Over the past couple of weeks we have tried SourDough Bread, a Souffle, and Bourbon Chicken. All of them went over really well. The Sourdough was one that I had to be very patient with. It took over a week just to get the starter ready to make dough, and then that was an all day process. Here they are, I hope you try some and enjoy them.


SOURDOUGH STARTER:
1 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour

Disolve yeast in warm water. Stir in milk. Gradually stir in flour. Beat until smooth. Cover and let stand in warm place until starter begins to ferment, about 24 hours ( bubbles will appear on surface of starter). Stir well, cover with plastic wrap and return to warm draft free place. Let stand until starter becomes foamy. At this point you sould probably feed it (3/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup flour). Let it sit in warm area again until it doubles and then goes back down in size. Let it sit for a few more days feeding occasionally until it has a nice sourdough smell (very similar to a sourdough bread, it took mine about 10 days total to get to this point). Now you are ready to make bread. When you are making bread, you will use 1 cup of your starter, be sure to feed it after this so you will not deplete it. You can now feed it with 1 cup of your finished dough, or the same as you were before.


SOURDOUGH BREAD:
1 cup sourdough starter
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups warm water (105-115 F)
3 3/4-4 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3 Tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
vegetable oil
water

Mix starter, 2 1/2 cups flour, and warm water until smooth. Cover, and let stand in warm,draft free place for 8 hours.

Add 3 3/4 cups flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and oil to mixture. Stir until smooth (dough should be firm enough to gather into a ball, if not add flour as needed).

Turn dough onto heavily floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 min).Place in greased bowl; turn greased side up. Cover and let sit in warm draft free place until double (about 1 1/2 hr). (Dough is ready when you make and indentation and it remains).

Punch dough down; divide into halves. Shape each half into a round sightly flat loaf. Do not tear dough by pulling. Place loaves on apposite corners of greased cookie sheet. Make three 1/4 inch-deep cuts into tops.Let rise until double (about 45 min).

Heat oven to 375. brush loaves with cold water. Place in center of oven without sides touching. Bake, occasionally brushing with cold water, until loaves sound hollow when tapped (about 50 min).

SPINACH AND CHEESE SOUFFLE:
1 1/2 tablespoons plus 4 tablespoons softened butter, divided
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 lb. spinach, stemmed and chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3 eggs, separated

Brush the inside of a large soufflé or deep casserole dish with 1 1/2 tablespoons of softened butter. Sprinkle the buttered surface evenly with Parmesan cheese and set aside the dish.

In a large saucepan, sauté the spinach until it wilts and the juices have evaporated. Preheat the oven to 375F. In a separate medium saucepan, melt the remaining butter over medium heat and stir in the flour and salt. Cook the flour, whisking constantly, for 30 seconds. Add the milk to the flour and cook, still whisking constantly, for about 4 minutes, until the mixture thickens. Add the spinach and continue cooking over medium heat for 1 minute. Season the mixture with black pepper and nutmeg.

Whisk ½ cup of the hot spinach into the egg yolks, and then add the egg yolk mixture back into the hot spinach, stirring to completely incorporate. Beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. Stir one-third of the egg whites into the spinach, and then fold the remaining egg whites into the mixture. Spoon it into the prepared dish and bake for 30 minutes, until the soufflé is puffed up and cooked through.

BOURBON CHICKEN:

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1-2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup soy sauce

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned. Remove chicken. Add remaining ingredients, heating over medium Heat until well mixed and dissolved. Add chicken and bring to a hard boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over hot rice.

Enjoy.

* Keep in mind that none of these recipes are my own, I got them from friends, family, cookbooks, and just off the web.