"Like to cook" - the second helping

[robkelk]

It's harvest time! Last week's radio recipe is Creamy parsnip, celery and apple soup

Uses chicken broth, so not vegetarian as-is.

[classicdrogn]

Since a potato stew came up in the most recent chapter of Beware of Chicken and generated some discussion, I'll tag it on here as well, vague as it may be as cooking instructions go.

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Someone on SB asked about the stew, so I said:

Sounds like a normal chowder recipe to me - spuds, onion, whole milk or maybe three to one water and cream, and whatever other mild flavored material you have to hand, commonly fish and/or corn, sometimes (already cooked) chicken or pork, or just a collection of veggies. Simmer at a low heat (so the cream doesn't stick to the pot and burn) for a long time, stirring occasionally but not so much that it breaks up your ingredients after they get soft. It's good in two or three hours, great the next day, and peaks around the second day if any lasts that long. As long as no food allergies forbid it, adding a smidgen of rice, barley or wheat, grated cheese, and/or mushrooms can deepen the rich flavor even more, but a little goes a long way there, like just a teaspoon or two for a 4-6qt pot or one cubed portabello (You can use a larger amount of mushrooms to stand in for meat too.) I leave out the salt in the pot and let people season their own bowls to taste, since I like more than most and my father wants no salt at all.

e: Oh, but do remember to fry your chopped onion in a bit of oil first until it turns translucent - you won't be getting the stew pot hot enough for that otherwise. Powdered or crushed dried onion also works if you must, but is a sad second best.

QQ edit for elseforum discussion: If you like spicy food, it's better to add it as a side or second dish and alternate than combine them, since the long cook time and milk or cream will tend to take the heat out of it in the stew pot. Hot nachos, spicy fires, or barbecued meat have all gone over well with it. Putting it in it right at the end as a condiment will certainly work but it's definitely the mild option - I add a bit of black pepper to my bowl sometime, myself, and I'm not a big spice fan.

[robkelk]

No radio recipe last week.

Instead, here's a recipe from this year's Great Canadian Baking Show: Pumpkin sponge cake with spider web mirror-glaze

Includes recipes for everything needed, including the simple syrup... but that doesn't mean it's a beginner's recipe.

[robkelk]

Last week's radio recipe is baked mushroom-topped brie

[robkelk]

Last week's radio recipe is Ajoblanco with candied and fried Brussels sprouts, a cold soup.

Vegetarian. Contains almonds.

[robkelk]

(BTW, I prefer the taste of Chapman's ice cream over the multinational brands.)

Recipes using their ice cream or frozen yogurt, including Frozen Yogurt Dessert Pizza

[robkelk]

I should pay more attention to the Great Canadian Baking Show and their "Technical Bake" recipes...

Pastéis de nata -- Portuguese custard tarts


EDIT: Tips for using common baking ingredient substitutions successfully

[classicdrogn]

While it's a couple days (or weeks) late for best effect and a very simple addition, it worked out so well for so little extra effort that I wanted to make a note of how I added some fresh cranberries to a standard boxed stuffing mix - put in enough of them to cover the bottom of a microwave-safe bowl, added the 1/2 cup of the cup and a half of water in the instructions on the Stovetop box so they just barely began to float, and microwaved them until I heard a couple pop and their innards made the water start to froth up.

This was then transferred to the larger bowl with previously-softened butter and the remainder of the boiling water added, then the dry bread crumb/seasonings mix poured into that and stirred up a bit (adding the dry to the wet keeps it from clumping up on the bottom, which is itself very much among the basics but not something obvious if no one ever pointed it out, and if you're writing for folks using a boxed mix It's best to assume lowest-end skill and/or experience anyway) before giving the whole thing a few minutes in the nuker before "fluffing" it, again as per the standard instructions.

