violabratsche's Profile
Comfort food after a break-up
Whatever pasta is in the "pantry, olive oil or butter or both, sliced garlic, or from the jar, parmesan, darn...whatever else, maybe some chopped roma toms, and some sliced black olives, I guess there's some dry oregano and/or basil in that pantry...oooh, forgot about the fresh ground pepper....hey, whatever can be found!
Asia Bakery in Mississauga (Afghani)
I live just up the road from this bakery, and absolutely ADORE the bolani that I've tried, both the pumpkin bolani and the leek, which is an especial favourite of mine. They put just the right amount of filling, that is, not enough for it to fall apart, but enough for you to be able to taste the wonderful spicing and ingredients. I usually get the yogurt sauce/dip with it, that is a wonderful accompaniment. The bolani are not small, and are the perfect size for a small meal. A neighbour swears by their chicken and rice dish (I'm sorry that I don't know the proper name for it). The menu is limited, and other than a counter, there's really nowhere to sit to eat, but then, there are lots of parks nearby to go to enjoy a picnic! The people there are delightful as well!
What is this Gazpacho missing.... bacon!? Hacking classic dishes.
Don't we always like a bit of smokiness when a dish is missing that something? I often reach for my bottle of dark sesame oil, using only a small amount, as the flavor is so intense. It has helped out with a bland lentil soup when no bacon was at hand, as well as dips and other non-traditional uses. Just a hint of the oil makes just about anyone get that puzzled look that says they're trying to identify that ingredient!
Viola
Search for an "authentic" Gong bao ji ding recipe
Have you considered using a red bean paste? I find that it is often an ingredient in any dish that may have a sauce as you describe.
Viola
What to do with candied ginger
I chop up a handful and add it to pies, but especially pumpkin pie. It's fabulous with any dessert that has pears, peaches or apples. I also add some to a fruit salad.
Can you tell I like candied ginger?
I make my own.
Need to find " Ontario" specific recipes
Remember, there's a huge Mennonite population in Ontario, settled here over 200 years ago...Anything in any of the Food that Schmecks series', Edna Staebler.
AnnieG
Keeping prepared pizza doughs
My experience with pizza doughs is this.
Pizza dough can be kept frozen in plastic bags, the dough for one "pie"in each bag. Set on the counter in the bag, they thaw in an hour or so, and warm to room temp in another half hour. They are MUCH easier to work, at room temp or slightly chilled than when they start rising again. It took me maybe 2 minutes to shape each into it's size and shape.
Making it in advance and putting in the fridge, I turn the ball of dough over in some oil, then into the bags, not closed, but JUST the opening turned under, so the dough has room to rise. I use the bags from the produce dept of the grocery store. Same method, a half hour on the counter and 2 minutes shaping. It's FAR easier than trying to freeze or refrigerate any other way.
Now, stacking the way you want?....HMMMM...how about greased plastic wrap or waxed paper between the layers? And keep it cool, if you have a place to put them. Otherwise, they'll start to rise again, and be a pain to deal with.
Maybe lightly bake them individually, before you'll need them, for 5 minutes...the way you'd pre-bake brown and serve rolls....
I think I'd rather shape them just before using, if it can be arranged.
AnnieG
Fresh pumpkin for pie
After the first time using butternut squash, I have vowed to never return to pumpkin. The "meal" of it is finer, it's a much more pleasant taste, and it's SO much easier to work with. I throw it in the oven and roast until it's done, when the skin and squash underneath "gives". Cool slightly, cut in half, scoop out the cooked squash, and put it in the food processor to puree, then freeze it in ice cube trays, pop out and keep in freezer bags. I got a HUGE butternut squash this year for very little money, and been using that squash since, for pie, soup, in breakfast oatmeal, in an orzo risotto....it's fantastic, cheap, and VERY tasty.
Annieg
Help me find this thread, trashy retro party?
This is the one I was thinking of when you posted
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/365017
AnnieG
Help me find this thread, trashy retro party?
Here's the one from Valentine's Day
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/487063
I seem to recall one from Christmastime, too...can't find it immediately
AnnieG
Why skim milk not curdle
Milk doesn't always curdle in oatmeal with fruit for me, either. Maybe it needs more acid than other milks. I don't know. In what way are you asking about using it as a replacement?
I make cream soups that are not thickened, using the skim milk instead of cream or evap all the time.
AnnieG
Biga....help!
There is no fat in the recipe at all.
The pan for baking was greased, and covered with greased parchment, used from another baking project that left enough on the paper for it to be useful.
AnniG
Snow camping dilemma
I think I'd be getting out the dehydrator, after setting the menu, and drying whatever can be dried!
AnnieG
New user, looking for feedback.
ooo, looks good. You can also post them in the threads here.
Welcome to Home Cooking!!
AnnieG
Why skim milk not curdle
Skim milk will certainly curdle. I do it all the time to make sour milk for making muffins. Evap milk is really only milk that's been processed to remove half the water, that's all. I have had no trouble using skim milk to replace any of the higher fat milks and creams, unless it's richness depends on the higher fat. There are other ways to make a soup a little creamier without adding fat. Lightly thickening it with a little potato, using potato flakes is a quick way. Personally, I'm quite comfortable with using the skim milk without the extra fat.
Evap gives the illusion of extra creaminess. I use powdered, reconstituted, for baking and cooking, so if I want it thicker, a la evap, I just use more of the powder. By the way, I taste no difference. Nor do fussy friends and family. It's all in how it's prepared.
