The Crust {more from my French Bread hunt}

Did you think I forgot about my French Bread Quest?

You've been hanging on every post waiting for the next installment in the saga.

I just know it.

This month's candidate for the French bread I've been searching for comes from Tony Chachere's Cajun Country Cookbook.

I chose Tony's recipe because of the title: Hard Crust French Bread

Hard crust is what I'm after, after all.

The dough

is a pretty standard bread dough.

It's what you do after you shape the loaves that differs.

Last time, I used a pan of water in the oven (to create steam) to try to get a crispy crust--which didn't really happen.

In this recipe, the unbaked loaves are brushed with egg whites to give them that golden shine and to help crisp the crust.  Which did happen.

That is, until I was impatient and stored the uneaten bread in a plastic bag.  Before it was thoroughly cooled.  In case you didn't know, moisture beats crispy crust every time.  And impatience in the kitchen leads to results you don't want.

In case you didn't know.

Wrap Up:
This second attempt at the French bread I've been searching for had crust that was more like what I want (before the plastic bag issue).  Crispy crust that shatters if you hit it with the handle of a knife.  The crumb could have been fluffier though.  It was dense, though had a good flavor.

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Overall, I liked Tony's Hard Crust French Bread 

more than the French Loaves I made last month. 

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Hard Crust French Bread
adapted from Tony Chachere's Cajun Country Cooking

2 1/2 cups warm water
2 1/4 tsp dry yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
7 cups flour, sifted (I used 6 to 6 1/2)
2 egg whites, well beaten (I used 1 egg white)

In a large bowl, combine yeast, warm water, and sugar.  Stir until yeast is dissolved.  Let sit about 5 minutes.  Gradually stir in the salt and sifted flour.  Mix until well blended.  Knead for 10 minutes on a well-floured surface until dough is smooth and satiny.  Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk.  Punch down dough and place on a floured surface.  Knead 3-4 times to remove air and divide into two pieces.

Shape each piece into a loaf and place on well-greased pans.  Make 4 slash marks across the tops of each loaf and brush with egg white.  Let rise until doubled.  Preheat oven to 450 F.

Bake loaves for 15 minutes at 450 F (or 30 minutes at 350 F).  Remove from pans and cool.



linking with:

Hurricane Cookin'

See Ya In the Gumbo link-up is HERE

Everything in much of South Louisiana was shut down for a few days last week  while we waited for Isaac to pass.

That was one weird storm.

Meandering along, unsure of where he wanted to go.  Once he got there, he didn't want to leave.

My family in New Orleans made it through with very minor damage, but no electricity (Still.  What's the deal, Entergy?).  Unfortunately some family in LaPlace were flooded with a few feet of water in the house.

Where I live we had a good amount of rain, but nothing destructive.  It was the wind that seemed unending.  We started with winds Monday evening while Isaac was in the Gulf.




The wind lasted through Thursday morning.  At one point The Boy and I did a Three Stooges thing, running into each other from opposite ends of a hallway.  It sounded like part of our roof was coming off.  He ran to find me; I ran to get outside and check the roof.  Smack.

The roof is still sittin' on top of the house and I'm still unsure what all the racket was.

We were fortunate not to lose electricity--only surges now and then.  And no real damage occurred.  We lost a lot of pecans to the wind is all.

My yard looks a lot like an early Easter egg hunt.

The tree is still upright.  My drama-mama self was sure it would come down to crush me in my sleep.

While I can't do anything with green pecans still encased in their husks, I harvested everything else I knew I could use before it was damaged.

And cooked most of it up while we were house-bound by Isaac.
No crackers or canned goods this time around.

Eggplant w/ Creamy Corn Sauce is something I've been playing around with this summer.  We've had it with eggplant sauteed in olive oil; we've had it with grilled.  If your eggplant is old and/or large, it would probably be better to saute since it might burn on a grill before it gets tender.  I've also tried the corn sauce with heavy cream and again with half and half.  The heavy cream won for texture and richness (of course), but half and half was good too.  This time around, I decided to add a handful of cherry tomatoes and I liked what that did for color.  Reminded me of corn maque chou...and that's never a bad thing.

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Eggplant w/ Creamy Corn Sauce

1 cup corn kernels (frozen or fresh)
1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream, divided
salt, black pepper, Tony's Creole seasoning, all to taste
a handful of cherry tomatoes, halved OR 1 small Roma tomato chopped

2-3 medium eggplant, sliced in planks
olive oil
salt and black pepper

Add the corn and 1/4 cup half and half or cream to a pan.  Season to taste with salt, pepper, and Tony's.  Bring to a simmer and cook for about 15-20 minutes, mashing some of the kernels with the back of a spoon.  While simmering, add more half and half as needed to keep the mixture saucy.  Add the tomato and simmer for about 5-8 minutes longer.

While the sauce is cooking, brush both sides of the eggplant slices with olive oil and season with salt and pepper if grilling. Place on a hot grill and grill until tender.  If sauteing, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a skillet.  Season the eggplant with salt and pepper and add to the hot skillet in batches.  Cook until tender and browned in spots.

Place eggplant on a platter and top with the corn sauce.  Serve sprinkled with more Tony's Creole seasoning, if desired.

