devlin

Thanks for the responses. That helps. Sambuca is one of my favorite things, but I find it has a more pronounced effect on my head the next day than any other booze. Several of my Italian friends have noted the same thing. And even though it's supposed to be a traditional thing to ignite the booze in order to infuse it with some of the coffee bean flavor, not very many people, including Italians, bother to do that, even when they continue to add the beans. I was surprised, then, when not only was the flavor really improved when I ignited it, but the usual nasty effects never manifested the following day. Hence the question. Thanks folks.

Well the bottom line isn't only whether I like it. I like it wonderfully. In fact, I love it. But for a lot of folks, me included, Sambuca is pretty powerful stuff, and if there's a way to salvage the overall beauty of the drink and lessen the alcohol content which is significant, then that would be a good thing.

Because I'm impatient and I'm not getting any responses to this question in the booze section, can anybody tell me how setting booze on fire has an effect on the alcohol? Does it actually reduce the alcohol's effect? I mean insofar as the inebriating effects go? For example, when I set my sambuca with flies in fire, does it lessen the alcohol content?

I've lately started igniting my sambuca (with coffee beans) and am wondering how it affects the alcohol content. Significantly? Not so much? I definitely like what it does to the flavor.

Falafel!

I meant to note as well that none of the pizza ovens (that I can recall) used by the professional pizza guys in the national pizza competition I saw on food network this past year were the round pizza ovens. From what I remember, they were all some variety of rectangle or square, with, of course, the domed ceiling. Don't get me wrong. I'm not knocking the round pizza ovens. Not at all. I've had pizzas from both types, in this country and in Italy. And not all Italian pizza ovens are round. There are many different types of ovens used for pizza in Italy, and in this country as well. But I thought it was important to respond to some of what it seemed to me were misconceptions about the Alan Scott/bread/rectangular/square ovens mentioned here.

I have an Alan Scott oven (co-author of "The Breadbuilders") and we do everything in the oven. It's one of the small commercial models, meaning, in other words, it's big, bigger than most folks would want for home use. But he has much smaller models as well. The suggestion that the Italian pizza ovens are "domed" as opposed to the Alan Scott ovens is misleading. Alan Scott's ovens are all domed. If you build it without a dome, you've done something seriously wrong. The theory of the necessity of flames bouncing off the Italian dome for appropriate heat is equally true of Alan Scott's ovens, and in fact it's part of the design. We do pizza and all sorts of other foods (in addition to the breads) in our oven, and it works beautifully, taking just a couple of minutes for the super thin crust Italian style pizzas which we love. We keep a small fire going off to one side and it does precisely what's been noted of the round ovens, the flames bouncing off the top and over the top of whatever you're cooking. You can do it either way, the long burn for breads and then raking everything out and starting a bake with a clean oven, or, as we do it, after that bake, building a smaller fire off to the side in the still hot oven and then waiting for a little more heat (up to 900 degrees usually, which is what I prefer) with the fire going as you bake the pizza. We did the same for our Thanksgiving dinner this year, roasting two turkeys a couple of desserts and all the ancillary stuff all together in one firing, the fire going continuously in the back off to the side, and it worked beautifully. Here's ours (again, it's big.... if we were using it just for a home kitchen, we'd have done a much smaller one)

leftover stufffed focaccia with olives, drizzle of olive oil, a little sea salt, and cherries!

The egg porn is blowing my mind. Must experiment with eggs more often, clearly. Jean, I know what you mean. I have the same sensation when I look at the oven, and it's mine. We were going to build it, but the more we thought about it, the more it scared us, and because I'm sure not handy that way, and my husband works too many hours in a week as it is and our weekends are invariably full, we hired my farrier, which was a mistake, and which ended up costing more than we'd planned, but there it is. I'm glad it's over. There's still some work left to be done and because the guy is now living in another state, that means we'll be doing that ourselves. Se, as they say, la vie. How do you say "live and learn" in French? Still, I love my oven. We are just finishing up the space to be certified. As in food business certified. We already know we're certifiable. So the plan is to use it a lot, and people have been asking for the bread for some time now. I got side tracked by Katrina and another animal rescue in Arkansas the past three or so months, so the oven's been cold for as long. Too long. Next month we'll be firing up a couple of times a week at least. Or anyway that's the game plan. And I'm bummed because suddenly I'm unable to post my breakfast photo! Something going on I should know about?

