andiesenji

Sounds like grease to me and way too much mixing. I make a lot of foccacia and my favorite recipes are from No Need to Knead Avaliable from Amazon, of course. I use a wooden dough bowl or dough trough and a flexible, rounded scraper which works the dough well. These "slack" doughs are easy to do by hand and I have yet to have one turn out wrong as they are very forgiving. I have recommended this book to a lot of baking novices who are intimidated by many other books as all they want is a recipe or two, for daily use. They aren't interested in a wide variety of various recipes and methods, just something basic and easy.

I am reviving this thread because someone sent me a PM asking for my recipe for green tomato chutney which I have added to Recipe Gullet but am adding it here as well, just in case some more of you have extra green tomatoes to use up. However, if you don't want to use them all you can wrap each tomato (make sure there are no blemishes or bruises) individually in newspaper and place them in a wire basket that will allow air to circulate around the little packages and make sure they are in a cool, dry place. Remove one, two or however many you need, unwrap them and place on a windowsill to ripen. The tomatoes should keep several weeks. Green Tomato Chutney, spicy and sweet. Makes about 16 pints A family recipe from Kentucky - the western end, not the "blue-grass" area. 4 pounds green tomatoes 3 large or 4 medium barely ripe mangoes (other fruit can be substituted, firm peaches, tart, firm apples, barely ripe papaya or similar fruits. You should have about 6 pounds of fruit. 3 large yellow onions (do not use the very mild or "sweet" onions) 6 banana peppers (hot) peeled and seeded. You can also use other medium hot peppers of your choice. If using smaller peppers use enough so you have about 1 1/4 cup of chopped peppers. 1 cup sultanas or other light or golden raisins. 2 cups raw sugar, use turbinado or light brown as a substitute. Or you can use 1 cup white sugar and 1 cup dark molasses. 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger - if not available, use 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger. 2 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt (Diamond Flake) if you use the finer grind use only 2 tablespoons. 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 4 cups apple cider vinegar Water Blanch and peel the tomatoes, peaches, peel the other fruit and remove cores and seeds. Chop all fresh ingredients into 1/2 inch dice, approximately. Place the vinegar, sugar, salt, ginger, spices and raisins into a large non-reactive pot. Bring to a boil. Add all the fruit and onions, stir well. If more liquid is needed to cover the fruit, add up to 1 1/2 cups of water. After liquid has returned to a boil continue cooking for about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. The mixture should be thick and the fruit should look slightly translucent. About 2/3 through the simmering time, remove some to a small dish, taste and adjust flavor, adding additional spices, salt or sugar if necessary. At this point you can also add fruit syrups, hot sauces, etc., to adjust the taste if desired. This is a very versatile recipe, stamp your own mark on it by varying it to suit your taste. When done, ladle into hot sterilized jars. Clean the top rim of the jars carefully, place the lids and add rings loosely. Process in boiling water for 15 minutes. Finished amount can vary depending on how much the fruit cooks down. I have gotten as much as 20 pints using very firm fruit. My grandfather liked this made with coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts cooked with the fruit. So there was always a separate smaller pot prepared the way he liked it. I still make a couple of pints this way, just for old times. Andie

Green Tomato Chutney, Spicy and Sweet This is a condiment that is a favorite with my family in Kentucky and a family recipe that uses up green tomatoes left at the end of the season. Green Tomato Chutney, spicy and sweet. Makes about 16 pints A family recipe from Kentucky 4 pounds green tomatoes 3 large or 4 medium barely ripe mangoes (other fruit can be substituted, firm peaches, tart, firm apples, barely ripe papaya or similar fruits. You should have about 6 pounds of fruit. 3 large yellow onions (do not use the very mild or "sweet" onions) 6 banana peppers (hot) peeled and seeded. You can also use other medium hot peppers of your choice. If using smaller peppers use enough so you have about 1 1/4 cup of chopped peppers. 1 cup sultanas or other light or golden raisins. 2 cups raw sugar, use turbinado or light brown as a substitute. Or you can use 1 cup white sugar and 1 cup dark molasses. 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger - if not available, use 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger. 2 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt (Diamond Flake) if you use the finer grind use only 2 tablespoons. 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 4 cups apple cider vinegar Water Blanch and peel the tomatoes, peaches, peel the other fruit and remove cores and seeds. Chop all fresh ingredients into 1/2 inch dice, approximately. Place the vinegar, sugar, salt, ginger, spices and raisins into a large non-reactive pot. Bring to a boil. Add all the fruit and onions, stir well. If more liquid is needed to cover the fruit, add up to 1 1/2 cups of water. After liquid has returned to a boil continue cooking for about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. The mixture should be thick and the fruit should look slightly translucent. About 2/3 through the simmering time, remove some to a small dish, taste and adjust flavor, adding additional spices, salt or sugar if necessary. At this point you can also add fruit syrups, hot sauces, etc., to adjust the taste if desired. This is a very versatile recipe, stamp your own mark on it by varying it to suit your taste. When done, ladle into hot sterilized jars. Clean the top rim of the jars carefully, place the lids and add rings loosely. Process in boiling water for 15 minutes. Finished amount can vary depending on how much the fruit cooks down. I have gotten as much as 20 pints using very firm fruit. My grandfather liked this made with coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts cooked with the fruit. So there was always a separate smaller pot prepared the way he liked it. I still make a couple of pints this way, just for old times. Andie Keywords: Condiment, Hot and Spicy ( RG1435 )

I lost one of the inner windows in my Blodgett soon after it was installed. The technician said that it was probably from a tiny scratch on the surface from the doors closing against something that was not all the way inside the oven - for instance the rough edge on a crockery baking dish which will scratch glass (and the surface of ceramic tile). He found a couple of tiny scratches on the remaining window so I had both replaced. This is a steam oven and after the new windows were installed he place the scratched window on a rack, fired up the oven to 500, set the steam for 20 seconds. 5 minutes after the cycle ended he opened the door abruptly and the glass popped and crumbled into a pile of small pieces on the bottom of the oven. He said that any break in the integrity of the surface, including scratches from scrubbing with an abrasive, will weaken the surface tension of tempered glass. He said to use only non abrasive cleansers. The glass in the doors now has survived for 10 years with no problems.

I forgot about the beer! I have a can of "Billy Beer" from the late '70s - forget when it was given to me as a joke, however it has been in my pantry for at least 25 years. It isn't worth anything. There was a lot more of the stuff distributed than one might think. The only thing unusual about it is that it is a steel can, not aluminum.

Liquor keeps practically forever. I have a bottle of dark rum, Hudson's Bay, 151 proof, purchased in the late 60s. I don't think this has been available for many years. I also have an even older bottle of scotch. (I don't drink.)

I am on everybody's list and I probably get 6 or more catalogs daily, more when the holiday season looms. My housekeeper tosses out the common ones before I ever see them but does save some of the more unusual for me as well as all of the ones with specialty cookware, etc. She also saved the one from Hersey - left it in a prominent place. She is a chocoholic! Yesterday the "Source" from Sam's Club, "Home Trends," "Harney & Sons" (teas), "PBS Video," "Serengeti" and "Alsto's" showed up. I got home earlier so got the mail myself.

I have a half-gallon can of sorghum molasses cooked and canned on the family farm in Kentucky in 1985. I opened the next-to-last can last year - the stuff keeps practically forever as long as the seal is not broken. The next oldest thing is a sealed stone jar of kimchee that was given to me by my hair stylist who brought it back from Korea when she visited her family in 1990. She says as long as the wax and clay seal is not broken, (and it will be obvious when it is), it will keep for years and just gets better with age. I am going to take her word for it. I do not intend to open the jar anytime soon. It is well protected in case of a major quake!!! The third oldest is a jar of aged ghee that I purchased in 1991, is dated 6/5/90 and has an expiration date of 2050. I am keeping it for the design on the jar which has a picture of a blue Lord Krishna, and the part of the label that is in English, indicates this is good for many illnesses and promotes long life.

I thought that I had included this wonderful and informative link about chestnuts in one of my posts from a year ago, however I don't see it - may have been in another thread. This site has a plethora of information about chestnuts, including some recipes and ideas about how to use chestnuts. One link is no longer active but I am adding it here. one of my favorites is a recipe for chestnut bread that is excellent -Captain Pugwash chestnut bread Especially toasted. I love chestnuts and have them canned, dried, frozen and and some that are steamed, roasted and peeled in jars. I puree roasted chestnuts in a little maple syrup with some really good salted butter for a heavenly spread for scones, biscuits, toast or waffles. You can also spread this on crepes and roll up for another tasty snack.

Maybe 40 years ago there was a Scientific American article on poisons, which, being male, I read with great fascination. I was particularly impressed by a photo of a small, heavily sealed flask containing about a cup of crystals. The caption was "Purified botulinum toxin sufficient to kill about half the world's population." ← I remember that article! I subscribed to SA for about 40 years beginning in the early 60s. I don't recall it was as much as a cup of BT - a couple of grams should do the job quite efficiently. It also went into great detail about the effects of mushroom poisons, castor beans (ricin) and those pretty little golden tree frogs in the Amazon. I think a photo of that tree frog was on the cover. I do recall an incident several years ago, where several people became sick from canned potato soup and there was a national recall of the product. It was one of the unusual brands that is quite expensive, however I can't recall the name at the moment.

Thank you. I wish I could share it with you (in exchange for that gorgeous salmon pate ). And why do you think I was cooking eggs for breakfast earlier this week (see top of the page)? Where's the bread? Dutch babies... Interesting. I've read about German pancakes, but never got around to making them. Looks good! ← I have made many versions of these oven pancakes but my favorite is the one from one of Diane Mott Davidson's murder mystery books, "Killer Pancake" - Since I tried this one I have retired my earlier recipes.

I made some fresh sausage yesterday, cooked grits last night and set them to cool in the fridge. This morning it was sausage, fried grits and poached eggs. Simple and satisfying - - comfort food!

Use your 50% whole wheat flour, 1/4 regular flour and 1/4 cake flour. However if you can get "soft" wheat flour, i.e. White Lily or Red Band. Or go to your local health food store and get whole wheat pastry flour and use that for the half regular flour or use just it. Arrowhead Mills and Bob's Red Mill both market excellent whole wheat pastry flour. This flour has only a small percentage of gluten so the results are very tender. It also makes great biscuits and pie crust. Elizabeth Alston's "Biscuits & Scones" is an excellent cookbook. There is also Beth Hensberger's The Best Quickbreads and Beverly Cox's Biscuits, Pancakes and Quickbreads. ( I collect cookbooks and have more than 50 just on quickbreads and etc.)

I have a Senseo and got one of the plastic refillable pods made by the Dutch. I have yet to get this pod to work properly, simply a weak result no matter how I fill it. I buy my Senseo pods at Smart & Final wholesale grocers. Regular price is 3.99 for 18 pods. However I buy 4 cases at a time and get a price break which works out to 3.59 for a bag of 18 pods. The flavored ones are only 16 to the bag but I don't buy them. This week Target has the pods for 3.84. Occasionally Wal-Mart has them on sale for about the same. Target also carries Juan Valdez Columbian Supremo pods 18 for 4.99, comes in a box and the pods are individually sealed in envelopes. They fit the Senseo very well. They also carry, as do some Wal-Mart stores, the Millstone "Home Cafe" pods which fit the Senseo. The ones that do not fit are the single pods made by Mellita. Let me finish this by saying that I did not drink much coffee prior to getting the Senseo (sent to me by a friend who was testing them). I was basically a tea fancier because brewed coffee always tasted a bit "off" to me - not strong enough and tasted stale a short time after brrewing. I love the taste of the Senseo brewed coffee, especially their dark roast. I can drink it in the evening and it will not keep me awake. Of course I doctor it with Splenda and half and half, heated in the microwave before I brew a double serving into my big mug. I still drink tea but not as much as I did pre-Senseo. I have given several as gifts. They are allowed in college dorms where regular coffee makers (with an exposed heating element) are forbidden.

I have a two-bowl sink, one is very large, square and very deep, the other (with the garbage disposal) is shallower and smaller, both length and width. The big one is 20 x 20 x 12 in deep, the smaller is 16 x 12 x 8 in deep. It is made out of some kind of "cultured" stone, i.e. molded from something that is like cement with an epoxy binder. I forget the name of the maker. It was the only sink that fit the space where my old sink (Kohler 3 bowl) used to be. The Kohler was a lovely emerald green but it did not survive having a very large cast iron skillet dropped into it.

I agree, carmelize them. Then make a cheddar cheese, potato and onion pie. Mix up a custard, as you would for a quiche, season it with salt, pepper and 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg. (You won't really taste it but it adds a certain something to the finished dish.) Boil or steam 6 to 8 small potatoes, a little larger than golf ball size, slice (leave the skins on) Line the baking dish or pie pan with filo doug, use about 6 layers, brushing melted butter on each sheet then laying on the next one till you have all the sheets layered together. Spread a little of the egg mixture in the bottom, spoon in a layer of the carmelized onion then a layer of sliced potatoes pour in half of the remaining egg mix. Add a layer of thinly sliced or grated sharp cheddar cheese. Add another layer of onions another layer of potatoes pour on the rest of the egg mix and top with more cheddar. Bake in a medium oven for about 50 minutes. Jiggle the pan to see if it is set in the center. If still liquid, leave it in the oven for another 8-10 minutes until the custard is just set. Turn the oven off and leave it for 15 minutes then remove from oven and either serve warm or chill and serve.

I posted this a month ago on the pie filling thread. You can multiply the recipe to can larger batches. For gardeners who have a lot of green tomatoes on the vine with a cold snap coming on, which seems like an odd idea right now. (temps have been in the high 90s or over 100 here for weeks) This is a pie filling which can be used immediately or canned as you would any other high acid fruit and used later. It has a distinct lemony taste and an interesting texture. Aunt Hattie Anne's Green Tomato Pie 4 cups green tomatoes peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 3/4 cup sugar 2 tablespoons cornstarch Pastry for both top & bottom pie crusts 1-1/2 tablespoons butter diced Cut aluminum foil in wide lengths or use pie crust edge shields. In a large saucepan combine the chopped tomatoes, lemon juice, lemon peel, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring often to keep from burning. Mix the sugar and cornstarch together and gradually add to tomato mix, stirring constantly. Continue cooking until liquid is clear. Remove from heat and stir in the butter. Cool for 15 minutes Preheat oven to 425F. Pour mixture into a 9-inch pie shell. Note: This works best in a glass pie dish. Cover with top crust and seal the edges so juices will not leak out. Cut several slits in top to allow steam to escape. Fold aluminum foil strips in half lengthwise and crimp all around the edges of the pie to keep crust edges from burning. Place pie tin on a cookie sheet on oven center rack. Bake for 50 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream or topped with whipped cream cheese. YIELD: 8 servings SUBMITTED BY: Andie Paysinger SOURCE: Andie Paysinger's great aunt Hattie Anne, an original recipe

Another "trick" is to take the bottom of a round ladle, spray it with one of the non-flavored sprays and use it to swirl the batter from the center out so that the level of batter in the center of the pan is about 1/2 inch lower than the outer edges, just prior to placing the pan in the oven. Most batter is just thick enough to hold this configuration long enough for the heat to set it. I learned this from a baker who simply dipped the ladle in water but spraying the bottom of the ladle with oil is easier for me since I am not as quick as he was. It may take a little practice to get the technique down right, but once you get the batter in that very shallow cone shape, you will find it easier to do. I do the same for cakes in loaf pans that I want to be level on top. I use a smaller ladle and simple drag it down the center of the batter so there is a sort of trough in the center. It will gradually fill in from the sides if it sits too long, so you have to do this just before you put it into the oven and place the pans gently so you disturb the batter as little as possible. It works with cupcakes too!

I dry the red flame grapes which are a seedless variety and also the seedless black grapes and the Thompson's seedless, however my favorites are the red flame seedless. I try to get the sweetest grapes I can find, as the sweeter and more flavorful the grape, the sweeter the raisin, sometimes there is so much sugar that it actually crystallized on the outside of the raisins. I have two large Excalibur dehydrators which hold a lot of fruit and work beautifully with most fruit. I have tried several and these are the best. Excalibur dehydrator A few fruits need a little help. Cranberries will not dry well unless they are first placed in a very light sugar water at the boil for just 4 or 5 minutes - as soon as some begin to pop they are ready to be drained and spread on the trays for drying. Some fruits take longer to dry than others. Large grapes take 4 or 5 days or longer in the dehydrator here - I live in the desert and humidity is low. In a higher humidity climate it will take longer. Blueberries dry nicely and are very sweet and you can even use the frozen ones. I also dry tomato slices or cherry tomatoes cut in half. Roma tomatoes (or similar paste tomatoes), if they are not too large, can simply be cut in half lengthwise. Mango needs to be sliced less than 1/2 inch thick, same with papaya and pineapple. For any fruit, having even slices works better than cutting them in wedges. I use a hand-cranked apple peeler/corer/slicer which slices the apples in a spiral. When you cut the stack in half you get even slices. You can do the same thing by halving a fruit, removing the core laying it with the cut side down and cutting parallel slices across the fruit, working from top to bottom. My home-dried raisins taste better than any commercial dried fruits, with one exception - Trader Joes has some dried fruits that are just as good, and sometimes better. I have never seen any commercially dried Kiwi fruit but the slices dry nicely - and for peeling them - try dipping them in boiling water for 30 seconds and see how easily and cleanly they peel. I don't use any of the sulfite preservatives but do rinse the fruits that are subject to oxidiation (apples, peaches, etc.) with a solution of citric acid. You can use vitamin C powder or you can find "sour salt" in kosher sections of many markets. I also use the dehydrator to make some really terrific jerky.

I make large batches of candied ginger and use my 30-year-old Bron mandoline which is now on its third set of blades. I use a cut-proof glove which, in addition to keeping my fingers and thumb intact, allows me to hold on to slippery things more easily. I also make pickles and like them sliced very thin. For small batches I use the Cuisinart, however when I am making a large batch I use the Bron. I use it to slice piles of onions for onion confit. slicing limes for marmalade. I have several "bus tubs" which are very inexpensive at Smart & Final - the sides are lower than are plastic dishpans. I place the tub on a bar stool, which puts it at a level which for me is perfect, then place the mandoline in the tub and start slicing. The tub contains the slices and the bottom has just enough texture to keep the mandoline from sliding. I use the julienne blade for jicama, carrots and etc., for pickling.. also for shredding sweet potatoes and squash for deep frying and regular potatoes for frying.

They have a propane-fired incinerator that burns stuff in a closed chamber so there is nothing left but fine ash. They also have a composting toilet that has been there for years. Cece and Etienne are avid environmentalists and have been active in the movement to protect the gulf coast for many years. His father was an underwater demolition specialist and did a lot of work in the coastal waterways. If you have ever seen the Jimmy Stewart film, Thunder Bay, his father did some of the underwater explosive work.

