It's cold and dreay outside, and sprinkling most of the day. GREAT DAY TO BAKE! Yippee!
Plus it's time for HBin5 to make the first bread! Tomorrow I have to post my pictures of Pumpkin Pie Brioche. Funny thing is I couldn't remember ever having a brioche and certainly have never seen a Pumpkin Pie Brioche. Sheesh. Here we go again, making something I have never had a taste of.
First I had to go to the store to get the ingredients...had no pumpkin, and had run out of white whole wheat flour by King Arthur. So off I went. I was also hoping to find an example of brioche! LOL. Forget that idea in York! At least it was not at the Giant grocery store I went to. Even though I had skimmed the recipe for the ingredients I would need I hadn't read up on brioche so was just at a loss.
By the way, let me give you an idea of the lay of the land here in York, figuratively speaking. I love to make deli rye bread for my husband. That of course means I need rye flour right? Do you think I can find rye flour here in York? Think again! Occassionally one of the stores might have a small bag of it, certainly that store will not be Walmart. But I can tell you what I will find...a one gallon bucket of lard! Argh!
So I guess I should consider myself lucky that I can find KA white whole wheat flour, eh? And I do. But I still grouse. I can travel 25 minutes to Mechanicsburg and hit Wegman's and find rye flour there, and I think I can even find it in their bulk section if I remember correctly. Wegman's is an upper class grocery store, and one I love to go in to. Their breads are fabulous, but frankly my breads are just as good these days. What they do have that I don't make are pastries to die for. I mean you gain 5 pounds just standing there looking at them and drooling down your chin! They have a lot of high end items like duck confit, duck proscuitto (both of which I have made). One of the things I love is their kosher style deli where they even roast kosher chickens! Why do they have to be 25 minutes away! WAH!
Or I can travel 25 minutes in another direction and have it milled at Sonnewald's health food store, which I have done. When I buy it at Sonnewald's though I have to put it in the freezer. But it's really nice having it freshly milled! They also carry a good supply of semolina flour, another item difficult to come by here in York.
Anyhow, back to the Pumpkin Pie Brioche. I thought about buying some "fresh spices", nutmeg, allspice, and ginger for the recipe...but hate to spend $4 and $5 for a tiny little jar of McCormicks. I'll order it from Penzeys over the holidays, thank you very much (http://penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/shophome.html). I also looked for fresh pumpkin puree but no such luck. They have it at the Eastern York Market, but I wasn't able to get there either on Friday, the only day of the week they are open. Work gets in the way again! LOL.
OK. So I come back with the groceries and jump right in to the recipe. You can find it on page 284 of Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. All in HBin5 group have agreed to NOT publish the recipes online. Instead we will bake the breads, post pics, and stories about how it went but y'all have to buy the book or go to http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/. They have a chocolate brioche that sounds fabulous, and a beef wellington wrapped in brioche dough as well! OH YUM!
I got the dough all together and it is really almost soupy, it is so loose! I worried about that but had followed the recipe to the letter (for once!). Then I sat down at the computer to read up on brioche. OH MY! We are in a for a real treat! I hadn't paid much attention while pouring the ingredients in but it did register in my brain that with 4 eggs it was going to be very challah like. I used oil instead of butter, but think I will have to try the regular brioche with the butter next time! I could taste the buttery richness and feel that velvetty softness just reading about it! LOL. I think I have had brioche, but this is definitely the first time making it!
When looking up the history of Brioche I found the following at La Gourmandise:
The history of the "Brioche"
The word brioche first appeared in print in 1404, and this bread is believed to have sprung from a traditional Norman recipe. It is argued that brioche is probably of a Roman origin, since a very similar sort of sweet holiday bread is made in Romania ("sărălie"). The cooking method and tradition of using it during big holidays resembles the culture surrounding the brioche so much that it is difficult to doubt same origin of both foods. It is often served as a pastry or as the basis of a dessert, with many local variations in added ingredients, fillings and toppings. It is also used with savory preparations, particularly with foie gras, and is used in some meat dishes. http://www.lagourmandise.net/history.htm
Stand by for the next post! The dough is in the frig now and I will bake it up about 6 or 7 pm tonight.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Top Chef inspirations
I love the show Top Chef on Bravo. In this season, number 6, they are in Las Vegas. When will they go to France, or Madrid Spain, or how about Huatulco, Mexico.
