andiesenji

His best bet would be to go to this site, scroll down to the bottom and click on "Contact" and ask the question. Or join this forum http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?www and ask the question there.

I think you need to extend the proofing period. I made the brioche from the recipe book and it took twice as long to double in size as the recipe indicated. I have found that with panattone, as well as with stollen, the fruit and spices will retard the action of the yeast somewhat. Especially with regular dry yeast. I wish I could get fresh yeast - so many of my old recipes were developed with it and just don't behave the way they should with regular or "instant" yeast.

This is a very pithy question, Chris. The answers will probably be varied and insightful. Mine is rather prosaic. I began cooking very early in life as I grew up in a household of people who could only be described as foodies. It was not just sustenance but also a subject for education as my grandfather was interested in the history of agriculture and animal husbandry. My great-grandmother was a collector of "receipts" and kept journals about her travels and sampling of new and different foods. Unlike many Victorians, she was a fan of ethnic foods and searched them out when traveling companions would stick to "real British food" even when in a country where interesting foods abounded. I became a baker in the mid '50s as my mother owned a bakery (in Wisconsin) and sent me to baking school after I showed some interest in it. The things I cook are foods from my childhood, foods that I have learned to appreciate over the years and ethnic foods that have caught my interest from travel and from people I have met. I like to cook and bake "from scratch" things that are now available as mixes, "instant" products and things that are now rarely made at home. Candied ginger and citrus peel, dried fruits and vegetables, jams, jellies, marmalade, mustard and other condiments. I have resurrected and modernized some antique recipes that at one time were family standards. They are time consuming because when they were popular, servants were always available to do the work. Since I am now retired, I have plenty of time to play in the kitchen and I enjoy it. I have friends that are vegan and trust me to cook for them. Also I have friends who do not eat certain things because of religious reasons and they trust me to cook for them. I love to cook the "homey" things that remind me of my childhood and better still, serve them to friends who had different experiences and who will share their family recipes. I love to cook exotic things that I never heard of prior to the internet and I have learned that some of the ideas I had about some of these foods were totally wrong because the people who wrote about them or told me about them, many years ago, were biased. I cook because doing interesting things in the kitchen is an adventure for me.

Be sure to save a little to pour over the cake after it is baked. Helps it to keep longer.

Helen, I have been baking this cake since Recipe Source was SOAR and the internet was in its infancy. http://www.recipesource.com/baked-goods/desserts/cakes/26/rec2676.html I don't bake it every year but it is on my list for this year and I have already purchased the stout. (Which required a jaunt down to Bev-Mo as no local store carries the one I like.) I use Young's double chocolate stout which has all the richness of Guinness but has less of the bitterness, or so I am told. I can't drink alcohol so have to have someone taste it for me or get the advice of someone who knows the subject and also knows about baking and cooking. The cake is rich, dark and keeps beautifully. I use only whole spices so use the recommended list and grind them fresh. A slice of this cake, lightly toasted and buttered, is just wonderful with a cup of tea.

A friend gave me a pair of these Oxo steel whisks: http://www.amazon.com/Oxo-1050060-SteeL-11-Inch-Whisk/dp/B000079XW8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1260050359&sr=8-1 which have handles that are a little less blocky than the composition handles. I just watched Cook's Country on PBS and they did a whisk evaluation and rated this whisk tops along with the more expensive Rosle whisk.

I could probably go on for at least a week longer but I have guests coming tomorrow that are vegan and I need to buy fresh fruits and vegetables - they don't eat frozen either. I still don't need any staples - won't need to shop for those until '10 and I now have an accurate inventory of all my staples, up to date and with "use-by" dates on stickers stuck on to the containers - I even have then color-coded. Red for use it up quick, yellow for use it within a couple of months and green for use it whenever........ It's been fun. Sorry I didn't post about all my meals. I've been using the Thermomix a lot and also spending a lot of time with my holiday baking.

