Tag: syrup

I have been making bread at home for about 3 weeks now. There is not a favorite recipe yet, but I have tried several different kinds of basic breads. Needless to say we have not bought any bread from the store in over a month.

For the last year when I have buying bread from Sunflower Market. No other commercially available bread compares. This bread is made in a small baker and they use only a few ingredients, none of which are preservatives or corn syrup (you wouldn't believe how many 100% whole wheat breads have corn syrup in the list of ingredients). In fact before my homemade bread extravaganza I refused to buy any bread that wasn't Sunflower Market bread.

Yesterday I was out of homemade bread and happened to be at Sam's Club for a few items. LittleRoq, BabyGirl and I stood at the massive rows of "factory made" commercially available bread at Sam's Club. I looked at it all and thought, "Ugg, I can't eat this nasty stuff. It is going to be all light weight and full of additives. Let me see what the boy thinks." So I ask LittleRoq "Would you like to get bread from here or should I make bread at home?" He gives me an extremely firm "Make the bread at home."

So there we have it. No nasty factory bread in our house. I have to keep homemade bread in the house from now on. No substitute will do. (Well except in a crunch and then I would definitely still be all over Sunflower Market bread, but no other.)

This was by far one of the yummiest dishes at Greek night. I am glad that I made it and plan on making it again in the future. I don't really know when the Greek eat this dish, but being a slightly sweet custard pie it makes either a great dessert or a wonderful addition to a breakfast/brunch buffet.

Does it not make you lust for pie!?

I chose to use Cat Cora's Galaktoboureko recipe for this dish. Her directions were very clear and easy to understand. But I did have to make a few changes. I don't know what kind of baking dish she was specifically referring to, so I chose to use my Pampered Chef Deep Dish Baker. It worked perfectly.

Also, I am not sure where to acquire "thick" phyllo dough. None of the stores I went to had it. So, I just used regular thin sheets of phyllo dough.

I brushed one sheet w/butter and then added another sheet on top and buttered it. I continued this process until the stack was 8 sheets thick. I then laid this over half of the round baking dish, letting it drape over the sides. I repeated this process to cover the other half of the dish. Then for the top I prepared 6 more sheets of phyllo dough in the same manner.

I chose not to cut the top dough to fit the size of the dish as Cat Cora suggested, I just rolled up the little bit of extra dough when I rolled up the sides. The original recipe suggests scoring the top of the phyllo with diagonal cuts, but I must admit that while using the thin phyllo sheets this was almost impossible. So I just gave it some strategically placed small pokes with a sharp knife all around the top.

The pie was very easy to cut once it was cooked. Also, it will seem as if there is not enough room for the pie to "drink up" all of the lemon syrup. Just be patient. Give it as much as it can hold and just wait a minute or two, then start pouring more in slowly. It will eventually take it all. This part really adds a lot of flavor so you want to make sure you get all of the syrup in there.

I wouldn't worry too much about clarifying the butter, it really doesn't make that big of a difference in this case. Editor's Note: Liar. Just because you can't tell...

Just melt the butter and allow it to cool before using a spoon to skim off the fat that has crusted on top. That is really all that is necessary.

Now, to find some semolina. Semolina is a flour used to make pasta. It is sold in clear plastic bags and made by Bob's Red Mill. I was not able to locate it at any of the regular grocery stores in town (well at least not on any of their websites). Truth be told, I avoid the large grocery stores whenever possible. When I ran in to my trusted Sunflower Market they had it available right next to all the other great products by Bob's Red Mill. If you are looking for it in the store I would look for it where ever your store stocks the specialty grains. Editor's Note: What the heck, do they pay you?

This is a moon alien.

Really, once you have gathered all the ingredients to this dish together it is a very simple dish to prepare. It also tastes wonderful cold, so it is a recipe that you can make ahead of time, allow to cool and then refrigerate until needed. I love when I can prepare dishes ahead of time... less stress on party day that way!

We have this big bag of chicken breasts in the freezer. Not the good, boneless, dinner-in-ten-minutes kind, but the genetically enhanced, buffalo-breast, bone-in stewing kind. Tonight, I figured I'd try the bake-and-broil method to cook it.

I started by sweating some onions and garlic over medium-low heat, then increasing the heat to medium and dumping in:

1. A glazing liquid. (I used half soy sauce and half molasses; you could use honey, or heck, even mango syrup). About 1/2 cup.

2. One green herb. I used a little mexican oregano; thyme and/or rosemary might have been better, but I didn't have any.

3. One egg yolk. Just to make it more glaze-y.

4. Some small additions. For me- pepper, a spritz of lime juice, one crushed dried red pepper, and a little salt (not much- soy sauce, remember?)

After all this, I had a thick brown liquid that smelled like pureed awesome. I folded a long piece of aluminum foil into thirds, dumped in one breast, made a pouch, and slathered it with sauce. (Two breasts total, so I split it among both).

Next, the bake-then-broil. While the pouches of aluminum foil are closed, bake on 350 degrees for about half an hour- then, open the tops and broil on full blast for three-five minutes until the onions start to caramelize.

It was wonderful. The foil kept the chicken from drying out, and the glaze, once broiled in, was enough to make this dish a repeat customer.

Believe it or not, we at EU have a life similar to that of normal people. We learn, we laugh, we love, and we have thanksgiving dinner. As such, I have duly been appointed by the gods of thanksgiving cookery (hereafter known as injuns) to make sweet potatoes. I know what you bastards are all thinking, you're all thinking about how Teleolurian would look in a mini skirt. I mean, you're all thinking that potatoes are easy, you just boil, mash and marshmellow. Alas, this is the lazy american way of cooking. We practice the Zao Zo Zi Ha Ping Wong or the study of the eternal sunshine of the majestic yam.

