Sunday, November 30, 2008

Oakland/Berkeley To Eats

Gather Restaurant in Berkeley - burgers

The Mixing Bowl in Oakland near Bakesale Betty
Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland

Dopo - Lardo Pizza
Nizza La Bella - San Genaro pizza

GrilledCheezGuy - Grilled Cheese cart in Berkeley, won LA Grilled Cheese Invitational 2009
Oakland's Little Guatemala - Tamales and Churrasco from Chowhound.com
San Miguel 2 - 4729 International Blvd, Oakland, CA 94601, USA
Chapinlandia Bakery- 4737 International Blvd Oakland CA
La Colmena Produce Market - 4825 International Blvd, Oakland, CA 94601, USA
Commis - James Syhabout from Manresa/Plumpjack Cafe, worked at El Bulli, Fat Duck
Oliveto

LaneSplitter Pizza & Pub -

Sketch Ice Cream - Temporarily closed, maybe available at Gumps

Trattoria Corso - Corso is the new restaurant from Wendy Brucker and Roscoe of Rivoli Restaurant


Best Breakfast in the Bay Area

Country Gourmet in Sunnyvale
Chowhound 100 Top Items to Eat in Bay Area


900 Grayson in Berkeley - Best breakfast in Bay Area!
Chez Panisse - Best Berkeley restaurant, worth the splurge
CheeseBoard Pizza Collective - EXCELLENT PIZZA!, awesome toppings
Pizzaiolo - Wood Fired Thin Crust Pizza - Chez Panisse Alum - Pizzas are great, salads too!
Ici - great ice cream!
Bakesale Betty - The slaw makes the Fried Chicken sandwich
Scream Sorbet - Peanut Vanilla, Strawberry shortcake are good
Aunt Mary's Cafe - Malted Waffles are delicious
Southern Kitchen in Los Gatos - Delicious Country Fried Steak!

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Spain List

Restaurante Solla - chef Jose Pepe Gonzalez-Solla - try Iberico Ribs, poached egg with black olive toast -(close to city of Pontevedra) - Galician cooking
El Bulli - Ferran Adria
Juan Mari Arzak

Madrid Fusion - January gastronomic event

Washington DC + CT List

WASHINGTON DC
Blue Duck Tavern - MUST TRY breakfast items...
  • Tune Inn Restaurant & Bar - Deep Fried Beer Batter Burger

    331 Pennsylvania Avenue Southeast
    Washington, DC 20003
    (202) 543-2725
  • Valencia's Luncheria- Venezuelan food, Arrepa-sandwich/wrap
172 Main Street
Norwalk, CT 06851
Tel: (203) 846-8009
  • Deep Fried Hot Dog - Rawley's Drive In

    1886 Post Road
    Fairfield, CT 06430
    203-259-9023
  • O'Rourke's Diner - Banana Bread French Toast, Corned Beef Hash, Steamed Burger
    728 Main Street
    Middletown, CT 06457
    Tel: (860) 346-6101


Saturday, November 01, 2008

No Knead Bread

Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery
Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

NY Times Article: The Secret of Great Bread: Let Time Do the Work

Faster No Knead Bread - Mark Bittman follow up

Almost No Knead Bread from Cook's Illustrated

Makes 1 large round loaf. Published January 1, 2008. From Cook's Illustrated.

An enameled cast-iron Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid yields best results, but the recipe also works in a regular cast-iron Dutch oven or heavy stockpot. (See the related information in "Making Your Dutch Oven Safe for High-Heat Baking" for information on converting Dutch oven handles to work safely in a hot oven.) Use a mild-flavored lager, such as Budweiser (mild non-alcoholic lager also works). The bread is best eaten the day it is baked but can be wrapped in aluminum foil and stored in a cool, dry place for up to 2 days.

Ingredients

3
cups unbleached all-purpose flour (15 ounces), plus additional for dusting work surface
1/4 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water (7 ounces), at room temperature
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons mild-flavored lager (3 ounces)
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Instructions

  1. 1. Whisk flour, yeast, and salt in large bowl. Add water, beer, and vinegar. Using rubber spatula, fold mixture, scraping up dry flour from bottom of bowl until shaggy ball forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 8 to 18 hours.

  2. 2. Lay 12- by 18-inch sheet of parchment paper inside 10-inch skillet and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and knead 10 to 15 times. Shape dough into ball by pulling edges into middle. Transfer dough, seam-side down, to parchment-lined skillet and spray surface of dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with finger, about 2 hours.

  3. 3. About 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place 6- to 8-quart heavy-bottomed Dutch oven (with lid) on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Lightly flour top of dough and, using razor blade or sharp knife, make one 6-inch-long, 1/2-inch-deep slit along top of dough. Carefully remove pot from oven and remove lid. Pick up dough by lifting parchment overhang and lower into pot (let any excess parchment hang over pot edge). Cover pot and place in oven. Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue to bake until loaf is deep brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 210 degrees, 20 to 30 minutes longer. Carefully remove bread from pot; transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.

Not Martha website

A Year in Bread blog with Italian Sausage Flavored No Knead Bread Recipe


Cooks.com No Knead Bread Variation recipes