Abra

Pastry made with lard is incredibly tender. It has a slightly different flavor, and works perfectly with savory fillings, but is also delicious with sweet stuff.

I just ask my butcher tyo save me pork fat from trimmings until they get 4-5 lbs of fat. Put that in a big pot with 1-2 cups water and set over low heat. When the water is all evaporated the fat will start to render. Just leave it on a very low heat for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally. You'll know it's done when you have a pile of crispy brown stuff, swimming in a pool of clear fat, with some sediment around the bottom. Filter the fat through fine cheesecloth, and there you have it. It's a great thing to have in the fridge, and lasts more or less forever there.

I read that article too, and although I've never had leaf lard, I do render my own lard pretty often, from regular pork fat. It's sweet and delicious, and infinitely preferable to store lard, which I think is an abomination. If you can't find the Dietrich's, or don't want to pay for it, just make your own!

I opened my own personal chef business three years ago, when I was 51. I was a very accomplished home cook with no formal training. I've made a successful, if small, business, and I seldom work at night. Feel free to email me to ask more about this, or I'll post more about it if other people are interested. There are definitely alternatives to working on the line, which looks brutally hard and best done by people in their 20s (speaking, of course, as one who hasn't done it).

That looks like a beautiful-tasting cake, Andie. Could I make it in smaller pans, like those small wooden loaf pans that make such good gifts?

I pound out breasts between saran sheets, using my French rolling pin. It can do two breasts at once, and it's makes a nice whack without any sharp edges. The best-ever rolling trick I know is to roll the breast tightly around the filling, then wrap it very tightly in saran and chill it for an hour or so. When you remove the saran the chicken will hold its shape perfectly for cooking. Good luck - boys who want to cook are wonderful.

This recipe makes a trio of ice creams, of which saffron is one, along with nougat, and lavender. They're all delicious, and it's a fabulous trio to serve together. The nougat is actually my favorite, so I'm posting the whole thing, even though only the saffron part is on topic. * Exported from MasterCook * TRIO OF ICE CREAMS Recipe By : Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- Nougat flavor 5 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons honey 2 tablespoons water 1/3 cup whole almonds -- toasted 1 teaspoon grated orange peel Honey-Saffron flavor 3 tablespoons water 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads -- (scant) 6 tablespoons honey Lavender flavor 1/4 cup water 2 teaspoons fresh or dried lavender blossoms 1/4 cup sugar 2 tablespoons honey Ice cream base 4 cups whipping cream 2 cups whole milk 10 large egg yolks 2 tablespoons brown sugar -- (packed) 1 Pinch salt For nougat flavor: Butter baking sheet. Stir first 3 ingredients in heavy small saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; boil without stirring until syrup turns amber, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in nuts and peel. Immediately pour onto prepared sheet. Cool completely. Chop nougat. For honey-saffron flavor: Simmer 3 tablespoons water and saffron in small saucepan until reduced by half, about 1 minute. Stir in honey. Set aside. For lavender flavor: Simmer 1/4 cup water and lavender in small saucepan until reduced by half, 1 minute. Add sugar; stir to dissolve. Simmer 2 minutes to thicken syrup slightly. Stir in honey. Set aside. For ice cream base: Bring cream and milk to simmer in heavy large saucepan. Whisk yolks to blend in large bowl. Gradually whisk hot cream mixture into yolks. Return mixture to same saucepan. Stir constantly over medium-low heat until custard thickens and leaves path on back of spoon when finger is drawn across, about 10 minutes (do not boil). Divide custard among 3 bowls (about 2 cups custard in each bowl). Stir nougat, brown sugar and pinch of salt into 1 bowl of hot custard. Whisk honey-saffron mixture into custard in second bowl. Whisk lavender mixture into custard in third bowl. Cool mixtures completely, stirring occasionally (nougat will dissolve). Chill nougat and honey-saffron custards until cold. Chill lavender custard at least 4 hours or overnight. Strain; discard lavender in strainer. Process ice cream custards separately in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Freeze in covered containers. (Can be made 1 week ahead.) Serves 8. Source: "Bon Appétit May 1999" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

