What a mistake to be doing this countdown until D-day. But nevermind, if it's the only thing that'll get me writing again then so be it. Since I already wrote an entry last night and I woke astonishingly early this morning -in shock of the tremendous amount and degree of responsibilities laying ahead of me, be it in family and studies-, this one is gonna sweat me out.
I know!
I'v been somewhat a part of a project with my younger brother. I'm supervising his 'Gays Cooking Club'. The name is silly, I know, but he and his friends are 16 years below so who cares. Other than that I'm also the camera dude, recording the moments of history where 3 boys test their hands at cooking. We started about 2 weeks ago when my brother, J.E. came up with the idea while watching pastry chef Anna Olsen on 'Sugar', AFC. I, being the fabulously supportive big sister, of course agreed on the spot. So far, they've made an apple pie, pretzels, and lasagna. Today will be cookie day. According to JE, they'll be making peanut butter, chocolate, and butter. 3 boys, 3 recipes, 3 main events, busy busy busy.
Apple Pie [Success!] - we used Anna Olsen's recipe from AFC's official website.
Comments: It was a little too sweet because we couldn't make out how much was 1 cup. We might have overdosed on the orange zest too.Pretzels [Easy!] - I have no idea where we got it from so I'm just gonna give it to you below. Even the pic isn't my original because the camera was charging at that time.
Ingredients:Makes 6 large or 12 small pretzels.
* 3 1/2 C (1/2 kg) of flour
* 4 Tbsp. brown sugar
* 2 tsp. (12 g) salt (sea salt preferably)
* 1 Tbsp. (12 g) yeast, dissolved in 1 C (237 g) water that's fairly warm but not hot (120°F, 49°C)
The following ingredients are for coating the pretzels before baking (step 7-8):
* 1 Tbsp. (14 g) baking soda dissolved in 1 C (237 g) boiling water
* 1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl
* (Optional) Vegetable
Steps:
1. Mix brown sugar, salt, and the yeast and water mixture in a food processor or a large mixing bowl. Add flour and mix until the dough is smooth. If the dough is sticky, add a little more flour. If possible, let the dough sit overnight in a plastic container in the fridge. NOTE: the dough will rise overnight by as much as a third, so be sure to use a large enough container!
2. Divide the dough into 4, 6 or 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope. If you're working with 12 pieces, make the ropes very thin, a little bigger than a pencil. If you're making 4, you can roll them to about cigar thickness and 36 inches (almost a meter) long.
3. Shape a single rope into an upside down "U" on your table. Bring the ends together and twist them as shown.
4. Bring them to the top of the pretzel. Flatten the ends with your fingers and press in the dough to secure, making it look like a pretzel. Place on a greased cookie sheet.
5. Repeat the previous two steps with the remaining pieces of dough and place them on the cookie sheet, too.
6. Allow the pretzels to raise for 30 minutes -- until they've about doubled in size.
7. Brush with the water-soda solution. Or, for a chewier crust, mix 2 Tbsp. (24 g) baking soda with 4 C (1 kg) boiling water and drop the pretzel in there for about the count of 10 and then lift out with a strainer or pancake turner.
8. Brush the pretzels with the egg and water mixture. This gives the pretzel a nice, shiny glaze. Then sprinkle with toppings like:
• coarse salt (see Tips below)
• garlic and Parmesan cheese
• Cinnamon and sugar
• sesame seeds
9. Bake in a pre-heated oven 400° to 450° F (225° C) for 10 to 15 minutes or until browned. Carefully remove from the oven and place on a sheet of aluminum foil to cool.
Comments: To me, it was deliciously simple. But the boys weren't satisfied with the taste and the challenge it failed to provide. Poyo je. But then again, I never tasted an actual pretzel.
Lasagna [Improvised!] - we used a recipe from Allrecipes titled Easy Lasagna I.
Comments: They improvised a lot on this one since a lot of the ingredients weren't available near our local supermarkets. Some cheeses had to be replaced and surprisingly, lasagna noodles weren't to be found. So instead, they lined spaghetti noodles on top of the meat sauce. This was a very funny episode. From what I've seen, either the boys can't understand the kitchen language or they're constantly looking for short cuts. I'm excited for today!
Until tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment