The restaurant – Tara Kitchen, natch – will be located at 431 Liberty Street in Schenectady, just a stone’s throw from City Hall and the Post Office. Their website is listed as “coming soon”, so I don’t have any details on the menu. All I’m saying is that their incredible chicken harira better be on there (I’m sure it will – it’s gained kind of a cult following at the markets and the recipe made it into Metroland’s 2011 Holiday Entertaining issue).

I’m not very familiar with Moroccan cuisine, other than an occasional tagine and some couscous, so I’m looking forward to a new experience. And, it doesn’t hurt that it’s only a few blocks from my office.

Another thing to look forward to: owner Aneesa Waheed has promised a podcast interview with me in the near future, after opening week.

(for fans of their store on State Street, they have closed it in order to focus their efforts on the new restaurant and the farmers markets.)

Herbes de Provence can actually be a blend of many herbs: savory, fennel, thyme, basil, rosemary, lavender – or really just whatever is on hand (if you’re Provençal). The spice industry doesn’t even have a standardized blend:

• McCormick’s helpfully lists its blend’s ingredients as “SPICES (INCLUDING ROSEMARY, MARJORAM, THYME, AND SAVORY)”.
• Penzey’s blend is rosemary, cracked fennel, thyme, savory, basil, tarragon, dill weed, Turkish oregano, lavender, chervil and marjoram.

And I have no clue what was in the bag my father-in-law bought me. Frankly, I’m surprised he was able to make it past security with it – it was a zip-top bag with a bunch of dried green herbs and a scribbled note in French stapled to the top. French security must be très laxiste.

At any rate, this is a nice little recipe – a perfect bread for just snacking out of hand, and would probably be fantastic lightly toasted and served as canapé bread. I hope you enjoy it!

As always, my comments and adjustments are in blue. Recipe and photos after the jump.

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Pain des Herbes de Provence (you can find a printable version here)

Yield: 2 loaves

 Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 cup warm water (105°-110°F)
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons Herbes de Provence
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (I used half oregano and half basil)
• 3 cups bread flour (I used 1 cup white whole wheat flour in place of 1 cup bread flour)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 egg, beaten (optional)

Directions

• Dissolve the sugar in warm water in a medium bowl, and mix in the yeast. When yeast is bubbly, mix in salt, butter, 1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence, and Italian seasoning.
• Mix in 2 cups flour. Gradually add remaining flour to form a workable dough, and knead 10 to 12 minutes.

The dough is smooth and elastic after about 10 minutes of machine-kneading

• Coat the inside of a large bowl with olive oil. Place dough in bowl, cover, and allow to rise 1 hour in a warm location.
• Punch down dough, and divide in half.

The dough has risen enough if indentations remain in the dough after being poked

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly grease paper. (I simply used a large oiled nonstick cookie sheet. No parchment)
• Shape dough into 2 round loaves, and place on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining herbs.

Sprinkled with rosemary, prior to the second rise

• Cover, and allow to rise 1 hour, or until doubled in size
• Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C)
• Brush loaves with egg. Bake 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Recipe makes two medium-sized loaves

Results:

• Quite good overall. Easy to assemble, and doing free-form loaves is nice for a change. It was also nice to have such a short baking time.
• The loaves are on the smallish side (unbaked loaves weighed about 11 ounces each)
• This recipe would likely lend itself to the addition of any herb/spice combination you could imagine. Really, the possibilities are endless. It’s a nice basic recipe.
• The taste: fantastic. Wonderfully aromatic, with a moist and chewy crumb. The herbs infuse every bite without overpowering the bread itself.
• I believe the bread would make a wonderful accompaniment to some sundried tomato-olive tapenade. In fact, I know it does. Because I made some tapenade and tried it out! Tapenade recipe coming tomorrow.

It’ll only take a few minutes of your time, it’s fun, and your answers will help me put together some fun new features on the blog this spring. Click the orange button below to get started.  Pretty please?

Since my challenge did not specify what *kinds* of breads I’d be making – this was deliberate – I felt I was free to dabble in quick breads almost right away. I’m partial to banana bread especially, for personal reasons. And finding one that includes walnuts and chocolate, too – well, you had me at hello.

This is a pretty easy recipe, and yields great results. As always, my comments and adjustments are in blue. Recipe and photos after the jump.

