Bakk in the Day 2

The Bakkich’s are of no more exotic descent than Scandinavian and Eastern European, but Mom Bakkich had a flair for out-of-the-ordinary meals.  We grew up on dinners of keema (an Indian spiced ground meat/tofu & veggie dish), Asian glass-noodle & fish soup, home-made hot & sour soup, and things of the sort.  (Dad Bakkich stuck with the classics when it was his turn to cook; eggplant parmesan, American chop-suey, smothered pork chops and New England style fish chowder.)  Mom also experimented often with vegetarian substitutes, the most memorable being textured vegetable protein sneakily substituted into my favorite meatball dish.  I’m still scarred from the shock of biting into what I thought was ground beef and am wary of any meatball Mom serves to this day.  I’m not bitter, I swear. 

My favorite dish, bakk in the day and to THIS day, is Mom’s Tabouli.  I have loved it my entire life.  This is my comfort food.  Can you imagine a kid in the mid-80’s craving bulgur wheat?  It's a cookout staple.  People request, nay, demand it. 

Mac & Cheese and Green Tea Lemon Olive Oil Cake

In addition to sammiches, us Bakkiches LOVE macaroni & cheese.  Ben Bakkich probably ate it every day from ages 4-14.  (Just kidding, Ben, but close.)

Our favorite recipe comes from one of my dear friends, who makes it for her husband all the time.  It's basic, it's perfect.  I start any variation of the dish with a slightly tweaked Craig's Mac & Cheese.
 

Craig's Mac & Cheese

• 2 cups elbow macaroni, cooked to package directions
• 3 TBS margarine
• 3 TBS flour
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp powdered mustard (my tweak)
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• dash cayenne (my tweak)
• 1/2 lb American cheese
• 4 slices buttered toast, diced OR bread crumbs mixed w/melted butter/margarine

Oh Sammich

I had a Friday evening outing to Victoria Gastro Pub in Columbia, MD with my husband and a couple co-workers plus significant other.  I thought about their lobster grilled cheese and duck fat fries all week!  The dinnertime lighting was dim, and I was using my cell phone camera, so I didn't get a great picture of the yummy sammich.  Here it is anyway, and I'm sorry.

Buttery bread, tender Maine lobster & a brie fondue.  So decadent, so good.  Absolutely worthy of the sammich title.  Before I even ordered my sammich I sampled buttermilk fried chicken pick-up sticks, duck fat fries, and goat cheese & herb stuffed fried squash blossoms.  Not exactly a light meal, but so stinkin' good.  I enjoyed a flight of Spanish wines plus a glass of Tempranillo, the wine in the flight I liked best. 

Oh Yes, I Did

My Favorite Brownie Recipe

• 5 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place the rack in thecenter of the oven. Butter (or spray with a nonstick cooking spray) an 8 inch square pan.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler (or large bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water). Remove from heat and stir in the cocoa powder and sugar . Next, whisk in the vanilla extract and eggs, one at a time,beating well after each addition. Finally, stir in the flour,  and salt.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a little batter and a few moist clumps clinging to it. Do not over bake. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Market Fresh

My 2nd weekly East Columbia Library farmers' market visit yielded some good stuff.

This week:

• cucumbers
• peaches
• sweet cherries
• kale
• Cosmic Bean coffee

I think kale chips will be on the menu tonight!

Also, I may or may not be currently baking a batch of from-scratch brownies.

Loaf Win!

I turned out a much better loaf of artisan bread today than I did over the weekend.  It will take some refining, but I think I have the basics down.  Not bad, huh?

Here's the recipe I used, for a no-knead artisan bread, from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes:

Makes 4 loaves.

3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 TBS granulated yeast
1 1/2 TBS Kosher salt
6 1/2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour

Mix water, yeast & salt in a large mixing bowl or re-sealable plastic container.  Mix in the flour until uniform.

Cover container (not airtight, so with a towel or a lid with a hole) and let the dough rise at room temp for about 2 hours until it collapses.  You can use some of the dough to make bread at this point.  Refrigerate any unused dough; it will keep in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.

To bake, allow the portion of dough to rise 40 minutes.  Heat the oven to 450, with a baking stone or something made of cast iron in it to preheat.  Dust the dough with flour & make slashes in the top.  On a rack below the stone/cast iron put a dish of water, this will make the right amount of steamto bake a perfect loaf.  Put the dough on the stone or cast iron and bake 30 minutes until the crust is brown & firm to the touch.

Cool loaf completely on a wire rack before slicing.

Sour Cherry 'Cobbler'

Because no one should ever go food shopping on an empty stomach, I ate this mangled excuse for a star-shaped donut.  But it was tasty, and festive!

I failed at an artisan bread attempt, so I hope to try again this week.  Either my yeast was wonky (the date was fine) or my husband distracting me with a trip to the mall had something to do with it.  I did, however, have one success…

Remember these beauties?

Super Fresh!

