Weekly Cooking (and related issues) Thread

[Jamestown1630]

While enduring a ‘bug’ this week that left me unable to do much but sleep or sit in front of the TV, I happened upon Clarissa Dickson Wright’s series, ‘Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner’, which you can find on YouTube, and which is a really interesting history of how our 'three squares', and the ways we partake of them, have evolved over time.

In the Lunch episode, she featured a pasty (yes, no 'r') crust design, executed by food scholar Ivan Day. This was so beautiful, I had to find the design, and know more about it.

On the way, I found some interesting stuff – including Day's great website on historic food:

http://www.historicfood.com/portal.htm

The pasty design seems to have been derived from Edward Kidder’s ancient ‘Receipts of pastry and cookery, for the use of his scholars’, published in 1720 (you can still buy a copy on Amazon ;-):

http://www.historicfood.com/Edward%20Kidders%20Lamb%20Pasty.htm

I’m not personally a fan of British pasties; but it seems to me that we could decorate our sweet or savory pies just as beautifully – it just takes practice, and starting small! And you don’t need cutters to do this; just find a design, make a cardboard cutout of it, and find a sharp knife to cut the pastry to each of the shapes; then do some detail on the pieces.

Food52 has a lot of starter ideas for ‘fancying up’ your pie:

https://food52.com/blog/8744-9-ways-to-fancy-up-your-pies

-JT

[Jamestown1630]

One of the really interesting things about the videos on historic cooking is the techniques that were used, and the flavor that we’ve lost as the years have rolled along, since we’ve given up techniques like spit-roasting, baking in a wood-fired oven, campfire coal-cooking, etc.

Another interesting video that I found was this one, where historians attempt to re-create a Tudor feast. The amount of sheer physical work involved is amazing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azCGi_a4b-k

[Jamestown1630]

Merry Christmas to you, and to all!

-JT

[CottonBall]

Ok I made my first round of little village cakes! I chose the first recipe I posted because it had more flour than the others, so I figured it would be denser and might make a better cake for the molds.

The detail wasn't as good as I like - the doors and windows were just hints of indentations. But the roofs and chimneys were cute. And some of the buildings were leaning a bit - due to the flexibility of the silicone. But I'll just call it my little Italian village, LOL!

Here's the sequence: the pan, the pan filled, the cakes done in the pan, the cakes unmolded, the cakes with powdered sugar. The unmolding was especially easy - popped right out. The caked did have some holes in them, which messed with the detail. I don't know if it's from the Baker's Joy, which I never used and sprayed on a bit heavy. Or from the batter, which I thought would be dense but ended up normal for a cake. Without those, I think I'd like the detail better.

So tomorrow I'll try the orange cake batter and see.

click on the thumbnails for a bigger pic.

[FrdmLvr]

I used to make yogurt on top of my stove in just a regular pot for years. A Lebanese girl showed me in college how warm the milk should get ( it should feel very warm but not hot when you put your little ginger in it), then mix in a couple tablespoonfuls of active cultures from store bought yogurt, wrap the covered pot in a bath towel, set it on the register over night and next day, fresh yogurt. Strain it in cheese cloth in a colander until it’s thick and you have Greek yogurt or Leban, as she called it.

[Yaelle]

LOVE that topic. Will get back to the thread later. Excellent topic dear to my heart.

[Jamestown1630]

Happy Hanukkah, Yaelle!

[Yaelle]

Oooh, they are so cute!!!! Was gone all day and hoping for tomorrow. But very busy weekend so I don’t know. I’m going to do the orange recipe.

I will also share my pics when I bake them. I’m excited. I’d like to bring them to the party on Sunday if I can but the party venue has been changed to an outdoor park. So maybe not a great hostess gift when the hostess is evacuated due to fire.

[Yaelle]

Thank you! Busy busy! Between dishes and presents I sneaked on here! Happy weekend! Can’t wait to see your thread because I am on a pie thing and slowly they are getting prettier. Real slowly. ;)

[ebshumidors]

Yes

[Trillian]

What a beautiful pie. Only a few more days and I can cook again. Yippeee!

[CottonBall]

There’s no hurry, but I think you would enjoy it if you make a batch before Christmas :-)

That first recipe, although quite simple, it’s still very tasty. Not overly sweet and a good vanilla flavor. But I’m really intrigued to try the orange. I decided to make three batches of houses, the last one being gingerbread. And then on Christmas Day I’ll bring an assortment of the three to a friends house. That way there’s a variety of flavors.

A lady who is hosting the party had to move because of the fire? And she still giving a party?! Wow, I admire her.

[Califreak]

Thanks, that was interesting.

[Yaelle]

I do too, we just found out today that the party is still on. It will be catered, and as someone joked, we will NOT be lighting any Chanukah candles out side at a table the park. Ha, the fire fighters would not be in favor. Everyone will bring things but she, homeless at present, is doing a lot of the work. I’m admiring her right now too.

(Though let’s be real, all the homes in Montecito are upwards of $3 mill so none of the evacuees are on cots in high school auditoriums. I’m sure the four seasons is full.)

I’m excited to make the little houses. Tomorrow or Sunday night. I love your idea of doing them a few times and having the houses taste different.

By the way, what is a good hostess gift for an evacuee? This is a new etiquette conundrum for me.

[Yaelle]

The historic British food link is so fascinating. Imagine taking one of those classes. Imagine the interesting people you would meet. Feeling jealous as some of my extended family will be in England for Christmas.

JT, I’d have paid money for the pie edge link! This is perfect, some good ideas for me. Several ideas I have never tried. I want to try them all. I’ve ,made 5 lattice pies this fall and each one looked better than the one before.

[Aliska]

Those are adorable, love the powdered sugar finished ones!! You wouldn't see some of the detail with that anyway.

I don't have any particular suggestions for you. Let me know how it goes with the orange cake batter. Texture is important.

Thanks for taking the wonderful pics to share! I'll try to get back to you more in the next few days.

[Yaelle]

Snow, and a white Christmas. Sigh. I can only imagine.

We have weird weather as you all know. Bone dry, fires, smelled smoke in the air in some of my locations today. 75 degrees in the afternoon, 45 at night. It doesn’t feel like any season.

[Yaelle]

This is a perfect recipe for my daughter! Going to try it.

[Yaelle]

I am unfortunately on old 1980s induction cooktops and HATING IT. Right now I’ve made my temporary peace with everything except how small the heating part is. I need to use the entire frying pan and it only cooks in the middle eight inches.

[Yaelle]

I’m with your husband unit! I want my fire back! My cast iron is on induction. Ugh.

[Yaelle]

I found the Great American Baking Show and we watched the first episode from the auto DVR on Dish network. My mom loved it (and so did I) so I went searching for episode 2. Searched and searched. It wasn’t anywhere, and was supposed to be on Hul7 but didn’t come up in any searches. So frustrating!

So I hit up Google. Whaaaaat? One of the chefs is now accused of multiple sexual assaults, so ABC stopped airing it after episode 1, and Hulu doesn’t want it.

So sad. All the contestants, all the people who worked on the show. All for nothing because some idiot couldn’t keep his hands to himself.

I have now found the Great British Baking Show on Netflix so we will try that next.