The 2019 Heavenly Cookbook: Recipe Discussion

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Comments

  • I was trying to cut a recipe in 1/2 today and it called for 3/4 of a cup. Not sure how to do that I found google was my friend. 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons. Should any of you ever need to know.
  • Downunder tablespoons are different. Four teaspoons make a tablespoon down here, three elsewhere. Fractions work more easily with four.
  • HedgehogHedgehog Shipmate
    I was trying to cut a recipe in 1/2 today and it called for 3/4 of a cup. Not sure how to do that I found google was my friend. 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons. Should any of you ever need to know.
    Math is not my natural language, but shouldn't half of 3/4 be 3/8? 2/8, of course, is the same as 1/4, so it would be 1/4 cup plus 1/8 cup. Or have I garbled things?

    See, this is why I make soups--I find that soups tend to be forgiving if you are a trifle off on your measurements.

  • As 2 tablespoons is 1/8 of a cup that sounds right. 1 cup = 240ml 1 tablespoon = 15 ml
  • I’m getting lost with all this talk of quarts and cups. I can cope with British pints (larger than american ones which is good for anyone who likes beer) and vaguely with fluid ounces and pounds but the metric system is where it’s at. It alarms me slightly how in the age of the internet the USA still refuses to adopt metric!
  • Well the recipe worked, right or wrong.
  • NenyaNenya All Saints Host, Ecclesiantics & MW Host
    Nenya wrote: »
    I'm trying a new recipe for tea this evening - pizza-topped pasta bake. I'll let you know how that goes.

    Insipid. Firenze's pasta recipe upthread sounds much nicer.
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    The Florentine kitchen is still en déshabillé on account of the building works, so heavily into the one pan meals.

    E.g. microwave new potatoes and sliced fennel until just done. Toss in an oiled roasting tin, add whole sea bass, scatter thin slices of lemon (particularly over the fish) and butter, black pepper and parmesan over the veg. Roast c 25 minutes.
  • A Feminine ForceA Feminine Force Shipmate
    edited April 2019
    I have one that I like to do in the toaster oven. There's such a disincentive to cook for oneself - portions get all screwed up. I love your idea of doing the vegs in the same pan. I kind of avoid them.

    I will line the toaster oven tray with tin foil to make a little boat, put in a piece of salmon, top with fresh dill and thin sliced leek, salt, pepper, a couple of globs of butter and pour white wine around it. Then fold the top of the foil together to make a pouch and bake in the toaster oven for fifteen to twenty minutes.

    There's a variant of this I do with maple syrup, Canadian rye whisky, salt, pepper and mustard powder.

    Cheap and cheerful - except if you use wild caught salmon which is what I prefer.

    AFF
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    The lemon-dill-leek one sounds lovely, AFF - I think I'd be tempted to add a splash of cream, just to make it even more decadent!
  • Piglet wrote: »
    The lemon-dill-leek one sounds lovely, AFF - I think I'd be tempted to add a splash of cream, just to make it even more decadent!

    Wow what a great idea it never entered my head!

    Thanks!!

    AFF
  • MooMoo Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    I inadvertently bought unsalted butter instead of salted. Can anyone tell me how much extra salt I should use in the batter when I bake with it?
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Most of the recipes and TV cookery shows that I've seen suggest you use unsalted butter and a pinch of salt (even for sweet dishes), the theory being that you can control how much salt you're putting in.

    I never buy unsalted butter (I really don't like the taste), and so far I haven't bought it by accident, so I've never had the chance to put it to the test, but it sort of makes sense.
  • I usually add about a pinch if I realize I've bought unsalted butter. Of course, if you're making enormous amounts, it would be a couple pinches.
  • SipechSipech Shipmate
    Last night, I decided to try to make a hollandaise sauce. Note: I've never actually had one before in my life. It didn't go so well. Can any of the ship's cooks point me to where I went wrong?

    I put a few inches of hot water in a saucepan and put a pyrex bowl on top, creating a seal but the bowl never touched the water. Into the bowl I put about 100g of chopped softened butter so that it slowly melted. I added two lightly beaten egg yolks and stirred, as I then turned the hob on to a low heat so that water in the makeshift ban-marie remained hot but never boiling. Slowly, I dribbled in the juice of 1 small lemon, constantly stirring as I went. This changed the consistency of the sauce, but it was much paler than any pictures of hollandaise I've seen. I turned the heat down as I served up the rest of dinner (including asparagus, which was the target for the hollandaise). In 2 minutes, it had suddenly turned lumpy like bad custard. It could no longer be described as a sauce. Having tasted it a couple times as I was making it, I now found it to be far sharper, even though I hadn't added any more lemon juice.

