[Cook-Off 59: Cured, Brined, Smoked and Salted Fish]

On 4/15/2012 at 6:29 PM, ChefCrash said:

My fish curing/smoking experience has been limited to dry curing and hot smoking. Always came out ok, but never could nail down the saltiness.

This is the last smoked trout I made two weeks ago. I was in a rush and slit the fish down to the bone to speed things up. Then I decided to debone and butterfly it.

The fish was covered thoroughly in a mixture of:

1/2 c Diamond Crystal kosher salt

1/4 c dark brown sugar

1 tsp black pepper.

It sat in the cure exactly one hour then rinsed, dried with paper towels and went on my smoker, so no drying.

It was smoked for about 1.5 hours. It came out great.

I have tried several cure ratios and curing times, sometimes twice with seemingly same weight and thickness of fish, and yet came out with different results.

Perhaps if I knew what a final (acceptable) salt content in the fish before smoking, I could calculate a brine saturation based on weight and let brine to equilibrium.

Another one of our Cook-Off's that's appropriate to revisit during the holidays and you appetizer dishes.

[Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2017 – )]

I'm not sure why, but I've been on a holiday cookie baking binge.  This was a new cookie I just made up, Creamy Pistachio-Pecan Thumbprints.  I can still taste Mother's thumbprint cookies.  Made the same each year and always with raspberry jam in the middle.  Raspberry jam she had made in the summer with local berries.  One of these cookies is about all I can eat at a time because they are so darn rich.

For the Filling-

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

 

For the Cookies-

1 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 egg yolks

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cardamom

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tbsp. chopped pistachios

1 tbsp. chopped pecans

 

Make the Filling-

In a mixer, combine the cream cheese, butter and vanilla and cream until blended.  With the mixer on low, slowly add the powdered sugar to make a creamy frosting, then add the chopped pecans.  You can make the filling ahead of time and keep covered in the fridge. 

 

Make the Cookies-

Heat the oven to 350.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a mixer cream the butter and sugar until light and creamy.  Add the egg yolks, vanilla, salt and cardamom and beat until thoroughly combined.  Slowly add the flour and beat until the dough is blended.

 

Shape 1” balls of dough, then gently flatten.  Toss the cookie in the chopped pistachios.  Press your thumb down in the center of each cookie.  Bake for 12-14minutes until slightly browned.  Press your thumb down again in the center of each cookie. Let the cookies cool on a rack.

 

Spoon the filling into a piping bag with a star tip and fill the center of the thumbprint cookies. Sprinkle with finely chopped pecans.

[Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2017 – )]

1 minute ago, heidih said:

That cookie w/ the Dulce de Leche. sounds fun. Have you considered the goat version which may have a bit of tang? Nice presentation.

interesting, no I haven't is that a recipe using goat cheese?

[Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2017 – )]

A favorite holiday cookie my Mother always made, that I thought needed a bit of a refresh and new style.  I made this cookie last year, and will be making it again this season.  The buttercream is very rich!

Snowy Mexican Tea Cookies with Dulce de Leche Buttercream-

For the Cookies-

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cups finely chopped pecans

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup softened butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Powdered sugar for dusting

2 tbsp. finely ground pecans for garnish substitute walnuts

1 tbsp. gold cookie glitter crystals for garnish

 

For the Dulce de Leche Buttercream-

8 oz. Mexican Dulce de Leche

1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tbsp. heavy cream

 

Preheat the oven to 350.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Add the flour, chopped pecans, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon to a large bowl and stir to combine.  Then in the bowl of a mixer, add the butter, granulated sugar, and powdered sugar and beat until the butter is combined and fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla and combine with the butter.  With the mixer on slow, gradually add the flour mixture and blend into the butter to make a soft cookie dough. 

Dust the counter with flour and roll out the cookie dough to 1/4 ” thick.  Use a round 2 ½” cookie cutter and cut the cookies.  Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, just until the edges start to brown.  Remove the cookies from the oven and place on a cookie rack to cool. While the cookies cool, make the buttercream.

 

Add the butter to a mixer.  Slowly add the powdered sugar while mixing at low speed. When the butter and sugar are combined, add the vanilla and cream and mix until combined.  Add the dulce de leche and continue to mix to create a creamy buttercream frosting.  Add more heavy cream if the frosting is too thick.

Dust the tops of the cookies with powdered sugar.  Pipe a rosette of the buttercream on top of each cookie.  Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with some ground pecans and gold glitter crystals.

[eG Cook-Off #72: Ramen]

Seems like the perfect time to take another look into the world of Ramen given these cold, dark days of winter.

