eG Foodblog: Jackal10 - Bread and Apples

[jackal10]

I am following with interest! 

Please may I ask a stupid question:  What is rusk?  Thank you.

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Rusk is dried bread; also used for teething babies to chew on.

Lunch is Peanut butter and Jelly...with marmite and salad cream

The jam is home made wild strawberry, but what this really needs is grape jelly...hmmm

On the wall next to the Jacuzzi is a grape vine and a fig tree. The fig is Brown Turkey and it produces lots of immature fruit, and a few ripe figs. The grape is Tiomphe d'Alsace, now unfashionable, but good autumn colour. It produces smell seedy grapes, but true black, and with good sugar level.

Not a big harvest - the birds get there first, but 500g or so.

I'm adapting the recipe from "Mes Confitures" of Christine Ferber: 500g grapes, 400g apples, 400g water; simmer, pass through jelly bag, let settle overnight before decanting and then boil with 500g sugar and the juice of a lemon until setting point. Simmering now.

[Tepee]

Say, we've got Tesco in Malaysia now...will go check out (the Deli section?) for those superb-looking bangers. Thanks for the aside on the rusk fillers...so interesting. That's definitely a more agreeable filler ingredient than the ash we see so frequently in some of our products here.

Very educational blog. Thanks.

[Phish]

Banger and Mash are delish!! I have it quite often when im too lazy to cook something from scratch. But im more educated to know what to choose next time im at a supermarket. Thanks!

[Laksa]

That's definitely a more agreeable filler ingredient than the ash we see so frequently in some of our products here.

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Is ash a codeword for something else? Or is it some kind of reverse-euphemism? Must be... how can ash be edible? I've had sausages in Malaysia. I believe the meat content is around 5%.

When I was in Australia, I boarded with a Mr. Black, a pom from the old country, who loved his bangers and mash, and bubbles and squeak. He told me sausages are called bangers because they look like firecrackers, or bangers in slang. Then again, he was also known for his cockney yarn-spinning.

[jackal10]

Nope, firecrackers look like this. I'm second from the right wearing a "Kimbolton Fireworks" sweatshirt and a leather jacket, holding a pair of double cylinder shells.. This was setting up the fireworks for the local Millenium celebration. The large spherical shell in the middle is 12 inch

[jackal10]

Grape jelly progress:

Simmer 30 mins

Strain and pass through muslin:

The colour is, like many biological colours, an indicator. It goes from red when acid to blue when alkaline.

No reply yet to requests or suggestions for things to make...

Out to supper. Not sure if they will apreciate pictures being taken.... l'shona Tova

Edited September 15, 2004 by jackal10 (log)

[tejon]

Nope, firecrackers look like this. I'm second from the right wearing a "Kimbolton Fireworks" sweatshirt and a leather jacket, holding a pair of double cylinder shells.. This was setting up the fireworks for the local Millenium celebration. The large spherical shell in the middle is 12 inch

Now I am really jealous! My husband and I used to set up pyrotechnic shows, but I've never even touched a 12 inch shell before. Though we did hand light 5 and 6 inch shells one Fourth of Jully.....that was fun .

Beautiful blog. I especially enjoy the pictures of your garden and acerage, something quite scarce here in my neck of the woods.

My vote is for anything sourdough and some fruit tarts, please.

Edited September 15, 2004 by tejon (log)

[SobaAddict70]

ok, I'll bite and hopefully others will come up with suggestions.

Pizza: how about roasted squash, ricotta and herbs? Chez Panisse does a similarly-themed pizza if memory serves. Or tomato confit and/or onion confit along with cured pork sausage. Or a white pizza with mozzarella, ricotta and other local soft cheeses? Or roasted cauliflower?

Breads: Asiago cheese bread? Ciabatta? Pan levain? Walnut bread? Tomato bread? Olive and anchovy fougasse? (in keeping with the pizza theme)

Maybe do something hearty like coq au vin in addition to the roasts and the salmon a la plancha.

Persimmon jam? Fennel, pear and parmesan salad? Chanterelle ravioli? Roasted brussel sprouts? (it'll convert the brussel sprout haters amongst you, guaranteed) Roast chicken with apple and cranberry stuffing. Maybe mashed turnips mixed with beets.

Soba

[ludja]

I had an idea re: the pizza's but don't know if it is too fussy for a big crowd.

Basically, you make a plain cheese pizza (a mix of mozzarella and some other stronger meltable cheese like fontina). Before putting on the cheese; brush with garlic-olive oil. After it is cooked, immediately scatter an herb and olive salad in vinagrette over the top. Shave some pecorinno or parmasean over it an you're set.

This is also inspired from Chez Panisse and it is really excellent. Everyone I've made it for has raved about it.

