Ted Fairhead

Definitely a different book. He does a quick overview of molecular gastronomy in the beginning but then the rest of the book is very different. He covers a lot of material in a fairly small book

I just checked Molly Steven's (All About Braising) and she has you brown them, braise for 30-35 minutes, with an additional 8-10 minutes to reduce the liquid, then add cream and braise for another 6 minute, but she also cautions you to check them with a knife until tender before you reduce the liquid and then add the cream. Next time, try and braise them for longer. ← Thank you..I wil certainly try that. It sounds great.

Yesterday we had a plate of steamed mussels followed by Emeril's Cobb Salad The organic hydroponic Boston Lettuce was delicious. A new brand to me that came in a clear plastic box with the roots curled neatly below. Then today we had Julia Child's Belgian Endives wrapped in ham in a Mornay sauce However, the endives were very hard. I prepared them as Julia suggests by braising them for ten minutes after carefully trimming the ends and coring the root end. They were a little bitter, more so at the root end, but the real problem was they were so hard and crunchy. Did I not braise them long enough? Should they have cooked longer than the 30 minutes in a 375 oven? I would like to try them again as the flavors were good. Any suggestions?

Suggestion...In Julia Child's "The French Chef Cookbook" she discusses the Belgian Endive, and I quote "...shave any discolored bits off the root end, being careful not to loosen the outer leaves"...."you may core a cone-shaped piece out of the root if you wish." She also suggests blanching for ten minutes in boiling salted water before proceeding to any recipe, to remove some bitterness, particularly with end-of-season endives.

Food Network finally manages to get a halfway decent programme like "Jamie at Home" and what do they do...put it on at some godforsaken hour on Sat Morning. As Dockhl said, I do not spend my early morning hours watching Tv. Why can't they fill up those dead hours with Sandra Lee, RR, or even the reruns of old shows that they put on in prime time over and over.

'sright!

Chicken Breast with garlic, mushrooms and artichoke hearts. From the "Garlic Lover's Cookbook". and for dessert, a peach pie with a custard base and rum glaze

Hear! Hear! I'm tired of the same old jokes revived every year about this time

Low and slow! Rubbed with olive oil and seasoned. When the meat has shrunk back up the bone, they're done. I don't use a rack just a pan so that I can finish my potatoes in the fat for the last 20-30 minutes of cooking

I feel like a Philistine for confessing that I buy my coffee from "French Market" in New Orleans, with their City Roast being my favorite

I always roast lamb shanks. Then again I try to buy those with a fair amount of meat on them. The really skinny ones probably would be better braised Ted

I am currently reading Herve This' book "Kitchen Mysteries". Early in the book he discusses the 'New Physiology of Flavor' and shows how the faulty study back in 1916, of receptor localization (taste buds) in the mouth led to the theory of humans only being able to perceive four tastes, salty, sour, sweet and bitter. Herve This debunks this and offers licorice as proof, which because of its glycyrrhizic acid, is neither sweet, nor bitter, nor salty, nor sour. What would you call the taste?

I suspect Giada reads E-gullet. Yesterday I was watching her show when she seasoned the fish stew she was cooking and as usual stuck her fingers in the salt and pepper bowls after she had been handling a lot of fish.....BUT...she went on to explain that she had previously put a small amount of S & P aside for this very purpose to avoid cross-contamination!

Tonight's dinner was a "rotissed" chicken on my gas grill served with an incredible orange sauce, rice and peas.

This is my version of a Spotted Dog. I was only making a small one and I didn't have basin for it so I wrapped it tightly in heavy duty foil for boiling. The dried fruit was currants and golden raisins, It was served warm with Lyles Golden Syrup

It's my belief that a TRUE cornish pasty didn't have any meat in it. Let's hear from some members in Cornwall. Btw, of course, I always put minced beef in mine!

Please,please, how does one get bread to turn out like that? I have tried so hard and failed miserably each time to get the crust like that. Please point me in the right direction! Also, my wife has begged me to get the recipe for the lasagna. She was looking over my shoulder at the pictures and really flipped over the lasagna!

Bravo E-gullet !!! I heartily endorse Jackal10's message here. The team has put together an amazing array of preserves and the recipes for Xmas Pud and Mince tarts are exactly as I remember my Mum doing. The background info is also fascinating. I do have to admit that I buy Crosse and Blackwell's mincemeat for my mince pies as I have never attempted to make my own.

I searched and searched and finally found my Mum's hand-written recipe for Christmas Pudding. It's also a suet pudding and would be served with custard. I am posting it in the E-gullet recipes section. It is a little late to be making it for this Christmas as my Mum would make it about 4-6 months before, cook it, then store it in a cool dark closet, (she had no refrigeration), and occasionally feed it a couple of tablespoons of dark rum. Then on the day, she'd steam it for another couple of hours. I have even had one that was saved from the previous Christmas.

