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gfron1

eGullet Society staff emeritus
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Everything posted by gfron1

  1. Susan, Congrats! (EDITED to be less potentially psychologically damaging.)
  2. I agree - great job Tart Fanny - it will be fun to see your pics!
  3. Its part of the game - all recipes should end up in the recipe gullet once Mette catches her breath.
  4. Vanessa, I had never seen nor had a mooncake either, and then I saw this thread. Now I'm obsessing over them!
  5. In California you're probably looking at Deep brand being you "generic." Its not too bad. I enjoy Swad/Raja Foods which is more on the east coast. I've had some good ghees from Middle Eastern stores as well. In the end it will be a matter of taste of course.
  6. The original challenge came from my own ignorance of beer (I like to drink it, but don't know much about it). So it sounds like you've answered your own question. If hops is crucial to a beverage being called beer...then guess what? You need to include hops. So hop to it!
  7. Now you know why I get headaches a lot...I can't turn the damn thing off!
  8. The flavors worked very well together. To me a plated dessert can have unique flavors that stand alone (and should stand alone), but I try to set a taste trail for folks. So, my assumption was that folks would hit the ice cream or bison first (probably the bison). Then they would knock over the tamale, dredge it in one of the sauces, and then finally finish with the ice cream. If this is true (you're getting a longer answer than you anticipated ) then the flavors go from dominant, hearty cinnamon to fruity, raisin mush (mincemeat) with a bit of pineapple zing, which would lighten up the heaviness from the cinnamon and mince (which also had cinnamon and pineapple), then refreshed with the ice cream. The type-A folks then repeat the process. The left-brainers then focus in on the one element that they liked most and go from there. So, I think the trail worked well. Cinnamon to cinnamon/pineapple. Pineapple to light pineapple sauce...to light icecream. I know this is a bit much, but its how my mind works on desserts like this. I like carryover or transferring flavors which were all over here. None was so dominant in itself that it overpowered or overshadowed any other. The green chile (which I have yet to mention) is a slight oddball, but sweetened up an otherwise more earthy dessert. You asked if anything stood out, and for my tasters, the ice cream was the hit. I had it the next day and really enjoyed it, but not as much as the initial tasting. That could be the emotion/psychology of the big finish, but I think it also had to do with the sage ice cream in combination with the tamale. BTW, if anyone tries any or all of these recipes, I'd love to get feedback. Its the problem with regional foods - you won't completely be able to compare, but I'd still like to know what others thought.
  9. Mette, join the no-sleep club. I had trouble falling asleep and staying asleep last week because ideas were racing through my head. Embrace the lack of sleep My two cents...I've been thinking about Raspberry Chimay and Lemon in Heffeweizen...I love fruit in my beer.
  10. thanks tweety. No, I warned them not to since I wasn't concerned about hygeine when I carved it.
  11. I don't think most are professionals. I'm not. I jokingly say I was taught by Julia Child because I always watched her TV show as a kid. I've not had any professional training - I just get inspired by pics posted here (like Ling, Patrick, Filipe (gone missing) and many, many others), then I research the heck out of things. For this dessert, I had never made fresh masa or mincemeat. I certainly had never made cinnamon bison flags. And I haven't made ice cream in over 10 years. I have more failures than success, but the fun for me is discovery and exploration. I'm often asked to do catering work and I have always said no because once someone is paying you can't mess up...and I do and will.
  12. For those of you not following the challenge thread...here's my dessert from last night: Mincemeat (suet, meat, pineapple, apricot, raisin) tamale with homemade masa (posole, fresh corn, orange zest); Sage ice cream sweetened with agave nectar; Burnt cinnamon bison flag; plated with pineapple coulis and green chile marmalade. RECIPE
  13. I wonder if its like a 1000 year egg...meaning a long, long time
  14. Mincemeat Tamales with Sage Ice Cream (eG Pastry & Baking Challenge #2) Serves 6 as Dessert. Mincemeat (suet, meat, pineapple, apricot, raisin) tamale with homemade masa (posole, fresh corn, orange zest); Sage ice cream sweetened with agave nectar; Burnt cinnamon bison flag; plated with pineapple coulis and green chile marmalade. MINCEMEAT 1 c Suet with meat scraps, finely diced 1 c Apples, peeled, finely diced 1 c Apricot, finely diced 1 c Pineapple, finely diced 1 c Raisins 1/2 c Each, Brown Sugar, White Sugar 2 tsp Cinnamon Salt, pepper, cloves to taste 1/4 c Brandy, rum, or cognac MASA 2 c Frozen Posole 2 c Fresh corn kernels 2 T Baking Powder 2 T Sugar 1/4 c Corn oil (preferably Spectrum) 1 tsp Salt 1/4 c Butter, melted 1 c Orange Juice Orange zest to taste 3 T Flour SAGE ICE CREAM 2 c Cream 2 c Half-and-Half 1/3 c Fresh Sage, coursely chopped 4 Wide strips of Lemon Peel 9 Large Egg Yolks 1/4 c Sugar 1/4 c Agave Nectar 1/4 tsp Salt MINCEMEAT Boil suet/meat for 30 minutes in water. Cool, dice and add all other ingredients. Let sit overnight. MASA De-shell thawed posole between two towels. In processor, combine posole and corn. Add baking powder, sugar, salt, flour. Add the oil, butter and liquid. The amount of liquid will vary depending on moisture in the corn and masa, so you're going for a thick corn bread consistency (its forgiving). TAMALE ASSEMBLY & COOKING Using fresh (or soaked dried cornhusks), layout husk. Spread masa on husk to about less than 1/4 inch thick. Spread into rectangle - recognize that the ends (sides and top/bottom) will bunch up and become thick making it less palatable than the thinner middle. Add mincemeat filling. Roll tamale and tie ends. Line steamer with additional husks. Steam tamales for approximately 1 hour. Cool for 30 minutes with husk on. SAGE ICE CREAM *modified from Epicurious.com Bring cream, half-n-half, sage and zest to a boil over moderate heat. Remove from heat and steep covered for 10 minutes. Whisk yolks, sugar, agave and salt in bowl. If you can't find agave nectar increase sugar to 3/4 C.. Whisk half of hot cream into egg mixture, then return egg to cream. Cook the custard over moderate heat stirring constantly until it coats the back of a spoon - about 5 minutes (170 degrees F) - do not boil. Pour custard through sieve and return to bowl. Cover and chill at least 3 hours. Freeze custard in ice cream maker to desired consistency. PLATING If you wish to do the bison component, get paper thin sheets of bison. Coat heavily with brown sugar and let sit covered overnight. Heat large skillet and add butter. When butter is bubbly, add bison and cover with 2 T. of cinnamon. Cook until the meat is visibly done, turn and cook longer than you think you should, but not until you smell carbon...just before carbon pull bison out of skillet and cool on cooling rack to carmelize. Coat bottom of plate with pineapple coulis, melted green chile marmalade (jalapeno would be similar). Pan fry the tamales in butter, add ice cream and finally the bison plank. Set up an over-elaborate photo shoot station, causing entire dessert to become the wrong temperature and the ice cream to melt...you'll have a great picture and an OK dessert Keywords: Dessert, Intermediate, Plated Dessert, Ice Cream Maker ( RG1821 )
  15. One of the fun parts of these challenges has been the eG's interaction with the challenge, so wherever the group takes Mette is fine with me. My original thought (knowing she would know beer well) was to have her break down the ingredients and re-create them into something new. And while I won't turn her away from chocolate, I agree with Anthony that it might be a bit too obvious if is a main component. I purposefully have left North America for this challenge to see what Europe might be able to do. Europe...a traditional continent. Much history. Much diversity. Often on the cutting edge of culinary taste. I remember the first days of my challenge like they were just last week - oh yeah, they were ...these first days tell us nothing of 7 days from now!
  16. I've had tons of ideas for this...but I'll reserve comment for now
  17. Thanks to all for the kind words. Would I make it again? The bison flag, although very tasty...its a bit too gimmicky. The ice cream - absolutely! The tamale - yes, but I'd work on thinning the masa. I've never been able to make a thin masa layer because it bunches up when you roll it. But it definitely was a sweet not a savory. You'll understand when the recipe gets posted. It had brown sugar, raisins, etc., so it was sweet, and really well complemented by the orange masa. I'm going to ask the friend who taught me how to make masa to make them with my recipe and see how they turn out.
  18. Welcome to round 3. In the last round, Ling challenged me to create a dessert using animal (not byproduct). The result was a mincemeat tamale, burnt cinnamon bison flag, and sage ice cream sweetened with agave nectar. The stress was high, and the challenge was great. But, now its time to pass the challenge on. Mette is the perfect challengee for what I have in store. Here is an example of Mette's recent work. So, my challenge to Mette is this: Create a deconstructed beer dessert! The dessert should be presented by next Sunday. If you read Mette's profile, you'll understand why this torch has been passed to Copenhagen. (Now we wait until she notices this thread and accepts) P.S. If the term deconstructed is confusing, the group can help define it.
  19. Here we go! First, thanks again to Kerry for starting this fun challenge, and to Ling for tapping me. Also, thanks for the many comments. Some I used, some inspired me, but all were greatly appreciated. It was a blast and definitely a challenge. You'll see a new thread for the new challengee in moments. The idea became - celebrating my regional foods. I used (when available) only locally produced/grown products, and local flavors. The challenge was to create a dessert using animal (not byproduct). In the end I created a mincemeat tamale, sage ice cream, burnt cinnamon bison flag on top of pineapple coulis and green chile marmalade. The tamale masa was made totally from scratch using posole and fresh corn with orange zest incorporated. It was filled with suet and meat mincemeat, also including pineapple, apricot and raisin. The sage ice cream was just what you would expect: sage, cream, half n half, and sweetened with agave nectar. The bison flag became the challenge. The technique that ultimately worked was to marinate the paperthin slice of meat in brown sugar (absorbed by the juices), and to pan fry in butter, sprinkled with sugar and lots of cinnamon. Once this cooled it was a brittle and very tasty accompaniment to the rest of the dessert. Taste: The tamale was really nice. I enjoyed the mincemeat, especially the combination of the meat/suet and pineapple. The masa was something truly special. I mentioned in previous posts how nice the aroma was, and the taste didn't let me down. It was so elemental, and as cheesy as its sounds, it really touched my soul. The flag was a gimmic and tasted niced, but I wouldn't make it again. The hit was the sage ice cream! Fantastic. It made you think you were about to have mint ice cream, but it didn't go there - superb! All recipes will be posted tomorrow when I catch up. So, without further delay, here are the pics:
  20. Got it! I'll explain the full process in the recipe page, but I did a burnt cinnamon pan fry. Great texture. Great flavor. Almost tastes mole-esque as many of you suggested, and it should go great with the tamale. I've popped it into the drier to try and crisp it a bit more. Edited to add: I've just had 3 people taste it and they all loved this method...photo coming soon.
  21. The jerky beef is a bit tough, but very tasty. I'm doing a pan fried- burnt cinnamon steak as I type. My ice cream bowl is ready, so we're within an hour.
  22. Here is the buffalo after 45 minutes in the dehyrdrator. Notice how thin my butcher got the meat. you can see the bars through the meat. The spotting is cinnamon. Much to my surprise, this jerky machine is going to give me...well...jerky. My guess is that this won't be the method that ultimately is used in the dessert.
  23. It does - www.scdailypress.com, but I'm having trouble figuring out how to get in. If I can get in, and its free, I'll post the URL.
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