This is going to be one of the easiest cheeses you'll ever make, guaranteed. Not much in the way of special equipment needed either.
I make my lemon cheese slightly differently than other recipes I've found as I like mine firmer. No, you don't need a cheese press!
And no rennet.
And no starter.
And if you don't have any cheesecloth you can use chux cloth (cleaned and sterilised, of course). And if that fails you can even use an old, small pillow case --REALLY cleaned and sterilised!
And you can use powdered milk! Actually I always use full cream milk powder cus that whey I don't have to pastuerise the milk first.
And you get a lot of cheese. 4 litres of milk (about a gallon) will yield almost a kilo (around 2 pounds) of cheese.
And there's no aging time!
Sounds good, eh?
Here we go:
Dingo Dave's Especially Easy Lemon Cheese
Here's what you need
1 gallon (about 4 litres) of pastuerised milk (just get a bag of full cream milk powder, mix up four litres of it and use it)
Juice of 4 lemons
2 tsp sea salt
extras you may want to try:
carraway seeds
dill weed
cumin seeds
chilli flakes
parsley
coriander (cilantro) leaves
lemon zest
I wouldn't suggest all in the same batch though...
Here's what you do:
Any utensil that will touch the cheese gets sterilised. I prefer the ole boiling water method. In a large, stainless steel pot put in your long-handled, stainless-steel skimmer, your cooking thermometer, your chux cloth, your cheese mat (a sushi mat works just as well) and your cheese hoop (I hoop this cheese even though no one else does as I like mine firmer) in the pot once the water that you should have put into the pot is boiling.
Do I need to tell you to be careful? No, of course not. I'm sure you can figure that out.
After two minutes everything is sterilised, no worries. Carefully pour the boiled water into a large pot. Why are you keeping the boiled water? You ARE going to make a batch of beer, aren't you?
Sorry, I just don't like to waste water or food.
Back to the Lemon Cheese...
Carefully lay out the utensils on a clean countertop.
Pour your milk into the stainless steel pot. Use the cooking thermometer to slowly bring it up to 100 F (or 38 C). If you are using goat's milk, then make it 145 F (62 C).
Turn the heat off, add your lemon juice, and stir slowly for 10 or 20 seconds with your stainless steel skimmer.
You'll notice little tiny white curds have already started to form. Neato! Let it sit for 15 or 20 minutes and you'll have a nice amount of little stringer type curds (not the kind you'd get from using rennet and starter).
Put a chux (or cheesecloth) lined colander over whatever saucepan you want to cook the whey (that's the greenish-tinged liquid that tastes ohhhhhhh so good) down to make mysost cheese.
Bring up all four corners of the cheesecloth that has the drained curds in it and tie em together --make it tight as the idea is you are not just draining the curd but helping to form them together. Then hang it up over the sink for an hour (tied to the kitchen faucet works fine --just don't use the faucet for an hour). This would be a good time to start the mysost, BTW.
After about an hour the curd should be well drained and clumped together into a semi-solid mass. This is where most people call it done and put it into a container in the fridge or to eat it straight away.
But what I do is carefully turn the curd out into a large mixing bowl, lightly sprinkle with sea salt and then with whatever herbs or spices I'll be putting into this particular batch. Carefully mix it together and then spoon the mixture into a cheesecloth lined cheese hoop that is sitting on top of a cheese mat. Fold the cloth over the top of the curd and the press it down slightly. Put a weight on the top (like a couple of big ole cans of peaches or a small weight from your dumbell set) and then forget about it till morning.
Don't worry, I'll be putting pictures up of all the goodies and procedures next time.
*********************************************
If you don't have a cheese hoop you can make one from a coffee can. Just take off the top and bottom, drill a few holes in the sides (smooth down the inside after drilling) and there you are. Also the top or bottem from the can should fit quite nicely over the top of the curd and give the cans a nice base to rest on.
*********************************************
The next day remove the weights and slide the cheese out. Carefully unwrap your glorious cylinder of homemade lemon cheese (seasoned exactly how YOU want it) and start eating. It'll keep for a week in the fridge, but I doubt it'll last that long cus it's very tasty.
