5/4

In Bakersfield, most Basque restaurants serve what they call a setup with their meals which includes beans, soup, salad, and salsa.  The beans are eaten with the salsa.  The salad is usually a simple vinaigrette.  I made my own set up, but the salsa came out tasting like ketchup, so I will not even give you the recipe for that one.

Benji's Beans from Recipes from Basque Restaurants of the American West
serves 14 to 16

4 cups pink or pinto beans
8 to 10 cups water
5 oz. salt pork cut into 1/4 inch pieces (I used dried chorizo and it worked just as well)
2 onions, chopped fine
2 T.  olive oil
2 T. tomato paste
1 pinch thyme leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Sort beans and rinse them.  Place them in a large pot.  Add water allowing one inch for expansion.  (Keep a pot of water boiling gently so that you can add it to the beans should they start to become dry).  Bring to a boil and then simmer beans for about 35 minutes. 

Cook salt pork in oil over medium heat.  Stir until the hot bits release a little fat. Stir in onions.   Keep stirring mixture until it is a golden brown (careful not to burn).  When the beans are almost done, add the salt pork mixture.  Stir well and then add tomato paste, thyme, salt and pepper.  Cook together until beans are done.  The total cooking time is about one hour.

Woolgrowers Vegetable Soup

1 quart chicken broth
1 T. tomato paste
1 t. smoked paprika*
1/4 head cabbage
2 potatoes cut into 1/3 inch pieces
1 large carrot cut into 1/3 inch pieces
2 large leeks, carefully cleaned and thinly sliced

Heat up broth, paprika and tomato paste.  Cook ingredients for about 30 minutes and salt to taste.
*smoked paprika flavors a dish the same way as chorizo.

5/2

I made two dishes, with three recipes.  I was looking through some Basque cookbooks that were more oriented towards restaurants of the American West, and they featured multiple potato salads.  I learned how to make mayonnaise and created my own recipe for potato salad.  I also made sizzling shrimp that were called Jesus's Shrimp a la Pil Pil from Recipes from Basque Restaurants of the American West by Clara Perkins. 

Mayonnaise
(From The Art of Basque Cooking by Clara Perkins)

Crack an egg plus an extra yolk into an electric mixing bowl and beat well.  In a thin stream, beating continuously on a high speed, add two cups of olive oil.  When the mayonnaise is thick, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.  Beat in one tablespoon of cold water to keep it from separating.  Makes about 3 cups.




Rebecca's Spicy Potato Salad
Serves 4 


1 Slice of serano ham or prosciutto, chopped into small slivers
3 piquillo peppers, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 an onion

3 T.  chopped parsley
1 1/2 T.  capers, chopped
1 T. Balsamic vinegar
2 t.  espelette chili (or other kind of crushed chili pepper)
1/2-1 cup mayonnaise
6 medium-small sized potatoes

Thinly slice the onion and sautee it until it is translucent and light brown.  Combine the ham, peppers, onion, capers, vinegar, and mayonnaise and set aside.  Boil the potatoes, take care not to over cook, and then slice them into 1/3 inch slices.  Toss in the mayonnaise mixture and serve.  If the salad is too strong, add more mayonnaise.

Jesus' Prawns al Pil Pil

According to Recipes from Basque Restaurants of the American West, pil pil means sizzling hot.  These are basically sizzling garlic shrimp.
24 shrimps
1/2 cup olive oil
3 T.  garlic, minced
1/4 t. red pepper, crushed
1 T. parsley, minced
2 T. butter
juice of 1/2 lemon

Have everything ready before you start cooking the shrimp.  Peel, devein, and clean the shrimp.  Place oil in a heavy 2 quart pot.  Bring the temperature up high and then stir in garlic.  Quickly add shrimp. Stir them gently for a few second and then reduce the heat as soon as they begin turning pink.  Stir in lemon juice, parsley, red pepper and butter.  Serve immediately, Jesus recommends serving it on heated plates.

Can't remember the date

For this dinner, I had a few friends over and served piquillo peppers stuffed with cod, oven fried fries (like I made in my first entry), a grilled leg of lamb, someone brought salad, and for dessert, flan. 

Stuffed Peppers
 These stuffed peppers are a bit more authentic new Spanish Basque cuisine.  They are absolutely delicious and are an example of one of the many uses of piperade.

