jackal10

Skate has no bones, only a sort of gelatinous equivalent. You can poach or oven cook before adding the butter Yumm

No need to dust it. Fry gently in butter on both sides take out of the pan, and wipe out the pan Melt fresh butter and heat until it begins to brown (beurre noisette) Add vinegar and capers Pour over the skate Serve, with potatoe and a green salad.

Is this yeast or sourdough? My guess is yeast, in which case 2 hours total from mix to bake might be better - cut the bulk fermentation to 1 hour. Should get oven spring, and you might need to slash the top Are you using a preferment? That might help as well, especially if you use sourdough. I like stiff preferments. Pre-soaking the flour with the water also gives more taste of the grain.

Being hyper critical, if you look at the picture you will the crumb at the bottom and sides is a bit squashed and pudding like, and the loaf has bulged over the sides. That says to me that the dough was a bit wet, and maybe underkneaded and overproved.

I posted an illustrated recipe earlier: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=26540 Escoffier thunders:“It will be seen that I do not refer to any vegetable for the clarification. If the [stock] is well carried out, it should be possible to dispense with all supplementary flavouring, and, the customary error of cooks being rather to overdo the quantity of vegetables – even to the extent of disguising the natural aroma of the consommé- I prefer to entirely abandon the idea of vegetable garnishes in clarifications, and thus avoid a common stumbling block”. Nowadays many prefer to use the freezing route. Esure your stock contains (or add) 0.1% gelatine; freeze and then let the blobk melt slowly over double cheesecloth or a coffee filter. This gives a much clearer taset, since the stock is not boiled, and can be used for non-traditional stocks and essences Harold McGee explains http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/05/dining/0...gin&oref=slogin Personally I like egg white clarification for meat stocks. I find it more reliable

I wonder if its your water? Try with bottled water. If you (or anyone) needs some of my starter send me an IM I usually ask people to make a donation to charity in lieu of postage.

85C for 6-8 hours

Leave out the veggy stock, and no need to cook so long. I prefer my leek and potato not pureed. If you cook that long the potatos (small dice) will fall apart and the leeks lose their color. Lots of butter, and no need for garnish - maybe a swirl of cream If you want a pureed soup do the same, maybe a carrot for colour. Cream and chives are the traditional garnishes. You could serve something like pierogi in the soup or on the side, but no need

Luck, but we need pictures, pictures...

IF you are that worried, double seal and double bag it I usually put two seals on with my foodsaver, but the bags (and vacuum) are perfectly OK. If you are that concerned about botulism make sure the food is acid or ina a mildly acid sauce.

I have purchased an Auber Instruments unit, and its excellent. Nice people to deal with as well, and delivery no hassle despite being overseas (UK). It makes me question why, if these people can make it in small batch quantities for $99, which means I guess the bill of materials must be more like $30 for volume, and a rice cooker is say $15 from Amazon, then why cant domestic equipment manufacturers make an accurate cooker, or laboratory water bath manufacturers (who are entering the sous vide cooker market) make one selling for, say $150...

Proud to be a foodie

I much prefer my own home made. Commercial chopped liver is often processed to fine. It really must be hand chopped - its chopped liver, not pate, and that implies a small batch size. Its easy enough to make at home, even from frozen chicken livers, so why buy?

Glad it went well. I'm sorry you live in such an unenlightened place. Maybe take up politics. If you feel the law is bad, perhaps a lot of other people do as well. I can see the campaign to be able to drink as your forefathers could, with free samples of Madeira and Madeira cake..."Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities." (1 Timothy 5:23) What it means is that by imposing the prohibition, the state is creating an unfair monopoly, increasing local prices and corruptly joining in the profiteering. Move? Buy out of state? http://www.winesearcher.com is a useful resource. I just checked and our local (UK) wine shop sells a 5 year old Malmsey fo £9.99, say $20, inlcuding taxes, so your price was not that far out.

Its getting married that leads to tears, not the cake...

Malmsey is excellent in sauce or in or with soup. I use it as a substitute for Mirin, and conversely a little soy will enhance its flavour and umani properties in savoury dishes As an after dinner drink serve like port - nuts, cheeses etc. Traditionally, it is served at 11am, with Madeira cake (http://www.waitrose.com/recipe/Madeira_Cake.aspx) , that contains no Madeira but goes with it. It fills that awkward gap between breakfast and lunch. I know of only a few old fashioned institutions where this is still practiced, and a meeting at 11am will be accompanied with a decanter of Madeira and a tray of cake slices instead of or as an alternative to coffee. Very civilised. $25 seems high for a 5 year old Malmsey. You should be able to source that for under $15, and I've seen it online for under $10.

I didn't realize there was a "standard" tomato sauce. What comprises such a sauce? Thanks! shel ← Any passata type sauce or even tomato ketchup. From the bean tin: Beans 51% Tomato 33% Water Sugar Modified cornflour (thickener) Spirit vineagar Spice, herb extract I would do something like 500g beans 300g sieved tomato (passata or ketchup) 1 tsp dry mustard 2 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper 2 onions, chopped Soak beans overnight Next day parboil with tsp baking soda; drain and run cold water through Put in a pot with the other ingredients and enough water to just cover Cover. Put a in a 300 degree oven for 6 hours or so Check every hour or so to see if they need more water. Correct the seasoning - if you have not used ketchup may need a splash of vinegar. and you may want some sugar depending on how sweet the tomatos were. If you want a thicker sauce mix 2tsp of cornflour with the other ingredients before cooking.

