Ever wonder how a busy chef relaxes during the precious moments when he or she isn’t working? Since leaving his post as chef de cuisine at The Good Pie this past summer to open a bakery of his own, baker Ted Wilson has more time off than he’s had in years to visit the restaurants he wants. But when he’s up waiting for his loaves to rise, there are only two things he craves at 2 a.m.: the Schnuck’s hot bar and a bottle of Guinness.

To read more about Wilson’s new project, check out Rising Stars from Sauce’s November issue.

— photo by Ashley Gieseking

I may have been the biggest proponent of dedicating an entire issue to bread, but I’m no expert when it comes to turning flour, water and yeast into a loaf of wonderfulness. Truth is, besides the basic tea-time breads, I’ve never actually tried my hand at a real yeast bread – the kind that needs time to rise, to proof, to ferment. I figured Daniel Stevens’ The River Cottage Bread Handbook was a good guide for dipping my toe in the water of bread baking. And what better time for such an experiment than a rainy Sunday?

As with most authentic yeast bread recipes, this one had a short ingredient list and required more patience than technique. But there’s a reason why bakers say perfecting bread takes practice. 

First, my dough wouldn’t come together. It was shaggy to begin with and, once I started kneading (wrongly, I might add), the goal of “smooth and elastic” began to seem farther and farther away. So I scrapped my first batch and vowed to do better on the second. I gathered all of my mise en place ahead of time to make sure that the yeast was activated at just the right time and looked back to the earlier section of the book on kneading, which the recipe sadly didn’t tell me to do. I also took the time to read the section on shaping the kneading dough into a round, which the recipe did, in fact, send me to. I felt I was ready.

And it turns out, I was. Now, I won’t say it was the most beautiful round I’d ever seen (This is the underside after shaping, not the smooth side.), but it was a far cry from the shaggy, flour-coated hunk my first attempt yielded. And after a few sessions of placing the fingers of one hand atop the dough, pushing the dough with the heel of the other and then folding the edges of that pushed dough back on top of the round (See a much better description of this process below.), the “smooth and elastic” descriptor suited it almost perfectly. Next, it was time to let it rise. But for how long? With zero time instructions listed, I looked back to this recipe and gave it a good hour and a half by the window.

A mere 90 minutes later, the round had doubled and I had mentally patted myself on the back at least twice. It was time to punch it down (or, as the recipe so interestingly describes it “deflate it”) and then break it into 12 equal pieces. Roll them up, wet the ends, press them together and you have 12 doughnut hole-like rings that are ready to be proofed. Again, no time instructions. So I followed these instructions and gave them an hour.

And poof! They were ready to be poached. Except that when I did, two of my carefully crafted bagels broke right where I’d sealed them and were as resistant as a divorcing couple in counseling to reuniting. Nothing more was to be done.

So I brushed them with egg, sprinkled half of them with poppy seeds and put them in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes. To get that gorgeous golden hue, I actually had to bake them for an extra 10 minutes. But as soon as they cooled, I could tell that I was onto something. Flavorful and salty with a crust that glistened and was wonderfully crisp, I finally understood that sense of accomplishment bread bakers speak of. A tad heavy for my liking, the bagels had a denseness that I credit to my over-kneading, not the recipe. They were by no means perfect, but I’m sure with a little more practice, they could be.

And as for that lowly, unhinged couple? Well, they were the first to be eaten.

Bagels
Makes 12 Bagels

Until recently, most of the bagels I had eaten seemed bland, somewhat dry and rather boring. That was until I came across a bagel recipe in an old Jewish cookbook and was enlightened. Good bagels, like the ones you are about to make, are slightly sweet and curiously chewy, with a soft, shiny, tasty crust. You poach them fro a couple of minutes in water before you bake them – the oddest thing you are ever likely to do to a piece of dough.

