#banana chocolate chip sourdough discard

[northbirdblog]

Delicious Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins made with Sourdough Discard.

This is a great way to use up an excess of sourdough starter/discard and also those spotty bananas that are hanging around (or if you are like me, a stash of frozen bananas that had started to go spotty, and I froze them instead of throwing them out!)

To get this recipe and more tasty ideas, visit:

[theartistshearth]

Baking Sourdough Discard Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I am always looking for ways to use up some of my sourdough discard, because I always have at least one jar of discard in my fridge. I’m also frequently looking for ways to use up old bananas that have gone past where I want to just peel and eat them (one they get more than just a few little brown spots, they’re for cooking, not snacking.) So this recipe is a perfect way to use up a bit of…

[lavblogs]

Sourdough discard, the leftover starter that you might typically toss out before feeding your sourdough starter, can be used in various recipes to reduce waste and add a unique tangy flavor to your dishes. Here are some popular sourdough discard recipes:

1. Sourdough Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 cup sourdough discard

1 cup flour

1 cup milk

1 egg

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp melted butter or oil

Instructions:

Mix the discard, flour, and milk in a bowl and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.

Add the egg, sugar, baking soda, salt, and melted butter.

Mix until combined and cook on a preheated griddle or frying pan until bubbles form and the edges are set.

Flip and cook until golden brown.

2. Sourdough Crackers

Ingredients:

1 cup sourdough discard

1 cup flour

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

Optional: herbs, seeds, or spices for flavor

Instructions:

Mix the discard, flour, olive oil, and salt to form a dough.

Roll out the dough thinly between two pieces of parchment paper.

Transfer to a baking sheet, score into squares, and sprinkle with additional salt or toppings.

Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 20-25 minutes until golden and crisp.

3. Sourdough Banana Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup sourdough discard

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Optional: nuts or chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a loaf pan.

In a large bowl, mix the sourdough discard, mashed bananas, sugar, melted butter, egg, and vanilla.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir until just combined.

Fold in nuts or chocolate chips if desired.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

4. Sourdough Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

1 cup sourdough discard

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup warm water

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp instant yeast

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and knead until a smooth dough forms.

Cover and let rise for 1-2 hours until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 475°F (245°C). Roll out the dough to your desired thickness.

Add your favorite toppings and bake for 10-15 minutes until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly.

5. Sourdough Brownies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sourdough discard

1/2 cup melted butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a square baking dish.

In a bowl, mix the melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract.

Add the sourdough discard and mix until smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and salt.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared dish and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.

These recipes are a great way to make use of your sourdough discard and add some delicious new dishes to your repertoire!

[embracingspirit]

Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Cookies

I’ve been making sourdough bread for about six months and have mastered a few of the discard recipes like banana muffins, waffles, English muffins and crackers. If you aren’t sure what I am talking about the “discard” is the stuff you would throw away when feeding your starter—I keep mine in a jar in the fridge so when I get the push to bake something, I have extra for some fun recipes. I am a…

[shoku-and-awe]

Making this based on my mom’s strong recommendation! She says replace the vanilla bean paste(?) with vanilla extract, consider adding a second egg, and it’s great with walnuts and chocolate chips. I’m excited because banana bread and also because it uses a whole cup of discard! And it smells AMAZING.

[stitchitup]

Yesterday I made chocolate sourdough discard bread. While I probably will never make it again, (because I would want to improve it,) I figured I should document the experience here, before I forget what I did.

I collected all the discard from all three of my starters. Added a cup and a little more of all-purpose flour. Added a couple of heaping spoonfuls of cocoa powder. Added some water. I didn't measure anything, just mixed it till it looked right. Oh yeah, and when I got it a little too wet, I added a heaping spoonful of whole wheat. Mixed all that up and let it ferment for about 8 hours.

When I came back to it, I added 1/8 c of olive oil and two handfuls of chocolate chips. I poured it into one of my tin loaf pans, pressed a few more chocolate chips into the top, and let it rise again, on top of the coffee maker, which was warm, as it had just made coffee, for 2, 2 1/2 hours, something like that.

I put foil over the top and baked it in a preheated (400°F) oven for 20 minutes. I checked it. It wasn't done. I put the cover back on it but left it vented and baked it for 12 more minutes. I checked it, took the foil off, and put it back for 12 more minutes. I took it out, let it begin to cool, and it was still warm when I cut into it.

It was tastier than I thought it would be. The sour and bitter of the starter was still prominent, but the sugar in the chocolate chips was enough to balance it out. It was much better than the sourdough discard banana bread, which I didn't even document, and even that was not terrible.

I think an ordinary sourdough loaf with chocolate would be much better. Next discard loaf, I think I will go with a more savory, herb-y profile. That might fit the sourness better. But this chocolate bread was fine as an experiment. I'll go back for more of it. I don't know that I'll finish it, but I'll have some more of it.

I have half of a regular sourdough loaf left, and I look forward to baking my next batch of those to see what I can learn and improve.

[easyfoodnetwork]

Make This Thick, Ricotta Chocolate Chip Pound Cake From Baker Melissa Weller

This recipe for a simple but delicious loaf cake should be your next baking endeavor

Did you come in hot at the beginning of quarantine, baking your little heart out with sourdough and banana bread and ambitious pastry projects? Have you since lost that baking mojo as the pandemic presses on longer than anyone ever imagined?