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Banana Chocolate Walnut Bread (you can find a printable version here)

• 1 ½ cups mashed ripe banana
• 1/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt (Greek yogurt works!)
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 6 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 ½ cups, but weighing is more accurate)
• ¼ cup ground flaxseed
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate minichips, divided
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• Cooking spray (I don’t use cooking spray; I greased the pan with good old fashioned butter)
• 2 tablespoons fat-free milk (I had vanilla almondmilk on hand; it worked fine)

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350°
• Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until blended. Add sugars; beat until blended

This is what the wet mixture looks like, before adding dry ingredients

• Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through allspice) in a small bowl; stir well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to banana mixture; beat just until blended
• Fold 1/3 cup minichips and nuts into batter; pour batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray.

In the pan...

• Bake at 350° for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove bread from pan; cool completely on wire rack
• Combine remaining 1/3 cup minichips and milk in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave at HIGH for 30 seconds, stirring until smooth. Drizzle over bread.

Everything is better with chocolate. Yes, it is.

Results:

• Pretty much perfect. My only issue was with the chocolate glaze – it’s pretty thin, and didn’t harden up like I’d hoped. Its stickiness makes it adhere to the plastic wrap, and then it peels off when you unwrap it. It might be better to thin the chocolate with a teaspoon of shortening instead of milk.
• A very easy, one-bowl recipe. Unless, like me, you decide to set up your mise en place by dirtying every prep bowl you own.
• Oh, and did I mention it was absolutely delicious? I will be bringing it to work, because it’s really too dangerous to keep around the house.

Again, I’d like to mention that you can find a printable version of this recipe by clicking here. If you decide to make it yourself, please let me know what you think of the recipe and any thoughts you have about improving it.

The Chicago 7 dog from DC-3

If you’ll remember, BFF Sarah and I visited Capitol Hill hotdogggery DC-3 during my November visit to Our Nation’s Capital. And I liked it so much I went back by myself two days later.  Anyway, I just saw that the Food Network show “Heat Seekers” (don’t know it, but whatever) recently stopped by DC-3 to shoot some footage for an upcoming episode.

According to the Huffington Post,

The show, which features mouth-scorching cuisine, was lured by two spicy items: The Q’s Seoul bulgogi and kimchi dog, topped with marinated rib-eye bulgogi, pickled kimchi and hot Sriracha sauce; and the Three-Alarm Cruncher, a take on D.C.’s famous half-smoke wrapped in bacon, split and filled with jalapenos and covered in spicy chili.

Anyway, I thought Sarah might find this interesting, since she lives only a few blocks from the place (and because she’s a fan of the half-smoke). I guess we should be glad we got in there, because it’s going to be a madhouse once that ep airs. Get your dogs now!

• Red Wine May Reduce Risk of Breast Cancer: A new Cedars-Sinai study shows that drinking moderate amounts of red wine may lower the risk of breast cancer. Please define “moderate amounts”. I want to make sure I’m getting enough.
• Newsworthy for those of us in NY’s Capital Region: Mazzone Hospitality has launched its “Angelo’s Preferred” rewards program, which gives customers reward dollars based on purchases. You earn 1 point for every dollar spent at participating locations and every time you reach 500 points you get a $25 gift card automatically added to your Rewards Card (plus, you get a $10 Reward just for registering for the card). Additional benefits include rewards on your birthdays and anniversaries (my birthday is coming up soon – February 3 – in case you’re thinking of getting me a little something), and some other perks.   You can accumulate points at the following Mazzone properties: Angelo’s 677 Prime, Angelo’s Tavolo (Scotia), The Inn at Glen Sanders Mansion, Patron’s Club at the Hall of Springs, Aperitivo Bistro (Schenectady), Prime at Saratoga National, and the New Prime Bar & Grill in Clifton Park.  Go get your card: www.angelospreferred.com.
• If you like Starbucks (which I do – I really really do), then you should head over to your local shop this weekend for a free tasting of their new roasts, and cast your vote for the one you love most. Starbucks even promises a thank you gift. The tastings will be going on in the US this Thursday-Saturday (Jan 12-14). Canadians have to wait til February 9-11 for their tasting. Ha ha, Canucks. That’ll teach you not to live where it’s so damn cold that it takes a whole extra month to get there.
• 

  thaaat's right...bring it right over here....