One of the things lacking on Top Chef however is the use of beer in their recipes. Tonight the quick fire challenge was serving breakfast in bed to Padma, the host, and Nigella Lawson, a guest judge. I saw no one incorporating beer into their breakfast dish. No I am not talking about cornflakes and beer. But several served a meaty dish. One was a breakfast style rueben that sounded very good...why not use a bit of beer to cook the sauerkraut?
One of my favorite dishes is to cook my corned beef in beer. Usually I will use something like the nut brown ale, well balanced and not too rich.
I cook it in the crockpot and just cover the beef in 1 bottle of beer. Then during the last 30 minutes I will toss in a quarter of a head of cabbage.
I serve it with my homemade deli rye bread. And of course a glass of beer. Oh such a good meal on a cold night in the middle of winter. Come on snow!
One of the things lacking on Top Chef however is the use of beer in their recipes. Tonight the quick fire challenge was serving breakfast in bed to Padma, the host, and Nigella Lawson, a guest judge. I saw no one incorporating beer into their breakfast dish. No I am not talking about cornflakes and beer. But several served a meaty dish. One was a breakfast style rueben that sounded very good...why not use a bit of beer to cook the sauerkraut?
One of my favorite dishes is to cook my corned beef in beer. Usually I will use something like the nut brown ale, well balanced and not too rich.
I cook it in the crockpot and just cover the beef in 1 bottle of beer. Then during the last 30 minutes I will toss in a quarter of a head of cabbage.
I serve it with my homemade deli rye bread. And of course a glass of beer. Oh such a good meal on a cold night in the middle of winter. Come on snow!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Egg Foo Yong
Ever have something on your mind, and waiting for it to hit your tongue? That's the way I've been for the past few weeks. I kept thinking about Egg Foo Yong. Haven't had it in a very long time and had never made it. But I had some roasted peppers (yellow, red and orange), mushrooms, onions and garlic in the frig that we hadn't used up for the pizza party I blogged about a few days ago.
So tonight I came home and got on Recipesource.com and found a recipe I could make, complete with sauce! So while the deli rye bread was rising on the counter, I started cooking.
Below is the recipe. Fortunately a brief read of another recipe had cautioned it's best to start the sauce first. So I did. Perfect for Egg Foo Yong. Wouldn't use it for anything else, but sure is good for EFY. One other note, the recipe calls for deep fat frying it. I thought I would be ok with my cast iron skillet. It was fine until the last two pancakes...by then I had bubbling foam ready to slip and slide over the sides of the skillet and into my gas burners. I scooped some of the oil off and finished cooking the last two pancakes.
Sorry, no pictures. We ate it all! Washed it all down with my nut brown ale. How good is that?!!
Title: EGG FOO YONG (MASTER RECIPE)
Yield: 4 servings
1 c Cooked ham or roast pork
1/2 c Chopped, onions
1 c Drained, canned bean sprouts
4 tb Chopped green onion tops
1 tb Soy sauce
1 ts Salt
3 Eggs
Oil for deep frying
Sauce:
1 1/2 c Chicken stock
1 ts Molasses
1 ts Soy sauce
1 ts Cornstarch
2 tb Cold water
Put meat, onion, sprouts, green onion tops, soy sauce, and salt in a bowl; mix well. Stir the eggs lightly into the mixture. Use a deep-bowl ladle to spoon out the mixture and lower into the hot oil. Tip the ladle at once to release the omelets. Let them fry until they rise to the top. Turn each to brown the other side. Lift out with a large slotted spoon. Serve on hot dish covered with a little of the sauce (below).
Serve additional soy sauce separately.
Egg Foo Young Variations
Chicken Foo Yong: Use cooked chicken or turkey instead of ham or pork. Crabmeat Foo Yong: Use canned or cooked crabmeat instead of ham or pork.
Lobster Foo Yong: Use canned or cooked lobster instead of ham or pork. Shrimp Foo Yong: Use canned or cooked shrimp instead of ham or pork. Vegetable Foo Yong:
Omit meat; use 2 cups chopped green pepper, celery, onion, and canned bean sprouts combined. Season with additional 1 teaspoon salt.
