Source: Gisslen, Wayne. Professional Baking. Fifth Ed. John Wiley and Sons, 2009. Print.

Ingredients–1/2 recipe

.5 oz yeast, fresh

9 oz milk

1 lb 2 oz bread flour

1.75 oz sugar

.375 oz salt

1.75 oz eggs

2.5 oz butter

.165 oz malt syrup

Procedure

Straight dough method. 10 -15 minutes at second speed.

Bulk Ferment 60-90 minutes at 77°F

Portion out to 2.44 oz pieces and bench rest covered with plastic wrap for another 15 to 30 minutes before shaping

For Clover Rolls:

Break 2 oz portion into 3rds

Round out on palm to seal the seam. bake in muffin pan 3 balls to each muffin cup

Egg wash,  and bake on a parchment lined sheet.

Bake at 450°F for 10-15 minutes

There is little I love in this world more than cheese. And yesterday on Alberta Street in NE Portland, we stumbled upon my version of heaven: The Grilled Cheese Grill.

It was perfect timing – I was just starting to reach the point of grumpiness from hunger. You know, when you don’t realize that you’re hungry, but you start just being irritable? I find this happens a lot when you’re on vacation with no discernible eating schedule. Anyways, we were walking east on Alberta, sort of away from the majority of the shops, thinking we would turn around and just go to a sit-down restaurant for lunch, when we noticed yet another street food cart.  The others on the street mostly hadn’t yet opened or were serving vegan fair that doesn’t fit my fancy.  This proved disappointing when we had primed ourselves for some BBQ at Dixon’s Rib Pit, only to find them closed.  But, this one had people sitting at tables! One point for being opened. Wait, what does that sign say? Something about cheese…the Grilled Cheese Grill!?! I jumped up and did a little jig. Grilled cheese is my ultimate comfort food. Lunch time.

Can't talk, chewing

Their menu featured everything from the Classic (regular old grilled cheese)  to the Cheesus Burger (a burger with 2 grilled cheeses as buns). I opted for the daily special called the “Pittsburgh, PA” (I think because they had G20 protests there that day) which was apple butter, ham,  Tillamook horseradish cheddar cheese and avocado. It was a taste bud trifecta of sweet, salty and cheesey.

Jason went with one called the BABS; the picture basically says it all.

The BABS: Bacon, Apple, Bleu Cheese, Swiss on Rye

My only complaint is that they don’t have one in Chicago. Bonus: Their twitter feed seems to basically just be links to old cartoon clips. Love it.

Last night I overcame a fear I didn’t know I had.  It was seafood night in our Intro to Garde Manger class, and all day long I was looking forward to some salty water deliciousness.

In the cafe before class I ran into my station partner, Kelly. We’re kind of inseparable at school. Anyway, she was nervous about the inevitable shucking of  clams and oysters that would be taking place. She believes she will slice her hand open. I encourage her that she will be just fine. This will be fun! And think of all the yummy oysters we get to eat (tummy grumbles).

Flash forward to the class demo where our Chef instructor is presents us with some GIANT clams. They’re approximately twice the size of my palms. Disclaimer here: I have ity bity  hands (and ears and feet – but those are besides the point). Anyway, I’m struggling to fit this baseball sized clam in my grasp and I’m supposed to jam a knife into it in the direction of my palm. I froze. A kind of weird paralyzing feeling took over me and I could not bring myself to put any amount of pressure onto the knife into the clam (or my palm). I really didn’t want to go to the emergency room.

Our chef instructor must have seen my hesitation because at that point he grabbed both my hands and with a serious amount of pressure guided the knife stiffly into the clam popping it open (and avoiding my palm). The paralysis washed away. That wasn’t so hard.

But as I reached for the rest of my clams I selectively chose  the ones that appeared to be slightly open (though still alive mind you, they would pinch shut if you tapped them.) I found these didn’t cause the same paralysis as the ones that were practically glued shut.

Claims Casino

Yield: 6 claims

6 claims in the half shell

1 piece bacon, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbs butter

2 tbs onion, minced

dash Worcester Sauce

dash Tabasco

1/4 cup bread crumbs

Directions:

1) Render the bacon in a saute pan, then set aside on a paper towel

2) saute onion and garlic in remaining bacon fat and move to hold with bacon

3) mix the onion, garlic and bacon with the butter and add Tabasco and Worcester sauce

4) add the breadcrumb to the remaining bacon fat to moisten

5) put a dollop of the butter mixture on each clam and cover with the breadcrumbs

6) bake in a 400 degree oven until golden brown on top (about 8 minutes)