4 cups (1 lb. plus 2 oz./500 g.) white bread flour
1 ½ tsp. (0.18 oz./5 g.) instant yeast
2 tsp. (0.35 oz./10 g) fine salt
1 cup plus 1 Tbsp. warm water
1 ½ Tbsp. (0.7 oz./20 g.) superfine sugar
3 ½ Tbsp. vegetable oil, plus extra for coating

To finish:
1 medium free-range egg, beaten
Poppy or sesame seeds (optional)

• In a large bowl, mix together all of the dough ingredients. Knead on a clean surface until smooth and elastic (see below). Shape into a round (again, see below), coat with a little extra oil and place in a clean bowl. Let rise, covered with a plastic bag.
• When the dough has doubled in size, deflate it and divide into 12 pieces. One at a time, roll into a sausage shape about 6 inches long. Wet the ends and press them together to make a ring. Let proof, covered, on a lightly oiled plastic board or metal baking sheet (not floured cloths or boards).
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a couple of baking sheets. In a wide pan, bring about 4 inches of water to a boil.
• When the bagels have roughly doubled in size, they are ready for poaching. You will need to do this in batches. Turn down the pan of water to a simmer, then slip as many bagels as will fit comfortably into the water (allow room for them to puff up). Cook for 1 minute on each side, then remove and drain on a clean tea towel (not a paper towel, as it will stick).
• When they are all poached, lay the bagels on the prepared baking sheets, gently sticking any that uncurled in the water back together again. Brush all over with beaten egg, then sprinkle with seeds if you like. Bake for 15 minutes, until the bagels are a uniform, glossy golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack.

KNEADING (the important parts)
Tip and scrape your dough out of the bowl and onto your work surface. Clean and dry your hands – rub them together with a little flour to get the worst of the dough off, then wash them. By now, your dough is probably well glued to the work surface. Good … you want it to stick.

Flour your hands a little. Now with your left hand if you’re right-handed, right hand if you’re left-handed, press down on the dough with your fingertips, about a third of the way up. With the heel of your other hand, in one smooth, quick motion, press into the dough just above your first hand and push down and away, a full arm’s length if you have room. Now cup the fingers of this hand and scrape or roll the torn, ripped-up dough back on top of itself. Turn the dough around roughly 90 degrees. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Have a look at the dough as you stretch it. You will see long, thin strands developing – this is gluten.

From time to time, stop and clean your hands with more flour. … With each stretch, the dough will become a little less sticky. After a good 5 minutes, it probably won’t be sticking much to anything. The dough will have tightened considerably; it will no longer be breaking into pieces, and you will find it more resistant to your stretching. Adapt your kneading action as the dough changes. Start to use shorter and shorter strokes, until you are only stretching it to around double its length. From time to time, spend half a minute or so shaping your dough into a nice tight round, following the method below.

SHAPING THE DOUGH INTO A ROUND (the important parts)
Lay your dough, smoothest side facing down, on the work surface and prod a little with all your fingers to flatten it. Now, with one or two fingers and a thumb, lift an edge, fold it into the middle and press down. Make about an eighth turn of the dough, pick up the edge at the side of the fold you just made, and press into the middle. Repeat until you get back to where you started. Now flip it over. You should have a nice, smooth, round dough. Put your hands flat on the work surface, palms up, on either side of the dough, one forward, one back. Now, in a fluid motion, bring your hands together under the dough, at the same time sliding the forward hand back and the back hand forward. This both spins the dough and stretches the upper surface down and under. Repeat this spinning action two or three times.

Reprinted with permission from Ten Speed Press

What’s your favorite way to enjoy a bagel? Tell us about it in the comments section below for a chance to win a copy of The River Cottage Bread Handbook by Daniel Stevens. We’ll announce the winner in next week’s By the Book column. 

And now we’d like to congratulate Colleen whose comment on last week’s By the Book column has won him/her a copy of Nick Malgieri’s Bread. Colleen, keep an eye out for an email from the Sauce crew. 

There’s a side of me that would love to take a month off work and learn to bake bread and make cheese and brine my own pickles. So as soon as we ripped open the envelope to find Alison Walker’s A Country Cook’s Kitchen, I grabbed it. The beautiful book had all of the projects I longed to master (or at least attempt): cheese, canning, even DIY liqueurs.

And then the workaholic side of me took over. And before I knew it, by the time the calendar told me it was time for me to cook from this book, there were only a couple recipes that fit into my timeframe. Six-hour wait for fresh ricotta? Don’t have it. One-month wait for preserved lemons? I wish.

So I decided to make granola bars. Truth be told, homemade granola bars are actually something I’ve wanted to attempt, so it wasn’t a complete cop out, even if they were more of a quick and easy recipe than a lengthy project.

