Ann_T

Last night's dinner, our traditional roast beef dinner. And for dessert, I baked Portuguese Custard Tarts (Pasteis de Nata).

There are so many different methods, that I just found it really confusing when I decided to get into sourdough baking. Some feed every day and waste an incredible amount of flour, some save all of their discard and use large amounts in their recipes. So when I started to do my homework, I went with the instructions from Amy's Bread, a bakery in NY that has been around for years. Amy Scherber's instructions were really easy to follow and once the starter was ready to maintain, it was easy to maintain as well. I always start with a clean container. I weigh out 172g (6 oz) of starter and feed it with 86g (3oz) of flour and 86g (3oz)of bottled water. What is left in the original container is the discard. I use some of the discard, either directly in to a batch of dough, or I make a preferment, usually a biga using 60 to 80g of discard into 220g of flour and 220g of water. Once the fed starter has doubled , it goes back into the fridge until next feeding. Even when I forget it for a couple of months, it bounces right back after one to two feedings. I think because I am consistent with the formula for feeding, my starter seems to have a consistent sourness.

I had thought of making cabbage rolls last week, but that didn't happen. So I started them early this morning. They went into the oven before 7:00 AM west coast time. They are intended for dinner but Moe is hoping to have some for breakfast.

I fed both my starters yesterday morning and used 80g of discard in 220g of water and 220g of flour for a biga. I still had some discard left so I mixed 30g of the discard with 30g of water and 30g of flour (1 oz each of discard, flour, water). For a very tiny biga. Last night, I put the full size biga in the fridge and I used the little one in 600g of flour with 7g of salt and just a tiny .5 g (less than 1/4 tsp) of yeast. This was insurance because I wasn't sure how strong the little biga would be. I would skip the yeast next time. It really wasn't needed. After the last stretch and fold the dough was left on the counter overnight from 8PM until 3AM for a 7 hour room temperature fermentation. Baked one larger Batard and two smaller ones. All proofed in banneton proofing baskets.

Worknight dinner. My favourite steak with a sauce. Usually I make Green Peppercorn steak using beef tenderloin. Served with roasted potatoes, broccolini, cauliflower and sauted cremini mushrooms The green peppercorn sauce was really good. Added a little Armagnac to the sauce.

I agree with Patrick. Large Boule made from dough that had been given a six day cold fermentation.

I had a pork tenderloin that I had intended to do something with last night and didn't. So instead I made Moe pork souvlaki for breakfast. Cooked on the grill and served with rice and Greek Salad. I'm taking the same for lunch.

Baked 6 small baguettes early this morning. Dough had been in the fridge for a four day fermentation. For breakfast, Moe had peanut butter and honey on a toasted split baguette.

I know I'm in the minority, but I also do not want any ketchup or tomato/bbq sauce on meatloaf. I don't want a sweet sauce. And I like it served with mashed potatoes so I want the dripings to make a savory sauce/gravy. It is so difficult now to find veal, especially ground veal.

@YvetteMT, I hope you like it. Nice to see that I'm not the only one that really hates ketchup. it is only used in our house for one thing and that is for the Tunnel BBQ sauce. Moe had a meatloaf sandwich for dinner last night on a baguette. Before leaving for work yesterday morning I made my pastry so I could bake an apple pie. But apple pie needs to cool before cutting so I made an apple galette so I cut it while it was still warm.

Halibut in parchment. Served with rice and zucchini on the side.

@rotuts I just brush with a little melted butter to help with browning. Thanks Tropicalsenior.

I got a head start on dinner yesterday morning. I decided to make my meatloaf. It is the only meatloaf that I like. Meatloaf is something I would never eat. Just hated the idea of meatloaf because almost every meatloaf used ketchup or some other tomato sauce and it just never appealed to me. Back in the late 90's we were in Charleston, SC and we had lunch at Magnolias. They had a meatloaf on the menu that was made from veal, grilled served with a light gravy/sauce. This was a meatloaf that actually appealed to me. It was so good that once we got home, I made my own version as best as I could remember. Over the years, it has been difficult to find ground veal so I switched to using ground pork. Ready for the oven. Making it early in the day, makes it easier to slice before grilling. Just out of the oven. There were enough drippings to make a nice sauce/gravy. Magnolia's Grilled Meatloaf with mashed potatoes, corn custard, beets and zucchini.

