I want another enameled cast iron pot - part 2

A similar KitchenAid pot similar to the one mentioned in this post was on sale at CanadianTire again. Except this time it was 70% off (so cheap you almost wonder if people ever pay full price). For CD$30 we almost got nothing to lose; worst comes worst I can use it as a planter.

This KitchenAid cast iron pot is 3.5 qt (smaller than the 5qt Staub pot we have), in dark red. The handle is silicon/stainless steel so the whole pot can go in the oven. Although it has the glossy interior (like Le Creuset) and the self-basting dips (like Staub), the finish is not comparable to either. But hey! it's only 10-15% $ of the "real thing".

Comments after the initial use:

• TripleQ used it to make no-knead bread. It does produce thinner crust than with regular baking mold.
• I braised pork shoulder in it. The steam came out from the edge and over-flew. This never happens with our other pot.

(TripleQ) "What's the point of putting silicon on handle if I still need an oven mitt to lift the pot?"

KitchenAid cast iron pot

Brioche

After couple more batches of brioche, I finally figure out the formula we enjoy the most. So here it is:

Ingredients:

• flour, 3 cups
• sugar, 6 tbsp
• salt, 2 tsp
• butter, 10 tbsp
• eggs (medium-large), 5
• warm milk, 0.5 cup (or 60mL)
• dry yeast, 1 package (8g)

Process:

• Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl, stir gently with a spatula
• Mix with a dough hook in the lowest speed until it's well-blended (about 2 minutes).
• Increase the speed and mix for 5 minutes. Stop and scrape the side. Repeat 3 times (basically you make the mixer do the kneading for you)
• Cover the dough and let it sit for about 4 hours (at around 25 C)
• Divide the dough into 12 muffin cups. Let it sit for 1 hour. (The dough will continue to puff up)
• Bake for 15 minutes at 375 F in a convection oven. Turn off the heat and let brioche stay in the oven for another 5 minutes.

Lessons learned:

• Just for the record, I did try to follow the original recipe and store the dough in the fridge over night. The dough was hard enough that we could roll it into small balls (Baby Martini enjoyed doing it tremendously). If you go with this recipe, the dough will be too sticky and too soft to roll.
• For the dough stored in the fridge, the brioche turned out to be pretty dense (more like bread). But brioche from this recipe has the texture between croissant and bread.
• I added a handful of lavender bloom in this batch. It was subtle, like biting off lavender-scented clouds. I might get braver and start to incorporate more flavors in brioche.

Final verdict:

• Stick to this recipe! Some people might snarl at how simplified the steps are and claim the end result is not brioche. Fine, buttery bun it is. But this is the recipe the Martinis will go by.

Backyard garden plan 2010 June update

TripleQ has been working slowly but steadily to remove the lawn in the marked area.

Before the weather gets unbearably hot, I managed to salvage as many plants as I can from the triangular patch behind the house.

• Bleeding hearts have been moved to next to the compost.
• Geranium has not done well after being transplanted.
• A loner hydrangea (which came as a gift with foil wrap and ribbons and miraculously survives after being planted in the ground) is moved to the spot next to Iris. It is finally free from weeds, for a while.
• Moved 1 spirea to a pot temporarily

It has been the quintessential "survivor-the-fittest" in the triangular patch. It was so full (of weed) and lively but TripleQ is so fed up with the messiness. Being so close to the house, I have to agree that we should start with a clean slate. The current game plan is to transplant or remove all the plants in the area. Extend the gravel coverage (from under the deck). Planting will only happen within the circle made by wedge bricks. TripleQ has done an impressive job on clearing up the area. He even put in bricks to mock up the planting area. Now there are only one spirea and one boxwood on site. We'll move them when it's cooler.

More about the simple plan for the backyard:
Simple plan
Simple plan-revised
Victoria Day long weekend update

Brioche

Picture of brioche

I couldn't forget the wonderful brioche from Victoire I had when I visited Sydney, Australia. I decided to make one batch just to see how difficult it is. I found this link. The recipe seems to be straight-forward enough, judging by the first picture that all the ingredients are in the mixing bowl at the same time.

As straight-forward as it seems, I still made some modification (whether it's intentional or not). Here's what happened:

• I don't have milk powder at home so I have to improvise. I had 1/2 cup of warm milk to replace 1/4 cup milk powder and 1/4 warm water.
• instead of 1 tablespoon yeast, I put 1 package of instant dry yeast (8g).
• This is the second time our mixer reached its limit. Instead of using flat beater for 5 min after all ingredients were fully incorporated, I had to switch to bread hook to knead the dough after couple of minutes.
• The dough didn't go in the fridge for minimum 2 hours (to overnight); instead, it was sitting in the kitchen for about 2 hours (the first stage and last stage of fermentation were same as instructions in the recipe).

Results and lessons learned:

The end result looked similar to the pictures on the recipe page. It has the matte finish as opposed the "glossy finish" (by applying egg wash (egg yolk) on the surface of the dough).

