This is too good not to share. even with being on haitus.
Janie Baur, one of the authors of the Treebeards' Cookbook (one of the all-around best books in my collection), came across my entry for their Buttercake and had this to add in the Comments. Rather than let it get buried, here is her wisdom. Thanks, Janie!:
"Hal, I was poking around the Internet this morning and came across this. When I wrote the Treebeards cookbook nine printings ago, we converted this recipe from a gigantic recipe that was used in the restaurant, hence the 3 ounces of cream cheese...and no, I don't believe they even make it any more. At least I haven't been able to find it for a few years. I put the leftover in my Food Saver bags and it stays good almost indefinitely.
Try experimenting with flavor variations like these:
Toffee — Fold a cup of almond toffee bits or chocolate-covered toffee bits into the filling before adding it on top of the crust
Chocolate — Use a chocolate cake mix in the base and add 3-4 tablespoons cocoa powder and fold in an optional 1 cup chopped nuts in the topping
Lemon — Use a lemon cake mix in the base and for the base, add a teaspoon of lemon extract plus 3 to 4 tablespoons of finely shopped lemon zest
The flavor combinations are endless once you start moving away from the traditional buttercake. I also make my buttercake the day before I'm going to serve it. It's always better the second day. I don't know why -- it just always is. At Treebeards, the day-old buttercake is always marked with a piece of tape on the bottom of each piece of individually wrapped piece and those are always the first pieces of cake to go first -- and there's a very specific reason for that -- they're clearly the best!
Have you ever used Penzeys double-strength vanilla? In my book, vanilla doesn't get any better than that."
Vanilla-wise, I am still working through a huge bottle of "La Vencedora." According to Cook's Illustrated, vanilla is incredibly shelf-stable, but I'll definitely give Penzey's a try for the next bottle.
A meta thing about Blogger: I know of no way to get the email addresses of commenters. Which means I can't respond directly to them and I would love to be able to thank Janie. If anyone can point me to the setting, it would be most appreciated!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Another reason Central Market rocks...
I forgot to put this in the Christmas Dinner post, but it's a point I don't want to let go.
HEB's Central Market stores are perhaps the one thing other than family that I really regret about not living in Texas. I can't begin to tell you how awesome they are because it would really take way, way too long. It's just crammed to the gills with the best food you can find anywhere - from the produce and meats to the bakery and prepared food areas.
Sometimes, I've even carried an empty cooler down to Texas so I can load up with stuff and drive it back to Chicago.
So, why am I so impressed this time? We needed some chicken sausage for the Cornbread Stuffing with Fennel and Sausage. There wasn't any in the case that I could see. I asked the nice folks if there happened to be any in back. "No, but I'm just about to make some. What kind do you want?" I was able to get 2 lbs of chicken Italian Sausage (I usually have to go with the closest seasoning I can find) in 20 minutes.
That was awesome. Who do I have to bribe to get one up here?
HEB's Central Market stores are perhaps the one thing other than family that I really regret about not living in Texas. I can't begin to tell you how awesome they are because it would really take way, way too long. It's just crammed to the gills with the best food you can find anywhere - from the produce and meats to the bakery and prepared food areas.
Sometimes, I've even carried an empty cooler down to Texas so I can load up with stuff and drive it back to Chicago.
So, why am I so impressed this time? We needed some chicken sausage for the Cornbread Stuffing with Fennel and Sausage. There wasn't any in the case that I could see. I asked the nice folks if there happened to be any in back. "No, but I'm just about to make some. What kind do you want?" I was able to get 2 lbs of chicken Italian Sausage (I usually have to go with the closest seasoning I can find) in 20 minutes.
That was awesome. Who do I have to bribe to get one up here?
Cheddar Buttermilk Drop Biscuits
I praise God that I had already decided to make these even before the Green Onion Biscuit Fiasco of '08. I can still taste the baking soda.
These were okay, but need some work. First off, they were a bit dry for my taste. Part of that was my on-going issue with yellow-orange food. Where Yukon Golds made it difficult to see how well mixed-in the eggs in my gnocchi were, the somewhat orange batter (from the cornmeal and the cheddar) made it difficult to see how brown these biscuits were getting. Simply put, they were overdone.
Granted, this may have been, in part, because I didn't take seriously the direction that this was to make only 8 biscuits which were then to be split. In other words, these babies are HUGE. So, by making about 16 normal ones, I may have hastened the over-doneness.
Secondly, the flavor was a bit bland. This may have been because of the dryness, which kills taste. But it definitely needs some sharpness. Maybe some mustard powder, like you use to punch up Mac & Cheese.
Overall, there is potential here, so I'll give this guy another shot or two.
These were okay, but need some work. First off, they were a bit dry for my taste. Part of that was my on-going issue with yellow-orange food. Where Yukon Golds made it difficult to see how well mixed-in the eggs in my gnocchi were, the somewhat orange batter (from the cornmeal and the cheddar) made it difficult to see how brown these biscuits were getting. Simply put, they were overdone.
Granted, this may have been, in part, because I didn't take seriously the direction that this was to make only 8 biscuits which were then to be split. In other words, these babies are HUGE. So, by making about 16 normal ones, I may have hastened the over-doneness.
Secondly, the flavor was a bit bland. This may have been because of the dryness, which kills taste. But it definitely needs some sharpness. Maybe some mustard powder, like you use to punch up Mac & Cheese.
Overall, there is potential here, so I'll give this guy another shot or two.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Lemon Rosemary Roasted Turkey with Gravy
I think I'm this close to perfecting the roast turkey for the holidays.
I've been a big fan of the lemon-rosemary flavor combo for a long, long time, but never used it with turkey until this past Thanskgiving. I was inspired by the Trib's Good Eats Thanksgiving story, where super thin slices of lemon and whole rosemary sprigs are tucked under the skin. I hadn't yet bundled up the rosemary and that was a great way to use a lot at once. This approach didn't work out so hot as written. The flavor was great, but the lemon slices heated differently than the rest of the bird, scorching the skin above, giving this gross polka-dot effect.
My brother, who was my partner on this dish, has some great rosemary bushes at his place, so I took that idea and improvised. We also added a brining step at his suggestion. I hadn't had great luck with that before, but we had time and I figured it certainly couldn't hurt. He picked out a 17 lb bird for our group of 10 adults and 3 young kids.
The night before, I took the basic brine recipe:
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup sugar
1 gallon water
Bring to a boil for five minutes and then completely cool.
And tweaked it for seasoning and volume to:
1.5 cup kosher salt
1.5 cup sugar
zest and juice of a three (3) lemons
small handful of fresh minced rosemary (a few tablespoons)
small handful of peppercorns
and
6 quarts of water.
We then brought this to a boil to supersaturate the solution and then let it cool completely outside (This is so you don't essentially poach the bird). We were able to fit the bird in a small (disinfected) Igloo cooler, cover it with the brine, set it out on the 35F porch (I would have added a bag of ice if it had been warmer outside) and covered the whole thing. Easy enough.
The next morning (Christmas Day), I softened two sticks of butter and mashed in another couple of tablespoons of minced rosemary and lemon zest and a few pinches of kosher salt. I rinsed off the bird, patted it dry, and rubbed the butter under and over the skin. I then cut a lemon and an onion in eights and crammed them into the cavity with a few more sprigs of rosemary. A quick truss and we were ready to cook
Due to oven space, we used the grill, by simply putting the roasting pan on the grate. My brother manned the grill while I worked on the sides in the kitchen. He did have a bit of a problem keeping the temperature steady. I found that the only way around that is to practice with your grill to find the right setting, unfortunately. The only problem is basting. Once you open the grill lid, you lose all of the heat and you have to start again. The oven has pretty much the same problem, but it's less extreme in the variances. I think it's Alton Brown who says that you shouldn't baste at all, in favor of the constant temperature. Not that I like him that much (okay, not at all), but it's a vote in my favor. We did run out of gas, so we finished it in the oven for the last 20 minutes.
The end result was really quite nice. The breast skin blackened a bit, which made me realize I'd forgotten to warn my brother to tent the the breast with foil for the first hour (which evens out the colorization). But it was still quite tasty.
The meat was moist enough that it really did not need gravy, but I decided to give it a quick shot, since the pressure was off. I've never been really comfortable with gravy, as it always seems to be a rush job, by definition, and risky. I deglazed the roasting pan with a bit of chicken stock, whisked in some flour, cooked that into a nice roux and then added stock and white wine to get to the right volume and viscousity.. The drippings from the brine and seasoned butter were just salty enough, but not too much.
So, in the end, there was no magic trick. Just carefully working through the basics and working with a consistant flavor mix paid off.
I've been a big fan of the lemon-rosemary flavor combo for a long, long time, but never used it with turkey until this past Thanskgiving. I was inspired by the Trib's Good Eats Thanksgiving story, where super thin slices of lemon and whole rosemary sprigs are tucked under the skin. I hadn't yet bundled up the rosemary and that was a great way to use a lot at once. This approach didn't work out so hot as written. The flavor was great, but the lemon slices heated differently than the rest of the bird, scorching the skin above, giving this gross polka-dot effect.
My brother, who was my partner on this dish, has some great rosemary bushes at his place, so I took that idea and improvised. We also added a brining step at his suggestion. I hadn't had great luck with that before, but we had time and I figured it certainly couldn't hurt. He picked out a 17 lb bird for our group of 10 adults and 3 young kids.
The night before, I took the basic brine recipe:
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup sugar
1 gallon water
Bring to a boil for five minutes and then completely cool.
And tweaked it for seasoning and volume to:
1.5 cup kosher salt
1.5 cup sugar
zest and juice of a three (3) lemons
small handful of fresh minced rosemary (a few tablespoons)
small handful of peppercorns
and
6 quarts of water.
We then brought this to a boil to supersaturate the solution and then let it cool completely outside (This is so you don't essentially poach the bird). We were able to fit the bird in a small (disinfected) Igloo cooler, cover it with the brine, set it out on the 35F porch (I would have added a bag of ice if it had been warmer outside) and covered the whole thing. Easy enough.
The next morning (Christmas Day), I softened two sticks of butter and mashed in another couple of tablespoons of minced rosemary and lemon zest and a few pinches of kosher salt. I rinsed off the bird, patted it dry, and rubbed the butter under and over the skin. I then cut a lemon and an onion in eights and crammed them into the cavity with a few more sprigs of rosemary. A quick truss and we were ready to cook
Due to oven space, we used the grill, by simply putting the roasting pan on the grate. My brother manned the grill while I worked on the sides in the kitchen. He did have a bit of a problem keeping the temperature steady. I found that the only way around that is to practice with your grill to find the right setting, unfortunately. The only problem is basting. Once you open the grill lid, you lose all of the heat and you have to start again. The oven has pretty much the same problem, but it's less extreme in the variances. I think it's Alton Brown who says that you shouldn't baste at all, in favor of the constant temperature. Not that I like him that much (okay, not at all), but it's a vote in my favor. We did run out of gas, so we finished it in the oven for the last 20 minutes.
The end result was really quite nice. The breast skin blackened a bit, which made me realize I'd forgotten to warn my brother to tent the the breast with foil for the first hour (which evens out the colorization). But it was still quite tasty.
The meat was moist enough that it really did not need gravy, but I decided to give it a quick shot, since the pressure was off. I've never been really comfortable with gravy, as it always seems to be a rush job, by definition, and risky. I deglazed the roasting pan with a bit of chicken stock, whisked in some flour, cooked that into a nice roux and then added stock and white wine to get to the right volume and viscousity.. The drippings from the brine and seasoned butter were just salty enough, but not too much.
So, in the end, there was no magic trick. Just carefully working through the basics and working with a consistant flavor mix paid off.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Christmas Dinner - 2008
We drove down to my brother's house in Texas again for Christmas - a trip that almost didn't happen due to my employment situation. I was laid off the Friday before Christmas, if you hadn't heard, and it kind of freaked us out for a minute. Especially when we found that the car needed a not-so-cheap repair that same day. Thanks to some help from the parents and falling gas prices, we went ahead. We were very happy we did. Being around family was just the thing we needed. And being able to contribute my skills in the kitchen was validating.
In putting together the menu, I swapped out a few standards again, for variety's sake. I also took another pass at a few recipes I'd tried recently, for practice. The menu was:
Lemon Rosemary Roasted Turkey with Gravy
Green Onion Buttermilk Biscuits (not served)
Cheddar Buttermilk Drop Biscuits
Lime Cilantro Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Poblano Gratin Potatoes
Classic Green Bean Casserole (The Cook's Illustrated Version)
Best Potluck Macaroni and Cheese
Cornbread Stuffing with Sausage and Fennel
Vegetable Casserole with Tofu Topping
Sour Cream Apple Pie
Cranberry Eggnog Tart
Gingerbread
I came down with a pretty bad headache on Christmas Eve, so I wasn't able to get all of my prep work done then, as I hoped. This was a big factor in dinner getting on the table about 2 hours late (7 instead of 5, as planned). I did, at least, get all of the desserts taken care of.
On the day of, my mom was a HUGE help in the kitchen. I was able to give direction on things to cut and prep and have complete confidence that she would know what I was talking about. My aunt asked my brother and me where we learned and we both answered that while we don't remember any specific "How To" sessions with her, she really taught us a great foundation. My brother also tended the turkey on the grill after I prepped it while I worked in the kitchen. There is no way I would have been able to run back and forth between the two.
There was one mishap, the Green Onion Buttermilk Biscuits, which I caught early and was redundant anyway. I didn't read carefully when mixing and used baking soda instead of salt. I tasted one and not only was the flavor off, but the soda aftertaste lingered for 30 minutes. Ugh. I threw them out. What I didn't realize until very late that day was my brother and sister-in-law had already snuck one and discovered how foul they were, but apparently weren't going to say anything out of niceness. What really sucks is that this was the first time ever that I've messed these up.
Entries for the individual dishes, including recipes and comments, will follow over the next few days. If a recipe has already been posted, I'll be updating the original post if there were any neew discoveries or findings.
In putting together the menu, I swapped out a few standards again, for variety's sake. I also took another pass at a few recipes I'd tried recently, for practice. The menu was:
Lemon Rosemary Roasted Turkey with Gravy
Green Onion Buttermilk Biscuits (not served)
Cheddar Buttermilk Drop Biscuits
Lime Cilantro Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Poblano Gratin Potatoes
Classic Green Bean Casserole (The Cook's Illustrated Version)
Best Potluck Macaroni and Cheese
Cornbread Stuffing with Sausage and Fennel
Vegetable Casserole with Tofu Topping
Sour Cream Apple Pie
Cranberry Eggnog Tart
Gingerbread
I came down with a pretty bad headache on Christmas Eve, so I wasn't able to get all of my prep work done then, as I hoped. This was a big factor in dinner getting on the table about 2 hours late (7 instead of 5, as planned). I did, at least, get all of the desserts taken care of.
On the day of, my mom was a HUGE help in the kitchen. I was able to give direction on things to cut and prep and have complete confidence that she would know what I was talking about. My aunt asked my brother and me where we learned and we both answered that while we don't remember any specific "How To" sessions with her, she really taught us a great foundation. My brother also tended the turkey on the grill after I prepped it while I worked in the kitchen. There is no way I would have been able to run back and forth between the two.
There was one mishap, the Green Onion Buttermilk Biscuits, which I caught early and was redundant anyway. I didn't read carefully when mixing and used baking soda instead of salt. I tasted one and not only was the flavor off, but the soda aftertaste lingered for 30 minutes. Ugh. I threw them out. What I didn't realize until very late that day was my brother and sister-in-law had already snuck one and discovered how foul they were, but apparently weren't going to say anything out of niceness. What really sucks is that this was the first time ever that I've messed these up.