From The Basque Table

1/2 pound skinned and boned salt cod
3 T. oil
1 T. flour
3 c. milk
12 canned piquillo pepper, canned pimentos, or roasted, peeled, and seeded red bell peppers
2 cups piperade, emulsified  (a food mill works well)

In a shallow bowl, cover the fish with cold water. Refrigerate the fish for 24 to 36 hours, changing the water every 8 hours or so.  Drain the fish on paper towels, and shred it with your fingers.

In a skillet or saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the fish, and saute it for about 5 minutes, until lightly browned.  Add the flour, and mix well.  Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, adding the mild a little at a time and stirring until the cod bechamel is smooth. Set the pan aside, and let the bechamel cool.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Using a teaspoon, stuff the peppers with the bechamel.  Arrange the peppers in a casserole just large enough to hold them snugly.  Spoon the piperade over the peppers, and bake them, uncovered, for abut 5 to 10 minutes, or until they are heated.

Grilled Lamb

 To prepare the lamb, I trimmed the fat, poked holes with a paring knife, about an inch and a half apart, and inserted a sliver of garlic into each one.  I inserted the garlic right after I poked the hole, because it is hard to locate it later.  I then marinated the lamb in olive oil, extra garlic, salt and pepper for about 3 hours.

  

To grill a leg of lamb, cook for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side over high heat.  Reduce the coals to produce medium heat, cover the grill, and cook for another 7 to 15 minutes.  The internal temperature should be 125 degrees Fahrenheit for medium-rare.
http://www.ehow.com/how_18214_grill-leg-lamb.html

Flan

This was my great-grandmothers recipe, but was recorded by my great aunt Orelie.

For a large flan:

Heat the milk
2 qts milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 orange peel
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large sauce pan or pot, place all of the above ingredients.... and stir.  Heat milk but do not boil.  Start warming the mild and medium heat and then turn to low heat as you caramelize the sugar in the custard pan.

Caramelize the sugar
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup water

Fill the sink with cold water so it will be ready for cooling the caramelized pan.  In the custard pan, put in the sugar and water. Using a wooden spoon, stir water into sugar.  At high heat, boil and continuously stir sugar until it is golden brown- watch closely.   Justa s soon as the sugar turns, immediately remove from heat  Do not let the sugar turn brown because it will be bitter.  Set caramelized pan in cold water for 30 seconds- just long enough to stop the cooking.  Remove pan from water.  Caramelize the sides of the pan.  Careful! Hot sugar really burns!  Hold the pan with tow potholders and slowly tilt and turn the pan so caramel rolls around inside of the pan all the way to the rim.  Continue until sugar no longer moves.  Place caramelized pan upside down on sink to harden for upwards of 5 minutes.  When sugar has hardened, place pan in sink water to shatter the caramelized sugar.  Careful not to get water inside the pan.  While waiting for the sugar to shatter, just leave the pan floating in the water and start to prepare the milk and eggs.

Milk and Eggs

10 eggs
1/4 cup sugar

In a large mixer bowl, crack the eggs and add the sugar.  Mix at medium to high speed until eggs are beaten together but not whipped.  Get the heated milk, remove orange rind and cinnamon stick.  By the cupful, gradually add heated milk to eggs that are beating at low speed.  Get bath pan and put about 1 inch of cold water in it.  The water is to be no more than half way up on the custard pan- so water won't bubble up into the custard.   Get the caramelized sugar pan, place foil handle under it.  Place caramelized sugar pan into bath pan so that foil handles hang out of the bath pan.

Strain Milk and Add Liquors

Place strainer in caramelized pan and pour milk/egg mixture through it into the pan.   Add vanilla and all the liquors shown below and stir. If pan not quite full, add a little milk.

1 T. Vanilla

4 T. Bourbon or Rum
2 T. Brandy
1 T.  Grand Marnier or Cointreaux

Place the custard/ bath pan in the oven and cook for 30 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit and 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  When its done, the top will be browned, the custard will be starting to pull way from the edges of the pan and a toothpick or fork comes out clean when stuck in it.  Lift the custard out of the bath pan and let it cool for several hours.  When cooled, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.  To serve, run a dinner knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the custard.  Place a large serving bowl over the custard pan, hold tight, and flip over.  Scrape the caramelized sugar out of the bowl.