  Take a look around the office – someone there is bound to be carrying around that blasted Girl Scout Cookie order form. Yes, it’s Girl Scout Cookie Time and I’ve succumbed to the crushing pressure of extra calories to help my friend’s daughter earn a badge (you’re welcome, Joe). And coincidentally, Bob also ordered two boxes from his friend’s daughter. So now we’ve got SIX FREAKING BOXES OF COOKIES coming to our house.  I’m really only half-complaining: one of those boxes will contain my beloved Samoas. Yeah, baby. Also arriving with our order: this year’s new cookie, the Savannah Smiles.  Savannah Smiles are wedge-shaped lemon cookies, dusted with powdered sugar.  They’re named after the place where Girl Scouting began, in honor of the Girl Scouts’ 100th Anniversary. DAMN YOU GIRL SCOUT GOODNESS. Don’t you know I went on a(nother) diet this year???

• Speaking of diets, are you feeling a bit filthy on the inside? Do you feel the need…the need to cleanse? Well, our pal Gwyneth Paltrow is offering readers of goop, her ridiculously awful “lifestyle website”, the opportunity to shell out $425 for the goop cleanse. The cleanse consists of…oh, who the f*** cares. Gwyneth Paltrow, you skinny bitch, you can kiss my ass. I’ve got an idea – how about a 99¢ Beefy 5-Layer Burrito from Taco Bell? Same results, 0.23% of the cost.

Well, I’m so disgusted by the thought of Gwynnie’s cleanse that I need to end this here.

I am a huge fan of whole wheat pita – I love making my own pita chips, and I also love just eating plain old wedges with hummus, olives and feta cheese (my all-time favorite lunch combination) .  I suppose you could use them for sandwiches, but I can never seem to keep from punching holes in them while stuffing them. Which of course renders them useless as food vessels. So, I’m content to eat them dipped and unstuffed.

This recipe came from Cooking Light magazine (best food mag out there, with Cook’s Illustrated coming in a close second), March 2009 issue (so, yikes, I’ve had that recipe for almost THREE years! Now, I’m REALLY surprised I didn’t lose it). The pitas came out fairly well. I do think it’s a recipe I’d have to try again a few time before getting the hang of it.

Recipe, results, and photos after the jump. As usual, my notes are in blue.

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Fresh Whole-Wheat Pitas

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 pita)

Recipe from Cooking Light magazine, March 2009 (click the link to get a printable version)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 package dry yeast (about 2 ¼ teaspoons)
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (100° to 110°)
• 10 ounces bread flour (about 2 ¼ cups)
• 4 ¾ ounces white whole-wheat flour (about 1 cup), divided (King Arthur Flour makes a great version)
• 2 tablespoons 2% Greek-style yogurt (I only had nonfat, which seemed to work just fine)
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• Olive oil cooking spray

Preparation

Dissolve sugar and yeast in 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Weigh or lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add bread flour, 3 ounces (about ¾ cup) whole-wheat flour, yogurt, oil, and salt to the yeast mixture; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead dough until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes); add enough of remaining whole-wheat flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands – dough will feel sticky. (I really had to restrain myself from adding more flour at this point – the dough was stickier than I am used to. It was difficult, but I decided to trust the recipe.)

Really, really sticky.

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Position the oven rack on the lowest shelf. Preheat the oven to 500°.

Divide dough into 8 portions. Working with one portion at a time, gently roll each portion into a 5 ½-inch circle.

I used a kitchen scale to weigh these portions - about 3 ounces each.

Place 4 dough circles on each of 2 baking sheets heavily coated with cooking spray. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, at 500° for 8 minutes or until puffed and browned. Cool on a wire rack. (These really only need about 5-6 minutes to bake. The first few that I baked for 8 minutes nearly burned. Best just to watch).

One of the puffy almost-burned ones.

Yep. It’s happening!

Two days worth of joyous foodie news that has made me extremely happy:

• Penzey’s will open a location in Crossgates Mall, opening date March 2012. Love Penzey’s. I’m so excited, and not just because of all the money I’ll save on shipping costs! Steve Barnes from Tablehopping had the news yesterday.

• Trader Joe’s has FINALLY announced (after years of endless maddening speculation and grass-roots campaigning) that they’ll be opening a location on Wolf Road in Albany. The Business Review broke the story this afternoon (Friday).

Well, good thing I just paid off my car. I’m gonna need a lot of spending money.

If you’re interested in reading the press release, it’s after the jump.

