The Food Thread

turbo

My wife and I have been using butter, olive oil, and peanut oil for years, and have no margarine, hydrogenated oils, etc in the house. We don't often deep-fry, but if we do, that is done in lard, not shortening. You can keep the temperature of the lard so high that the chicken, donuts, whatever crisp up immediately and resist the absorption of the cooking grease, resulting in a lighter product with less total fat.

I scalded, peeled and simmered down gallons of ripe tomatoes today, and will make up another batch of red tomato salsa tomorrow. The next day, I'll start processing some green tomatoes so that we'll have an extra "cushion" of green tomato salsa. I hate running out of that stuff. It is wonderful on cheeseburgers, omelets, and a thousand other things. Need a sauce for crab-cakes? Grab a jar of red or green salsa, and blend it with Cain's mayonnaise with some fresh-ground black pepper and a little salt and whatever else strikes your fancy.

Moonbear

Oh, crap, I should have bookmarked the various recipes I liked in this thread as I saw them to get back to the right page! I'm now thinking I'd like to go back and find some of the finger food recipes for my Mad Hatter Tea Party, and am realizing the thread is now 55 pages long! I'll never find them!

turbo

If your preference is for hot stuff, I may be able to be able to help with basics.

Moonbear

Unfortunately, with the crowd I'll be having, I don't think hot stuff is the way to go (as much as that's what I'd love to have). But I know there were some snack type recipes in here somewhere. Oh well, I guess I'll have to find my own recipes.

wolram

My Yorkshire puddings are not working any more, this is one of the things i can cook with no problem up to now, my puddings use to triple in height, but now they hardly reach the rim of the tin, i am using the same tin, have tried three different makes of plain flour and ues the same weights, mom has tried with the same results, so what is going wrong?

NateTG

You've talked about the flour. What about the eggs? Smaller eggs (and maybe less fresh eggs) could easily cause the sort of problem you're describing.

Yorkshire pudding is leavened by eggs, which means that it's important to trap air in the batter to get a good rise. I don't know what-all you're doing when you make the yorkshire pudding, but there are couple of things you can do that will create (or preserve) air in the batter:

Sift the dry ingredients.
Beat the wet ingredients, especially the eggs, before mixing with the dry ingredients.
Don't over-beat when mixing the wet and dry ingredients together.
Since the steam is important, don't open the oven while the pudding is baking.

If you really want to push it, you can probably make a 'yorkshire souffle' by reducing the flour, increasing the eggs, whipping the egg-whites and making a thick gravy with the other ingredients, and folding the two together just before baking. This should produce something with a noticeably different texture though.

wolram

The eggs, that could be it Nate, i and mom have been making yorkshires for years and
never had this problem before, some do turn out better than others but never flat.

wolram

If a muntjac accidentaly died and wound up in my possetion, how would i clean it and cook it?

Evo

What's a muntjac?

turbo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muntjac

Evo

WOLRAM!!!! A cute little barking deer? Accidental death by what, a stray bullet?

turbo

Maybe something quieter, like a snare, and a hatchet. Guns are all but banned in England.

wolram

They are considered to be pests by local farmers, and some times they fall and slit their throats.

Evo

THAT'S TERRIBLE!!!!

turbo

What if they taste good? Is it less terrible? I'm a little flexible on this issue.

Evo

Well, it's got to be eaten now, you can't let it die in vain.

wolram

I am told if a certain butcher could get some he would pay top dollar, but he can not get any, but accidents happen and i could be around when they do.
So how would i cook one ? hypotheticaly.