Posts Tagged ‘food’
Unagi, anyone?
February 20, 2021This just in . . .
September 24, 2020Results have finally come in. The strength of cheese spans two orders of magnitude. Interestingly this is similar to the range of strengths found in metals. Vegan Parmesan is the high strength steel of cheeses while goat cheese is like your run of the mill lead alloy.
In further studies, it has been confirmed that potatoes are harder than apples which are harder than bananas.
Why am I saying, “Bon appetit?”
August 15, 2020Today is Julia Child’s birthday and I think it deserves remembering.
Theses are some of my favorite quotes from Julia:
The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook.
You are the butter to my bread, and the breath to my life.
A party without cake is just a meeting.
And speaking of cake here is a recipe for a cake worthy of Julia’s birthday:
Reine De Saba (or Queen of Sheba) Chocolate and Almond Cake
Adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1
Serves 6 to 8 people
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter and flour a round 8-inch cake pan. Set 4 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate and 2 tbsp. rum or coffee in a small pan, cover, and place in a larger pan of almost simmering water; let melt while you proceed with the recipe.
3. In a mixing bowl, with a wooden spoon or electric beater, cream 1 soft stick butter and 2/3 cup granulated sugar together for several minutes until they form a pale yellow, fluffy mixture.
4. Beat in 3 egg yolks until well blended.
5. Beat 3 egg whites and a pinch of salt in a separate bowl until soft peaks are formed; sprinkle on 1 tbsp. granulated sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed.
6. With a rubber spatula, blend the melted chocolate into the butter and sugar mixture, then stir in 1/3 cup pulverized almonds, and 1/4 tsp. almond extract. Immediately stir in one fourth of the beaten egg whites to lighten the batter. Fold in a third of the remaining whites and when partially blended, sift on one third of 1/2 cup sifted cake flour and continue folding. Alternate rapidly with more egg whites and more flour until all are incorporated.
7. Turn the batter into the cake pan, pushing the batter up to its rim with a rubber spatula. Bake in middle level of preheated oven for about 25 minutes.
8. Allow cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, and reverse cake onto a cake rack. Allow it to cool for an hour or two.
To serve, use the chocolate-butter icing, and press a design of almonds over the icing.
Bon appetit!
Bonus baking blog – Afghan Biscuits
June 26, 2020We are on vacation so posting has been light, but I did want to share this recipe. I read about Afghan Biscuits – on Gastro Obscura – and I looked up the recipe. These biscuits (cookies) are apparently a New Zealand specialty. I had never heard of them. Now that I have made them (twice) they have become one of our favorites, too.
Baking blogging
April 23, 2020Everybody knows that homemade pita bread is far better than what you can get commercially – at least around here. This week I attempted to make my own pitas. The recipe and instructions were easy. The dough was beautiful and easy to work with. The pitas only take 3 minutes per side to bake. What I neglected to calculate was that I was making 8 pitas and each of them has 2 sides – so, you get the idea. By the way, they were wonderful and I will make them again.
Waiting to be rolled out
What did I see this weekend?
October 28, 2019
We went to the apple orchard, but there was so much more . . .
So many Apple Fritters
Pies, dumplings . . .
and donuts, and, and, and . . .
Why am I looking forward to Saturday?
September 12, 2019
The second Saturday of September is Pie Day in Pie Town, New Mexico. This small community (population 186) has earned a reputation for offering excellent pies for sale. It started as a crossroads community – a stop for people traveling west – and is now popular with tourists. This Saturday is Pie Day. I would like to stop by the Pie-O-Neer cafe where they serve pie, “that’s it.” It sounds like my kind of place. Here is a story about the town at Cowboys & Indians magazine.
Gunsmoke and Knitting 