AnnieG
How can I 1/2 this recipe???
Medium or small eggs, I agree.
For future reference, if something like this comes up again, or should I say, before it does, when you are out and about, check out the farmers markets, and talk to the egg producers. Ask the producers if they carry peewee eggs. I get mine at my local asian grocers. I have found that I can replace 1 large egg with 2 peewee sized eggs, making it very convenient to divide recipes.
AnnieG
Biga....help!
Okay, here's what's gone on..
I tired to read the posts about the 3 day bread, and I'm sorry, that's way too complicated for Everyday Cooking. I'm not a gourmet, and I'm not THAT fussy. But I DO want to make a calabrese bread. It has a chewy, waxy texture, big holes, and has a hard crust.
After reading through about a dozen recipes, including those using biga on the King Arthur Flour site, I tried it yesterday. I've not actually found any sites that have a recipe for that kind of bread, so I thought I'd experiment.
First of all, the biga rose well, so nothing was wrong with the biga itself.
One of the recipes I was going through used semolina. Aha...there's a thought. I replaced a cup of the flour with semolina. It's in the right direction and I love the less yeasty taste. I'll keep trying to make it replacing another cup of flour with semolina....but..
it had a soft crumb, which is what I'm trying to get away from, and it was dense, which means that I should have let it rise more than I did.
Here's what I DID do:
1 biga- overnight
2 flour, water, small amount of yeast, salt and biga- mixed and kneaded and risen for 3 hours, turned over every hour.
3 shaped into round loaf, greased, and risen for 2 hours, then placed in the fridge for 6 hours.
4 baked until done.
I'm not sure about the value of that visit to the fridge. I realise that it slows rising. I thought that it might be a part of the method. And I didn't let it come to room temp from the fridge. The recipe that instructed the layover in the fridge did not clearly state anything but fridge, and then baking.
Does anyone have experience with biga (SIMPLE preferments), and any input on making calabrese?
AnnieG
Ruined Rice?
In a situation like that, I ask myself what I would do under similar situations....what could I do with a big batch of cooked oatmeal...well I could make it like a polenta, put it into a pan, chill it, and grill, or fry it. For a crowd, I'm not sure....how about as a base for a quick bread? or muffins? I'm sure someone has recipes for savory muffins using a cooked grain. I'd also consider adding some egg to bind and bake it into a pie crust of some sort....
AnnieG
My water bath ALWAYS leaks!
Agreed!!!
I was just about to suggest that. Multiple folds, the same as doing foil cooking on the BBQ.
AnnieG
My water bath ALWAYS leaks!
I have done this and it worked well, but I lined the base of the pan with a parchment paper circle, and under the circle, I placed 2 long strips of parchment, to help me lift it out of the pan.
AnnieG
Gas Station Gourmet Valentine's Day
I'll have nightmares over that one...mudbog?...
My shrink will enjoy this one..it may take some time to get over just the idea...
AnnieG
how to doctor up brownies from a box??
I've added roasted chopped almonds, and almond flavouring. Another time, I used mint falvouring...nothing more, but I'm sure it's more fun with more. How about the mint with added crushed candy cane style mint candies...you know, the white ones with the red strips, that are individually wrapped....mint chocolate cream cheese frosting on a plain brownie....or one of the kicked up mentioned?
AnnieG
Gas Station Gourmet Valentine's Day
To flambe the twinkie, put the liquor you are wanting to ignite in a small metal or glass measuring cup, get it lit, then spoon it over the twinkie. I do agree...try it first. I always read about heating the liquor first, but I've also lost too much of the alcohol that way. I've never had trouble lighting a room temp liquor.
AnnieG
BIG bag of PIZZA DOUGH
I've had success with the dough, by taking it out and letting it come to room temp, just barely...maybe even working it when it's a little cool, but before it starts rising again. I made some dough on Saturday, immediately put it into the fridge in a greased plastic bag, very loosely closed, took it out at about 4 on Sunday, punched it down, prepared the baking pan with oil and cornmeal, then started working it, and made a perfect circle for the second time ever. I'll not try to work warm pizza dough again!
AnnieG
Rescuing a Smithfield ham
That'd be a lot of ham to be used just as a seasoning, wouldn't it?
I like the idea of cutting thick slices, and treating them. I've always had good success with a too-salty ham, by soaking it 24-48 hours in apple juice. It seems to pull out the salt a little better than just water.
AnnieG
homemade mayonnaise
When my daughter insisted on having mayo on sandwiches going to school, I'd make them out of frozen bread, and package them up quickly and tightly, with a frozen juice box. The sandwich was still cold, and the juice...well, sometimes it was more like a slush, but at least the sandwich stayed cold.
AnnieG
tangerines vs. clementines
Clementines, especially with Maroc on a small diamond shaped sticker on the fruit, are like eating candy. They are tasty and juicy and sweeter than anything I've ever tasted. They peel easily, like tangerines. You can get larger clementines, but the smaller ones are the sweeter.
AnnieG
Vegetarian Superbowl Snacks
Why vegetarian? I'm not suggesting meats, but I've made a wicked chili (with beans) using TVP, and those scarfing it down had no clue that it wasn't meat.
AnnieG
Homemade Creamy Cherry Frosting
If no cherry extract/flavoring, I wonder if there is some way to use something like dry cherry jello, or dry cherry Kool-Aid....
AnnieG
