Pan de Muertos (Day of the Dead Bread) via CHOW

TIME/SERVINGS

Total: 3 hrs 40 mins

Active: 25 mins

Makes: 2 loaves

CHOW adapted this recipe by Richard Sandoval of Pampano and Maya restaurants in New York City

During the Day of the Dead festivities in the first two days of November, graves are decorated with flowers and offerings of food and drink in honor of the departed, including this pan de muertos, a yeasty, sweet egg bread flavored with anise.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling


• 1 teaspoon kosher salt


• 1 teaspoon anise seed



• 1/2 ounce (2 packets) active dry yeast


• 1/2 cup whole milk


• 1/2 cup water


• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter


• 4 large eggs


• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour


• 1 egg yolk beaten with 2 teaspoons water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine sugar, salt, anise seed, and yeast in a small mixing bowl. Heat milk, water, and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until butter is just melted; do not allow it to boil. Add milk mixture to dry mixture and beat well with a wire whisk.
2. Stir in eggs and 1 1/2 cups of the flour and beat well. Add remaining flour, little by little, stirring well with a wooden spoon until dough comes together.
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured wooden board and knead until it is smooth and elastic, and no longer sticky, about 9 to 10 minute . Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and allow it to rise in a warm area until it has doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
4. Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Punch down dough and divide into 2 pieces. Cut 3 small (about 1-ounce) balls from each half and mold them into skull-and-bones shapes. Shape large balls of dough into round loaf shapes, and place skull-and-bones on top. Place breads on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let rise another hour.
5. Brush loaves with egg yolk mixture and bake. Halfway through baking, about 20 minutes, remove loaves from oven and brush again with egg wash and sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar. Return to oven and bake until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped, about another 20 minutes.

Some orange flower water or esence is a nice addition. I usually make this bread with a sponge dough method. A small portion of the total liquid, about 2 cups of the flour, and about 1/3 as much yeast are mixed and left to rise about an hour. Then add the sugar, eggs, butter, flavorings, salt and the rest of the flour.
The sugar is best applied *after* the breads are cooled, by brushing lightly with vegetable oil and applying sugar. (slightly coarse, if possible.)

Using milk and butter is nice, but not very Mexican, IMO.
The picture linked here shows some of my more successful results.
http://www.pbase.com/panos/image/3570...

These next ones are in la Panadería Rivepan, in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán. http://www.pbase.com/panos/image/5094...
Lighting conditions were challenging.

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Pan de Muertos (Day of the Dead Bread)
via CHOW

My Love Child With Brad Pitt

Brooke Shields introduced us, and whoops!, "nine months" later, Brad and I had a Routan Baby!

Right now, Volkswagen has the cutest promotion going on involving the RoutanBabymaker3000. You know the commercials in which Brooke Shields claims people are having babies just to have get their hands on the Routan, well, this cute app lets you upload a picture of mom and a picture of dad to make a virtual Routan baby. Above, you'll find my Routan spawn with Brad Pitt.

I'm off to see how cute my kids are with my favorite male models. Have fun!

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My Love Child With Brad Pitt

Gerard Butler ... Little Bit(e) of a Gossip Item

Being Halloween season and all, there are going to be horror-ible movies on television. This includes Dracula 2000, starring Gerard Butler. I was watching the movie the other night, and to be honest, I didn't even recognize Butler until I saw the credits at the end of the suckfest.

Anyway, imagine my amusement at this little gossip item from Page Six in regards to a costume party Kate Hudson had at her house recently:

But cowboy-clad Gerard Butler was the main attraction. Our insider reports, "All the girls at the party were lining up to talk to Gerard . . . he left with two very sexy vampires."

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Gerard Butler ... Little Bit(e) of a Gossip Item

Hulk Smash!