Trader Joe’s to Open Albany Store Located at 79 Wolf Road

The Store is Scheduled To Open 2nd Quarter 2012

(January 6, 2012) Monrovia, CA – Trader Joe’s, a unique, neighborhood grocery store with foods and beverages from the exotic to the basic, has signed a lease to open a new store in Albany located at 79 Wolf Road. The store is scheduled to open second quarter 2012 and is approximately 13,000 square feet in size.

Trader Joe’s was originally named in recognition of its distinct grocery buying process, because they search the world for great values and distinctive products. Crew members (store employees) consider themselves “traders on the culinary seas.” Crewmembers sport brightly colored Hawaiian-themed shirts, adding to the light-hearted air of the store.

Many area residents after the store opens can expect to receive a copy of the Trader Joe’s “Fearless Flyer” in their mailboxes. The Fearless Flyer is a somewhat irreverent description of a timely selection of Trader Joe’s products. It’s been called a cross between Consumer Reports and Mad Magazine. Each edition highlights a selection of Trader Joe’s products that the company buyers believe are worthy of customer interest, including comfort foods and items that are organic or have other special attributes.

Trader Joe’s carries an extensive array of domestic and imported foods and beverages including fresh baked artisan breads, Arabica bean coffees, international frozen entrées, 100% juices, fresh crop nuts, deli items, and vitamins and supplements, as well as the basics, like milk and eggs – all at honest, low prices.

Trader Joe’s is truly a grocery store unlike any other. Trader Joe’s is a “store of stories,” meaning every item in the store has its own virtues — high quality ingredients, great flavor or simply an extraordinary price — many items often feature all of those qualities. Another significant point of difference, all of Trader Joe’s prices are everyday prices. Trader Joe’s doesn’t have “sales” for a few days, only to hike the prices back up again. Their prices change only when their costs change — there are no fancy promotions, discount cards or couponing wars.

So how does Trader Joe’s offer unique groceries at prices everyone can afford? By offering more than 2000 items under the Trader Joe’s private label, which includes Trader Darwin’s vitamins (For the Survival of the Fittest), Trader José’s salsas, Trader Giotto’s marinara sauces, in addition to specially purchased items.

Also, Trader Joe’s buys differently than other grocers – they purchase from manufacturers, not through distributors. They’ll take a brand name product, take out the preservatives and artificial colors and ingredients, and put it under their Trader Joe’s label to sell it at a real discount.

Trader Joe’s introduces approximately a dozen new items every week, heightening the store’s adventurous appeal. Our buyers travel around the world searching out unique products at great values. In order for an item to be sold in a Trader Joe’s store, it must pass the scrutiny of a discerning tasting panel. Thousands of items are tasted each year to find products that both appeal to the culinary adventurer and microwave aficionado.

###

Trader Joe’s is a chain of neighborhood grocery stores featuring high quality imported and domestic foods and beverages at honest, low prices. Trader Joe’s (www.traderjoes.com) began in 1958 in the Los Angeles area. Since then, Trader Joe’s has expanded to more than 360 stores in 31 states.

After taking the survey, please feel free to share any thoughts and ideas for things you’d like to see on Wendalicious! Just click the button below to open the survey (survey pops up in a new window). Thanks!  The list of questions is after the jump.

Take Me to the Wendalicious Wine Survey!

In general, how do you feel about wine?

•  I love it
•  I like it, but it’s not my preferred adult beverage
•  I don’t like it at all
•  I’ve never tried it
•  I think it all tastes like the stuff you get at church. Yuck.
•  Other

What type of wine do you generally prefer?

• White
• Red
• Rose
• Other

Where do you buy wine (please select all that apply):

• Liquor Store
• State-run package store
• Grocery store
• Wholesale club store
• Online
• Directly from a winery
• I only drink wine when dining out
• Other

On average, how many bottles of wine do you have on hand?

• 0-2
• 3-5
• 5-10
• More than 10
• I have a well-stocked cellar
• Other

In what kind of glassware do you serve your wine?

• Glasses specifically crafted for the specific varietal I’m serving
• I have glasses for red, glasses for white, and champagne flutes. Nothing specific beyond that.
• Just wine glasses – nothing special
• Whatever glasses happen to be clean
• Big Red Cups
• Who needs a glass?
• Other

How do you feel about screwtops on wine bottles?

• They’re a disgrace to the wine industry
• They’re the greatest
• I don’t care either way, as long as I can get to the wine
• Other

How do you feel about wine in a box?

