Posted on 07/29/2015 2:39:42 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
Get a good FoodSaver if you don’t have one already.
Other than that, there’s not much to say. Plenty of recipes out there on the Internet. Lots of the stuff you can SV, chill in an ice bath, throw in the refrigerator, then finish cook in the next week or two. This is handy if you’re buying large quantities at the membership warehouse.
Oh, and I like using coolers for my containers. Helps hold the heat in. I have a sheet of bubble wrap I put on top of the water to insulate the surface and reduce evaporation for long cooks.
I generally do the SV cook in the garage. Keep the heat out there, instead of in the house. Bring it in, in Winter.
I’ve used up to a 48qt cooler when I was doing 3 full baby back rib racks for the 4th. Did those 4 hrs at 170F, then rub and 2 hours at 200F in the BGE to finish. The Anova worked like a champ, though I’m not sure it would have without the insulation to reduce heat loss.
I know this isn’t exactly the kind of bread recipe you’re talking about, but I ran across it a couple weeks ago and tried it. It was a big hit with my guys.
Cheese and Garlic Crack Bread
http://www.recipetineats.com/cheese-garlic-crack-bread-pull-apart-bread/
Incidentally, she’s also got a really good list of 20 different homemade salad dressings.
I do the same things - don’t scoop out flour; and with pie crusts, biscuits: keep everything VERY cold.
Have you heard of replacing some of the liquid in pie pastry, with vodka? We learned about it from Chris Kimball, of Cooks’ Illustrated/America’s Test Kitchen. Haven’t tried it yet, but husband (with chem. background) says it makes sense:
http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12852-christopher-kimballs-foolproof-pie-dough
Irish soda bread is a good quick bread to make. I do very well with the recipe from the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook but my friend (who cooks a lot) tells me almost any recipe will do.
But people LOVE my soda bread and I think my secret is that I bake it in a cast iron frying pan.
Do you pour a bottle of rum over your fruit cake? I had one like that made by a co-worker years ago at a “multi-culti” pot luck we had at the office on New Year’s Eve day (or something like that). She was from Jamaica and she served the cake in little tiny pieces, like petite four size.
Which was good, because even with that small piece the rum went right to your head. It was delicious.
Good old S., I think of her often, she really was a bit of a domestic goodness. She did beautiful tiny lace like crochet too.
Thanks for sharing! If the Junior League of Kansas City doesn’t make a killer blueberry coffee cake, I’d be very surprised. It looks like something hubby would love! I was able to copy and paste it to word, even the picture.
I am loving computers and the internet right now!
(Getting away from politics for a while and loving it, yay!)
I bake mine in the Regular Fruit Cake type pan, I don't know what to call it, the type that makes the hole in the middle. Oh well.
With all the fruit and nuts in it, it is very large when baked. It freezes well.
I already have the food saver. I figure the water bath cooker is the next step. :-)
I used to make a low-fat one, when I was dieting years ago; but I’d like to try a “real” one, and I hadn’t thought of putting it in the cast iron. (I always did it in a layer-cake pan.)
Will try!
-JT
Here’s my favorite bread recipe. It has worked for me - for some reason - every time I’ve made it. It truly is light and fluffy, better than the white breads I make!
100% Whole Wheat Bread
http://www.preparedpantry.com/wholewheatbreadrecipe.htm
The key to really great 100% whole wheat bread is to extract the best flavors from the whole wheat and temper the harsh tones that sometimes accompany whole wheat flour. Good whole wheat bread has an almost nutty taste without a bitter aftertaste. A long fermentation gives the yeast a chance to produce its own flavors and convert the starch to sugar. By refrigerating the dough overnight, you can make excellent 100% whole wheat bread.
This is one of our favorite bread recipes. Yeasts perform differently at low temperatures. In this recipe, the dough is mixed the day before and refrigerated. The acids and enzymes produced by the yeast at lower temperatures temper the harshness of the whole wheat and develop wonderfully complex bread flavors. It’s no more work than other recipes; you just mix the dough the day before.
Bakers note: This bread should be very light and fluffy, not dense. The secret of making it so is to make sure that the dough rises fully both in the first rise and in the pans. The dough will fill two 5 x 9-inch loaf pans and should be very soft and puffy before baking. If you let it over-rise, you may see a blister or two in the dough. Poke the blisters with the point of a knife and hurry the bread into the hot oven.
Ingredients
5 to 6 cups fine-ground whole wheat flour 2 tablespoons wheat gluten (optional)
1 teaspoon dough conditioner 1 seven gram packet of instant yeast (or two teaspoons)
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons water 1/2 tablespoon salt
1/3 cup brown sugar 4 tablespoons melted and slightly cooled butter
Directions
1. Place about three cups of the flour in the bowl of your stand-type mixer. Add the yeast. Carefully measure 2 cups room temperature (80 degrees) water. The water should feel cool to the touch. Mix the water with the flour with a dough hook for 30 seconds or until the yeast is dissolved and the ingredients begin to combine.
2. Add the salt, sugar, and butter and continue mixing. Add most of the remaining flour, the wheat gluten, and dough conditioner and continue mixing at a medium speed for at least four minutes adding more flour as needed to reach a soft dough consistency. (It is important that the dough be mixed for at least four minutes to develop the gluten.) The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but will be soft, not firm, to the touch.
3. Once the dough is mixed, place it in a large greased bowl, turning once to coat both sides, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight or for up to three days.
4. On the day that you would like to bake your bread, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it warm to room temperature—about three hours. The dough should rise to nearly double in size.
5. Once the dough has risen, form the loaves. Coat your hands with flour and gently form a loaf by pulling the dough around itself to create a slightly stretched skin. You may need to coat your hands several times if the dough is sticky. If necessary, pinch the seams together on the bottom of the loaf. Lay the loaf gently in a well-greased loaf pan and cover with plastic wrap. Repeat with the second loaf. Let double again in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Once the dough has doubled (the loaf should be very puffy), place the two loaves on a shelf in the top half of the oven, well-spaced so that air can circulate between the loaves. Bake for thirty minutes or until done. The interior of the loaves should register at least 185 degrees when an insta-read thermometer is inserted through the bottom crust. Remove the bread from the pans and cool on wire racks. Let it cool completely before cutting.
SWEET WHOLE WHEAT BREAD RECIPE
Add 1/3 c honey, and 1 T molasses, and ½-1 cup more flour.
This is the one I caught on sale for $129 including shipping:
http://www.amazon.com/Anova-Culinary-Precision-Cooker-Black/dp/B00UKPBXM4
As you see, normal price is $179.
Here’s a nice dinner roll to go with an Italian meal. They look fancier than they really are - they are easy to make.
Italian Garlic Knots
Dough:
3/4 cup warm water (105°F-115°F)
1 package (2 teaspoons) of active dry yeast (check the expiration date on the package)
1 3/4 cups bread flour (can use all-purpose but bread flour will give you a crisper crust)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
Garlic-Butter Coating:
5 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup parsley, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 Sprinkle the yeast on top of the warm water and let it sit for 5 minutes. Stir to combine and let sit for another 5-10 minutes, until it begins to froth a bit.
2 In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the olive oil, then the yeast-water mixture. Mix this together to form a soft dough and knead for 5-10 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball and lightly coat with olive oil. Put it in a large bowl, top the bowl with plastic wrap and set it at room temperature to rise.
3 When the dough has doubled in size, anywhere from 90 minutes to several hours, cut it in half. Set out a large baking sheet and line it with a silpat or parchment paper. Take one half of the dough and cut it in half. Working with one piece at a time, flatten into a rough rectangle about 5 inches long 1/2 inch thick.
4 Using a sharp knife, slice the dough into strips of about 1 inch wide by 5 inches long. Cut these strips in half. Take one piece and work it into a snake, then tie it in a knot. The dough will be sticky along the cut edges, so dust these with flour before you tie the knot. Set each knot down on the baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough. Remember that the dough will rise, so leave some space between each knot.
5 Once all the knots are tied, paint them with a little olive oil. Loosely cover them with plastic wrap and let them rise again until doubled in size, anywhere from 90 minutes to three hours or so. Toward the end of this rising period, preheat the oven to 400°.
6 Uncover the knots and bake in the oven 12-15 minutes, or until nicely browned on top.
7 Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small pot and cook the garlic gently in it just long enough to take off that raw garlic edge, about 1-2 minutes over medium-low heat. Add the salt and parsley and stir to combine. Turn off the heat.
8 When the knots are done, take out of the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Paint with the garlic-butter-parsley mixture and serve.
Yes, gotta try it in the cast iron, it imparts such good flavor, I’m sure it would improve the low-fat version too.
JT’s wonderful cooking threads are a nice respite from all the drama of politics.
Junior League recipe are always foolproof.
The best thing about the blueberry coffee cake, I’d say, is the reason to have multiple steaming cups of coffee.
I use the hot cast iron recipe. It turns out an amazingly crispy artisan style loaf, very much like bakery quality.
NO-BAKE STRAWBERRY YOGURT CAKE
PREP Soak env plain gelatin in 4 tb water. Heat 1/4 c the milk or cream; dissolve in the soaked gelatin.
Puree 2 c fresh strawberries, cup Greek yogurt, 2 tb honey. Add gelatin/milk. Fold in 1/4 cup whipped h/cream.
FINAL Chill 6-24 hours in 6" springform (or use a lined 6" cake pan). At service, mound w/ assorted berries.
SERVE garnished w/ berries, maybe a bit of berry sauce, a mint leave, and a curl of whipped cream, on the plate.
This recipe calls for a mixture of butter and vegetable shortening. If you don’t have vegetable shortening on hand, feel free to use all butter.
Also… make sure to completely cool the mushroom and onion mixture before incorporating them into the dough. Hot mushrooms will melt the butter in the dough. Everything should stay cold before it goes into the hot oven.
Caramelized Mushroom and Onion Biscuits
makes 12 biscuits
1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 small yellow onion, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar or balsamic vinegar reduction
salt and coarse ground black pepper
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable shortening, cold and cut into cubes
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk, cold
1 egg beaten for egg wash
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and allow to cook until tender and golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Remove from the pan. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in the same pan. Add onions and cook down until tender and browned, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, add the mushrooms back to the pan along with thyme, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.
In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in shortening and butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. In another bowl, combine egg and milk and beat lightly with a fork. Add to flour mixture all at once, stirring enough to make a soft dough. Add the cooled mushroom and onion mixture and blend together.
Turn out onto a floured board and knead about 15 times. Roll or pat out into a 1-inch thickness. Cut into 2-inch rounds using a biscuit cutter or cut into 2×2-inch squares. Reshape and roll dough to create more biscuits with excess scraps. Place on an ungreased baking sheet, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Bake at 425 degrees F for 12-15 minutes. Serve warm as an egg sandwich or with gravy. These biscuits are best eaten the day they’re made, but will last up to 2 days.
I got this from my sister-in-law, and I think it is from her grandmother. I feel that these rolls are just a bit too heavy/dense, possibly need some baking soda? I am not brave enough to tinker with the recipe. They are certainly easy, and produce consistent results.
“Mother’s Buns”
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons Crisco shortening
Grease 12 unit muffin tin.
Mix together all ingredients with a spoon, then knead for 5 minutes (by hand) when the dough is all pulled together. Divide dough evenly (by hand)into muffin tin sections.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, until slightly browned on top.
****
Works for me...and as a bonus... if the crust turns out lousy, you don’t give a damn..
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