The recipe was easy: Just melt some butter with sugar and corn syrup, then stir in oats, flour and a touch of ginger, followed by a handful of dried fruit and seeds of your choice. Spread it all out into a pan, bake, cut and enjoy for the next seven mornings with an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment.

Sounded easy enough, but something went terribly wrong. First, the bars burnt around the edges. The recipe said to bake “until golden.” Well, the centers were just a smidge before golden but the edges were six shades past it, so it was time to come out of the oven. Next, the granola was a bit too thin to really be bars. The pan size was correct, the amount of oats and flour accurate, so I’m still not sure what the problem was. The recipe also called for cutting the bars in the pan while they were still warm. Letting them cool before slicing into them likely would have yielded a nice, firmer bar. And lastly, though I lined the pan with parchment paper and greased it up well, the bars were nearly impossible to separate from the parchment.

Maybe this will become a long-term project after all.

Fruit and Mixed Seed Bars

These simple bars are easy to adapt with your favorite dried fruits and seeds – just keep the proportions the same.

Makes 24 Bars

¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
½ cup superfine sugar
3 Tbsp. dark corn syrup
2½ cups rolled oats
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
Pinch ground ginger
Pinch salt
1 cup mixed dried fruit (Note: I used apricots, blueberries, cherries and cranberries.)
1/3 cup mixture of pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease and line a shallow 12-by-14-inch baking pan or pan that has sides that add up to the same measurements.
• Melt the butter, sugar and corn syrup together in a pan set over low heat. Mix together the oats, flour, ginger and salt. Stir into the butter mixture, then add the dried fruit and seeds.
• Turn the mixture into the prepared pan and bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden. Cut into squares in the pan while still warm. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.

Reprinted with permission from Rizzoli International Publication

There are many ways to make homemade granola. Have a favorite recipe and method? Tell us about it in the comments section below for a chance to win A Country Cook’s Kitchen. We’ll announce the winner in next week’s By the Book column.

And now, we’d like to congratulate Lizzie, whose comment on last week’s By the Book column has won him/her a copy of Masala Farm by Suvir Saran. Lizzie, keep an eye out for an email from the Sauce crew.

The more I cook, the more respect I have for the ingredients I’m working with. These days, I want my produce fresh, my dairy organic and my meat, well, I want less and less of it. Don’t get me wrong; I enjoy a juicy rib-eye as much as the next carnivorous culinarian, but it’s more of a twice-a-year thing for me than twice a week. I want to know what the cow ate, that he was treated well and that he was killed in the most painless way possible. Same goes for my poultry and pigs. This feeling of accountability has shined a new light on all that vegetables can be. My boyfriend and I have even come to challenge ourselves to eat meat-free Monday through Friday. And much to our surprise, it’s been an extremely easy adjustment.

So I was ecstatic to see that former Beatle Paul McCartney and his family had teamed up with the Meat Free Monday campaign to release The Meat Free Monday Cookbook. Meatless Mondays is a movement that’s taken flight across the nation to alert people to the health and environmental benefits of focusing on vegetables a little more and meat a little less. (Sauce has even taken part in the movement, showing St. Louisans how easy it is to go sans meat one day a week.) For this book, I knew I wanted to make something hearty, the kind of dish that would show readers that sacrificing meat (no pun intended) doesn’t have to mean sacrificing flavor or, most importantly, that sense of satisfaction we all seek in a great meal.

Thai vegetable curry seemed like the perfect choice. The sweet lemongrass. The fiery chiles. The flurry of fresh vegetables. The things that make Thai food great are exactly what going meatless is all about.

And most of that held true as I worked my way through the recipe. Most Thai dishes start with some sort of curry paste. It’s a base for all those strong, wonderful flavors. This recipe called for making your own paste – a step I hadn’t seen before and was excited to try my hand at. The technique was simple: rinse, peel, chop, mince and pulse. There was no liquid, so the “paste” was more of a finely minced mixture, but the aroma was pungent and sharp.

