Cooks' Corner

[maggiepie]

Rodger, I don't think I have ever seen a le creuset  casserole without a knob, you got a great bargain though!!

John, your bread looks yummy, I wish I could find yeastcake around here, would think health food stores would have it but when I enquired I just got blank stares.

Do you cook your bread in a container with the lid on for the first 20 mins?
All this talk of bread reminds me I haven't made this for months.

Lesley, your lemon curd looks delicious.

[Maggi Young]

Hmmmm, Rodger, I don't think your "scale " pic of the casserole dish is a great help to me..... I was expecting something much bigger..... UNLESS the Puddy Tat is HUGE??

Looking forward to trying the no-knead loaf trick...... but not today.... about 30 degrees here.... crazy heat... can't stay outside for long in this..... now I remember why I don't care for sunny holidays!

[Paddy Tobin]

I certainly will give the no-knead bread a try. A plain soda bread is our normal quick bread.

Re Poutine: I think photographs or even mention of it should be banned - cuisine pornography.

Paddy

[johnw]

It makes the best bread I've ever made, and it's beyond simple.)

Where are you getting your Danish yeast cake from? I've looked around Victoria for cake yeast many a time with no success whatsoever.

Roger - You're absolutely right, I haven't tasted such bread since France in 1984.

re: the Danish cakes, a friend has a son in Denmark and she was there this spring and brought back a load of them.  She is planning more trips and I intend to pick some up next year.  I wonder if they could be mailed safely in cooler autumn weather? They tend to sweat in the plastic bag in the fridge.

I should have mentioned that the loaf pictured is testimony to what you said about the recipe being forgiving. The first few time I made this recipe I put 2 instead of 3 cups of flour (remember Helen?  I swore I was using the correct amount). The dough had to be poured into the Le Creuset.  Better now that I am using 3 cups!  Always lid on for the first 30 minutes.

re: the Lemon Curd. When is the next flight to Dunedin?

johnw

[Rodger Whitlock]

I don't think I have ever seen a le creuset  casserole without a knob, you got a great bargain though!!
Do you cook your bread in a container with the lid on for the first 20 mins?

The very shape of the pot, its handles, and even the contour of its lid are nothing like today's Le Creuset. My guess is that it's 1960s or 1970s vintage.

I leave the lid on for 30 minutes, then take it off for 15, per the NYT method.

Hmmmm, Rodger, I don't think your "scale " pic of the casserole dish is a great help to me..... I was expecting something much bigger..... UNLESS the Puddy Tat is HUGE??

Looking forward to trying the no-knead loaf trick...... but not today.... about 30 degrees here.... crazy heat... can't stay outside for long in this..... now I remember why I don't care for sunny holidays!

Lily's on the small side. No, it's not a huge casserole. The standard no-knead bread recipe only uses 3 cups of flour; not a big loaf. I've found by experience that a 2.4 liter bowl is just the right size for the dough to rise in, almost but not quite coming up to the rim.

I've successfully used a much larger Le Creuset dutch oven for baking this bread; the resultant loaf was wider and less thick.

I certainly will give the no-knead bread a try. A plain soda bread is our normal quick bread.

The no-knead bread isn't a quick bread using soda or baking powder. It's yeast-raised and you have to give the dough at least 12 hours for its first rising. The great virtues of the recipe are no kneading (to state the obvious), and that you can allow it to rise for 24, 36, even 48 hours. You need to allow another 2 hours for second rising, and about an hour to bake.

re: the Danish [yeast] cakes, a friend has a son in Denmark and she was there this spring and brought back a load of them.  She is planning more trips and I intend to pick some up next year.  I wonder if they could be mailed safely in cooler autumn weather? They tend to sweat in the plastic bag in the fridge.

With plants, the real enemy when shipped is lack of ventilation, sweating, and rot. I'd suggest that rather than mail them, send them by FedEx.  DHL, or UPS. Yes, waiting until fall would be a good idea. And perhaps store them in the freezer rather than the fridge.

