We're Back!!!!

Immense apologies for the prolonged silence and with that thought come the memory of a familiar Winston Churchill story that happens to tie well to the fact that Dawn and I have just returned from England. What a long thought but oh well. I am not positive the story is true but it is comical nonetheless. The story goes that Mr. Churchill was attending a party at which he was rather intoxicated and swaying from the libations and a woman approached him and said, “Mr. Churchill, you are extremely inebriated,” to which he replied looking her in the face, “Yes ma’am, but in the morning I will be sober and you will remain ugly.” However, that has nothing to do with plump oven baked eggs in tomato sauce or tender oatmeal bread that Dawn and I cooked just before we crossed the big pond.

The weather is cold in Columbus now and was just as frigid before we left, so a nice loaf of bread just out of the oven sounded warming. With recipes aplenty for amazing bread from James Beard himself, eating anything from the store seems blasphemous. And yes, every one I have tried has been splendid—especially when toasted and buttered as he often suggests. We instead chose to dip the warm bread into the zesty tomato sauce Dawn prepared with the eggs. Each recipe was a simple respite from the bone chilling cold that is sweeping the U.S. all the way down to Atlanta (that surprisingly had tufts of snow on the ground when we flew in from London). As with any bread recipe, patience and good ingredients are as inherently essential as proper measurements.

The bread has a medium crumb with many oats that melt into the loaf adding earthy goodness and substance. The eggs are comfort food in a way that surprises the senses and can be served with angel hair pasta or fresh bread, whichever you prefer.

Oatmeal Bread
Adapted from "Beard on Bread"
1 C. rolled oats

1 C boiling water

2 packages active dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp.)

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 C. warm milk

1/2 C. warm water

1 T. salt

1/4 C. dark brown sugar

4-5 C. bread flour, approximately

Add oats to glass bowl with boiling water and stir until cooked for three minutes. Pour into a large mixing bowl and allow to cool to lukewarm. Stir the yeast into the warm water and sugar and allow to proof about six minutes. Add the warm milk, salt, brown sugar, and yeast mixture to the oats and stir well, then stir in four cups of sifted flour into the oats one cup at a time. Turn onto a floured surface and knead (ten minutes) into a smooth elastic ball using more flour if necessary. Roll dough in a buttered bowl until covered and allow to rise for an hour and a half in a warm draft free area, covering the bowl with a damp towel. Ball should be doubled in size.

Punch the dough down and tuck sides under to form loaf, scoring diagonally four times on top. Place in large nine by five by three buttered loaf pan and bake in 375 degree preheated oven for forty to fifty minutes or until loaf sounds hollow. Flip onto cooling rack and allow to cool for eight minutes. Toasted with jam or preserves also makes a delectable breakfast snack.

Zesty Oven Baked Eggs

6 free range brown eggs

2 C. homemade tomato sauce

¼ C. fresh grated white cheddar (optional)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pour tomato sauce in oval earthenware dish and gently crack eggs into tomato sauce. Bake in 400 degree oven for approximately fifteen minutes or until eggs just begin to set. Make sure not to over cook as eggs will go from plump and juicy to rubbery very quickly. Top with cheddar, salt, and black pepper after removing from oven.  

Bits of Simplicity

The other day Dawn and I went exploring all around Columbus looking for some different haunts and muses that we had yet to see. We went to some old favorites like North Market for the last outside market day and some other local shopping ventures before being pleasantly surprised by a visit to Carfagna's Italian Meat Market. As we walked in the door it had the ambiance of a tiny local grocer from back home with the smell of pork wafting through and a sense of personality that is often sought but never found at large grocers.

With the butchers' joking with a younger colleague about his date the prior evening and him desperately attempting to change subject, the personality was warming and specialized as we found excellent carnaroli arborio, small vintage Italian wines, and more meat varieties than I could name. I passed by rabbit saddles and marvelous double-smoked bacon making it a miracle we didn't spend a fortune. The Spanish chorizo definitely ended up in the basket as well as a pack of prosciutto chunks that I envisioned in a rich marinara sauce.

For some reason, maybe subconscious, the idea of baked pasta came to mind as I pulled the prosciutto out of the fridge. After preparing some macaroni  noodles as it seems we have a surplus of them lately (still some of the pantry oath that is more or less a a loose guideline) and sauteing the onion and crushed garlic, I cleaned the pan out and crisped the thin sliced prosciutto to add some texture then the tomato paste and dry red wine to add needed richness to the dish. The way disparate ingredients become intermingled amazes me sometimes and this dish is no exception. The rich tomato and pork nature of the dish make it a quick week night winner that is sure to please.

