3 shots of Black Seal Bermuda Rum
3 Maraschino Cherries
Ice
Throw that all together in a nice Old Fashion glass and enjoy. If ya gotta have cake, dip a twinkee init.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Lemon Pancakes by shell
OK, here's the pancake recipe. It's from "Joy of Cooking"; I love their basic and buttermilk pancake recipes too.
LEMON PANCAKES
Whisk together in a large bowl:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Whisk together in another bowl:
3/4 cup sour cream
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and whisk together, mixing just until combined.
Fold in: grated zest of 2 lemons
They're delicious with a little honey drizzled on top.
LEMON PANCAKES
Whisk together in a large bowl:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Whisk together in another bowl:
3/4 cup sour cream
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and whisk together, mixing just until combined.
Fold in: grated zest of 2 lemons
They're delicious with a little honey drizzled on top.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Using parmesan Rinds in Soup by bookseller
I save my parm rinds in the freezer, and toss them into soup. I typically cut the rinds into chunks -- maybe 1.5" -- before putting them in, and I don't pick them out; while they give up a lot of their flavor in the cooking, they retain some, and turn into interesting, unexpected, vaguely cheesy chewies. My sense is that they don't add a specific cheese flavor so much as they deepen the overall flavor, in the same way that adding anchovies can. Besides which, there's something that pleases me about making use of something that would otherwise get thrown away -- you know, because I'm so inherently frugal (has coughing fit from laughing hysterically).
Friday, November 16, 2007
Boereks by Sicut Cervus
Holiday appetizer: BOEREKS
(Turkish pastry, made every year by the thousands as a fundraiser, by the staff and parents of the nursery school all three of our kids went to. We usually buy four boxes of 2 dozen). They are made with fillo pastry, which you can buy frozen in l lb. boxes.
Read the instructions on the fillo box for how to defrost, handle and store fillo.
BOEREKS (50 boereks)
Filling:
6 oz. cream cheese
6 oz. feta cheese
2 eggs
2 - 3 T. milk
1 c. cottage cheese
2 T. Parmesan
1 c. parsley
2 T. dill
pinch salt
Mix all ingredients (a Cuisinart works fine)
To assemble: Use 1/2 lb. fillo, 1 stick butter. Melt the butter (microwave is safest and least messy).
Cut fillo sheets in quarters. Brush each sheet with butter; place a dab of filling about 1" from the near edge of each quarter, centered between left and right edges. Fold the right and left sides of the pastry sheet over the filling in thirds, resulting in a narrow shape 3 layers thick with the dab of filling tucked into the front end. Roll this up (neither very tightly nor very loosely) front to back. Place on a buttered baking sheet. Brush tops of rolls with melted butter.
May freeze at this point.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
If frozen, bake at 370 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
(Turkish pastry, made every year by the thousands as a fundraiser, by the staff and parents of the nursery school all three of our kids went to. We usually buy four boxes of 2 dozen). They are made with fillo pastry, which you can buy frozen in l lb. boxes.
Read the instructions on the fillo box for how to defrost, handle and store fillo.
BOEREKS (50 boereks)
Filling:
6 oz. cream cheese
6 oz. feta cheese
2 eggs
2 - 3 T. milk
1 c. cottage cheese
2 T. Parmesan
1 c. parsley
2 T. dill
pinch salt
Mix all ingredients (a Cuisinart works fine)
To assemble: Use 1/2 lb. fillo, 1 stick butter. Melt the butter (microwave is safest and least messy).
Cut fillo sheets in quarters. Brush each sheet with butter; place a dab of filling about 1" from the near edge of each quarter, centered between left and right edges. Fold the right and left sides of the pastry sheet over the filling in thirds, resulting in a narrow shape 3 layers thick with the dab of filling tucked into the front end. Roll this up (neither very tightly nor very loosely) front to back. Place on a buttered baking sheet. Brush tops of rolls with melted butter.
