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Norm Matthews

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Posts posted by Norm Matthews

  1. The meat along the spine from below the shoulder blade to the rise of the rump are called prime cuts. This is where the best steaks come and if cut in large enough pieces, the most storied roasts. This is the area of the cow that gets the least exercise so these are tender and are delicious when cooked no higher than medium. They are the rib roasts, the loin, tenderloin and sirloin. They are cooked in the oven to just below the desired temperature and removed to finish cooking outside the oven. The parts of the cow that get a lot of exercise are tougher cuts. They have a lot of flavor but if dry roasted to medium or above are very tough. Tasty but tough. These roasts benefit from long slow cooking like in a slow cooker or in a dutch oven so not only temperature but time needs to be included in the process so that the collagen can break down and and the meat becomes fall apart tender and juicy. For roasts like chuck, 7 bone, brisket, rump, round, and flank look for a good looking slow cooker recipe and follow that for great traditional cooking.

    • Like 1
  2. There are roasts that you cook with dry heat such as your rib roast and loin roasts, and there are pot roasts such as chuck, round, rump and brisket. Those should be braised. Braised roasts are cooked at a fairly low temperature in a covered, moist atmosphere such as a Dutch oven and cooked for a rather long period of time with a little water and vegetables added. That is a quick overview of those roasts. You can smoke the brisket or use other methods if you have special equipment.

  3. Here is one I use for poultry



    Combine 2 C. brown sauce with 1/2 C. undiluted concentrated orange juice, 3 Tbsp orange zest cut in very thin julienne strips, and 1 Tbsp lemon juice. Simmer 5 minutes and add 2 Tbsp grand Mariner, Cointreau or Cognac. just before serving add 1/2 C. orange sections. Heat through.


  4. I used an enameled cast iron for frying for years. I was interested in getting an electric fryer for the safety. My son has walked off and left the cast iron pot on the stove and I worried about a potential fire. I kept looking at fryers and passing on them because they were all too small. If I was going to get one, it had to be big enough to hold a decent amount of stuff. I have a prejudice against anything made by DeLongi. I have had three products from them that didn't work very well and/or broke shortly after buying it. I recently got the Waring fryer and have used it with good success and it is very easy to clean... not hardly any more work than cleaning an enameled pot.

  5. I have never tried to make coconut milk from dried coconut but these directions might help.



    Remove the meat from a coconut and grate it in a food processor. A large coconut should yield 2 cups of coconut meat.



    To milk a coconut, pour two cups boiling water over 4 cups grated coconut meat. Let stand for 20 minutes. Strain through double thickness of cheese cloth, squeezing to remove all liquid. Store this liquid in the refrigerator. If it is to be heated, bring just to the boiling point. Otherwise it is apt to curdle. Makes 2 cups of Coconut Milk



    Coconut Cream



    To make 2 cups of Coconut Cream you will need 6 cups of grated coconut meat to 2 cups of boiling water. Proceed the same as for coconut milk. Let the liquid chill for a couple of hours., The cream substance that rises to the top is skimmed off. This is called Coconut Cream.. It may be served as a sauce or it may be whipped. Be careful about whipping, however, or you could end up with cocoa butter.


  6. I would venture to guess that the Pyrex glass isn't the only formula change. I bought a Corning Ware white ceramic casserole dish at Walmart a few years ago and was surprised that it was so cheap. I wasn't surprised for long because it chipped just like low fired earthenware after only a few uses.

    PS on the bottom it said No Cooktop, No Broiler and Made in China

  7. Challah for dressing is a great idea but our dressing was cornbread. I made some really good dressing one year with annadama bread. We ate one loaf for our dinner tonight. The other loaf is going to my sister's tomorrow for Thanksgiving at her house.

  8. A couple years ago I got a 4 1/2 qt. at an antique store for Cassie but she has a cake/cookie/cupcake business as a sideline and it has become too small for her. I use it occasionally. When Cassie and Charlie got engaged she had a 6 qt mixer on her wish list for a wedding present and i got it for her. It's hidden in the closet. In the meantime she has been using mine. Now that the new one will use the six quart bowl and all the attachments without having to adjust the bowl-to-beater clearance any at all, I feel she won't be wanting my new one as much. The one I got her is the color she picked out.. its a pearly color.

  9. Ah yes. I never know when I want a new color in the kitchen. Red is the color of the season. Here is the first fruit of the KA baked today to get ready for the big meal: Challah. More pictures of the bread in the Baking section.

    BTW The 6qt bowl and all the mixer blades work perfectly when put on the new mixer too.

    DSCN1008_zps17f15216.jpg

    DSCN1011_zps21d67549.jpg

    • Like 3
  10. My son and his fiancee both work on Thursday so I am doing Tday dinner tomorrow and today I'm baking stuff so the oven will be clear for the turkey tomorrow. I just got a new mixer yesterday so I gave it it's first use with some challah bread.

    The dough in the mixer]

    DSCN0997_zpse7ecbbab.jpg

    getting ready for the first rise

    DSCN1000_zps27b15838.jpg

    and after

    DSCN1002_zpsb02f9eb4.jpg

    braiding

    DSCN1007_zps6835696e.jpg

    DSCN1008_zps17f15216.jpg

    DSCN1010_zps589381c5.jpg

    and done

    DSCN1011_zps21d67549.jpg

    • Like 4
  11. The new mixer arrived today. Of course I can't keep it hidden from Cassie, especially not with Thanksgiving so close. To mess with her a little though I told her a couple days ago that I was going to paint the old mixer red for the holidays. The old one is out of the kitchen so I have to wait to see how long it takes her to notice it's a different color. It is quieter than the old one and start up is smoother.

    DSCN0993_zps27d40bd5.jpg

  12. I don't know the model number of the one I presently have. It is pretty old though and had been refurbished when I got it. It says Professional 6 and 525 watts. The coated dough hook and scraper paddle are more recent purchases.

    DSCN0972_zps23077395.jpg

  13. dc, a baker we both know, Jetfan, said he took his 6qt. KA apart when it wore out and found that it had plastic gears. This one says it has a 5 year warranty. 6qt models have a 1 year warranty. Technical information says it has a 1.3 hp motor that delivers .44hp with direct drive transmission, all steel gears and all metal construction. It says it is newly designed to deliver optimum torque with less heat build-up.

    Car instructions also tell you to change oil after driving slow for the first few thousand miles to get rid of the metal shavings.

  14. KitchenAid makes a 7 qt. beater blade with a scraper on one side as opposed to the Beater Blade co. that has it on both sides. I was leary of getting one of those for my smaller mixers because I was concerned that using one would strain the motor and possibly shorten the life of the mixer. I am going to wait a while before deciding whether to get one for this mixer or just use a spatula. Spatulas are more of a hassle to use but they are a lot cheaper... And I still have the KA scraper blade for the 6 qt. All of a sudden I don't care if it wears out now or not.

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