4/30

This dinner was not so exciting.  I made saffron rice, shrimp, and a failed attempt at croquettes.  The shrimp were simple but cooked to perfection (as the recipe had promised).  They are not heavily flavored, so they made good leftovers on salad.


The croquette recipe called to make a mixture that would act as the filling.  It was not the most instructive recipe (I will not name names) and it came out as a disaster.  Other recipes I have read since say to refrigerate the mixture overnight...which may have helped in hindsight.  No use crying over spilled milk... or in my case oddly congealed milk.






Theresa Barrenechea's Langostinos a la Plancha (grilled shrimp)
From the Basque Table

 3/4 cup olive oil
juice 1 lemon
2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 pounds large shrimp

Marinate the shrimp in the ingredients listed above for one or two minutes.  Cover the bottom of a heated skillet by carefully placing the shrimp. One each side, cook for one minute on high heat and one minute on low heat.


Bonus Recipe!

In one of my other entries I made piperade. Piperade can be made into a meal by cooking eggs in it and serving it with toast.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.   Heat the piperade in a skillet, make holes for the yolks and crack in the desired number of eggs. Spread the whites around and put it in the oven once it starts to simmer. Bake for 8-10 minutes in the oven, until yolks are set.

*note: eggs can also be scrambled in and/ or cooked entirely on stove top.

4/13

For yesterday's dinner I pan fried some sole and served it with one of the four basic Basque sauces: salsa verde (green sauce).  There are four basic sauces: green, red, yellow, and black.  I made red sauce (piperade) on Monday.  The yellow sauce gets its color from olive oil and is usually served in a dish called pil pil which I will make once I find some salt cod. The black sauce is made with squid ink, and I will probably not attempt it because it is difficult to find squids that still have their ink sacks in the supermarket.  Salsa verde is a simple sauce that gets its green color from parsley, its main ingredient.  It is usually served with fish.  As an appetizer I served another favorite that has made its way into about half of my Basque cookbooks: garlic soup.  It looks like barf but you will have to take my word that it is delicious. For dessert I served gateau basque, a dessert that is more prominent among French Basques than Spanish Basques.

Sopa de Ajo or Garlic and Bread Soup

My dad likes to tell this story about garlic soup: when he was a grad student he had his thesis adviser and his adviser's wife over for dinner.  The adviser's wife was very into nutrition and eating well.  He served this soup and she loved it, so much so she asked how it was made.  He replied that he started with about a quarter cup of lard.  At this point in the story he drops his spoon to his plate so that it makes the same clatter that her spoon made that evening.  I am trying not to become a chunk of lard from this project myself, so I used olive oil, but my dad claims that it is even better with lard.  This soup is not only fatty, but it is ugly.  On the other hand it is great comfort food and worth the calories.  You have to trust it while it's cooking: it doesn't take good or like much of anything until the very end.  I used the recipe from Teresa Barrenechea's The Basque Table

Serves 6

1/2 cup olive oil
6 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1/2 slightly stale baguette, sliced thin
1 T. paprika
4 cups water or chicken broth
Salt
1 t.  hot red pepper flakes (optional)
6 large eggs
(I also added a little bacon because my dad was missing his lard...we only live once.)

In a casserole or skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the garlic, and fry it, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 2 to 3 minutes, until it is golden. Take care the garlic does not burn.  Add the bread, and turn it several times so that it absorbs the oil.  Sprinkle it with paprika, and toss well.  Add the water or broth, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring, until the soup is heated through and well blended and the bread has absorbed much of the liquid. Season to taste with salt (and pepper flakes).  Just before serving the soup, crack the eggs, and slide them onto the surface of the soup, taking care not to break the yolks.  Let the eggs cook for 1 to 2 minute, until the whites are set.  Serve the soup by spooning it gently into shallow bowls, allowing one egg per serving.

Sole with Salsa Verde
adapted from Basque Cooking and Lore

Very finely chop 4 cloves of garlic and 8 Tablespoons of parsley to almost make a paste.  Toss sole filets in flour, salt and pepper.  Lay the filets flat on the pan one by one over high heat, once you lay the last one down, turn the first one over.  Add the garlic-parsley paste to the pan after the sole is cooked.  Add 1/2 a cup of water after about 30 seconds to a minute and then pour the mixture over the fish after another 30 seconds to a minute.