Entries for the individual dishes, including recipes and comments, will follow over the next few days. If a recipe has already been posted, I'll be updating the original post if there were any neew discoveries or findings.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Slowdown/Hiatus
If it hasn't already been obvious, I'm going to be putting this blog on a virtual hiatus for a while. I'm way behind in getting my thesis for my MA in Literature written, so any time I have for creating content needs to be focused on that.
I will be doing some clean-up here and there when I need a break from academic theory. There are a LOT of recipes missing from when I didn't have FTP access for uploading and typos abound. I also have a backlog of other posts that need to be filled in. Like Christmas. I completely rocked it then, but have never finished the post. And that Mexican dinner I catered.
If you don't use an RSS reader or service (Yahoo and Google both have good ones), I would recommend that as a way to casually see updates and when this goes live again, without the frustration of click every few days to see, "Oh, nothing new. AGAIN."
Update: 12/30/08 - Well, so much for that. I was laid off just over a week ago (not counting the holidays) and I am needing a "right-brain break" while I look for a new opportunity. If you hear of anything in the Chicago area for an IT Application Development Manager/Director/CIO type, let me know. In the meantime...
I will be doing some clean-up here and there when I need a break from academic theory. There are a LOT of recipes missing from when I didn't have FTP access for uploading and typos abound. I also have a backlog of other posts that need to be filled in. Like Christmas. I completely rocked it then, but have never finished the post. And that Mexican dinner I catered.
If you don't use an RSS reader or service (Yahoo and Google both have good ones), I would recommend that as a way to casually see updates and when this goes live again, without the frustration of click every few days to see, "Oh, nothing new. AGAIN."
Update: 12/30/08 - Well, so much for that. I was laid off just over a week ago (not counting the holidays) and I am needing a "right-brain break" while I look for a new opportunity. If you hear of anything in the Chicago area for an IT Application Development Manager/Director/CIO type, let me know. In the meantime...
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Spiedini di Pollo (Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken Breast with Rosemary)
Ham, Chicken and Rosemary. Especially with the huge bushes of rosemary I now have out back, this recipe was a no-brainer as soon as I saw it in Cucina Rustica.
I went for the fancy, super-thin sliced Prosciutto I found at the Fox & Obel deli counter. I figured it would be more flavorful than the lower-grade stuff I bought at Jewel. I'm not sure that was the right move.
The chicken was okay, but definitely not seasoned enough. There wasn't enough rosemary (though it smelled great while cooking) nor salt/ham flavor. At very least, I needed to salt the meat a little bit. The thicker-cut Prosciutto may not be as high quality a meat, but it might be better for this purpose.
The bread burnt a bit, too. My step-mother thinks that I may have needed more olive oil. I dismissed that at first, as I definitely brushed it down, but I realized that she may have provided a clue. The parts that burned were the sides with crust. i.e., they couldn't absorb the olive oil as well as the other parts. So, the issue may be that the crust doesn't hold the oil well enough and therefore burns easier, so it might be that the bread cubes simply cannot have any crust on them.
Definitely worth another try with some tweaking.
I went for the fancy, super-thin sliced Prosciutto I found at the Fox & Obel deli counter. I figured it would be more flavorful than the lower-grade stuff I bought at Jewel. I'm not sure that was the right move.
The chicken was okay, but definitely not seasoned enough. There wasn't enough rosemary (though it smelled great while cooking) nor salt/ham flavor. At very least, I needed to salt the meat a little bit. The thicker-cut Prosciutto may not be as high quality a meat, but it might be better for this purpose.
The bread burnt a bit, too. My step-mother thinks that I may have needed more olive oil. I dismissed that at first, as I definitely brushed it down, but I realized that she may have provided a clue. The parts that burned were the sides with crust. i.e., they couldn't absorb the olive oil as well as the other parts. So, the issue may be that the crust doesn't hold the oil well enough and therefore burns easier, so it might be that the bread cubes simply cannot have any crust on them.
Definitely worth another try with some tweaking.
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