May freeze at this point.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
If frozen, bake at 370 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
Grilled Corn with Herbs and Lime Butter Sauce by Claire Carpenter
8 ears of corn in the husk 1/4 cup chopped mixed fresh herbs (chives, parsley, basil, sage, tarragon (I used basil)) 6 tablespoons lime butter sauce (to follow)
Prepare grill for cooking over moderate heat. Grill corn in husks on lightly oiled grill rack, turning, covered, until kernels are tender, 20 to 30 minutes. (You can skip the grilling and just boil the corn.) Remove corn from grill and let stand until cool enough to handle but still warm, about 10 minutes. Discard husks and stem ends from corn.Cut kernels off cobbs with a large knife and toss with herbs and lime butter sauce.
Lime Butter Sauce
1 large garlic clove, chopped 1/4 cup fresh lime juice 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper 1 stick unsalted butter
Puree garlic with lime juice, salt, and pepper in a blender until smooth. With motor running, add melted butter and blend until emulsified, about 30 seconds. This sauce can be used on just about anything - salmon, salad - you name it.
Prepare grill for cooking over moderate heat. Grill corn in husks on lightly oiled grill rack, turning, covered, until kernels are tender, 20 to 30 minutes. (You can skip the grilling and just boil the corn.) Remove corn from grill and let stand until cool enough to handle but still warm, about 10 minutes. Discard husks and stem ends from corn.Cut kernels off cobbs with a large knife and toss with herbs and lime butter sauce.
Lime Butter Sauce
1 large garlic clove, chopped 1/4 cup fresh lime juice 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper 1 stick unsalted butter
Puree garlic with lime juice, salt, and pepper in a blender until smooth. With motor running, add melted butter and blend until emulsified, about 30 seconds. This sauce can be used on just about anything - salmon, salad - you name it.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Thoughts on Thai Food by bookseller
My first thought was to say, Eeeps, if you're just starting to cook, don't start with Thai food -- the techniques and the flavors are so different from Western cooking. But then I thought about it, and I'm not at all sure it's a bad place to start. Making "authentic" Thai food might be a real bear, but if you're making curries, most of the time it's just making a particular kind of stew. You make the base -- which is a handful of chopped up ginger and shallot and lemongrass, sauteed in peanut oil or coconut oil -- you add some curry paste from a jar (no need to screw around making your own), and when it all smells really good you add in coconut milk and stock of some kind (fish stock, shrimp stock -- which you make by boiling up shrimp shells -- chicken stock, etc., all of which you can buy), let it cook together for a little bit, and then throw in pretty much any protein and veg you want, and let them simmer in this very flavorful liquid until they're cooked. And that's really it. You can tweak the hell out of it -- add more curry paste next time if you want it spicier, use more or less coconut milk, add tomatoes, more shallots, etc. Thai curries are traditionally very soupy, but I like a somewhat thicker sauce and less soup, so I usually add about four times as much protein and veg as a recipe calls for (upping the number of servings correspondingly), and sometimes I thicken it at the end by stirring in a teaspoon or two of cornstarch that has been dissolved in a couple of tablespoons of water or stock. Bring everything to a boil, while stirring, and the cornstarch will thicken the liquid into a nice glaze. It is SO not hard. My favorite version probably uses a ton of fish and seafood -- chunks of monkfish, maybe, and shrimp and clams and mussels and scallops -- and a ton of veggies, like snow peas and string beans and chunks of sweet potato or butternut squash and tomatoes and greens of some kind like cabbage or spinach. It's never the same and it's always good. Thai Kitchen makes a perfectly good jarred curry paste in three or four different "colors" -- red is traditionally used for meat, but try them out and see what you like. They're available even in crappy supermarkets in New York, so I bet you can find them easily. Serve the whole thing over rice or rice noodles, Boy can eat it, happy dinner.
Remember that different kinds of veg take different amounts of time to cook. For example, if you're using butternut squash and snow peas, you'll want to cut the squash relatively small, and add it to the stew well before the snow peas, because the squash will take much longer to cook, and if you add them both at the same time, the snow peas will be limp and overcooked by the time the squash is done. Lemongrass and ginger are both very fibrous, so you'll want to peel them and then mince them really fine. If you have something like a mini-chopper, it can come in very handy here. If you use mollusks like clams or mussels, remember that you'll need to wash them ahead of time (if they're farmed, a quick rinse will be fine), throw away any clams whose shells won't close even if you tap them. And once they're cooked, throw away any where the shells AREN'T open. Seafood in general takes a very brief time to cook; aim for undercooking rather than overcooking.