Gateau Basque 
I don't know what it is, but this is the first time I truly enjoyed gateau basque and wanted to repeat the experience.  Maybe the other gateau basques I've had were just bad ones.  This recipe makes a light, moist cake with a thin layer of pastry cream in the center.  I highly recommend adding the raisins. This recipe is also from The Basque Table

For the dough:
1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup plus 2 T. sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup (2 sticks) minus 2 T. unsalted butter
1 egg
2 egg yolks
1 t. grated lemon zest
1 t. rum

For cream:
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 T. flour
2 egg yolks
1 t. rum
2 T. raisins (optional)

1. To make the dough, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl.  Mound the mixture and scoop a well in the center. Add the butter, egg, egg yolks, zest, and rum to the well, and, using your fingers and working outward from the well, mix the dough until it holds together.  Pat it into two balls, one slightly bigger than the other.  Cover them, and set them aside to rest in a cool place or in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. 
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch pie plate.
3. To prepare the cream, pour all but 2 T. of milk into a saucepan, add the sugar, and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove the pan from the heat.
4. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 2 T. of milk and the flour and stir to make a paste.  Add this paste and the egg yolks to the milk, and stir.  Return the pan to the heat, and cook the mixture over low heat, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the cream is thickened.  Take care that the egg does not scramble.  Set the pan aside, and let the cream cool slightly.
5. Add the rum (and raisins) to the cooled cream, and stir well.
6.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger ball of dough into a circle about 12 inches in diameter.  Lay the dough in the tart pan, pressing it over the bottom and about 1/2 inch up the sides.  Pour the cream mixture over the dough.
7.  Roll the smaller ball of dough into a circle a little larger than 10 inches in diameter.  Lay this over the cream, and gently fold the bottom edge over the top. Brush the top crust with the beaten egg.  Bake the tart on the center rack of the oven for about 45 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned.  Let the tart cool before serving.

4/11

Last night's theme was "what do I need to clear out of the fridge?"  There was some frozen duck breast in the freezer, so I decided I would finish it off before it get freezer burn.  After consulting my books, I concluded that duck was not a super Basque meat.  I found one recipe for a duck stew, but I decided against it.  I then hit the internet and a video of someone making piperade with duck eggs.  He rightly called piperade a Basque "mother sauce."  I had been meaning to make a piperade at some point, and yesterday was as good a day as any.  I learned from the video that piperade is a very versatile sauce: it can be served on it's own as an appetizer, or on bread with eggs cooked into it for breakfast, or with meat.   I did a similar web search for artichokes (I thought I had more recipes for them than I actually did).   I served the artichokes and duck with a potato recipe I found in Pedro Martin's Tapas of San Sebastian


Duck with Piperade

Here's where I got the recipe which I scaled down to serve 4:  http://cookblast.com/video/basque-piperade-w-duck-eggs-3274899

Piperade:

1/3 cup olive oil
1 chopped onion
7 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
2/3 T. paprika
1/3 T. salt
1 t. sugar
1/3 T espelette chili
1 1/4 cup canned tomatoes (whole)
1 1/4 cup roasted peppers (sliced)
Sautee onions, garlic, and spices until the onions are translucent.  Add the tomatoes and roasted peppers.  Break up the tomatoes with wooden spoon.  When they are broken up simmer for 25-30 minutes.


I made the duck with the help of Gordon Ramsay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOo2QMV6fHA
He says to preheat the oven to 200 degrees. He means celsius (it took a while to figure that out.)

Potatoes
potatoes
parsley
espelette chili (optional- he didn't ask for this but there was something red in the picture... it gives them a bit of a kick)
salt and pepper

Par boil the potatoes and then sautee with the parsley and chili until they are golden.  Salt and pepper to taste.




Artichokes
From this website: http://handtomouthkitchen.wordpress.com/2007/08/04/euskadi-artichokes/

Although she had canned artichokes, I had fresh ones, so I cleaned the hearts. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV7iU0NoYSs). I then steamed them for about 45 minutes. Then I followed her recipe: I didn't have any Serano ham, so I used the small amount of prosciutto I had in my fridge. I sautteed the ham for a few seconds and then I added the artichokes.