Us too. But Melissa Weller’s ricotta chocolate chip pound cake may be enticing enough to pull you out of your baking retirement and back into the game. The loaf, the NYC-based baker says, seems easy to put together but takes a bit of finesse. “Food & Wine magazine called it ‘a feat of physics,’ because the chocolate chips don’t sink in the cake, they are dispersed throughout, which is something I worked very hard to achieve,” says Weller. The key is chopping the chips: “I chop the chocolate very finely before folding the chips into the batter. The smaller, lighter chips float in the batter rather than sinking to the bottom of the pan.”

Another key? Ensuring the thick cake is baked all the way through. Says Weller, “Where the toothpick test is sufficient for most cakes — and you can certainly use that for this cake — to make sure it is baked properly, I check the internal temperature of the cake with a digital thermometer, a bread baker’s trick that I apply to this cake.”

The master baker demonstrated on Eater’s Instagram how to make this simple cake, which shows up in her forthcoming cookbook, A Good Bake — and in the meantime, you can find the recipe below.

Ricotta Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

1 1⁄4 cups (220 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 2⁄3 cups (200 grams) all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon (15 grams) baking powder 1 2⁄3 cups (367 grams) whole milk ricotta 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks, or 170 grams) unsalted butter, cubed, softened 1 ½ cups (300 grams) granulated sugar 3 (150 grams) large eggs 1 tablespoon (15 grams) pure vanilla extract 1 teaspoon (6 grams) fine sea salt Nonstick cooking spray

Start by arranging the oven racks so one is in the center position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut a piece of parchment paper to 8- by 12-inches. Spray the bottom and the sides of a 9- by 4-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line the pan with the parchment so it covers the bottom as well as goes up the longer sides of the pan.

Chop the chocolate chips until they are about one-third their original size. Pass them through a fine mesh strainer to strain out the chocolate dust; discard the dust (or reserve it to make hot chocolate) and set the chocolate chips aside.

To make the batter, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.

Using a food processor fitted with the S-shape blade, whip the ricotta until creamy and smooth, about 1 minute. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer set with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar and beat on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula once or twice. The mixture should be light and fluffy. Working one at a time, add the eggs, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl between additions. Add the vanilla extract and mix it in, and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the ricotta and mix on medium-low until it is blended in; note that the mixture will look “broken,” not homogenous. Turn off the mixer, scrape down the bowl, and add the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until only traces of flour remain visible. Turn off the mixer and take the mixer bowl off the stand. Add the chocolate chips and fold them in with a rubber spatula until they are evenly dispersed and no flour is visible, making sure to scrape the very bottom of the bowl.

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan and use a small offset spatula to smooth and level out the top. Place the cake on the center rack of the oven to bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until a digital thermometer registers 200 degrees when inserted into the center. Remove the cake from the oven and place the pan on a cooling rack to cool for 15 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan by lifting up on the ends of parchment paper and return to the rack to cool completely. Enjoy with or without a cup of coffee.

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/3fbiQyU https://ift.tt/3hPpfkN

This recipe for a simple but delicious loaf cake should be your next baking endeavor

Did you come in hot at the beginning of quarantine, baking your little heart out with sourdough and banana bread and ambitious pastry projects? Have you since lost that baking mojo as the pandemic presses on longer than anyone ever imagined?

Us too. But Melissa Weller’s ricotta chocolate chip pound cake may be enticing enough to pull you out of your baking retirement and back into the game. The loaf, the NYC-based baker says, seems easy to put together but takes a bit of finesse. “Food & Wine magazine called it ‘a feat of physics,’ because the chocolate chips don’t sink in the cake, they are dispersed throughout, which is something I worked very hard to achieve,” says Weller. The key is chopping the chips: “I chop the chocolate very finely before folding the chips into the batter. The smaller, lighter chips float in the batter rather than sinking to the bottom of the pan.”

Another key? Ensuring the thick cake is baked all the way through. Says Weller, “Where the toothpick test is sufficient for most cakes — and you can certainly use that for this cake — to make sure it is baked properly, I check the internal temperature of the cake with a digital thermometer, a bread baker’s trick that I apply to this cake.”

The master baker demonstrated on Eater’s Instagram how to make this simple cake, which shows up in her forthcoming cookbook, A Good Bake — and in the meantime, you can find the recipe below.

Ricotta Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

1 1⁄4 cups (220 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 2⁄3 cups (200 grams) all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon (15 grams) baking powder 1 2⁄3 cups (367 grams) whole milk ricotta 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks, or 170 grams) unsalted butter, cubed, softened 1 ½ cups (300 grams) granulated sugar 3 (150 grams) large eggs 1 tablespoon (15 grams) pure vanilla extract 1 teaspoon (6 grams) fine sea salt Nonstick cooking spray

Start by arranging the oven racks so one is in the center position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut a piece of parchment paper to 8- by 12-inches. Spray the bottom and the sides of a 9- by 4-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line the pan with the parchment so it covers the bottom as well as goes up the longer sides of the pan.

Chop the chocolate chips until they are about one-third their original size. Pass them through a fine mesh strainer to strain out the chocolate dust; discard the dust (or reserve it to make hot chocolate) and set the chocolate chips aside.

