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AEProgman 
Forum Senior Member 
Joined: August 11 2012 Location: Toadstool Status: Offline Points: 1787 |
 Posted: November 16 2014 at 21:02 |
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What's wrong with the right nipple? Lol
That applesauce looks awesome Jim, never seen it so red before!
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Finnforest
Special Collaborator 
Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: The Heartland Status: Offline Points: 16913 |
Posted: November 16 2014 at 21:37 |
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Thanks Jim
 David, that's the kind of bread I do. It's my Grandma white bread recipe made with lard. This really ups the flavor big time. And lard is fine in moderation. She used to make this bread daily for her large family and they'd finish it. My Dad used to stop his truck at their house just to grab some of this bread for the road. She'd have it warm, slather some butter on, wrap it in waxpaper and send him out the door. If she had a roast or a chicken in the oven, she'd make sandwiches with this bread too. I'm still learning the bread craft but getting better. |
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Atavachron
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: September 30 2006 Location: Pearland Status: Offline Points: 65266 |
Posted: November 16 2014 at 21:41 |
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At least you have the background from your grandma-- yeah that lardy white is my fave, and some jam goes mighty fine with it too
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"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." -- John F. Kennedy
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Finnforest
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: The Heartland Status: Offline Points: 16913 |
Posted: November 16 2014 at 22:08 |
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Damn....now I want to bake some bread tomorrow....
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Atavachron
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: September 30 2006 Location: Pearland Status: Offline Points: 65266 |
Posted: November 16 2014 at 22:28 |
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Do you bloom your own yeast?
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"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." -- John F. Kennedy
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Finnforest
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: The Heartland Status: Offline Points: 16913 |
Posted: November 16 2014 at 22:34 |
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David I just use the active dry yeast in those little packets. A little bit of warm water and sugar. It's important to use bottled water so the flouride doesn't harm the yeast. Also you can't get the water too hot.
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Atavachron
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: September 30 2006 Location: Pearland Status: Offline Points: 65266 |
Posted: November 16 2014 at 23:29 |
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Interesting, didn't know about the fluoride
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"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." -- John F. Kennedy
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Finnforest
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: The Heartland Status: Offline Points: 16913 |
Posted: November 17 2014 at 18:00 |
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Yep, I think it was flouride...there is some chemical that the yeast doesn't appreciate. Once I changed water and adjusted the temp, I had much better luck
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E-Dub
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 24 2006 Location: Elkhorn, WI Status: Offline Points: 7910 |
Posted: December 01 2014 at 20:39 |
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Thought I'd venture in and check on the thread I started years ago. Amazed it's still going. Sorry. Don't come around the PA very much these days.
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Atavachron
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: September 30 2006 Location: Pearland Status: Offline Points: 65266 |
Posted: December 01 2014 at 20:41 |
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Eric! Nice to see you.
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"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." -- John F. Kennedy
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E-Dub
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 24 2006 Location: Elkhorn, WI Status: Offline Points: 7910 |
Posted: December 01 2014 at 21:40 |
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Why thank you. I may have to come around more often.
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Dean
Special Collaborator
Retired Admin and Amateur Layabout Joined: May 13 2007 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 37575 |
Posted: January 03 2015 at 07:15 |
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The christmas/new year holiday is drawing to an end and I've cooked some interesting food this year.
