Ann_T

@KennethT, what a beautiful fish dish. I got out of work late and didn't get home until 5:40. I had a presalted 17oz Sterling Silver NY Strip ready to go on the new grill. Turned the grill on to heat. Got the potatoes peeled and cut into wedges, cut a sweet potato using a potato crinkle cutter, broke the stem end off of fresh local green beans, and cut up a red pepper. Tossed the vegetables with fresh garlic and olive oil, salt and pepper. Got the potatoes going on the grill along with the sweet potatoes. The green beans and the peppers went into the preheated vegetable grill pan which I moved to the upper rack. Moved the sweet potatoes to the grill pan. This rack folds out to add a lot more square inches of cooking space and also folds back and drops down to rest against the back of the grill if it isn't needed. When the vegetables were just about done, the steak went on and was grilled over the sear zone. We were eating by 6:20. Shared platter for two. I think I like the new Weber.

Too hot to turn on the oven yesterday so baked a small loaf of rye in the new grill. We sampled the smoke chicken breast on rye last night and Moe wanted it again for breakfast this morning.

Smoked two small chickens, started early this morning. Moe had two legs for lunch and for dinner we had thinly sliced smoked chicken breast on homemade rye. (no pics)

Moe and I shared a platter of wings done on my new grill. Ordered a new gas grill and is was delivered yesterday. Had planned to grill last night but postponed until this morning. No sides.

love the idea of potatoes in your tacos. Moe asked for a loaded omelette for breakfast this morning. A loaded omelette varies depending what I have on hand. This mornings omelette was loaded with onions, mushrooms, Italian sausage, red peppers, potatoes, salt, pepper and fresh oregano. Served with Black Russian tomatoes from Matt's garden, and toasted sourdough bread. I'm working today so this should keep him going almost until dinner.

@Duvel, beautiful setting. Very similar to what you see here on the west Coast of Canada. Easy dinner last night. Made hard shell tacos. And a pitcher of Sangria.

I love green peppercorns in different sauces. You can buy them brined or dried. I only use the dried ones because I don't like the flavour that the brine adds to a dish. I usually just soak the dried ones in chicken or beef broth, or wine to soften them a little before adding to a sauce.

@PatrickT, there is nothing lame about any of your loaves. I like the idea of the smoked salmon and cream cheese with the dill bread. I started a sourdough Levain Thursday morning and made the dough Thursday night. It remained in the fridge until yesterday morning, when Matt took it out to make a couple of pizzas. He divided the dough in half and put the other half back into the fridge. I took it out this morning, not sure if the dough still had some life, but decided that I had nothing to lose, so I made some breadsticks. Rolled out the dough, brushed with olive oil and sprinkled half with fresh rosemary and parmesan and the other half with black pepper and parmesan. After twisting, sprinkled with a little sea salt and let sit covered for 40 minutes. I forgot what a PITA making breadsticks is so I stopped after a bit and then just shaped the remaining dough into three tiny boules.

Green Peppercorn Steak for dinner tonight. Steak was a Sterling Silver NY York Strip that weight just over 17 oz. Big enough for Moe and I to share. Served with Parisienne potatoes, sautéed cremini mushrooms and steamed carrots and asparagus. Steak is always an easy worknight dinner.

I've never heard of "Fish in Crazy Water" so I looked it up. I think I will have to make it this way the next time we have halibut. Made an Italian sausage and mushroom pizza for dinner tonight. Same day pizza dough. Made the dough this morning and left it on the counter for 8 hours.

Moe's breakfast - Meatball Sandwich on homemade baguette.

Spaghetti and Meatballs for dinner last night.

