Category: Spices

Bone In Veal Breast Roasted In A Salt Bed

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With Certain Someone back for a while before he jets off again, I find myself a carnivore for once.I have posted a few times here about Certain Someones mothers pork roast which is prepared in a salt bed. Wanting to expand on that theme and writing about it here, I decided to try another cut of meat. Veal breasts are relatively inexpensive and can be very delicious. One can buy them with the bone in or out. If the bones are out , veal breast work great stuffed.You will find all sorts of recipes for veal breast in Italian, German and other European cuisines. I love bones and roasting with them in imparts a whole another dimension. Veal breasts can be fatty, but yields a lot meat in the brisket like section.
This veal breast was simply prepared with a rub of lemon juice and some Penzeys Bavarian Seasoning blend( crushed brown mustard, rosemary, garlic, thyme,bay leaves, and sage),cracked black pepper, and studding of garlic cloves throughout. Place meat in a cast iron skillet or roasting pan. Take a container of salt and pour it around the meat. The meat should not lie on top of the salt, the salt should only surround it. Salt aides in retaining the moisture in the meat, while drawing out fats. The cut of meat draws the just enough salt it needs for flavor. Believer it or not, the meat does not come out salty. The ancient Chinese developed this way of cooking with salt . Roast the veal for 2 hours or more at 350F uncovered, depending on size. Remove from oven and allow to sit to settle.Slice and serve.
Notice how juicy the meat is upon carving.
Cooking with salt crusts works great for whole fish, chicken, and beef as well. The fish is usually covered in salt. The Chinese cover the chicken in a flour, salt,and water crust and bake.

Coconut Curried Goat With Rice and Red Lentils

One of my favorite treats as a child growing up in diverse Washington D.C was when my father brought home takeout of curried goat and Roti from some hole in the wall. That was good eating. He was a man that didn’t stray from his staples of Nigerian food, but he did like good Caribbean food. Lately I have been hankering for goat meat. In the Bahamas I was disappointed with their Americanized fare and didn’t see any. I must have been asleep at the the foodie radar to realize goat meat has gone mainstream and is now served in many a restaurant and featured in magazines. Last time I had some goat was at a dumpy Indian restaurant and it was good but had more bone than meat for my tastes. But the sauce was spicy and thick. I purchased my goat at Pete’s Fresh Market a great chain that has a large Mexican and Asian clientele. Any sort of exotic produce or meat is available and they have it at pretty fair prices. I eyed a goat leg in the butcher case. To big for just me, but I need to get one one day for a BBQ. The goat on display looked like rib cages and me not knowing cuts was perplexed. But the butcher told me he could cut it down into pieces for me, I was hoping for a boneless type of cut to cook down, but started off with 6 pounds of pieces. expertly cut up for me. The pieces he gave thankfully had a lot of meat.
6 pounds is a lot and my aim was to cook it down in the pressure cooker and eat of it all this over the weekend. It gets even better the next day.Here is my ‘recipe’. Its not formal, just what I did.

Clean goat meat and pat dry. In an uncovered pressure cooker brown 2 large onions, some tablespoons of curry powder to your taste, cumin, salt, pepper,turmeric ,chili powder, and the meat with a bit of oil. Note the goat has fat, and I didn’t want it to greasy. Cut up and seed about 3 jalapenos or a lesser amount of Scotch bonnet peppers if you can get them( depends on your heat tolerance). Add some cilantro and a cleaned sliced leek , and some leftover chopped tomato to the mix. Mix up . Add about 2 cups of water ( next time I would add less as it creates more liquid). Cover , seal, and cook at a pressure of 15 lbs for 45-50 minutes. Cool down with cold water method or naturally until lid releases. Drain off any excessive liquids and fat( I had about 4 cups I drained off , so next time add less liquid. But I left enough in). Stir in one can of coconut milk to finish. Serve with rice boiled with red lentils and garnish with more fresh cilantro and maybe a some jalapeno if you desire it more spicy.

You can cook this a normal stove top method but the cooking time will be between 2-3 hours. Pressure cooking cuts the time down and yields really tender and succulent meat.

BYOB: Buttermilk Bread to Cinnamon – Raisin Bread

This weekend I was looking for a bread I could make with Buttermilk . I always have left over Buttermilk from a recipe and wanted to find a practical use for it while keeping my commitment to BYOB. I chose a pretty easy recipe from Artisan Bread In Five Minutes A Day, which most of you know is a great book and the talk of the blogosphere.Jeff Hertzerg and Zoe Francois have revolutionized home bread baking in a simple , time friendly method that allows the busy home cook /baker to always have fresh bread for their family. If you don’t have this book, I suggest you get it. For those of you who are scared of yeast, this is the perfect foray into Bread Baking for you.

