Sourdough Buckwheat Hoagies

The dough rising in bowl.  Look at the great texture of the Buckwheat Flour

I love fresh baked bread and the other day I bought some hoagies at the store.  They were terrible.  Dry and tasteless.   But it did inspire me to get in the kitchen and bake some of my own.  I love buckwheat flour.  Did you know it is a perfect protein grain.  It has 9 essential amino acids and is high in fiber and I think off the charts in flavor.  Especially in breads, like hoagies, French breads, pizza dough, and my favorite,  pancakes.  I love the texture and the beauty of the grain added to doughs.  The flavor is so, how do I say it with out scaring you, so farmish.  I mean it reminds me of something from the farm,  fresh baked and rustic.     The flavor is deep and rich,  I love it.

I am always amazed at how easy breads are to make and how we just don't take the time to bake anymore.  Hands on time is minutes and the end result it worth the small amount of time spent to create breads that are wonderful.

A good friend of mine taught me that a fresh baked bread can take any meal from simple to a gourmet experience.  I believe.  Fresh baked bread is amazing and wonderful and even a sandwich on fresh baked bread can be a gourmet experience.  



 


I always measure the dough on a scale for the exact weight I need.  For these hoagies I measure the dough out into 7 oz.  balls after I have let the dough rise to double after mixing it in the mixer.













  After I have divided the dough into 7 oz. pieces I roll them out on a slightly floured surface.    I roll from the sides making it fat in the middle and thin on the sides.

I Place the rolled out hoagies on my French Bread Pans.   You can use jelly roll pans with parchment if you don't have the French Bread Pans.   Right before baking them after they have raised double I use a knife and score the buns.   

     I cover the dough to keep it warm.  It helps the dough rise faster.  

The end result, fresh baked hoagies.  They are so lovely.  And if you could smell them.   Oh my, wonderful in every way,  tender and packed with flavor.

  

   Baking bread is a wonderful experience.  I always feel great after I spend time in the kitchen baking bread.  Nothing can compare to the sense of accomplishment of baking and sharing it with others. 

    Remember,if you are not enjoying your baking experience,  you are doing something wrong.   Maybe it's time for a Chef Brad Class.  Go to www.chefbrad.com for classes.  Enjoy your baking experience.  Chef Brad~America's Grain Guy

Recipe

Sourdough Buckwheat Hoagies

1 cup sour dough starter   (available at www.chefbrad.com)

3 cups warm water

1/4 cup oil

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons honey or Xagave

2 cup fresh ground buckwheat flour

2 tablespoons yeast

6 to 8  cups good quality white flour, 

Place the starter, water, oil, salt,  sweetener, buckwheat flour, half the  white flour, with yeast on top, in your mixer.  Turn on mixer and add more flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead for 6 minutes and place in an oiled bowl,  raise until double.   Cut the dough into 7 oz pieces and roll out into hoagies.     Rolling out from the sides leaving the middle fatter.  Place on parchment paper or French roll pan and let rise until double.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until done.    Enjoy

Third Sunday Dinner Report February 2014

Happy people eating and enjoying Mesa's wonderful weather.  

     Third Sunday Dinners are always the best.  I enjoy each and everyone and look forward to see who shows up.  We never know how many or who will come to dinner.  I love meeting new people and having new experiences each month.  The weather in Arizona is perfect. It was so wonderful having it outside in the back yard with perfect weather. Amazing.
     Each month my appreciation grows for the opportunities we have to invite people into our home and enjoy them and get to know them.  We have been doing these for over 5 years and it only gets better.
     When deciding what to cook I always try to do things that are easy and yes "cost effective".  The challenge is to be creative and still keep the budget low.  Pasta is a great way to keep the costs down. And there are so many different kinds of pasta and literally thousands of ways to cook it.  So this month pasta it was.  I created a really fun dish,  I have no idea what to call it, but it was great.  I cooked bowtie pasta and and placed it in pans and covered it with a whole grain white sauce.  On top of that I cooked shells and filled them with ricotta cheese and red quinoa.  I covered the shells with red sauce and cheese and baked it.  This dish was prepared on Saturday night so on Sunday I just placed it in the oven a couple of hours before to warm it up.

Bow Tie Pasta cooked and tossed
in olive oil  

 



Bow Tie Pasta, cooked and tossed in oil.

Shells stuffed with ricotta cheese
and red quinoa

Pasta and Shells topped with red
sauce and cheese.  

   I stuffed the Shells and put them on the pasta.  I covered them with red sauce and cheese.  Everyone thought it was lasagna.

This is the dough for the Rosemary Flat Bread.  Look at the Teff grain in it.  Added so much texture. 

Flat bread on the table ready to dress
with oil, herbs, and salt.  

        We rolled out and baked 13 breads.  Everyone loved it.  Who does not like fresh baked breads.  I had a pizza stone in the oven and each bread baked quickly.  It is a wonderful way to food a large group.

Tossed Salad

Sweet Chard from my garden with Red Quinoa
Freeze Dried Pinapples 

The Table starting to fill up.  

I love this....

