March 19, 2024

St. Joseph’s Bread

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Pan di San Giuseppe

(St. Joseph’s Bread)

March  19: Feast Day of St. Joseph

St. Joseph’s Day is just two days after St. Patrick’s Day. The latter is a well-known Irish holiday, but St. Joe’s feast day is more popular to Italians, especially Sicilians. In the 1800s, the immigrants brought their traditions to New Orleans, Louisiana, and set up altars in honor of San Giuseppe. As Houston, Texas, is in close proximity, some churches around our town host Italian spaghetti fundraising dinners on the weekends closest to St. Joseph’s feast day. They also have ornate displays with fancy decorated desserts and breads on the altars.

We were inspired to bake a simpler bread at home as we learn more about Highlander’s patron saint. The crumbs and the sesame seeds represent the sawdust of St. Joseph’s carpentry trade.

This bread is a delicious way to observe St. Joseph’s feast day!

Recipe

(Adapted from Mangia Bene Pasta)

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup milk, warmed to 105-115 degrees F
  • 1 package (¼ ounce / 2 ¼ teaspoons) yeast
  • 3 cups bread flour, divided use
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons butter, unsalted and melted
  • 3 eggs, divided use
  • 1 teaspoon anise extract (or ½ teaspoon anise seed)
  • Sesame seeds

Directions

Bloom the yeast in the warm milk for around 10 minutes. Then pour it into a mixing bowl. Add one cup of flour with the sugar, salt and melted butter. Mix well using the paddle attachment.

Add two eggs and anise plus another one cup of flour. Mix well. Stop the machine and change the paddle attachment to the dough hook. Gradually add the last cup of flour and mix until the dough comes together. 

Transfer the dough to a large, greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place for an hour until doubled in size. Dump the dough on a clean, floured surface and punch down. Divide in two. 

Roll each piece into a long rope (20-22 inches in length). Loosely twist/braid the ropes. Tuck the ends of the dough underneath itself. Carefully pick up the dough and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover again and let it rise for another house until doubled in size.

Beat the last egg with about a tablespoon of water. Brush onto the dough. Sprinkle sesame seeds all over. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Slice and serve.

Notes

 

February 1, 2024

Char Siu Sou

Posted by HI Cookery under 02 February | Tags: , , , |
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Char Siu Sou

February: Asian Lunar New Year

Kung hee fat choy! Happy Asian lunar new year! For our family celebration, we made delicious dumplings filled with char siu (red roast/BBQ pork). This dish is auspicious in that the color red is lucky and bright, and pork represents plenitude. The filling is packed in puff pastry, like a little purse full of treasures. And that is our wish for everyone in the coming year—that it is filled with the treasures of love, happiness, health and good fortune. Make char siu sou as part of a memorable lunar new year’s meal.

Recipe

(Adapted from Asian Inspirations)

Ingredients

  • ½ – ¾ cup char siu (BBQ pork)
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 2 small shallots
  • 2 tablespoons char siu sauce
  • 5 (4+1) tablespoons water, divided use
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch 
  • 1 package puff pastry, thawed
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • Sesame seeds

Directions

Chop the char siu and shallots into small pieces. In a skillet or frying pan, heat the oil and saute the shallots. Then add the char siu. Stir in the char siu sauce with four tablespoons of water and sesame oil.

In a small cup, mix the remaining one tablespoon of water with cornstarch to make a slurry. Stir into the char siu mixture to thicken the filling slightly. Set aside and cool.

Unwrap a sheet of puff pastry dough and slice into nine squares. Keep the dough cool as much as possible to avoid it being overstretched. Place a tablespoon of filling in the middle of the square. Moisten the edges with beaten egg. Fold the dough over to close. Use the tines of a fork to seal the edges. Place the dumplings on a tray lined with waxed or parchment paper. Brush beaten egg over them and sprinkle sesame seeds. 

Freeze until firm and transfer to a freezer bag or container. When ready to bake, line a baking sheet with foil and lightly grease with cooking spray. Place frozen dumplings on the tray about two inches apart to allow for the pastry to puff up. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven. Let rest for five minutes before transferring the dumplings to a serving platter. Serve hot.

Notes

  • This is a shortcut version of traditional char siu sou using store-bought puff pastry instead of from-scratch double dough layers. We assembled and froze our char siu sou and then baked them right before our new year’s celebration for an auspicious appetizer.
  • The char siu filling is also good in a baked biscuit as a quick bao. Take canned biscuit (not the flaky layers), separate each piece, flatten the dough, fill with a tablespoon of filling, gather up the ends with a slight twist until it is a ball, place seam side down on a lightly greased baking pan and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes until golden. Serve immediately.
  • We bought char siu from the Asian hot food counter. Make it from scratch at home with this recipe.
  • Check out our other char siu recipes: baked bao, manapua, fried rice and somen salad (noodles).
  • Search our blog for other lunar new year recipes.

 

January 26, 2024

Shrimp on the Barbie

Posted by HI Cookery under 01 January | Tags: , , , |
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Shrimp on the Barbie

January 26: Australia Day

Before they started their family, our awesome Aussie friends Gary and Girlie B. were our double date couple in New Jersey. We would often go out to dinner and a movie together. Then when their boys were born a year apart, date nights became family weekends at their house. We would bring sides and sweets and Gary would throw some “shrimp on the barbie” (barbecue/grill). It does seem stereotypical, but this is everyone’s favorite shellfish and is relatively simple to make. The buttery herb marinade adds a little flavor to the grilled shrimp and Gary and Girlie’s sons thought any food on a stick seemed more special. Good friends, good food, good times! Celebrate Australia Day with some shrimp on the barbie.

Recipe
(Adapted from The Spruce Eats)

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ pounds large/jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails intact
  • ½ cup butter, melted
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon each of chopped fresh herbs: parsley, thyme and cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon shallot, minced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 lemon, cut in half
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a shallow dishpan, soak the wooden skewers, if using instead of metal skewers. Wash the shrimp and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside. Melt the butter in a large microwave-safe bowl. Stir in the olive oil.

Chop the herbs and mince the shallot and garlic cloves. Add to the butter-oil mixture. Cut one lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the bowl (reserve the other half as a garnish).

Stir then add the shrimp. Marinate for 15 minutes at room temperature of 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Preheat the grill. Thread some shrimp onto the skewers and grill on one side for 2 minutes. Turn and finish grilling the shrimp on the other side for another minute or 2. Transfer to a platter. Serve hot with slices or wedges or remaining lemon.

Notes

  • Happy anniversary to Gary and Girlie B. who were married on Australia Day. Girlie said it was cheaper to have their wedding on a weekday back in 1997! Plus, since it was a national holiday, they got fireworks for free under the Sydney skies. What a celebration of love and country.
  • Search our blog for other Australian-inspired recipes under the A-F countries recipes tab.

 

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