A mother-daughter conversation on food and cooking (mostly)

Sunday, August 26, 2007

More Artisan Bread, and Chicken Stew




I continue to work on slow-rise bread (see August 17th). I find that good equipment is so important. Pictured here is a Marie Callendar pie tin, which I’ve been using for baking round loaves (and toasting nuts, and roasting sweet potatoes, and everything else) ever since you worked at Marie’s in high school.

I have tried proofing the loaf directly in the pan, but I’m not getting enough oven spring because the skin of the loaf gets too dry. So now I need to go back to letting it rise in a bowl and using the soft underbelly as the top of the loaf. I'll report back later.

***

I made a wonderful chicken stew this week. It was similar to several Mexican recipes I’ve made in the past, but this was a cookbook-free endeavor

Mexican Chicken Stew with Tomatillos

Brown thoroughly in olive oil:
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut in half

Add to pan:
1 thickly sliced onion
4 cloves garlic
and continue to brown.

Then add:
1 pound husked tomatillos, cut in quarters
1 small can ranchera-style salsa (that’s the dark, hot one)
Water or chicken broth to desired consistency
1 teaspoon oregano
Salt, pepper

Simmer, partially covered, about 1 ½ hours or until tender.

1 comment:

Eva said...

I still have several of those pie tins, too. They're just sturdy enough to use over and over, but just cheap enough to be thoroughly abused -- broiled in, dented, even run through the dishwasher on occasion. They are especially perfect for roasting squash seeds.