I've made up several of the bread recipes from forumthermomix: http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?board=30.0 And have been mostly pleased with the ease of use and results. I am beginning to convert some of my favorite recipes to the TMX - requires significant adjustment as most of my recipes are for batches of dough too large for it. I cut my banana/walnut bread recipe in half and it turned out very nice. The pumpkin bread not so well - I think I forgot to add something... A few of the Asian recipes I have tried do not have quite enough flavor for my taste so I have spiked them with either sweet chile sauce (Mae Ploy, my favorite), salsa from a jar, a sambal (homemade) and various herbs and spices. Sadly, I have been very lax in recording my "experiments" - I will have to find a fresh microtape for the little dictating unit and be sure the batteries are charged. (The one that I was using was left on the desk and Aston decided it was a perfect chew toy. ) I prepared a custard that turned out quite nice and with no attention from me. Did mushroom risotto again yesterday, shitaki this time - can't get over how effortless it is. There was enough leftover risotto with which to experiment so I added some chicken stock and ran the machine at speed 7 for 50 seconds and the result was a thick and very tasty sauce/gravy that I am going to put over something that needs gravy. Possibly this is healthier than the usual pan gravy I prepare. Certainly there has to be less fat. I don't know if it is because of the items I am preparing in the TMX or because I have been more active with all my baking and such, but I am losing weight. Eleven pounds in two weeks. Usually at this time of the year I gain - so this is a big plus!

I bought a small bottle after reading Kerry's (and others) posting about it. Just recently I made some baked apples (in the cute little apple bakers given to me by a friend) and drizzled some of the Saba over the apples just before serving - with a dollop of cream cheese. (I had no ice cream and was not going to shop because I am taking part in the "use it up" Klatch.) The combination of flavors was exceptional. I have used it only sparingly (when I remembered I had it - excuse is that I am 70 ) However, I agree that it "marries" well with the richer, fattier meats and poultry. My favorite application is drizzled over a slice of foie gras.

I have one but I have not been thrilled with the way it works with butter on the screen in the top. It was also difficult to clean satisfactorily. I use it with just the popcorn and it works fine - I just drizzle melted butter over it in the bowl and add a tiny bit of salt which will cling to the buttered popcorn, but not to the bare stuff.

I'm bumping this topic up to ask what folks are doing/have done for holiday presents this year. I've made a big batch (15 pounds) of my "famous or infamous" candied ginger.(depends on if one likes ginger ) Some candied citrus peel: Orange, lemon, grapefruit and lime. (Yet again the lime did not turn out so good but at least better than in previous experiments.) I've prepared a batch of mostarda di frutta but have yet to jar it up. There is a liter of honey presently being infused with blackseed (nigella sativa), lavender, sage and ginger. Not sure if this is going to be finished in time to give for this holiday. (It's supposed to be healthy - supports the immune system-whatever! ) There is a 3-liter batch of cherry cordial, the same amount of peach cordial and 2-liters of blackberry cordial ready to be bottled. Also assorted dried fruits, small amounts of glacé fruits, assorted nuts treated in various ways to make them more interesting. And then there are the cookies. I have several batches ready to mix, some dough that needs to "mature" in the refrigerator prior to shaping and baking, and some that may simply be semi-prepped and given as a "kit" to the recipients. Fruitcakes are on the agenda for this coming weekend when I will have a helper. I'll probably do some other baked goods but have not yet decided on exactly what. So what is everyone else doing? Interested parties want to know!!

I agree with you 100% regarding enameled cast iron. The only reason I bought my oval Staub (12 Lt.) is because the less expensive lines didn't have that size. Much of my stuff is old - Descoware I bought in the '60s, Copco, same era. I even have some Griswold from the 30s - they didn't produce a lot of enameled ware but what they did is still in good shape.

Except for cereal for breakfast yesterday and today, I am still subsisting on leftovers from T-Day. Lunch today will be one of the stuffed squash and the last portion of pickled nopales and dinner this evening will be the last of the tamales with some fruit salad. Tomorrow I will have to begin cooking again and for the moment, haven't a clue as to what I will prepare. Meanwhile I am getting on with the holiday baking projects. (All supplies laid in weeks ago.)

I don't use the FC recipe but I have had a similar experience. My fix was to put the curd in a double boiler, add 1/4 cup of lemon juice for each quart of curd, heat it fully and then add in an additional egg yolk then finish the process. It should set up just as well as at first. (My recipe makes 8 pints)

Andie - Thanks! What did you do about the 40 grams of sugar that seems unaccounted for? I just included it in the icing sugar part. That is, I weighed out the 240 g dumped it out and put 100 g back in the bowl ground it to caster sugar, tipped it out and put the rest of the sugar into the bowl and ground it to icing sugar. Continued with the recipe. Worked fine.