4/10

Last night, I made poulet basque with instruction from my father.  As an accompaniment I made Asparagus Menestra (Asparagus with a white wine sauce), a recipe I adapted from Basque Cooking and Lore.  For dessert, I made Basque Wedding Cookies (from the same book).

Poulet Basque
Poulet Basque is a traditional Basque stew.  I find this dish especially fun to make because it is so colorful, and it smells wonderful right from the beginning.

serves 12

3 cut up chickens
flour
salt
pepper
8 onions
1/4 lb serano ham
2 ounces cured chorizo
2 red peppers
1 green anaheim pepper
16 oz jarred piquillo peppers (can substitute with more red peppers)
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 cups heavy white wine (preferably the wine being served with the stew)

Toss the chickens in flour, salt, and pepper (optional, but thickens the stew).  Brown (braise) the chickens.  You want to coat the pan with as much juice as possible because this flavors the stew. Add the onions.  Meanwhile, roast the peppers (except the piquillos).


When the onions are translucent, add all the peppers, mushrooms and meat.  Finally, add the white wine.  Let simmer for an hour or so.  The stew is best after it sits.

Asparagus Menestra
Recipe adapted from Basque Cooking and Lore
Serves 6

2 T.  olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 oz. chopped chorizo cut into thin rounds
1 1/2 T. flour
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup liquid from asparagus
2 lbs. asparagus tips

Steam asparagus tips until tender but not overcooked. Reserve 1/2 cup liquid from steaming.
Heat oil in heavy skillet over moderate heat until light haze forms.  Add onion and chorizo. When onion is translucent, add flour and stir gently.  Add wine and asparagus liquid.  Bring to a boil, the pour over asparagus.

Basque Wedding Cookies
Basque desserts are limited, but so far I have seen dessert recipes fall into 3 major categories:  churros, almost flavored cakes or cookies, and custard (especially flan).  This recipe falls into the almond category.  They are a very pleasant cookie that would be good in summer. My dad, who grew up surrounded by many more Basques than I have claims that his grandma used to make these. They are pretty quick to make (about 45 minutes start to finish) and are fun to make as well.  The dough is similar to pie dough and should be handled accordingly.

makes 4 dozen

1 cup butter
1/4 cup sifted confectioners sugar
1 1/2 T. grated lemon peel
1 T. water
2 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour
2/3 cup whole blanched almonds
3/4 cup confectioners sugar

Cream butter until light and fluffy.  Stir in 1/4 cup confectioners sugar, peel and water.   Mix flour with salt and beat into butter mixture.  Knead with hands until dough is light.  Pinch off heaping teaspoonfuls of dough, press them flat and wrap around a whole almond to cover completely. Shape like a tiny leaf and place 1 inch apart on greased baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  Take care not to overbake.  Remove from cookie sheet, cool 2 or 3 minutes, then roll in confectioners sugar.  Cool completely, then roll again.

4/7

Tonight's dinner was not as photogenic as the previous two, but still tasty. I made  pepper, zucchini and prosciutto pintxos, beans and meat stew, and Arroz con Verduras (rice with peppers.)

Pepper, zucchini and prosciutto pintxos
1 Onion, thinly sliced
1 Pepper, thinly sliced
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
prosciutto

Sautee onion in pan for 3-5 minutes. Add pepper for 5.  Add zucchini for another 5. Put mixture on a piece of French bread and top with prosciutto.
Note:  I was not crazy about the zucchini, but I also used sweeter bread than was ideal (still working through that sheepherder's bread)

Bean and meat stew
I used the directions from "Bean Soup with Chorizos" in Basque Cooking and Lore by Darcy Williamson with slightly different ingredients.  This soup is a hardy soup I can picture sheepherders sitting down to after a long day.  It tastes better than it looks.
Serves 4

3 1/2 quarts water
3/4 lb dried pinto beans
2 coarsely chopped onions
1 1/2 Tbsp. finely chopped garlic
about an ounce of cured chorizo
3-4 strips of bacon
2 sweet italian turkey sausages
2 saffron threads, crushed
salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan, bring 1 quart of water to boiling. Drop in beans and boil for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and let beans soak with some salt for an hour.  Drain beans, reserving liquid, and return to Dutch oven.  Add enough Fresh water to soaking liquid to make 3 quarts.  Pour over beans.  Add onions, garlic, and chorizo.  Simmer 1 hour. Skim.  Add bacon and simmer 1 hour longer or until beans are barely tender.
Drop sausages into soup.  Stir in saffron and cook 30 minutes longer.  Season with salt and pepper. Remove chorizo and sausage.  Chop chorizo and slice sausages into one-half inch thick rounds.  Return to soup and heat 3 to 5 minutes.

