Easy Cheese Sauce with a Kick

Makes 1 cup of wonderfully creamy, zippy, sauce.

2 Tbl olive oil 3 Tbl flour		Heat olive oil in a fry pan at med-hi; then add flour and use spatula to mix; then reduce heat to medium and cook for about 2-3 minutes.
1 c chicken broth		Meanwhile, heat 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth (we like Swanson Natural Goodness) in the microwave for 2 minutes. Add chicken broth to skillet, and whisk for about 1-2 minutes to mix with the flour/oil roux. (the sauce will be thick)
3 shakes tabasco pepper		Add 3 big shakes from a Tabasco bottle; then freshly ground white or black pepper to taste.
cheddar cheese		Slice ~ 1 oz (extra sharp) cheddar cheese, and lay on top of sauce. Stir until cheese is incorporated into sauce.
ENJOY		We like this with cauliflower - use ~1/4 cup sauce per person. Our son loves it with pasta - use ~1/3 cup per person.

Neal Clark

Easy Baked Salmon for Two

This is a very forgiving recipe; since the salmon cooks at a such a low temperature, it never overcooks.

		Preheat over to 200 degrees. Place two dinner plates in oven and allow to warm.
2 salmon fillets olive oil salt, pepper		Salt the salmon and saute salmon skin side up in a little olive oil over medium high heat. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Move salmon to dinner plates and put in oven. Bake at 200 for approximately 20 minutes.
		Nice served with lemon wedges, or a fruit salsa.

* I sometimes grill the salmon for a few minutes instead of the saute step.

Adapted from Jacques Pepin's Oven-Baked Salmon.
His hazelnut/breadcrumb approach is very tasty also.

Neal Clark

Crusty Whole Wheat/Bulghur Bread

The instructions are long, but well worth the effort. Connie made it for the first time yesterday to sanity-test the recipe, and it was delicious! Once you've made it a few times, you won't need the instructions except for checking ingredient measurements.

Required equipment

• a bread machine (or strong arms !)
• a dutch oven with close fitting lid**
• good quality oven mitts

1/2 c bulgur 1 c water		Bring 1 cup water to a boil in small saucepan. Add 1/2 cup bulgur and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Let cool. After about 5-10 minutes, the bulgur should have absorbed all the water.
1 1/3 c water*** 1 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 Tbl olive oil 1 Tbl dark        molasses		Add water, salt, oil and molasses to bread machine. Add cooled bulgur
2 c bread flour 2 c whole     wheat flour 1 tsp bread-   machine yeast (parmesan)		Add flours to bread machine. Make an indent in the flour with your knuckle and place the yeast in it. I like to add a large handful of shredded parmesan to make the bread a bit richer tasting.
first mix/rise		Start Bread Machine on Dough Cycle After 3 min scrape down sides to make sure all is being mixed. When dough cycle is complete, let dough rise in bread machine for approximately another hour.
form the loaf		Place a smooth (not fuzzy) kitchen towel on the counter and flour one end with whole wheat flour. Dump the dough from the bread machine container onto the floured part of the towel (remember to remove paddle!) Dust the dough with more flour to absorb the surface moisture.
		Pat the dough flat into a rectangular shape, dusting with more flour any sticky parts. Fold the dough like a letter (i.e. 1/3 over, pat down, then other 1/3 over, pat down) Turn the dough 90 degrees, flatten the dough, and fold like a letter again. (add more flour on towel if needed) Turn the dough 90 degrees and pull sides up to form a loaf shape (you will need to 'pinch' the seal)
second rise		Pick up the towel and place in a basket or bowl. (I use a loaf shaped bread basket - about 9" x 7", but a med-large mixing bowl works also) Cover the dough with the un-floured part of the towel, and let rise for approximately 1-2 hours.
preheat		20-30 min before baking: place dutch oven with lid into oven and set heat to 500 degrees. Once oven has reached 500 degrees, leave pot in at least another 5 minutes.
start baking		Reduce temperature to 425 Carefully take pot out of the oven and remove its lid. Using the towel, gently lift the dough from the basket; lower towel into pot and slowly roll the dough off the towel Put lid back and bake for 30 minutes at 425. Remove the cover, bake for another 25 minutes.
finally ..		Remove bread from the pot to a wire rack and let it cool at least 15-20 minutes.

This bread makes wonderful toast.