[Vintage Cooking Booklets and Pamphlets]

This one is unique.  I'm not sure where I came upon this one, I think maybe an ex-girlfriend who kept a space at a local vintage shop.  She was always on the lookout for these vintage cooking booklets for me.  This is from 1952 in recognition of the 20th anniversary of the "One Man's Family" Radio Show, the "Mother Barbour's Favorite Recipes." Reading through the pages it was a very different time, and recipes, but a fun look back at family life in those days.  The booklet was sponsored by Miles Laboratories of Elkhart, Indiana.  Check out the company history.  Pretty interesting.  

[The Fruitcake Topic]

7 minutes ago, heidih said:

Certainly pretty. Has that stained glass look. Were your dried fruits quite pliable or did you plump thm in some way? - like @andiesenji has mentioned steaming candied ones I think.  The cut view looks so moist it is coming apart a bit. Would you increase batter ratio or was it good to you? The mentioned water in the under-pan is interesting. 

The fruits were just dried, I didn't soak them ahead or plump them at all.  I buy them in bulk and so they aren't overly expensive, and just naturally dried that concentrates flavors and sugars.  The batter ratio was just right for me, and my fruitcakes do typically tend to fall apart but that's never been intentional, although I enjoy the texture.  The baking in a water bath came from the newspaper recipe I started with, and I think it may keep the fruitcake a little more moist while baking.

 

[Drinks! 2018]

Every year I bring out this Holiday Drink Book from Peter Pauper Press, Mount Vernon, New York, 1951.  I think this came from my Grandfather Ralph Pink's collection. On a side note, my Mother always told the story of how her folks hid the gin behind the towels in the linen closet during prohibition.  I think these cocktails would be delicious today.

 

[The Fruitcake Topic]

A new fruitcake recipe I crafted this year, the Tropical Fruitcake.  This started with a fruitcake recipe that appeared in "FOODday" in the Portland Oregonian on October 6, 1992.  There were a series of different recipes, but this one caught my eye since it used dried fruits rather than the candied fruits we find in the markets this time of year.  My regular fruitcake recipe will be on the list for this week, but I've gotten behind.  My Great Aunt Bertie taught me that her best fruitcakes were aged for at least 5 years and I even think she had one at 10 years.  I tend to make one for this season to eat now, then another one to age during the year.  But in recent years I haven't resisted temptation and I've eaten the darn fruitcake in July, so haven't had a nice aged one to fall back on during the holidays.

 

The dried fruits make this a really moist and delicious fruitcake, and I didn't add molasses like I do for my regular cakes so it doesn't have the dark color.  Just delicious, and it will be better in a month after more glogs of rum.

 

 

1 1/3 cups light brown sugar

1 cup softened butter

6 large eggs

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. mace

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1 1/2 cups golden raisins

1 cup chopped dried papaya

1 cup chopped dried mango

1 cup chopped dried pineapple

1/3 cup chopped dried, candied ginger

1 cup chopped macadamia nuts

1 cup chopped pistachios

3/4 cup dark rum, divided

 

Preheat the oven to 300. Spray the bundt cake pan with cooking spray with flour.

 

In a mixer add the brown sugar, butter and eggs and beat to combine. In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, mace and cloves and mix to combine. With the mixer running, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat to combine. Spoon the batter in a large bowl.

 

Add the raisins, papaya, mango, pineapple, ginger, macadamia nuts, pistachios and 1/2 cup of the rum to the batter mixture. Stir the mixture by hand to combine the fruits, nuts and batter. Stir in the 1/2 cup of dark rum.

Spread the batter in the bundt cake pans up to 1" from the top of the pan. Place each bundt cake pan in a large roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with up to 2" of water. The water helps create steam during baking to keep the fruitcake moist.

 

Bake the fruitcakes for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Bring the fruitcakes out of the oven and let cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert onto a rack to cool. Let the fruitcakes cool completely, then spoon the rum over the top.

 

Store the fruitcakes in a large plastic container, covered, in a cool, dark place. Spoon rum over the fruitcake once a week until serving.

If you're storing the fruitcakes during the year, wrap them in cheesecloth and tie with cotton string. Store in a large plastic container, covered, in a cool, dark place. Spoon rum over the cheesecloth once every two to three months during the year. The fruitcakes will keep for over a year.

 

This recipe makes enough fruitcake batter for two 9" bundt cake pans.  You can cut the recipe in half for one fruitcake.  Freeze any leftover batter and make fruitcake muffins or fruitcake loaves.

