- Author: L. Watts
The hands-on Bread Class was a great success. Attending were great bunch of people from the public and a whole lotta MFPs. AND there was plenty of dough to go around. Lest you think that we were paying people to attend, let me set you straight: dough in this instance means actual bread dough, and it was pretty nice, if I do say so myself.
The recipe that was used for the class is a big one and will make about 3 dozen dinner rolls or 24 good-sized cinnamon rolls. It is easy to make and if allowed to rest in the fridge overnight (or at least 8-10 hours), it is a dream to work with.
I decided to post a half version for all of those of you who don't really need 24 cinnamon rolls or 3 dozen dinner rolls. You may want 2 dozen cinnamon rolls, but do you really need them? I know I want them but I don't need them!
These are great fresh from the oven on any special occasion.
So here we go:
1 pkg dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (about 110 degrees, warm to the fingertips for sure)
1 cup warm whole milk
1/4 cup butter, softened (salted is just fine)
4 cups flour (about)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm mashed potatoes (you may use instant potatoes mixed with warm water to the consistency of fresh mashed potatoes, use leftover re-warmed mashed potatoes from dinner, or cook some potatoes up, mash them finely, let cool til tepid and use them)
1 egg, beaten slightly
1 tsp salt
Filling:
6 tablespoons (3/4 of a stick or so) butter, very soft or melted
1 tablespoon fresh ground cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup raisins (optional)
Soften yeast in warm water. Let stand 10 minutes.
In large heavy duty mixer, (or in large bowl, if by hand) pour warm milk over soft butter. Stir in 3-1/2 cups flour, sugar, mashed potatoes, eggs, salt, and dissolved yeast. Mix at low speed, or stir heartily by hand. Add remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough, and mix well for five minutes or knead in the bowl for several minutes.. The dough will be dough-like but wet; it should not be liquid and pour like a batter. Leave in mixer bowl, covered with plastic wrap, overnight or about 8 hours.
In a separate bowl, place the 1 cup raisins (if you are using them), barely top with hot water, cover and let soak in the fridge overnight also.
The next morning, drain the raisins well (if you are using them) and set aside. Mix the cinnamon and brown sugar in a small bowl; set aside. Then, remove dough from fridge and turn it out onto a floured surface. Roll it out into a very large rectangle and cover with the softened/melted butter and the cinnamon brown sugar mixture; sprinkle raisins atop sugar, if using. Roll up tightly from the narrower end, making sure to seal well the ending edge and tips of each end of the roll. Use a sharp knife to slice into 12 equal slices and place on a well-greased cookie sheet or into whatever other well greased pans you wish. Let rise until double, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake rolls until golden, between 25-30 minutes, rotating pan(s) halfway through the baking time. If the rolls are browning too fast, decrease heat to 350º.
If making Dinner Rolls, divide rolls into 18 equal portions, shape into balls and place on a well-greased, rimmed cookie pan and let rise as for the cinnamon rolls. Bake the same at the cinnamon rolls.
For Rich Dinner Rolls:
Cut the sugar by half (use 1/4 cup sugar); omit the rolling out and filling with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. If you wish rolls for dinner, you may make the dough in the early morning. Or (better) make it the night before. It sails through the extended fridge rise beautifully.
Quickie Frosting/glaze for Cinnamon Rolls:
Take a stick of very soft butter and mix into it about a cup of powdered sugar and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla. When the rolls come out of the oven, spread quickly and evenly on top to melt in. If you just want "sweet buttered" rolls, let the rolls cool completely before spreading the frosting on top.
- Author: Darrell Fluman
- Editor: L. Watts
Thanksgiving Holiday isn't that far away in terms of planning for the feast.
I have a long time tradition of smoking a turkey for the holiday and although most of my extended family are not big "smoked meat" fans, there are enough of us to make it worth the extra effort. My favorite part is the Smoked Turkey Noodle Soup to follow. The apple sweet/apple smoky flavor is heaven in a bowl.
On Monday before make a tea of the apple cider and dry spices, simmer for 5 minutes, leave to steep, covered, for 1 hour and chill. This is used for the marinade.
I marinate the holiday bird in a brine of cold apple cider, sugar, salt, dry oregano, and dry basil starting mid-day Tuesday in a 5 gallon bucket in the 'fridge.
Early Thursday (read 4 a.m.) the bird gets rinsed and is set to dry while the smoker gets going.
I prefer to smoke poultry over straight apple wood, but it seems to get harder to find the shredded 100% apple wood every year. Sometimes if I don't start searching early enough I settle for a mix of alder and apple. Really, there is only a subtle difference with the mix and 100% alder is fine for poultry. 3 to 4 hours of cold smoke raises the bird's temperature to 90-95of and leaves the skin a beautiful mahogany color.
The cavity is stuffed loosely with 2 parts apples to 1 part onions, 1 part celery. Apples in 16ths (apple wedged into eighths and cut them in half), onions in the same 16ths and separate most layers.