I'll be putting pics up of all the utensils and some of the procedures next time, but I wanted to kinda get y'all excited about making your own cheeses first.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Mysost Cheese
and the making thereof.
This is probably the simplest cheese you'll ever make. However, you'll need to have first made some other type of cheese as this is a whey cheese.
And a-whey we go!!!
Arrr, anchors a-whey matey!
Gee, I sound just like Geoffrey Rush. Cool. Did y'all know he's an Aussie? Well now you do. I'm sure I don't knead to mention that Errol Flynn was a Tassie. A true blue Tasmaniac, you betcha.
As I had previously mentioned, Mysost Cheese is a Skankelnavelian cheese (my spelling sux and my tiepoes are even worsered).
Alright, I'll be serious now. Maybe.
There's two different wheys (ways) to make Mysost and each method yields two very distinct cheeses. Trust me, I tried them both last week. Fortunately, you can use any type of whey for either method. Whether it's whey from a renneted cheese or from an acidic coagulation, it won't make a difference in the finished product.
BTW I'll be putting up a lot of simple cheese making posts, this one being the first. You'll learn how to make Quarg, Cream Cheese, Feta, Wensleydale, Mysost, Mascarpone and many others. I will not put up any cheese post unless it's something I've made so you can rest assured the procedure works.
Mysost
What you need:
A batch of whey from your latest cheesemaking endeavour
A saucepan
A source of heat (a stovetop works well, I prefer gas)
1/2 cup cream (for the second of the two types)
What you due:
Pour the whey into the saucepan. Place the saucepan on top of (not below) your heat source. Heat on low as you don't want it to boil over. Simmer for a few hours till the whey is thick (it'll be reduced by around 75% in volume). Oh and don't forget to keep a close eye on it for the last 30 mins cus you don't want it to burn to the bottom of the saucepan (voice of experience).
Let it cool a bit and then spoon it into a container.
Ta-da! Done!
This method will produce a slightly grainy, beige coloured cheese spread. It's very strong tasting so a little goes a long whey :) It is basically concentrated whey. The taste is kinda like a strong Welsh Rarebit with a hint of Danish Blue. Very good for spreading on crackers or toast --in small amounts, of course.
The other whey, or method if you prefer, yields an entirely different result. The taste and texture is very different.
Ummmmmm, it's the same method as above, but whisk in 1/2 to 1 cup of cream before you start to reduce the whey. I used 1 cup of cream for the amount of whey left after making Feta Cheese from 5 litres of milk.
A smooth, creamy, light-coloured cheese dip is what you'll end up with. And it's very good! Next time I'm going to add a pinch of turmeric (for a yellow colour) and a few pinches of chilli flakes to the whey and cream as it starts to simmer. I should end up with the ultimate nacho cheese sauce.
I guess I should tell you how to make some simple cheeses so you can have the whey (and means) to make mysost, so stay tuned for that.
And beer makin'
This is probably the simplest cheese you'll ever make. However, you'll need to have first made some other type of cheese as this is a whey cheese.
And a-whey we go!!!
Arrr, anchors a-whey matey!
Gee, I sound just like Geoffrey Rush. Cool. Did y'all know he's an Aussie? Well now you do. I'm sure I don't knead to mention that Errol Flynn was a Tassie. A true blue Tasmaniac, you betcha.
As I had previously mentioned, Mysost Cheese is a Skankelnavelian cheese (my spelling sux and my tiepoes are even worsered).
Alright, I'll be serious now. Maybe.
There's two different wheys (ways) to make Mysost and each method yields two very distinct cheeses. Trust me, I tried them both last week. Fortunately, you can use any type of whey for either method. Whether it's whey from a renneted cheese or from an acidic coagulation, it won't make a difference in the finished product.
BTW I'll be putting up a lot of simple cheese making posts, this one being the first. You'll learn how to make Quarg, Cream Cheese, Feta, Wensleydale, Mysost, Mascarpone and many others. I will not put up any cheese post unless it's something I've made so you can rest assured the procedure works.