Today's bake - two large Italian loaves. Started two dough's last night. Both 300g of my bread flour and 300g of Semolina flour. 1.5g yeast, 8g of salt, 75% hydration. Autolyze, stretch and fold method over three hours and then left on the counter from 8:30 PM last night until 3:00 AM this morning. Baked in Dutch ovens.

Moe's Sunday breakfast. Still had the other half of the NY strip steak to do something with so I made him an open faced steak sandwich. Grilled the steak, split a small baguette, rubbed with garlic and a little butter and toasted it on the grill. Served topped with fried mushrooms, caramelized onions with homemade fries.

Planned on grilling a NY Strip for two for dinner last night. Didn't happen. So this morning I cut the steak in half and made Moe steak and eggs for breakfast. The eggs are fresh from a local farm and the potatoes are also from a local farm stall.

Quick and easy work night dinner. I bought three racks of pork (loins) recently and cut a couple of chops off one of them. Got home from work about 5:15 tonight and we were eating at 5:55. Put a pot of water on to boil for my rice. I cook rice the same way I cook pasta. Big pot of boiling water. When al dente, the rice is drained and put back into the pot covered with paper towels and lid and left to steam from its own heat. The chops were seasoned with fresh garlic, oregano, pepper, olive oil and fresh lemon juice, and left on the counter, while the rice cooked and the grill was heating. While all that was going on , I made the Greek Salad. When the rice was cooked, the chops went on the grill and didn't take very long on high heat to reach 140°F. Let rest for five minutes and dinner was ready to serve.

Last night's dinner. Roast chicken.

Made egg salad sandwiches for breakfast on homemade rye bread.

I like to have a few doughs on the go in the fridge. I will sometimes make three or four batches at one time. I started to write the date on the lid so they don't get mixed up. I had two in the fridge, one from January 1st and one that I apparently forgot about that went into the fridge on December 26th. I actually debated whether to just toss it, but decided what the hell, so I took it out this morning and rather than leave it on the counter to come to warm temperature, I just divided the dough in half, into two 500g pieces. I was surprised that the dough still felt good. Still had some tension. So I shaped one into a ball for Matt to make pizza later this morning and the other I shaped into a small loaf. Left it to proof for about 90 minutes and baked. I figured I had nothing to lose. So this is my beautiful little loaf made from after a nine day fermentation.

I still had some beef tenderloin left from the other night. Moe requested it for one of his favourite breakfasts. Scrambled eggs with beef and gravy.

First bake of 2025. Rye Bread. Made a cocktail loaf and baked one loaf in a bread pan. I also fed both my starters which I had not fed since the end of November. Both bounced back quickly and had doubled in less than 8 hours. Will make a batch of sourdough this week.

First dinner of 2025. Baked a bone in ham and served with scalloped potatoes, squash, and Brussel Sprouts.

It has been our tradition for 50 plus years to have lobster or Dungeness crab on NY Eve. With a bottle of champagne. This year we had to do something different because both lobster and crab are high in sodium. I made one of Moe's favourites - I bought a beautiful piece of Sterling Silver beef tenderloin and made Grilled beef tenderloin kabobs. Served with rice, steamed green beans and fried mushrooms. And instead of champagne we had a lovely bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. A gift from Matthew.

Matt baked two pizzas this morning using a dough that had been in the fridge since December 24th for a five day cold fermentation. First out of the oven was a Detroit Pepperoni Pizza. (vegetable pepperoni) Second out of the oven, this one baked on the steel, a New York Green Pepper Kalamata Pizza. Having tried various "pizza doughs", I have never found one I like better for a pizza than my baguette dough.