Herb Salad mix: (for two 10 inch pizzas)

2-3 cups Italian parsely

1 cup fresh basil

3 Tbs snipped fresh chives

2 Tbs coarsely chopped fresh mint

1/4 cup pitted and coarsely chopped black olives

toss with vinagrette made of: 5 Tbs olive oil, 3-4 Tbs lemon juice, 1 tbs garlic-olive oil.

In general for pizza, I like two of Chez Panisse's "tricks" that they use:

1. make a garlic olive oil by crushing garlic and letting it macerate in olive oil for 30 min. Use this to brush on dough before adding other ingredients; can also drizzle a little over the top of the pizza when it comes out of the oven.

2. Shave pecorino or parmigianno directly onto the pizza when it comes out of the oven.

This pizza could be a salad course!

[Priscilla]

Jackal, there is an excellent apple tart in La Cuisine de Mapie by the Countess de Toulouse-Lautrec, custard with embedded tiny dice of apple, sugar sprinkled over the surface to caramelize.

[jhlurie]

Please may I ask a stupid question:  What is rusk?

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Carbs.

[Susan in FL]

This blog looks awesome. I wasn't following blogs when you did the previous one, so I plan to read it when I can leisurely take the time to enjoy it. Meanwhile, I'll be following this one with great interest! Thanks.

[helenjp]

Do you ever make your own sausage? Sausage is always one of the NZ foods that we miss, so we've been drooling over your photos. Would apple and pork sausages work in a hand-rolled sausage?

[jackal10]

Thanks for the suggestions! Keep them coming...

Bit early for Brussel Sprouts, and this is basically finger food, or things on bread

I will do some chicken, maybe wings or drumsticks

Also I plan a chicken liver pate

Susan: I don't make my own sausage - its hard to do in small quantities, and the local butchers make at least as good as I can. I've tried it once or twice, just as an experiment, and I would if we raised our own meat, but for everyday its not worth it. Naturally Yours is a local organic and rare breeed meat producer that makes excellent ones, and they deliver weekly.

As today is Rosh Hashona, although the orthodox won't read this today, L'Shona Tova. Happy New Year, and may you be inscribed in the book of life for a sweet year. Pray for peace in these troubled times.

Last night we went to friends for dinner to celebrate another friends birthday. Lovely old timber framed house dating back to the 17th century, about 45 minutes from here. No pics, but imagine the dark polished oak table, old silver cutlery gleaming in the candlelight...12 sat down for dinner. Haddon Hall china.

We had

Indian nibbles (various bhajis); Champagne (en Magnum)

Poached Salmon, Hollandaise sauce; Poilly Fuisse (but I did not get the year)

Roast Beef, Green Beans, Broccoli, Roasted Veg (parsnips, carrots, potatoes, jus, leeks); Ch. Valandraud (St Emilion, Grand Cru Classe) 1995, en Magnum

Raspberry fool (Raspberries muddled with cream: like Eton Mess, but with Raspberries)

Coffee. Birthday Cake (orange and chocolate), a 1975 Barsac (drying somewhat) and Port ( 1977 Warre)

Moving a little slowly this morning...need more coffee.

Today we have a friend visiting.

Supper is I guess Rosh Hashonah foods: traditionally honey sweet (for a sweet new year) with ronds of carrots symbolising coins for prosperity. Polish food was often quite sweet. I wonder why this does not extend to say Financiers, which are so-called since they are meant to represent gold bars...

Golden Borscht

Beef Tzimmes

Maybe a blackberry and apple strudel,

Financiers, perhaps

Also finish the grape jelly, and maybe start the pate

[jackal10]

Stroll round the garden to see what looks ready to eat

Gold raspberries and Rainbow chard. Maybe a tourte blette at the weekend.

Pulled some golden beets

Browned the brisket and put into the lowest (plate warming) oven to murmer away all day to itself. Put the pate components to marinate.

Of course the ultimate dish from chicken liver is chopped liver, but this is just as good but different. Its a recipe adapted from Michel Guerard's Cuisine Gourmande, with the insight being that sausage meat provides a good fatty pork base to the terrine. All the booze and garlic make it strong stuff, but delicious and easy.

1lb/500g chicken livers (frozen is fine)

12 oz/400g good sausage meat, or the insides of frying sausages

7 tablespoons brandy or armagnac or rum

6 tablespoons port or maderia (or both)

2 tsp chopped garlic

big bunch of parsley

4 sprigs thyme

4 bay leaves

pinch nutmeg

tsp sugar

2 tsp salt

lots of pepper

Mix together and marinate in the fridge overnight. Next day whizz together in a food processor or with a hand blender. Keep it quite course, or even dont belnd at all. . Pour into a greased loaf tin (you can line with bacon if you like, or decorate the base, which will be the top, with sprigs of thyme and bay leaves), Bake in a bain amrie in a hot oven (220C/425F) for hours. Cool to room temperature then refigerate overnight, weighted.