After much persuasion from my daughter and myself, my wife reluctantly agreed to forego the usual turkey on christmas day for goose as long as I cooked it (my wife normally cooks christmas dinner). A daunting task for such an expensive bird so I proceeded with care and caution, first scoring the skin with a sharp knife cutting deep into the fat layer so that it would render-out evenly, I then poured boiling water straight from the kettle over it to tighten-up the skin and dried it off with some kitchen paper. I made a dryish rub of grated clementine zest, salt and five-spice and massaged this in, the clementines were then halved and stuffed inside the bird and left for half an hour for the flavours to infuse before putting in a very hot oven for 10 minutes before the temperature was reduced and the roasting pan covered in foil for the remainder of the cooking time (basting every 20 minutes or so and spooning off any rendered out fat to be used later for roasting the potatoes and parsnips). A meat thermometer was used to check the temperature of the meat at the thickest part - once the temperature reached 70°C through-out it was removed from the oven and allowed to rest for 40 minutes. Now the oven could be set to the ideal temp to roast the (par-boiled) veg. The obligatory brussles sprouts were quickly blanched then fried off with some crispy bacon lardons (I can't abide cooked sprouts so served mine raw, as I do with cauliflower and beetroot). I'd prepared and cooked the starter of a hot-smoked fish medley of salmon, tuna, mackerel and herring earlier in the day, each seasoned with a variety of different marinades (soy sauce, five-spice, ginger, salt etc.) and smoked for 20 minutes in a stove-top smoker over alder chips and allowed to cool. This was served with some lobster, cold-smoked trout and gravlax (all shop-bought as I didn't have time, energy or patience to cure my own this year), some rose mary sauce and dill & yoghurt dressing. Surprisingly the star of the plate was also the cheapest - the herring was amazing and will surely be elevated to main-meal status in 2015. The previous week we visited Debs' sisters for a family meal. This is collective affair with each family group providing a course, Debs' sister and her husband prepared the most incredible Beef Wellington, (prime fillet steak cooked to perfection in a pastry blanket), that just melted in the mouth. Our offering was the sweet course and each year I get more adventurous with what I produce - having in previous years provided raspberry marshmallows, champagne jelly with gold-leaf, madeleines with lemon and thyme drizel and little coffee cups filled with cappuccino and chocolate mouse this year I attempted something even more exotic. Starting with a hippocras jelly. Hippocras is the English equivalent of mulled wine that reflects our Roman past - a small quantity of full bodied red wine is steeped in sugar and spices (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and star-anise) over a low heat to infuse the flavour and then strained through a muslin bag and added to the remainder of the bottle of wine (this ensures that the mulled wine remains fairly alcoholic and thus removes the need to add brandy or other such fortifying spirit). I then soaked some dried fruit in this hippocras wine for several days before straining again and adding dissolved gelatine (this is not a vegetarian recipe - I've tried various veggie substitutes in the past and they simply do not produce satisfactory results). While the jelly sets I stir in the drained-off fruit and it occasionally stir it again as it continues to set to ensure the fruit is evenly distributed (otherwise it all sinks to the bottom). Since this jelly is basically christmas pudding in jelly form to serve it I had intended to turned out onto a plate and poured flaming rum over it for a bit of drama but unfortunately it didn't quite survive the 150 mile car journey with sufficient rigidity to be turned out. I served this with a simple rum-cream that was mixed with a good helping of grated chocolate to tie it in with the other two puds. These puddings were Indian inspired. The first was a tiramisu made with Saviordi biscuits dipped in chai (a milky Indian tea of Assam tea infused with cinnamon, ginger, black pepper and cardamom) topped with a rum and ginger infused mascarpone cream - served in small shot-glasses and dusted with grated chocolate. A simple dish that took a few minutes to prepare and raised a few eyebrows when I explained it was made with tea instead of the normal coffee, fortunately peoples' scepticism quickly disappeared once they'd tasted it, as did the puddings. The second was more complex. Starting the two days previous I created some Shrikhand - an Indian dish made by straining cardamom infused live yoghurt through muslin and mixing the resulting thick creamy cheese with some caster sugar for sweetness, this was stored in an airtight container in the fridge until needed. I then made some little chocolate cups by coating the insides of silicone muffin cases with melted and tempered chocolate, once cooled these were also stored in an airtight container. Some green raisins were soaked in neat gin and stored in a small jar. The following day I macerated quartered strawberries in a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and