Stand the bird on end and pour the pieces in. Don't pack them in. Two big apples and one big onion is good for a medium bird. Any extra goes in the roasting pan.
Slip some fresh oregano sprigs under the skin.
Take a double layer of aluminum foil and make a preformed cover for the breast. Leave some extra along the side to tuck under the drumstick. You may need this near the of cooking to prevent the breast from over browning.
Roast with 1/2 gallon apple cider, extra apples, extra onions, carrot chunks and other root veggies as you prefer in the pan, i.e., turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, golden beets, and small potatoes. No red beets. Plenty of veggies because you want some to go in the stock and some to serve.
Roast breast side down until the last hour. Flip the bird over and cook to 165of in the thigh meat. You can baste with the pan juices or not. I find little difference to justify the extra effort.
A remote thermometer is a great investment as it gives you the temp. without having to open the door which lets the heat out and makes the cooking that much longer. Your oven can drop 50o or more each time you open the door and it takes at least 20 minutes to reach the set temp. again.
Check to make sure the breast isn't getting too brown. Use your pre-made cover if needed.
When done [remove from the oven,cover the bird with foil and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes. Resist the urge to begin cutting or you will end up with a pan full of juice and a bone dry bird.
IS IT SOUP YET ?
Remove remaining meat from the carcass. Refrigerate.
Take the bird carcass, skin and everything else except any leftover potatoes in the pan and cover with cold water. Bring up to a slow simmer and cook for
1-1/2 to 2 hours, uncovered. Do not boil. This creates lots of small particles of protein that make your stock cloudy.
Allow to cool to a safe temperature and strain through a metal colander to separate out the big pieces then strain out the small stuff through cheesecloth or a flour sack towel. Do not squeeze out the towel. Discard everything you strained out.
You have cooked out all that nature has to offer.
Taste the stock. If you feel it is weak, simmer it to reduce the volume.
You may pressure can the clear stock @ 10 pounds pressure for 20 minutes for pints, 25 minutes for quarts, adjusting time for altitude. See the NCHFP.org website http://nchfp.uga.edu/ for details.
For soup you need the vegetables of your choice. Onions, carrots, turnips, parsnips, and potatoes come to mind. Cook to almost tender.
You need precooked al dente egg noodles. I like extra wide. If you cook the noodles in the stock the volume will be reduced by the absorption of the noodles. Your choice.
I think it is easier to control the texture of the noodles if I cook them separate and add them in at the last minute. I don't like overcooked noodles.
Add the meat. Season to taste. Enjoy.
- Author: L. Watts
What a meeting! You missed it!
Market! Link! Social Media! Pictures! SB County expectations! Gray-scale flyers! Photo album! Out-reach! Class opportunities! Great ideas, good food (of course we had good food!)
These are just a few of the things we brain-stormed in the Marketing Brainstorming meeting we had this past Saturday. There was a good turn-out at Susan Israel's very nice house—thank you Susan for hosting.
Check out some pics:
Complete with Post-its! You cannot see all the ideas flying around here, but look at the number of post-its on the windo in the back and you will get an idea of the number. And there were even more by the end of the meeting.
This picture did not include one of Suzy's dogs that climbed up on the back of the couch and and licked Lane's head to get his attention!--all very sweet dogs.
There were a lot of very good Ideas to help publicize the MFP program. Many things to think about and start to take action on.
For starters, one easy Idea for you all: If you post anything, anywhere on the web as a response to a food/canning article, item, blog, picture or such, please include in your signature “Master Food Preserver of San Bernardino County.” If you have a webpage of any sort, please link to us ! This will help us to come up in results for searches about canning/food preservation. If you can make this a link to our Home page or blog or Facebook page it would be even better. If you need help with this just e-mail me!
COMING UP: Brining, smoking a bird for T-Day, from Darrell Fluman. It's a good one so don't miss it.
Now I leave you with the recipe for the delicious Meyer Lemon Polenta cake that Suzy served at our meeting. Not a preservation recipe, but it uses optional candied lemon slices and we TALKED about canning stuff!!!
Meyer Lemon Almond Cake
http://www.sfgate.com/recipes/article/Meyer-Lemon-Almond-Cake-6036459.php
Serves 8-10
This cake pairs the bright flavor of Meyer lemons with a moist, buttery crumb made of almond flour. This is naturally gluten-free (as long as you use gluten-free flour blend to coat the pan). It can be gussied up with a topping of candied lemons, or served without.
Tips From Suzy: The recipe is hard to follow. I've learned to do some prep first: A small bowl of just the almond flour, a small bowl of the lemon zest/lemon juice/vanilla, and a small bowl of polenta (just cornmeal--don't tell anybody)/baking powder/salt/cardamom powder. They get mixed in with the butter/sugar/egg mixture in that order. And any lemons will do.
The cake:
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 to 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend
1 cup sugar
2 cups almond flour
3 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup Meyer lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
2 tablespoons finely grated Meyer lemon zest (about 2 large lemons)
½ cup medium-grind polenta (cornmeal!)
