Posted on 12/15/2017 4:39:44 PM PST by Jamestown1630
While enduring a ‘bug’ this week that left me unable to do much but sleep or sit in front of the TV, I happened upon Clarissa Dickson Wright’s series, ‘Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner’, which you can find on YouTube, and which is a really interesting history of how our 'three squares', and the ways we partake of them, have evolved over time.
In the Lunch episode, she featured a pasty (yes, no 'r') crust design, executed by food scholar Ivan Day. This was so beautiful, I had to find the design, and know more about it.
On the way, I found some interesting stuff – including Day's great website on historic food:
http://www.historicfood.com/portal.htm
The pasty design seems to have been derived from Edward Kidder’s ancient ‘Receipts of pastry and cookery, for the use of his scholars’, published in 1720 (you can still buy a copy on Amazon ;-):
http://www.historicfood.com/Edward%20Kidders%20Lamb%20Pasty.htm
I’m not personally a fan of British pasties; but it seems to me that we could decorate our sweet or savory pies just as beautifully – it just takes practice, and starting small! And you don’t need cutters to do this; just find a design, make a cardboard cutout of it, and find a sharp knife to cut the pastry to each of the shapes; then do some detail on the pieces.
Food52 has a lot of starter ideas for ‘fancying up’ your pie:
https://food52.com/blog/8744-9-ways-to-fancy-up-your-pies
-JT
Thanks for the input & the link!!
I purchased the Nesco FD-75 A Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator. I will definitely get the Prague #2. I am a bit neurotic about food safety... you should see what I do each year to can/jar tomatoes, peaches, jellies and jams (pus the pickled beets). Everything is super clean and sterilized. Thank you, L!
Say what?!? I was all set to watch it a couple nights ago but it wasn’t on. The tv scheduled showed it was supposed to be but couldn’t find it anywhere. So, now we know. Why not just air it? Why punish everyone else involved in the production and the other contestants? Surely, it’s already been finished and in the can, so to speak. Actually, that judge was freaky from day one so can’t understand why they’d have hired him in the first place.
Read that icky Batali has also been fired at ABC. Not the least bit sad to see him off the air. Maybe he can go back to cooking for the Obamas.
My pleasure. If you use the Prague Powder be sure to use no more than a scant 1/4 tsp per pound of meat. It is toxic in large doses. Used correctly it will retard spoilage.
Not that jerky lasts long enough to spoil around our house...
L
Thank you, Q! I guess I have some weird kids. My 11 year old isn’t all excited about Christmas cookies (I plan on making this week). With respect to the jerky... this is what I hear, “Are you going to make it soon? Are you going to make it soon? Are you going to make it soon?” :)
“I am a bit neurotic about food safety... you should see what I do each year to can/jar tomatoes, peaches, jellies and jams (pus the pickled beets). Everything is super clean and sterilized.”
Excellent. We have an All American 925 pressure canner. That thing is a tank! I sterilize our jars in the oven at 250 while I’m prepping everything. We do our own stocks, Chicken and Beef, and I’ve put back gallons of turkey soup, venison stew, etc.
We picked berries like crazy people last summer. Strawberry, raspberry, sour cherry, blueberry jams, and a friend of ours gave us almost ten pounds of grapes. Straight into jelly. There’s nothing like the home made stuff.
I even did cranberry jelly for Thanksgiving this year. Way better than the store canned crap.
Last weekend we put up 8 quarts of split pea soup with ham. We are running out of room in the pantry. LOL.
We can talk about Home made pickles another time.
Merry Christmas!
L
Growing up in Canada, we always had butter tarts in the house. My mom was a great cook but loved baking more than anything.
Here is a great twist on the tarts:
https://anitalianinmykitchen.com/butter-tart-pie/
https://www.excaliburdehydrator.com/excalibur-5-tray-26hr-timer-solid-door.html
Found the above unit on Craigslist for $50, used.
The canner: http://www.allamericancanner.com/All-American-25-Quart-Pressure-Canner.htm I got from another CL seller for $100.
We give both of them a real good workout. LOL
L
Beef Jerky
Get a beef roast that is very lean. Slice it thin, about a quarter inch. Freezing it helps and I use an electric knife.
Dip the slices into a bowl of soy sauce and brown sugar. There’s no set recipe. You can leave them in the sauce a couple of minutes or a quick pass, it’s all the same.
Let the excess drip off and lay the pieces on the dehydrator rack. Sprinkle with pepper or not for your kiddo. I have an old 1970 Ronco model and have to put a cookie sheet under it to catch any drips.
Different models take different amounts of time to do their thing so can’t tell you that. I have to rotate and move the racks from top to bottom about three times through the process so everything gets done at the same time and it helps with the air circulation. It done when the meat is dry but still a wee bit flexible. There may be some spots that glisten but that’s from the warm sugar which will go away when you lay the jerky out for couple hours to cool before you bag it up.
The reason you don’t want pieces of fat in it is because that supposedly doesn’t dehydrate well. Psst, the fat is the best part! I haven’t died yet from homemade jerky.
ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH ENCHILADAS
PREP Roast butternut squash halves tender flesh side down on parchmented sheetpan 400 deg 40 min. Let cool.
FILLING Mash roasted squash, 2 tb ea cr/cheese, chp cilantro, minced green onion, 1-2 minced canned chipotles in sauce, 1/2 tsp cumin, tsp adobo sauce; s/p.
ASSEMBLY Center 2 large spoonfuls on 6 corn tortilla (microed in damp paper towel 20 sec to soften); roll up. Bake seam-side down 8x8" sprayed baker. Blanket w/ can enchilada sauce. Sprinkle w/ grated mozz, cheddar, jack. Bake/melt 400 deg 15 min (enchiladas are bubbly).
SERVE w/ sides of guacamole or salsa, green salad. 1-2 margaritas wouldn't hurt.
It’s rare when I get access to fresh fruits but still manage to have tons of jelly in the pantry. A lot of it comes from a friend who buys big cans of peaches to make cobblers for her potlucks. She gives me the juice which makes for great peach jelly.
I want to catch their American tour of barbecue on You Tube.
Liz-I am staring a butternut squash as I write this. I am going to make these tonight. Might add some black beans. Thanks for this great recipe.
We have a nice farmers market down the road. At the end of peach season I grab half a bushel of the “eat them today” peaches on sale. Think I paid about $10 or so.
I can peach slices in medium syrup and put them back for a really nasty Chicago winter day. It’s like opening a jar of summer sunshine.
Yum.
Never thought of making jelly from the syrup. I may give that a try.
L
Mario Batali, John Besh, Michael Chiarello, Ken Friedman ( of the Spotted Pig)...who is next?
Staff called Batali the “Red Menace”. Just disgusting behavior. What is wrong with these men?
I really enjoy researching historical food. Thanks.
Interesting article on the evolution of American pie:
I never throw anything out or pour it down the drain.
Freeze fruit syrup in ice cube squares to melt later to add to ice tea, lemonade or soft drinks. Or make punch or adult drinks.
Veggie broth - keep a big container in the freezer and drain canned veggies into it. There’s the start for soups and casseroles. Mainly corn and green beans. Adding beet juice is ok but turns everything pink but is fine for beef or tomatoey dishes. Too much canned pea juice is too strong a flavor so don’t add much of that.
The veg stand in town sells okra for nearly a dollar a piece. Uh, no thanks. The berry farm and peach stands are also too expensive and cater to city folk who make the drive out. Speaking of, someone sent a mail order gift box of pears (got shorted one). Thanks and all but even with free shipping and a discount that’s over $5 per pear (correct whole order). Come on, it’s a pear. I can get baskets of drops from the neighbor’s tree for nothing or at the grocery store for about 40 cents each. Ok, it’s Christmas and it’s the thought that counts but it makes me so angry how these places rip people off.
Hmm, just checked that particular mail order gift site and fruit isn’t the only thing they’re shorting. They advertise their $6 jelly as 10 oz jars but the label clearly shows 9.5 oz. Sigh...
“Come on, it’s a pear.“
Funny thing. My annual box of Harry and David’s pears just arrived this morning.
I don’t like pears.
L
BTW : FReegards from “Black Jenny Rackham” .... Arr! :-)
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