Search Results for '("C'

[Mike Nolan]

Planning ahead, tomorrow I plan to make a big pot of chili, most of it for the freezer, because it looks like all the batches I froze have been used. This will probably be the last batch of chili until fall, we've got another week or two of highs in the 50's.

I'll make another batch of the tangzhong cinnamon rolls, too, most of which will also go in the freezer. (They freeze well and thaw quickly in the microwave.)

[Mike Nolan]

I've updated the previous post several times.

I'm also not a big fan of cocoa nibs, and I find they're usually outrageously priced, anyway.

I forget where it is, but there's a minimum amount of cocoa butter that you need to have before chocolate can be tempered, which is manipulating the state of the cocoa butter so that you mostly have Form V (Beta 2) crystals.

Things labeled as chocolate coatings usually have fats other than cocoa butter in them, so they can't be tempered. But because cocoa butter is one of only a few fats that melt just below body temperature, chocolate coatings generally don't have the same luxurious mouth feel as a good coverture chocolate.

[Mike Nolan]

50% (by weight) cocoa solids is sort of the border between light and dark chocolates, but there's no official standard.

That's why I tend to stick to brands I know and trust for coverture chocolate, like Callebaut/Cacao Barry or Valrhona. They'll tell you how much cocoa butter and how much cocoa solids is in each type. Scharfen Berger always seems to be higher priced than I'm willing to pay.

In Chocolate School, we tended to divide chocolates into 3 groups, mainly for handling and temperature sensitivity.

Dark chocolate, which has no milk products in it. Unsweetened chocolate is a subset of this category.
Milk chocolate
White chocolate, which has no cocoa solids

Of course, the school is run by the Callebaut folks, so their nomenclature and recipes tend to favor their products.

For allergy purposes, advisories about tree nuts, eggs, dairy products, etc tend to be on the extremely cautionary side, if there are nuts anywhere in the building they're listed.

I've also seen stuff labeled 'dark milk chocolate' in stores, heaven only knows what it really is, because retail chocolate makers generally don't list proportions of cocoa butter and cocoa solids or other ingredients. Hersheys won't even give a precise number for the amount of cocoa solids in their chocolates, calling it a trade secret.

The ruby chocolate is interesting, it has fruity undertones, but not something I've worked with much yet, it was not quite on the market when I went to Chocolate School, so they couldn't talk about it.

Until fairly recently, you couldn't legally call 'white chocolate' a form of chocolate, either, because it has no cocoa solids in it.

[Mike Nolan]

I think some of the Traeger wood pellet systems have thermometer controls, so it adjusts the rate it feeds in pellets to keep the temperature more or less constant.

Whether you think burning pellets (which I think are basically compressed sawdust) is the same as wood is a separate issue.

There are also electric and gas smokers that have thermostatic controls. Opinions of them vary a lot, I gather. I know some people who basically devote many of their weekends to tending their meat smoker. I can think of better things to do.

[BakerAunt]

I baked the Gourmet Soda Crackers this morning. They are now cooling on the pan in the oven.

You and your family might enjoy that recipe, Aaron. It does require the King Arthur Italian-Style flour. I leave my crackers plain, but KABC suggests sprinkling seeds or some topping on them. I replace the butter with 3 Tbs. avocado oil (includes the oil the recipe already uses). I also find that rolling it out on Silpat the first time, folding it, then moving the dough to the parchment to roll out for baking is faster and easier. I cut it on the parchment and do not separate; the crackers separate in the oven. The oven rest is the biggest issue, as it means you cannot use the oven for other uses--and you need to make sure no one turns it on accidentally.

I have to be stern with my husband about scarfing these indiscriminately, as they are white flour crackers, so the nutritional profile is low. Their attraction for me is that they are great with healthy dips, such as hummus or guacamole (neither of which he eats), and they go well with the pea soup I will be making tonight.

I also recommend the multi-grain crackers in the King Arthur Whole Grain Baking Book, which I make with an oil substitution and a Tbs. of added milk powder. These are non-yeasted, so they come together and bake fast. You do need cooked steel-cut oats that have cooled to room temperature. I cook 2 Tbs., and that works perfectly. I usually need additional water to bring the dough together. This recipe could easily be doubled.

[BakerAunt]

My husband went to the next town today to pick up medicine for our dog. He also needed to get oil at Walmart and asked if I wanted him to pick up anything. I told him Canadian bacon for pizza and an 8 oz. package full-fat cream cheese, which I need for the frosting for that wedding cake.

He did fine on the Canadian bacon, as he has been with me when we bought it before. However, my heart sank when I pulled an 8oz TUB of full-fat cream cheese out of the bag. It never occurred to me that he would bypass the boxes and buy a tub. Apparently, Walmart was selling the cream cheese in two 8 oz. bricks to a package, so he figured that was the wrong item. Sigh.

I'm sure that they have it at the local grocery, but I will pay more for it.