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
Candied lemons (optional):
1½ cups sugar
2/3 cup water
3 to 4 medium Meyer lemons (about 10 to 14 ounces), sliced 1/8-inch thick, seeds removed
For the cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, and place a rack in the middle.
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; set aside. Use the butter wrappers to grease the inside of a 9-inch springform pan and sprinkle with the flour, rotating to coat the bottom and sides of the pan; discard excess flour. Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit the bottom, place inside the pan and set aside.
Add the sugar to the butter; mix at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Add the almond flour and mix slowly to combine.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl, before adding the next. The batter should have a light, mousse-like texture.
Remove the bowl from the mixer. Using a large spoon or rubber spatula, gently fold in the vanilla, lemon juice and zest. Add the polenta, baking powder, salt and cardamom, continuing to fold carefully.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out to the edges. Set the cake pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake 45-50 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the center is set.
Remove the cake from the oven and let sit 10 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edge of the cake to loosen, then remove the sides of the pan. Leave the cake on the bottom of the springform pan, place on a rack and let cool. The cake can be made a day ahead; loosely wrap or place in a cake carrier and store at room temperature.
For the candied lemons: Combine the sugar and water in a shallow saucepan and heat over medium-high until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a strong simmer. Working in batches, add the lemon slices and continue to simmer, turning the slices occasionally, until the peels turn translucent, about 6-7 minutes, depending on the thickness of the slices. Remove from heat and let cool. The candied lemons can be made a day or two ahead; refrigerate in the syrup.
To finish the cake: Remove the candied lemon slices from the syrup and blot with paper towels. Overlap the slices atop the cake.
Note: Reserve the remaining syrup to mix with mineral water or club soda for a light spritzer, or to add to a citrus-based cocktail that calls for simple syrup. Or, use it to sweeten lemonade.
- Author: L. Watts
PICKLES! NATIONAL PICKLE DAY!
#NationalPickleDay
Guess what's coming up? National Pickle Day on November 14. You all know what a pickle is, right? Those green things you put on burgers, eat with grilled burgers, get wedges of on your deli-plates? Typically refereeing to cucumber pickles in the US of A?
Pickles can be sweet, sour, salty, dill, hot, garlic, fruity, mustardy, spicy or any combination there-of. They can come in chips (crosswise slices), sandwich slices (lengthwise slices), halve, wedges, quarters, whole (small, medium, large or gigantor), baby, chopped (relish, both sweet and sour). Generally we think of cucumbers as pickles, but just about any other fruit or vegetable can be made into pickles.
There are pineapple, peach and fig pickles. Don't forget green bean, bell pepper, okra and asparagus pickles. Meat can be pickled (pickled pig's feet anyone?). Cabbage (and other things are pickled into delicious sauerkraut, kimchi and hot sauces.
Pickled plums are snacked on in Japan. Pickled turnips are munched in the Mid-east. Chile pickle is ingested in India. Pickled winter vegetables are chewed in China. Garden vegetable pickles (giardiniera) in-taken in Italy. (please allow me my alliteration!)
Let's all celebrate the wonderful world of pickles! It is going to be National Pickle Day November 14—get a jar of pickles and pucker-up with someone you love.
http://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-pickle-day-november-14/
Make some of these and store in the refrigerator so you will have PICKLES on hand for National Pickle Day:
Garlic Dill Pickles (For the Refrigerator)
(about two one-quart jars)
Adapted from Marissa Mcclellan, Tasting Table: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/08/garlic-dill-pickles.html
2 quart kirby cucumbers (approximately 3 pounds)
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups filtered water
2 tablespoons pickling salt
8 garlic cloves, peeled
4 teaspoons dill seed
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
Wash jars thoroughly in warm, soapy water. Rinse well. Wash lids of jars, rinse well. Since these pickles are NOT processed and MUST be stored in the refrigerator, you may use any jars you wish as long as you have their lids to fit.
Wash and dry kirby (pickling) cucumbers. Remove both ends. Cut into chips, spears or leave whole, depending on your preference.
Combine vinegar, water and salt in sauce pan and bring to a boil briefly. Turn off heat.
Divide garlic cloves, dill seed, black peppercorns and red chili flakes between jars. Pack cucumbers into jars as tightly as you can without crushing them.
Pour the brine into the jars, covering the cucumbers and leaving 1/4 inch headspace (that's the amount of space between the surface of the brine and the rim of the jar).
Remove any air bubbles from jars by gently tapping them. You can also use a wooden chopstick or plastic utensil to help remove stubborn bubbles.
Wipe rims of the jars and put the lids on; do not screw down too tightly.
Let the jars cool before putting them into the refrigerator. Do note that your jars may seal during the cooling process—they still must be stored in the refrigerator.
Good after at least a day or two of marinating in the refrigerator. Will be better with a week or two of refrigerated storage—if you can wait.
These will disappear quickly! Enjoy.
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