Remember that different kinds of veg take different amounts of time to cook. For example, if you're using butternut squash and snow peas, you'll want to cut the squash relatively small, and add it to the stew well before the snow peas, because the squash will take much longer to cook, and if you add them both at the same time, the snow peas will be limp and overcooked by the time the squash is done. Lemongrass and ginger are both very fibrous, so you'll want to peel them and then mince them really fine. If you have something like a mini-chopper, it can come in very handy here. If you use mollusks like clams or mussels, remember that you'll need to wash them ahead of time (if they're farmed, a quick rinse will be fine), throw away any clams whose shells won't close even if you tap them. And once they're cooked, throw away any where the shells AREN'T open. Seafood in general takes a very brief time to cook; aim for undercooking rather than overcooking.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
OK, here's a seafood recipe by ivy
Get a pound of jumbo lump crabmeat. After you recover from spending the money, saute a bit of garlic and add a bunch of chopped chard. After it cooks down a bit, add a handful each of chopped chives and parsley. Meanwhile mix the crab with mayo, maybe a half-3/4 cup, and about the same amount of grated mild cheese over low heat. Stir in juice of one smallish lemon. Stir over heat until ingredients blend. Add the greens and stir, cook together for a few minutes. Sheer fabulosity.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
More on Cabbage by bookseller
Ok, I was the person who posted about the cabbage, so I'll try to clarify:
I would then add in perhaps 1/4 cup of cream. If your pile of cabbage and onions is such that this amount of cream amounts to a drop in a bucket, add more until you can definitely see spoonfuls of liquid cream -- not bowls-full, but what might be left in the cereal bowl after you finish all the cornflakes -- sloshing around on the bottom of the pan. With the lid off, turn the heat up to high; your goal here is to bring the cream to a boil and, by thereby evaporating the water in the cream, thicken the cream to the point where it clings to the cabbage and onion like a glaze. Stir away with your wooden spoon. Taste it -- you might want some salt and, if you're me, quite a bit of freshly ground black pepper. It should taste creamy and rather bland. That's when you stir in perhaps 2 tablespoons of good balsamic vinegar, to slice through the richness of the cream and the blandness of the vegetables and wake up your tongue.
Balsamic is one of those things where you really do get what you pay for. I'd get it at the gourmet store, rather than the supermarket, and buy the oldest stuff you can afford.
A small amount? How much is a small amount? What does that mean, hard-boiled down? Lid on or lid off? Which is the good balsamic vinegar? How do I know? From the price?
ETA "hard boil" meaning bring it to the most vigorous boil your stove will provide, over the highest possible heat, while stirring.
VERY IMPORTANT: Remember, anything with liquid -- stew, soup, vegetables in liquid (like cream), etc. -- the quantities are to your taste, and can always be corrected. If the consistency is too thin, boil the liquid down until it thickens, or use a thickener (flour, cornstarch, arrowroot). If it's too thick, add liquid (water, stock, juice, wine). If it's too salty, either dilute with liquid or cook for a while with a raw potato added; this will absorb the salt. If too much of one thing, balance with another, etc. It's all dependent on what YOU like.
Very lightly creamed cabbage (sauteed with a lot of onion, small amount of cream hard-boiled down) with good balsamic vinegar stirred in at the end off-heatAssuming you're using a whole head of green cabbage (the hard, round one), shredded fine (knife, rather than food processor -- because I can't find the shredding blade for my food processor -- and cut as for coleslaw, with each shred no wider than 1/3 the width of your index finger). For that amount of cabbage, which will serve 4-6 people, I would use 2 medium-sized yellow onions, cut roughly the same size as the cabbage. I would stir them around in the pan in fat over medium-high heat for a while (15-20 minutes, but stirring only occasionally) until they turned a deep golden brown. Then add in the cabbage, and stir that around for a while; it will wilt down from an unimaginably huge pile to a merely big one; mix it in with the onions.