The rest of the recipe was mostly a matter of mise en place – ie. much more mincing and chopping than actual cooking. Fine by me. Once I got to the cooking, however, I realized that the timing was a little off. Sauteeing thick chunks of eggplant, mushrooms and red peppers for 1 minute isn’t enough time to allow them to begin to become tender. They needed more like 5 minutes. The same should be said for the rest of the vegetables, added after the coconut milk is brought to a boil. Raw okra needs more than 5 minutes to simmer away in a bubbling broth to truly be its best. I gave it more like 7 or 8 minutes.

Once the sauteeing was over and the vegetables were indeed tender, the recipe finally called for seasoning – as the final step. It instructed to taste and add a dash of soy sauce or a teaspoon of brown sugar to taste. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to cut it. The broth was crying for more salt and more sweetness. Seven or eight dashes and three pinches of brown sugar later, and the broth was sweet and flavorful, with a touch of fire from the chiles. It was a wonderful way to enjoy vegetables. And as the new season brings with it cooler breezes and chillier nights, it’s sure to hit my dinner table again this fall somewhere between Monday and Friday.

Thai Vegetable Curry

For the Curry Paste:
2 shallots, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger
1 stick lemongrass, finely chopped
2 green chiles, seeded and chopped
Zest of 1 lime
Small fresh bunch cilantro

1 Tbsp. sunflower oil
1 small eggplant, cut into chunks
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
8 baby bella mushrooms, halved (or quartered if large)
14-oz. can coconut milk
6 okra, cut on the diagonal into 3 pieces
8 baby corn, cut on the diagonal into 3 pieces
5- to 6-oz. can bamboo shoots, drained
Handful sugar snap peas, cut in half on the diagonal
2 handfuls bean sprouts
Soy sauce
Soft light brown sugar to taste

TO SERVE
Fresh cilantro leaves
Jasmine rice
Lime wedges

• Prepare the curry paste first. Place the shallots, garlic and ginger in a food processor. Add the lemongrass, chiles, lime zest and cilantro stalks (reserving the leaves) and pulse the mixture until finely chopped. You can also make this paste using a mortar and pestle if you prefer.
• Heat the sunflower oil in a large saute pan. Add the curry paste and cook over medium heat for 1 minute until the mixture smells fragrant.
• Add the eggplant, red pepper and mushrooms and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently until starting to become tender.
• Add the coconut milk to the pan with ½ cup of water and bring to a boil.
• Add the okra, baby corn and bamboo shoots and continue to cook for 5 minutes or so until the veggies are tender.
• Finally add the sugar snap peas and bean sprouts and cook for another 30 seconds.
• Taste and add a dash of soy sauce or teaspoon of sugar if needed.
• Serve the curry in bowls garnished with cilantro leaves with jasmine rice and lime wedges.

Reprinted with permission from Kyle Books.

What’s your favorite meatless meal to put on the dinner table? Tell us in the comments section below for a chance to win a copy of The Meat Free Monday Cookbook. We’ll announce the winner in next week’s By the Book column.

And now we’d like to congratulate Frances whose comment on last week’s By the Book has won her a copy of Whatever Happened to Sunday Dinner by Lisa Caponigri. We’d also like to congratulate Earen, whose comment on an earlier By the Book column has won him/her a copy of Cooking Without Borders by Anita Lo. Frances and Earen, keep an eye out for an email from the Sauce crew.

Jane Callahan has been delivering her from-scratch pies to area groceries, restaurants and farmers markets since 2010. Back in June, Callahan revealed to Sauce that she was ready to take her business, Pie Oh My!, from a commissary kitchen to a commercial one all its own. The following month, she chatted with us about what we can expect to find when the doors to her storefront open.

Well, open they did. Yesterday, Pie Oh My! opened for business at 2719 Sutton Blvd., in Maplewood. And this morning, we stopped by to see what Callahan had baking at her brand new pie shop. Head over to our Facebook page for all the pie-filled fun. Then, stop by the shop, open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 6 p.m.

— Photo by Greg Rannells

Chef Josh Galliano’s fried chicken pop-up hasn’t even opened yet and there’s already news of another rolling in. Galliano, who has kept the culinary scene guessing his next moves ever since the restaurant where he was executive chef, Monarch, closed in March, told The Scoop that he will launch another pop-up restaurant next month.