Now, about rock gardening, so as to keep this thread approximately on topic: the no-knead bread has an exceptionally chewy crust because the initial baking in a closed, preheated container produces a lot of steam. The effect is similar to that achieved by French bakers, who inject live steam into their ovens to get a good crust. Being a chewy crust, it's ideal for munching  on while contemplating some vegetative rarity.

And it makes the most delicious toast especially when slathered with butter. Ideal for eating while viewing, say, one's jeffersonia patches.

[johnw]

...and check out the rhubarb/fig marmalade recipe in the current issue of Gardens Illustrated...

Carlo - Thanks for reminding me as somehwere I have a recipe for this that a friend gave me, it is glorious. I will try to dig it out for comparison.

Here is another my grandmother used to make with only Concord grapes (not specified in her recipe).  Because of the walnuts it should only be kept in the fridge for 2-3 months. Plan on giving some to friends.  It is a very old recipe written in the 1920's and dating back long before that. Despite being clipped I think you should be able to fill in the few blanks.

johnw

[Carlo]

John,

If downloaded, the jpeg is complete.

I'm looking forward to the comparison of the rhubarb/fig when you find it.

[maggiepie]

I should have mentioned that the loaf pictured is testimony to what you said about the recipe being forgiving. The first few time I made this recipe I put 2 instead of 3 cups of flour (remember Helen?  I swore I was using the correct amount). The dough had to be poured into the Le Creuset.  Better now that I am using 3 cups!  Always lid on for the first 30 minutes.

John, Yep I remember 

Rodger, I only cook mine for 35 mins altogether, 20-25 mins with the lid on and 10 mins with it off, gives it a lovely crispy crust that's not half an inch thick.
I find the extra thick crust a bit too much, I also use convection.
Btw, I mostly just let mine sit for 5 hours and then cook it.
When I first started I was making a batch supposedly enough for 4 loaves but I only found it good for two, plus after sitting in the fridge for a day or two, my leftover dough always got a hard crust on it, so I just make enough for one loaf now.

[johnw]

John,

If downloaded, the jpeg is complete.

I'm looking forward to the comparison of the rhubarb/fig when you find it.

Carlo - Let me know the differences.  I wonder how it would be with fresh figs. The imported "fresh" ones in the stores here just won't do.

Rhubarb & Fig Preserve - Elaine 1993


3lb. rhubarb cut in 1/2 inch chunks (1.5 Imperial qts.)

6 Cups of sugar (I usually cut back on sugar)

1 big lemon

1/3 Cup cold water

1 lb. dried figs, stemmed and finely chopped

1. Mix rhubarb and sugar and set overnight.

2. The yellow of the lemon (strange way to put it)-  remove any pith, mince lemon. Mix with the water and set overnight.

3. Next day add all the ingredients on low heat and bring to a boil, uncovered, stirring 30 minutes to 103-104 C. (218-220 degrees Fahrenheit)

4. If drops slide off the spoon in a single jelly sheet it's done.

5.  Remove from heat, skim and bottle as per usual sterilizing method.

johnw



edit by maggi.... adding the recipe in a pdf for easy downloading for your files....
right click on the title below and "save as".....

[Lesley Cox]

If yeast cakes were stored in the freezer, would that not kill them? Yeast is, after all, a living thing.

[johnw]

If yeast cakes were stored in the freezer, would that not kill them? Yeast is, after all, a living thing.

That was my thought.

johnw

[maggiepie]

I made a cheesecake yesterday, have been using this recipe since the late 60's but only started adding the strawberry topping in the 70's
If anyone wants the recipe I will type it out and post.

[Maggi Young]

Helen, what can I say?
 

 

[David Nicholson]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Ragged Robin]

Helen, not fair we're on a diet!  But what a way to dream about coming off the diet     So in a word "yes".....
please show us how you make it so tantalizing to the taste buds (.....last word could be the plant connection