Daring Bakers' Challenge - October 2010 - Doughnuts

Blog-checking lines: The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

Mandatory Items: we should use any of the recipes provided.

Variations allowed: we could use our creativity to take these recipes and tweak them to come up with new, delicious varieties of doughnuts. We could use any type of toppings and fillings, we could make any shape we’d like, and we could make any size we like. We could add ingredients to the batters to make flavored doughnuts. The possibilities were endless.

Ok, so there were at least four different recipes for the dough. I've chosen the first one. Just because, at the forum, everybody was commenting it was the best one. Especially if you choose to bake the doughnuts instead of frying them. And definitely I would bake mine.

Oh, don't forget to check the other recipes at The Daring Kitchen website.

 Yeast Doughnuts:

1 1/2cup milk

70g butter

4 ½ tspoon active dry yeast

1/3 cup warm water

2 large eggs, beaten

¼ cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon table salt

1 tsp nutmeg, grated.

4 2/3 cup all purpose flour + extra for dusting surface

Place the milk in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat just until warm enough to melt the shortening. (Make sure the shortening is melted so that it incorporates well into the batter.) Place the shortening in a bowl and pour warmed milk over. Set aside. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let dissolve for 5 minutes. It should get foamy. After 5 minutes, pour the yeast mixture into the large bowl of a stand mixer and add the milk and shortening mixture, first making sure the milk and shortening mixture has cooled to lukewarm. Add the eggs, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and half of the flour. Using the paddle attachment of your mixer (if you have one), combine the ingredients on low speed until flour is incorporated and then turn the speed up to medium and beat until well combined. Add the remaining flour, combining on low speed at first, and then increase the speed to medium and beat well. Change to the dough hook attachment of the mixer and beat on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the bowl and becomes smooth, approximately 3 to 4 minutes (for me this only took about two minutes). If you do not have a dough hook/stand mixer – knead until the dough is smooth and not sticky. Transfer to a well-oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size. On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to 9 mm thick. (Make sure the surface really is well-floured otherwise your doughnuts will stick to the counter).Cut out dough using a 65 mm doughnut cutter or pastry ring or drinking glass and using a 22 mm ring for the center whole. Set on floured baking sheet, cover lightly with a tea towel, and let rise for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven at 220ºC. Place your doughnuts in a baking pan and bake it for 10-15 minutes, or until they get golden. Let it cool before icing.

Note: If you are going to fry your doughnuts, it is highly recommended to place your uncooked ones on your slotted spoon first and lowering it into the hot oil that way to reduce the chance of injury. Also, try to always turn the spoon away from you to reduce the chances of oil splashing back up.

As you can see at the pictures, I made some doughnut without a hole. Those ones I filled with a chocolate ganache. Recipes below: 

 

Powdered Sugar Glaze

2 cups powdered (Icing) Sugar

1 cup whipped cream

Whisk powdered sugar and whipped cream to blend and form medium thick glaze. Spread the glaze over the doughnut with a spoon. Arrange doughnuts, glazed side up, on racks. Let stand until glaze sets, at least 30 minutes.

Note: this glaze can be made up to 3 hours ahead.  

Chocolate Ganache

200g semi sweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup whipping cream

Place the whipping cream in a saucepan and bring to boil in medium heat. Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate and mix well, until all the chocolate melts. Spread over the doughnuts with a spoon.

Filling Directions

Fit a pastry bag with a plain donut tip (6 mm tip) and fill with the ganache (you can also use a squeeze bottle). Poke the tip three-fourths of the way into the doughnut and squeeze in the preserves, pulling the tip out slightly as you squeeze to fill them as much as possible.

I also decided to make some savory doughnuts. I used the same dough of the sweet ones. I'd only added a little bit more salt and sprinkled dried basil and Himalayan pink salt on them.

Salmon and Cream Cheese Filling 

150g smoked salmon 

200g cream cheese

Scallion, chopped

Lime juice

Cut the salmon in small dices. Mix the cheese, the scallion and some drops of freshly squeezed lime juice. Add the salmon. Fill the doughnut and serve immediately.