On Monday, September 17, Galliano will hold a one-day-only gumbo-themed pop-up restaurant at Pint Size Bakery, Christy Augustin’s new South City bakeshop located at 3825 Watson Road. The pop-up will be for lunch service only and, considering the “pint size” of Augustin’s space, diners will only be able to enjoy Galliano’s southern-style fare through take-out orders.

This is slightly different than the fried-chicken pop-up Galliano is holding at Half & Half on Monday, August 13, where a lengthy dinner menu will be served for diners looking to both sit down and take out. No word yet on the name, menu or hours for Galliano’s new gumbo-themed affair, but we’ll fill you in with the details when we receive them. For now, you can tune in to St. Louis Public Radio 90.7 KWMU’s Cityscape today at 11 a.m. and 10 p.m., to hear Galliano chat with senior staff writer Ligaya Figueras about the pop-up trend and his future plans in this month’s Sound Bites.

Usually when reviewing a cookbook for this column, choosing the recipe is fairly easy. If the book’s too daunting, I typically stay in my comfort zone, like I did here. If a recipe features one of my favorite ingredients – like this one did – I pick it. But as soon as I flipped open Jane Hornby’s new cookbook, Fresh & Easy, I knew things were about to get a lot more difficult.

Not that this book is difficult. In fact, it’s the opposite. The clean, colorful layout and simple spread of ingredients makes you believe you can conquer every one of these recipes. Now you understand my problem. From the Spicy Mackerel with Orange and Radish Salad to the Sticky Fig & Ricotta Toast all the way down to the Herb-Crusted Lamb with Pea Purée & Tomatoes, I wanted to make every single recipe in this book. And the beautiful, step-by-step design convinced me that I could.

After a LOT of skimming, I decided on one of my favorite fresh and easy meals: baked eggs. Hornby calls for baking hers inside little nooks tucked into tender potatoes, wilted spinach and sweet tomatoes, with a little fresh garlic and spices thrown in. When the eggs are pulled from the oven, they’re showered with crumbled feta and sopped up with a nice, crusty loaf. (My pup could hardly keep her nose to herself.)

Fast? Yes. Easy? Absolutely. Delicious? Mostly, with a couple tweaks for next time. The main issue I had with this recipe was its vagueness in wording. The recipe called for seasoning to taste several times without any additional instruction, but the final dish simply wasn’t seasoned enough. This was my mistake; I should know that when you buy canned tomatoes, they need quite a bit of flavor enhancers. Next time, I’ll have a much heavier hand with the salt and pepper. Hornby also grabbed hot smoked paprika for this one, but a few fresh herbs could take this humble dish into must-make-again territory.

Vagueness struck again when it came to chopping the potatoes. Hornby instructed cutting the potatoes into “chunky pieces.” While I sliced them to match the photos in the book, quartering larger taters and halving the wee ones, a smaller chop would’ve made for the perfect scoop with a tear of crusty bread. As would’ve a tad more tomato sauce. Next time, I’d up the 1¼ cups to 2.

All in all, the dish was a pleaser. The dusting of feta on top added a nice creamy and salty bite to the otherwise under-seasoned sauce. With just a few minor changes, next time I’ll have an easy, make-ahead meal ideal for a sleepy Sunday morning with friends.

Baked Eggs with Spinach & Feta
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4

11 oz. new potatoes
1 clove garlic
9 oz. baby spinach
1¼ cups puréed, canned tomatoes (passata)
½ tsp. hot smoked paprika, plus a little pinch for sprinkling
2 oz. feta cheese
Good crusty bread, to serve (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the potatoes into chunky pieces, then put them into a medium pan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then boil for 10 to 15 minutes, until tender.
• While you wait for the potatoes to boil, thinly slice the garlic. Rinse the spinach in a bowl of cold water, then lift it into a colander and drain.
• When the potatoes are tender, drain them over the spinach. The hot water will wilt the leaves.
• Transfer the potatoes from the colander into 2 shallow ovenproof dishes. Squeeze as much liquid from the spinach as you can with the back of a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
• Scatter the spinach over the potatoes, then spoon the puréed canned tomatoes (passata) over them and sprinkle with the garlic. Season with salt and pepper and the ½ teaspoon smoked paprika. Make 2 wells in the vegetables, so that the eggs have somewhere to sit.
• Crack an egg into each well, then season the tops with a sprinkling of extra paprika, salt and pepper. Cut the butter into little pieces and dot it over everything.
• Put the dishes onto a baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the eggs are just set and the tomatoes are bubbling around the edges. The eggs will continue to cook once they come out of the oven, so don’t be worried if the whites still look a little runny. Crumble the cheese over the top, then serve hot with bread, if you like.