Those rolls look heavenly. Makes me want to pull one off the screen and start munching! I used the marzipan recipe from the UK site: http://www.ukthermomix.com/recshow.php?rec_id=69 The only difference was that the eggs I used (yolks only) were pasteurized. I pasteurize all my eggs, just to be on the safe side. I did note that I ran it on the Dough setting for 2 1/2 minutes, instead of the 1 minute plus 30 seconds after adding the almond extract. I had a great result and have made a second batch.

I've bought all of mine from Amazon. I bought them all when they were on a 4-for-3 special, which they are again right now.

I should have added in my post that you really should bake a batch of German hard rolls to go with the hasenpfeffer because there will be a lot of very tasty gravy to mop up and one needs a sturdy roll for this purpose.

Oliver, can you post a photo?

There are some excellent recipes for rabbit/hare on this site: http://www.bowhunting.net/susieq/rabbit.html Hasenpfeffer is my "go-to" recipe for rabbit or hare, particularly the wild rabbits from the Sierras as they are actually hares. (I know a lot of hunters whose wives are not fond of preparing game or don't know how (and don't want to learn ). So in exchange for me doing the prep, I get part of the bag. I've been preparing it for 50+ years and have no written recipe but the closest to mine is this one: http://www.germanculture.com.ua/recipes/blmain13.htm

I am also a big fan of wooden spoons and I do have some very old ones.

After my report yesterday morning I went to the home of friends for dinner at 4 p.m. and entertainment (several of their children and grands play instruments and sing). Desserts served at 7 p.m. along with some terrific coffee and chocolate drinks. I had made a large pie with some of the pork mincemeat I made a couple of weeks ago and chopped fresh oranges (except for the white part), flavored with some tequila that had been in my cupboard for several (many) years! No leftover pie! They had flan, pumpkin pie, regular mince pie, coconut cake, a mango sherbet with lime custard (secret recipe from Mexico) and several puddings and gelatin things popular with Hispanic people. Earlier there had been a tres leches cake but it suffered an accident while en route from car to kitchen so no go for that. I can't begin to enumerate all the dishes served at dinner. There were nearly fifty people there and most had brought one or more dishes so there was lots and lots and lots! I tried to taste a tiny bit of everything but it was rather overwhelming. I am not a big fan of nopales but one of the women had made a dish with them cut in narrow strips (not quite julienne) and sort of pickled and tossed with toasted bits of corn tortillas. Absolutely delicious and I am going to try to get the recipe. There were two turkeys, one roasted, one deep fried. Both excellent. There was half a roasted pig - I think it was a javalina but forgot to ask the source. There was a big pan of carnitas and another of barbecued goat. (I came home with some of each so will be having tacos for dinner today!) There were tamales with various fillings - chicken and beef for sure, others I did not taste. Numerous potato dishes both regular and sweet - didn't try them all. Various vegetable dishes - tried only a few. However there were Mexican squash stuffed with bread crumbs, herbs and cheese (and some chiles) that were exceptional. They look rather like zucchini but are shorter, fatter and a lighter green. Several tomato dishes - grilled tomatoes with bread crumbs, cheese and chiles - a different mixture from that in the squash. Excellent. Can't recall much else. I got home about 10 p.m, fed the dog and went to bed. I've been very lazy today, late breakfast (cereal with milk) and, worst of all, I have yet to unload the leftovers from my van refrigerator. A serious attack of laziness is upon me. Hopefully back to my regular routine tomorrow.