Sometimes you just get so angry that you want to smash something! But then, you don't want to smash the vase you inherited from Granny or those plates you just bought at the flea market, even though they only cost you $5, because, well, you really like them. Oh, and you don't want to clean up the mess anyway. So, what's one to do? If you're in San Diego, you can go to Sarah's Smash Shack.

Launched in August, Sarah's Smash Shack has offered its humble services, starting at $10 to bust up a set of three glass flowers. The House Special consists of the chance to shatter 15 plates for $45. But, if you do get mad at Granny and you want to throw that vase against the wall, you can bring it to Sarah's and let them sweep up that mess for 20 bucks.

Now, for those worried about the fate of all that broken glass, Sarah's Smash Shack donates its broken glass and ceramic to mosaic art programs throughout the United States. There, don't you feel better? I do. Now, only if they'd expand to NYC.

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Hulk Smash!

Bonet's Life on Mars

I've been watching ABC's Life on Mars since its debut a couple of weeks ago. It's meh ... it's o.k. ... it's kind of boring. The lead character, played by the handsome and talented Jason O'Mara, was in 2008 for five minutes. Then, he got hit by a car and presto chango, he's in 1973! Everything! is! different! Clothes — different. Cars — different. TV, radio, music — different. Lookin' for your iPod — it ain't there! This! is! 1973! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. I got the premise pretty easily, and now, I'm bored.

I actually knew I'd likely be bored before I watched even the first eppy of Life on Mars. Why'd I watch? Because in the advertisements, they kept boasting about the network television return of one Lisa Bonet. I like her ... a heck of a lot more than I like Gretchen Mol! (Sorry, Gretch.)

I'd looked up the Wikipedia entry on the corresponding British series, and Bonet's corresponding character in the British version wasn't seen much. But I figured that would change with the adaptation of the series to an American vibe. Plus, they were really selling me on her return to network television. I figured that in the very least, we'd see a lot of Lisa in the first eppy and maybe not so much in others. I was wrong, and boo on ABC!

ABC pulled what I call The Doherty Switcheroo — a move perfected by the new 90210. The new 90210 (not to be confused with the original, though it has many of the original characters) often uses Shannen and her alter ego Brenda Walsh in advertisements for the show; yet, when one settles down to watch the sad, sad ghost of 90210, expecting to see Shannen/Brenda in all her glory, you are lucky to catch a two-minute glimpse of her. Life on Mars is doing the same thing with Lisa Bonet, and I'm not liking it.

First of all, Life on Mars already has characterization problems. I really don't know who any of them are at all. I can understand that from the lead character, since he is supposed to be confused. But having the other cops just be mildly corrupt is not characterization. Having Gretchen Mol's character say she won't get ahead because she faces sexism ... excuse me, yawn! ... is not characterization. Oh, and people yelling at each other is not conflict. Thought I should mention that. So, with all those characterization problems already in place for the characters who get a lot of face time, I guess I shouldn't be surprised by the lack of characterization for the Bonet character — named Maya by the way.

What's really sad for the show is that Jason O'Mara, the lead character, has much more chemistry with Bonet in those little glimpses into their life together than he has in his scenes with Mol's character. Oh! Maybe that's why the network advertises those scenes!

I don't know, ABC. Maybe you should talk with the producers, writers, directors of Life on Mars and tell them to show a scant more of Bonet/Maya in 2008, trying to get along without O'Mara/Sam. Otherwise, I'm likely to tune out very soon.

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Bonet's Life on Mars

Fiscal Conservatism

This lovely gem was sent to me by a friend.

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Fiscal Conservatism

Oh, Christian Slater, You Rapscallion

Your new television show is so very amusing. My Own Worst Enemy ... so true ... so true.

But, um, I love Alfre Woodard, even when she takes a sidetrip into the
ridiculous. So, Christian, you've got me for a couple of weeks at least. You know, unless they put you up against The Mentalist or
something.

Posted from my iPod
www.piawilson.com
www.piaquarterly.com
www.twitter.com/pwilson720

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Oh, Christian Slater, You Rapscallion