Subgum Foo Yong: To the master recipe or any variation, add 1 cup diced mushrooms, 1/2 cup diced green beans, and 1/2 cup diced canned bamboo shoots. Mix and cook as directed.
Sauce: Heat stock with molasses and soy sauce. Combine cornstarch with cold water; stir it until smooth. Let
come to boiling point and cook until thickened.
Recipefrom Mary Margaret McBride Encyclopedia of Cooking *
Published by Homemakers Research Institute
copyright,1959
So tonight I came home and got on Recipesource.com and found a recipe I could make, complete with sauce! So while the deli rye bread was rising on the counter, I started cooking.
Below is the recipe. Fortunately a brief read of another recipe had cautioned it's best to start the sauce first. So I did. Perfect for Egg Foo Yong. Wouldn't use it for anything else, but sure is good for EFY. One other note, the recipe calls for deep fat frying it. I thought I would be ok with my cast iron skillet. It was fine until the last two pancakes...by then I had bubbling foam ready to slip and slide over the sides of the skillet and into my gas burners. I scooped some of the oil off and finished cooking the last two pancakes.
Sorry, no pictures. We ate it all! Washed it all down with my nut brown ale. How good is that?!!
Title: EGG FOO YONG (MASTER RECIPE)
Yield: 4 servings
1 c Cooked ham or roast pork
1/2 c Chopped, onions
1 c Drained, canned bean sprouts
4 tb Chopped green onion tops
1 tb Soy sauce
1 ts Salt
3 Eggs
Oil for deep frying
Sauce:
1 1/2 c Chicken stock
1 ts Molasses
1 ts Soy sauce
1 ts Cornstarch
2 tb Cold water
Put meat, onion, sprouts, green onion tops, soy sauce, and salt in a bowl; mix well. Stir the eggs lightly into the mixture. Use a deep-bowl ladle to spoon out the mixture and lower into the hot oil. Tip the ladle at once to release the omelets. Let them fry until they rise to the top. Turn each to brown the other side. Lift out with a large slotted spoon. Serve on hot dish covered with a little of the sauce (below).
Serve additional soy sauce separately.
Egg Foo Young Variations
Chicken Foo Yong: Use cooked chicken or turkey instead of ham or pork. Crabmeat Foo Yong: Use canned or cooked crabmeat instead of ham or pork.
Lobster Foo Yong: Use canned or cooked lobster instead of ham or pork. Shrimp Foo Yong: Use canned or cooked shrimp instead of ham or pork. Vegetable Foo Yong:
Omit meat; use 2 cups chopped green pepper, celery, onion, and canned bean sprouts combined. Season with additional 1 teaspoon salt.
Subgum Foo Yong: To the master recipe or any variation, add 1 cup diced mushrooms, 1/2 cup diced green beans, and 1/2 cup diced canned bamboo shoots. Mix and cook as directed.
Sauce: Heat stock with molasses and soy sauce. Combine cornstarch with cold water; stir it until smooth. Let
come to boiling point and cook until thickened.
Recipefrom Mary Margaret McBride Encyclopedia of Cooking *
Published by Homemakers Research Institute
copyright,1959
Monday, November 9, 2009
Nut Brown Mustard
A few months back I was perusing Saveur magazine and found a great recipe for Guinness Stout Mustard. Hm. I had all the ingredients...except for the Guinness Stout! Well, in this house that often is not a problem. I have always got some kind of homemade beer, and this time I had Nut Brown Ale.
The recipe for it comes from Steve of Mr. Steve's Homebrew supplies here in York, PA. He's got some great recipes and this batch of beer came out superb! So in it went.
I've made this mustard several times now. My neighbors love it, the brew club loves it, and my co-workers enjoy it as well!
It's such a simple recipe that I will include it here. Hopefully Saveur doesn't mind!
1- 12 oz bottle of Guinness Extra Stout
1 1/2 cups brown mustard seeds (10 oz)
special note I found it better to use half brown mustard seeds and half yellow mustard seeds
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 TBSP kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
Mix all the above ingredients in a glass mixing bowl (or any non-reactive mixing bowl).
I then covered it with plastic wrap and let it sit on the counter for 2 days. This allows the mustard seeds time to soften and the flavors meld together.