    Ultimately, I couldn't finish it, as it was just too unpleasant. I want to try again, but given the ingredients are quite expensive, I'm not keen to waste anything. How can I do it better?
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Emulsive sauces are not a thing I do often - but in my recollection - and a few recipes I’ve checked - the fat (oil or butter) is drizzled into the egg and flavourings (though the point or points these are added does vary - but fat/oil gradually and last does seem to be a constant).
  • What Firenze said. And whisk like fury, stirring is probably not sufficient.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    edited April 2019
    If you've got a blender, the blessèd Delia's version might be for you.

    I tried to link to it, but the link wouldn't work. Try www.deliaonline and type in "quick blender hollandaise" or it's in her Cookery Course if you've got that.

    I confess I haven't tried it (I've never had the nerve), but her recipes usually work.

    Good luck!
  • I've made hollandaise, and it's definitely an emulsion - think hot mayonnaise - which you make by slowly whisking the butter into the egg yolk.
  • Hollandaise can be tricky when you first make it. Try this:

    One melt your butter. When melted, skim off the white solids from the top (this gives you clarified butter) and then keep it warm.

    Two in a basin whisk together the egg yolks, pinch of cayenne pepper, pinch of salt, dash of white wine vinegar and teaspoon of ice water. Whisk for a couple of minutes then put basin over hot water and keep whisking until it becomes thick and creamy.

    Three remove from heat, keep whisking for c1 minute then very slowly whisk in the warm clarified butter until it is all absorbed. If you think it is too thick you can add a dash of tepid water.

    Four add a squeeze of lemon (or other citrus) juice and any extra seasoning you think may be needed after tasting - usually a little extra cayenne.

    Keep warm until required - don't forget to put either clingfilm or greaseproof paper onto surface to stop a skin forming.
  • LeafLeaf Shipmate
    edited April 2019
    This was the part that jumped out for me:
    Sipech wrote: »
    I turned the heat down as I served up the rest of dinner (including asparagus, which was the target for the hollandaise). In 2 minutes, it had suddenly turned lumpy like bad custard.

    Once hollandaise is "brought together" it must be taken off the heat altogether. If you leave it on low heat, or in too warm of a place, or give it so much as a withering glance, it will turn into weird sour scrambled eggs.

  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    I don't think this will actually count as a recipe, but today's lunch was so nice I have to put it here.

    Cook a couple of rashers of bacon until crisp and chop small.

    De-stone an avocado and mash the flesh with salt, pepper and a squirt of lemon juice and chop a tomato.

    Toast and butter a few slices of a French stick (or a couple of slices of any sort of bread that you like), spread with the avocado mixture and top with the bacon and tomato bits.

    So simple, but so heavenly.
  • LydaLyda Shipmate
    Bacon and avocado is a marriage made in heaven. What we call a California BLT sandwich is a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich with avocado. Yummers! :yum:
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    First a slice of sourdough. Buttered of course. Then the crispy lettuce. Then the mayo. Then the sliced tomato. Then the bacon (rashers of course). Then the slices of avocado. Spritz of lime juice and hot sauce. Second slice of sourdough.
  • SipechSipech Shipmate
    Thanks for the advice all. I made something last night that looked far more like the hollandaise I'd seen in pictures and which had a palatable taste.

    Compared to my previous effort, I started by heating the lemon juice. Then I whisked the egg yolks to death into the acid before slowly adding the clarified part of the butter, whisking all the way. The only bit I noticed is that the white solids from the butter can't be skimmed off as they sank to the bottom. Though as I used a milk pan with a lipped edge, it was easy to pour the clarified bit while ensuring the white part stayed tucked in the corner.
  • Congratulations! If we still had custom titles, you could be Ship's Hollandaise Chef.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    I have huge admiration for anyone who has the nerve to do anything that involves separating eggs - bravo Sipech!

    <notworthy>
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    A variation on the salmon/pasta thingie I posted the other week: substitute prawns and add mushrooms.

    But what makes it, I’ve concluded, is the pinch of chilli flakes/cayenne and spritz of lemon juice, it just lifts the sauce.
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    There’s a reason why classic recipes are classic. Here is Carbonnade Flammande as it oughter be (ignore versions that introduce bacon or flour).

    Stewing steak
    Brown beer (pref Belgian eg Chimay)
    Onions
    Garlic
    Bread
    Dijon mustard
    Sugar
    Wine vinegar
    Bay leaf
    Oil

    Briefly seal the cubed beef in a hot pan and put in casserole. Soften the finely chopped onion and garlic in the same pan. Sprinkle over 1 tsp sugar and 2 tbsp wine vinegar. Tip into casserole. Push a slice of crustless bread spread with mustard into the meat and onion mix. Deglaze the pan with the beer and pour over. Put in a low oven for a couple of hours.