To make the batter, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.

Using a food processor fitted with the S-shape blade, whip the ricotta until creamy and smooth, about 1 minute. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer set with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar and beat on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula once or twice. The mixture should be light and fluffy. Working one at a time, add the eggs, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl between additions. Add the vanilla extract and mix it in, and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the ricotta and mix on medium-low until it is blended in; note that the mixture will look “broken,” not homogenous. Turn off the mixer, scrape down the bowl, and add the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until only traces of flour remain visible. Turn off the mixer and take the mixer bowl off the stand. Add the chocolate chips and fold them in with a rubber spatula until they are evenly dispersed and no flour is visible, making sure to scrape the very bottom of the bowl.

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan and use a small offset spatula to smooth and level out the top. Place the cake on the center rack of the oven to bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until a digital thermometer registers 200 degrees when inserted into the center. Remove the cake from the oven and place the pan on a cooling rack to cool for 15 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan by lifting up on the ends of parchment paper and return to the rack to cool completely. Enjoy with or without a cup of coffee.

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/3fbiQyU via Blogger https://ift.tt/39NbYGL

[northbirdblog]

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (Sourdough Discard)

[amatchgirl]

7 Ways to Use Your Sourdough Discard

Hate wasting your sourdough discard? You don’t have to! If you have some discard available or if you’ve recently joined the sourdough craze, we’ve rounded up seven delicious recipes that’ll put your discard to good use. If you’ve thought about creating your own sourdough starter, we have a recipe and tutorial full of tips and tricks on how to get started. In this round up we’ve included a variety of ways to use up that versatile discard, from doughnuts to cheese crackers to loaf cakes!

1. Berry-Filled Sourdough Discard Doughnuts

The secret to these fluffy, tangy doughnuts? Sourdough discard-enriched dough. Plus, we give you two indulgent fillings to mix and match—our homemade Berry Jam and our berry-scented crème fraîche—so you can choose your own doughnut experience.

2. Sourdough Discard Brownies

Don’t ditch your discard, make these Sourdough Discard Brownies instead! These ultra tender brownies get an irresistible tang from the discard. They’re topped with plenty of melty dark chocolate and chopped pecans for extra flavor.

3. Sourdough Biscuits

Recipe development by Stacey Ballis, photography by Art Meripol

This easy biscuit recipe is great for quick breakfasts for any size group. The biscuits are light, flaky, and best enjoyed with a drizzle of syrup or a bit of jam. Once you try making them with discard, you might never go back!

4. Sourdough Cheese Crackers

Recipe development by Stacey Ballis, photography by Art Meripol

If you love Cheez-Its or Cheese Nips snack crackers, you’ll love this homemade version. If you want to change the flavor profile, you can use different spices or herbs, or change the cheese. They’re great with smoked paprika and Manchego or with herbes de Provence and Parmesan. Cut them into small squares to mimic those beloved snack crackers, but cut them any shape or size you like.

5. Sourdough Discard Chocolate Loaf Cake

Recipe development by Stacey Ballis, photography by Art Meripol

This chocolate loaf cake from Stacey Ballis is one of our favorite ways to use sourdough discard. The slight tang enhances the deep chocolate flavor and prevents the cake from being too sweet, which makes it ideal for brunch. Add some whipped cream and berries, and you have an elegant dessert for a dinner party. Add some frosting and sprinkles, and you have a fun cake that kids will love.

6. Sourdough Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Recipe development by Stacey Ballis, photography by Art Meripol

These muffins are really fast to pull together since they use oil instead of butter, which eliminates the need to plan ahead for softened butter. If you keep overripe bananas in the freezer, then you can mix the batter in no longer than it will take your oven to preheat, and you’ll have fresh muffins in about a half an hour.

7. Sourdough Discard Scones

Recipe development by Stacey Ballis, photography by Art Meripol

These scones are simple enough for everyday breakfast and elegant enough for your next home brunch or high tea. They’re great with cream and jam or honey butter. You can add any dried fruit, nut, or chocolate chip or chunk combination you like. If you like a bit of spice, try adding a pinch of cinnamon and some chopped candied ginger. Whatever add-ins you choose, you can’t go wrong!

from WordPress http://sweetly.site/7-ways-to-use-your-sourdough-discard/

[ecotone99]

[RF] Santino's Interview

Brisk October air ruffled the leaves on the trees and flowed between the towering buildings as Santino strutted down Market Street in the heart of San Francisco’s financial district. Men and women in suits littered the busy sidewalks as they paced hurriedly to work, but none looked quite as good as Santino did that cool morning. Sporting a fresh shave and haircut, a pressed navy blue suit with an equally blue tie and his polished Italian leather shoes, Santino looked and felt like the finest young professional the city had ever seen.

If there was every day on which Santino needed this confidence, it was today. In just one hour, he would head to the 31st floor of the tallest building on Market to interview for the sports agency firm he had longed to work for since his days as an undergrad slaving away at his legal studies coursework. Night after night he had worked tirelessly to assure his papers were perfect, leaving no t uncrossed or i undotted. When he wasn’t focusing on his coursework, he spent hours in the depths of the university library studying for the LSAT, a test he needed to ace in order to earn admission to a Top-14 law school. The remainder of his time was spent interning at a local court nearly an hour away from his off-campus apartment. Though the commute and workload exhausted him, he knew the experience he was gaining would give him a great leg up on the other applicants. Sure enough, he was right.