I bought some Parma ham, some Spanish ham (Jamon Serrano), a delicious pepperoni filled with pistachios and some buffalo mozzarella. I made some "doughnut sandwiches"

Thanks very much Lori. I enjoyed a lot making my first ever doughnuts. My kids  and hubby loved them to. I'd baked them for a evening snack and we all had an amazing time that day.

Recipe Source: Check some other recipes.

The yeast doughnut is from Alton Brown:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/yeast-doughnuts-recipe/in...

The cake doughnut is a Nancy Silverton recipe:
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2007/06/cook-the-book-oldfashioned-bu...

The raspberry jam bomboloni recipe is a Kate Neumann recipe:
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/raspberry-jam-bomboloni

The pumpkin doughnuts are from Bon Appétit:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pumpkin-Doughnuts-with-Powd...

Additional Information:

Gluten-free recipe from Whole Living Daily:
http://wholelivingdaily.wholeliving.com/2010/06/fried-donuts-food-allerg...

Nancy Silverton’s instructions for doughnut making:
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2007/06/cook-the-book-nancy-silverton...

Alton Brown making the Yeast Doughnuts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP8L9FXVNq4

This video is adorable – it’s a girl who has never made doughnuts before. What’s great too is that she uses what she has and didn’t buy any extra equipment/gadgets. Oh and it’s funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw3iR3jA8Vc

A baked version of doughnuts and he shows how to make them in a bowl using a spoon + kneading:

http://wickedhowtos.com/index.php/2010/01/02/how-to-make-doughnuts/

Photos of doughnuts for inspiration on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=doughnut&w=all

Take a look at DK to check what other members have done. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Também em http://www.labgastro.blogspot.com/

Daring Cooks' Challenge - October 2010 - Stuffed Grape Leaves

Blog-checking lines: Our October 2010 hostess, Lori of Lori’s Lipsmacking Goodness, has challenged The Daring Cooks to stuff grape leaves. Lori chose a recipe from Aromas of Aleppo and a recipe from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food.

Historical Note: Stuffed grape leaves are a part of many cultures including the Syrians, the Turks, the Greeks, the Lebanese, the Albanians, the Israeli's, the Iranians, the Iraqis and the Armenians (just to name a few). Generally speaking the stuffed part could be in zucchinis/courgette, eggplant, tomato or peppers. Really it also extends to stuffing certain types of fish as well. It is suggested that the origin of stuffed grape leaves goes back to the time when Alexander the Great besieged Thebes. It has also been suggested the Byzantines refined and spiced up the recipe and used the leaves of other vines such as hazelnuts and figs.

Mandatory Items: The challenge this month is to make a filling and roll it in grape leaves. If grape leaves are unavailable to us then we could use Swiss chard, kale, cabbage or some tough green.

The filling was totally up to us. We could do any meat filled filling or meatless, but it must include rice. We could add different nuts or dried fruits to our filling.

Grape Leaves Stuffed with Ground Meat and Rice

Preserved grape leaves, stems trimmed, drained, rinsed and patted dry

1 tablespoon (15 ml) vegetable oil

¼ cup (60 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon salt

Notes:

If using grape leaves preserved in brine, to remove salt put them in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Make sure that the water penetrates well between the layers, and leave them soaking for about twenty minutes, then change the water a time or two using fresh cold water.

If using fresh leaves, plunge a few at a time in boiling water for a few seconds only, until they become limp, and lift them out.

Filling

Cooked rice

Ground meat

1 onion, diced

2 garlic gloves, diced

½ cup tomato sauce

1 Tbspoom ground mustard

½ tspoom cinnamon

1 Tbspoom ground cumin

Peppermint leaves, chopped (that's what I call peppermint. Do you agree?)

Salt to taste

1Tbspoom olive oil

Mix the ground meat, ground mustard, cinnamon, ground cumin and salt. Set aside.