The Victorians were "conspicuous consumers" to the Nth degree. The aristocracy and upper classes set the fashion - it was the middle classes imitating them to excess that was considered vulgar. (By the upper classes.) This book has a great deal of illustration and explanation of how the Victorians justified having all these diverse and unusual table utensils. Here in the US the latter part of the Victorian era and the Edwardian era was referred to as "The Guilded Age" - according to some writers, Mark Twain coined this term.

I have spoken to my cousin Terry several times and also have been glued to MSNBC because he said that yesterday morning three guys in a boat, with an NBC camera were motoring down the Vermilion river - now the middle of a very large lake a mile or so south of Abbeville - and took some video of them standing out on the deck. Terry and his friends were out yesterday, searching for stranded people as soon as the water was calm enough to not swamp the boats and they hauled a bunch up to where the guard was set up with trucks to take people out. They have plenty of food for at least two weeks and there is a large cistern on the roof that is full of rainwater. They are a bit crowded but no more than when they are out on the boats. The storm surge got up to within two feet of the lower deck at its worst. The floating dock was damaged some during the hurricane but was easily repaired. Etienne also has two big Kohler diesel generators as the place often loses power even without a hurricane and he has to keep his freezers going all the time. He has 400 gallons of diesel and 120 gallons of gasoline. They are letting the little kids fish from the deck to keep them amused, but so far they haven't caught anything except a little turtle which is now a pet and a snake which was immediately killed. There are a lot of little fish swimming in the water but there are also quite a few dead ones which are fresh water fish probably killed by the brackish salt water pushed up the waterway. Today they are cooking red beans and rice and are butchering a drowned steer they bought from one of the men they rescued yesterday, no sense letting it go to waste. Barbecue this evening! Yesterday they cooked a big pot of jambalaya, made cornbread and were feeding some of the other men out in the rescue boats. Yesterday morning they served a lot of coffee and fried bread dipped in sugar and cinnamon to the local people who were searching for survivors. Only the very old people can remember when it flooded like this in the area. Etienne's father originally built his place on the high pilings because he remembered a flood in the late 40s. The place has been a bit of a joke all these years because of the way it was built but it is the only building not flooded in the entire area. None of the trees that surround the place have fallen. The satellite phone I sent to Terry has gotten a lot of use as cell phones are not working anywhere in the area close to them so he is letting people who have stayed behind call their relatives and friends that evacuated. Cece Charbonnais and her new baby girl (fifth child for Cece) are doing just fine and are staying put. This makes everyone happy because Cece is considered to be one of the finest cooks in the area. They believe their big boats are probably destroyed or in very poor condition as they have been following the news on TV and watching the views from the helicopters flying over the area and it took a direct hit. They do have pretty good insurance so will eventually be able to go back to shrimping if the industry itself revives in the area. They might have to move to another state if the processing plants do not come back.

We are lucky nowadays that we do not have to use the myriad table utensils of Victorian times. I have my great grandmother's silver and it has at least fifteen pieces in each place setting, including fish slice or fish knife and a fish fork as well as marrow spoon, individual butter spreader, oyster fork and a couple of others that I think were used for squab or other little birds. It was never actually used at any dinner when I was a child but my great grandmother insisted on teaching me how a place setting was supposed to be arranged. Some of the forks were placed with the tines pointing down and the fish fork was on the right side instead of on the left with the rest of the forks. It always seemed very odd to me. I guess today we would say the Victorians were very, very anal! My dad always said it was because silversmiths knew the Victorians were also mad for showing off their wealth with great ostentation and how better than to lay out a ton of silver on a dinner table so they kept coming up with extra pieces to sell to the gullible. Pity the poor servants who had to take care of it.

Quick update from my cousin a bit south of Abbeville. He was able to go outside just long enough to make a quick call. They are surrounded by water but are well above it. It is still very windy with heavy rain. It looks like more water is coming in but it would have to rise another 10 feet to be at the bottom of the lower deck where they have the small boats stored.