Dark Herb Bread

I used this bread for the Cheddar Tomato Spread (recipe on previous post). It has a great texture for sandwiches and went well with the sharp Cheddar.

I broke down and finally bought a mortar and pestle after trying to pulverize the garlic and herbs with an ice cream scope and saucer! It's from my favorite bread book, James Beard's On Bread.
2 packets dry yeast
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar (1 used raw sugar, which was yummy; the yeast like it alot.)
1 1/2 cup warm water (warm on the wrist,like a baby bottle -- about 100 to 115 degrees)
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup rye flour
1 1/2 cups white flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon salt (I used Kosher)
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 small cloves of garlic, peeled
2 Tablespoons parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon rosemary

Proof the yeast with the water, sugar, and 1/2 cup water.
Mix the flours, reserving 1/2 cup of white flour.
Add the salt, pepper, and olive oil and mix well.
Add the yeast mixture and 1 cup water.
Mix into a sticky dough.
Grind the parsley, garlic, and rosemary into a paste. (Ice cream scoop doesn't work very well!)
Work the paste into your dough.
If you have a small food processor, divide dough in half and work half at a time with the bread blade. Process until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour if needed.
After you knead both halves, place in in a well-oiled bowl, turn to coat, with the oil.
Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Punch down, knead another 5 minutes, and shape into two loaves.
Place in two well-buttered bread tins.
Cover and allow to rise above the rim of the loaf tin.(Cover with plastic or brush with oil to prevent dough from drying out)
Slash the loaves about 1/2 inch deep with a sharp knife or razor blade.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 30 minutes.

More Christmas High Tea

We also had two kinds of meat sandwiches.

Roast Beef, Gorgonzola, and Pear Sandwich

100% Whole Wheat Bread, 1 loaf
Roast beef, deli sliced (plain), 1/2 to 1 pound, depending on how thick you make the sandwiches
2 firm, yet ripe, pears
1 eight ounce container of Gorgonzola crumbled cheese, room temp
1 ounce cream cheese, softened to room temp

Mix the Gorgonzola and the cream cheese and set aside
Slice the pears (you can leave the peels on if you have a thin-skinned pear)

Butter the bread (as discussed in the previous blog -- keeping your sandwiches fresh)
Spread with the Gorgonzola mix
Top with pear slices and roast beef
Finish off sandwich with another piece of bread.
Cut off crusts and cut up in halves or quarters.

Turkey and Cranberry-Jalapeno Salsa Sandwich

1 loaf brioche bread
1/2 to 1 pound deli sliced turkey breast
8 ounces cranberry jalapeno salsa (recipe to be posted here)

Butter the bread for freshness.
Spread with the cranberry jalapeno salsa.
Top with another slice of buttered bread.
Cut of crusts and cut into halves or quarters.

Tomorrow I'll post the salsa recipe, courtesy of my good friends, Steve and Christy, and the bread recipes I used, courtesy of Mr. James Beard's On Bread.

How to Dirty Lots of Dishes

I hosted Christmas Day High Tea yesterday. Holiday events for my family are generally very casual, buffet-style meals, plates loaded with everyone's favorite delicious dishes and kids plopped in front of the TV. But, for reasons ranging from my own expanding waistline to my father's recent illness, I wanted to focus the event on family togetherness--enforced or not.

The tea party was a great success in this regard--my guests enjoyed visiting with the people at their tables (unfortunately, I have a house-of-small-rooms, so there isn't anywhere we can all sit together), and my oldest daughter led us in a rousing game of Victorian Steampunk Tea Party Trivia as the maid (oh, wait, that's me, isn't it?) cleared the tables. Lots of good-spirited competition there.

My tea party was resplendent with china, silver, cloth napkins, fancy centerpieces, etc. Not only did I dig out my own good china (service for 8), I went to the thrift store and bought more. That would be one of the first features to go in the casual partying most of us are used to. And I agree, the people are more important than the plates, and saving the already-overworked host or hostess some time is vital. But once in a while, the nice things are . . . well. . . nice.

I was reading this morning about accoutrement of religious ritual. I thought about attending Christmas morning mass, then coming home to set up my tea party. So many pretty objects! They are just that, pretty objects, until they're dedicated to a higher purpose: honoring God and focusing the worship of the people or honoring my folks and focusing us on each other. I think it was worth an other hour or two washing dishes last night.

But what did we have to eat? Here's the recipes for the finger sandwiches:

Black Olive Spread on Sourdough
Purchased sourdough sandwich bread (1 loaf) I used Pepperidge Farm
1 15-16 oz can of pitted black olives, drained
1 8 oz pack cream cheese at room temperature, cut in chunks
cream or half and half

Chop the can of drained olives in the food processor. Add the cream cheese, process, adding a little cream as needed to achieve a smooth, spreadable consistency.

Cheddar Cheese and Sundried Tomato on Dark Herb Bread
Dark Herb Bread (recipe to follow in this blog, or use your own favorite)
1 cup sundried tomatos (soften in hot water if they are not packed as "ready to serve")
1 and 3/4 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup cream cheese, room temp
cream or half and half

Process the tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and cream cheese in the food processor, adding cream as needed to achieve a smooth, spreadable consistency.

To keep your sandwiches fresh for storing in the fridge until tea time, thinly butter both sides of the bread, then spread with the sandwich filling. Cut off the crusts. Cut the sandwiches into halves or quarters. Store in an airtight container, placing a piece of wax paper between each layer.


Tea Party, part two,next time.