Mysost
What you need:
A batch of whey from your latest cheesemaking endeavour
A saucepan
A source of heat (a stovetop works well, I prefer gas)
1/2 cup cream (for the second of the two types)
What you due:
Pour the whey into the saucepan. Place the saucepan on top of (not below) your heat source. Heat on low as you don't want it to boil over. Simmer for a few hours till the whey is thick (it'll be reduced by around 75% in volume). Oh and don't forget to keep a close eye on it for the last 30 mins cus you don't want it to burn to the bottom of the saucepan (voice of experience).
Let it cool a bit and then spoon it into a container.
Ta-da! Done!
This method will produce a slightly grainy, beige coloured cheese spread. It's very strong tasting so a little goes a long whey :) It is basically concentrated whey. The taste is kinda like a strong Welsh Rarebit with a hint of Danish Blue. Very good for spreading on crackers or toast --in small amounts, of course.
The other whey, or method if you prefer, yields an entirely different result. The taste and texture is very different.
Ummmmmm, it's the same method as above, but whisk in 1/2 to 1 cup of cream before you start to reduce the whey. I used 1 cup of cream for the amount of whey left after making Feta Cheese from 5 litres of milk.
A smooth, creamy, light-coloured cheese dip is what you'll end up with. And it's very good! Next time I'm going to add a pinch of turmeric (for a yellow colour) and a few pinches of chilli flakes to the whey and cream as it starts to simmer. I should end up with the ultimate nacho cheese sauce.
I guess I should tell you how to make some simple cheeses so you can have the whey (and means) to make mysost, so stay tuned for that.
And beer makin'
Monday, May 4, 2009
Mysost is Whey-ing on my mind
... and a mind is a terrible thing to wheyst. I'm so funny!
Ok, let me be serious. How many of you have no idea what to do with the whey from your cheesemaking? Show of hands? A plethora of comments, perhaps? Hmmmmm, ok, guess not.
Here's what I like to do with the whey:
1) Drink it straight-up
2) Use it as a soup base --tangy and tasty
3) Make bread with it
4) Add a bit of mint and drink it chilled on a hot day
5) Make ricotta cheese
6) Pancakes
Here's some other things you can do with the whey:
1) It makes great feed for pigs, chooks, and probably skijoring dogs and fuzzy bunnies
2) You can make Mysost cheese
Mysost cheese??? What the heck is that? Well, I'll save you some googling and tell you that it originated in two Scandinavian countries; Sweden and Norway. Danes also make it, as do many people 'round the big ole woil nowadays.
I've personally never made it, but I'm going to making another 2 pounds of Feta cheese tomarra' (aussie slang, sorry) so I'll have loads of whey left.
Apparantly there are many different wheys to make Mysost. Some add cream, some don't. Some put it into cheese molds, some don't.
Let's go with the two simple ones, shall we?
I'll be dividing tomarra's whey into two batches, and each of those will be divided again, so I'll end up with 4 different types of Mysost. Cool, eh? Oh, and 2 pounds of fresh, homemade Feta.
Here's the "procedure" that I'll be doing.
Each batch will have a half gallon of whey. One batch will have cream added, the other won't. After each batch has been boiled down, then I'll take half out of each to refridgerate and then boil down the rest and pour into molds.
I'll be putting up a post about making Feta and all the accoutrements you'll be needing, and then I'll put up the post about how to make Mysost. Mysost is (supposedly) simple and easy to make, but I don't want to tell you about till I've had a go at it.
Ok, let me be serious. How many of you have no idea what to do with the whey from your cheesemaking? Show of hands? A plethora of comments, perhaps? Hmmmmm, ok, guess not.
Here's what I like to do with the whey:
1) Drink it straight-up
2) Use it as a soup base --tangy and tasty
3) Make bread with it
4) Add a bit of mint and drink it chilled on a hot day
5) Make ricotta cheese
6) Pancakes
Here's some other things you can do with the whey:
1) It makes great feed for pigs, chooks, and probably skijoring dogs and fuzzy bunnies
2) You can make Mysost cheese
Mysost cheese??? What the heck is that? Well, I'll save you some googling and tell you that it originated in two Scandinavian countries; Sweden and Norway. Danes also make it, as do many people 'round the big ole woil nowadays.