1/2 # prosciutto chunks finely diced

3/4 # al dente macaroni noodles

1 small can tomato paste

1/3 C. middle-aged fontina or gruyere cheese (I used the homemade fresh milk cheese I had in the fridge)

1/3 C. mozzarella cheese

1/2 tsp. anchovy paste

1/2 medium spanish onion finely diced

5 cloves diced garlic

4 T. olive oil for sauteing

1/3 C. dry red wine (such as chianti)

1/4 C. whole calamata olives

Preheat oven to broil. Saute onion and garlic for about 4 minutes or until slightly browned. Add tomato paste, olives, anchovy paste, and wine and cook until reduced but still thinner than desired consistency. Add cooked macaroni noodles, as I see these hold the sauce better, and stir the ingredients together in oven-proof skillet for a couple minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top and cook in oven on middle rack for 4 minutes or until cheese becomes bubbly and golden brown. Remove from oven, allow to cool at least 5 minutes, then slice into pie shapes, and enjoy. 

A Savory Breakfast Treat

One of the things Daniel and I enjoyed doing most for each other after we were married was to make breakfast for each other, trying infinite combinations in omelets and all forms of pancakes and waffles. We’ve somewhat slowed down significantly since then, and during the week breakfast is often not more than fruit or yogurt or cereal, unless we bake muffins or scones or bagels sometime earlier in the week. Since I’m on a break for the next week or so, I’ve enjoyed getting to make breakfast for Daniel again in the mornings, and this morning decided to try for a savory scone recipe.

Scones are definitely a hit or miss source of breakfast delight. The line between a crumbly dry flavorless biscuit, and a flaky, crumbly, melt in your mouth delicious scone is sometimes difficult to navigate. I’m ashamed to say that my first attempt at lemon poppy seed scones produced small inedible bricks that self-destructed at the slightest touch. Since then, I’ve learned that no, the butter does not need to be softened if you want an edible scone treat, and have expanded my scone repertoire to include sweet and savory combinations. Having picked up some delicious bacon from a local farm at this weeks farmers market, I decided to try a savory bacon scone, to pair with a tomato jam I’d prepared earlier in the week.

The scone recipe I used below is straightforward enough. To try to obtain more of a bacon flavor, I cut a little bit of the butter out of the recipe and substituted approximately one-half a tablespoon of the cooled grease from the fried bacon. The result was a slightly flakier scone, almost more buttermilk biscuit-like, but with a smoky bacon flavor permeating every bite. Overall, I was quite satisfied with the scone on its own. I’m typically a purist when it comes to a lot of breakfast foods. I don’t eat syrup on pancakes, butter on biscuits, etc. I’m not sure why, just habit I suppose. Nonetheless, I was really happy with the results of my tomato jam adapted from Natalie’s Killer Cuisine, so I decided to put the two together. As usual, the sweet pairing with the smoky, peppery bacon was both rewarding and satisfying, and gave us a quick, enjoyable breakfast for a few mornings.

Bacon Scones (Makes four scones)

1 Cup All Purpose Flour

½ Tsp Salt

½ Tbsp Baking Powder

½ Tsp Sugar

1-1/2 Tbsp Cold Butter

½ Tbsp Bacon Grease

½ Cup Shredded Cheese (the obvious choice is cheddar, but I used Monterrey Jack since that’s what we had already shredded, you choose!)

1 Green Onion, diced, with diced scallion tops

Approx 4 Slices Bacon Fried Crisp and Crumbled (approx 2/3 Cup)

1/3 Cup Heavy Cream (Approximate, less maybe)

Preheat oven to 425. Lightly grease pan.

Sift together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar.

Using fingers or fork, work butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles fine crumbs.

Mix in cheese, chives, and crumbled bacon. Until evenly distributed. Add cooled bacon grease and most of the cream. Stir quickly to combine. If dough still appears too crumbly and does not stay together, continue adding cream until dough comes together, mixing as little as possible. Divide evenly into four large, biscuit sized minds. Place on baking sheet and cook approximately 20 minutes until golden brown. Cool on pan. Remove, and serve warm. Will keep in a covered container for a day or two, re-warm before serving.

Tomato Jam (adapted from Natalie’s Killer Cuisine)

Makes approximately eight ounces of jam

2 lb Tomatoes, very ripe
3/4 cup Sugar
¼ Tsp Ginger

½ Tsp Cinnamon

½ Tsp Red Pepper Flakes

Pinch of Salt

Chop Tomatoes in medium dice, discarding seeds and skins where easily removable.

Add all ingredients into stockpot and bring mixture to a boil.

Reduce to low heat and let mixture reduce to a jam-like consistency, stirring occasionally (approx 1 hour). Once jam reaches desired consistency and has thickened, remove from heat and transfer to another container to cool.