Pastrami hash

Materials
12 oz flavorful meat (I used pastrami)
4 med potatoes
1 large onion
half a head of raddichio
half a head of cabbage
heaping handful of mushrooms (I used yellowfoot chanterelles)
4 oz good melting cheese (I used provolone)
4 eggs
2 oz sharp crumbly cheese (I used cotija)
salt, pepper, other spices for potatoes (I used red pepper flakes)
cooking oil (I used olive)
1 oz vinegar (I used rice)

Prep

Med dice meat, potatoes, onions; hold separated
Finely shred then coarse chop raddichio, cabbage; hold separated
Coarse chop mushrooms
Shred melting cheese

Method

Heat cast-iron skillet to med-low.

Put potatoes in a medium saucepan. Add vinegar, water to cover by ~1in. Salt. Bring to a boil and hold until potatoes offer a little resistance to fork. Strain potatoes and spread out to a single layer on a sheet pan or plate.

Once potatoes are started, add meat to preheated pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp and the fat has rendered. Remove meat from pan and set aside in a large bowl.

Add potatoes to pan and cook until browned and crisp on all sides (20+ minutes). Season with salt, pepper, and whatever else you're seasoning the potatoes with once crisp. Cook for an additional minute or so with spices. Remove potatoes from pan and set aside in the same large bowl.

Increase heat to medium; add a bit of oil to the pan and let it come to temp (look for shimmers in the oil). Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Season with salt, and continue cooking until onions are starting to darken and caramelize. Remove onions from pan and set aside in the same large bowl.

Increase heat to med-high; add a bit of oil to the pan and let it come to temp. Add raddichio and season with salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until raddichio is thoroughly wilted and some is slightly charred. Remove raddichio from pan and set aside in the same large bowl.

Preheat oven to 400F with a rack about 8-10in from the top.

Add a bit of oil to the pan and let it come to temp. Add cabbage to pan and season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is thoroughly wilted and charring is evident. Taste as you go here - I went very aggro and got quite a bit of char but let the flavors guide you. Remove cabbage from pan and set aside in the same large bowl.

Add a bit of oil to the pan and let it come to temp. Add mushrooms to pan and season with salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms release liquid, the liquid cooks off, and they brown and crisp up. Remove mushrooms from pan and set aside in the same large bowl; remove pan from heat.

Toss everything in the bowl until well-combined. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and anything else you'd like. Add a bit of oil to the pan and then spoon the mixture in the bowl into the pan, leaving half an inch of clearance or so. Use the spoon to make four indented wells in the mixture in the pan. Crack one egg into each well. Season eggs with salt and pepper, then splash a little oil on top of each egg to keep a plasticky skin from forming. Spread shredded cheese on top of hash, avoiding the egg wells. Place in oven and bake until eggs are just set (you can judge this by giving the pan a shake and looking at the wobble). Turn on broiler until cheese browns, 30-45s.

Remove from oven, top with crumbled cheese. You could also top with diced herbs, maybe some avocado, crema, hot sauce, crispy fried onions?

I plated with an herbed aioli, greens, and a bit of hot sauce. It's good in a burrito, too!

Pão Doce de Padaria (DRAFT)

Equipment you'll need

a mixing bowl

a kitchen scale

a half sheet pan

an oven

work surface

a small bowl

a fork

a cooling rack

Equipment you'll really, really want

another mixing bowl

a flexible spatula

a bench knife

a stand mixer

some clingwrap

a pastry brush

Supplies

500g all-purpose flour

10g dry yeast

215g water

3 eggs

60g egg yolks

5g vanilla extract

5g powdered milk

5g salt

100g sugar

50g butter

100g coconut oil

Experiment 1: Pre-ferment

Supplies used

250g all-purpose flour

10g dry yeast

125g water

Method

Add water to mixing bowl. Add yeast to water. If using active dry yeast, mix until dissolved. Add flour. Mix, scraping down sides of bowl and folding in flour until dough is roughly homogenous. Cover bowl with clingwrap. Place somewhere warm and wait until doubled in volume (approximately 1 hour at 20 C).