    Drain/scoop out the liquid and onion and mulch in a blender. Return the sauce to the casserole and simmer while you make the chips (this is a Belgian recipe after all).

  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    That sounds lovely, Firenze. I'm not sure about the chips (Belgianness notwithstanding), partly because I imagine they'd go soggy with a casserole, and partly because I've never actually made chips - I've got a sort of terror of chip-pan fires. I really only ever eat chips with fish or occasionally from a basket in the pub with mayonnaise to dip them in.
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Oven chips. On a lightly oiled oven tray. If you use the thick cut sort, not much different to roast potatoes.

    The gravy, with the liquidised bread and onion is more in the nature of a sauce.

    Tonight is the gammon in marmelade. Think I might do the fried rice with that.

  • Air fryers are wonderful - we use ous mainly for chips and sated potatoes, but you can use it for much more than that. It produces wonderfully crispy chips for little, or if you're using frozen chips, no, oil.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Thanks, ladies - I might give the oven tray a go. I doubt that I could justify the air-fryer - either for expense or for the space it would take up.
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    You can get a similar result to the halogen/low fat fryer by microwaving the potato in its skin, then halving or quartering and brushing the cut surfaces with oil and finishing under a hot grill.

    You get the browned exterior and the fluffy interior without the mess of deep frying.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Mmmm ... that might be worth a go. How long do you need to microwave it - until it feels soft when you prod it with a skewer?
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Until it’s cooked basically. Depends on the size of the spud, but 6 to 8 minutes will see off most.
  • I find 6 to 8 minutes often means I've got burnt bits inside my spuds - 850W microwave. I start 5 mins nowadays
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    It's a long time since I did baked spuds in the microwave; shortly after we got our first microwave (late 1980s) I had just set some potatoes to bake, and we had a power cut.

    It may have been the only time I was ever glad we had a coal fire: I wrapped them in a double layer of tin-foil and put them in the ash-can under the fire. They were delicious - much nicer than just-nuked ones!
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    I’m sure. But the oiling and grilling restores some of the bakedness without the long wait.

    Another fun thing (and reasonably quick thing) to do with spuds: slice thinly and toss in oil - and any flavourings you fancy - and place in little stacks on a baking tray. Half an hour in a hot oven.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    The little stacks sound rather nice - and presumably no need to peel (I don't mind peeling carrots, but I find peeling spuds a bit of a chore).
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    No need to peel.

    How would you define peeling a carrot? I give them a brisk scrape.

    What I do find a challenge to peel is butternut squash. Anyone have magic solutions for that?
  • One way around the butternut squash is to stuff them in halves, cook in the skins and leave the skin when you eat it. But that doesn't solve most recipes, sadly and the flesh needs removing, which is an effort.
  • SipechSipech Shipmate
    Firenze wrote: »
    What I do find a challenge to peel is butternut squash. Anyone have magic solutions for that?
    Firstly, only attempt to cook it if you don't have to leave home the next day. It gives you the most volcanic case of dire-rear you'll ever have.

    Secondly, I would go for a 'rough cut' rather than a peel. i.e. just cut away the outer part with a knife, much as you would for ginger. You might lose a bit of useful flesh in the discarded bits, but it's an expedient solution.
  • It is possible to cook and eat the skins with the flesh, I believe - a different texture but far from inedible. Otherwise, a very strong swivel blade vegetable peeler - blade can point along the handle or across, whichever you prefer - will do the job providing one doesn't press so hard the whole thing snaps. Can take several passes.
  • I cut them in half across the middle, (half is usually enough for us two anyway) to give a stable base to stand it on, then just use a Y- vegetable peeler.
    Admittedly, that is mostly for my home-grown butternut squash, which we eat before the skin gets really tough.
    Having said that, a supermarket one bought last week peeled quite easily.
  • Another vote for a potato peeler or cooking in the skin and scraping away if necessary.

    If attempting to peel a celeriac try a bread knife
  • LydaLyda Shipmate
    One more peeling tip. I, for one get tired of the texture of broccoli florets, but lots of people cut off the stalks as too tough. I learned to just cut off the very bottom of the stalks and then do a quick peel of the remaining stalk and then chop them into my recipes. All the flavor, none of the mealiness.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Firenze wrote: »
    How would you define peeling a carrot?
    Chopping off the ends, and removing the skin with a Y-shaped peeler.
  • Anyone have a good (ideally, easy-ish, fool-proof, and tasty) flan recipe?
  • Savoury or sweet? The classic savoury one is a quiche lorraine - eggs and bacon.
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