Through his hard work and dedication, Santino nailed the LSAT, maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA and earned himself an admission to the law school of his dreams.

Throughout his time in law school, he worked as hard as he ever had, excelling in his classes and spending hours on end interning for one of the most esteemed sports agents in the area. After graduating summa cum laude, he scored nearly perfect on the California Bar Exam and returned to the golden state where the air was warmer and the girls were prettier. After weeks and weeks of perfecting his resume and cover letter and gathering recommendation letters from his professors and employers, Santino submitted what had to have been the most robust application the firm had ever received. Then, he waited.

And he waited.

And he waited.

As morning turned to day and day turned to night, Santino incessantly watched his phone for any email or phone call from the firm. He even went as far as sleeping with his phone ringer on full blast at night, just in case they called him at one in the morning to schedule an interview.

With each passing day, Santino grew restless. It crossed his mind to submit other applications in the meantime, but he decided against it because he saw it as settling. Santino was the best candidate out there, and he would aspire for nothing but the best.

So he waited.

In order to preserve his sanity and keep his mind off the application, he had to find ways to occupy his time. Every morning at precisely 5:30a.m. he would wake up and prepare a breakfast consisting of two eggs over easy, one scrambled, three egg whites, two pieces of sourdough toast garnished with gluten-free margarine, a short stack of chocolate chip pancakes, a bowl of strawberry yogurt mixed with granola, two chicken-apple sausages and a bowl of Frosted Flakes, washed down with a cup-and-a-half of black coffee, two glasses of filtered water from his parents’ state-of-the-art Kitchenaid refrigerator and a smoothie consisting of a banana, two spoonfuls of Skippy super chunk peanut butter, twenty grams of vanilla protein powder, a cup of blueberries, exactly three strawberries and a light drizzle of organic honey. Once he finished his feast, he washed his dishes and headed straight out the front door and over to his local 24-Hour Fitness where he engaged in a rigorous workout regimen consisting of stretching, running on the treadmill, weightlifting, swimming and more stretching. When his workout was completed, he went back home to prepare his parents’ breakfast, which was the least he could do considering they were letting him live in their home rent-free. After his parents were fed and their dishes were cleaned, Santino would sit under the shady tree at the park down the street where he read classic literature, sipped on an iced green tea and let the summer breeze caress his skin. When he finished his reading, he headed back home, studied NFL and MLB statistics and practiced negotiating contracts based on those stats.

Santino usually finished these activities by one in the afternoon, at which point he would settle on the couch for a midday siesta.

The rest of Santino’s day was typically spent playing solitaire, making hip-hop beats for his friend José, reading the Bible, Quran, Talmud and The Book of Mormon, dominating online strangers in virtual chess, brushing up on his Southern Italian cooking skills and studying more sports statistics.

For a while, this laundry list of activities kept Santino preoccupied and did a fairly decent job of keeping his mind off his job application.

Until it didn’t.

After about the second day of this routine, Santino once again grew restless and was engulfed by anxiety.

Why haven’t they responded? he asked himself.

Did I sound too eager in my cover letter? Too cocky?

Do they not like Italians?

After days and days of insufferable torment, Santino had had enough. It was time to call the firm’s human resources department and ask if they had received his application. He had been reluctant to do so because he didn’t want to appear desperate. But at this point, he was desperate and had nothing to lose.

After finding the firm’s HR phone number, Santino poured himself a glass of room-temperature water to clear his throat and hit the “call” button. As the phone rang, he took a deep gulp of his water and repeated through his head, Sound confident; not cocky. Confident, not cocky.

“The Chang Corporation, this is Clarice. How may I help you?” asked an energetic voice on the other end of the line.

Caught off guard, Santino choked uncontrollably on his water and spit it all over himself.

“Uhh, hi!” he squeaked embarrassingly. “I mean, um, hello,” he stated in a forced tone much lower than that of his regular speaking voice. “My name is Santino Rigoli and I’m calling to inquire about the status of an application I submitted several weeks ago.”

“Okay, Mr. Rigoli,” Clarice responded. “Give me one second and I’ll pull up your application.”

Silence flooded the phone line and Santino nervously paced his kitchen floor, with each passing second looming like an eternity. What if the application hadn’t been received? Or worse, what if it had been received and they had simply discarded it?

“Well, Mr. Rigoli,” Clarice said after some time, “It seems we did receive your application and its status is listed as ‘Under Review.’ I’ll tell you what, though. I’m going to go ahead to transfer you over to DeSean Holman, who is one of our hiring managers, and he can give you further details on what to expect with your application from here on out.”

“Oh, wow!” Santino declared a little too excitedly. “Thank you so mu-

The line clicked and Santino was now listening to Country Roads, Take me Home, by John Denver. After fighting the urge to shout “West Virginia” about eight times, the music stopped and a strong voice took over the line.

“DeSean Holman, may I ask who’s calling?”

“Hello, Mr. Holman, my name is Santino Rigoli and I’m calling in regard to an application I submitted to your firm several weeks ago. I was just told by your receptionist that it was under review, bu-

“Well if you know it’s under review, then what more can I do for you at this time?” Mr. Holman asked impatiently.

“Um, I just wanted to se-

“You just wanted to see what was taking so long, is that right?” Holman asserted. “We have processes here, son, and you need to respect that. Business doesn’t get done at the snap of your fingers. It takes time, and you need to respect that and let us do our job as we see fit.”

Santino was shooketh, rattled like a snake. Before he could muster up the confidence to apologize for being too forward, Mr. Holman began speaking once more.

“But you know what, kid. I will say this: you got ambition. Too many kids your age, man, they’re complacent. They’re not hungry. They would have waited for months on end before we got back to ‘em. And if we didn’t? Oh well. And that’s the problem with you millenials; you expect stuff to come to you. But not you, Sanchito.”

“Santino,” he corrected him.

“That’s what I said, Dorito. But look, you’re not like those other kids. You’re hungry. You wanted something and you went for it, and that’s the type of ambition we’re looking for at this firm. And shoot, I have your resume right here in front of me, and I can tell you’ve got that ambition.”

In just a matter of seconds, Santino had gone from nearly throwing up to smiling like a priest in a boys’ daycare facility.

“I’ll tell you what, Sergio. We’re gonna bring you in for an interview. Tomorrow morning, 9 a.m. sharp. I want you in a full suit, tie and all. You come prepared with your resume, references and any other materials you find necessary. Check in with Clarice on the 31st floor and she’ll take you to Mr. Chang’s office where he’ll conduct your first round of interviews. Got it?”

Nearly in disbelief, Santino had to bring himself off Cloud Nine and confirm he understood the details of the interview. After thanking and saying goodbye to Mr. Holman, he hung up the phone and hurried to his room where he spent the next several hours preparing for his interview.

​

The next morning, Santino shot out of bed at promptly 5:37 a.m., downed two tall glasses of water, performed 50 consecutive push-ups and hopped in the shower. Once he was clean, he ate a banana, ironed his suit, shined his shoes, sytled his hair, brushed each individual tooth as if he were polishing Michelangelo’s “David” sculpture, gathered his interview materials and headed out the door.

He arrived at the West Dublin/Pleasanton BART station at 7:01 a.m. and boarded his train almost instantaneously. Scheduled to arrive in San Francisco’s financial district at 7:58, he was afforded nearly an hour to rehearse his prepared responses to any questions his interviewers might throw at him. Right on schedule, the train stopped and Santino deboarded and rode up the escalator to Market Street. Despite the plethora of spectacles and distractions Market had to offer, Santino was not fazed. He was in the zone, locked and loaded, ready to go.

Conveniently, the Chang Corporation’s office was located right next to the BART station and would take less than a minute for Santino to reach by foot. The problem, however, was that he was 57 minutes early. He didn’t want to check in with Clarice too early out of fear of seeming too eager, giving the impression that he was desperate. Of course, he was desperate, but that didn’t matter. What mattered is that he didn’t seem desperate.

As Santino thought of ways to kill some time, he remembered there was a Peet’s Coffee just around the corner of Market and 3rd Street. Suddenly he realized that in the midst of all his excitement that morning, he hadn’t even remembered to brew his morning cup of joe. Not that he needed the boost of energy, for his enthusiasm had him feeling plenty energized. Still, a little jolt of java couldn’t hurt, right? After all, he certainly looked the best he ever had, and he was willing to do whatever he could to feel his best too. So with his chest puffed out and his chin held high, Santino strutted down the sidewalk with a sexy swag and rounded the corner onto 3rd Street.

Immediately after rounding the corner, Santino collided into a careless woman who spilled a piping hot cup of coffee onto his white shirt and all over his face and hair. To make matters worse, she was holding a breakfast burrito that exploded all over Santino and drenched his clothes in bacon grease, avocado and copious amounts of Tapatio. With his mouth gaping in shock, Santino was overcome with horror and wore an expression that looked as if he had seen Harvey Weinstein.

“I… uh… you…” he stammered, desperately searching for words he could not find.

“What in the hell is the matter with you?” the woman yelled as if it wasn’t her inattentiveness that had caused the collision. “Flying around the corner like that, not watching where you’re going! This is unbelievable; I have to be at work soon!”

Still, Santino couldn’t find his words. Perhaps there were no words to express his despair.

“This is unbelievable,” the woman spat as she swiped away egg particles out of her long, black hair. “Unbelievable. How am I going to show up to the office like this?”

She continued her angry tirade as she stormed off into the sea of people and out of eyesight. Stunned, soaked and covered in filth, Santino stood hopelessly on the sidewalk as he watched her disappear.

This was how it ended. He couldn’t walk into his interview with coffee stains on his shirt and face with hot sauce and avocado smeared on his jacket all the way down to his shoes. He looked terrible, and he felt even worse. It wasn’t even 8:30 and all the clothing stores were still closed, so that threw out the possibility of him swapping out his wardrobe. This was the look Santino was stuck with, covered in grime from head to toe. Moreover, there was no way he could muster the confidence to conduct an interview now, at least not a decent one.

As he crouched into a seat on the cafe’s patio, Santino thought about all the steps he had taken to reach this point. All those hours spent in the university library studying for exams and mock trials. The sleepless nights spent reading and memorizing penal codes. The times he sold his belongings when he was short on rent. All the time and money spent on his commutes to his internships that paid little to no wages. So many sacrifices made, all for nothing.

“No,” Santino said softly. “This isn’t how I go down.”

Santino Rigoli was a lot of things, but he wasn’t a quitter. He thought back to those trying nights when his will was tested and his limits were pushed. Although giving up had crossed his mind several times, he had never seriously considered it. It wasn’t who he was. Santino was a go-getter. An ambitious and talented individual who always worked hard to achieve success. He hadn’t sacrificed years of his life and taken on tens of thousands of dollars of debt to be stopped by a little coffee stain and some egg yolk. He ate those problems for breakfast. No, Santino Rigoli was a competitor, and he was going to overcome this challenge just like he had overcome all the others. He had a story to tell, and it was time to start writing it.

Quickly, Santino got up out of his seat and hurried into the cafe to freshen up. He grabbed a handful of napkins out of the dispenser, dampened them under the bathroom sink faucet and began wiping away whatever food residue he could. The scalding coffee had left his face quite red and would perhaps later resemble a serious burn, but all he could do now was splash cold water on it and hope for the best. His hair was dampened and the gel he molded it with had nearly entirely lost its hold. Thankfully his Italian ancestors had granted him dark, sleek hair that looked stylish even when messy, so that was the look he was going to roll with.

When he finished freshening up, he still looked sloppy but at least he knew he had done the best he could. It was now 8:41 and he had to leave the cafe if he wanted to check in with Clarice exactly 15 minutes before his interview.

As he marched down Market, the autumn air cooled his singed face and the foliage on the trees glowed red and orange overhead. When he reached the building, he managed to secure an elevator all to himself, rode it straight to the 31st floor and approached Clarice at her desk.

“Hi, Clarice?” he began. “My name is Santino Rigoli, you and I spoke on the phone yesterday. I’m here for an interview with Mr. Chang.”

Clarice looked up from her appointment book and brushed her bushy hair back with her hands. “Mr. Rigoli, you’re here early,” she said with a tone of satisfaction. “Thankfully, Mr. Chang is…” She stopped her sentence once she noticed Santino’s appearance. Though she saw how dirty he looked, she decided against saying anything as not to hurt his confidence. Thankfully, she was quick enough that Santino didn’t notice. “Mr. Chang is ready to see you right now, so you won’t have to wait. Please follow me.”

With that, she arose from her seat and led Santino through the Chang Corporation’s office, which was a breathtaking space characterized by cool, earth tones and high ceilings.

“Will Mr. Holman be conducting my interview as well this morning?” Santino asked in a strong, professional tone.

“DeSean is actually out meeting with a client today,” Clarice responded. “He’s working on a big contract right now and felt his time would be best spent focusing on that. But let me tell you, DeSean was very impressed with the initiative you showed yesterday, and he made sure to let Mr. Chang know that.” Trying not to reveal too much excitement, Santino let out a half smile and expressed his satisfaction with a simple nod.

The two continued walking to Mr. Chang’s office in silence, and Santino couldn’t help but stare in awe of the facility as they passed through it. All along the walls were life-sized images of athletes represented by the firm. Record-setting contracts were framed on full display in the most visible places. To Santino’s left he saw a trophy case containing an NFL MVP award, two MLB Cy Young awards and an NBA Rookie of the Year award. To his right, he saw offices, state-of-the-art coffee machines, ping-pong tables, massage chairs, a weight room and a cafeteria that served gourmet cuisine ranging from smoked salmon to grilled bison. Straight ahead stood a gorgeous waterfall that fell from the ceiling down into a shimmering sapphire pool in which koi fish swam.

This is it, Santino thought. This is where I belong. I am going to work for the Chang Corporation.

Inspired, he envisioned himself working in one of the building’s offices, eating at fine restaurants with professional athletes and charging their meals to the company credit card, attending important sporting events and setting record-breaking contracts of his own.

It all starts with this interview, Santino told himself. This is going to be the best interview of your life.

“Okay, Mr. Rigoli, here we are,” Clarice said encouragingly when they approached a large pair of mahogany doors. “Mr. Chang,” she said as she knocked lightly on the door. “Santino Rigoli is here for his interview.”

“Ah yes!” sang an older gentleman’s voice from the other side of the door. “Please, Clarice, send him on in.”

“Well, Mr. Rigoli, best of luck to you,” Clarice smiled before she turned around and headed back to her desk.

Confident, not cocky, Santino reminded himself.

As he pushed the door open and stepped onto pristine cream-colored carpeting, he discovered Mr. Chang’s office was just as grandiose as the rest of the building. The ceilings arched high overhead and the walls were lined with wooden shelves holding dozens of knick-knacks ranging from collector’s edition baseball cards to decades-old bottles of wine. Mr. Chang’s fine mahogany desk sat approximately 20 feet from the room’s entrance. Cool and collected, Santino closed the door behind him and strided toward his interviewer.

“Mr. Rigoli,” Mr. Chang stood up, revealing his tall stature. “It’s a pleasure to have you here.” Although Chang was an older gentleman with gray-turning-white hair and a fair share of wrinkles on his face, he possessed a surprisingly strong frame and boasted the energy of a very young man.

“Please, Mr. Chang. Mr. Rigoli is my father. Call me Santino,” he responded charmingly.

“Well then, Santino,” Chang chuckled. “Go on ahead and have a se…”

Just as Santino was about to place the folder containing his resume on the desk and have a seat, Mr. Chang stopped his sentence and fixed his gaze on Santino’s shirt. He then moved his eyes from his shirt and scanned Santino’s entire torso and what he could see of his pants.

It’s okay, Santino thought. You knew this was gonna happen. Just play it cool and win him over with your confidence.

“I see you’re rather fixated on my attire, Mr. Chang,” he began. “I do hope you won’t call the fashion poli-”

“What in the hell are you wearing, son?” Chang asked in a tone full of disappointment. Santino’s stomach sank slightly.

“You see sir, I was ju-”

“You see? Yeah, kid, I do see. I see that you look like a wreck. What in the hell is the matter with you? Did you get into a food fight before you came over here?” Now rattled to his core, Santino knew he had to act fast.

“I, uh, I kn-know you see, sir. Th-the thing is, I-I-”

“I-I-I-I,” Chang mocked him. “I rolled around in the garbage before I came up here? I used coffee as cologne this morning and combed my hair with hot sauce? What in the hell is the matter with you?” Santino gulped. He was mortified beyond anything he could have imagined.

“Mi-Mister Chang, listen. I-”

“Listen? You’re telling me to listen? No, you listen to me, buddy. You come in here dressed like a slob, you can’t explain yourself and stammer like an idiot, and then you start barking orders at me in my own office? Do you know where you are, or who I am? This is the top sports agency in the world, and I am its founder and CEO. And you have the nerve to come into my office and tell me what do? No. No, I don’t think so.” Seeing his hopes and dreams burst into flames before his very eyes, Santino shook and stood silently, waiting for Chang’s wrath to come to an end.

“You know,” he continued. “This is the problem with you kids nowadays. You don’t have standards. You think that can just cruise to success without facing any trials or tribulations, that you can just enjoy the benefits of hard work without actually putting in the work.”

Santino felt as if his throat was closing. Rage and despair rose within him. Nothing Mr. Chang said had even remotely applied to him. Santino did put in the work, and he wanted to continue to work hard. If Mr. Chang would only hear him out.

“Sir, if you would please just let me spe-”

“No!” Chang barked furiously. “Don’t you dare interrupt me. You had your turn to speak, and you stuttered and insulted me. Now, I speak and you listen. I’ve seen kids like you before. You come in here acting like a hot shot with your fancy degree from this big-name school and act like that will serve as your free pass to do whatever you want to do. Well, guess what, pal? That’s not how it works here. You show up covered in filth, talking like you own the place and expected to get offered a job on the spot. Well it’s not gonna happen. I want you to get outta my office and escort yourself out of my facility, right now.” Chang looked on his desk and saw Santino’s folder. “And what’s this, your resume? Take it with you. I wouldn’t even be able to read it anyway because it’s probably soaked in coffee just like the rest of you. Get out.”

Santino sheepishly took the folder out of Chang’s hand, turned around and escorted himself out of the room without saying another word. On the way out, he thanked Clarice for showing him around and waited in silence for the elevator. Once outside, he walked down the steps leading to the BART station, boarded his train and headed back home.

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submitted by /u/GBJoe21 [link] [comments] via Blogger https://ift.tt/3e3EhTf

[easyfoodnetwork]

This recipe for a simple but delicious loaf cake should be your next baking endeavor Did you come in hot at the beginning of quarantine, baking your little heart out with sourdough and banana bread and ambitious pastry projects? Have you since lost that baking mojo as the pandemic presses on longer than anyone ever imagined? Us too. But Melissa Weller’s ricotta chocolate chip pound cake may be enticing enough to pull you out of your baking retirement and back into the game. The loaf, the NYC-based baker says, seems easy to put together but takes a bit of finesse. “Food & Wine magazine called it ‘a feat of physics,’ because the chocolate chips don’t sink in the cake, they are dispersed throughout, which is something I worked very hard to achieve,” says Weller. The key is chopping the chips: “I chop the chocolate very finely before folding the chips into the batter. The smaller, lighter chips float in the batter rather than sinking to the bottom of the pan.” Another key? Ensuring the thick cake is baked all the way through. Says Weller, “Where the toothpick test is sufficient for most cakes — and you can certainly use that for this cake — to make sure it is baked properly, I check the internal temperature of the cake with a digital thermometer, a bread baker’s trick that I apply to this cake.” The master baker demonstrated on Eater’s Instagram how to make this simple cake, which shows up in her forthcoming cookbook, A Good Bake — and in the meantime, you can find the recipe below. Ricotta Chocolate Chip Pound Cake 1 1⁄4 cups (220 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 2⁄3 cups (200 grams) all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon (15 grams) baking powder 1 2⁄3 cups (367 grams) whole milk ricotta 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks, or 170 grams) unsalted butter, cubed, softened 1 ½ cups (300 grams) granulated sugar 3 (150 grams) large eggs 1 tablespoon (15 grams) pure vanilla extract 1 teaspoon (6 grams) fine sea salt Nonstick cooking spray Start by arranging the oven racks so one is in the center position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut a piece of parchment paper to 8- by 12-inches. Spray the bottom and the sides of a 9- by 4-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line the pan with the parchment so it covers the bottom as well as goes up the longer sides of the pan. Chop the chocolate chips until they are about one-third their original size. Pass them through a fine mesh strainer to strain out the chocolate dust; discard the dust (or reserve it to make hot chocolate) and set the chocolate chips aside. To make the batter, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside. Using a food processor fitted with the S-shape blade, whip the ricotta until creamy and smooth, about 1 minute. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer set with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar and beat on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula once or twice. The mixture should be light and fluffy. Working one at a time, add the eggs, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl between additions. Add the vanilla extract and mix it in, and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the ricotta and mix on medium-low until it is blended in; note that the mixture will look “broken,” not homogenous. Turn off the mixer, scrape down the bowl, and add the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until only traces of flour remain visible. Turn off the mixer and take the mixer bowl off the stand. Add the chocolate chips and fold them in with a rubber spatula until they are evenly dispersed and no flour is visible, making sure to scrape the very bottom of the bowl. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan and use a small offset spatula to smooth and level out the top. Place the cake on the center rack of the oven to bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until a digital thermometer registers 200 degrees when inserted into the center. Remove the cake from the oven and place the pan on a cooling rack to cool for 15 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan by lifting up on the ends of parchment paper and return to the rack to cool completely. Enjoy with or without a cup of coffee. from Eater - All https://ift.tt/3fbiQyU