Have a favorite way to make eggs in the oven? Tell us about it in the comments section below for a chance to win a copy of Fresh & Easy: What to Cook and How To Cook It by Jane Hornby. We will announce the winner in next week’s By the Book column.

And now, we’d like to congratulate Jessica, whose comment on last week’s By the Book has won her a copy of Handheld Pies. Jessica, keep an eye out for an email from the Sauce crew.

Breakfast is by far my favorite meal. Scratch that – brunch has my heart. Something about combining two meals into one makes my caloric counter slow down and allows those guilt-free gluttonous urges to takeover. Suddenly, a sky-high tower of challah French toast, swimming in maple syrup and showered with powdered sugar is a “hearty” way to start the afternoon. A four-egg omelet oozing with fatty bacon and three different kinds of cheese is “just the protein I need” to get me through a rough day of watching movies on the couch. Ah, if only every day were Sunday …

Back to reality, and I’ve landed yet another baking project for By the Book, despite my oft-recited inclination against such things. At this point, my baking successes had slightly outweighed my failures, so I was up for trying my hand at whisking and kneading once more. Plus, even I had to admit that Handheld Pies, the new cookbook from Sarah Billingsley and Rachel Wharton, was too darn cute to pass up. Half-pint-sized lemon meringue pies. Orange marmalade pop-tarts. Man, everything really is cuter when it’s bite-sized. Plus, Billingsey and Wharton included a profile one of my all-time favorite local bakeries: the now-defunct Bittersweet Bakery and its talented owner, Leanna Russo. How could I say no?

So I didn’t. And I decided that I’d combine my smidge of new baking confidence with my love for all things brunch and make the Bacon, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Pie.

Unfortunately, cute doesn’t necessarily translate into tasty. My biggest gripe with this recipe is that the dough didn’t quite add up. Though Billingsey and Wharton offered two crust options, they recommended using the Flaky Butter Crust, so that’s what I did. While the recipe said it should yield 12 4-inch circles and 12 3-inch circles, I was only able to cut out 9. Maybe I’d made my dough too thick? The recipe called for ¼ inch. That’s what I had. Sigh.

Not surprisingly, the numbering mishap threw the whole recipe off, making it so I only used three-quarters of the filling. Billingsey and Wharton said that the dough would puff a bit when baking, “forming hot, eggy, salty pillows of early-morning deliciousness.” Not in my oven. There was no puffing. And with one bite into these adorable little pies, it was clear: There was no deliciousness, either. The potato overwhelmed the other elements. A bite that should’ve been filled with ooey, gooey cheese, crispy bacon and spicy chives was dense, dry and cakey.

Next time, I’d omit the potato altogether, filling those doughy cavities with more cheese, bacon and crisp chives. But maybe that’s just my gluttony talking …

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Pie
Makes 12 Pies (Note: It only made 9 for me.)

Although I have given you a choice of two crusts here, I recommend the Flaky Butter Crust. It puffs up a bit when it bakes, forming hot, eggy, salty pillows of early-morning deliciousness. You can assemble these pies the night before in muffin-tin cups, cover the pies with plastic wrap, refrigerate them and then bake them in the oven in the morning (They’ll need about 5 minutes longer in the oven.). I like the mild flavor of the chives in this recipe, but minced yellow onion or shallot can be substituted.

1 large russet potato
6 slices bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
All-purpose flour for dusting
½ recipe Flaky Butter Crust (recipe follows) or Sturdy Cream Cheese Crust
3 eggs
1/3 cup chopped fresh chives
½ cup coarsely grated aged Cheddar cheese

