Homemade sourdough bread and some other things...

After trying to make a sourdough starter a couple times (in order to make sourdough bread) in the past and getting frustrated because it wasn't working, I finally succeeded!!

I was looking on-line for a recipe and I came across one that sounded like it might work, here it is...

After mixing the rye flour and water it looks as you would imagine.

This was after 5-6 days of feeding it each day more flour and water ( I didn't get a shot of the final day).

You can see more bubbles and it's starting to smell like sourdough bread.

I did make the sourdough bread recipe that was given in the link above, but I wasn't happy with it.  I did what the link above says to do which is to put the starter in the refrigerator and feed it, but less often just to keep it going.  I did my own thing and used all purpose flour instead of rye flour (because it was too "rye" tasting).  I also did my own thing and followed Jim Lahey's no-kneed method.  Which is easy as can be but in place of a little flour and the yeast I added about 1/2 cup of the starter and let it sit for 18 hours before doing Jim Lahey's final step and baking it off which is to bake it in a cast iron pot.  It was very delicious!!

I roasted some eggplant and onions.  I layered the roasted vegetables in this baking dish along with some goat cheese, some jarred roasted peppers and diced tomato.  I drizzled some balsamic vinegar and olive oil over it all and let it sit for an hour or so and served it with the fresh out of the oven sourdough bread!

Artichokes filled with mushroom duxelles and a crunchy top
basically you saute finely diced shallots with finely diced Bella mushrooms and after they begin to brown season with salt and pepper, deglaze with Mederia wine and finish with a splash of heavy cream.  Fill the jarred artichokes that you cut in half the long way with this duxelles filling and top with a combination of bread crumbs and olive oil then sprinkle over top.  Bake until browned on top and heated through.

Devil's on horseback

This is dried prunes (re-hydrated with port wine) filled with a whole almond in the center and bacon wrapped around.  Broil until the bacon is cooked and for some reason they serve these with toast points.  I didn't think the toast points were necessary but I read that is what they do in Britten. 

Salad with a crust-less leek tart and Hibiscus flour stuffed with goat cheese

I had a drink recently that had a hibiscus flour at the bottom of the glass.  To recreate that drink at home I got these flowers at the liqueur store and the bottle suggested this appetizer so I did it.

Pan seared salmon with mushroom polenta and peas

Homemade ravioli filled with ricotta, basil and pine nuts with a tomato cream sauce

Deviled eggs topped with radish

I flavored these with mayo, mustard, apple cider vinegar, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper

New York Strip steak with roasted asparagus and roasted Russet potato

Pear cupcakes with caramel, cream cheese frosting and a pear chip