I keep coming back to this thread, and I love every minute of it. Klary, you and your food are gorgeous! Thanks so much for the inspiration. And a fabulous new year to you and yours.

That's my favorite mug too. It's great for perfect klutz's like me, because I'm thinking even if one threw it full force at a brick wall it would just thud to the ground still intact. They built those things like Mack trucks.

And ya gotta know I'm totally in love with my oven. The face of it needs finishing (as does the rest of the garage conversion -- nearly there), and though it scared me just after it was built (it's big), once I'd used it a couple of times I was happier than I knew I'd be with it. It's an Alan Scott oven (package #4). And it really does make all the difference.

Waiting for heat with Bella and Pete: The durum loaf: A slice slightly crisped with goat cheese and slow-roasted tomatoes: And a brisk walk with the dogs :

Fattigmands Bakkelse These are a family favorite, Norwegian Fattigmands Bakkelse. They're labor-intensive, and totally worth it. They're one of my favorite things in the world, a real delicacy, and because they're labor-intensive, a holiday, or Christmas cookie, for the most part. This is my mother's/grandmother's etc. recipe. 6 egg yolks 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 c sugar 1 tblspoon melted butter 3 egg whites 3 c flour (I use pastry flour) 6 tblspns heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks 1 tsp cardamom (to taste and depending on freshness of the spice) 1/8 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp to a tblspn cognac or light rum or some similar liquor (or, to taste) 2 blks lard for deep frying (about 2 lbs) powdered sugar for dusting Beat egg yolks til pale and thick-ish (several minutes); gradually add sugar and beat about ten minutes; whisk in butter and liquor; beat egg whites to stiff peaks and carefully stir or fold eggs whites and whipped cream into batter; whisk together flour, cinnamon and cardamom, and fold into mixture and chill. The batter will be heavy and very sticky. Chill a minimum of 5-6 hours. I chill the dough at least 12 hours, sometimes longer. Heat lard in stock pot to 350 degrees. If you double the batch, it's useful to heat two pots and fry two batches at once. Roll out the dough in three or four batches, leaving remaining dough in refrigerator between batches. To start, dust counter with flour and scoop out each batch of dough with a large spoon. Keep a small pile of flour nearby to use as you roll. Dust top of dough with flour. Flour your hands. Pat dough into ball and then flatten. Flour lightly again, make sure the counter top below is still floured (you generally need LOTS of flour for these, depending on your kitchen and your hands, but that's okay, don't be afraid to flour as you go along) and roll the dough out, turning and lifting the dough and making sure it's not sticking to the countertop. The dough should be rolled out as thinly as you can manage it -- very, very thin. After final roll, lift the dough quickly and again make sure the dough isn't sticking to the counter. Using either a sharp knife or a pizza dough cutter, cut the dough into roughly 2 inch strips laterally. Then cut the dough horizontally so that you end up with rectangles of dough, about 2 X 1 and 1/2 inches. Make one small cut in the center of each rectangle. Make a bow out of each rectangle by pushing one end through the hole and out to the other side. Don't worry if they fall apart a bit or look unshapely or ungainly. Once you're done deep frying and shaking them in powdered sugar, they'll all look gorgeous. Test the heat of your lard by dropping a tiny piece of dough into the pot. It should drop to the bottom and nearly immediately bubble and rise back to the top and begin to brown very quickly. Fry roughly 5 at a time. You may need to turn the heat up a bit because the dough will begin to cool the lard. When the edges begin to brown, flip them over and brown equally on the other side. Brown to a nice golden brown, not too dark or they'll be burned, but not too light or they'll be doughy. Remove with slotted spoon (or one of those Chinese fry strainer thingies that I can never remember the name of -- these work beautifully) and drain on a paper bag. When you've finished frying three or so batches, dump about a quarter of a bag of powdered sugar into a paper bag, drop 4 or 5 cookies into the bag and shake the bag two or three times. Remove to large plate covered with a paper towel. Finish the remaining batches in the same way. *Note on lard: many folks substitute other cooking or vegetable oils for frying these. You *may* do so, but the flavor will not be nearly as good as it will be by using lard, and the flavor of these cookies rely not only on the combination of spices and so forth, but the lard as well. Keywords: Cookie, Intermediate, Christmas ( RG1539 )

I took photos of this whole process this year, if anybody's interested in a sort of tutorial to go along with the Fattigmands.

I don't think I posted the recipe for these earlier, but I did mention at some point our own family favorite, Norwegian Fattigman Bakkelsers. They're labor-intensive, and totally worth it. They're one of my favorite things in the world, a real delicacy and because they're labor-intensive, a holiday, or Christmas cookie, for the most part. Here's my mother's/grandmother's etc. recipe: Fattigmands Bakkelser 6 egg yolks 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 C sugar 1 tblspoon melted butter 3 egg whites 3 C flour (I use pastry flour) 6 tblspns whipped cream 1 - 1 1/2 tsp cardamom (to taste and depending on freshness of the spice) 1/8 - 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp to a tblspn cognac or light rum or some similar liquor (or, to taste) *2 blks lard for deep frying (about 2 lbs) powdered sugar for dusting Beat egg yolks and sugar; whisk in cream and stir in spices and liquor; beat egg whites to stiff peaks and carefully stir or fold into batter; mix in the flour, taste to see whether you prefer adding more of something, and chill. The batter will be heavy and very sticky. Chill a minimum of 5-6 hours. I chill the dough at least 12 hours, usually longer. Heat lard in stock pot to 350 degrees. If you double the batch, it's useful to heat two pots and fry two batches at once. Roll out the dough in three or four batches, leaving remaining dough in refrigerator between batches. To start, dust counter with flour and scoop out each batch of dough with a large spoon. Keep a small pile of flour nearby to use as you roll. Dust top of dough with flour. Flour your hands. Pat dough into ball and then flatten. Flour lightly again, make sure the counter top below is still floured (you generally need LOTS of flour for these, depending on your kitchen and your hands, but that's okay, don't be afraid to flour as you go along) and roll the dough out, turning and lifting the dough and making sure it's not sticking to the countertop. The dough should be rolled out as thinly as you can manage it -- very, very thin. After final roll, lift the dough quickly and again make sure the dough isn't sticking to the counter. Using either a sharp knife or a pizza dough cutter, cut the dough into roughly 2 inch strips laterally. Then cut the dough horizontally so that you end up with rectangles of dough, about 2 X 1 and 1/2 inches. Make one small cut in the center of each rectangle. Make a bow out of each rectangle by pushing one end through the hole and out to the other side. Don't worry if they fall apart a bit or look unshapely or ungainly. Once you're done deep frying and shaking them in powdered sugar, they'll all look gorgeous. Test the heat of your lard by dropping a tiny piece of dough into the pot. It should drop to the bottom and nearly immediately bubble and rise back to the top and begin to brown very quickly. Fry roughly 5 at a time. You may need to turn the heat up a bit because the dough will begin to cool the lard. When the edges begin to brown, flip them over and brown equally on the other side. Brown to a nice golden brown, not too dark or they'll be burned, but not too light or they'll be doughy. Remove with slotted spoon (or one of those Chinese fry strainer thingies that I can never remember the name of -- these work beautifully) and drain on a paper bag. When you've finished frying three or so batches, dump about a quarter of a bag of powdered sugar into a paper bag, drop 4 or 5 cookies into the bag and shake the bag two or three times. Remove to large plate covered with a paper towel. Finish the remaining batches in the same way. *Note on lard: many folks substitute other cooking or vegetable oils for frying these. You *may* do so, but the flavor will not be nearly as good as it will be by using lard, and the flavor of these cookies rely not only on the combination of spices and so forth, but the lard as well.

No, it won't be the same as if you bought it practically fresh from their ovens, but it should still be great for toasted or grilled-type sandwiches or to lightly toast in the oven for dipping and the like. One of my breads has a very short shelf life. I freeze some of it to use for toasting and sandwiches and dipping and so forth. And even if it's sat out too long on the counter, toasting it lightly in the oven will revive it very nicely for those purposes. If I were sending it as a gift, I'd send a note along to explain the best way to use it.

Christine, thanks! The dog rescue work is the most rewarding thing I've ever done in my life. And although I prefer there never be a need for the work in the first place, I'd like to be able to contribute more to the folks in the middle of it by feeding them and cooking onsite. The food's always very unpredictable. Baking for Christmas is the next best thing. After sampling a couple of Beranbaum's chocolate dipped cookies, I discovered they are actually identical to the Russian tea cookies my mother used to make for Christmas, without the chocolate and minus the pecans. And because Beranbaum's version is decidedly finicky, I just rolled them into a slender log, sliced into one-inch sections, flattened them a bit and pushed a pecan into the center of each. Then rolled them in powdered sugar once out of the oven. They're fabulous!

Chelsea Market Baskets.... Lovely stuff.

My Christmas gift packages are for two sets of folks: my siblings, and for two women I recently met during two major dog rescue efforts, one working with several hundred Katrina dogs, and another with about 500 dogs down in Arkansas. Both women and I became immediate soul mates, special women whom I wanted to give something I made. Plus a couple of very pretty Christmas tree ornaments (bought from a nice little local restaurant with a gift shop where they sell a couple of trees worth of very cool Christmas ornaments every year). But the baked goods are these: * Fattigman bakkelser (fattiman buckles, as we called them in my family growing up), done the right way -- deep fried in lard, yummy. * Anise biscotti (a somewhat revised version of a Rocco di Spirito recipe with a little sambuca added to the anise, a mix of olive oils and less egg) * Chocolate-dipped melting moments (a Rose Levy Beranbaum cookie, buttery, rolled in powdered sugar, and one end dipped in melted chocoate) *Moravian crisps (also RLB) *and my mother's very fabulous apple cake, a gorgeous mix of apples, nuts, lots of oil, drenched in a buttermilk topping. The fattigman's are pretty labor intensive, but I've gotten pretty proficient at them, and they get easier every time I do them. They were one of the things we made every Christmas when my Norwegian mother and my siblings and I would work for a few days over the holiday making Norwegian and other Christmas goodies. Those, the anise biscotti and the apple cake are three of my favorite things, and people love them.

Oooh yummy. I'm gonna try the both of em and get back to you. And now I've finally got a lovely new Nikon camera, pictures as well. Thanks!

I'm wanting to make a linzer type cookie, only with something other than the usual fruit/jam type filling. Anybody have any unusual sorts of fillings for cookies on hand? Something other than fruit? Or chocolate?

I meant to add too, if anybody has a sweet potato souffle recipe, I'd love to try it. Sounds fabulous.

Here's a yummy thing I got from my sister who got it from her husband's Louisiana family who'd made it since forever. I've made for years now myself and was surprised to find it on the menu recently at a Ruth's Chris Steak House in Louisville: Sweet potato casserole Preheat oven to 350 3 cups sweet potatoes (about 5 sweet potatoes), either boiled or roasted 1/2 cup sugar 2 eggs 1/2 cup butter 1 tsp vanilla 1/3 cup milk mash potatoes, add all of the above and put in a casserole dish 1 cup brown sugar half cup flour 1/3 cup softened butter 1 cup chopped, roasted pecans mix together, throw on top of mixture in casserole. bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. it's lovely the next day straight out of the refrigerator too.

It's not necessarily wrong to mix a dough for 20 minutes, although at speed 4 using a KA mixer seems sort of brutal, but I'm wondering whether it's worth it when you can get perfectly wonderful focaccia with a way shorter mix. You might also try Carol Field's Focaccia: Simple Breads From the Italian Oven. Lots of beautiful focaccia. Her stuffed basil focaccia is one of our favorite things at my house. It's also one of the quickest and simplest which worried me at first because my best breads are way more complicated than that. But this one is easy and just lovely.