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Have ready a 12-cup standard muffin tin.
• Poke holes in the potato with the tines of a fork, and bake or microwave until tender. Alternatively, peel the potato and boil until tender. Set the potato aside until it is cool enough to handle. If you have baked or microwaved the potato, split it open and fluff the interior with a fork. If you have boiled the potato, cut it into ½-inch chunks. If you have not used the oven, preheat it to 375 degrees.
• Spread the bacon pieces in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet, place in the oven and cook until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and drain on paper towels.
• While the bacon is cooking, lightly flour a clean work surface. Unwrap the dough, place it on the floured work surface and flour the top lightly. Roll out the dough into a large circle ¼-inch thick. You will need 12 circles 4 inches in diameter and 12 circles 3 inches in diameter. Using a round biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out the 4-inch circles first, then, with the 3-inch cutter, cut out the smaller circles. You will need to gather the dough and reroll them once to cut out enough circles.
• Handling the dough circles gently, lift the larger circles and press them into the muffin cups, patching any tears by pinching them together or plugging them with a dough scrap. Break the eggs into a measuring pitcher or a small bowl with a pouring spout and beat until combined. Divide the potato among the bottom crusts. Top the potato with the bacon pieces and chives, dividing them evenly, and then pour about 2 teaspoons of the beaten eggs into each muffin cup. Working quickly, top the egg with the cheese, dividing it evenly, and then with the small dough circles. Gently press the edges of the dough circles together, and cut a small slash or poke holes in the top of each pie with a sharp knife tip or the tines of a fork. Refrigerate the assembled pies for 30 minutes.
• Bake the pies until slightly puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a baking rack for 10 minutes. Run a sharp, thin knife around the edge of each pie to loosen it from the cup. Then, using the knife tip or a fork, gently pry each pie upward so you can grab it with your fingertips and lift it out of the tin. Serve immediately.

The pies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 24 hours. Reheat in a 375-degree oven for about 7 minutes. These pies cannot be frozen.

Flaky Butter Crust
Makes enough for 12 to 16 free-form, structured or jar pies (Note: It only made 9 for me.)

1 cup cold unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
3 to 5 Tbsp. ice water

• Cut the butter into ½-inch cubes and freeze them while you measure and mix the dry ingredients.
• To make the dough in a food processor: Combine the flour, sugar and salt in the processor and pulse three or four times to mix. Retrieve the butter cubes from the freezer, scatter them over the flour mixture, and pulse until the mixture forms pea-size clumps. Add the ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse to mix, adding just enough water for the dough to come together.
• To make the dough by hand: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Retrieve the butter cubes from the freezer and distribute them evenly in the flour mixture, coating them with the flour mixture. Sink your fingers in the mixture and begin pinching the butter and flour together, making thin, floury disks of the butter. Continue working the mixture until the butter is broken down first into floury pea-size beads and then into a loose mixture that resembles wet sand. Drizzle in 3 tablespoons of the ice water and use your hand like a comb to mix in the liquid just until the dough holds together. If necessary, add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a crumbly mass.
• Alternatively, if using a pastry blender, whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Scatter the butter evenly over the flour mixture, and stir to coat with the flour mixture. Using a swift, downward motion, cut the butter into the dry ingredients, turning the bowl and then plunging the cutter into the mixture repeatedly. You may need to stop occasionally to slip chunks of butter from the blades back into the flour. Continue cutting until the mixture resembles wet sand. Drizzle in 3 tablespoons of the water and use a fork or your fingers to mix in the liquid just until the dough holds together. If necessary, add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a crumbly mass.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface or sheet of parchment paper. Gather the dough together in a mound, then knead it a few times to smooth it out. Divide it in half and gently pat and press each half into a rough rectangle, circle or square about 1 inch thick. The shape you choose will depend on what shape you will be rolling out the dough. If you don’t know how you will be using the dough at this point, opt for a circle. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 3 days.

Have you had success transforming a favorite dish into bite-sized form? Tell us about it in the comments section below for a chance to win a copy of Handheld Pies by Sarah Billingsley and Rachel Wharton. We’ll announce the winner in next week’s By the Book column.

And now, we’d like to congratulate Kirsten, whose comment on last week’s By the Book column has won her a copy of Salad For Dinner. Kirsten, keep an eye out for an email from the Sauce crew.

Today national culinary website Eater published an interview with our very own Gerard Craft. Craft is, of course, chef-owner of the Niche family of restaurants – including Niche, Brasserie, Taste and Pastaria, set to open later this summer.