This post was featured at:

Simple Living With Diane Balch (Corn Round-up)
21st Century Housewife (Hearth & Soul Hop)

Linking with:

Food on Friday: BBQ @ Carole's Chatter

 

Swamp Monsters & Loup Garous

I'm not sure why my parents thought it was a good idea.  Driving 3 young children to the next state for fried catfish.  More than a few times.  We lived in New Orleans--dripping not only in humidity, but food.  When we finally got to the restaurant in Mississippi, everyone was hungry.  Which we all know also means cranky.  By that point us kids finally figured out we'd better shut our traps and not dare cross the lines dad pointed out for each one of us down the vinyl seat.  We knew how far to take it before he actually "pulled over and stopped the car."  And boy did we take it juuuust to the edge.


The ride home, I liked though.  Everyone was full, happy, quiet.  And it was getting dark as we drove through Honey Island Swamp.  I always made sure to get a window seat on the way home so I could stare into the darkening swamp, hoping to catch sight of the Honey Island Swamp Monster.  I imagined him a lumbering big-foot, peering through the palmetto leaves.  Maybe parting the hanging Spanish moss with dirty, hairy hands to give me a wink because I spotted him.


The Honey Island Swamp Monster is often described as the most awful smelling thing you'd never want to meet.  Many sources say he is a cross between an ape and alligator, product of native swamp life takin' a shine to chimps that escaped to the swamp after a circus train derailment.  A shaggy thing with long, sharp teeth and alligator feet.  Something that comes after bad little children.  And after the ride I just had with my brothers, I sure kept my eyes peeled.

After moving west to Cajun country, I learned about another kind of swamp monster: le loup garou (loo-gah-ROO).  Loup garou, or werewolf, stories came to Louisiana from our French and French Canadian settlers.  In South Louisiana, le loup garou lives in the swamp.  Half man.  Half beast.  All bad, bad news.  Loup garou lurks in the swamp, emerging under a full moon to eat up all the naughty little kids.  Cajun children can't catch a stinkin' break.
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The Boy loves dogs.  Once upon a time, he wanted to (as he would say) "dress into" Clifford for Halloween.

This year, a different kind of dog: Loup garou.

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How 'bout a Halloween classic?  Chili.  He-Man Chili from Tony Chachere's Cajun Country Cookbook.


Why "He-Man?"

In addition to the usual ground beef...

This is the sausage that makes the drippings that cooks the ground beef in He-Man Chili.

This is the bacon that fries the sausage that makes the drippings that cooks the ground beef in He-Man Chili.

A big ole meaty bowl that Tony Chachere built.

Tony also adds beans, but I wasn't feelin' it.  I was feeling cooking extra bacon and sprinkling it on top.  For extra manliness.  I think Swamp Monsters and Loup Garous would approve too.

This chili is tangy from the Worcestershire (which I love) and the wine.  I like its unique flavor and the different textures that the three meats give.  Something to keep in mind: because of the Worcestershire sauce, bacon, and Tony's seasoning, you probably aren't going to need salt.  Don't go salting w/out tasting.

 

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Tony's He-Man Chili
adapted from Tony Chachere's Cajun Country Cookbook
1 lb hot sausage
1 lb lean ground beef
6 slices bacon (8 if used as a topping)
1 large onion, chopped
1 ball pepper, chopped
1 Louisiana hot pepper or jalapeno
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 cup red wine
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp celery seed
3 Tbsp chili powder
2 (28 oz) cans whole tomatoes w/ juices
Tony's Creole seasoning, to taste


Possible toppings:
handful chopped green onion
handful chopped parsley
about 1/4 c chopped red onion
reserved bacon (from above)
cheese
tortilla chips


Brown bacon slices in a large pot.  Remove.  When cool enough to handle, crumble.  If using as a topping, cook about 8 slices and reserve 2.


Slice sausage into 1" pieces and fry in bacon fat until brown.  Remove from pot and set aside with bacon.  Pour off most of the fat and fry the ground beef.  Drain most of the fat and set aside with the sausage and bacon.


Cook onion, bell pepper, and hot pepper in a small amount of the pan drippings until tender.  Add the garlic and cook a few more minutes.  Stir in the mustard, celery seeds, and chili powder.  Simmer about 10 minutes. 


Break up the tomatoes by hand and add to the pot, along with the Worcestershire and wine.  Add the meats back to the pot and heat to boiling.  Reduce heat, season to taste with Tony's.  Simmer 1 1/2-2 hours, stirring occasionally.


Just before serving toss in some green onion and/or parsley.  Or top individual bowls with one or more: green onion, parsley, red onion, crumbled bacon tortilla chips, cheese.

Linking with:

Cookbook Sundays @ Mom's Sunday Cafe
Tailgating Game Week 10 @ Drick's Rambling Cafe
Tailgating Time @ Seaside Simplicity
Tuesdays at the Table @ All The Small Stuff
Tasty Tuesday @ Naptime Creations
Hearth and Soul vol 72 @ Mom's Sunday Cafe
Tuesdays Tasty Tidbits @ Permanent Posies
What's Cooking Thursdays @ Feeding Four
Turning the Table Thursday @ Around My Family Table
Simply Delish @ KB & Whitesnakes Home
Potluck Friday @ EKat's Kitchen
Friday Food @ Mom Trends


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Happy Halloween