A light tang of cranberry flavor was distributed nicely throughout the resulting dish while still being subtle enough to leave biting down on a whole berry to be a sudden burst of excitement on your tongue, and the intact cranberries were neither overcooked and mushy nor tough as dried ones usually end up depending on brand and preparation.

[robkelk]

The Great Canadian Baking Show presents Mile-High Lemon Blueberry Meringue Pie

Includes recipes for the crust and for blueberry meringue.

You don't need to use PEI blueberries, but they are the authentic variant.

[robkelk]

Last week's radio recipe is for a drink I'd never heard of before: the Corpse Reviver

[robkelk]

6 flavour-changing ingredient swaps to try with your favourite baking recipes

One I won't be trying is "Use nut flour in place of some all-purpose flour", because some of my family members have nut allergies.

[Inquisitive Raven]

Another swap not to use: when changing up citrus, don't use grapefruit. There's too much potential for possibly lethal drug interactions.

Also, the CBC seems to have completely failed to notice that nut flours don't have gluten and thus can't be substituted for wheat flour in yeasted breads without a) adding gluten or b) using a gluten substitute like xanthan gum.

[robkelk]

Last week's radio recipe is for two drinks: Glühwein and St. Nick's Shandy

Mixed drinks, two weeks on a row. Somebody at CBC needs to get this drinking problem under control...

[Norgarth]

Last week's radio recipe is for two drinks: Glühwein and St. Nick's Shandy

Mixed drinks, two weeks on a row. Somebody at CBC needs to get this drinking problem under control...

"I don't  have a drinking problem!  It all goes down my throat as intended!"

[robkelk]

This one isn't for the casual baker, because it needs a lot of attention to turn out right: Double Caramel Doughnuts. Which is why it was the Technical Bake on The Great Canadian Baking Show's "caramel week".

Contains hazelnuts and almonds.

[robkelk]

Found a rather large selection of recipes on the website of a Japanese kitchen-appliance manufacturer. Here are a few links.

Tempura from scratch. Contains shellfish if made as described, but one can replace the shrimp with something else if desired.

Nikujyaga. I mentioned this beef and potato stew in a story over on There's Nothing Better.

Karaage. Allow two hours to marinade the chicken before you coat and cook it.

Eggplant with Miso Sauce. Vegetarian. Contains sake.

Eggs and Lox Scramble. Serves 2.

Beefy Daikon Broth - Serves 1, because it simmers in the thermal jar. (Presumably one can use any wide-mouth thermal jar, not just theirs.) Make it at home at breakfast time, and enjoy it at work at lunch time.

Red Cranberry Gelatin with Mixed Berries - because you can use thermal jars to keep food cold, too.

Mixed Yakitori Skewers - the classic chicken and onion skewers, pork skewers, and bacon-wrapped cherry tomato skewers. Includes a recipe for mirin-and-soy sauce. Makes 18 skewers, six of each.

[robkelk]

Just found out about a company that sells various types of stone-ground flour. They have some recipes available... including Hokkaido-style Milk Bread.

Note that "Daily Grind" is their all-purpose flour, not their bread flour.

[robkelk]

Last week's radio recipe is gingerbread latte cookies. (If you just want gingerbread cookies, leave out the espresso white chocolate ganache and don't layer the cookies.)

[robkelk]

Back to the drinks... Last week's recipe is a kombucha and lemon concoction with a misleading name

[robkelk]

Red Wine-Roasted Chicken

When I worked at Mistura, I was introduced to a wet-roast method of roasting whole birds. This method works particularly well with game birds, as the liquid braises the legs while the breasts get browned by the dry heat. It also produces a particularly tasty sauce: a pool of butter-enriched red wine that the chicken swims lazily in.

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News item: Climate change leads to smaller loaves of bread

[robkelk]

How to make the perfect chocolate chip cookie: Think like a scientist

Or, how to apply the scientific method to baking in order to get the cookie that you want.

The video might or might not be available outside of Canada, but the recipe that Prof. Tran Lu arrived at is on the web page.