I've personally never made it, but I'm going to making another 2 pounds of Feta cheese tomarra' (aussie slang, sorry) so I'll have loads of whey left.
Apparantly there are many different wheys to make Mysost. Some add cream, some don't. Some put it into cheese molds, some don't.
Let's go with the two simple ones, shall we?
I'll be dividing tomarra's whey into two batches, and each of those will be divided again, so I'll end up with 4 different types of Mysost. Cool, eh? Oh, and 2 pounds of fresh, homemade Feta.
Here's the "procedure" that I'll be doing.
Each batch will have a half gallon of whey. One batch will have cream added, the other won't. After each batch has been boiled down, then I'll take half out of each to refridgerate and then boil down the rest and pour into molds.
I'll be putting up a post about making Feta and all the accoutrements you'll be needing, and then I'll put up the post about how to make Mysost. Mysost is (supposedly) simple and easy to make, but I don't want to tell you about till I've had a go at it.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Chicken Korma
I was reading one of my recipe books the other day, trying to get inspired for a new dish to cook for the clan. This can be difficult as 3 of the 4 folks here never used spices and such in their cookin' before I arrived.
Fortunately, that has changed. However, I still have to be careful and sometimes disguise things that I know for a fact if I told two people here what was in it they'd opt for fish sticks or oatmeal.
This dish is one of those... About half of the ingredients my BIL thinks he hates, and MIL wouldn't touch it if she knew what was in it. So I just didn't tell them, it's better that way. Everyone loved it. Ha!
Now, the original recipe was for lamb korma and the only lamb I have is in the freezer. However, we had half a roast chook from the night before, so shredded chicken meat would have to suffice --it did.
I also had to substitute around half the ingredients, and also change the cooking times and techniques around a bit.
Because of that, I do believe I can call this my own recipe. What do y'all think? Lemme know, eh.
Chicken Korma
What you need:
1 tbsp crushed sesame seeds*
1 tbsp slivered almonds
1 tbsp shelled, roasted, slightly crushed, peanuts**
1 tbsp shelled, roasted, slightly crushed, cashews**
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced, pickled, ginger
1 scallion, finely minced
2 pinches of dried chilli flakes (or more if you'd like)
a few tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
Cooked, shredded meat from half a chook
1 cup water
1 cup cream
1/2 cup sour cream
salt to taste
This is easy to cook in a wok, BTW.
* Just put some sesame seeds in a mortar, grind them around with the pestal for about 10 sec.
** Put the peanuts and cashews in palm of your cupped hand, use your thumb from the other hand to work the nuts around for a few seconds. Piece of cake!
What you due:
Add the first 8 ingredients to a DRY wok (or a DRY frypan). Notice how I separated the list to make it easy for ya? Dry fry on low heat for about 5 mins, stirring/tossing frequently. Set aside and let cool.
When the mix has cooled for about 10 mins, put it in a mortar and go to town on it with a pestel till it's pastey (should only take a minute).
Put the next 5 ingredients PLUS the paste from the mortar into your wok and fry it on medium for 1 to 2 mins, while stirring. You should be getting a seriously AWESOME scent from that thar wok by now!
Add the shredded chicken meat, plus the water. Give it a good mixing so all the chicken is thoroughly coated. Cook till the water is gone and the mix is dry --but don't let it burn!
Turn the heat to very low and add the last 3 things. That'd be the cream, the sour cream, and however much salt you want (do a taste test before adding any salt, you may not even need it). Give it a good stir and simmer till the cream is warmed through.
Serve over rice (I made curried rice; topic for another post) with Naan Bread (another post topic) on the side.
You'll like this, trust me.
Fortunately, that has changed. However, I still have to be careful and sometimes disguise things that I know for a fact if I told two people here what was in it they'd opt for fish sticks or oatmeal.
This dish is one of those... About half of the ingredients my BIL thinks he hates, and MIL wouldn't touch it if she knew what was in it. So I just didn't tell them, it's better that way. Everyone loved it. Ha!
Now, the original recipe was for lamb korma and the only lamb I have is in the freezer. However, we had half a roast chook from the night before, so shredded chicken meat would have to suffice --it did.
I also had to substitute around half the ingredients, and also change the cooking times and techniques around a bit.