And what to do with the 8 oz. tub of full-fat cream cheese? Given that my cholesterol refuses to come down to a suitable level, in spite of my dietary efforts (and admittedly not great exercise efforts due to the cold weather), I may have to take medication to lower it. If that happens, I shall make raisin bread to have with the cream cheese--and maybe I will give bagel making a try.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Hello,

What is your definition of "dark chocolate". I understand the US has no formal standard for what constitutes it (never mind that the FDA took years to determine that ruby chocolate is, indeed, chocolate).

"Dark chocolate" appears to be all over the map here in Hartford - as low as 45% and up to about 80. There are people who sell and people who eat cocoa nibs. I've tried them and they are not for me. I've also tried unsweetened chocolate. Not to my taste...

Now, should you say to me "silly Aaron it's chocolate without milk," Trader Joe's sells dark chocolate that lists milk as an ingredient and not just in the warning that the product has been made in a facility that also has dairy and tree nuts. There is also at least one chocolatier who sells "dark milk chocolate" (I need to find them again).

So, as I started this topic - what do you consider dark chocolate?

[Mike Nolan]

The chemists say that sucrose technically doesn't have a melting point.

However, at 366.8 degrees (F) it inverts, which means it separates into glucose and fructose.

Now, here's where things get messy, literally.

The melting point of glucose is 294.8 degrees (F) and the melting point of fructose is 217.4 (F), so by the time sucrose inverts, your pan is well above the point at which either glucose or fructose do melt.

So, low and slow is the way to partially caramelize, AKA toast, sucrose.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Violet and I made green cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day. It was another Duff Goldman recipe and the first I've tried that was not very sweet.

The cupcakes used melted butter, something I've never done in a cake before.

I think Iover-mixed and over-baked them. They were a little hard and dry. We added the food coloring after the mix, in several batches until we had a color that Violet liked. I think this is when they became over mixed. Next time I'll mix the coloring into the melted butter & sugar before I add the eggs.

I did not get to try brown butter buttercream because Violet wanted to make the frosting and decorate with Kate so I was kicked from the kitchen (not really I just worked on dinner).

Next time.

[Mike Nolan]

The serious brisketeers I know say 12 or more hours of smoking is the only way to go, but that's not something I have the equipment or experience with.

I tried my hand at making Montreal Smoked Meat once (think 'pastrami with an attitude') if I ever got serious about it I'd want a real smoker.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks Mike. I wasn't actually going to make corn beef. When I have made it I use the flat, not the tip and I trim off most of the fat (beyond what the butcher trims). For pastrami I'm told you leave the fat on because it keeps th emeat moist when it's smoked.

I also steam/braise corn beef instead of boiling.

[BakerAunt]

On Wednesday, I baked the Favorite Fudge Birthday Cake (with my changes) from the King Arthur website. However, I halved the recipe and made it in the 6-inch cake pans. I also halved the amount of filling and the glaze. It is a cute little cake. As there will only be two of us to eat it, a smaller cake is best

[Mike Nolan]

There was an article in the WSJ recently saying that lobsters have hit a record high, nearly $7 per pound straight off the boat.

That's impacting those who sell lobster dinners, even the historically low-priced lobster roll.

We went to a restaurant that opened last fall that we haven't been to yet that features lobster dishes. We shared a lobster pizza on a cauliflower crust ($18) and a lobster roll ($22). The pizza crust seemed really chewy, my jaws were getting tired. At that price, I hope they're making money. They were good, but seemed a bit short on lobster taste.

We also stopped by the Wahlburgers that opened in town recently and got some of their thin onion rings. Very good, but we both had indigestion well into the night. There was something like chives sprinkled on them, I think next time I'd ask they leave that off.

So tonight we went with fairly bland fare, Diane had a peanut butter sandwich and I had some tuna salad on bread.

[BakerAunt]

Italian Cook--1/3 cup oil is the usual substitute for 1/2 cup butter. However, you might use 1/4 cup oil and add buttermilk or milk to make it up to 1/3 cup. That is my current approach to oil replacement in cakes and quick breads. It gives it a little more "water" content.

For a tender cake or quick bread, I suggest first combining the oil mixture with the sugar, then whisking in the eggs, then any other wet ingredient, including bananas. Add the combined other dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix lightly by hand. (I use a cake whisk, but a spatula will work.) Using a hand mixer at this point with an oil-based cake will make for tough cupcakes or cake

[BakerAunt]

On Tuesday, I made Maple Granola, which I have not made in a very long time. I had been able to find a 2-qt. jug of dark maple syrup last November, but I had not opened it because I needed canning lids. I finally found those a couple of months ago. I then decided to wait until our contractor finished remodeling our Annex. Today, I decided what the heck and just did it. (Supposedly the contractor and crew will be here tomorrow and will work on finishing the interior.) I have enough maple syrup now to make granola six times, which at the rate my husband consumes it will not be that long, and then I will need to order from Scruggs Sugar House!