You can then put it in a food processor, but I leave it in the same bowl and use my immersion blender to process the mixture. Process it until the seeds are coarsely ground and the mixture thickens, which only takes about 3 minutes.
Tranfer to jars and cover. We like to let it sit out for about a week to mellow just a bit, and then put it in the frig.
The recipe for it comes from Steve of Mr. Steve's Homebrew supplies here in York, PA. He's got some great recipes and this batch of beer came out superb! So in it went.
I've made this mustard several times now. My neighbors love it, the brew club loves it, and my co-workers enjoy it as well!
It's such a simple recipe that I will include it here. Hopefully Saveur doesn't mind!
1- 12 oz bottle of Guinness Extra Stout
1 1/2 cups brown mustard seeds (10 oz)
special note I found it better to use half brown mustard seeds and half yellow mustard seeds
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 TBSP kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
Mix all the above ingredients in a glass mixing bowl (or any non-reactive mixing bowl).
You can then put it in a food processor, but I leave it in the same bowl and use my immersion blender to process the mixture. Process it until the seeds are coarsely ground and the mixture thickens, which only takes about 3 minutes.
Mustard schmeared on my homemade rye bread with a good aged white cheddar! What a great grilled cheese this makes!
Pizza Party!
Ah the ubiquitous pizza party. Kids love them for their birthdays. Companies offer them as incentives for sales and jobs well done. But most of the time the pizzas are more like cardboard, ordered in great numbers for price not taste or a tender crust.
We did a pizza party at our house this past weekend for our neighbor Barb. She’s celebrating 60+ yrs and the kind of woman that finds humor and joy in all that she does…so why NOT a pizza party?!
When I discussed the party with Barb a month prior to the event, we decided it would be fun to build the pizzas as well as eat them as part of the party. And it truly was! As part of the prep for the party I had roasted and cut yellow, red and orange peppers, fresh mushrooms, big heads of garlic, and white onions. I also chopped black olives. For the sauce I provided basil and tomato pasta sauce that I use jars and jars of each month for spaghetti, Italian subs, etc.
The night before I mixed up the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day (ABin5) olive oil pizza dough recipe (page 134) left it rise the 2 hours, and refrigerated it for our use the next evening.
I love ABin5 recipes because they mix up so quickly and are ALWAYS consistently good. Once it’s mixed you just let it sit on the counter for a few hours, then pop it in the frig. Next day or multi-days later take it out and shape it into bread, pizza, rolls, flatbreads, etc. For the pizzas you don’t even have to let it rise! Yippee! Just layer your ingredients on top and pop it in the oven.
I love, love, love Greek style pizzas, so often make my version of it. I’ll slather the patted out pizza dough with butter, the roasted garlic, put some fresh tomatoes down, then layer on fresh mozzarella. Voila! Yummy pizza, with no red sauce. I love the inclusion of pine nuts but sometimes use walnuts in fresh pesto.
This fall when I harvested my pesto basil, regular and purple basil from the garden I made up numerous batches of pesto and froze it in vacuum seal bags.
So when I took it out for the party all I had to do was let it thaw and snip off a corner and squirt it out. Heavenly aromas filled that kitchen!
My neighbor Wanetta and Wayne, along with their son Don, were guests and Wanetta brought her homemade tomato sauce, cooked hamburger and turkey pepperoni.
I passed out grapefruit sized portions of the dough to Wanetta and Barb for them to start patting out in the aluminum foil covered pizza and cookie sheet pans.
I guess I gave Wanetta too much as she said later that she couldn’t get her crust thin enough. Wanetta made a ½ and ½ pizza; one side had her sauce and hamburger, onions, and shredded mozzarella cheese. The other side had the turkey pepperoni and cheese.
Barb used the red sauce I provided and added peppers, mushrooms, onions and olives to it, and then smothered it all in shredded mozzarella cheese. Barb, the guest of honor realized what was missing from my preparations was a green pepper so she had to run home and grab one. Thank goodness the traffic was light in the neighborhood…but then it always is, since we live in condos and only 100 feet from door to door! LOL.
My pizza was ½ and ½ also. This time I put my homemade pesto made with my homegrown basil on ½ of the pizza I made, and the other half was the butter, garlic and fresh mozzarella cheese.
Wanetta and I listened in fascination to Barb talk about the Julia Child exhibition at the Smithsonian that she had been to. The trip was Barb’s birthday present from her husband George. We didn’t know if Julia Child ever made pizza (I’ll be she did), but we had a ball hearing all about the exhibit and little things about her life that Barb had discovered.
Once the pizzas were made and done cooking we sat down with our men folk and ate a nice salad and then the pizzas. My latest wine, New Zealand Merlot really rounded out the meal. What a lively conversation it was with everyone joining in talking about their culinary discoveries in France, Sweden, Germany, Alaska, and York, PA!
Wanetta had made a German Chocolate Cake for Barb, and Don had decorated it. It was the perfect end to the meal. Richly chocolate and moist! What a fun evening!
Barb having a great laugh as she blew out the candles.
We did a pizza party at our house this past weekend for our neighbor Barb. She’s celebrating 60+ yrs and the kind of woman that finds humor and joy in all that she does…so why NOT a pizza party?!
When I discussed the party with Barb a month prior to the event, we decided it would be fun to build the pizzas as well as eat them as part of the party. And it truly was! As part of the prep for the party I had roasted and cut yellow, red and orange peppers, fresh mushrooms, big heads of garlic, and white onions. I also chopped black olives. For the sauce I provided basil and tomato pasta sauce that I use jars and jars of each month for spaghetti, Italian subs, etc.
The night before I mixed up the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day (ABin5) olive oil pizza dough recipe (page 134) left it rise the 2 hours, and refrigerated it for our use the next evening.
I love ABin5 recipes because they mix up so quickly and are ALWAYS consistently good. Once it’s mixed you just let it sit on the counter for a few hours, then pop it in the frig. Next day or multi-days later take it out and shape it into bread, pizza, rolls, flatbreads, etc. For the pizzas you don’t even have to let it rise! Yippee! Just layer your ingredients on top and pop it in the oven.
I love, love, love Greek style pizzas, so often make my version of it. I’ll slather the patted out pizza dough with butter, the roasted garlic, put some fresh tomatoes down, then layer on fresh mozzarella. Voila! Yummy pizza, with no red sauce. I love the inclusion of pine nuts but sometimes use walnuts in fresh pesto.
This fall when I harvested my pesto basil, regular and purple basil from the garden I made up numerous batches of pesto and froze it in vacuum seal bags.
So when I took it out for the party all I had to do was let it thaw and snip off a corner and squirt it out. Heavenly aromas filled that kitchen!
My neighbor Wanetta and Wayne, along with their son Don, were guests and Wanetta brought her homemade tomato sauce, cooked hamburger and turkey pepperoni.
I passed out grapefruit sized portions of the dough to Wanetta and Barb for them to start patting out in the aluminum foil covered pizza and cookie sheet pans.
I guess I gave Wanetta too much as she said later that she couldn’t get her crust thin enough. Wanetta made a ½ and ½ pizza; one side had her sauce and hamburger, onions, and shredded mozzarella cheese. The other side had the turkey pepperoni and cheese.
Barb used the red sauce I provided and added peppers, mushrooms, onions and olives to it, and then smothered it all in shredded mozzarella cheese. Barb, the guest of honor realized what was missing from my preparations was a green pepper so she had to run home and grab one. Thank goodness the traffic was light in the neighborhood…but then it always is, since we live in condos and only 100 feet from door to door! LOL.
My pizza was ½ and ½ also. This time I put my homemade pesto made with my homegrown basil on ½ of the pizza I made, and the other half was the butter, garlic and fresh mozzarella cheese.
Wanetta and I listened in fascination to Barb talk about the Julia Child exhibition at the Smithsonian that she had been to. The trip was Barb’s birthday present from her husband George. We didn’t know if Julia Child ever made pizza (I’ll be she did), but we had a ball hearing all about the exhibit and little things about her life that Barb had discovered.
Once the pizzas were made and done cooking we sat down with our men folk and ate a nice salad and then the pizzas. My latest wine, New Zealand Merlot really rounded out the meal. What a lively conversation it was with everyone joining in talking about their culinary discoveries in France, Sweden, Germany, Alaska, and York, PA!
Barb having a great laugh as she blew out the candles.Boeuf Bourguignonne
I’m really into cooking, baking, etc, as you all know, or should by now. So when the movie Julie and Julia came out I HAD to go see it. I laughed and laughed at that movie. It was so good to see Julia Child’s in a very human light.
Over the years I had watched her cooking shows on PBS and loved them. But surprisingly enough I never bought her book, or tried to make any of the dishes. I think I felt overwhelmed by her image!
During the past few years I've grown to appreciate some of the French dishes that Julia loved. I’ve learned how to make duck confit, and duck proscuito, but not from her great books, instead I learned them by going to The Paupered Chef (thepauperedchef.com)! Maybe I felt it easier to follow The Paupered Chef because Nick Kindelsperger and Blake Royer were more like me, just willing to jump in with both feet, plus they photographed every aspect of the recipes they made.
Anyhow, shortly after seeing J&J I decided I would try the Boeuf Bourguignonne that was featured in the movie. But I don’t have Julia’s book! So I pulled out my 2006 edition of the Joy of Cooking (one of the books Julia used in her early cooking days apparently) and looked up the recipe.
I remembered that my husband had mentioned making it before so I asked him what kind of beef he had used. Well, that was all it took. He started reminiscing about how he made it and we decided HE would be the one to make it this time also. I had saved his old 1970’s version of Joy of Cooking thank goodness! It had his notes in it so he could recall just what he did.
A few days after the movie I had bought one of those great enameled cast iron lidded pots since we didn't have a roaster. Over years with all the moves he and I had both made, we’d somehow lost track of the roaster we had. So the new pot came in perfect time!
Ken works hard at recipes. To me a recipe is often a suggestion, which means sometimes I lose track of what the intended dish was supposed to taste like! But Ken is very methodical, practicing and practicing the recipe and making notes about what he used. I’ve learned to be more like that since marrying him almost 8 years ago.
I’m not going to put the recipe in here since it takes too long to type. Look it up in any of the Joy of Cooking or Julia’s cookbooks for yourself. I have yet to compare the Joy of Cooking recipe to Julia’s recipe. No I still do not have her book! LOL.
Preparing the marinade for the London Broil.
Sauteeing the meat with onions and turkey bacon.
Flaming the brandy.
We did use a wide dutch noodle which is the only thing I would change from Ken’s recipe. I would make my own noodles next time.
Ken sitting down to a great meal! It truly was a great dish well worth the work Ken had to put into it!
Over the years I had watched her cooking shows on PBS and loved them. But surprisingly enough I never bought her book, or tried to make any of the dishes. I think I felt overwhelmed by her image!
During the past few years I've grown to appreciate some of the French dishes that Julia loved. I’ve learned how to make duck confit, and duck proscuito, but not from her great books, instead I learned them by going to The Paupered Chef (thepauperedchef.com)! Maybe I felt it easier to follow The Paupered Chef because Nick Kindelsperger and Blake Royer were more like me, just willing to jump in with both feet, plus they photographed every aspect of the recipes they made.
Anyhow, shortly after seeing J&J I decided I would try the Boeuf Bourguignonne that was featured in the movie. But I don’t have Julia’s book! So I pulled out my 2006 edition of the Joy of Cooking (one of the books Julia used in her early cooking days apparently) and looked up the recipe.
I remembered that my husband had mentioned making it before so I asked him what kind of beef he had used. Well, that was all it took. He started reminiscing about how he made it and we decided HE would be the one to make it this time also. I had saved his old 1970’s version of Joy of Cooking thank goodness! It had his notes in it so he could recall just what he did.
A few days after the movie I had bought one of those great enameled cast iron lidded pots since we didn't have a roaster. Over years with all the moves he and I had both made, we’d somehow lost track of the roaster we had. So the new pot came in perfect time!
Ken works hard at recipes. To me a recipe is often a suggestion, which means sometimes I lose track of what the intended dish was supposed to taste like! But Ken is very methodical, practicing and practicing the recipe and making notes about what he used. I’ve learned to be more like that since marrying him almost 8 years ago.
I’m not going to put the recipe in here since it takes too long to type. Look it up in any of the Joy of Cooking or Julia’s cookbooks for yourself. I have yet to compare the Joy of Cooking recipe to Julia’s recipe. No I still do not have her book! LOL.
Preparing the marinade for the London Broil. 
Sauteeing the meat with onions and turkey bacon.
Flaming the brandy.We did use a wide dutch noodle which is the only thing I would change from Ken’s recipe. I would make my own noodles next time.
