Hey, it's life with kids. And Dug's busy schedule this time of year. Who needs the hassle of going out? It's all about the extra-nice dinner at home on Valentine's Day.
On the menu tonight: Chicken in a white-wine cream sauce, sautéed mushrooms with tarragon, roasted fingerling potatoes, and sautéed kale. Heart shaped bread to sop up our sauce, and for dessert, teensy little individual ice creams--Ben & Jerry's mint chocolate cookie for the girls, and Haagen Dazs strawberry and coffee for Dug and I to fight over. Also, a bottle of Chalone chardonnay.
The chicken's as easy as it gets: pour a bottle of dry white wine over some chicken breasts, let it simmer for a few hours until the wine cooks down into a fabulous goo. Remove the chicken, deglaze the pan with a little cream, and there you go.
The bread's a tad more involved. You basically want to start with your favorite French bread recipe and then instead of boules, you shape it into hearts. My specific method uses the bread machine for the dough mixing and initial rise, and here it is, with pictures and everything:
Using the dough cycle on your bread machine (this recipe is for two pounds; it can be halved if your machine has a smaller capacity), mix the following:
1.75 cups bread flour
1.75 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 teaspoons salt
4.5 teaspoons yeast
1 tablespoon active gluten (optional, but it makes the crumb of the bread more airy and light)
1.25 cups water (90-100 degrees)
When the dough cycle ends, remove the dough and cut it in half. Shape each half into a nice round ball like so:
And let it rest on a lightly floured surface for 30 minutes, covered with a damp dishtowel.
Next, shape each ball into a heart by gently pinching one side of the ball into a point, and shaping the opposite side of the ball (I used the blunt edge of a chef's knife to press the dough into shape):
Let the hearts rise for another 45 minutes under the damp towel. Then you're ready to glaze them with a little egg wash and slash 'em before baking at 450 for 20-25 minutes. I use a lightly greased baking sheet because my stone sucks, you do what you gotta do. Don't forget to put a pan of hot water in the oven for lots of steam.
And when you're done, you've got pretty little boules...erm, coeurs, shall we say. Let them cool on a wire rack before serving. Instead of slicing them, I just let everyone tear off chunks. Take another little piece of my heart, won't you?
Hey! We used to have dinner for three! It didn't even HAVE a dad at them.
Posted by: Grammy | February 26, 2009 at 09:58 AM