Yesterday I swung by the East Columbia Library farmers' market on my way home from work and picked up a few things:

• a beautiful salad greens mix
• tomatoes, variety named "4th of July"
• mini cukes
• sour cherries

It's the simple things, like super fresh produce, that make me happy.  I made a lovely salad with the veggies to go with dinner last night, and I'm planning to bake something yummy with the cherries.  A cobbler maybe?  Stay tuned. 

(Also on my mind, no-knead artisan bread...which I bet will make fantastic sammiches!)

Congrats, Ben Bakkich!

I'm putting on my proud-big-sister hat, and announcing that Ben Bakkich is a recent high school graduate, and will be heading to the exciting world of college in the fall!!  You're an amazing individual, Benno, and I see great things in your future.

For you, a little tea bag wisdom....

...oh, and thanks for teaching me to throw knives that one time.

I LOVE YOU!!!!

Veg Out

Now that graduation & birthday season is over in my family, and I am back to eating normal food after extraction of 4 wisdom teeth, it's time I start visiting the farmers' markets for some super fresh produce!  Yum!

After working (and of course living) in Columbia nearly 5 years, my office moved to Rockville 2 months ago.  Last summer I had this nice little routine going on Thursdays where I would leave the office and hit the East Columbia Library farmers' market on my way home.  Now that I'm more or less used to the Columbia/Rockville commute, I need to strategize my produce plan.

Leaving Rockville at 3:30 (the end of my work day) gives me plenty of time to hit any market I want...now, which to choose.  I go right past the East Columbia Library still...but I'm feeling wild and may try something new.  The Maryland Department of Agriculture has a decent listing for Howard County, though you never know until you go.

Any favorites out there?

(I've been dying to try a CSA program, but I've dropped the ball 3 years running.)

Produce-related, check out this handy-dandy banana holder my best friend gave me!  Hey, why not, right?

Also, unrelated except that they use veggies, I terribly miss Bon Fresco for the occasional lunchtime sammich.

Worth the Wait

This is the Lobster Roll from Bob's Clam Hut in Kittery, ME. 

It is divine. 

I get to have it once, or if I'm lucky twice, a year.

It is always worth the wait.

Bakk in the Day

The other day I was thinking about food I used to really like, and for one reason or another haven't eaten for a while.  Certain things have lost the nostalgia, for sure.  Here's one thing I ate "Bakk in the Day".

At 16 years old I was working in a clothing store after school & on weekends.  The 2 closest options for food in the strip mall were Burger King (an extremely sketchy guy named Alan worked there, so I tried to steer clear) and Boston Market.  Almost every day I'd take my break & walk next door to Boston Market for a Rotisserie Chicken Carver sandwich.  I thought they were the greatest thing!  I must have eaten about a hundred.

I decided to try one over the weekend, and see if I still think it's da bomb.  In short, it is decidedly not.

"Rotisserie Chicken Carver: Rotisserie chicken with dijon mayo, cheddar, tomatoes and greens on a white or multi-grain roll."

Oh So Fresco

Bon Fresco never disappoints!  I just got this for lunch....

A Maniacal Goal

I really really really REALLY want to do one of these...let the training begin!

Rugged Maniac 5K

Ben, you in?  ;-)

Mamma Mia...here I go again...!

What is it with me and baking cookies lately?  I'm not really a 'sweets' person.

While grocery shopping (NOT with cookies in mind) I was hit with the sudden urge to make some type of s'mores cookie.  So I scooped up the ingredients, pulled up Mamma Mia on the DVR (great background music for baking!) and got to work.

My S'mores Cookies 

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
• 3/8 cup granulated sugar
• 3/8 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1-1/8 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup Milk Chocolate Chips
• 4 crushed graham crackers
• mini marshmallows

Heat oven to 375°F.

Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until creamy. Add egg; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips and crushed graham crackers.

Scoop about a tablespoon of dough and form it around 3 mini marshmallows.  Roll into a ball, then place on an parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Keep cookies 2 inches apart.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 1 1/2 dozen cookies.

These were SO stinkin' good.  Crispy cookie, melty chocolate chips, chewy marshmallow center.  I halved my original recipe, and I probably shouldn't have.  I only got to eat like 3 cookies...I brought 1/2 a dozen to my friend, and my husband inhaled the rest. 

Must make again soon!

Impromptu Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies

Last night I felt like making cookies, so I scrounged through my pantry and here's what I came up with.  They turned out a little flat, but still chewy and delicious!  Sorry for the poor photo quality, this is the result of flourescent lighting in a windowless kitchen using a cell phone camera at 9:30 pm.

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup oat flour
• 1/4 cup almond meal
• 1 TBS flax seed meal 
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup dried blueberries

  

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat.

  

With a mixer, cream together the butter, applesauce and the two sugars until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.

  

In a second bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flours, meals, baking soda, baking powder, and salt). Add this mixture to the butter and sugar and mix until just incorporated.  Do not over mix. 