In a large pan, heat the olive oil. Stir-fry the onion and garlic. Add the ground meat until browned. Add the tomato sauce. In low heat, cook for 10-15 minutes. Add the cooked rice and mix well. Set aside.

The roll

Place a grape leaf on a flat surface, vein side up. You can trim the little stem if we would like. Place about two teaspoons (10 ml) of the filling in the center of the leaf, near the stem edge. Roll the leaf end to end, starting from the stem edge. As you roll, fold the sides of the leaf in toward the center. The leaf should resemble a small cigar, about 2 to 2 1/2 inches (50 mm to 65mm) long. Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling (you can freeze the stuffed grape leaves at this point. Just line a baking sheet with wax paper. When firmly frozen, transfer to an airtight plastic bag place back in the freezer.)

In a medium saucepan put in the vegetable oil and then place the filled grape leaves in the pot. Cover and cook over low heat for 5- 8 minutes or until the grape leaves begin to sweat. Combine lemon juice, salt, and water then add to pan, filling it ¾ full. Weigh down the grape leaves with a heat proof plate or board to prevent them from unraveling. Cover and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 40 minutes.

Spoon cooking liquid over the grape leaves occasionally. We will know they are done, when the grape leaves are neither soupy nor dry. Tilt pan sideways over serving platter, allowing the grape leaves to tumble out. Try not to handle them individually to reduce unraveling.

Ok, this was very good. But Audax Artifex had inspired me to make some cabbage rolls baked in a oven. All I have to say is: D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S!!!!

Stuffed Cabbage with Chicken, Pistachios and Arborio Rice

Cabbage leaves

Chicken or beef stock

Boil cabbage leaves in lightly stock until leaves become translucent, about 10 minutes. Make sure that the leaves are soft and all the leaves have the same degree of doneness. If the cabbage leaves aren't boiled enough they will never soften enough in the baking process. Shave off the protruding thick stem on the "outer" side of each leaf; this makes wrapping much easier.

Filling

1/3 cup Arborio rice, soaked in hot beef or chicken stock for 30 minutes

400g chicken breasts

20 semi-dried tomatoes packed in oil

¼ cup pistachios, toasted and chopped

1 lime zests

½ cup peppermint leaves, finely chopped,

½ cup parsley leaves, finely chopped

½ cup chives, finely chopped

½ cup tarragon, finely chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

1 tablespoon sumac

2 teaspoons cinnamon, freshly ground

1½ teaspoon allspice

Basting

1 tablespoon molasses (or golden syrup or strong honey)

1-2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup water

Place the chicken breasts, the dried tomatoes, the lime zests, garlic, the pomegranate molasses, the sumac, the cinnamon and the allspice in a bowl of a food processor. Beat until the chicken breasts are minced and everything gets mixed. Add the peppermint, parsley, chives, tarragon chopped leaves and the pistachios. Mix well. Add the Arborio rice and mix again.

The roll
To make each roll, place about 2-3 tablespoons of filling near the stem end, fold end on top, wrap the sides and roll. Make sure all the rolls are the same size. Preheat oven to very hot 480°F/250°C/gas mark 9¼ or as hot as the oven could go. Place the filled cabbage rolls seam side down in a tight even layer on a well greased shallow baking dish. Sprinkle rolls with salt and pour a thin lattice of molasses on top. Dot rolls with tiny lumps of butter. Pour the water into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 30 minutes (check occasionally during this time that the rolls are not burning on the bottom) then reduce the temperature to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4. Bake about 1½ to 2 hours check every 30 minutes the cabbage rolls will brown on top during this time. Spoon some pan juice atop the rolls every now and then; add more water or molasses if they dry up too much. In the last 30 minutes remove most of the excess liquid in the baking pan and reduce in a small saucepan until it coats the back of a spoon (like thin honey) ladle a tablespoon or so over the cabbage rolls a couple of times in the last 30 minutes. Constantly check the rolls at this stage since they could burn on the bottom if the pan juices dry out. The reduced pan juices (mainly molasses, butter and salt) are supposed to soak into the cabbage and turn the top of each roll a nice glistening dark brown. Do not confuse this with the cabbage drying out and burning. Turn off oven and let them sit there and soak up the pan juices for an hour or two.