 

[Vintage Cooking Booklets and Pamphlets]

On 11/24/2020 at 4:20 PM, hsm said:

You all made me look on the back of my bookshelf. I have more I can share, but this one, from 1942 jumped out first. Some are from my mom, some I picked up along the way. I find them all fascinating.

 

ETA: Those creatures looked more like crazy cats than bunnies to me, but the intro says, "an attractive garnish is pear halves, notched at the small end to make bunny ears and stuck with cloves to make their cunning faces." 

I love the color illustrations.  Imagine a staff artist painting that image of Mother bringing out a hot roast.  And the copywriter who wrote, "Their Generous Proportions Please the Man."

[Thanksgiving USA 2020]

15 hours ago, Shelby said:

Well, one of the fun things about only the two of us is that if I peter out tomorrow on one of my planned dishes, who cares?  Also, I'm making waaaaay too much food, but it will be fun to have leftovers!  We never take any from the inlaws.

 

 

 

Sous vide turkey breast

Roasted turkey quarters

Mashed potatoes

I have frozen rolls, but I might not bust those out....

Creamed onions (new..shouldn't do a new recipe but heck..)

Gravy

Stuffing

Corn pudding

Blue cheese, mushroom green bean tart

Lobster Mac and cheese (bought from Goldbelly--expensive, but I wanted it and it's 2020 AND it comes in cute ceramic ramekins)

Piecaken (bought from Goldbelly--again I shouldn't have but I couldn't resist). Layers of pecan pie, pumpkin pie and apple spice cake

 

I'm setting some of my favorite cheese out overnight to get nice and runny--making a cheese/meat/olive platter to snack on during the day.  Deviled eggs too.

 

 

I'm also doing creamed onions today, adding peas in and a very cheesey bechamel sauce.

[Thanksgiving USA 2020]

When I was a kid we always had a frozen cranberry salad at Thanksgiving.  Cranberries, Cool Whip and walnuts were the basics.  I didn't like it back in the day, but do enjoy it now.  But I prefer to make a more contemporary salad using Fall ingredients-our local pears, hazelnuts and a bleu cheese from Oregon.  I named it Welcome Home Pear Salad because it is based on the story of another holiday salad my Mother made with pears and Miracle Whip.  Sorry but I've never developed a taste for Miracle Whip, and this new salad is so much more delicious.  Now that I think of it, cold, sliced turkey would be delicious in this salad.

 

For the Creamy Avocado-Tarragon Dressing-

1/2 cup Hellmann's Avocado Oil Dressing

1/2 medium avocado

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp. light sour cream

2 tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon

1/8 tsp. each salt and white pepper

 

For the Salad-

1 cup hazelnuts

4 cups mixed baby salad greens

2/3 cup crumbled bleu cheese

1 large bosc pear, subsitute anjou pears or sweet apples

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

 

Make the Creamy Avocado-Tarragon Dressing-

Scoop out the avocado and place in a mini-food processor with the Avocado Oil Mayonnaise, lemon juice, sour cream, tarragon and salt and pepper in a mini-food processor and pulse to make a creamy dressing. 

 

Toast the Hazelnuts-

Heat the oven to 375.  Spread the hazelnuts on a cookie sheet.  Roast the hazelnuts until they start to turn golden, about 7-8 minutes.  Remove the hazelnuts from the oven and spread on a kitchen towel.  Cover with another towel and rub the hazelnuts between the towels to remove the skins.  Roughly chop the hazelnuts.

 

Toss the Salad, Dress and Serve-

Cut the pear in half and scoop out the core.  I leave the pear unpeeled but it’s your choice. Use a paring knife to cut out the middle stem.  Cut the pear halves in half, leaving you with4 pear quarters.  Cut the pears into thick slices, (I use a mandoline to slice the pears). Place the pear slices in a bowl and gently toss with lemon juice to keep from browning while you finish the salad.

Add the salad greens, bleu cheese and 1/2 cup of the toasted hazelnuts to the bowl.  Spoon in some avocado dressing and toss the salad.  Place some pear slices around the plate, then add the dressed salad greens. Garnish the salad with more of the bleu cheese, toasted hazelnuts and sliced pears.  Serve extra avocado dressing on the side.

[Thanksgiving USA 2020]

I'm incredibly fortunate to live in the Pacific Northwest in a region where wild huckleberries grow just 30 minutes away.  The season is short, mid-July thru mid-September, so we usually get enough to freeze and preserve to use throughout the year.  This is an annual, now, recipe I made last Thanksgiving, Warm Cranberry-Huckleberry Compote.  The huckleberry has the aroma of wild roses, and a tart yet sweet flavor.  I would sort of say it's an elite wild blueberry.  But huckleberries are pretty much not found outside our region, so blueberries make a good substitute.  The red wine and balsamic vinegar add to the flavor of this new style of cranberry sauce.

