A Two-fer

Don't you love when the recipe you are excited to make actually tastes good? I'm sure you've been romanced by a recipe or a food photo only to find out in the end they weren't who you thought they were. We'll twice this week I tried new reipces and both times I was thrilled with the results. Just so you know, I'm planning a second date with each. These recipes were posted by other bloggers, but came from cookbooks that I may now need to go out and buy. (I'm trying to stay in the house today so I don't go to the bookstore and do anything irrational.)

I had never cooked with kohlrabi but this summer we had it in the share, so I scoured my sources for recipes. I had great intentions of making them into empanadas. I figured what doesn't taste good in buttery pastry? Unfortunately for me, and the kohlrabi, it sat in a bowl of water in the fridge for days after I had diced it up on with the intention of making the pastries. We haven't had kohlrabi since, but few weeks ago Orangette had blogged about a kohlrabi salad which comes from The Farm to Table Cookbook by Ivy Manning.

This week it was in the share, so I thought I'd give it a shot and serve it along an Asian marinated flank steak with bok choy. Only, it didn't make it that far. After I tossed the salad, I sat down for a plate and quickly polished it off. I then had another plate with a piece of toasted rye-bread to soak up the dressing. There wasn't enough left for dinner, but I can say I had it again for breakfast today. You could use all carrots as the dressing really makes the dish, so make sure to toast and grind the fennel seeds and use the dark toasted sesame oil. Maybe this week is a three-fer since now I'll use this dressing on other salads and maybe as a marinade?

As for my other recipe success, to be honest I feel kind of silly talking to you about it. After months of making the no-knead bread and just blogging about it the other day, I'm here to tell you my allegiance to this loaf may be fading. You don't have to tell me that I sound like a high-schooler who thinks her boyfriend is "the one", but I swear this bread is really great and once I make it a few more times, I may be ready to make a long term commitment.

When I posted my version of the no-knead recipe, Kitt commented that she prefers the artisan bread in 5. As I began to investigate I found the recipe comes from the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francis. They have a great website that talks all about the recipe, the variations and answers questions from cooks who are working with their recipes. Their recipe has also been featured in the Times. I gave the master dough a shot the other day and we had a warm loaf with our soup and salad that night for dinner. It was crusty and airy and soft inside. I can already tell this will make great sandwiches, only we don't really know that since we ate most of it with our soup and as toast for breakfast. One of the great things about this bread is that you can make a large dough and leave it in the fridge for up to two weeks and just pull of a ball as needed. I'll let you know how this works out, but for now things are looking good.

E was going to make an egg sandwich for dinner last night. When he saw the artisan bread was gone and all that was left was the no-knead rye, he almost decided to have something else. How quickly our loyalty has changed.

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Kohlrabi Salad

Orangette

Recipe adapted from The Farm to Table Cookbook by Ivy Manning

Serves 6

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2 medium red or green kohlrabi bulbs, trimmed and peeled

1 large carrot, peeled

1 tsp. fennel seed

2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. kosher salt, or more to taste

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 small garlic clove, pressed

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

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Julienne the kohlrabi and carrot

In a small dry skillet, toast the fennel seeds over medium heat until they begin to brown slightly and smell toasty

Transfer them to a spice grinder and grind them into a coarse powder

In a large bowl, combine the fennel seeds, vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic

Slowly whisk in the olive oil and sesame oil

Add the vegetables and toss to coat

Taste for seasonings

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Simple Crusty Bread

Adapted from Artisan Bread in Five MInutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francis

Makes 4 loaves

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6 1/2 cups (2 lbs.) all purpose flour

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

1 1/2 tablespoons yeast

3 cups warm water

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In a large bowl, stir flour, salt and yeast

Add the water and stir well to combine, making sure there are no dry patches

Cover loosely and let rise at room temperature for 2-5 hours

At this point either bake or refrigerate the dough up to 14 days

When ready to bake, sprinkle some flour on the dough and with a serrated knife cut a grapefruit-sized piece

Place dough on a lightly floured counter and shape into a ball

Place the ball on a piece of parchment, sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and cover with plastic wrap

Let the dough proof for 40 minutes

Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate

Place baking stone on middle rack and place broiler pan in bottom of oven

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Once the oven is up to temp, fill the broiler pan with hot water

Slash the top of the loaf 2-3 times

Place the dough with the parchment on the baking stone

Bake for about 30 minutes until nicely golden or until the internal temp is between 205 and 210 degrees