Additional Information:

http://greekfood.about.com/od/greekcookinglessons/ss/foldleaves.htm

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Vegetables/StuffedGrapeLeaves.htm

http://www.squidoo.com/stuffed-grape-leaves

Video:

http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Make-Stuffed-Grape-Leaves-101615656

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DlKlzltajg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSyOUhHzIoQ&feature=related

Thanks Lori for another amazing challenge. I think I would never make stuffed grape leaves if there wasn't this challenge. Now I'm sure I'll do that again and again.

Don't forget to check out what the other Daring Kitchen members had done.

Também em http://www.labgastro.blogspot.com/

Radicchio Salad

Still on salads phase...

I love radicchio. The color, flavor, crunch, everything. I remember  as a child we were used to go to Curitiba every year, to visit my mother's family.We used to take one day for lunch in the Santa Felicidade. Homemade pasta, grape juice and radicchio salad. Sacrapantina pie for dessert. Runnig with the cousins in the garden of the restaurant while waiting for food. Great time.

It has beem a long time since I last went to Santa Felicidade. Well, there is four years that I do not even go to Curitiba! But there's much more time we do not go to Santa Felicidade. The last time I went, I noticed everything had changed a lot. It turned into a kinda tourist trap. Dozens of tour buses at the door of huge restaurants, too many people. Maybe it was just a childhood memory, but the pasta had no longer the same homemade taste . And even the radicchio  was gone from the salad! A pity ...

Anyway, enough of the "moment of nostalgia" (I'm getting old! Haha). The salad I present here is NOT the same as the one served in restaurants in Santa Felicidade. It's not even like. Just have radicchio as one of its ingredients. That was enough to trigger a memory. But I think I'll do some research, and some time I will try to recreate the old one. For now, we are left with this one:

Radicchio Salad

1 radicchio, cut into thin strips
1 lettuce
1 mango, diced
8 celery stalks, chopped
1 cup chopped walnuts
4 tsp lime juice
1 cup mayo
Salt to taste

Line a bowl with the radicchio and lettuce. Mix the mango, celery and walnuts and arrange in center of bowl. Season with lime juice, beaten lightly with mayo and salt. This sauce can be served separately.

Também em http://www.labgastro.blogspot.com/

Radish, Apple and Almond Salad

I'm in the mood for salads. I've seen some interesting combinations, so beautiful dishes, in my old magazines that I get inspired. As summer is coming around, I decided to do some tests and prepare myself for the season.

This salad is very simple. The charm of it is up to the decoration of the dish.

Radish, Apple and Almond Salad

4 medium carrots, grated

200g almonds
2/3 cup sour grapes - Use seedless grapes or raisins, or if you prefer
8 large radishes, sliced very thin - I used a mandolin
4 chopped green apples

Sauce
1/2 cup vinegar
4 tsp. lime juice
4 tsp. mustard
4 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt

In a bowl, combine carrots, almonds and grapes. Arrange the salad around the radish and put the apple in the center.
Sauce: In a bowl, beat with a whisk all ingredients and serve separately.

Também em http://www.labgastro.blogspot.com/

Daring Bakers' Challenge - September 2010 - Cookies

Blog-checking lines: The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

Recipe Source

Basic Sugar Cookie recipe adapted from Peggy Porschen:
http://www.peggyporschen.com/images/press/pdf/Coso-Bride-Oct-Nov-2008.pd...

Also found in her book: “Romantic Cakes” http://www.peggyporschen.com/book-detail.asp?ID=2

Royal Icing recipe adapted from The Joy of Baking:

http://www.joyofbaking.com/RoyalIcing.html

Mandatory

We had to make the Basic Sugar Cookie recipe provided (unless specific diet restrictions apply). We had to decorate our cookies with the theme of September, whatever that means to us.