Arroz Verduras
I found this recipe in Ann Roger's A Basque Story Cookbook.  Cooked in broth instead of water, it is a flavorful pilaf-like rice.

2 tablespoons oil

1 tablespoon butter
1 cup raw rice
2 1/4 cups hot stock
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 onion
salt and pepper

Heat 1 Tblsp oil and butter until they begin to foam.  Add rice and stir, over medium heat, until the rice is golden.  Add the hot stock, bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat.  Simmer for 20 minutes or until the stock is absorbed and the rice is tender.
While the rice is cooking, seed the peppers and chop them.  Chop the onion. Simmer the vegetables in one tablespoon olive oil until they are tender.  Just before serving toss the vegetables with the rice and season with salt and a little pepper.

4/5 Lets do lunch

Yesterday, I was not home for dinner, so I made three recipes: a Basque sheepherder's bread, a Spanish omelet, and a pintxos (the Basque version of tapas).
Spanish Omelet or Tortilla de Patatas

This is a very pleasant and straightforward dish that I had during my stay in the Basque country (on the Spanish side).  I have also seen it offered in Basque restaurants.  Pedro Martin has recipes for similar, yet fancier, omelets in his book, Tapas of San Sebastian and Ann Rogers includes a recipe for this omelet in A Basque Story Cookbook.  I have improvised this recipe before, but I referenced Ann Rogers' recipe this time. 4 eggs, 1 onion, thinly sliced (optional), 2-3 medium potatoes, olive oil, and salt.

Quarter and thinly slice the potatoes, about the width of 2 or 3 potato chip slices.Sautee the onions for about 2 minutes in the oil and a dash of salt with medium heat.  Add the potatoes adn turn the heat down to medium/low, stir regularly so that the onions do not burn. Mix 4 eggs together in a separate bowl.  When the potatoes have turned a light golden brown, pour the eggs over them.  Cover and cook until the top is somewhat solid.  Flip over. The bottom should be golden brown.  Cook until the other side is the same color. Flip onto plate and salt to taste. A garnish of roasted peppers or tomatoes is traditional and gives the omelet a little extra something.  Enjoy!

Basque Sheepherder's bread
I got this recipe from the article, "Basques in the West," published in Sunset Magazine in 1976.  This bread is cooked in a dutch oven, to resemble the traditional pit-baking practiced by Basque sheepherders.  Sweet like a challah, yet denser, this dish represents the Basque-American tradition of sheepherding.
3 cups very hot water
1/2 cup butter, margarine, or shortening
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 packages dry yeast (2 scant Tblsp)
About 9 1/2 cups all purpose flour, unsifted, and
olive oil. In a bowl, combine the hot water, butter, sugar, and salt.  Stir until butter melts; let cool to warm (110 to 115 degrees).  Stir in yeast, cover, and set in a warm place until bubbly, about 15 minutes.  Add 5 cups of the flour and beat with a heavy-duty mixer or wooden spoon to form a thick batter.  With a spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour (about 3 1/2 cups) to form a stiff dough.  Turn dough out onto a floured board and knead until smooth, about 10 minutes, adding flour as needed to prevent sticking.  Turn dough over in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.  Punch down dough and knead on a floured board to form a smooth ball. Cut a circle of foil to cover the bottom of the Dutch oven.  Grease the inside of the Dutch oven and the underside of the lid with salad oil.

Place dough in the pot and cover with the lid.  Let rise in a warm place until dough pushes up the lid by about 1/2 inch, about 1 hour (watch closely).

Bake, covered with lid, in a 375 degree oven for 12 minutes.  Remove lid and bake for another 30 to 35 minutes, or until loaf is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped (somehow when I was doing this the oven got turned off.  I turned it back on eventually and the bread did become golden brown, but it was a little underdone on the inside).  Remove from oven and turn loaf out onto a rack to cool.  Makes 1 very large loaf.