Traditional English Christmas Pudding Serves 8 as Dessert. You will need two 1-1/2 pint basins for this recipe. The cooked pudding will keep for a long time in a cool dark place. (Optional)Add a couple of tablespoons of dark rum every couple of weeks during storage. 10 oz Currants 10 oz Sultanas 8 oz Raisins, seeded 10 oz Mixed candied citron peel 2 oz Almonds, rough chopped 8 oz Flour,plain 1 tsp Salt 1/2 tsp Cinnamon 1-1/4 tsp Nutmeg 2 tsp Allspice 4 Eggs,large 6 oz Breadcrumbs, white,fresh 16 oz Brown Sugar, Dark 16 oz Suet, shredded 2 lemons,zest 3 T Rum, Dark 1/2 pt Stout, or dark ale Chop raisins, currants, sultanas, and candied citron peel. Mix in chopped almonds. In a large bowl, sift flour, salt and spices, and stir in breadcrumbs, sugar, shredded suet and lemon zest. Mix well. Add dried fruit, and stir thoroughly. Beat eggs and add to mix along with rum and half of dark ale. Mix very well Leave overnight, then mix in remainder of dark ale. Divide between two 1-1/2 pint greased basins. Cover with foil and then tie a cloth over the top. Put basins in water bath with water up to 3/4 of the basin, bring to boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Steam for 6 hours. Remember to top up with boiling water as it boils away. Store in a cool dark place. Steam again for 3-4 hours before serving. (Optional presentation) Run a knife around pudding, and turn it out onto a plate. Pour brandy over pudding and light it before placing on table. Christmas pudding can be served with custard or a hard brandy sauce. Keywords: Dinner, Dessert, Pudding, British ( RG2049 )

O.K. You asked for it! I'll post the recipe in the Recipe section tonight, but first I'd like to clarify a few points. In my large cockney extended family, we always called it "Spotted Dog". I have always assumed that the name derived from its resemblance to a dalmation dog. The steamed sponge pudding that some manufacturers put out in canned form is most definitely NOT a Spotted Dick(or Dog). Looking at the forum you referenced it said something about hospital managers named it spotted richard to avoid embarrassment to patients who requested it! I personally can't believe it would ever be served in a hospital as delicious as it is, it is surely terrible for your cholesterol. My Mum would serve it hot with Tate and Lyles Golden Syrup drizzled over, or occasionally, with Bird's Custard. My American wife discovered that she likes it sliced and fried in butter then served with syrup! The first suet pudding I made shortly after we were married horrified her during the mixing and she confessed later that she thought she would be ill if she ate it. She not only ate it that night but had the left overs for breakfast the next day! By the way, after we had the steak suet pudding the other night (see: "What did we have for Dinner?"thread) I made a spotted dog with the left over pastry.

Spotted Dog (or Dick) Serves 6 as Dessert. This old-fashioned inexpensive dessert was a staple in many poorer households in England when I was growing up. The secret is to use genuine suet. Suet is beef fat and is very hard with a high melting point. The best suet comes from around the kidneys. This delicious dish cannot be made by substituting any other kind of fat. 4 oz Suet, Ground 9 oz AP Flour 8 oz Raisins or Sultanas 4 oz Sugar 1/4 tsp Grated Nutmeg 1/4 tsp Salt 1 Egg, Beaten 1/2 pt Milk 1/2 pt Water Spray a 3 pint pudding basin with butter. Mix all dry ingredients thoroughly, then add the water, milk and beaten egg and mix well. This can be done by hand or in a mixer with steel blade. Knead on a floured surface until you form a dry, cohesive ball. The dough should not be sticky, add flour if necessary. Put the mixture in the basin and cover with foil. Then cover that with clean cotton sheeting. Tie string tightly around the basin holding the covering down. Place the basin into a pan with water three quarters up the sides of the basin. Bring the water to a boil and then reduce the heat to a fast simmer. put a tight fitting lid on the pot and cook for three hours minimum. Add boiling water as necessary to maintain the level. Notes: Some cooks will use 4-1/2 ozs flour with 4-1/2 ozs fine breadcrumbs. Dried fruit can be cranberries, apricots, or anything you choose. If your butcher refuses to grind the suet, you can do it yourself fairly easy if you freeze it first. It doesn't need too fine a grind, about regular hamburger grind should be sufficient. Smaller puddings can be made without using a basin. Just wrap in foil and cloth tying the ends, and steam in a chinese steamer basket The reason for the foil and the cloth is to keep the top of the pudding dry while maintaining the heat. Keywords: Pudding, Plated Dessert, British ( RG2048 )

Maybe this is not the thread to post this in, but as I pine for really crusty bread I tried baking it myself. Bought the baker's stone, put a pan of water in the oven, sprayed the top before baking, etc., etc., but never could get the french type of baguette crust with soft center. What am I failing to do?

This looks fabulous. Recipe, please? ← I brown the meat with onions in a saute pan then add beef broth and a little beef bouillion to taste and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. Mix in a flour roux for thickening at the end. Set aside to cool. The pastry is simple. depending on the size of the basin I use one part grated suet to two parts of flour. Add only enough water until dough forms a dry, non-sticky, cohesive ball. I do use a food mixer for this. Turn out on to well floured surface and knead well, then roll out to a little less than 1/2 inch thickness and line the basin. Fill with meat mixture, moisten the edge of the pastry and add a lid of pastry. Seal the lid well by crimping with your fingers. Cover with foil, and then a layer of cotton sheet. Tie a string tightly around basin to keep the covering together and then put basin into a large pot. Pour hot water into pot nearly to the top of the basin and bring to a fast simmer. Cook for at least two hours, the longer the better, even three or more! Replenish water as needed. Remove from pot and wrappings and run knife around edge and turn out onto plate. Serve with green vegetable, such as green beans. Left over pastry? Add some sugar and raisins or other dried fruit. Roll into a ball and wrap in foil and cloth. Steam in a steamer and cook as long as the pudding. Serve with custard or Golden Syrup

Last night's dinner was steak pudding with a crust made with suet. (No kidneys unfortunately). Delicious!