 

(Right about here I got a phone call from my best friend in Germany, so cookie prep halted for about an hour.  I wonder if this is why they turned out flat?) 

  

Stir in the oats and blueberries until just until combined. Using a tablespoon scoop or a spoon, place dough in mounds on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.

  

Bake one sheet at a time for 15 to 16 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

 

Penance

Bless us, bloggers, for we have sinned.  It has been 6 weeks since our last post.


So what happened?

1. Ben & I ventured to Colorado Springs for a week.  The only chance we had at sammich-ing was a brief stop at a Jimmy John's.  Very good, but lacking the full-fleged sammich-ness.  The rest of our time was spent somehow surviving 16+ hour days wearing perma-smiles and dodging cuckoo co-workers.  We had one day of peace to see Pike's Peak & Garden of the Gods before flying home and dying...but not before almost missing our flight...long story.  Silver lining?  Heck yes, we got to stay at The Broadmoor!

(Explanation needed?  We were running a convention for the association by which I am employed.) 



Midway up Pike's Peak...we didn't get to go all the way



Garden of the Gods

The Broadmoor...this picture does the property zero justice

2. St. Patrick's Day yielded zero corned beef leftovers...hence the lack of sammiches.

3. I've immersed myself in yoga to offset the ridiculousness at work.  It's the worst...anyone hiring?

4. Oh, and Ben has a hernia.


Off to say an Our Father and five Hail Mary's.

Ben, Remember These??

Grilled Garlic Parmesan Wings

Twitch, I die.

How can we get that flavor into a sammich?  C'mon, brainstorm!

Dilly Bread

What kind of sammich would you make with this?

Dilly Bread - from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

• 1 package (2 1/4 Teaspoons) Active Dry Yeast
• ¼ cups Warm Water
• 1 cup Cottage Cheese, Heated To Lukewarm
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Minced Dried Onion
• 1 Tablespoon Softened Butter
• 2 teaspoons Dill Seed
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ¼ teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1 whole Egg
• 2-¼ cups Flour (more If Needed)

Preparation

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Combine warm cottage cheese, sugar, minced onion, butter, dill seed, salt, soda, and egg. Stir to combine.

Stir in yeast mixture gently, then add flour gradually, stirring gently.

Cover dough with plastic wrap and allow it to rise until double in bulk. Punch down dough, then turn into a well-buttered round baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 more minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake bread in lower half of the oven for 40 to 50 minutes. Brush top with melted butter after baking. Serve warm with butter!

Proscuitto, Fig & Brie on a Baguette

And now for something a little "foo-foo", but delicious...this is Leanne's Proscuitto, Fig & Brie on a Baguette.  Le Sammich?

From the bottom up:

• baguette (or any bread you like, really)
• fig preserves, fig jam, fig whatever
• proscuitto
• brie
• baguette

Slice baguette in 1/2 lengthwise and slather bottom half with fig preserves/jam/whatever.

Pile proscuitto over fig preserves/jam/whatever.  Kind of "fluff" it up versus thwacking down a slab o' proscuitto.

Next, the brie.  Oh, the brie.  It was hard for me to not devour the whole wedge, wood-chipper style.

Slice it, cube it, whatever...just get it on there.  It will melt gloriously no matter what. 

Note to self: try keeping it more towards the center next time to reduce melted brie loss.

Now give it a baguette hat.

Get a skillet nice and warm (a few minutes over medium) melt a little butter, then place that sammich and hear the sizzle.  Flip when it's brown & toasty and get that other side.

Tip: to get a nice even crust on the baguette, weigh it down with a skillet or pan with a can of something in it.

(Be advised, the Texas Pete's in the background has no part in this recipe.  He jumped right in there and wrangled my shot.  Yeehaw.)

Check this out.  I'm salivating.

Slice any way you like and share...

...or don't. 

The End.

Fini.

bakkich!, Out & About

The place: Duesenberg's, Catonsville MD

The sammich: Pastrami Rachel on Rye (with green bean fries!)

Bottom up; 2 slices of rye, coleslaw, pastrami (lots of pastrami!), Thousand Island dressing, another slice of rye.

Side note, the Maryland Crab soup is outstanding.

Portabella Fajita Pocket

Hello Sammichers!

Leanne Bakkich's birthday was this past Friday, and she had specifically asked me to post a sammich for that very special day. I came up with a sammich on time, and my family certainly enjoyed it, but I am a bit late putting the sammich on our blog. Sorry Leanne! =[

Here is Ben Bakkich's idea for a portabella mushroom fajita pocket:

Ingredients:
Portabella mushrooms (whole or sliced caps)
Peppers (preferably a mix of red and green)
Onion
Grated cheese
Iceburg lettuce

Sour cream

Pita pocket

Welcome to bakkich!

We’re Ben & Leanne.  This picture, though a few years old, sums us up.

For siblings with a ten-year spread, we get along swimmingly...and we both love a good sammich.  Sammiches we find, sammiches we make, sammiches our friends find or make!

bakkich!, for the love of a sammich.