two teaspoons of fine sugar and again stored them in another small jar. The next vital ingredient was Kheer - this is a cardamom infused rice pudding made with basmati rice instead of the normal "pudding rice" - I have made this several times before and it's not difficult, it just takes time but by happen-stance I found some ready-made in our local supermarket (made by Tilda if anyone is interested). Using basmati rice makes the pudding less stodgy as it has less starch than pudding rice and retains its fluidity when served cold (it's nice hot too). On the day two plump gin-soaked raisins were placed in each chocolate cup, then a spoonful of Kheer, followed by the drained macerated strawberries and topped with the Shrikhand cream that had a small amount of freshly grated ginger stirred into it. Each was then garnished with a sprinkling of freeze-dried strawberries for decoration. To compliment all this I also made some sweets - a simple rose Turkish delight that didn't quite turn out as expected, having the firmer texture than intended - these ended up more like posh jelly babies than the delicate Turkish treat but was enjoyable none the less - and some Brazilian "Brigadeiro" chocolate truffles made by boiling condensed milk in a pan with a huge quantity of coco powder until it formed a thick fudge that was allowed to cool before forming into small balls that were coated in chocolate vermicelli strands. I was tempted to add some flaked chilli to these but resisted - next time I will not be so reserved as chocolate and chilli is the ultimate combination for me. I also attempted to make some cherry & pistachio nougat but after two failures I gave up. For the first the phone and the doorbell rang simultaneously as I was making the caramel - in a panic I opened the door with a pan of boiling sugar in my hand and a frustrated and somewhat annoyed expression on my face as the telephone continued to ring in the back ground - my neighbour saw my plight - thrust a christmas card at me, wished me a happy christmas and quickly retreated. (I guess I have some apologising to do tomorrow at the annual neighbourhood get-together). Having over-cooked the caramel and produced a nougat that you could tile a bathroom with, I overcompensated on the second attempt and under-cooked it such that the nougat failed to set, the resulting gloop would have been an ideal mastic for sticking the previous batch to the bathroom wall. Ho-hum. To complete my new-found love of non-curry based Indian cuisine last night I made a fish pie from one of Vivek Singh's cookery books. Here the fish is poached in a liquor of coconut milk and fish stock with fried shallots and green chilli. Once cooked the fish is removed from the liquid, flaked and put into an oven proof dish while the poaching liquid is used to make a simple white sauce flavoured with half a teaspoon of turmeric. Once it has reached a smooth consistency that covers the back of a spoon a desert-spoonful of whole grain mustard stirred into it. Some fluffy potatoes are then boiled and mashed with a small knob of butter, then seasoned with salt, pepper and nutmeg. I have to emphasise the smallness of the butter here - too much and it turns to slop in the oven, and that doesn't look good when dished up. At this stage two sliced boiled eggs and/or some halved grapes can be added to the fish before the rich yellow sauce is poured over and topped with the creamy mashed potato and dotted with pieces of (home-grown) golden beetroot. This was then baked in the oven for 30 minutes until the top was crispy and golden and was served with wilted spinach. We washed this down with a champagne cocktail called a pom-pom but made with grenadine instead of pomegranate that had been shaken with a small amount of lemon juice and egg-white to produce a stiff pink foam when the champagne is added. Happy New Year to all - and get yourselves into the Kitchen and cook something, even minor disasters can be tasty!!!
Edited by Dean - January 03 2015 at 07:23 |
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Raff
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 29 2005 Location: None Status: Offline Points: 24429 |
Posted: January 03 2015 at 07:22 |
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Everything sounds so incredibly yummy
 ! I wish I had more time to dedicate to trying new recipes. However, I do want to try the chai tiramisu and the fish pie at the very least. |
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Meltdowner
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: June 25 2013 Location: Portugal Status: Offline Points: 10232 |
Posted: January 03 2015 at 07:40 |
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It all seems delicious and I'm so hungry
  On Christmas I had the usual codfish with boiled potatoes, portuguese cabbage and eggs, drizzled with olive oil and vinegar  Happy new year! |
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Finnforest
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: The Heartland Status: Offline Points: 16913 |
Posted: January 03 2015 at 08:42 |
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You're amazing Dean. You could walk away from the stress of your regular gig and be a chef. I know that has stress too but it might be a fun creative change.