http://easyfoodnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/07/make-this-thick-ricotta-chocolate-chip.html

[amatchgirl]

Sourdough Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

These muffins are really fast to pull together since they use oil instead of butter, which eliminates the need to plan ahead for softened butter. If you keep overripe bananas in the freezer (see Note), then you can mix the batter in no longer than it will take your oven to preheat, and you’ll have fresh muffins in about a half an hour.

Sourdough Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

1¼ cups (156 grams) all-purpose flour

½ cup (110 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar

⅓ cup (67 grams) granulated sugar

2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking powder

1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda

½ teaspoon (1.5 grams) kosher salt

1 cup (275 grams) sourdough starter discard, room temperature

5 tablespoons (70 grams) canola oil

1 cup (227 grams) well-mashed ripe banana

½ cup (120 grams) cold sour cream

1 large egg (50 grams), lightly beaten

1 teaspoon (4 grams) vanilla extract

1 cup (170 grams) 60% cacao dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line 12 muffin cups with parchment or paper liners.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, stir together sourdough discard and oil until well combined. In a small bowl, stir together mashed banana, sour cream, egg, and vanilla. Add banana mixture to discard mixture, whisking until smooth. Add banana mixture to flour mixture, and fold to combine. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling two-thirds to three-fourths full.

Bake until lightly browned and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.

PREP TIP: Making this recipe is beholden to overripe bananas, which can take almost a week to get to that black peel sweet spot. To make sure you never have to wait on your produce, keep a batch of overripe bananas in your freezer. Keep the bananas in their peel (which protects them from freezer burn and odors), and store in a resealable plastic bag. Once you’re ready to bake, let bananas defrost before peeling. The bananas should come out as a purée—freezing breaks down the cell walls and naturally produces a mash.

PLAN AHEAD 1 Day Ahead: Bake muffins, and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container overnight. Day of: Serve at room temperature.

3.5.3251

  Previous articleSourdough Cheese Crackers

from WordPress http://sweetly.site/sourdough-banana-chocolate-chip-muffins/

[amatchgirl]

Sourdough Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

These muffins are really fast to pull together since they use oil instead of butter, which eliminates the need to plan ahead for softened butter. If you keep overripe bananas in the freezer (see Note), then you can mix the batter in no longer than it will take your oven to preheat, and you’ll have fresh muffins in about a half an hour.

Sourdough Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

1¼ cups (156 grams) all-purpose flour

½ cup (110 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar

⅓ cup (67 grams) granulated sugar

2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking powder

1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda

½ teaspoon (1.5 grams) kosher salt

1 cup (275 grams) sourdough starter discard, room temperature

5 tablespoons (70 grams) canola oil

1 cup (227 grams) well-mashed ripe banana

½ cup (120 grams) cold sour cream

1 large egg (50 grams), lightly beaten

1 teaspoon (4 grams) vanilla extract

1 cup (170 grams) 60% cacao dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line 12 muffin cups with parchment or paper liners.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, stir together sourdough discard and oil until well combined. In a small bowl, stir together mashed banana, sour cream, egg, and vanilla. Add banana mixture to discard mixture, whisking until smooth. Add banana mixture to flour mixture, and fold to combine. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling two-thirds to three-fourths full.

Bake until lightly browned and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.

PREP TIP: Making this recipe is beholden to overripe bananas, which can take almost a week to get to that black peel sweet spot. To make sure you never have to wait on your produce, keep a batch of overripe bananas in your freezer. Keep the bananas in their peel (which protects them from freezer burn and odors), and store in a resealable plastic bag. Once you’re ready to bake, let bananas defrost before peeling. The bananas should come out as a purée—freezing breaks down the cell walls and naturally produces a mash.

PLAN AHEAD 1 Day Ahead: Bake muffins, and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container overnight. Day of: Serve at room temperature.

3.5.3251

  Previous articleSourdough Cheese Crackers

from WordPress http://sweetly.site/sourdough-banana-chocolate-chip-muffins/