• I love it
• I hate it
• Some is good, some is not so good
• Other

Is it ever acceptable to add seltzer/soda/water to a glass of wine?

• Yes
• No
• It depends
• Care to explain?

Have you ever attended a guided wine tasting, or taken a wine class?

• I’ve attended free public tastings at a local wine shop
• I’ve attended a tasting at a friend’s home
• I’ve hosted tastings at my home
• I’ve taken a wine class presented by a restaurant/wine shop
• I’ve taken a wine course (a series of classes, either online or in a classroom setting)
• I’ve never attended a wine tasting or class
• Other

Would you be interested in participating in an online wine course (live video streaming, such as a Google Hangout)?

• Yes
• No
• Maybe
• What is a Google Hangout? Sounds dirty.

I was poking around The Joy of Cooking (my favorite cookbook), and found a recipe for Oatmeal Molasses Bread, which I adapted. It wasn’t too difficult, and produced great results (with some tweaking that I’ll explain in blue). Recipe and photos after the jump.

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Oatmeal-Flax Molasses Bread (you can find a printable version here)

Combine in a medium saucepan:

• 1 ½ cups water
• 1 cup steel-cut or rolled oats
• 1 tablespoon butter
• ¾ teaspoon salt

Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat until oatmeal is soft, smooth, thick and free of lumps (about 20 minutes). Let cool, stirring occasionally, until tepid and no warmer than 115°.

Combine in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer and let stand until yeast is dissolved, about 5 minutes:

• 1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
• ¼ cup warm water (105-115°)

Add to the yeast the oatmeal mixture along with:

• ½ cup room temperature water
• 1/3 cup molasses

Stir until well blended. Whisk the following together, and gradually stir in until the dough is moist and not sticky:

• 3 ¾ cups to 4 cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup ground flax seed (this was not in the original recipe – I added it for fun and Omega-3′s)

Let’s stop here for a moment.
This is where I began to distrust the recipe a bit.  After adding 4 cups of flour, the dough wasn’t just moist or sticky, it was loose and runny, slightly thicker than dumpling batter. I was pretty sure I wasn’t get to get good sandwich bread from such a loose batter. So, I kept adding flour until the dough no longer stuck to the bowl. I didn’t measure, but I added at least another cup and a half. At least.  It was also at this point that I added about a tablespoon of whole flax seeds and the same amount of uncooked oatmeal, both for texture.   Onward.

Knead the dough for 10 to 15 minutes, either by hand or on a low-medium setting on your mixer with a dough hook. Then, transfer the dough to an oil coated bowl. Turn the dough a time or two to coat it with oil. Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel and leave it in a warm place to rise for 1 ½ hours. Once it is doubled in volume, punch down the dough and knead briefly. Divide the dough in half and roll each piece into a loose loaf shape on an floured work surface. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes (I actually forgot this resting step and it turned out fine)

.

Loaves before panning. Notice the cute little flax seeds tucked in there!

Form the dough into free standing loaves, or place them seam-side down in oiled bread pans. Cover loosely with the damp towel, and let the dough rise in a warm place for another 1 ½ hours until doubled in volume.

In the pan, prior to the egg wash.

Preheat oven to 375°. If you’re making free-form loaves, slash the tops before baking. I topped my loaves with an egg wash and a sprinkling of oatmeal and flax seeds.

Bake until the bottoms of the loaves sound hollow when tapped, 40-45 minutes. You can also use an intant read thermometer to tell if they’re done – 190° is the right temperature.  Remove from pans to a rack and let cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Done and smelling fantastic.

Results:

• It wasn’t dry! I was a little worried after adding all that extra flour, but it turned out to be the right thing to do. The crumb was perfect for a sandwich bread, and very moist.
• The crust was a little chewier than I normally like. Might have been because of the egg wash.
• My spontaneous addition of the ground flax seed turned out great. I don’t really taste it, but I know it’s providing me with Omega-3 fatty acids that I don’t get in my normal diet (I hate oily fish).
• Adding the whole flax seeds and oatmeal was a great idea (thank you very much). I love breads with texture, and the seeds and oats give the bread heartiness.
• There’s a nice dark molasses taste, not overwhelming but just enough to give it depth and a slight sweetness.
• This would make an ideal bread for sandwiches, or even just slathered with butter. Highly recommended.

Again, I’d like to mention that you can find a printable version of this recipe by clicking here. If you decide to make it yourself, please let me know what you think of the recipe and any thoughts you have about improving it.