Knead to Know (Round 2)

Another stellar Knead to Know night. Great friends, great pizza and a great volume of wine.
The pictures say it all.

Please sir, can I have S'more..

What to do on a rainy, lazy Saturday in San Francisco???
Easy, get the hell outta there and head to Marin county for pie!

Marin local celebrity chef Tyler Florence is a big fan of Buckeye roadhouse S'more pie, and only for him I wouldn't have known about this hidden gem.
Everything you love about a S'more, but in pie form.

Ambiance and decor are old school, but charming.

So take a spin and check it out, and pick me up on the way...

Croissants worth waking up for...

Ingredients

150ml (1/4 pint) milk
25g (1oz) sugar
150ml 91/4 pint) water, at blood temperature
5g (1/4 oz) dried yeast
450g (1 lb) strong white flour
pinch of salt
275g (10oz) unsalted butter

Heat the milk and water to blood temperature and dissolve the sugar in it. Add the yeast and stir to dissolve.

In your Kitchen Aid bowl add flour and salt. With the k paddle mix in only 2oz of the butter. Add the yeast liquid to the flour mix. Knead until smooth, about 6-7 minutes on speed 1. Don't let the dough get too warm when mixing, 80oF is the Max.
Cover with cling film and rest in the fridge for 2 hours.

Using a rolling pin, role the remaining 8oz of butter into a thin layer between 2 pieces of grease proof or cling film.
After the 2 hours role out oyur dough into a rectangle. Place your butter layer on one half of the dough rectangle, leaving a 1 inch gap around the sides. Fold over the other side over the butter.

Roll the dough into another rectangle. Fold that rectangle into a book fold (bring one side in then fold the other side over that, like a book).
Try to keep the side aligned, it will give you a better end result.
Cover with cling wrap and rest for 30 minutes.

After the 30 minutes rest once again roll the dough into a rectangle. When rolling make sure the open ends are facing you. Fold your dough into the shape of a book again (3 folds). Rest in fridge again for 30 minutes.
Repeat this one more time, 3 times in total.

Roll the pastry 5mm (1/4 inches) thick, 35cm (14 inches) wide and as long a possible (around 55cm/22in).
Trim the edges to get nice clean lines. A pizza cutter is the best way to get clean lines)
Cut the pastry in half lengh ways. Then divide the strips into squares, then equilateral triangles. Each side about 15cm (6 inches).

Preheat the oven to 220oC/425oF.

Start at the base of the triangle and roll it as tightly as possible towards the tip. Place the croissants on a baking sheet with the small tip f the croissant tucked underneath ( if the tip is not underneath it will unravel while baking)
Egg wash the croissants and put in a warm spot for 45-1hr or when they have doubled in side. Be careful not to over proof.

Bake the croissants for 10 minutes at 420oF, then reduce the temperature to 180c/350oF for 10 minutes until golden brown.

Croissants maybe be filled with all kinds of things, from almond paste, cheese, garlic butter or chocolate etc.

Knead To Know

The underground restaurant ring is something that is taking SF by storm.
Some of the best food I have ever eaten was cooked for me by a man who had been laid off from his job as a lawyer a few months prior to starting his own underground restaurant in his living room in the city.
I was blown away, and I wanted in.

However, his was fine dining, and for those of you who know me you don't I don't do fine dining. I'll eat it, but I won't cook it.
I wanted to do something that would make it worth my customers time and effort to leave their homes for on a Winters night. So for me A pizzeria was a no-brainer.

A lot of friends, pizza and cheap wine made for a great night.
Thanks to all that showed, you definitely made me feel that it was all worth while.
Hope everyone had a good time.

To market to market to buy a fat pig...

Autumn is my favorite time of year.
You can't beat an Autumn in Ireland, but San Francisco comes pretty close.
The sun keeps shining but there is a distinct chill in the air that only comes at this time of year.
Apart from the obvious foliage that comes with the change in the season we can't forget the most important thing that Fall brings, and that great produce.
Strolling through my local farmers market recently I was inspired by the beautiful array of fruit and vegetable. I'll admit I could recognise a lot of it and have no idea what to do with a purple cauliflower but its fun finding out.
I had just made a chicken stock and wanted to use it wisely so everything I bought was intended for a big stew, and since my Mammy is miles away I was going to have to make it myself.

Enjoy this season while it last.

Tea and cake!!!

This recipe has always been very well received over the years as I have taken it from one place to another. I usually don't hand over my master recipes with out a fight but to be fare I can not take the credit for this as it is easily available in the Avoca Handweavers cook book. One of many that are my go to recipes for any occasion.

For those of you who don't know, Avoca Handweavers restaurant is a gem that can be found nestled in the Wicklow Mountains. Very similar in style to Ballymaloe's food its the best kind of comfort food around. I would always set out early when heading from Wexford to Dublin just so I would have time to drop in to grab a coffee and scone for my road trip.



Carrot Cake

400g/14oz caster sugar
4 eggs
400ml/14floz sunflower oil
400g/14oz self-raising flour
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon salt
400g/14oz carrots, grated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing

175g/6oz butter, softened
Juice from ½ a lemon
350g/12oz icing sugar, sifted
2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

-Whisk eggs, sugar and oil in an electric mixer using a balloon whisk until thick and pale
-Turn down the speed to low and mix in the flour, mixed spice and salt.
-Fold in the carrot and vanilla extract.
-Pour the mixture into two 2lb loaf tins greased and lined with parchment paper.
-Bake at 170oC/325oF/gas mark 3 for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Cool in the tin for 15 minutes then turn out on a wire rack to cool completely.
-To make the icing, beat the cream cheese, butter, lemon juice and vanilla until combined, then add in the icing sugar and mix until light and flurry.

Sunday Brunch

One of my most favorite meals is Brunch. I think this is also the same reason I love the Castro. If there's something the guys there know is how to make a good brunch, and pull off leather hot pants but thats a different blog.

I decided to have friends over on our deck for Brunch.
Good food, good company and good mimosas, What more do you want on a lazy summer Sunday.