The cute blond is my wife and a dear friend.

I am so happy to be here.

Enjoying the Day

Starting to fill up.  

Is it time for dessert yet.

Please don't take my picture.  

The happy couple.  Soon to me my next door neighbors.  I
am so excited.  How lucky for us.  

    Third Sunday Dinners are fun,  that fun and enjoyment always overshadow the work and efforts that come to it.  Each night after everyone is gone and I take a moment to reflect, I am always humbled and amazed at what just took place our home.  How is your Third Sunday Dinner's  coming. Please share with me and the other readers your adventures.   You can comment below.
Chef Brad~America's Grain Guy and Creator of the Third Sunday Dinner Movement.

Smoked Pheasant

Smoked Pheasant with caramalized onions and fresh rainbow chard.

     Recently a dear friend called me and informed me he had been pheasant hunting and wondered if I wanted some.  I have to say I was a little nervous having never eaten them before.  He owns a Traegar Smoker and knows I have one also and figured that since I was a Chef I would know what to do with a Pheasant.  Having never eaten one, I had never cooked one either.  But I am up to a challenge.  So I wanted nervously for him to bring the birds over.

    He brought over several pheasants and some quail like birds,  I cannot remember the name.  So I placed them in the frig and pondered just what I was going to do with them.

    I love my Smoker.  It is amazing.  Traegar Smokers are the best ever.  I have smoked many things, from meatloaf to potatoes, but never a pheasant.  So I did what I always do in these situations, listen to my instincts.  

    The pheasants and other birds were small, so I was worried about dry meat.   So I decided to brine them.  Brining adds a lot of moisture to the meat and takes away the risks of drying out while cooking.  I brined them in a water, Kosher salt,  sugar,  and pickiling spice blend.  I placed the birds in a bucket with the brine and placed it in the frig for the night.

    Next day I turned on the smoker to low smoke for about 10 minutes.  Rinsed the birds off and tossed them in olive oil, and Penzey's sage.  I added a drop of Xagave.  Tossed it and placed the birds on the grill in the smoker.  I smoked them for 2 hours on low and raised the temp to 185 for another hour and raised the temp to 275 for another hour.  Perfect.

     So here I was with perfectly cooked birds and still a little nervous about them.  So I called another friend who is a big game guide in Alaska and asked him if he wanted to share dinner with me.  I knew  he would appreciate the birds.  So my son and I headed over to thier house.  They were really excited and I was surprized to hear that they had never tried pheasant before either.  So we sat down and started in.  Oh my.  I was thrilled.  The first bite was heaven.  Smoked to perfection with a hint of sage.  We devoured them in a few minutes and I have to say a part of me was disapointed that I had shared.  Not really, it was great enjoying food with someone who really appreciated it.

     It was a wonderful experience, Thank you Joe Hatch for thinking of me and sharing  your birds with me.  Thank you McCarey family and my son Chase for feeding my ego and enjoying my food.  And especially thank you Traegar for the best smoker in the world.  

  The Brine,  salt, sugar, and pickling salt in water.  Brining is amazing and I always brine before smoking meats and poultry.

      Rinsed and tossed in Olive oil, sage, and agave.  

On the smoker.  

       Smoked until they had reached 160 degrees internal temp.  Grill marks, make them look even better.

I served it on fresh chard, sautéed onions, garnished with fresh sage.  I loved this adventure.  Smoking foods can be fun and exciting.  I love a challenge and I love trying new foods. On to the next adventure.  Chef Brad~America's Grain Guy

Pressure Cooker Potato Quinoa Soup

Quinoa Potato Soup with toasted 7 Grain Bread

     I love my pressure cooker and I love to make soups in the pressure cooker.  Making soups in the pressure cooker can be fast and easy and the soups taste great.  Pressure cooking  forces the flavors to expand and speeds up the process in making the meats tender and the grains ready to eat faster.  

   This is the first soup in my Pressure Cooker Soup Series for the winter.  I will share with you some of my favorite recipes in the Pressure Cooker and I will throw in some great bread recipes.  Soup and fresh baked bread can be a gourmet experience,  I think the ultimate experience in food can be as simple as fresh baked bread and a really good soup.  So join me and please if you don't have one yet order your pressure cooker.  You can order it at www.chefbrad.com.   

To make this soup you need some large potatoes.  Peeled and cleaned.  I have a large boneless pork chop that I smoked,  I chopped up small and added it to the soup.   I started with pork in the pressure cooker with some olive oil while I was starting working on the other ingredients.

 



   Potatoes peeled, cut, and ready to cook.

This is the pork in the pot with oil.   It was already smoked and just needed a couple of minutes cooking before I added the potatoes on top.  The pork was already cooked so it will work in six minutes with the potatoes.  Chicken breast would work also, but I would sauté them first and cut the chicken in small pieces.

Next I added the quinoa and vegetable stock.  You can use red, white, or black quinoa.  The reason I use quinoa in this soup is that it takes six minutes to cook.  Just as long as the potatoes.  You can use another grain but it needs to be cooked first.  Another six minutes will not hurt a grain like cooked barley or kamut.