I would then add in perhaps 1/4 cup of cream. If your pile of cabbage and onions is such that this amount of cream amounts to a drop in a bucket, add more until you can definitely see spoonfuls of liquid cream -- not bowls-full, but what might be left in the cereal bowl after you finish all the cornflakes -- sloshing around on the bottom of the pan. With the lid off, turn the heat up to high; your goal here is to bring the cream to a boil and, by thereby evaporating the water in the cream, thicken the cream to the point where it clings to the cabbage and onion like a glaze. Stir away with your wooden spoon. Taste it -- you might want some salt and, if you're me, quite a bit of freshly ground black pepper. It should taste creamy and rather bland. That's when you stir in perhaps 2 tablespoons of good balsamic vinegar, to slice through the richness of the cream and the blandness of the vegetables and wake up your tongue.
Balsamic is one of those things where you really do get what you pay for. I'd get it at the gourmet store, rather than the supermarket, and buy the oldest stuff you can afford.
A small amount? How much is a small amount? What does that mean, hard-boiled down? Lid on or lid off? Which is the good balsamic vinegar? How do I know? From the price?
ETA "hard boil" meaning bring it to the most vigorous boil your stove will provide, over the highest possible heat, while stirring.
VERY IMPORTANT: Remember, anything with liquid -- stew, soup, vegetables in liquid (like cream), etc. -- the quantities are to your taste, and can always be corrected. If the consistency is too thin, boil the liquid down until it thickens, or use a thickener (flour, cornstarch, arrowroot). If it's too thick, add liquid (water, stock, juice, wine). If it's too salty, either dilute with liquid or cook for a while with a raw potato added; this will absorb the salt. If too much of one thing, balance with another, etc. It's all dependent on what YOU like.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Frozen Martini by Grizzled Adams
On my Quest for the frozen Martini, this one came out mityfine.
4 oz Luksusowa Potato Vodka
2oz Seagram's 102 proof Gin
1oz Martini&Rossie Vermouth
1 oz Olive"juice"
Rim the glass with lime/salt
2 of my famous Anchovie/bluecheese stuffed olives
Slice of lime
Lime slice and olives on a stick
Vodka,Gin,Vermouth,Olive Juice in blender with enough ice to make it frozen............crank that sucker up, install in glass............ENJOY!
4 oz Luksusowa Potato Vodka
2oz Seagram's 102 proof Gin
1oz Martini&Rossie Vermouth
1 oz Olive"juice"
Rim the glass with lime/salt
2 of my famous Anchovie/bluecheese stuffed olives
Slice of lime
Lime slice and olives on a stick
Vodka,Gin,Vermouth,Olive Juice in blender with enough ice to make it frozen............crank that sucker up, install in glass............ENJOY!
Friday, June 22, 2007
What to do with Surplus Lobster by bookseller
But the lobsters won't keep long. Thought? Boil them up, pull out the easy meat (tails and claws), use your biggest cleaver to hack the rest of the lobster, shell and all, into big pices, and freeze them, along with the shells from the lobsters you ate tonight. When you have time, you can use these lobster shells and bodies to make the world's most fabulous lobster stock, which will make wonderful fish soup or lobster bisque or pasta sauce or whatever you like. The meat you pull out now probably won't feed a lot of people as is, but you could make lobster salad (MMMM....lobster rolls) or saute it with some herbs and butter and white wine and maybe some seeded tomato or some sugar-snap peas for a seriously good pasta sauce. You could even mix it into mac and cheese. In any event, the lobster will keep much better -- certainly for a few days -- if it's cooked.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Ginger Pound Cake by curly
2 ½ C flour
2 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 sticks butter (1/2 lb.) softened
4 lg eggs
3 lg egg yolks
½ C milk
1/3 C grated fresh ginger
1 Tbsp lemon peel, grated
1 tsp vanilla
Set rack in bottom 1/3 of oven and preheat to 325. Grease and flour a 12 C bundt or tube pan.
Place flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in mixer with paddle beater and add butter. Beat on low speed until well combined.
Combine remaining ingredients in a separate bowl.
Increase mixer speed to medium and add 1/3 of liquid ingredients.
Mix on medium for 2 minutes, then stop and scrape bowl. Add another 1/3 of liquid ingredients, mix 2 minutes and scrape.
Add remaining 1/3 of liquid, mix 2 minutes, scrape and give batter a last vigorous mix by hand. Pour into pan and smooth top.
Bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in thickest part of cake comes out clean.
Cool 10 minutes in pan on rack, then invert onto rack and cool completely.