Ken sitting down to a great meal! It truly was a great dish well worth the work Ken had to put into it! Cheese Souffle
Why is it I love to torture myself by trying recipes that I have never even tasted and many times never even seen?! I did that a lot with Jewish and Russian dishes back in the 1990s.
One day last year I decided, for some unknown reason, to do it again. I wanted to try a cheese soufflé. It probably started with Ken saying he really likes soufflés … that’s how a quarter of my culinary adventures start…like the time he mentioned quenelles. Not only had I not had them, I had no idea what they were!! Yet I went ahead and tried.
Back to the soufflé. I pulled out the Joy of Cooking, turned to page 203, and read through the recipe. Hmmm, not so difficult, from the looks of it and not too time consuming.
Now, a year later, I've made them 5 or 6 times. While the recipe is very good, the order of the things you have to prepare is not quite the way I need to do them. The one thing I have to remember is to beat the egg whites, shred the cheeses, AND THEN make the white sauce. You’d think I would remember those things…but alas, ‘tis not the case. Now I’ve written down 1, 2, and 3 in the cookbook so I remember.
Here's the best part for me though. The recipe itself calls for gruyere cheese and parmesan cheese which we both love. But the last time I made it, I found that there was no gruyere in the frig. Alors! Gasp! Ken had eaten the last few ounces for lunch the day before!
What to do…I had already started the white sauce and the eggs…see what I mean about not getting all ready first?! LOL. Anyhow, we did have some very good aged Gouda tucked away. We love aged Gouda for the flaky texture and deep nutty taste. I don’t cook with it usually as we feel it is too precious…we prefer to slice it and place it carefully on crackers and have it with a glass of my delicious home made wine.
Well, not wanting to waste the ingredients I had already started for the soufflé, I quickly scraped the aged gouda cheese on the microplane side of my shredder and put it in. I also did one other thing different. In the past when I have made soufflés I use Pam on the inside of the pan. This time I used butter (except I did use Pam on the inside of the foil collar) and dusted it with Kraft shredded parmesan cheese. But in the soufflé itself, I added freshly shredded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese just the way I usually do.
What a lucky mistake it was that Ken had eaten the gruyere! This was the best soufflé by far! We loved it so much we ate the entire thing!
One day last year I decided, for some unknown reason, to do it again. I wanted to try a cheese soufflé. It probably started with Ken saying he really likes soufflés … that’s how a quarter of my culinary adventures start…like the time he mentioned quenelles. Not only had I not had them, I had no idea what they were!! Yet I went ahead and tried.
Back to the soufflé. I pulled out the Joy of Cooking, turned to page 203, and read through the recipe. Hmmm, not so difficult, from the looks of it and not too time consuming.
Now, a year later, I've made them 5 or 6 times. While the recipe is very good, the order of the things you have to prepare is not quite the way I need to do them. The one thing I have to remember is to beat the egg whites, shred the cheeses, AND THEN make the white sauce. You’d think I would remember those things…but alas, ‘tis not the case. Now I’ve written down 1, 2, and 3 in the cookbook so I remember.
Here's the best part for me though. The recipe itself calls for gruyere cheese and parmesan cheese which we both love. But the last time I made it, I found that there was no gruyere in the frig. Alors! Gasp! Ken had eaten the last few ounces for lunch the day before!
What to do…I had already started the white sauce and the eggs…see what I mean about not getting all ready first?! LOL. Anyhow, we did have some very good aged Gouda tucked away. We love aged Gouda for the flaky texture and deep nutty taste. I don’t cook with it usually as we feel it is too precious…we prefer to slice it and place it carefully on crackers and have it with a glass of my delicious home made wine.
Well, not wanting to waste the ingredients I had already started for the soufflé, I quickly scraped the aged gouda cheese on the microplane side of my shredder and put it in. I also did one other thing different. In the past when I have made soufflés I use Pam on the inside of the pan. This time I used butter (except I did use Pam on the inside of the foil collar) and dusted it with Kraft shredded parmesan cheese. But in the soufflé itself, I added freshly shredded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese just the way I usually do.
What a lucky mistake it was that Ken had eaten the gruyere! This was the best soufflé by far! We loved it so much we ate the entire thing!
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