Experiment 2: Dough

Supplies used

2 eggs

60g egg yolks

5g vanilla extract

90g water

250g all-purpose flour

5g powdered milk

5g salt

100g sugar

50g butter

100g coconut oil

Method

If using a stand mixer, complete these steps in the stand mixer bowl. Add eggs, yolks, vanilla extract, water. Mix to combine. Add Experiment 1, flour, and powdered milk to bowl. Mix until dough is fully incorporated and smooth (approximately 4 minutes at low on stand mixer).

Add salt and sugar to bowl. Mix until smooth (approximately 4 additional minutes at low on stand mixer). Continue working dough until it forms a ball and pulls away from side of bowl (approximately 4 additional minutes at medium on stand mixer).

Cut butter and coconut oil into small pieces (1 cubic cm or less). Work into dough until fully incorporated and the dough no longer seems greasy (approximately 10 additional minutes at medium on stand mixer).

Dust work surface with flour. Transfer dough to floured work surface and shape into ball. Place ball seam-side down in bowl. Cover bowl with clingwrap. Place somewhere warm and wait until doubled in volume (approximately 1 hour at 20 C).

Experiment 3: Braid

Supplies used

1 egg

Method

Grease or lightly flour half sheet pan. Dust work surface with flour. Move Experiment 2 from bowl to work surface in one piece (use flexible spatula if available). Divide Experiment 2 into 4 equal sections. Form each section into a square, then bring in the top and bottom edges to the center, pinching to seal the crease. Place sections on sheet pan with the crease on the bottom. Cover sheet with clingwrap. Rest sections for 15 minutes.

Dust work surface with flour. Transfer a section to work surface. Roll the cylinder back and forth until the center section is approximately 2 cm in diameter, elongating as you go. Return to pan and repeat with remaining sections.

Place all 4 sections on work surface. Join them at one end by mashing them together. Take the strand furthest from you. Lift it over the next strand. Lift the next strand and pass under. Lift the strand over the final strand. Repeat until you run out of section length. Pinch ends together.

Return braid to sheet.

Mix egg in bowl. Apply egg wash to braid using pastry brush or a paper towel, avoiding creases where the sections meet. Cover bowl and sheet with clingfilm. Refrigerate bowl. Place sheet somewhere warm and wait 1 hour.

Apply egg wash to braid using pastry brush or a paper towel, avoiding creases where the sections meet. Cover bowl and sheet with clingfilm. Refrigerate bowl. Place sheet somewhere warm and wait another hour.

Apply egg wash to braid using pastry brush or a paper towel, avoiding creases where the sections meet. If the braid has not yet doubled in size, cover sheet with clingfilm and place somewhere warm until doubled in size (if kept at 20 C, the braid should be doubled in size after the prior 2 hours of waiting).

Experiment 4: Bake

Method

Preheat oven to 190 C. Remove any clingfilm from Experiment 3 and place in oven. Lower oven to 170 C. Wait 25 minutes.

Open oven, rotate sheet 180 degrees. Wait 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Transfer bread from sheet to cooling rack. Wait 1 hour before slicing or serving.

References

Avey, T. (2010, August 26). Challah Part 2: How to Braid Challah. Retrieved from https://toriavey.com/how-to/challah-bread-part-2-how-to-braid-challah/

Bernstein, M. (2014, December). Slow and Easy Panettone Recipe. Retrieved from http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/12/slow-and-easy-pannetone-recipe.html

Bernstein, M. (2016, December). The Best Challah. Retrieved from http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/12/challah-braided-jewish-bread-recipe.html

Dia Dia. (2017, July 7). Pão Doce de Padaria. Retrieved from http://entretenimento.band.uol.com.br/diadia/receitas/24945/p%C3%A3o-doce-de-padaria.html

Chocolate chip cookies precis

2 sticks butter, browned

300g brown sugar (1.5 cups packed)
56g white sugar (.25 cups)
20g water (4 tsp)

Cream until it lightens. Water added replaces water loss in browned butter, allows creaming.

30g yogurt (dessert spoon, heaping)
1+1 egg (the +1 is yolk only)
2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix into above.