Lemon glaze:
3 C confectioner’s sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp white rum or water
Stir ingredients together in medium saucepan until smooth. Add sprinkles of water as needed. Heat until just lukewarm and drizzle over cake.
2 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 sticks butter (1/2 lb.) softened
4 lg eggs
3 lg egg yolks
½ C milk
1/3 C grated fresh ginger
1 Tbsp lemon peel, grated
1 tsp vanilla
Set rack in bottom 1/3 of oven and preheat to 325. Grease and flour a 12 C bundt or tube pan.
Place flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in mixer with paddle beater and add butter. Beat on low speed until well combined.
Combine remaining ingredients in a separate bowl.
Increase mixer speed to medium and add 1/3 of liquid ingredients.
Mix on medium for 2 minutes, then stop and scrape bowl. Add another 1/3 of liquid ingredients, mix 2 minutes and scrape.
Add remaining 1/3 of liquid, mix 2 minutes, scrape and give batter a last vigorous mix by hand. Pour into pan and smooth top.
Bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in thickest part of cake comes out clean.
Cool 10 minutes in pan on rack, then invert onto rack and cool completely.
Lemon glaze:
3 C confectioner’s sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp white rum or water
Stir ingredients together in medium saucepan until smooth. Add sprinkles of water as needed. Heat until just lukewarm and drizzle over cake.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Drunken Clams by Grizzled Adams
Top neck clams are the size clams in between littlenecks and cherrystones.
Serving: 10 to 12 as appetizer
INGREDIENTS:
3 dozen top neck clams
8 quarts water
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 (12-ounce) bottle beer
DIRECTIONS: 1. Upon bringing clams home from the fish market, set them in a large bowl or pot with water; sprinkle cornmeal over water. Keep in refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or until ready to cook.
2. Heat gas grill to high. Drain and rinse clams. Place on grilling rack.
3. As clams open, flip each one using tongs, so that the meat of the clam is on the bottom half shell. (As clams cook, they will naturally go to the top shell.) Pour 1 tablespoon of beer over each clam. Let sizzle 1 minute, then remove, using tongs, to large bowl. Let stand 5 minutes (clamshells will be too hot to handle immediately) and serve.
Serving: 10 to 12 as appetizer
INGREDIENTS:
3 dozen top neck clams
8 quarts water
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 (12-ounce) bottle beer
DIRECTIONS: 1. Upon bringing clams home from the fish market, set them in a large bowl or pot with water; sprinkle cornmeal over water. Keep in refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or until ready to cook.
2. Heat gas grill to high. Drain and rinse clams. Place on grilling rack.
3. As clams open, flip each one using tongs, so that the meat of the clam is on the bottom half shell. (As clams cook, they will naturally go to the top shell.) Pour 1 tablespoon of beer over each clam. Let sizzle 1 minute, then remove, using tongs, to large bowl. Let stand 5 minutes (clamshells will be too hot to handle immediately) and serve.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
A Very Simple Creme Fraiche Topping by Kat167
Chill a pint of heavy cream with a good healthy spoonful or two of sour cream and a tablespoon of sugar for at least 15 minutes. Then mix it for a tangy whipped cream suitable for strawberries and pound cake. Or, you know, Thin Mints.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Spicy Beef Lettuce Wraps by Bibbety
You saute 1 lb ground beef (or lamb or turkey) with one or two minced garlic cloves, then add some hoisin, some garlic chili paste and a slug of sherry. Simmer, adjust the seasoning, and add chopped green scallions and peanuts.
Serve hot with lettuce and extra hoisin. I use butter lettuce but I know many people use good old cruncy iceberg. You can also steam some rice and put a little hoisin, a little rice, and a little beef mixture in your (very messy) lettuce taco. Delicious.
Serve hot with lettuce and extra hoisin. I use butter lettuce but I know many people use good old cruncy iceberg. You can also steam some rice and put a little hoisin, a little rice, and a little beef mixture in your (very messy) lettuce taco. Delicious.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Erythrosine's Sour Cream Fudge Cake
From The Joy of Cooking, 1997 edition
Makes 8 servings
This not-too-sweet chocolate cake has a tender, soft grain. Excellent gussied up with chocolate frosting or ganache; remarkably satisfying served plain with coffee.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8x8-inch pans or two 9x2 inch round pans or one 13x9-inch pan, or line the bottom(s) with wax or parchment paper.