Variations Allowed

While we had to use Peggy Porschen’s sugar cookies recipe, we were allowed to add our own flavourings to the dough, so if we’d like to add a pinch of cinnamon & nutmeg, substitute some of the flour for cocoa, or maybe add orange zest, it was ok.

We didn’t have to make our own royal icing from scratch, we might use a store bought mix.

We might make any shape cookie we liked so long as it has the theme of September, this means we could do round or square cookies and pipe pictures/words on them or use specifically shaped cookie cutters (butterflies, flowers, hearts etc)

We might also use coloured sugars, luster dust, edible glitter or flakes, dragees and coloured sprinkles to decorate our cookies.

Well, it was too easy to find out what September means to me.

First of all,

Spring, of course!

September, here in Brasil is a month when lots and lots of weddings take place. So

September also means LOVE.

And last but not least, today is my birthday! and I've recived a lot of

gifts.

I decide to flavour my cookies by adding a 1/2 teaspoon of dried lavander flowers. It's spring, after all!

Basic Sugar Cookies

200g Unsalted Butter, at room temperature

400g All Purpose flour

200g Caster Sugar / Superfine Sugar

1 Large Egg, lightly beaten

5ml Vanilla Extract / Or seeds from 1 vanilla bean

Cream together the butter, sugar and any flavourings you’re using. Beat until just becoming creamy in texture.

• Tip: Don’t over mix otherwise you’ll incorporate too much air and the cookies will spread during baking, losing their shape.

Beat in the egg until well combined, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the sifted flour and mix on low until a non sticky dough forms.

• Tip: I don’t have a stand mixer so I find it easier to switch to dough hooks at this stage to avoid flour flying everywhere.

Knead into a ball and divide into 2 or 3 pieces. Roll out each portion between parchment paper to a thickness of about 5mm. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30mins.

• Tip: Recipes commonly just wrap the whole ball of dough in clingwrap and then refrigerate it for an hour or overnight, but by rolling the dough between parchment, this shortens the chilling time and then it’s also been rolled out while still soft making it easier and quicker.

Once chilled, peel off parchment and place dough on a lightly floured surface.

Cut out shapes with cookie cutters or a sharp knife. Arrange shapes on parchment lined baking sheets and refrigerate for another 30mins to an hour.

• Tip: It’s very important you chill them again otherwise they’ll spread while baking.

Re-roll scraps and follow the above process until all scraps are used up.

Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C Fan Assisted) / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.

Bake until golden around the edges, about 8-15mins depending on the size of the cookies.

• Tip: Bake same sized cookies together otherwise mixing smaller with larger cookies could result in some cookies being baked before others are done.

• Tip: Rotate baking sheets half way through baking if your oven bakes unevenly.

Leave to cool on cooling racks. Once completely cooled, decorate as desired.

• Tip: If wrapped in tinfoil/cling wrap or kept in airtight containers in a cool place, un-decorated cookies can last up to a month.

Royal Icing

315g – 375g Confectioner’s / Powdered Sugar, unsifted

2 Large Egg Whites

10ml Lemon Juice

5ml Almond Extract, optional

Beat egg whites with lemon juice until combined.

• Tip: It’s important that the bowls/spoons/spatulas and beaters you use are thoroughly cleaned and grease free.

Sift the icing sugar to remove lumps and add it to the egg whites.

• Tip: I’ve listed 2 amounts of icing sugar, the lesser amount is good for a flooding consistency, and the larger amount is for outlining, but you can add even more for a much thicker consistency good for writing. If you add too much icing sugar or would like to make a thinner consistency, add very small amounts of water, a few drops at a time, until you reach the consistency you need.

Beat on low until combined and smooth. Use immediately or keep in an airtight container.

• Tip: Royal Icing starts to harden as soon as it’s in contact with air so make sure to cover containers with plastic wrap while not in use.