Because of that, I do believe I can call this my own recipe. What do y'all think? Lemme know, eh.
Chicken Korma
What you need:
1 tbsp crushed sesame seeds*
1 tbsp slivered almonds
1 tbsp shelled, roasted, slightly crushed, peanuts**
1 tbsp shelled, roasted, slightly crushed, cashews**
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced, pickled, ginger
1 scallion, finely minced
2 pinches of dried chilli flakes (or more if you'd like)
a few tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
Cooked, shredded meat from half a chook
1 cup water
1 cup cream
1/2 cup sour cream
salt to taste
This is easy to cook in a wok, BTW.
* Just put some sesame seeds in a mortar, grind them around with the pestal for about 10 sec.
** Put the peanuts and cashews in palm of your cupped hand, use your thumb from the other hand to work the nuts around for a few seconds. Piece of cake!
What you due:
Add the first 8 ingredients to a DRY wok (or a DRY frypan). Notice how I separated the list to make it easy for ya? Dry fry on low heat for about 5 mins, stirring/tossing frequently. Set aside and let cool.
When the mix has cooled for about 10 mins, put it in a mortar and go to town on it with a pestel till it's pastey (should only take a minute).
Put the next 5 ingredients PLUS the paste from the mortar into your wok and fry it on medium for 1 to 2 mins, while stirring. You should be getting a seriously AWESOME scent from that thar wok by now!
Add the shredded chicken meat, plus the water. Give it a good mixing so all the chicken is thoroughly coated. Cook till the water is gone and the mix is dry --but don't let it burn!
Turn the heat to very low and add the last 3 things. That'd be the cream, the sour cream, and however much salt you want (do a taste test before adding any salt, you may not even need it). Give it a good stir and simmer till the cream is warmed through.
Serve over rice (I made curried rice; topic for another post) with Naan Bread (another post topic) on the side.
You'll like this, trust me.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Olivemite; a precursor to Olive Tapenade
This post originally appeared in my other blog about 2 and a half years ago. It was about vegemite and olivemite. Keep in mind at that point in time I'd never heard of olive tapenade, ahem. I've taken the parts out of the post that don't pertain to food, and I've softened the edges of some not-so-nice words.
Happy Little Vegemite!
Vegemite... I'm sure all of you up in the "other hemisphere" have heard the term: Vegemite
There was a telly commercial yonks ago down here with a couple of happy, sappy ankle-biters singing a song,"...We're happy little vegemites..." It was in black and white so down here that means in the early '80's. Not really, 50's I believe.
In case you are interested, Kraft (tm) now owns Vegemite. They were going to try to compete with it down here with their own version, but they just decided to buy the company and keep the name and recipe as Vegemite. Pretty darned shrewd marketing, eh?
So, like what the hell is Vegemite? Yes, I heard you ask that! Not only can I see in the dark, but I can peer into cyberspace too.
Vegemite is "Concentrated Yeast Extract". And it's a dark brown colour (color). And it has a VERY strong flavor (flavour). And it's "one of the world's richest sources of Vitamin B". And it has a VERY strong flavour (flavor). Did I mention that it is strong tasting?
It should be used as a spread on toast or a sandwich (usually with butter --in fact, the butter in our butter dish has brown streaks in it... FROM THE VEGEMITE YOU PERVERTS!!!!) It should not be used as a "dip" as some dipsticks in the US do when they are first presented with a jar of Vegemite. If you use it as a "dip", then you will HATE it for the rest of your life and all of your future lives too. Forewarned you are.
Remember all the stuff about Vegemite earlier? Well, this is called Olivemite. As much as I'd like to take credit for the name, I can't. A few months ago myself and The Most Wonderful Woman In The Entire World were driving through Mclaren Vale --it's a great place, over a hundred wineries right at the doorstep! Take a note, dave: blog about wineries soon.
Anyways, we stopped at an olive shop to get some specialty olives and we noticed they had a jar of something labeled Olivemite. It was bloody-well GREAT! Bought some --wee-hoo! Had a look at the ingredients later on and I thought to myself, "Dang, I can make that! And it won't cost much either."