Melt in the top of a double boiler or in a microwave oven on medium just until melted and smooth:
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
Sift together into a large bowl:
1 3/4 cups cake flour (that's 1.75 cups)
1.5 cups sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Add and beat on high speed for exactly 2 minutes:
1 cup sour cream
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
Add the melted chocolate along with:
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup hot water or coffee (0.25 cup)
Beat for exactly two minutes. Scrape the batter into the pan(s) and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes in square or round pans, 25 to 30 minutes in a 13x9 inch pan. Let cool in the pan(s) on a rack for 10 minutes. Slide a thin knife around the cake to detach it from the pan(s). Invert the cake and peel off the paper liner(s), if using. Let cool right side up on the rack. If desired, frost with Chocolate Satin Frosting or ganache, or serve plain, sprinkled with powdered sugar, or accompanied with whipped cream.
Chocolate Ganache, also from The Joy of Cooking, 1997 edition
Makes about 1.5 cups
The sleek, rich chocolate coating on a European torte or an elegant restaurant dessert is apt to be chocolate ganache, as is the center of a rich chocolate truffle. Ganache is a French term that refers to any combination of chocolate and cream.....
Bring to a boil in a small saucepan:
3/4 cup heavy cream
Remove from the heat and add:
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
Stir until most of the chocolate is melted. Cover and let stand for ten minutes. Stir or whisk very gently until completely smooth.
Stir in:
1 tablespoon liqueur, or more to taste (optional)
For a pourable glaze, let stand at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until the mixture cools to 85° to 95°. For frosting, let stand until spreadable. If the frosting becomes too stiff, set the pan in a larger pan of hot water and stir until softened; or remelt and cool to 85° to 95° to use as a glaze. This keeps for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to 1 week refrigerated. Or freeze for up to 3 months. Soften or melt before using.
Makes 8 servings
This not-too-sweet chocolate cake has a tender, soft grain. Excellent gussied up with chocolate frosting or ganache; remarkably satisfying served plain with coffee.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8x8-inch pans or two 9x2 inch round pans or one 13x9-inch pan, or line the bottom(s) with wax or parchment paper.
Melt in the top of a double boiler or in a microwave oven on medium just until melted and smooth:
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
Sift together into a large bowl:
1 3/4 cups cake flour (that's 1.75 cups)
1.5 cups sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Add and beat on high speed for exactly 2 minutes:
1 cup sour cream
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
Add the melted chocolate along with:
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup hot water or coffee (0.25 cup)
Beat for exactly two minutes. Scrape the batter into the pan(s) and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes in square or round pans, 25 to 30 minutes in a 13x9 inch pan. Let cool in the pan(s) on a rack for 10 minutes. Slide a thin knife around the cake to detach it from the pan(s). Invert the cake and peel off the paper liner(s), if using. Let cool right side up on the rack. If desired, frost with Chocolate Satin Frosting or ganache, or serve plain, sprinkled with powdered sugar, or accompanied with whipped cream.
Chocolate Ganache, also from The Joy of Cooking, 1997 edition
Makes about 1.5 cups
The sleek, rich chocolate coating on a European torte or an elegant restaurant dessert is apt to be chocolate ganache, as is the center of a rich chocolate truffle. Ganache is a French term that refers to any combination of chocolate and cream.....
Bring to a boil in a small saucepan:
3/4 cup heavy cream
Remove from the heat and add:
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
Stir until most of the chocolate is melted. Cover and let stand for ten minutes. Stir or whisk very gently until completely smooth.
Stir in:
1 tablespoon liqueur, or more to taste (optional)
For a pourable glaze, let stand at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until the mixture cools to 85° to 95°. For frosting, let stand until spreadable. If the frosting becomes too stiff, set the pan in a larger pan of hot water and stir until softened; or remelt and cool to 85° to 95° to use as a glaze. This keeps for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to 1 week refrigerated. Or freeze for up to 3 months. Soften or melt before using.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Li's Good Reads
Just finished Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Absolutely heartbreaking. It's one of those books that really lingers in your mind--I even dreamed about it last night. What impressed me is that it's written in the first person and the narrator is a very limited person both in what she objectively knows about her situation and also in her emotional self-awareness, yet Ishiguro manages to let the reader know what's really going on. I will definitely give this a second read.