Serve either with a salad a pickles as a first course, or spread onto good bread...

Edited September 16, 2004 by jackal10 (log)

[Carrot Top]

Your home looks like a veritable paradise of food...both 'on the vine' and 'in the pot'. Gorgeous photos, nice ideas. A joyous and prosperous New Year to you and yours, also.

[jackal10]

Thanks!

Financier batter, made with honey. Needs to rest in the fridge

Added sugar (500g) and lemon juice, boiled and bottled the grape jelly, Note the thermometer probe - 221F is setting point

[SobaAddict70]

What's a tourte blette?

Agreed on the photos. Can't wait to see more.

Soba

[GG Mora]

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Lovely jelly, Jack. Just curious...the jar in the middle, sort of behindish...is it just a trick of the light that it looks not full to the top? Or do you get away with not filling the jars all the way?

[jackal10]

Soba: A torte blette is a sweet tart from Provence made from swiss chard (can substitute spinach)

GG: The jar is indeed not quite full - there wasn't quite enough jelly.

If the seal is good, the jars well sterilised, and the jam hot when bottled, then there is no reason why they should mold. Turn the jar upside down for a few minutes after filling so the and the lid heats and sterilises helps. SOme people put a layer of candle wax, or paper dipped in brandy on top of their jam when cold, but I prefer a properly sealed sterile jar.

[jackal10]

The brisket is doing nicely. In 4 hours or so I'll add potao, carrots, prunes and honey. I added no liquid to start - its made it itself. The oven is at about 180F/90C.

Innoculated the sourdough starter: 1 cup flour, 1.5 cups water, and a spoon of the mother starter. This will sit on the side of the stove, at 85F for about 8 hours, when I will triple the volume with more flour and water, and then agin tomorrow, ready to make lots of dough for bread on Saturday and Pizza on Sunday.

Those on a diet should skip the rest of this entry.

Other families has gefillte fish. We had fish balls, as sort of cross between an English fish cake and and fried gefillte fish.

Take equal quantities of fish, chopped onion and potato, and a good bunch of parsley. The fish here is boneless and skinless cod loin (mea culpa - I feel guilty about using cod as the stocks are rapidly depleting, but it was the cheapest and looked nice, and it was dead anyway). Any white fish works, and its good with salmon, or even crab. Increase the proportion of potato if you are feeling mean or ruuning a restaurant.

You can use these components to make a fish pie, and then turn the left-overs into fishcakes or fish balls - two meals for the price of one.

Par-cook the fish (2 minutes in a microwave), chop the parsley, sweat the onions to golden brown, peel and boil the potatoes. Put it in the food processor, add an egg or two and enough Matso meal or flour to make it firm and mouldable. Season well with salt and pepper. Whizz or mash together, but so that you can still distinguish individual components.

Form into balls, roll in Matzo meal, or panko or breadcrumbs or whatever is your favourite coating and deep fry until they float and are deep gold.

Good hot or cold. Small ones are good for amuse or party food; larger ones for a meal. Dissapear fast at parties, and evaporate if not in a tightly sealed container in the fridge.

Edited September 16, 2004 by jackal10 (log)

[jgarner53]

ast night we went to friends for dinner to celebrate another friends birthday. Lovely old timber framed house dating back to the 17th century, about 45 minutes from here. No pics, but imagine the dark polished oak table, old silver cutlery gleaming in the candlelight...12 sat down for dinner. Haddon Hall china.

We had

Indian nibbles (various bhajis); Champagne (en Magnum)

Poached Salmon, Hollandaise sauce; Poilly Fuisse (but I did not get the year)

Roast Beef, Green Beans, Broccoli, Roasted Veg (parsnips, carrots, potatoes, jus, leeks); Ch. Valandraud (St Emilion, Grand Cru Classe) 1995, en Magnum

Raspberry fool (Raspberries muddled with cream: like Eton Mess, but with Raspberries)

Coffee. Birthday Cake (orange and chocolate), a 1975 Barsac (drying somewhat) and Port ( 1977 Warre)

Moving a little slowly this morning...need more coffee.

Man, I just don't go to the right dinner parties! Clearly, I need more gourmet friends.

What a lovely, lovely blog. All that bounty in your yard, the glorious pictures, the fish balls, the starter. All just beautiful.

[SobaAddict70]

Do you serve them by themselves or with a dip or sauce?

Soba

[Carrot Top]

Do you add apples to your Tourte Blette? Would love to see your recipe...when there might be time to type it out....I don't think many cooks have made this, and it is unusual and good!

(Besides being very healthy, too...)

[jackal10]

Do you serve them by themselves or with a dip or sauce?

Soba

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Either. For parties with a dip - horseradish or sweet Thai chili sauce.

For lunch, maybe with just a nice salad

Carrot Top: I've not got a particular recipe. Do you? Apples seem appropriate.

Probably do this on Sat.