the whole family loved it. The olives really make the dish.

Moroccan Lemon Chicken
adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine

2 lemons

8 pieces of chicken (we prefer thighs)

Salt

Pepper

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp ground ginger

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup Spanish Olives (we use Garlic and/or Jalapeno stuffed, sometimes Kalamata)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 large onion halved and thinly sliced


Wedge one lemon. Juice 2 tsp from other lemon. Put 2 tsp olive oil on medium high heat, saute onions. Salt and pepper to taste. Add next 5 ingredients. Bring just to a boil. Add chicken, reduce to medium low heat. Cover and cook 25-35 min or til cooked through. Remove chicken to platter. Add 2 tsp lemon juice, cup of olives and wedged lemons to sauce, bring up to high heat. Let thicken 5-10 minutes. Pour over chicken and serve.

"CINNA BUNS ARE DA BOMB"

I have become a huge fan of The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. There is a blogger's group called the Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge. They are challenging themselves to work through the book and bake every recipe in it. My days are too hectic to follow the Challenge, but i do manage to knock out a few now and then. I bake like a madwoman, I forget to blog about it. I guess I am more of a baker than a blogger - oh well. Here is a link so you can check out BBA Challenge blog: Pinch My Salt http://pinchmysalt.com/the-bba-challenge/


My son's GF, "HHH" asked for cinnamon rolls the other evening. Hubby had taken on a rare night shift and I couldn't sleep alone, so..... I rousted myself and began an all night bake-a-thon. I made the Pate Fermentee for Italian Bread, and Ciabatta (more on that later!), and also the dough for the cinna buns, working until around 4 am. By 7 am when my offspring were rising for school, they had fresh cinna buns. Too bad I didn't realize we hadn't enough powdered sugar for the glaze. They ate one anyway. It was okay. After I glazed and glazed again, I finally got the thumbs up - "da bomb".

Cinnamon Buns
adapted from The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart
Makes 8-12 large or 12-16 smaller rolls

6 1/2 T sugar
1 t salt
5 1/2 T shortening or unsalted butter at room temperature
1 large egg slightly beaten
1 t lemon extract
3.5 c unbleached bread or AP flour
2 t instant yeast
1 1/8 to 1 1/4 cup whole milk or buttermilk at room temp
1/2 cup cinnamon sugar (6.5 T granulated sugar plus 1.5 T ground cinnamon)
White Fondant Glaze (recipe to follow)

Cream together the sugar, salt, and shortening on medium high speed in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a large meta spoon and mixing bowl and do it by hand). Whip in the egg and lemon extract until smooth. Then add the flour, yeast, and milk. Mix on low speed or stir by hand until the dough forms a ball. Switch to the dough hook and increase the speed to medium, mixing for approximately 10 minutes (or knead by hand for 12 to 15 minutes), or until the dough is silky and supple, tacky but not sticky. You may have to add a little flour or water while mixing to achieve this texture. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rollin tit around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.

Mist the counter with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter. Roll out the dough with a rollin pin, lightly dusting the top of the dough with flour to keep it from sticking to the pin. Roll it into a rectangle about 2/3 inch thick and 14 inches wide by 12 inches long for larger buns, or 18 inches wide by 9 inches long for smaller buns. Don't roll out the dough too think, or the finished buns will be tough and chewy rather than soft and plump. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar over the surface of the dough and roll the dough up into a cigar-shaped log, creating a spiral as you roll. With the seam side down cut the dough into 8 to 12 even pieces about 1 3/4 inch thick for larger guns; or 12 to 16 pieces each 1 1/4 inch thick for smaller buns.

Line 1 or more sheet pans with baking parchments. Place the buns approximately 1/2 inch apart so they aren't touching but are close to one another.

Proof at room temperature for 75 to 90 minutes, or until the pieces have grown into one another and have nearly doubled in size. You may also retard the shaped buns in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, pulling the pans out of the refrigerator 3 to 4 hours before baking to allow the dough to proof.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F with the oven rack on the middle shelf.

Bake the cinnamon buns for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.

For cinnamon buns, cool the buns in the pan for about 10 minutes then streak white fondant glaze across the tops while the buns are warm but not too hot. Remove the buns from the pans and place them on a cooling rack. Wait at least 20 minutes before serving.


White Fondant Glaze for Cinnamon Buns (Since Cyndi Insisted On It)
Adapted from The Bread Baker's Apprentice

Sift 4 cups of powdered sugar. Add 1 tsp of lemon extract and between 6 T to 1/2 cup of warm milk, briskly whisking until sugar is dissolved. Add milk slowly as needed to make a thick smooth consistency.

When the buns are cooled, invert into the ooey gooey mess and twist to release from the glaze. We dipped several times, because we are sugar fiends. Heaven on Earth, I kid you not.

Wacky Wednesday

Life is crazy when you have a houseful of sons, and a couple who never write or call..... Consider this one a rant. I have made so many wonderful culinary concoctions, and even more dietary disasters.... but haven't had the gumption to post on a single one. I guess perhaps my book study has put me into a reverie in which I am trying hard to understand, but lost in the emotion of it all. The Bread of Life - that which brings us all together and unites us as one as was meant from Creation. Is this the reason I have baked numerous loaves of gluten (which I cannot tolerate by the way)? A futile attempt to gather together that which has been undone by thieves with their own well being in mind and not those of whom they were appointed to protect?

Timothy 5:8 But if a man makes no provision for those dependent on him, and especially for his own family, he has disowned the faith and is behaving worse than an unbeliever. "Uncle Mike" take heed. You are a wicked, wicked man and your brother would be severely displeased. Even more so, Our Lord, He is the one I would be fearful of. Your day of reckoning comes.