So, here is how to make dave's Olivemite
What you need:
200 grams (just under a cup) of pitted Kalamata Olives***
1-2 heads roasted garlic
olive oil
*** Don't use regular black olives... It will taste like shit (seriously, I tried!) if you do --you've been warned
What you do:
This is simple. Chuck it all into a food processor and process it till it's done. The more olive oil you add the creamier it is.
Your taste buds will thank me for this one, guaranteed.
Here's a little something I've just added that's not in the original post: to turn the olivemite into olive tapenade, just add a bit of lemon juice, a few capers, an anchovy fillet (or a bit of anchovy paste) to the food processor, no worries. A bit of ground black pepper if you'd like.
There are as many ways to make olive tapenade as there are provinces that border the Mediterranean Sea --that's where it's from, BTW. So don't think that mine is THE way to make it cus there are literally hundreds of authentic olive tapenade recipes. Have fun and experiment! I'd be trying some tarragon first.
Happy Little Vegemite!
Vegemite... I'm sure all of you up in the "other hemisphere" have heard the term: Vegemite
There was a telly commercial yonks ago down here with a couple of happy, sappy ankle-biters singing a song,"...We're happy little vegemites..." It was in black and white so down here that means in the early '80's. Not really, 50's I believe.
In case you are interested, Kraft (tm) now owns Vegemite. They were going to try to compete with it down here with their own version, but they just decided to buy the company and keep the name and recipe as Vegemite. Pretty darned shrewd marketing, eh?
So, like what the hell is Vegemite? Yes, I heard you ask that! Not only can I see in the dark, but I can peer into cyberspace too.
Vegemite is "Concentrated Yeast Extract". And it's a dark brown colour (color). And it has a VERY strong flavor (flavour). And it's "one of the world's richest sources of Vitamin B". And it has a VERY strong flavour (flavor). Did I mention that it is strong tasting?
It should be used as a spread on toast or a sandwich (usually with butter --in fact, the butter in our butter dish has brown streaks in it... FROM THE VEGEMITE YOU PERVERTS!!!!) It should not be used as a "dip" as some dipsticks in the US do when they are first presented with a jar of Vegemite. If you use it as a "dip", then you will HATE it for the rest of your life and all of your future lives too. Forewarned you are.
Remember all the stuff about Vegemite earlier? Well, this is called Olivemite. As much as I'd like to take credit for the name, I can't. A few months ago myself and The Most Wonderful Woman In The Entire World were driving through Mclaren Vale --it's a great place, over a hundred wineries right at the doorstep! Take a note, dave: blog about wineries soon.
Anyways, we stopped at an olive shop to get some specialty olives and we noticed they had a jar of something labeled Olivemite. It was bloody-well GREAT! Bought some --wee-hoo! Had a look at the ingredients later on and I thought to myself, "Dang, I can make that! And it won't cost much either."
So, here is how to make dave's Olivemite
What you need:
200 grams (just under a cup) of pitted Kalamata Olives***
1-2 heads roasted garlic
olive oil
*** Don't use regular black olives... It will taste like shit (seriously, I tried!) if you do --you've been warned
What you do:
This is simple. Chuck it all into a food processor and process it till it's done. The more olive oil you add the creamier it is.
Your taste buds will thank me for this one, guaranteed.
Here's a little something I've just added that's not in the original post: to turn the olivemite into olive tapenade, just add a bit of lemon juice, a few capers, an anchovy fillet (or a bit of anchovy paste) to the food processor, no worries. A bit of ground black pepper if you'd like.
There are as many ways to make olive tapenade as there are provinces that border the Mediterranean Sea --that's where it's from, BTW. So don't think that mine is THE way to make it cus there are literally hundreds of authentic olive tapenade recipes. Have fun and experiment! I'd be trying some tarragon first.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Bread Baking Tip
Firstly, let me apologise for not having a recipe up for a while. It's been... ummmmmm... busy down here lately.
There are several recipes that I've been meaning to put up, and I also want to put my homebrewing hijinks here too.
In the meantime (or at least today) here's a tip to make really soft bread. Or rolls, or whatever bread-like substance you happen to put in the oven.