270g AP flour (2.25 cups)
3g salt
4g baking soda (1 tsp)

Add the flour gradually. Add rest of dry ingredients after you've added at least 1/3 of the flour.

Don't over-agitate here, you're trying to avoid gluten formation.

3/2 cup mix-ins

Honestly, you can go a bit heavy here; up to 2 cups is manageable. A little butterscotch goes a long way (I typically do 1/4 cup). Multiple kinds of chocolate improves the end product. Good chocolate bars chopped > chips. If you do this all fast enough that the dough is still warm from the butter browning, you'll get neat chocolate streaks.

Nuts work well here, too, but I'd toast them (e.g., in the pan you browned the butter in) first, perhaps with a bit of sugar or honey to glaze.

Refridgerate before you bake. At least 2 hours, up to about 48. Quality improves a lot after about 12 hours.

Oven on 350F, approx 12 m if you have light pans, a bit less if you have dark ones. Should be just browned on the edges, middle will appear underbaked.

Let cookies sit on sheet 3-5 m, then pull them off to cool, ideally on wire racks. Leave on sheets too long and the bottoms will be overdone.

Crinkles by weight, abbreviated

1 stick + 1 tablespoon

500g sugar
150g cocoa
4g espresso
7g water

4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
30g yogurt


270g AP flour
9g baking powder
3g salt

350F, 13-15m

Snickerdoodles by weight, abbreviated

2 sticks butter

250g brown sugar
112g white sugar
10g water

1+1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
60g yogurt
7g cream of tartar
1g cinnamon

2g salt
300g flour
6g baking soda

Chocolate chip cookies

2 sticks butter

300g brown sugar
56g white sugar
20g water

30g yogurt
1+1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla

270g AP flour
3g salt
4g baking soda

3/2 cup mix-ins

Butterscotch Peanut Butter Cookies

Equipment you'll need:

1 frying pan (a light bottom may be helpful here)
1 whisk
1 largish bowl
A set of measuring things
Something to mix with
parchment paper (ideally)
At least 1 cookie sheet (3 is ideal)
Something to cool cookies on (wire racks are ideal)

Supplies for dough:

2 sticks of unsalted butter (8oz, 225g)
1/2 cup peanut butter (135g)

3/4 cup brown sugar (packed; dark is better, 160g)
1/4 cup granulated sugar (use baker's sugar, 50g)

1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 teaspoons Greek yogurt (or milk, whatevs)
2 teaspoons honey
3 dashes salt (freshly ground, this is three turns or so)

1 1/3 cups flour (160g)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup assorted dark chocolate chips

Method:

Put the frying pan on the stove over medium heat. Cut the butter into pats and put it in the pan. Whisk until it foams and keep whisking until the butter smells nutty. Pour the butter into the largish bowl, add the peanut butter and mix thoroughly. I usually use fresh ground salted honey peanut butter, but you do you. If you use salted peanut butter, skip the salt later.

Add the sugars to the butters and mix until your arm gets tired.

Add the egg + yolk, vanilla extract, yogurt or milk, honey, and salt. Mix thoroughly to combine.

Add the flour a third cup at a time and stir until just combined. I do this by hand to control the amount of mixing that happens but you could use a hand mixer on low. A spatula to shove the stuff on the sides down is helpful but not needful. Add the baking powder and soda with the third addition of flour.

Take all the add-ins and fold them into the dough. Do not use a mixer for this - you want to be super careful not to overwork the dough.

Take the dough and put it in the fridge for at least a few hours. This is where the parchment paper comes in if you're using it. If you're going to age the dough, put it in an airtight container; the 4.5 cup Snapware containers are perfect.

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine the sugar & cinnamon for the coating in the smallish bowl and mix until well-combined.

Put tablespoons of dough on the cookie sheet, leaving about an inch between each cookie. Bake for 9 minutes. Cool on sheet for 4ish minutes, then move to cooling surface.

You should try a cookie from the first sheet and adjust baking times accordingly - more gooey, subtract a minute; more crispy, add a minute or two.

References:

Volz, M. (2012, August 17). Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies with sea salt [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/2012/08/peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies-with-sea-salt/