I am extremely concerned in using food colloring at home. I mean, we are already too exposed to artificial ingredients we eat in industrial food. I don't like the idea of using this kind of thing at homemade food. I tried to use annatto for red hearts but it didn't work as I expected

Of course, I HAD to use my new torch. But I didn't like the result either :(

Anyway, I loved this challenge. I love baking cookies. I enjoyed a lot all the process of decorating them. I had a great time. It was really funny. Thanks Mandy.

It's worth a visit to Daring Kitchen website. You can see all the beautiful work all the fellows did and read some great tips on decorating cookies.

Também em www.labgastro.blogspot.com

Creme Brûlée and another Alaska

As promised, here are my first recipes using the blow torch.

I made the cream brûlée, so desired by my eldest daughter. Actually I made the cream twice, following different recipes.
The first recipe was found on the Internet, a famous French chef, who lives in Brazil. I believe he has tried to simplify things. He bakes the cream in the oven in a water bath. He also uses milk and cream. But I'll tell you, I didn't like the final result.

So I had to do it all again. I did a search on the Cordon Bleu's book and I ended up doing a recipe from Julia Child (Mastering the Art of French Cooking -  the one from the movie and book Julie and Julia. Yeah, I bought it!) This time, the cream was great.

Creme Brûlée

5 egg yolks

165g caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (it is worth investing in the extract, not the essence)

500g heavy cream.

Beat the egg yolks on high speed until they begin to whitening. Add the sugar by spoonfuls and continue beating. The mixture should get thick and be clear, almost white. Meanwhile bring the cream to the heat and let boil. Remove from heat and pour slowly over egg yolks, still beating , but at a lower rate.

Get back the mixture to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, do not even simmer. The cream should go slowly acquiring consistency, covering up the back of wooden spoon. Do a test: when the cream cover the back of the spoon, pass your finger through the spoon. The spoon must be clean, without the cream drips. Remove from heat, pour the cream into little bowls, cover with plastic film and refrigerate for approx. 5 hours.

When chilled, remove the cream from the fridge, cover with a thin layer of sugar and burn with torch. Serve immediately.

Note: some recipes recommend granulated sugar, other confectioners sugar. Julia Child speaks in brown sugar. I tested the first two and caster sugar. My best result was even with the caster sugar.

I also did the Baked Alaska again. This time my Alaska were much more beautiful. I made a plain cake, just added a peanut flour to the dough. The ice cream was chocolate, I bought at the grocery. My meringue was... almost good. Still need some practice.

Creme Brulee

Também em www.labgastro.blogspot.com

Got my Cooking Blow Torch

Yeah! Nobody can stop me now. I'll use my torch in just everything!

Finally got my torch. The retailer had promised me to deliver it before the weekend, but did not... It arived AFTER it.

Ok, now  I'm in trouble! As soon as the torch arrived, my oldest daughter has stated:

- The first thing you'll do with this new toy of yours must be a Creme Brûlée!

She is crazy about Creme Brûlée. Since she tasted a wonderful one, in Tiradentes, last year, she does not talk about anything else.

But my youngest daughter, at once replied:

- No! Mama will make other Alaska. This time, as beautiful as those of Renata (Testado, Provado e Aprovado)!

Sorry, Renata, but now she thinks you are a close friend of her. What can I do? Lol

I must thank Renata. She read here that I wanted a cooking torch and, besides being willing to send me one, from Korea, just imagine!, she did a whole search on the internet about where to find the gas here in Brazil. She ended finding where it is sold here and at a great price. Of course I bought it! Thank you so much, Renata.

Well, then, as I said, it created an impasse. The twins were divided, each supporting a sister. My husband, who is not fool, said nothing. He says being the only man in a house of five women had taught him not to get into trouble by little things. He is quite right, isn't he?

So after eternal considerations, it was decided that I would make the two recipes at once. Both are in the fridge, waiting for the  right moment to be burned with the torch. As soon as they're ready, I'll post the photos here.