First, young potatowan, we must select the right potatoes. The right potato has bright orange flesh with reddish skin. If you're not sure what color the flesh is by the look of the potato, go ahead and take a bite. No one will notice. I promise. If it is indeed orange. Congratulations! Place sweet potatoes into a vegetable bag (about 2 pounds worth). Some grocery stores have scales as to weigh the potatoes. The way these work is you sit on top of one, wait for a grocer to come around and scorn you, slap grocer with bag of potatoes and gauge his injuries. If he's still yelling at you (but slightly pissed off) then you do not in fact have enough potatoes. If he is unconscious, then you most likely have around 2 pounds. If he is dead, you probably want to take a few of the potatoes out, as you have too much. Also, you may want to stuff his lifeless corpse in the corn bin, otherwise by the time you get out of prison your potatoes will have gone bad and thanksgiving will have long been deemed an ancient tradition saluting the once proud indian tribes of North America. The next couple of things you'll need are Heavy whipping cream, bourbon, light brown sugar, sweet sassy molassy, and salt. For the whipping cream, you can visit your local farm and smack around a cow that weighs more than 500 pounds. Then milk. Also, you may want to pasteurize the milk. I'm not quite sure how to do that, but I'm sure it has something to do with Louis Pasteur III and some fairies. Everyone knows that you get Bourbon out of your loco hobos pocket, or your Uncle Henrys hand after he's long since passed out watching badminton. Or maybe it was football. Light brown sugar, well, I can't stop laughing about the whereabouts I was going to put here, so lets just say, you get it at the store. Sweet sassin molassin is a product of the sasquatch and is typically found around or near their dens. If you can't find a sasquatch den, you'll most likely have to omit this ingredient. (Edit: I've just learned you can buy this at the store too, ambiguously named "Molasses"). Oh, don't forget the salt. Since you're probably a homosapien you produce this wonderful seasoning.

To recap, the base ingredients for this dish are: * 1 3/4 to 2 pounds of sweet potatoes * 1/2 cup heavy cream * 1/4 cup bourbon whiskey * 3 tablespoons light brown sugar * 2 tablespoons molasses * 1/8 teaspoon salt

Now for the oh so wonderous topping of magical tastiness +2.

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper (you can use black, white is just prettier)
• one pinch dried thyme (not a handful. a PINCH)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (not to be confused with peacocks)
• 5 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into eency weency cubes.

Now for the actual cookery/sorcery.

1. Preheat your oven/kiln/heating box/toaster oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place potatoes on a foil lined bakery sheet. (cookie sheet will do)
3. Bake until tender, and starting to ooze a syrup, also unicorns. This will take around an hour and 15 minutes, unless you live in Zimbabwe, in which case it will take 75 minutes. If you have mammoth potatoes (the ones that took over the earth there for a brief moment in 1992), then it may take a tad longer.
4. Remove from the oven and let sit until you can touch them without burning a whole in your pasty man flesh.
5. Cut a slit down each potato (not your wrist) and scoop the flesh into a large bowl. Be sure to cackle with glee otherwise the recipe will not come out right.
6. Add the cream, bourbon, brown sugar, molasses and salt, and use one of them new fangled mixing machines to beat the mixture until its as smooth as gator slaw in the springtime.
7. Pour into little casserole dish. Cover with foil so it doesnt go cold.

For the topping: 1. Mix all of the ingredients together thoroughly (except the butter!) in a small bowl. 2. Add the butter and work with your hands until a crumbly mass forms and calls you names. 3. spread evenly atop the potatoes, and bake until the top is nice and brown.

Serve! and hopefully people wont die!

(Note: nothing in here could kill anyone, except the sasquatch)

(Note #2: he wont hurt you because hes spending thanksgiving at my house)

(Note #3: I havent actually made this recipe. I just pulled it out of the nether regions of my brain because it sounds tastastic. I'll update with commentary on flavor later (subnote #1: After I stuff my gullet with turkey))

Balsamic vinegar is a flavored vinegar traditionally served with italian meals and is rumored to have originated sometime during the middle ages.

There are only two true regions where Balsamic vinegar is made today, Modena and Reggio Emilia. If the Balsamic you're buying says its from somewhere else, I wouldn't get it!

Since vinegars are very closely related to wines, their age makes a distinct impact on their flavor and consistency. Younger Balsamics (1-5 yrs) will be very thin and have a light sweet taste with the acidity of a red wine vinegar, whilst more aged Balsamics (12-80+ yrs) will be thicker and have a consistency more akin to a syrup. Also, older Balsamic vinegars usually lose most of their acidity in lieu of a higher sugar content and much sweeter, smoother taste. Some people even consider these as an after dinner finish, they pour a small glass of a usually 12-18yr Balsamic and drink it straight, somewhat like Port wine is used!

Recommended Usages

Balsamic vinegar (depending on the age) can be used for every course of every meal of the day, if you so desire. The younger varieties lend themselves well to breakfast dishes, soups, salads, as a dipping sauce for breads, pastas, chicken, portobello mushrooms... well, you get the idea. The older of the Balsamic family can be used for any of the above, but is also good as a topping for ice cream, desserts (Panna Cotta!), cupcakes, or as an after dinner finish (as above).