Fill up a small pie dish (or something similar) with hot water. Put it on the lowest rack of your oven and preheat the oven. Once the oven is preheated, then put in your bread or rolls.
Ultra soft crust! And a very nice texture too. I've been doing this for the past few months and M-I-L, B-I-L, and Wifey-Poo won't have the bread any other way now.
There are several recipes that I've been meaning to put up, and I also want to put my homebrewing hijinks here too.
In the meantime (or at least today) here's a tip to make really soft bread. Or rolls, or whatever bread-like substance you happen to put in the oven.
Fill up a small pie dish (or something similar) with hot water. Put it on the lowest rack of your oven and preheat the oven. Once the oven is preheated, then put in your bread or rolls.
Ultra soft crust! And a very nice texture too. I've been doing this for the past few months and M-I-L, B-I-L, and Wifey-Poo won't have the bread any other way now.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Wasabi Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise... Ahhhhh what great and wonderful stuff it is... mmmmmmmm, drool...
Did you know that originally mayo was made with garlic? Yup! I do like mine that way since I use a LOT of garlic (Vlad will not get me, HA!) when cooking anyways. Now, it's just hearsay, but the story goes that mayo was made in France with garlic. But when one particular Cardinal came to power he decreed NO garlic in mayo. He hated garlic. Something tells me he wasn't *really* French.
Anyways, that's just what I heard yonks ago and have absolutely no idea if it's correct or not.
There's also two conflicting versions of the origins of mayo, and I really don't feel like (or have time to) check wiki and sift through the references. Why don't I have time right now? Cus I'll be cooking a batch of pappadams in less than 5 minutes so I'd better get a move on.
Now I know that you could just open up a jar of mayo and add a squeeze of wasabi paste (mmmmmmmmm... wasabi...) and call it good. But if you did that then you'd be getting all the preservatives and chemical crap from the jar of mayo. And that's what we're trying to avoid.
BTW, this calls for egg yolks. Make sure you save the egg whites for meringue. Oh, the chooks down here aren't fed growth hormones either.
Wasabi Mayo
What you need:
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp wasabi paste (or more!)
1/2 cup olive oil
What you do:
Chuck everything but the olive oil in a small food processor. Process on low for a min or two. Then slowly add the olive oil while the processor is running.
Hey, now just how darned easy was that? Of course, you can add any sort of other herbs or spices you want, but the wasabi paste pretty much makes the taste and I've found other additions to be a waste as they don't really come through flavour-wise.
Enjoy!
I'm off to fry a batch of pappadams to have with tonight's Mango Chicken Curry. Ta.
Did you know that originally mayo was made with garlic? Yup! I do like mine that way since I use a LOT of garlic (Vlad will not get me, HA!) when cooking anyways. Now, it's just hearsay, but the story goes that mayo was made in France with garlic. But when one particular Cardinal came to power he decreed NO garlic in mayo. He hated garlic. Something tells me he wasn't *really* French.
Anyways, that's just what I heard yonks ago and have absolutely no idea if it's correct or not.
There's also two conflicting versions of the origins of mayo, and I really don't feel like (or have time to) check wiki and sift through the references. Why don't I have time right now? Cus I'll be cooking a batch of pappadams in less than 5 minutes so I'd better get a move on.
Now I know that you could just open up a jar of mayo and add a squeeze of wasabi paste (mmmmmmmmm... wasabi...) and call it good. But if you did that then you'd be getting all the preservatives and chemical crap from the jar of mayo. And that's what we're trying to avoid.
BTW, this calls for egg yolks. Make sure you save the egg whites for meringue. Oh, the chooks down here aren't fed growth hormones either.
Wasabi Mayo
What you need:
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp wasabi paste (or more!)
1/2 cup olive oil
What you do:
Chuck everything but the olive oil in a small food processor. Process on low for a min or two. Then slowly add the olive oil while the processor is running.
Hey, now just how darned easy was that? Of course, you can add any sort of other herbs or spices you want, but the wasabi paste pretty much makes the taste and I've found other additions to be a waste as they don't really come through flavour-wise.
Enjoy!
I'm off to fry a batch of pappadams to have with tonight's Mango Chicken Curry. Ta.
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