Things have been so hectic for me during the past several days that I have not been able to document or post about my meals - mostly uninspired but all from my pantry/fridge/freezer. I did shop at Smart & Final on Monday but only for foodhandler gloves because I was out. I felt very virtuous checking out with only the gloves and a bottle of floor cleaner. The clerk asked if I no longer loved them... My usual expeditions involve a full cart and help loading my van. Since Sunday I have had five teens in my kitchen for most of each day. They wanted to learn how to bake holiday cookies, quick breads and other treats to deliver to home-bound seniors and people with disabilities. They bought all their own ingredients and the containers with money they collected at a car wash at their church (in 40-50 degree weather) last Saturday. It has been many years since I have had a bunch of teens in my house for extended periods and it is exhausting. The questions were endless. All are from homes where both parents work, they largely subsist on frozen dinners and fast foods and none of their kitchens are equipped for much of anything in the way of real baking. Not one had ever seen a food processor or a stand mixer in person. Sad that! On the two mornings they arrived early, I prepared breakfast - a strata with eggs, ham, artichoke hearts and broccoli rabe on Tuesday and sourdough waffles with sausage and eggs yesterday. They went out for lunch all three days - I suspect fast food. The guinea hen I braised last week became a hot chicken dish with rice, peppers, pineapple and a spicy sauce Monday evening. The carcase was combined with some other poultry remains from the freezer and turned into a lovely stock. Tuesday I defrosted one of the stuffed pork chops I had prepared two weeks ago and roasted that for dinner. Lunch was the leftover chicken dish. Wednesday lunch was a rather insipid ham sandwich with a green salad and dinner was a sausage and apple casserole with steamed mixed vegetables, all from the freezer. I slept in this morning because I was up late last night and have not yet begun to contemplate breakfast - or brunch, which may turn into lunch if I don't get up from this desk. More later.......

Let me add another thing. I have a friend who lives in a senior citizen center and has a tiny "kitchenette" in her apartment but is not allowed (for safety reasons) anything with an exposed heat source, i.e., no stovetop, no hotplate (for some reason the management does not understand the principles of induction stoves. Also most coffeemakers, toaster ovens are verboten. But not toasters - those are okay. A rice cooker is allowed and of course, microwave ovens. She was here yesterday and is fascinated with Tuffy. She watched all of the videos on the various sites and thinks it would work beautifully for her. She can afford it and so is going to the center manager, with several pages I printed about it, and see if they will allow her to have it. Now this is the kind of application where this machine can really shine. It is expensive but if it becomes more popular here and more units are manufactured, surely the price will drop. She also has friends who are snowbirds and live year round in their motorhomes or trailers - not poor people, several winter in Palm Springs, etc. She told me she was going right to her computer and send these folks the URLs showing the TMX. She is more enthusiastic than me...

Here's a report on my first week with the TMX (which I have named Tuffy - because it sounds exactly like a vehicle I used to own when grinding hard stuff on Turbo!) I love it! I have cooked several things from the recipe book and from the Thermomix forum recipe list. I made risotto painlessly!! It did all the work. I made it twice - once with mushrooms and once with chestnuts and I cooked the chestnuts in the Varoma basket. The mushroom risotto was made with an inexpensive Bello arborio rice. Because it turned out so nicely, in the second batch with chestnuts, I used the significantly more expensive Tenuta Castello Carnaroli. I don't know if it was the chestnuts or the quality of the rice but this was absolutely fantastic. I've also made stollen - doing the mixing and kneading in Tuffy, proofing it in a dehydrator and baking it in the oven. It was very good. It only makes one loaf, where my usual recipe makes six, but it was also very fast and easy. I also made the basic bread from whole wheat berries, grinding the whole grain first to the recommended appearance then adding the other ingredients. I did put it into the fridge overnight and allowed it to proof for longer than recommended and I think I got a pretty good result and liked the flavor. I cooked a sauce in the bottom, veggies in the basket and potstickers in the steamer bowl on top and everything came out perfect. Pasta was a surprise - I read all the stories noted by other people but was still wondering how it didn't break up the cooked pasta but it didn't. I made the sauce first, with onions, peppers, fresh tomatoes and seasonings, dumped it into a bowl then simply added water to the jug, set the heat as recommended started the "Reverse stir" function and stuck the linguini through the hole in the top and watched as it slowly was drawn into the machine. Total time was 15 minutes at 100° C. Amazing. I mentioned the marzipan I prepared on the other topic. I've also cooked my mixed grain cereal twice, minced ham for deviled ham spread. Yesterday I made a cooked cranberry/apple/orange relish to serve with a guinea hen I roasted. I've also made slushies and made a pear sorbet and a banana/pear/pineapple/yogurt mix that was frozen in several steps of scraping and mixing, as one would do a granita. It was very nice. I've done several other things but this is enough for now. When I do something really different or interesting, I will report on that.