I also recently read Life of Pi, and while I enjoyed most of it, I hated the ending. It bugs me when writers set up a terrible tragedy and then wimp out at the last minute, not going through with the logical ending because they become too protective of their characters. (not a problem in Never Let Me Go).
Another one I finished recently was The Mysterious Case of the Dog in the Night-time. I enjoyed it when I read it but once I put it down I never thought of it again. Not sure why it didn't stay with me. I think the author reached for more than he could deliver.
I also recently read Life of Pi, and while I enjoyed most of it, I hated the ending. It bugs me when writers set up a terrible tragedy and then wimp out at the last minute, not going through with the logical ending because they become too protective of their characters. (not a problem in Never Let Me Go).
Another one I finished recently was The Mysterious Case of the Dog in the Night-time. I enjoyed it when I read it but once I put it down I never thought of it again. Not sure why it didn't stay with me. I think the author reached for more than he could deliver.
Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies by Always Chaotic
3 Cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
(1 tbs instant coffee granules--optional. Sometimes I use them, sometimes I don't)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups pecans
Preheat oven to 350 (I usually do 375, though). Melt 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips, all the butter, and the unsweetened chocolate. Stire until smooth. Remove from heat.
Beat eggs, sugar, coffee granules, and vanilla together. Add melted chocolate mixture and stir.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir into batter. Fold in the remaining 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips and the pecans. Drop by tablespoonful onto baking sheets lined with parchment (or nonstick baking sheets). Bake 8 minutes until crackled and shiny on the outside and still soft inside.
This recipe is best when the weather is not humid. Usually I use semisweet chocolate chips for the melted chips, but bittersweet for the chocolate chips added at the end.
1/2 cup butter
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
(1 tbs instant coffee granules--optional. Sometimes I use them, sometimes I don't)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups pecans
Preheat oven to 350 (I usually do 375, though). Melt 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips, all the butter, and the unsweetened chocolate. Stire until smooth. Remove from heat.
Beat eggs, sugar, coffee granules, and vanilla together. Add melted chocolate mixture and stir.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir into batter. Fold in the remaining 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips and the pecans. Drop by tablespoonful onto baking sheets lined with parchment (or nonstick baking sheets). Bake 8 minutes until crackled and shiny on the outside and still soft inside.
This recipe is best when the weather is not humid. Usually I use semisweet chocolate chips for the melted chips, but bittersweet for the chocolate chips added at the end.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
More on Chicken Stock by bookseller
I read recently about a product that is going to be seriously helpful in my stock-making adventures: The Soup Sock. It's basically a muslin bag that you fill with all your bones and veg. You make your soup, and then, instead of having to strain it (hugely messy) and drip bits of greasy chicken everywhere, you just throw the sock away. Or, if you're being super-responsible, you dump the contents of the sock into the garbage, and wash and re-use the sock. Anyway, I'm definitely going to give this thing a try. Amazon sells'em for about $3 apiece.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Chocolate Martini by Grizzled Adams
Everyone gets tired of clams sometimes...
CHOCOLATE MARTINI
1/2 oz Frangelico
1/2 oz Stoli Vanil
1/2 oz Godiva Chocolate cream Liqueur
1/2 oz Godiva Original Chocolate Liqueur
1/2 oz Baileys Irish Cream
Lemon twist garnish
Rim Martini glass with chocolate syrup
Shake ingredients with ice strain into glass Garnish w/ lemon twist ... Sweeeeeeeet!
CHOCOLATE MARTINI
1/2 oz Frangelico
1/2 oz Stoli Vanil
1/2 oz Godiva Chocolate cream Liqueur
1/2 oz Godiva Original Chocolate Liqueur
1/2 oz Baileys Irish Cream
Lemon twist garnish
Rim Martini glass with chocolate syrup
Shake ingredients with ice strain into glass Garnish w/ lemon twist ... Sweeeeeeeet!
Monday, February 5, 2007
Crusty Bread by kat167
Crusty Bread Recipe
The only complicated part is timing. You need 3 hours the first day, overnight refrigeration, then 5 hours the second day.
