Okanagancook

Stunning! What will go on the shelf over the long prep counter? Love to see another picture when you have everything in it’s place.

I am determined to use what we have premade in the freezer. I decided to make up a week’s worth of menus using stuff from the freezer except for salads and some other fresh veggies...but limited because I have frozen veggies too. We are on our second week of this and I must say, I can see the back of the freezer on a number of shelves in the upright.

Captain, you might want to put something on your placesetter under the ribs to protect it from all the cooking juices....easier cleanup

My meat glue in the freezer is old so I thought I would try the agar. It’s done now. The recipe is shredded braised oxtail meat which is rolled in cling film like Happy in the Kitchen technique. After setting in the fridge it is a firm roll. Then it is sliced into 1 1/2inch discs, breaded on one cut edge and reheated in a pan and then in the oven. Served as a tapas dish with the braising sauce poured over the top. Pretty simple except when I put in the oven it fell apart in the oven. if I were to do it again I would use meat glue once I find more. It does taste amazing I might add. if I were to bread more of the outside then it would need frying too which would mean more handling which I am afraid would increase the chance of it falling apart more.

Sounds good Duvel. Thank you for all your help. cheers.

Julia’s soups are always excellent. She has a great section on soups in her book The Way To Cook.

Ok, I will answer my own question. Yes I should have heated the agar to a simmer for a couple of minutes then mixed it into my meat where it would have set. According to googling info, it will not melt again unless grought to 80-90c which should work well when I heat my oxtail discs.

Well, partial success. Pics 1 and 2: Meat before and after I chopped it for better binding. Pics 3 and 4: agar/sauce mixture and the rolls cut after setting. I added 1 gram of agar per 100 grams of meat which was 1.25 grams for 175 grams of meat with 45 ml of sauce to dissolve. On re-reading Duvel's instructions, the mixture was not taken to 50C, only to around 40C. Did I need to get it to 50C so it gelled properly? I have not worked with this before. Pics 5 and 6: Disc in the pan and on the plate. I put the disc in the pan which was 178C to 196C via infra-red thermometer for 4 minutes. The centre was 26C. I flipped in and turned the heat down to 16C2 and cooked until the centre was around 43C but the bottom part was 60C. It held together enough to get it on the plate in one piece. It was very delicate and only JUST hot enough. I figure I can do this then pour hot gravy/sauce over the top to raise the heat of the over dish. Not sure adding more agar will make a difference seeing it appears to be the temperature that is the determining factor as to whether it stays together or not. ??? (I see that my sauce is splitting . Will have to work that one out.)

The meat was quite coarse so I chopped it a bit more then I used a little sauce heated below gelling temp then whisked in the agar and mixed this well into the meat, rolled and it is in the fridge setting. I took pics. This afternoon I will test a piece and post the results. Hope I did not add too much liquid. I have another batch of meat to dilute this if need be. I think I will just fry the discs rather than put them in the oven that way I can keep the temp below agar melt temp.

Thanks Duvel. The mixture doesn't have much moisture so I can use some of my sauce to mix in the agar.

Can we get transglutaminase on line from Canadian suppliers? Looking for about a 100g package.

I found some agar in my pantry. I have 600 grams of the meat roll. I see you mention 'minor' amounts but how much do you think I would need for this amount of meat. I have it in two pieces so I could just try a small amount to see if it works. I could also try and coat the whole disc in bread crumbs rather than just one side as the recipe directs. Thank you.

Not bad for a first attempt! Seriously, wow. You know how to cook meat.

Yes, that might work. The disc was still intact after one minute in the fry pan. That way I could poke them and see whether they were about to fall apart. I have some spare roll so will try that. Rather not use the meat glue and redo the rolling. Thanks.

Regarding the book Sweet: The message on the Eat Your Books website (Update 5PM EST: I received a message from Helen & Yotam: For those who are asking about an exchange when the new edition is released, please email sweet@tenspeed.com with your inquiry. ) was posted on December 20, 2017 so probably 2018. ps. sorry for not being more specific about which book had the errors. Me bad.

I am making an oxtail tapas for a dinner group. The recipe has you braise the oxtails in wine and other aromatics. When done, take the meat off the bones, chop and roll into a 1 1/2 inch diameter tube. It is compressed and wrapped nice and tight then put in the fridge to gel. My roll has been in the fridge for two days and it was very firm. I sliced off a 1 1/2 inch disc, dusted it with bread crumbs and fried it in fat on medium heat for one minute with the bread crumb side down. I flipped it and put in my little CSO on 450F convection bake for 6 minutes. Everything looked good until about 2 minutes to go then it all fell apart. Very tasty but not what I need for presentation. This recipe is from Pinto by Gerald Hirigoyen. How can I get the meat cylinder to stay together? I thought about reducing the oven heat to something way more gentle, just so the meat gets hot. Mine was quite brown and a little crispy on the outside done as above. Maybe put them in at 350 for 6 minutes? I do have some meat glue so I could take the roll apart and mix some meat glue through the meat and reconstruct the roll??? I could maybe add more gelatine and reform the rolls but I don't think that would work because the added gelatine will melt on heating like the natural gelatine from the meat. Any ideas? Thanks.