I mix everything together and then cover and leave it to rest (autolyze) for at least 30 minutes up to an hour. Depending on what I'm doing. Then I start the stretch and folds, cover and leave the dough to rest again for 20 to 30 minutes. I do at least four of these autolyze, stretch and folds, until the dough feels right. The autolyze, stretch and folds is in place of kneading. I use this same method whether the dough is at 63% hydration or over 80%. It is the rests and the stretch and folds that develop the gluten. At one time I use to hold off adding the yeast and the salt until after the first mix and autolyze, but I have found that adding the yeast and salt at the beginning of the process does not effect the dough at all. I have another Pictorial showing the different stages and how the dough develops between the rests and stretch and folds. There is also a Hydration Chart at the end of the post. Artisan Bread – Step By Step Pictorial (thibeaultstable.com)

@Deephaven, this boule is perfection. I use the same Autolyze Stretch and Fold method for every bake. But I do vary the hydration from 63 to 68 and occasionally higher. I recently started to make a Levain, as the preferment. Both a sourdough levain or one made with just a gram of yeast. I also do same day bakes with just a tiny bit of yeast, like my last post. I've had my blog since 2009 and there are many bread posts. Since 2014 I've used the Stretch and Fold method. I did a blog post this morning on a recent baguette bake using a sourdough levain. There is also a link on the post on how I shape my baguettes. This methods works for me, but there are also a number of videos on You tube with shaping techniques by professional bakers.

One baguette - two breakfasts. Moe had a bowl of blueberries with toasted baguette and I had toasted baguette with tomatoes. Tomato was a Black Prince from Matt's garden.

The steel stone I ordered has not arrived yet, but in anticipation, I decided to bake longer baguettes on my regular stone. I bought some lava rocks to create steam in the oven and wanted to try them out. This was a same day dough made earlier yesterday morning and left on the counter from about 11 AM until 6:00 PM before shaping. Baked six long baguettes. Sliced this morning. Lots of shine.

Stir fry for dinner tonight. Chicken with Gai Lan and Shiitake Mushrooms, ginger, garlic, etc...... over rice.

I don't think I have ever had Atlantic halibut so I can't compare. All I know is , that halibut is the only fish that I actually like and would be happy to eat it more often if it wasn't so expensive.

Went shopping before work this morning and bought fresh halibut. We had halibut fish and chips for dinner.

Blueberry season and Moe loves blueberries with or without sliced bananas in milk for breakfast with a side of toasted homemade bread.

@JoNorvelleWalker, I'm sorry you are still dealing with health issues. Hope you are back to baking soon. Thank you for letting me know that you use yours for bread. I'm excited to get my steel. Just noticed though that the size I need 14" X 22" x 3/8 isn't the norm so it is custom made and will take three to four weeks.

What an interesting combination of flavours. I love your perfect rabbit. Ears and tail. I probably did this in the wrong order, but I decided to buy a Baking Steel. The one I bought is just slightly bigger than the stone I currently use and have for years. The stone is 14" X 20, and the steel I ordered is 14" X 22" X 3/8" and weighs 31lbs. I should probably have read the thread on Baking Pizza on a Baking Steel first. But I was hoping to find a thread dedicated to baking bread on a steel. Does anyone here bake their baguettes/breads on a steel? Mini baguettes, Claude size, came out of the oven last night. Baked for my little 5 year old pal. Claude and his mom have been in China for the last two months visiting Xiao's family. Promised him baguettes. And the small boules were baked early this morning. Both doughs started with a levain with 1g of yeast and 15g of discard. Levain was added to 1000g of flour, 30g of salt and 680g of water. Made 12 hours apart, and both in the fridge immediately after the last stretch and folds. Baguette dough was taken out of the fridge yesterday morning for last night's bake and the dough for the Boules came out of the fridge last night around 9:00 PM and the dough was ready to use at 3:30 AM this morning.

Thanks @KennethT.

Last night's dinner. This is a bastardized version of Chicken Curry with Aloo Gobi. I've made this a couple of times now. The basic idea came from Andy's East Coast Kitchen. He uses a Tikka Masala curry paste. I make my own paste with different curry spices, ginger and garlic and a little olive oil. Chicken legs, cauliflower and potatoes are coated well with the paste and tossed into a shallow roasting pan and roasted until everything is cooked and browned. Half way through, I tossed everything for even browning, and added a chopped tomato and a little chicken broth. Finished with chopped cilantro and served with basmati rice and homemade Chapati. You will have to take my word for it that it tastes better than it looks.

@blue_dolphin, oooh nice tomato. And perfect toasted BLT. Moe wanted hard boiled (steamed) eggs for breakfast. Served on toasted baguette.