Not much here to report of late. Our meals are far more midwestern working class shall we say. We did entertain last night with a very good chicken stir fry, baby corns, water chestnuts, cauliflower, peppers, and thin sliced carrot in a ginger glaze over rice. The appetizer was a retro cheeseball I make, the recipe from my parents house parties half a century ago. Every time we taste that again I can see my Dad pouring highballs in his kitchen and the sound of all the neighbors dancing in the basement. My culinary aspiration in the new year will be to become an even better breadmaker. I'm getting pretty good at whipping up a tasty white bread from scratch. Cheers my friend. |
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Angelo
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin Joined: May 07 2006 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 13244 |
Posted: January 03 2015 at 08:56 |
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We hardly cooked anything this holiday period, for several reasons not relevant here. Instead we ate at a few good Indian, Chinese and Nepalese restaurants over the past week. Now I need to get my hands on a recipe for a very nice dish called Bhutan Malai Kabab: chicken marinated in yoghurt and served in a cream of crushed cashews, almond paste and a number of spices - according to the menu. It was creamy, somewhat sweet (but with a bit of a bite) and superbly combined with garlic nan...
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ISKC Rock Radio
I stopped blogging and reviewing - so won't be handling requests. Promo's for ariplay can be sent to [email protected] |
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Finnforest
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: The Heartland Status: Offline Points: 16913 |
Posted: January 03 2015 at 09:55 |
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I'm also trying to learn a bit more about the aged spirits. Slowly moving away from beer because the carbonation bothers me.
For a few bucks more you can get into another realm of drink, vodkas, rums, etc. Most noticeable in the bourbon field where you can find whiskey with flavor profiles as deep and diverse as good wine. Smoky, caramel, chocolate, spiced, sweet, peppery, even bacon I'm told, they're all there, lots of different characters. Perhaps someday I'll open the Prog Bartenders Unite thread.  |
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Raff
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 29 2005 Location: None Status: Offline Points: 24429 |
Posted: January 03 2015 at 10:05 |
A few years ago I bought a bread machine, which turned to be one of the best purchases I have ever made. Though it is a shortcut if compared to bread made completely by hand, it is an invaluable tool when you don't have a lot of time, and it does make all kinds of wonderful bread. For New Year's Day I made a loaf of cheese bread, which smelled heavenly when baking, and tasted even better. |
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Finnforest
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: The Heartland Status: Offline Points: 16913 |
Posted: January 03 2015 at 10:38 |
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Hi Raff
Dean has recommended this to me as well, I believe he even offered a model at one point. I do get the time saving thing, yet I resist. I really want to learn the craft of making it the way my grandmothers did. I really dig the tactile experience of kneading it by hand, I think it is relaxing. My Mom told me that neither Grandma used a recipe, and her Mom could barely even recite one when asked! She simply would eyeball ingredients based on the number of people to feed. She used natural lard for flavor. And never set a timer. She just "knew" when they were done. I want to learn the art of it in that way which is why I've resisted the machine. But I totally get the point from the practical perspective. There may be times when one wants bread faster than that. I remember seeing some photos of your table a few years back Raff, I believe it was a holiday meal. It looked fantastic. This thread has always been an inspiration. |
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Dean
Special Collaborator
Retired Admin and Amateur Layabout Joined: May 13 2007 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 37575 |
Posted: January 03 2015 at 12:50 |
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Now I work from home I have found that the hour I set aside for "lunch" is perfect for baking soda bread since this only takes around 5 minutes mixing and 30 minutes in the oven. The results, while heavy and dense compared to yeast based bread, are ideal for a hunk robust cheddar cheese and some pickles or a quickly prepared bowl of vegetable soup.
grrh, can't get the image from facebook to display - here's the link
Edited by Dean - January 03 2015 at 12:54 |
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Finnforest wrote: