andiesenji

I was born and raised on a farm in a large, extended family which grew exponentially on holidays when relatives from "away" and friends and various dependents were welcomed for holiday dinners. When I was a child, I was mostly underfoot but was given various tasks to keep me out of trouble but I did my bit... Three p.m. was the time usually aimed for, but sometimes there would be something to delay things a bit - as when my dad and two of my uncles arrived home as a surprise, for Thanksgiving 1944, having been awarded furloughs for the holiday. In all the years that I served holiday dinners, I continued this tradition. There was no sleeping in for anyone. Feeding a lot of people, even with efficient prep ahead of time, takes enough hours that one has to get up early, make breakfast, forget about lunch and get on with things. I always was concerned that guests be able to drive home safely, if they had any distance to go, and as many were elderly, and were not used to staying up late, this worked well for everyone. It also allowed me to get everything cleaned up at a reasonable hour so I could get a good night's sleep before the dawning of "Black Friday" and the shopping jaunt with my kids.

How about smoked sweet potatoes? My Mexican neighbors smoke pumpkin (the Mexican type) squash and sweet potatoes, both red and white varieties for inclusion in stews, soups and etc. I made a batch of pumpkin soup using about 1/3 sweet potatoes - the pumpkin was smoked. The flavors were much deeper with that smoky background. The soup was a starter for a dinner of smothered pork chops with rice and Trader Joe's Brussels sprouts on the stalk. No leftovers!

Like most folks who were born and raised in the south I do love sweet 'taters in all their various guises. I usually bake them in their skins and just add some butter. My grandpa liked them sliced thin and layered in a casserole with oranges and pecans, sweetened with maple sugar. I prepare them in a similar fashion but with much less sugar, adjusted to my diabetes. The first time I visited Mexico city, I was thrilled to find grilled, candied sweet potatoes sold on the street by vendors with little braziers. They topped them with brown sugar and a squeeze of lime juice and I thought nothing could ever top that. I like them deep fried but I shred them finely with a rotating cutter and let them dry for a while before frying them. They cook in about 30 seconds. About the only way I don't care for them is mashed and topped with marshmallows. Adding bacon sounds like a winner to me. I certainly like them with pork chops.

I know the folks on Forum Thermomix can point you in the direction of the best places to re-stock your pantry. I can heartily recommend Vic Cherikoff's online store. for those "unique" Australian ingredients that are difficult to find. I ordered wattleseed from this vendor last year and was amazed at the rapid shipping. (And very impressed with this ingredient/spice or whatever.) I also ordered the native fruit confit set as a gift for my daughter and they were very impressed with the quality.

Here's an illustration for those who might still be a bit hesitant about the efficacy of steaming dried fruit. I took these photos a year ago and as they are of a batch of mixed fruit (plus some candied ginger that has also dried out) they are an excellent example of how steaming changes the fruit from hard and opaque to translucent, attractive and useful. Fruits included are mango, papaya, pineapple, apple, peach, pear and red plums.

Clearjel was introduced to the food industry in 1948. It is NOT manufactured from genetically modified corn as no one has yet developed a GM waxy maize which is the type of corn from which Clearjel is made. Modified corn starch is not at all the same thing as GM. It is gluten free and safe to use for people with celiac disease. You can read the manufacturer's statement about it here. I agree about trying other thickeners. I have several on hand, including arrowroot, guar gum, xanthene gum, sago flour, tapicoa flour and kuzu root powder(made from kudzu). Also gum Arabic, tricky to use but interesting.

I purchase them from The Spice House by the pound. I've been very pleased with the quality and I am rather picky.

I got the Punch book on my Kindle after it was recommended on one of the Kindle forums. I missed reading this topic since it was bumped up. I'm allergic to alcohol but I do prepare punch for others to enjoy. I have a recipe given to me years ago by an Italian family - it uses Prosecco or Spumanti depending on the other ingredients, (how sweet they are), as well as Lemoncello and Angostura bitters and that is all I can remember right now. Strained pineapple juice comes to mine but I can't recall the rest. I know it isn't on my computer but if anyone is interested, I will dig it out and post it.

I use regular Clearjel that has to be cooked in regular baked fruit pie fillings. I use the instant in glazes for fruit tarts where the fruits are uncooked - as in strawberry and multi-fruit tarts.

I saw a similar product on Amazon while looking for another product. Vegetarian haggis The END is near!

I have a Bundt cake pan in the shape of a wreath. Thanks for reminding me.

When the mixture is just a bit softer, as you probably made it, it can be pressed into cake molds with great effect. I've done Christmas trees, snowmen, etc., also used a lamb cake mold and a ducky mold for an Easter party. I spray the molds with release spray and put a sheet of parchment, a flat pan with a weight on the open side until it has set up. If you use the "3-D" molds it is easy to glue them together with marshmallow that has been just a bit overcooked.

There is a "trick" for partially cooking and rendering some of the fat out of the bacon that works whenever it is an ingredient in a baked dish - beans, pasta, or ??. Half an inch of water in a skillet, brought to a boil, add the cut up bacon (works for salt pork also) and simmer until the water is almost gone remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. At this point it will cook readily in a casserole. You can use this same method for pre-cooking pork chops that are going to be in a dish of scalloped potatoes so the chops will be fully cooked by the time the potatoes are done - you will need a bit more water and may have to add more if it cooks away before the chops are finished.

I also use Clearjel and I love it. I buy it from King Arthur Flour online. For me, the big advantage is that it thickens without heat. If I mix some into my berry pie filling mixture, I can see before it goes into the pie how thick the filling will be. Just remember, mix the Clearjel with the dry sugar for your filling before adding it to the berries to avoid clumping issues. I also use Clearjel to add a little body to homemade fat free salad dressings. That too is a good idea. I use it in aspics where I don't want to overcook the ingredients.

That's backwards. I whisk 1/3 of the whites into the mixture until it is well blended and then gently fold in the remainder. That way I get an even rise and the souffle is more stable.

If you use Everclear or high proof vodka, the flavor will be pronounced enough to use in three or four weeks. I called Rog and he said he makes it in small amounts as only a few drops are enough to flavor a glass. He uses 4 ounces of Everclear with three tablespoons of sumac and one tablespoon of grains of paradise - although he also said that he has used long pepper when he didn't have the grains on hand. He uses my "trick" of cutting the long pepper with a doggy nail clipper. He crushes the spices wets them with just a splash of liquor then mashes them in a mortar until it is almost a paste then adds the remains of the liquor.

You can read about Clearjel Here - Barry Farm My local Smart & Final carries it and I have ordered it from other online vendors. I prepare pie fillings and can them, including jars of "cobblers" that have the pastry in the jar. Clearjel is the only product I have found that produces the texture and consistency I want. It is especially helpful when preparing berry pies which are notoriously runny with any other thickener I have tried. I use it for tarts in blind-baked crusts and it sets up nicely when it cools and usually remains fairly transparent, unlike flour or regular cornstarch does. For many years I used arrowroot and had pretty good results but occasionally, if the heat was too high, it would break down - the main problem with regular cornstarch.

Thock, you might try a small batch of sumac with grains of paradise, 3:1 ratio. Crush them a bit before adding the liquor. It is an interesting lemony/peppery flavor that one of my friends likes to put in bloody marys instead of Tabasco, his wife is allergic to peppers.

I've been using ClearJel since it became available to consumers a few years ago. It has virtually no taste and produces a lovely, firm filling and does not break down with high temps.

That method of brewing tea was in use well before the Victorian era. Think about how tea was packed and shipped and how long it took. Tea of whatever type, (China was mainly green, India was black) was packed tightly into wooden boxes lined with tin or sometimes lead, pressed so firmly that it had to be broken apart and agitated to make it loose enough to sell. The journey by sea could take many months and the tea would eventually become dry. The pre-wetting of the leaves would allow the tea to absorb some moisture and thus infuse fully when the remainder of the water was added. Dr. Samuel Johnson had a lot to say about tea in the 18th century and he consumed a lot, up to 26 cups a day by his own reckoning. He went so far as to dictate how his "dish" of tea was to be brewed when visiting friends.

I'm sorry I bothered to post. I just tried to explain that while raw alcohol is life threatening to me, I can control the effects when I use it in baking for myself. I would never, ever put my opinions or beliefs above that of a guest in my home. Just as I wouldn't serve shellfish to someone who is allergic to it, I never use any alcoholic ingredients, including flavorings, when I prepare meals that must be halal, and just as I omit all pork products from friends who keep kosher and I omit all animal products from meals I serve to vegans. However, if an ingredient has been rendered non-alcoholic by the process as I described above, my Muslim friends have no problem with it. I use these liquids to infuse dried fruits for cakes and pastries and my friends know exactly what goes into it because they have been in my kitchen when I prepared them and they are aware of the length to which I go to make sure what I serve is allowed in their diet.

I can't consume alcohol because I am allergic to it. Laryngeal edema that threatens to shut off my airway is the primary symptom. I do use stout and other alcoholic beverages in cooking. I cook them before adding to the recipe which reduces the liquid and removes 95% of the alcohol - I can tolerate minute amounts - and also produces a more intense base flavor but no longer has an "alcoholic" flavor. I have a 1-quart crockpot that I use for reducing wines, stout and fortified wines, such as port. I set it on "high" and cook until the liquid is reduced by about half. I check the temp of the liquid to make sure it is above the level where the alcohol easily vaporizes. I go by this chart: Alcohol Burn-Off chart I measure the liquid prior to cooking and again after cooking. I have an inexpensive hydrometer to measure the amount of residual alcohol that remains after cooking. This is backwards from the procedure used when getting ready to ferment wine.

I like my own cooking and often when I visit friends I am "invited" to cook because they all know how much I enjoy it. Sometimes it is a challenge because they have purchased things that I ordinarily would not use but I have learned to work around such obstacles and it is fun to discover what I can do with these "mystery" ingredients. As I always know in advance when this is going to be happening, I take my knives and other "necessaries" with me as well as some ingredients that I know they will not have on hand.

Chris! Good to see you again. I think your show was aimed exactly at foodies. Why else do it?

I really get annoyed when I see the guy on Everyday Food (Martha's PBS show) measure flour by the "scoop and level" method. I learned 60 years ago that the best way to measure flour was to spoon it into a measure and then level it off. The difference in quantity (by weight) is sufficient to ruin a product such as pie dough, shortbread, and especially cakes that require a specific amount of flour. I use weight in most baking, except for things that I have been making a very long time and for which I have my "standard" bowls. The difference in "heavier" flours is not so great as in regular flour or "strong" flour or pastry flour. I have found that semolina measures about the same with the scoop and level method but I weigh it just in case and the weather does make a difference. I live in the desert where it is usually quite dry but during our rainy season, when the humidity is above 70%, I have to make adjustments to some recipes and I simply don't prepare some during that time. Macaroons, for instance. But I have yet to see a TV chef advise people that some bakery items and many candy items simply don't turn out well in wet weather. I tried to make a Croquembouche during a spell of wet weather a few years ago and it was a disaster. I had made it the very same way many times, with excellent results, but this time no way would it hold together and was a sticky mess. In one of her older books, Martha did mention that humid weather might be the wrong time to prepare this item, but never mentioned it when she demonstrated it on a show.