 

1/4 cup red wine Merlot or Zinfandel are best in this recipe

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 cup wild huckleberries substitute blueberries

1 cup fresh cranberries

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

 

Combine the red wine, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, huckleberries, cranberries, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce the heat to low. Cook the compote, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until the compote thickens. To thicken the compote, stir 1 tbsp. cornstarch into 3 tbsp. of water, then stir into the compote.

 

Just before serving, heat the compote in a saucepan over low heat and serve on the side. The compote will keep covered in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.

[Making chocolate bars - type of chocolate to use and inclusions]

I'm planning on making chocolate coins for the Holidays.  Now mind you I am not a candy maker and don't work with chocolate.  Do you have a good resource for plastic molds for chocolate coins?

[Vintage Cooking Booklets and Pamphlets]

43 minutes ago, heidih said:

Yews! I loved taking that one out around the Holidays for inspiration. It has disappeared...

If you look you can see my yellow sticky notes on certain recipes.  I'm constantly putting notes in these booklets for recipes to try.

[Vintage Cooking Booklets and Pamphlets]

Again, no date, but looking at the photos and the color printing, this one is probably from the early 1960s.  It's a Holiday collection of the best recipes from the Pillsbury Bake-Off.  At first glance you think the recipes are pretty silly, but a closer look and I think with just a few modifications, these would be delicious today.  And they had some good copywriters back then coming up with catchy names like "Merry Mincemeaters" and "Cranberry Crisscross Coffee Cake."

 

 

 

[eG Cook-Off 74: Holiday Roasts]

Last year I created a new Thanksgiving turkey recipe using a method I had seen on America's Test Kitchen on PBS.  I modified it, but it turned out to be the best Thanksgiving turkey I have ever tasted. I missed the golden skin, but the meat is incredibly moist and tender and this makes the best gravy ever.  I've always preferred white turkey meat anyway, and miss gnawing on a cold turkey drumstick, but this is so delicious. Many will probably not being buying large roasts or turkeys this year, so give this recipe a try.

 

For the turkey-

1 6-7lb. bone-in turkey breast

trimmings from the turkey breast

salt and pepper

2 tbsp. oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and diced

3 ribs of celery, diced

6 cloves garlic, smashed

1 bay leaf

3 sprigs each of fresh thyme, sage and rosemary

1 tbsp. black peppercorns

1 cup turkey stock

 

For the Herb Gravy-

2 tbsp. flour

2 cups turkey stock add additional stock to thin the gravy

salt and pepper to taste

 

Brown the turkey and braise in the Dutch Oven-

Place the oven rack on the lowest setting. Remove the other racks to allow space for the Dutch oven. Trim excess skin from the turkey breast. Using kitchen shears, cut off the lower rib bones. Cut and break off the bone on the large end of the turkey. You can leave the turkey untrimmed, but trimming allows it to sit upright in the Dutch oven. Season the turkey breast with salt and pepper.

 

Heat the oil in the Dutch Oven over medium heat on the stove top and brown the turkey breast on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove the turkey breast to a plate while you cook the vegetables.

Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, sage, rosemary, and peppercorns to the Dutch Oven and sauté until soft, about 3 minutes. Pour in the 1 cup of turkey stock and turn off the heat. Place the turkey breast on top of the vegetables in the Dutch oven and cover the pot with aluminum foil. Place the lid on top of the foil and press the foil around the edge of the lid to create an air-tight seal. Place the pot in the oven and slow-braise for 2 hours or until the turkey breast registers 160 on a meat thermometer.

 

Remove the Dutch oven and place it on the stove top. Take the turkey breast out of the Dutch oven and place it on a cutting board. Tent the turkey with foil to keep it warm while you make the herb gravy.

 

Heat the stove top to medium and start cooking down the pan juices with the vegetables. After about 10 minutes, most of the liquid should be evaporated. At this point, stir in the flour to make a roux. When the flour is browned, start slowly adding the turkey stock, 1/2 cup at a time. As you add the stock, the mixture will become thick. Continue to slowly add stock and stir, scraping up any bits at the bottom of the Dutch oven. Once the gray is silky and smooth, strain it to remove the vegetables.

 

This step may take two people. The Dutch oven is heavy, so start by placing a strainer over a small sauce pot. Have someone hlep lift the Dutch oven and pour the gravy through the strainer to remove the vegetables. Keep the gravy warm over low heat.