FYI, there is an errata sheet for the American version of this book (there is a new edition coming out that is corrected): From Eat Your Books (hope I am allowed to post this): Update 5PM EST: I received a message from Helen & Yotam: For those who are asking about an exchange when the new edition is released, please email sweet@tenspeed.com with your inquiry. For those who may have issues with downloads, the document reads: SWEET: Updates and Corrections Oven Temperatures and Baking Times Due to differences in the convection ovens commonly used in the UK and the conventional ovens typically used in the US, some temperatures may need to be adjusted slightly. Although individual ovens can behave very differently, we suggest the following temperature and time updates: PAGES 19-20, CUSTARD YO-YOS: Preheat oven to 325°F/170°C. Bake cookies for 25-30 minutes. PAGE 27, CATS' TONGUES: Bake at 375°F/190°C and use two baking sheets. PAGES 76 AND 78 SAFFRON, ORANGE, AND HONEY MADELEINES: Bake at 375°F/190°C for 10 minutes. PAGE 173-175, LOUISE CAKE: Preheat oven to 300°F/150°C; in step 3, increase oven temperature to 325°F/170°C and, in step 6, leave oven temperature at 325°F/170°C. CHEESECAKES: (updated 12/22) PAGES 201-202, LIME MERINGUE CHEESECAKE: Decrease oven temperature to 325°F/170°C and increase baking time to 20-25 minutes. PAGES 203 AND 205, WHITE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE: Decrease oven temperature to 325°F/170°C and increase baking time to 60-70 minutes. PAGES 207-208, PASSION FRUIT CHEESECAKES: Decrease oven temperature to 325°F/170°C in step 1, increase baking times to 25-30 minutes for individual cakes and or 60-70 minutes for one large cake. PAGES 209-210, BAKED RICOTTA AND HAZELNUT CHEESECAKES: Decrease oven temperatures to 325°F/170°C in step 1 and to 350°F/180°C in step 4, and increase baking time to 20-25 minutes if using a muffin pan. PAGE 213, FIG, ORANGE, AND MASCARPONE CHEESECAKE: In step 4, decrease oven temperature to 325°F/170°C. PAGE 216, CHOCOLATE BANANA RIPPLE CHEESECAKE: In step 1, decrease oven temperature to 325°F/170°C and after step 3, decrease the oven temperature to 300°F/150°C. PAGE 219, APRICOT AND AMARETTO CHEESECAKE: In step 4, decrease oven temperature to 325°F/170°C. PAGES 221-222, ROASTED STRAWBERRY AND LIME CHEESECAKE: In step 5, decrease oven temperature to 325°F/170°C and in step 7, increase baking time to 55-60 minutes. See also "Corrections," below. PAGE 263, ROLLED PAVLOVA: In step 1, bake at 375°F/190°C; in step 3, decrease oven temperature to 350°F/180°C and bake for 32-35 minutes. PAGE 299, FROZEN ESPRESSO PARFAIT: Bake at 300°F/150°C. Corrections PAGE 42, GINGERBREAD TILES: Step 2 now references baking soda, as per ingredients list. PAGE 46, ORANGE AND STAR ANISE SHORTBREAD: Butter = 1 cup plus 1 1/2 tbsp/250 g. PAGE 137, BUTTERNUT, HONEY, AND ALMOND TIN CAKE: "nut-free" symbol removed from legend. PAGE 187, LEMON AND POPPY SEED CAKE: In step 2, use the whisk attachment (not the paddle) and whisk on medium-high speed. PAGES 221-222, ROASTED STRAWBERRY AND LIME CHEESECAKE: Granulated sugar = 2/3 cup/130 g plus 2 tbsp; in step 2, sugar quantity = 2/3 cup/130 g. PAGE 241, CHOCOLATE TART WITH HAZELNUT: Flour = 2 1/3 cups/300 g. PAGE 341, MIDDLE EASTERN MILLIONAIRE'S SHORTBREAD: Tahini in the Tahini Caramel = 2/3 cup/150 g.

It's a Chef's Life with Vivian Howard, 2017 season has an episode on persimmons. You can see it on line.

That’s interesting when you say no olive oil in the mix, just for garnish. And, cooking the chick peas to the point the skins almost dissolve! Will have to try both of those. Thanks for your input from the heart of hummus country

It does work well because the peas are more firm so you can give them a good rub without crushing them.

The caramel corn. It's all gone now

This is my go to recipe. The devil IS in the details. This recipe will make the smoothest hummus you have ever had. If you want to go all out, I recommend dried chick peas for the best flavour. Soak 150g or 3/4 c chick peas in cold water overnight. Drain and put peas in a pot and cover with two inches of water. Bring to a boil and cook until almost soft but not quite done. This makes taking the skin off easier. Drain saving the cooking water. Put the peas in a large bowl of cold water and rub them between your palms to remove the skins. Yes, that's right. The skins will float so you can skim them off and replenish the water as needed. Once the peas are skinned put them back in the cooking water and simmer until very soft. Drain once again but save the cooking water. Put 4 cloves of minced garlic, 3 Tablespoons Tahini, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 2 teaspoons ground cumin seeds that have been toasted. Whiz until blended. Add the peas along with 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, 3 tablespoons olive oil and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper or crushed red pepper. Blend until smooth adding the cooking water as needed to get the texture you like. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking. You could use a blender also but you will probably need to add a little more cooking water so your mixture does not cease up the blender.

Oh my goodness, that cornbread looks amazing.

Beautiful

I have sausage roll envy! Nice job. I find making my own pastry rather than puff results in a less fatty roll. But, puff is faster for sure.