A Weekend of Culinary Adventures

For the longest time, I hated staying at home for extended periods of time. I wanted to be on the go-go-go all of the time. The first time I had an apartment of my own, I think things changed a bit and now, some of my favorite days are the ones that Bryan and I spend lazing around our apartment together. (I still can’t sit still for too long or I lose my mind. Usually, I’ve got a one day maximum before I have to at least hit Target or a grocery store.)

This has been an awfully strange winter  so far. We’ve had days in the sixties followed almost immediately by days where the temperatures dropped below zero. Not factoring in the wind chill. It was COLD. We’ve already had a couple of fronts that have dumped inches upon inches of snow on us and at least two occasions where it was just plain stupid to venture anywhere other than the couch. This last weekend proved to be one of those.

Enter: Kitchen Adventures.

This all began with my nagging urge to use my sourdough starter. It had been way too long since I tried anything new with it and let me tell you, if you decide to keep that sucker on the counter, rather than in the refrigerator, it is far too much work to let it just sit unused. (A post on my sourdough adventure and how Bubby came to be is in order).

Late on Friday night, I decided to attempt an overnight baguette. Rustic-style. (Read: I wasn’t quite sure how to get the actual baguette shape and overly coifed bread is for haters.) Most sourdough breads (at least the ones that get deliciously tangy) take many hours from start to finish. We’re talking overnight or even multi-night affairs. Between the starter-prepping and the bulk rising and second rising and kneading and mixing and letting-it-sit-ing, artisanal sourdough is nothing to sneeze at. It’s as much an art as it is a science and it takes some trial and error.

But when everything works out? Look out.

This particular recipe was adapted from my new favorite sourdough cookbook: Artisan Sourdough Made Simple by Emilie Raffa. (Order here: https://www.amazon.com/Artisan-Sourdough-Made-Simple-Handcrafted/dp/1624144292/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1516379236&sr=8-6&keywords=sourdough). I tweaked a couple of things and broke the rules by baking it in a true baguette pan, but it was perfect. (Side note: This is one of the first recipes that I’ve ever tried where the dough rises simply from a robust starter. There was no added yeast in this and the holes and crumb and rise were all spot on.)

So Saturday, we had some deliciously fresh and crisp baguette to enjoy with a simple sundried tomato and olive tapenade I threw together. (No really, I threw it together with a can of black olives, half a jar of leftover sundried tomatoes that I had in the fridge and some random spices. It was surprisingly delicious and I would totally make it again).

Oh hey, Batman mug.

Next up was dinner. We have been planning to have an at-home date night where we’d make a couple of different kinds of pizza from scratch. From dough to topping. We ended up making a very basic cheese pizza (I wasn’t a huge fan, but Bryan loved it) and a barbeque pizza. Holy smokes, friends. The BBQ pizza was such a happy accident. If you want to try it at home, use your favorite dough recipe or pre-made dough for a base. Rather than sauce, use a dark, tangy BBQ sauce, and top with small chunks of pineapple, caramelized onions, mozzarella cheese (we found smoked mozzarella cheese at our grocery store which enhanced the flavors perfectly) and some roasted chicken (I had made spicy baked chicken breasts for dinner the night before and it all worked out splendidly). If you really want to hit it out of the park, top your finished slices off with some fresh slices of avocado (do NOT bake the avocado, it turns into rubber! Just throw it on top before serving it.)

We ate so much of it, I can’t even talk about it anymore.

And finally, perhaps my favorite day of all: Pierogi Day. Bryan’s family is extremely polish and I myself am half polish. We both grew up around pierogis and will love them forever.

My sister once bought me a cookbook, Pierogi Love, and this was my first time making anything out of it. We chose a basic recipe for cheddar cheese pierogis (this book has EVERYTHING including dessert pierogis. I’m still not sure I’m on board with that, but the pictures are pretty to look at…)

I love the different steps in making pierogis. It’s a process, but by the time you’re done, you really do get to see the fruits of your labor. We used a 3″ biscuit cutter and I was shocked at how small the end result was. Being used to the typical, Mrs. T’s-sized pierogis, I thought these would feel like a cheat, but as it turns out, their almost mini size made for the most delicious ration of dough:potato:onion. I could have eaten 14,000 of them. Literally.

And that was the end of our make-a-thon. Such a fun weekend together and the perfect way to challenge our brains a bit (and ultimately, our belts!!!!).

What are your favorite things to make and bake at home? And are you like me and enjoy being out and about most, if not all days? Or could you stay bundled up at home for weeks on end if life allowed it?

I hope you are all doing well and I will be back again soon!

Bee