Mushroom and chorizo pintxos
Pinxtos are a Spanish-Basque specialty.   They are a smaller version of tapas, served as an open faced sandwich on top of a slice of baguette.  Many Pintxo bars are often found in the same area, so people can go from one to the next, while enjoying a drink and a couple pintxos at each one.  Pintxos are beginning to be served in the newer, more Spanish or new cuisine restaurants in America as appetizers or at the bar.  I served mine on top of small pieces of the sheepherders bread.  The sweetness of the bread nicely offset the saltiness of the chorizo-mushroom mixture. This pintxo was inspired by a mushroom pintxo in Pedro Martin's book.

To make four larger than usual pintxos:

1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
3/4 Tblsp. chorizo, chopped (I used about 1 1/2 Tblsp. and the flavor was far too overpowering)
olive oil
dash of salt

Sautee the onions until they are a light golden brown.  Pay attention not to burn them.  Add the mushrooms and choritzo and continue to sautee until they look done. Distribute the mixture over the slices of bread and serve.

April 4th

Tonight I made Chuletas de Cordero on Ajo (Lamb chops with garlic; recipe from p. 101 of The Basque Story Cookbook) and Pimentos Rojos (same cookbook), stuffed peppers, and oven fried herbed fries.
Stuffed Peppers

This is a recipe of my own creation.  I believe stuffed peppers are mainly a Spanish dish, but there were several recipes for stuffed peppers (mostly involving crabmeat or shrimp). For inspiration, I turned to the online menu for Piperade http://www.piperade.com/, a Basque restaurant in San Francisco.  Piperade offered piquillo peppers stuffed with goat cheese and raisins.  This sounded a bit too rich and I only had largish red peppers in the fridge.  I tried to give this recipe a basque flare with my choice of ingredients:
Stuffing (enough for 2 bell peppers):
1/2 cup raw brown rice
1/2 cup feta cheese (I used 1/4 cup and they came out too dry)
1/8 cup chopped chorizo (or cured meat of choice)
1/8 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup chopped parsley
3 (or more) cloves of garlic, chopped
Cook the rice.  Gut peppers of choice.  I used 2 regular bell peppers, but a smaller, more flavorful pepper may work better, like a pimento or piquillo pepper.  Mix stuffing ingredients in a bowl and stuff the pepper.  It may be good to prop up the peppers so the stuffing doesn't fall out (I used a pan for coffee cakes) Cook at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

1. Chuletas de Cordero on Ajo (Lamb Chops with Garlic) and Pimentos Rojos (Red Peppers)
   
   From the A Basque Story Cook Book by Ann Rogers
   
   

Cut a slit in each lamb chop and insert a sliver of peeled garlic.  Rub with salt, pepper and oil. I was over zealous and I inserted three slivers into each chop.  One is enough. Here is a link to the method I used to cook them: http://www.howtocookmeat.com/howtopanfrylambloinchops.htm I did not need to broil them for the full 10 minutes.  I like my meat on the rare side, but I would check them after 5 minutes.  The internal temperature for rare lamb is 140 degrees, 150 for medium, and 160 for well done.
Ann Rogers says that the lamb chops are traditionally served with Pimentos Rojos:
2 4-ounce cans whole pimentos (I used about half that for four lamb chops)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 large clove garlic
salt
Mince garlic and simmer until golden brown.  Drain, quarter and carefully lay the pimentos on the pan.  Add salt and cook over low heat with a cover on the pan for 10 minutes.
Herbed Fries
Although I did not encounter fries in my two week tour of the Basque country, I can't say they don't exist.  Nevertheless, I have seen fries on the menu of most of the Basque-American restaurants I have encountered. I personally like this method because I prefer softer fries to crispier fries. These are oven baked instead of deep fried, so we can pretend they are healthy:Cut desired amount of potatoes (I like the way russet potatoes fry up in this case) lengthwise until they are about a quarter to a half inch thick. 

Toss with lots of herbs (I used parsley, dill, oregano, and basil), salt, olive oil, and pepper.  Spread out on baking sheet and bake at  400 degrees for about ten minutes, or until they are soft and golden brown on the outside. 

I also served sauteed broccoli (with onions and garlic) with this meal (put a little water in the pan, cover it, and the broccoli will be done when the water cooks off).  It's not Basque but it adds more color to the plate, and it's good for you.