 

Remove the skin from the turkey breast. Carve each turkey breast off the bone, then cut the turkey breast into thick slices and serve with the gravy. The leftover turkey is delicious in open-face hot sandwiches with gravy.

[Vintage Cooking Booklets and Pamphlets]

9 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

Another one from the Culinary Arts Institute:

 

Does anyone know how publications like this were distributed.  I mean, unlike the company/appliance-tied booklets, these don't seem to be tie-ins.  Where they available at checkout counters?  Book stores?  Newsstands? 

 

Here's one from Pet Milk:

 

I love the back cover:

I have some of these too.  From what I've been able to read from my collection, if the sponsor was like PET Milk, and you listened in to the radio program they might announce, "send us a self-addressed stamped envelope to xxx and we'll mail you this new PET Milk baking booklet." Or something like that.  

[Vintage Cooking Booklets and Pamphlets]

30 minutes ago, weinoo said:

Note the section "Water Content of dough."  Not dissimilar to what we read today!

I noticed that and was really intrigued.  This book is 125 pages, small and spiral-bound.  I've got homework.

[Vintage Cooking Booklets and Pamphlets]

The "After All it Take a Baker" from the Swift & Company.  It probably dates to the late 1940's.  Swift was one of America's largest producers of products like hams, bacons, and many, many more.  That also included a big trade in lard and shortening.  I think my Mother must have gotten his booklet when she started working there after the war.  It's pretty tattered so maybe it had been in the office for some time.  She was the secretary to the plant manager in Portland.  Swift and Company was located in North Portland next to the large livestock yards.  She met my Father there.  He worked as a livestock buyer for Swift and travelled throughout Oregon buying sheep, hogs and beef cattle.  What's interesting is the depth of science they went to back then in developing these products and then sharing that with consumers. 

 

There are recipes for the home, but also for cooks and bakers in bakeries or large institutions. For example, this is a description for using a Dutch Cookie Machine to make "thin embossed wafers"

Soft Flour-200lbs.

Vream (shortening)-50 lbs.

Sugar-80 lbs.

Honey-12 lbs.

Swift's Brookefiled Eggs-16

Salt-1 lb.

"Powdered Ammonia"-6 oz.

Soday-10 oz.

Vanilla flavor

Water to make medium dough

 

 

'

 

[Vintage Cooking Booklets and Pamphlets]

This is a Frigidaire brochure that my Grandmother Ross saved.  Typical of the color illustrations of the times, 1950's, the 8 page brochure is full of tips and smiling faces.  But I remember it hooked up to the kitchen faucet and she always had to wrangle with the thing.  Very touching though as I found this note inserted into the brochure for the Frigidaire refrigerator she bought in 1957, probably at the same time she bought the dishwasher.  

"Frigidaire Refrigerator"

  -CP123157

  -Date purchased, 2/19/57

  -Paid in full-$495 (a tidy sum of money back then)

 

 

[eG Cook-Off #85: Mexican Salsa]

4 hours ago, KennethT said:

Sorry - I just saw this post now...

But, if using a really smoky chile like the pasilla de Oaxaca or a chipotle, would that smoky flavor survive the freeze/defrost?

it does survive i had some last week in a roast pork dish, but not as good as when made fresh.

[Vintage Cooking Booklets and Pamphlets]

More recent, the 1989 Crisco "Butter Flavor" pamphlet.  This was around the time magazines were starting to include inserts that were glued along the inside spine that you could pull out.  I think I've made every recipe in this one, and admit that back then I probably used Crisco "Butter Flavor."  Today I'd revise the recipes and use a blend of real butter and shortening.  

[Vintage Cooking Booklets and Pamphlets]

9 minutes ago, heidih said:

I kept as many old Sunset magazines as I could fetch from the bin as they present a very family style of cooking and entertaining with an expanded world palate. Amusing at times, but overall a joyful magazine; not rule focused. 

I remember it was my Grandmother's favorite magazine.  She lived on a ranch in Central Oregon and always waited each month for it to arrive.  Clipped out many favorite recipes over the years, and also sent away for some small books they published.  I'll find them and post. 

[Vintage Cooking Booklets and Pamphlets]

53 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

"Imagine there's no heaven..."  It's easy if you try...

 

 

 

 

 

When I read cooking history like this, I put it in the context of the times. That's what I find incredibly intriguing and interesting, along with a sense of how creative and even adventurous home cooking was back then.  I know with my family back in Idaho many folks thought they ate boiled mutton and potatoes every day, but the booklets and pamphlets collected by my Great Grandmother and Great Aunt show they were always trying new flavors.