In the interview, Craft discussed how he chose to move to St. Louis as a young “completely tattooed chef,” why he’s moving his flagship Niche from its original Benton Park home to Clayton, what his future goals are for both Niche and Pastaria, the evolution of the St. Louis dining scene, and a bit more. Craft even gave a nod to several of his fellow chef pals, including Sidney Street’s Kevin Nashan (whom he credits as one of the reasons he chose to open Niche in St. Louis in the first place); Mike Randolph, whose lineage at Moto led him to open up The Good Pie and, later, Half & Half and Medianoche; barbecue bigwig Mike Emerson of Pappy’s; and Josh Galliano, who is in the process of opening his own restaurant.

To check out the full interview, click here.

As we continue with our James Beard-themed By the Book series this month, we move on to a celebrity chef who’s known as much for his southern good looks as he is for his southern-style cuisine. I first experienced John Besh’s cooking a few months ago on a trip to New Orleans. For brunch, a large group of us headed to Lüke, Besh’s brasserie-style restaurant in the Central Business District of The Big Easy. Everything was divine, from the French press coffee to the famous, thick and smoky Allan Benton bacon to the decadent Eggs In a Jar: creamy cheese grits topped with deep-fried soft-shell crab, a balloon-like poached egg and a hefty dousing of creamy hollandaise, all layered into an adorable Mason jar. (Put anything in a jar and I’ll order it.)

So when I saw that Besh’s new book, My Family Table: A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking (nominated for a 2012 Beard Award) was up for grabs this month, it was an obvious choice.

In my next life, I’m going to have a lot of free time. I’ll bake beautiful loaves of Old World bread, pickle the fresh produce I nabbed at the farmers market that week and make jar after jar of fresh jellies and preserves. In this life of never-ending deadlines and dog walking and house cleaning, however, I’ll have to settle for the occasional quick pickling.

As with so many recipes in his book, Besh provides a basic recipe and then offers several ingredient options. For this quick-pickling method, he recommended using baby carrots, beets or radishes. Since I had just picked up four bundles of fresh radishes at the Clayton Farmers Market, I figured I’d pickle two and reserve the other two for this amazing recipe (Try not to get addicted to it; I dare you.).

The recipe was simple and straightforward. Peel the veggies, blanch them, pour the pickling spices into the cooking liquid and then combine everything in a sanitized jar. Besh suggested either using a tablespoon of the Zatarain’s crab boil seasoning or a teaspoon each of mustard seed, coriander seed and black peppercorns. Ever a fan of the harder-is-better route, I decided to go for the individual spices. But after visits to three different grocers and no whole coriander seed to be found, I gave in and bought the pre-mixed spice pack. Suddenly, a simple recipe became even easier.

If you’re anything like me and don’t have the time (or patience) to juice fruit, let bread rise or give pickled veggies the time they need to work their magic in the fridge, Besh’s recipe is a quick and easy way to dip your toe into the DIY pool.

Quick Pickled Vegetables
Makes 1 quart

I like to use this process to pickle carrots, radishes and beets and have come to prefer the texture of these homemade pickles to anything store-bought. The vegetables are blanched for a moment, leaving them still crisp. Although these pickles taste wonderful alone, they are so beautiful I frequently use them as a way to elevate many dishes, especially the Vietnamese-inspired recipes in this book.

½ tsp. salt
1 lb. baby carrots, radishes or beets, peeled
1 cup sugar
1 cup rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. Zatarain’s Crab Boil seasoning or 1 tsp. each of mustard seeds, coriander seeds and black peppercorns

• In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil along with the salt.
• Add the peeled vegetables and blanch for no longer than 2 minutes. Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon.
• Add the sugar, vinegar and spices to the pot and bring just to a boil.
• Fill canning jars with the blanched vegetables and pour in enough cooking liquid to fill the jars.
• Cool, then cover and store in the refrigerator where they’ll last for a couple of weeks.

From My Family Table by John Besh/Andrews McMeel Publishing

What’s your favorite vegetables to pickle and how do you do it? Tell us about your favorite pickling recipe in the comments section below for a chance to win a copy of My Family Table by John Besh. We’ll announce the winner in next week’s By the Book column.

And now, we’d like to congratulate Claire, whose comment on last week’s By the Book has won her a copy of Cooking with Chocolate: Essential Recipes and Techniques. Claire, keep an eye out from the Sauce crew.