Também em http://www.labgastro.blogspot.com/

Hand-Held Torch

Daring Cooks' Challenge - September 2010 - Food Preservation

Blog-checking lines: The September 2010 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by John of Eat4Fun. John chose to challenge The Daring Cooks to learn about food preservation, mainly in the form of canning and freezing. He challenged everyone to make a recipe and preserve it. John’s source for food preservation information was from The National Center for Home Food Preservation.

Mandatory: he wanted us all daring cooks to try canning or freezing one of the recipes presented in the challenge.

Variations allowed: If we were familiar with home canning and would like to make our favorite up to date recipe, we were free to make this recipe.

John gave us all a great biochemistry class. He explained everything about preserving and canning food at home. He also presented some very interesting recipes of aplle butter and preserved tomatoes. You can check these recipes out at the Daring Kitchen website.
I myself did some research about the subject and found two recipes that really attacted me: Pear butter and an apple and onion chutney. I'm crazy about chutneys and I love pears. So, as variations were allowed, I decided to give a try to them.

Pear Butter
4 pounds medium pears, quartered and cored
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup orange juice
Place pears into a large pot over medium heat, and add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pot and keep them from sticking, about 1/2 cup. Cook until the pears are soft, about 30 minutes. Press pears through a sieve or food mill, and measure out 2 quarts of the pulp. Pour the pear pulp and sugar into a large saucepan and stir to dissolve sugar. Stir in the orange zest, nutmeg and orange juice. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is thick enough to mound in a spoon. When the mixture begins to thicken, stir frequently to prevent scorching on the bottom. This will take about 1 hour. Ladle the pear butter into hot sterile jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Remove air bubbles by sliding a metal spatula around where the pear butter touches the glass. Wipe jar rims clean, and seal with lids and rings. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. The water should cover the jars by 1 inch. Check with your local extension for exact processing times for your area.

This recipe was found at allrecipes.com. Nice and easy. I wish you were here to taste this. W.O.N.D.E.R.F.U.L!

Easy Apple and Onion Chutney
1.8kg cooking apples
900g onions
3 - 4 plump garlic cloves
60g fresh root ginger
1 large red chilli
1l distilled malt vinegar
550g muscovado sugar
2Tbspoon ground tumeric
1Tbsppoon salt
Peel, core and chop the apples. chop the onions, garlic and ginger. Deseed the chilli, if liked, and chop. Put the apples, onions, garlic, ginger and chilli in a large preserving pan. Pour in the vinegar and stir in the sugar, tumeric and salt. Bring the mixture to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, then simmer for about 1 hour until thick. Stir often as the mixture reduces, to avoid it catching on the botton of the pan and burning. Spoon into hot sterilized jars, cover with vinegar-proof seals, label and store in a cool, dark place for about 1 month before using.

This one is from the amazing book Jams & Chutneys _ Preserving the Harvest, written by Thane Prince. I love this book. The recipes are clear and the pictures are beautiful. There is also a very comprehensive chapter on preserving techniques.

I tasted the chutney while is was simmering. A bit bitter but good. Now I have to wait a whole month to taste the final result. I promise I'll come back to this and tell you what happened, ok?

Thanks, John. It was an amazing challenge. Sure I do too eat4fun!

Também em http://www.labgastro.blogspot.com/

Hot Pasta Salad

Sunday afternoon, a chilly wind from the south, very common this time around and I did not want to make do something usual for diner ...hot chocolate ...soup ...   I wanted to make something light and different and that pleased everyone here at home. Since I'm in the process of researching  recipes, in some old magazines that I have long bought and never read, I found this one. I just loved the picture: colorful, nice and tasty... And it was a success!

Hot Pasta Salad
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into strips
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
3 Tbspoons margarine
2 tspoons poppy seeds
A pinch of salt
200g cooked spaghetti
1 medium tomato, cut into thin slices
In a saucepan, combine all ingredients except spaghetti and tomato. Cook over high heat until the peppers and onions soften, stirring occasionally. Add the remaining ingredients, mix quickly and heat. Serve immediately.

Nice and easy, guys...

Também em www.labgastro.blogspot.com