This is a wonderful recipe that came from the Los Angeles Times several years ago. I too get saffron by the ounce, and use it as much as possible. * Exported from MasterCook * GOLDEN SAFFRON CAKE Recipe By :Recipe by Donna Deane, LA Times Food Stylist Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 1 tablespoon butter -- softened 2/3 cup nonfat milk 1 teaspoon saffron threads 1 1/3 cups cake flour 1 3/4 cups sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 2 large egg -- lightly beaten 2 tablespoons rose water 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 3/4 cup water 1 tablespoon chopped pistachio nuts Brush 9-inch cake pan with butter. Combine 2 tablespoons nonfat milk and saffron threads in small saucepan. Heat and stir just to simmering. Remove from heat. Sift together cake flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Stir together saffron mixture, remaining nonfat milk, egg, rose water and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Quickly stir into dry ingredients just until blended. Pour into prepared pan., Bake at 375 degrees about 15 minutes or until wood pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes. Combine remaining 3/4 cup sugar and water in small saucepan. Heat to simmering. Simmer 5 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. With skewer, poke holes evenly over entire surface of cake. Spoon syrup evenly over top of cake. Sprinkle with pistachios. Cut into diamond shape pieces, baklava-style. Makes 10 servings. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To take advantage of the deep color of the saffron, it is warmed in nonfat milk and allowed to steep. Then it is combined with the remaining nonfat milk, eggs, rose water and vanilla. The saffron mixture is then quickly stirred into the dry ingredients. Be careful not to overmix. The batter need not be completely smooth. After baking, cool the cake five minutes before poking holes over the top of the cake and pouring on the syrup, which is absorbed by the cake, moistening it. Finally, sprinkle on chopped pistachios. Oh yeah, I make a nice saffron ice cream too, if you'd like that recipe.

Thanks so much for the additional suggestions! Because all of the food must be finger food, definitely eaten without knives and mostly without forks, I'm thinking of a menu like this: Huzarensla and/or Kaas-en-vleesalade, served in little phyllo pasrty cups Crab-Stuffed Deviled Eggs Kaaszebras Assorted Dutch cheeses, cubed, with good mustards Saucijzen Brodjes Something with shrimp and/or scallops - suggestions welcomed Canapes on tiny toasts - not sure yet what sort Dutch Apple Tartlets Amandel Koekjes Something really chocolatey Walnut Cake wth Mocha Cream and Apricot Jam And I definitely need a few other dishes, and would love to get more ideas. The party is on Saturday so I have to get the menu nailed down today or tomorrow.

I've got to say that I am thrilled by this thread! Just today I was hired to do a 40th birthday party on Oct. 9 for a Dutch woman. The guests will be American, but her husband and I are planning to make the food theme as Dutch as possible, and the first thing I did was to drop over here to scope it out. And voila, or however you say voila in Dutch. However, I asked specifically about rijstafel during the interview, and he nixed the idea. Plain, straightforward Dutch is what she'd like. I'm going now to check out all of the links above, but if someone has a recipe for a typical Dutch cream cake, I would be eternally grateful. There will be about 40 guests. edit to add: here's a site with all sorts of cool Dutch groceries and stuff to order online Holland's Best

I'm a personal chef, so I cook in other peoples' homes. That means that I cook on all sorts of stoves, normally several different stoves each week. There's no gas here, but some people do have propane. I'll take a glass top/ceramic top stove any day, because it's so much easier to clean, and so un-finicky to cook on. My house came with an Amana glass top stove, and it never occurs to me to change it. There's been absolutely nothing that I can't cook perfectly on it - from the lowest to the highest temperatures. A home stove will never have the BTUs of a professional stove, but I find that the glass tops are fine. And since I get paid to cook, I guess you'd have to say I'm serious about it.

Yes, that's the wafer manufacturer, and I don't see the plain ones onthe site either. Maybe I have some sort of rare thing, but thet were so cheap that i kind of doubt it. That chocolate-hazelnut cream idea is right in line with what I was wanting to do. Redsugar, is your recipe about like the one in the link swisskaese posted?

Those are beautiful macaroons, even without the special effects. So nice and mounded, not flattened, evenly shaped, I think they're spiffy. I was actually wondering if you'd put a votive candle in one.

I suppose that it's not true oblaten, because it has a very fine waffle texture. We just don't seem to have a name for it in English other than wafer, which is a very ambiguous term.

Yesterday I couldn't resist buying a package of wafers for making a torte. They're about 11x7", just more than paper thin, probably would be called oblaten, except all the package says is Ziegler Wafers. They're just calling out for an assortment of creamy fillings between the layers - has anybody worked with these before? And maremosso, if you're reading this, I ordered some agar agar at your suggestion. When it arrives I'll be asking for your help, I'm sure.

Here's a blurb I grabbed from the web about yeast. It's fron a natural foods company, so I can't vouch for its accuracy, but it sounds reasonable. Yeast is considered by many to be the most valuable supplement available. It is a complete protein and contains more protein than meat. Yeast is an excellent source of B-vitamins including B12 and it contains the glucose tolerance factor that helps in the regulation of blood sugar. It is a single-celled fungi present in the air around us and on fruits and grains - it converts various types of sugar to alcohol. The earliest recorded use was in 1550 BC in Egypt. But it is only during the last few decades that the outstanding health benefits of nutritional yeast have been researched. Raised On Molasses Nutritional yeast is grown on mineral enriched molasses and used as a food supplement. At the end of the growth period, the culture is pasteurized to kill the yeast. You never want to use a live yeast (i.e. baking yeast) as a food supplement because the live yeast continues to grow in the intestine and actually uses up the vitamin B in the body instead of replenishing the supply. (Brewer's yeast is nutritionally the same but as a by-product of the beer-brewing industry it has a characteristic bitter hops flavor.) It's Good For Ya' Nutritional yeast contains 18 amino acids (forming the complete protein) and 15 minerals. Being rich in the B-complex vitamins, it is vital in many ways and particularly good for stress reduction. The B-complex vitamins help make nutritional yeast such a valuable supplement, especially to the vegetarian. It is one of the rare vegetarian sources of B12. One element of yeast is the trace mineral chromium, also known as the Glucose Tolerance Factor (GTF). This is necessary to regulate blood sugar and is important for diabetics and people with a tendency toward low blood sugar.

Too funny if we all jump on the nutritional yeast bandwagon, but it really is a cool, if weird, substance. I agree with munchymom - about 1/4 cup in 6-8 cups of soup sounds right. Add a couple of T, taste, and add more until you can taste it pleasantly. It's been cooler here, and I roasted up a giant pan of diced rutabagas, turnips, parsnips, sweet potatoes, and kabocha squash, with some olive oil and a lot of fresh rosemary. I've been eating it about twice a day for three days now and still haven't gotten tired of it. It's a great combination of flavors. I'm officially down 12 pounds after 4 weeks on core, although as I mentioned above, my weight at the start of core was some sort of aberration. No doubt I'm losing on core, though, and I'm not counting at all. I did count the first week, discovered that I was eating basically about the same points I would on flex, maybe 3-4 more points a day, and so I gave up counting. As much as I liked journaling, I like not journaling even more!

That chowder sounds yummy - I'll be trying it soon. I've been making creamed veggie soups by pressure cooking vegetables in chicken broth, either in combo or alone, as with broccoli, pureeing with the immersion blender, adding a good splash on nonfat evaporated milk, and a handful of nutritional yeast. I used to scoff at the idea of yeast, but I had a vegan client last year, and cooking for her I learned that nutritional yeast makes foods taste like they have cheese in them, and is generally a much nicer addition than I would have ever thought possible. That yogurt/jello business just reinforces my determination never to go to a meeting!

Rats, the post I just typed here disappeared into the ether. And it was so witty and creative, I swear. Oh well. Anyway, don't try to make bubble sugar like I did. I followed the recipe in the link, sugar between two silpats at 350 for 20 minutes, and got...warm sugar. I needed the oven to be at 425 for roasting veggies, so I left the sugar in there at 425 for 15 minutes...hot sugar. After 22 minutes at 425...burnt sugar, no bubbles, drips all over the place, ungodly cleanup problem. Bah. Next I'll have to try the 45 minutes at 350 approach. I can't wait to try the cookie cups. Does it matter whether it's light or dark corn syrup? What size bowl for draping, bigger than a muffin cup? Ruthcooks, those ice cream preparations sound great. Does the Kentucky sauce have a recipe? It's a weird-sounding ingredient list, and I'm really curious about it.

In the interests of science and community spirit, and much to my everlasting amazement, I ate and enjoyed some fat-free Monterey Jack cheese today. The brand is Lifetime, and there's nothing at all obnoxious in it, nor does it taste bad. In fact, it has virtually no taste, so there's no point in eating it plain. However, shredded and melted over a bowl of cranberry beans, small cubes of flank steak, salsa, and hot sauce, it was more than alright. It melts like cheese, and its virtue is mouth-feel. Sometimes I just want that creamy melty thing, and now I know where to find it. Ok, don't all throw stuff at me at once! So far, since I've been on core, my weight is down just about every time I step on the scale. This is definitely the program for me.

You are correct in that she should start by identifying her budget. You can probably move her towards this by saying something like "I can narrow this list down for you, but the choices really do depend on the budget. Would you like me to start at about $40 per person?" It's just a waste of time for you to dream up a blue-sky menu, only to find out that what she really wants is to do it herself and spend no money except for food. As for costing, 3-4 times the cost of the food is the industry standard. I usually come in at about 3X, myself. I charge for labor by the hour, plus the cost of groceries, but that's not the usual thing to do. I prefer it, because if you charge a flat fee you are obligated to collect sales tax, and then remit it to the tax folks, which is a whole ball of wax that I'd rather not get rolling. If she refuses to give you a budget, but will tell you which menu items appeal to her, you can cost out each recipe, and there's no substitute for doing this! Figure out how much each recipe will cost to prepare, add 10% for margin of error, and divide by the number of people attending. When each recipe has a per-person price attached to it, add them up, and you'll know what your per person cost is. I can eyeball it now, but I know what almost everything costs, where I shop. In the beginning I used to walk the market with my list and write stuff down. I'd ask her specifically what problems she has had with caterers in the past. Just tell her that it's very important to you not to disappoint your clients, and the best way to do that is to have a clear idea of their expectations from the get go.

Wow, that bubble sugar looks neat. I think I'll try it with just regular sugar, since I don't have any isomalt yet and am really curious about it. And thanks for even more great ideas. I am getting so much out of this thread, and this forum, and Wendy, I really want to say how much I appreciate your help. You are so full of good ideas and so generous about taking the time to share them with us. Thank you!

You know, origami, that is a brilliant idea about the ice cream. I do have an ice cream maker that makes only a quart at a time, but I have two canisters and so can make two quarts. Homemade ice cream goes a long way - I can't believe I never thought of this before! I make really good ice cream, too, but it never occurred to me. Eureka! Oh - maremosso, that's very interesting about the different jelling properties, and I understand the wine analogy perfectly. I've never used anything but gelatine, so I didn't know it made such a dramatic difference.

Mostly I work for just regular people! Agar-agar, now there's something I've never really thought of outside of biology lab. I'm not even sure that we can buy it for food use. Hopefully others here will chime in and set me straight.

Oh, thanks for the great ideas! I hate to think that 50 ramekins are in my future, but that may be reality - although I'm usually cleaned up and out of there as soon as dessert is served. Still, it would open up my options considerably. I've never heard of bubble sugar, nor do I know where to buy or what to do with isomalt. I seem to remember an isomalt thread - I'll go look it up. And then, how do you do the bubble sugar? I bought some gold lustre, thinking I could apply it with a paintbrush, but that was a flop. With the little panna cottas, how do you unmold them perfectly? Phyllo cups and cookie cups are other ideas that I think would work well for me. Would you give us your cookie cup recipe, Wendy, pretty please? Tiramisu-type dishes are also a great idea, and Eaton Mess sounds interesting, although I'd probably have to change the name here. The only thing that worries me about anything served in a glass is that the client probably doesn't have enough glasses, or enough matching glasses. So far I've been using those small clear plastic glasses for parfaits, but they always feel tacky to me, and I've never used them for a really fancy party. I wonder whether there are some nicer alternatives out there. And cannoli filling is really a good thing to use. Once I put small scoops of it on top of little amaretti, and topped them each with one perfect raspberry. Those were gorgeous and simple for a buffet And then for Herb and Sim - actually, I'm not at all struggling for business, negotiating for a better deal, or anything like that. I really like what I'm doing and how I'm doing it! My clients love my work, and pay me well for it. Some people do prefer a regular catered function, but for some people it's a thrill to have everything homemade on site, and guests like to see the cooking happening. Of course, by the time the guests arrive the logistical problems are solved and (hopefully) all they see is seamless work. It's just a lot harder to guarantee that when you work the way I do. If I had a commercial kitchen I'd definitely do offsite prep, and the desserts would be the first thing I'd get on the onsite list, so that I could really make more special and beautiful stuff. If you'd like to expand your thinking on what a personal chef is and does, click here Personal Chefs Network All I'm trying to do with this thread is improve my desserts, not my lot in life!