** You need a fairly heavy pan with close-fitting lid. The pan will hold the heat from pre-heating, and when you add the dough, the steam created is what creates the wonderful crust. We have an assortment of dutch ovens and also ceramic crock pot liners (with glass lids) from the thrift shop. If the cover knob is plastic, it often cannot take the high heat, but you can sometimes replace it with a simple metal drawer pull.

*** if you are in a hurry and your bulgur is a bit warm, use really cold water.

Neal Clark

Crusty Artisan Bread

I've been making variations of this bread since November 2006, where the first versions of the recipe appeared in Mark Bittmann's column in the the New York Times. Later improvements came from Cooks Illustrated in late 2007. There is a great article with instructions and pictures by Nancy Leson of the Seattle Times (May 2008)

This version makes two loaves, and replaces some of the bread flour with whole wheat.

Special requirements:

• parchment paper
• heavy pots with close fitting lids **
• heavy duty pot holders

4 c bread flour 2 c whole     wheat flour 1 T salt 1/2 tsp bread-    machine yeast		Whisk together bread flour, whole wheat flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl.
14 oz water 3/4 c beer 2 Tbl white        vinegar 3 Tbl honey		In separate container, mix water (14 oz is about 1 3/4 cups) and beer (a mild-flavored lager - the recipes suggest Budweiser, but I usually use Henry Weinhard's Blonde) Add the vinegar and honey and mix together well. Add mixed liquids to the flour, using a strong wooden spoon to mix. Cutting through the mixture with a spatula, and turning it also helps to get the ingredients well mixed.
first rise 8-18 hours		Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 8 to 18 hours.
form loaves second rise 2 hours		Dump onto floured surface, dust with flour. Cut the dough in half. For each half: Knead 10-15 times, form into a loaf, and put seam side down in a parchment-paper-lined mixing bowl or large skillet. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for two hours. (Start the preheat step after 1.5 hours)
preheat 30 minutes		Half an hour -before- you are ready to bake, put covered pots ** into oven and turn oven to 500 degrees.
baking		Reduce temperature to 425. With heavy gloves, remove baking containers from oven and place the lids aside. Remove plastic wrap from loaf. Lift loaf by parchment paper and place (paper and loaf) into baking container. Cut an cross into the top using kitchen shears. (See Nancy's picture) Replace lid and bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid and bake for 25 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and cool 1-2 hours.

** You want a heavy pot with a close fitting lid. We have a mix of dutch ovens and also ceramic (crock-pot) liners with glass lids. The preheated pots create steam when the dough is first put in - this is what gives you the wonderful crust.

The trick for the double recipe is that -both- containers need to fit into the oven at the same time. I usually use one dutch oven, and one crock pot liner with glass lid. Test for fit in a cold oven!

Neal Clark

Grilled Lamb

This recipe takes advantage of the boneless lamb roasts (available at Costco, and from some grocery stores). The roast is separated into flatter pieces that will grill beautifully.

lamb		Remove any exterior netting or twine from the lamb roast, and separate it into some naturally flat chunks. I usually get one big piece, one medium, and one small-medium. The big piece should be pounded to make it flatter (about 1 in thick), and will serve 3-4 people. The smaller piece will serve 2. The leftover parts that previously connected to the bone contain a number of ligaments - these pieces are best used for stew or Connie's Black Bean Chili) I normally package up each chunk in its own freezer-proof bag, weigh and mark it, and freeze for use at a later time. (If using frozen lamb, defrost overnight in the refrigerator.)
lemon garlic extra virgin olive oil		In a small bowl, mix the zest and juice from one large lemon, 2 medium garlic cloves, minced, and oil equal to the amount of lemon juice. Beat the mixture with a folk so that it emulsifies. This makes enough marinade for 2 smallish pieces or one large piece.
turkish oregano black pepper a little salt		Sprinkle both sides of the lamb with oregano, freshly ground black pepper, and a little salt. Place the lamb in a glass pie plate and pour the marinade over the lamb, turning to coat. Pierce the lamb using two table forks, turn the lamb over and pierce the other side. Repeat every 10 minutes for 30-60 minutes. Do not refrigerate (you want the meat to warm up on the counter)
Grill		Preheat the grill to hot. Place the thicker pieces on first. For medium-rare, grill thick pieces for 7 to 8 minutes on each side. (note: cold meat takes longer) For thinner pieces grill for 5 to 6 minutes each side. Let stand for 4-5 minutes. Slice across the grain and ENJOY.

Optional testing/correction step.

• When ready to start slicing, first cut through the center of the thickest part.
• If it is too rare for you, return to the grill with the cut sides down.
• Grill for an additional minute.

Neal Clark