[robkelk]

Last week's radio recipe is for four seed bread

[robkelk]

Going undercover on the farm... no, wait, I read that wrong. That isn't a shepherd-spy -- last week's radio recipe is for shepherd's pie.

(Blame The Goon Show for the horrid pun; that's where I got it from.)

Note: As-is, this one contains maple syrup and garlic.

[robkelk]

Do you like Indian food but don't want something overly spicy?

Black Pepper Chicken

Contains coconut oil and coconut milk.

[Bob Schroeck]

Here's a little something I made this weekend.  I'm posting this because it came out very well and I wanted to share.

Coq au Vin

Prep Time 20 minutes, Cook Time 1.5 hours, Servings 4
(Take this with a grain of salt.  I took longer than 20 minutes in the prep phase, and because I chose to use boneless breasts instead of a whole chicken, I'm expecting to get six servings at least.)

Ingredients

Chicken marinade
3.5-pound chicken cut into 8 pieces (as I noted above, I used boneless breasts instead of a whole chicken; if you do the same you don't need to cut them smaller than they came in the package)
3 carrots peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
1 onion peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic smashed
3 sprigs thyme
1 bottle of red wine

Garnishes
4 ounces slab bacon diced (you can use sliced bacon, but you won't get the same mouthfeel at the end)
1 pound button or cremini mushrooms carefully cleaned and trimmed (don't soak them in water to clean them, though; they'll absorb the water and make the sauce thinner when they release it); small mushrooms can be used whole, but halve or quarter big ones
2 cups chicken stock
16 pearl or cipollini onions, peeled
salt and pepper

Braising the chicken
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon flour

Instructions:

Place the chicken, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and thyme in a large bowl. Pour over the wine, cover, and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.  I used an inexpensive Bordeaux, but a burgundy or a Cabernet sauvignon would work well, too.

Place the bacon into a cold skillet over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and a fair amount of the fat has been rendered out.  This can take a while; you don't want to burn the fat, just collect it. 

Once you've browned the bacon nicely and have a fair amount of fat in the pan, then transfer the bacon to a plate using a slotted spoon.  Add the mushrooms to the fat in the pan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. If you need more fat, add 1 tablespoon of butter. Transfer the mushrooms to the plate with the bacon.

In a small saucepan, bring the stock to a boil. Add the pearl onions, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the tip of a paring knife easily pierces the onions, about 20 minutes.  With a slotted spoon, transfer the onions to the plate with the bacon and mushrooms. Reserve the stock.

(You may want to simmer the mushrooms at the same time you brown and render the bacon -- they'll take at least the same amount of time and the bacon might even take longer if you're using actual slab bacon and not chopped up slices.)

Remove the chicken from the marinade.  Pat dry with paper towels and make sure no bits of vegetables are on it.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  (It's going to be purple. Don't worry.)

Place a fine-mesh strainer over a large bowl and strain the marinade into the bowl; discard the vegetables.

Heat the butter and the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat until bubbly and very hot. Working in batches if necessary, add the chicken, skin side down, and cook until browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Turn and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. (If you have a very hot burner, this can take less time.) Remove the chicken to a plate and sprinkle the flour into the pot.  Stir and cook to make a roux; if you want, you can add a splash of cognac or brandy as you do.  Whisk in the reserved stock and marinade and bring to a rapid boil.  Add one bay leaf and a couple more sprigs of thyme.

Add the chicken to the pot, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook, turning once, for 20 minutes. Add the bacon, mushrooms, and pearl onions and cook, uncovered, until the chicken is fully cooked, 25 to 30 minutes longer.

If you want a thicker gravy, transfer the chicken and garnishes to a plate (and keep warm), and boil the liquid for about 15 minutes or until reduced in volume, but don't reduce it to more than half its original volume.  Then return everything to the sauce.

Serve with mashed potatoes, a potato gratin or buttered egg noodles, along with a big green salad and a great bottle of wine!