DAY 1
Put into your cobalt blue KitchenAid:
2 cups bread flour (you can taste the difference) 1 cup water, room temp ¼ teaspoon yeast.
Using dough hook, mix at low speed until it looks mixed. Dump into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap for 3 hours, then refrigerate at least 8 hours and up to 24. [overnight]
DAY 2
Take out your dough from DAY 1 and leave it on the counter.
Put into your cobalt blue KitchenAid:
3 cups bread flour 1 ¼ cup water, room temp 1 teaspoon yeast
Using dough hook, mix at low speed until it looks mixed. Stop, cover with plastic wrap, and let it sit for 20 minutes.
Then, unwrap plastic (heh), add DAY 1 dough plus 2 teaspoons salt to KitchenAid bowl mix, and mix at low speed for 1-2 minutes. Turn up to next click on KitchenAid, and beat for 3-4 minutes. Dump dough into a big bowl, re-use your two sheets of plastic to cover, then let it sit on counter. [Write down the time!—it’s easy to forget how many times you’ve turned the bread]
1 hour later: turn the dough by folding top down one third, bottom up one third, then turning it over from left side onto right (into halves). Basically, work it gently. Re-cover with plastic.
1 hour later, repeat.
1 hour after that, gently scrape the dough onto a floured surface, pat into 9-10 inch square, then fold left corner down to middle, right corner down to middle, then top part over so it looks like a big fat loaf of bread. Using dough scraper, slice down the middle into two loaves, then gently and quickly shape them into rough loaf shapes. Place on parchment paper, slide onto peel or flat cookie sheet, flour tops LIBERALLY, and re-use that same old plastic to cover them.
Meanwhile, put baking stone in oven on rack so that bread is close to the middle of the oven but has room to rise, and set oven to 500 degrees.
An hour later, take off plastic, slash bread, dump some cold water on ‘em, and slide parchment paper’d loaves onto baking stone. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce temp to 400 degrees and spin loaves around. They’ll bake for another 20-30 minutes. Cool on racks.
The only complicated part is timing. You need 3 hours the first day, overnight refrigeration, then 5 hours the second day.
DAY 1
Put into your cobalt blue KitchenAid:
2 cups bread flour (you can taste the difference) 1 cup water, room temp ¼ teaspoon yeast.
Using dough hook, mix at low speed until it looks mixed. Dump into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap for 3 hours, then refrigerate at least 8 hours and up to 24. [overnight]
DAY 2
Take out your dough from DAY 1 and leave it on the counter.
Put into your cobalt blue KitchenAid:
3 cups bread flour 1 ¼ cup water, room temp 1 teaspoon yeast
Using dough hook, mix at low speed until it looks mixed. Stop, cover with plastic wrap, and let it sit for 20 minutes.
Then, unwrap plastic (heh), add DAY 1 dough plus 2 teaspoons salt to KitchenAid bowl mix, and mix at low speed for 1-2 minutes. Turn up to next click on KitchenAid, and beat for 3-4 minutes. Dump dough into a big bowl, re-use your two sheets of plastic to cover, then let it sit on counter. [Write down the time!—it’s easy to forget how many times you’ve turned the bread]
1 hour later: turn the dough by folding top down one third, bottom up one third, then turning it over from left side onto right (into halves). Basically, work it gently. Re-cover with plastic.
1 hour later, repeat.
1 hour after that, gently scrape the dough onto a floured surface, pat into 9-10 inch square, then fold left corner down to middle, right corner down to middle, then top part over so it looks like a big fat loaf of bread. Using dough scraper, slice down the middle into two loaves, then gently and quickly shape them into rough loaf shapes. Place on parchment paper, slide onto peel or flat cookie sheet, flour tops LIBERALLY, and re-use that same old plastic to cover them.
Meanwhile, put baking stone in oven on rack so that bread is close to the middle of the oven but has room to rise, and set oven to 500 degrees.
An hour later, take off plastic, slash bread, dump some cold water on ‘em, and slide parchment paper’d loaves onto baking stone. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce temp to 400 degrees and spin loaves around. They’ll bake for another 20-30 minutes. Cool on racks.
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