Next I added chopped parsley, frozen sweet corn and toasted onion powder.

   Salt and pepper.   Never under estimate the power of salt and pepper.  Salt is a natural flavor enhancement.  I use only Redmonds Natural Kosher Sea Salt.

    My mother made the best potato soup.  Simple,  potatoes, canned milk, butter, and salt and pepper.  Canned milk is amazing for soups.   This recipe in fact is a souped up rendition of her classic potato soup.  I always keep canned milk in my pantry.  Potatoes and canned milk are the base of a great comfort food.

This is a stove top pressure cooker.  I use both,  the stove top or electric.  Just depends on the mood I am in.

After six minutes in the pressure cooker I add the butter and canned milk.  Let it simmer and enjoy.

Oh so good and filling.  It does not get any better.  

Potato Quinoa Soup

3 large potaoes, peeled and chopped in 1/4 inch pieces
1 large smoked pork chop, optional,  sausage would be great
2 cups quinoa, white, red, or black
8 cups vegetable stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon toasted onion powder,  I use penzeys
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 cube or stick butter
2 cans evaporated milk
2 tablespoons chopped parsley  

In pressure cooker place oil and chopped pork chop.   Suate while peeling potatoes.   Add potatoes, quinoa, stock, onion powder, parsley, salt and pepper.   Bring to boil and place lid on pressure cooker. Cook on high for 6 minutes.  After 6 minutes, remove lid and add canned milk and butter.  Simmer for a few minutes.  If you like it thicker, you can thicken it with a rue.  

Serve with toast and garnish with sliced avocados.   

Enjoy,  Chef Brad~America's Grain Guy

Tomato Bisque Soup

All the ingredients together for a great soup.

 All good soups start with a nice soup pot.   My favorite is Le Creuset and this one is called a Bouillabaisse Pot.  It has a capicity of 7 1/2 quarts.  The perfect size for soup.  I also have the matching 3 1/4 quart size.  I have to say I love Le Creuset.  It is amazing for soups.  The curve allows it to heat evenly.

So first I placed a little olive oil in the bottom and sauted onions, garlic, carrots,  and celery.  The smell starts to fill the kitchen.

  Next I added chopped bell peppers and one minced small jalepeno chili, seeds and all.

    Next I added bay leaves, fresh parsley, and marjoram.  Then a large jar of peeled stewed tomatoes with liquid and 4 cups of broth.   Add Salt and pepper, juice of one half lemon and let it cook.

  Place the lid on top and let simmer until vegetables are tender.  About 15 to 20 minutes.  This also allows the flavors to blend and get stronger.

  This is what is looks like.  Kinda like a stew.  At this point I place the mixture in parts in the Blender to blend.  Remove bay leaves from mixture before blending.  Making sure the lid is on secure, remember the mixture is very hot. Be careful

 

    This is the mixture in the blender.  Ready to blend.  Remember to do it in parts.  If you feel the blender with hot fluid it can be dangerous.

     Next, you will strain the blended ingredeints,  and I cannot tell you how important this is to making a great soup.   You will pour the soup from the blender into a sieve.   This one is called a China Cap.    Just make sure it is fine so that it can create a fine creamy soup.   Let in drain into a pan.  Remember, it is hot.

     This is what is left.  All the chunks that would make the soup not smooth.  Discard.

   The next step is to place butter in your large cooking pot.  Let it melt and add the pureed soup to the butter.  Bring to almost a boil and

Next add heavy cream and stir.  Do not let come to boil again.  High heat will break the cream.

Whisk the cream into the soup. 

This is the finished soup.  

The Finished Product,  Creamy wonderful Tomato Bisque Soup topped with fried onions,
served with fresh baked Potato Bread 

  This actually is the finished product.  An empty bowl.   Totally cleaned with a slice of bread.  I was not going to let any drop stay in the bowl.  No need to wash this bowl.  But of cousre I will anyway.

   Soup making like all foods is best done with the right equipment and quality ingredients.  And of course patience for the end result.  I love making soup.  Enjoy the upcoming recipes.  Chef Brad~America's Grain Guy










The Recipe
Tomato Bisque 

One large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
5 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 teaspoons fresh chopped thyme or marjarom
1 small jalepeno pepper, chopped
1 large can of stewed tomatoes or one quart jar of fresh bottled tomatoes
2 large carrots, sliced
3 stalks of celery, chopped
3 bay leaves
1/2 lemon 
3 cups of heavy cream
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup olive oil 
3 to 4 cups stock
Salt and Pepper 

In large pot, place olive oil and heat up.  Add chopped onion, garlic, celery, and carrots.  Saute for a couple of minutes.  Add peppers, herbs, bay leaves, tomatoes,  stock, and lemon juice.  Simmer for 15 minutes and in parts blend in blender and strain.  Add butter to pan and melt.  Add strained soup and heat up and add heavy cream.  Season to taste and enjoy.   I love to serve this with crumbled goat cheese not feta.  It sinks to the bottom, but the creamy texture and flavor are amazing in this soup.