Petit Pans au Lait

From Thanksgiving dinner, my Petit Pans au Lait -- tried a new recipe this time that worked out quite well.

Smuttynose Winter Ale

I had never heard of the Smuttynose Brewing Co. before Friday when I spied a six-pack of their winter ale at the checkout line of Corridor Wine (similar to Total Wine in Virginia). I figured, what the heck and decided to try some. This is a very dark beer as you can tell from the picture. There is a definite red tinge on the edges as you look at it in the light. It has a sweet nose, perhaps with cherry there. It has just a hint of bitterness from the hops, but otherwise this is a smooth drink with a shorter finish. The alcohol (4.8% ABV) is not strong at all and doesn't interfere with the drink. Not a great beer, but not sick like some seasonal beers can beer.

Thanksgiving Prep

It's the night before Thanksgiving, and all through the house, only one creature was stirring, and he was still trying to decide how to prepare the Turkey! See, I'm doing some Thanksgiving preparations today -- making the sweet potato pie (please, please let the crust roll out well!), starting the petit pains au lait (rolls to you), and deciding how to prep the 20 pound turkey we got from Julie up at Groff's Content Farm. I originally ordered a heritage turkey, but Julie said when I went to collect it that they were too small, so I ended up with a much larger (though it was the smallest they had) broad breast Turkey. They are nice looking, though (see photo).

I think in the end, I will salt brine it again, but go easy on the salt this time (I put too much on last year). We have a cooler that could fit the turkey for wet brining, but it won't fit in the fridge that way.

Give us this day our daily bread

Over the last few months I have let my bread-baking lapse (with occasional exceptions to make bagels or pizza) because the local farmers' market has included a stall from Baltimore's Atwaters Bakery, which makes some of the best bread I have had this side of the Atlantic. Whole Foods bread tends to have too-soft crusts and they bag the bread before it is ready, so it continues to steam in the bag. Atwaters has great sourdough, rye, and pumpernickel.

But now that the farmers' market is in hibernation, I am back to the baking and I realized that I did miss it. Baking bread is a form of relaxation for me, and I revel in discovering new techniques. Some great books include the Bread Baker's Apprentice and Clayton's French Bread, the latter of which I used to make some pain complet yesterday. Pain complet is basically a whole wheat bread that is often shaped like challah bread - braided, essentially. Clayton's recipe called for making three loafs, but I decided on one loaf of braided bread and put the rest in a loaf pan in three chunks to make it a semi-pull-apart bread. The bread came out well and has a nice flavor developed from an overnight pre-ferment and a little honey. I use a stand mixer most of the time, rather than hand-kneading, because it keeps me from adding too much flour. That said, you need to get your hands in the dough to make sure it's coming together right. The key is to not be afraid of a wet, sticky dough. In many cases that's okay (particularly some italian breads, like a ciabatta) and will smooth out as it rises.

In general, home baking of bread has limitations and will not usually achieve the same type bread a commercial baker can, for two main reasons: commercial ovens have steam-injection which keeps the dough surface moist and allows the inside to cook a little before the crust forms (which will be crispier), and commercial ovens get much hotter, which yields a thicker, crunchier crust as well. I have gotten close with a few breads, but often you have to cheat a little with a wash of some sort (egg and milk, or just water, or some oil).

Finally, I have been using active dry yeast instead of quick-rise yeast. I think it doesn't yield as high a rise and I may switch to quick-rise, but generally I have been happy with the results. Sometimes the rise just doesn't work the way you want it to, but that is dependent on so many factors (kneading, air moisture, temperature of water used in the bread) that you just have to accept they won't all be winners.

Small experiment

I'm trying my bolognese sauce with Buffalo meat this time around. Just a little experiment to see how it stacks up against the all-beef version I did last time.

Petit Plats ****

I am a big proponent of the idea that there are more bad Italian restaurants than bad French restaurants, because people tend to over-estimate the simplicity of Italian food and end up with bad Chef Boyardee. French food, on the other hand, is known as a complex cuisine that is not to be attempted by any old prol. That said, finding a good, relaxed place for French food is harder, because it is often dressed up to match the complexity. Not so Petit Plats in Woodley Park in Washington DC.

The restaurant offers honest, well-executed food in a neighborhood setting. The restaurant inhabits a row house and offers a comfortable and quiet place to enjoy some great food, such as the veal cheeks, or lemon sole. The wine list offers a good range, and the service is honest and no frills, which makes it a nice change from the overbearing service you get some places. The lemon tart is excellent and, well, tart, not sickly sweet.