Flavor-wise, it's neither sweet nor salty. I might need to increase the amount of seasoning next time. It goes well with marmalade or banana compote with orange juice reduction though.

In terms of texture, it is a tad dry (for brioche). Somehow I suspect it's due to the fact that I went the shortcut on the fermentation process. The dough wasn't stored in the fridge. Maybe I'll try to make softer dough next time as well.

Reference link for troubleshooting:
http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=007zip


Final verdict
It's unanimous (including Baby Martini's vote) that I should make it again.


Sapphire Martini, "How come the brioche from Victoire tastes so flaky and buttery?"
TripleQ, "I think you just mentioned the keyword."

Backyard garden plan 2010 Victoria Day

More updates on my simple plan:

Here's the original garden plan. In short, I can probably change the title to "Backyard garden plan 2010-2011".

The Victoria Day long weekend and the week before were the kick-start. We managed to accomplish the following:

• Removed as much lawn from the marked area as possible.
• Transplanted lamb's ears and snow-in-summer to the backyard
• Removed a big portion of forget-me-nots at the front so the star flowers and common thrifts can finally see the sun light
• Planted all new plants (annuals, herbs, tomatoes) in the planters & the voids (due to the removal of plants mentioned previously) in the front garden
• Father-in-law brought Irises from their garden and planted them for us :)

Snow-in-Summer
The survival rate of snow-in-summer by far is not that brilliant. It seems the whole cluster of snow-in-summer mainly depends on few deep roots; the rest are quite shallow and couldn't handle the shock. Let's just hope that the remaining part will thrive next year. I didn't have much faith in its survival the first year it was in our garden but it exceeds my expectation and has taken over a good portion of our front garden.

Picture of the void in the front garden

It is now filled by (starting from the left) Thai basil, marigolds and dills.
See picture here

Lamb's Ears
The progress on removing the lawn is a lot slower than expected (mainly due to the heat and high humidity). I transplanted 5 groups of lamb's ears in front of the dog woods. That's about half of the lamb's ears I plan to move. The other half is still pending. The lamb's ears look droopy over the new location; however, I have faith in their ability of multiplication. If they manage to put down their roots this year, they'll come back strong and conquer the world (back yard) in the years to come.

Although we didn't manage to remove lawn where the IncrediBall hydrangeas should be planted, we decide to plant them first. Just in case this project will really extend into the next year or so. Those two were the only plants which didn't get planted over the Victoria Day long weekend. They were sitting on the porch for one week.
Picture of IncrediBall hydrangeas in the pots

It's going to be a bit tricky to remove grass around them. But at least they are in the ground now. So we can take our time.

Iris
We got few hand-me-down irises from my parents-in-law. They are huge! And, another purple flower in the garden. It wasn't in the plan but it is a welcome surprise. Picture of Iris

Annuals
Vinca Cora Punch in a planter and marigold.

More about the simple plan for the backyard:
Simple plan
Simple plan-revised

Tequila braised beef with apples and onions

I find it's interesting that when some of my Mexican friends hear the brand José Cuervo, they have that same expression like the Aussies to Yellow Tail. Anyhow. I don't remember why I have a bottle of tequila (as suggested by my name, I'm a gin drinker). I do notice that I cook with tequila more often than drinking it. Tequila adds interesting flavor to a dish and its full body goes well with meat.

Ingredients:

• Beef blade roast (oven roast)
• onion, 1 large or 2 mediums, peeled and quartered
• 1 or 2 apples, peeled and quartered
• 1 bunch green onions, cut about 5cm-long
• Garlic, 4 cloves
• Sage. We have abundant supply of sage from our garden, so I use a lot. About handful of fresh leaves
• Seasonings: soy sauce, sugar, black peppers, Worcestershire and last but not the least, a generous splash or tequila!

Note: a bit of kick from chipotle, jalapeno or other chili peppers will be nice. Alas! that's too much for a 3-year-old.

Process:

• Marinate the beef (with seasonings, water and all the ingredients) overnight
• Heat the pot with a splash of olive oil
• Drain and pat-dry the beef, sear it in the pot until the brown crust develops.
• Remove the beef from the pot, deglaze with the marinade.
• Add all ingredients and beef back to the pot, cover with lid. Simmer for 2 hours

Picture of marinade

Picture of searing

There is no picture for the final product; everyone was hungry.

The verdict:
Not sure if it's due to the cut or the cooking. It was too tough to TripleQ's liking. It is indeed on the tough side, despite I cut against the grains. Maybe I'll try to cook it in the oven (with low temperature) next time.

The pot - Staub Dutch oven

I just realize that I never post any information about our enameled cast iron pot.
Picture from Staub USA website.

Staub round cocotte, size 26, 5qt. Royal blue.
This is probably the most versatile size: big enough for a chicken (and other trimmings) yet not too heavy to handle. And I love that glossy gradient blue.