You mean other than the standard tomato sauce? For 2lbs dry beans 1/2 cup molasses 2 tsp dry mustard 4 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper 2 onions, chopped

Thanks. We ate in the kitchen

The things that did not go quite right and were not served. Goose crackers: Heston Blumentahl, in his Perfect Christmas Dinner, showed a goose cracker which he said "was made like a prawn cracker" (US Shrimp chip). So I tried. 25% puree goose meat (from the wings on the second bird), 75% tapioca flour, make into a dough with goose stock, salt and pepper. steam, dry, slice, dry the slices. Damn things don't puff at all when fried, so come out hard and unappetising. Any experts out there? Anyone make papads? What am I doing wrong? Maybe the tapicoa flour was wrong somehow, although it works OK for prawn crackers Servietten Knudel White bread, egg, milk, herbs, wrapped in clinglim and poached. Wolfgang Puck recipe. I think the clingfilm must have leaked, and not enough egg in the mixture, as it was a gloopy soggy mess. Things forgetten (there is always some): The chestnuts/chestnut custards The spice biscuits Baguettes got forgoetten in the oven and overcooked a bit. OK sliced but crunchy. Too much already: Over half the goose is left Not much birthday cake got eaten More pierogi filling and dough (not a problem) More orange cream (the recipe makes about twice the volume of the orange skins) about 2 litres of goose fat

Wines: Champagne Gallimard Gewurztraminer Rolly Gassmann 1996 Nuits St George 1er Cru "Clos les Agillieres" Bertrand Ambroise 2003 Blandy's Bual Madeira 1948 Monbazillac, Ch. Le Caillou 1943 Amazingly the ancient wines were still all there, and in particular the Monbazillac was amazing. Heavily madeirised, of course, but essence of raisins. Still lots of fresh fruit. Will be drinkable for another 50 years at least.

The goose feast: These pix are raw, since I don't feel up to processing them yet today Also many were taken after the food started to be eaten. Its hard to remember to photograph as well as cook, host, serve and eat... The request, after 14 courses last year, was not so many courses this year, so its a simple three course meal (soup, main, pud) plus nibbles before and cheese and coffee after.. =================Nibbles=============================== Smoked goose breast with figs: Foie Gras with Gewurztraminer jelly: (one I forgot to take until it was half eaten - there were two full platters of these - 30 pieces) Chopped goose liver on toasted seeded wholemeal sourdough: (I forgot to photograph this - like chicken chopped liver, but from the goose liver) Caviar on Blini: (Baccari - french farmed sturgeon caviar. Grey Goose (French) Vodka for those who wished) Egg and Onion for the vegetarians: =====================Soup:============================ Goose Giblet Soup Loosely based on the Danish Kraasesuppe, or the Scandinavian Black soup but without the blood. Goose stock, reduced and clarified. Giblets (gizzard, heart etc) confited sous vide cooked at 85C for 8 hours, Garnish leek, carrot and sliced prune, chives, a little sugar and vinegar. Pierogi/Kreplach filled with potato, onion and gribines, the crispy bits left after rendering the goose fat. Cream of jerusalem artichoke for the veggies Pirogi filled with sauerkraut and mushroom, fried. Seeded wholemeal sourdough rolls ==========================Main======================== Remains of the ballotine of goose: Goose, boned out, except for wings and legs Stuffed with a mousseline forcemeat (puree chicken breast, egg white, cream), studded with foie gras, truffle, pistachio, dried cranberry plus extra duck breasts and the breasts from the other goose. Cooked for 12 hours at 60C end temperature 58C, browned in a hot (220C) oven before for 30 mins and after to crisp. Far too much meat, would have fed 50.. Although a lot of fat came off, the end result was not fatty at all. Lower part of the platter: Legs confitted (salt, thyme, then sousvide at 85C for 8 hours). Vegetarian goose (thanks TP!): Bean-curd skin, shitake mushrooms Forgot to picture the sides: Roast potatoes (goose fat and butter_ Roast parsnips Roast brussel sprouts (excellent) Caramelised shallots Apple sauce Red cabbage Baby sprouts Baby carrots Goose gravy =======================Pudding========================= "Goose Breast" Thanks Marianne! This is a delicious Danish confection, brought by an exceptional cook. Layer of puff pastry, layer of prune filling, layer of cream, layer of unsweetened marzipan, Yum! Buttered Oranges: Actually clementines. Apparently King James I favourite desert. A light orange cream. (spice biscuits as well) =======================Cheeses======================== (Isle of Mull Cheddar, Stilton, Epoisse, Goat) Marianne's Danish Rye, my onion and sultana ====================Finally============================ Fitzbillie's Chelsea Bun Cake, with Pyrotechnic coloured candles

Thanks, Chufi and Abra you must come and visit... The chestnut custard is from the Larousse article on goose, a recipe by Marc Pralong. In the end it got forgotten. I paraphrase. Mix 300 cl cream, 3 eggs, 150g chestnut puree (tinned), 100g diced cooked chestnuts (bought peeled and vac packed) Butter 8 dariole moulds, divide the mixture between them. I was going to use a a sheet of silicone rubber half sphere moulds. Cook in a bain marie at 170C.

There will be, when I've recovered.

Haggis