Well, it's about time I made this recipe, after all my griping about the taste of commercial vegetable broth. And what is there to say? Of course, it's a million times better than that other stuff, which is so, I don't know, tomato-y? Heavy. Fake-tasting. This stuff tastes fo real.And yet, it's awfully sweet. I wonder if some of the suggested optional add ins, like bay leaves and peppercorns, might have mitigated some of that sweetness.
Someday, when I'm a real cook, I'll make homemade vegetable broth all the time. But for now, I might just lean on those handy little bouillon cubes. They may not have all the delicious depth of this broth, but they also don't have the tomato-y-ness of the packaged broth, and they get the job done....
SFO: 10
Broccoli-Potato Soup with Fresh Herbs
I know Marcy's a sucker for potatoes, so this soup seems right up her alley.
Here's another easy soup that's big on flavor. Yes, Broccoli and Potato get top billing, but the Herbs are the real stars here.
When I start the soup, I'm smelling smells and thinking, "That tarragon is going to be very dominant!" But then I add my flavorful and sweet veggie broth (yup, all 6 cups), then the potatoes and then the broccoli, and once that's cooked, the tarragon had found its place.
But wait, it's not over! A fistful of fresh mint and then another one of dill get thrown in at the last minute! It's pretty startling the difference this makes. Well, I should qualify that: the mint sort of settles into the background. In fact, I couldn't really distinguish it. But the dill becomes the MVP in those last five seconds!
Unfortunately for me, I'm not a dill fan, so this was a turn for the worse for me, but I think for all you dill lovers out there, this will be very happy-making.
My aversion to dill aside, this recipe is solid. It's a yummy, creamy, chunky bowl of herby goodness.
SFO: 10
Sweet Basil Pesto Tapenade
Wow. I don't know what to say. This is probably the first recipe in the book that left me scratching my head. And scraping my tongue.
There must be a misprint in the ingredients for this recipe because it tastes so crazy to me, I'm thinking it can't be the authors' true intent.
The recipe starts out very straightforward: basil, walnuts and garlic, chopped in the food processor. Then olive and walnut oils, grated lemon zest, salt and pepper... and maple syrup?? OK, maybe a tiny splash, for that "lightly sweetened" taste. But there's 1/3C of maple syrup in here! That amount tips this over into dessert. It's super sweet... and super salty at the same time. And I usually love the salty-sweet combo, but here, it just tastes crazy. KA-RA-ZY!Marcy and I stared at each other upon tasting it, speechless.
If you dare to try this, I recommend starting out with 2T of maple syrup and then see if you want any more. I'm guessing 2T would be plenty.
SFO: 0
(not safe for anyone, as written)
Fresh Rosemary Focaccia
In my culinary adventures, I've done my share of bread baking. Yeasted breads, I mean. And I've learned some good tips along the way. So when I read this recipe, I found it very confronting. There were so many things I knew would lead to certain unwanted results.... Do I make the adjustments to get the results I know I'd prefer? Or do I follow it to the letter?
Since this exercise is to cook every recipe as designed, I did just that. (With one exception: I used my mixer to knead the dough.)
FYI, I went with my typical 50/50 white and whole wheat flour split.
The first fork in the road that I struggled with: I wanted to combine all of the ingredients minus the salt, which I know prohibits autolysis, and then let the dough sit for the 20m autolyse process. But no, I added everything and kneaded. (Incidentally, the salt is left out of the recipe directions, but I'm assuming they must expect us to add it with everything else.)
Next, cover with a dish towel. Hmm. I wanted so badly to cover with plastic wrap, as every other bread recipe I've ever made has instructed, but I did as told. Result? A not very well risen dough ball with a dried out exterior. :-(
I let the dough rise for an extra 10 or 15 minutes, to see if it would rise a little more, but there wasn't much change, so I proceeded. I've never punched down or rolled out focaccia dough, but that's what I&T told me to do, so punch and roll I did.
The final fork, sprinkle with salt and rosemary leaves first, THEN brush with oil? I just couldn't follow that one, because I'd be brushing all the salt and rosemary right off! So I brushed with oil, then I sprinkled the salt and leaves, then I sprayed more oil, just in case there's a reason to want oil on top. (Never too much oil in focaccia!) And I couldn't bear to lay a dishtowel over that oily dough! It'd absorb it all! So I put my foot down and used my trusty plastic wrap.
OK, I guess I did veer away from the recipe a teensy bit at the end, but so much less than I longed to!
In the oven, the bread's rise was rather impressive. Perhaps the short rise time leading up to being baked accounts for the big oven growth.
And the bread turns out fine. I just think focaccia here is a misnomer. This bread tastes strangely like a quick bread, with a very soft crumb and crust. Well, in fact, it IS a quick bread! A yeasted quick bread. The more authentic focaccias (focacce?) I've made not only have risen for twice as long, but also they've included a sponge/starter, developed overnight at a minimum, so these two processes are incomparable. As are the results.
Is this loaf edible? Tasty, even? Absolutely.
Is it cute?
See for yourself.
Is it focaccia?
I don't think so....
SFO: 10
(just call it something else... Fauxcaccia?)
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