I selected the Buttermilk Bread from the Enriched Bread and Pastry section. If you like a chewy , spongy, white bread, with a soft crust,then try this. The Buttermilk bread made plain is a great sandwich bread. As with all the Basic recipes in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, you can then use the basic for other recipes. Judy’s Board of Directors Cinnamon- Raisin Bread called out to me. This is fantastic Cinnamon bread that’s easy to make once you make the basic dough.
Judy’s Board Of Directors’ Cinnamon- Raisin Bread adapted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day, by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois


2 cups lukewarm water
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
6 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
Butter or vegetable oil for greasing the pan

For Swirl:
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup raisins
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water for egg wash

To mix Buttermilk Bread Dough:
Mix the yeast , salt, and sugar with liquids( water and buttermilk) in the bowl of your stand mixer.
Add in flour gradually with the dough hook attachment. Do not knead, but mix until all is incorporated.
Cover loosely( the authors advise that it not be airtight) and allow let it rest at Room Temperature until dough rises and collapses ( approx 2 hours) .
Dough can used immediately or put , covered in anon airtight container in the refrigerator. The dough can be stored for up to 7 days and easier to handle when cold.

To Bake:
Grease your loaf pan. On a lightly floured surface roll out a piece of dough into a 8x 16 inch rectangle. I used half of the dough for my baking pan. Brush the dough with egg wash. Sprinkle sugar, cinnamon, and raisins evenly . From the short side up roll in jelly roll fashion and place in greased pan seam side down. Allow to rise/rest in pan 40 minutes ( if dough is used unrefrigerated) or 1 hour and 40 minutes if used refrigerated.
Preheat oven to 375F and bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden Brown. * I used some of the remaining egg wash on top of the dough to give the crust a gloss.A lame was used to slash the bread. I also placed my pan on a baking stone to aid in baking.
Remove from pan and allow to cool on wire rack for a few hours before slicing.

Here is the Authors of Artisan Bread In Five Minutes A Day Pictorial and recipe for Cinnamon Raisin Bread and toast

Meringue Topped Spiced Apple Conserve

I created this dessert while shut in by the weather. Its -17F here in Chicago and my car just wont start. So while waiting for Roadside Assistance from my insurance company to come and give this old girl a jump start,I played in my kitchen. Having apples on hand I came up with this recipe. Spicy apple conserves laced with Ginger Wine, Star Anise, Ground Ginger, and Walnuts topped with a sweetened meringue and baked. Its doesn’t take long to whip this together and it would make a stunning dessert that can be made partially in advance. Relatively low in fat with the exception of the walnuts, it rich in flavor and texture, while being satisfying. Just the dessert you need to get you through Arctic weather , but not leaving you to guilty by indulging.* I used Stones Original Green Ginger Wine which I found in the Bahamas. It’s a product from the UK.
Meringue Topped Spiced Apple Conserve (serves 4)

For the Spiced Apple Conserves
6 apples
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup Ginger Wine
2 Star Anise pods
1tsp ground ginger
1/3 cup sugar
Peel apples, core and chop coarsely into larger chunks.Add to a heavy bottomed sauce pan with the remaining ingredients and slowly simmer until apples are soft. Remove Star Anise and discard.
For the Meringue
2 egg whites
6 tsp sugar
1 tsp cream
Preheat oven to 350 F. Beat egg whites with sugar and Cream of Tarter until stiff peaks form. Fill a piping bag with beaten egg whites.
Assembly
Arrange the conserve into 4 ramekins. Pipe egg whites on top and bake at 350F until golden brown.. Remove from heat . * You can sprinkle with thinly sliced candied ginger(optional).Serve warm.

12 Days Of Cookies A Gourmet Cookie Extravaganza…Brandy Snaps

On the 12th Day of Cookies( and the last) Glamah baked for me Brandy Snaps! I was drawn to the photo in Gourmet immediately. They looked so elegant, and for some odd reason I assumed they had alcohol in them.I remedied that by adding to Cointreau to the cooked batter.This batter is entirely cooked on top of the stove and then baked . Several of my Cookie Pals tried this recipe and had some issues with it. But from what I saw of their results , I was undeterred. They all looked so good still. Published in July 1949, this recipe reminded me more of a confection than a cookie.I love molasses and ginger, so those strong flavors didn’t put me off. I can see this cookie being a nice digestive after dinner with tea. Molasses and ginger have wonderful healthful properties. So on this last day of cookies , weary from a crappy day at work, I attempted this. And you know, I didn’t have much issues. I used parchment so buttering the cookie sheet was unnecessary. After a few torn snaps, I let them cool a bit before using my nimble fingers and the wooden spoon to form while warm but pliable. I really love the presentation of these . I can see them served up with ice cream, sorbets, tea, coffees, and even holiday cheese and fruit trays.
Thank you all for reading these 12 Days Of Cookies posts. I haven’t blogged consecutively like that before, and it was a challenge. Certain Someone is relieved that all this cookie madness is over.But I don’t regret doing this. I made some new friends and learned a lot. If anything it reinforced that I love to bake. And for 12 days I was able to spread some holiday cheer with the fruits of my labor. Certain Someone and I leave for Germany next week and I wont be blogging for the last two weeks of December, but I will squeeze maybe one or two post before then. A big thanks to my Cookie gang and Andrea for inviting me. I know we screamed about these recipes and Gourmet but it was all in good fun. Nothing was wasted as it can all be salvaged and put to use later.I would suggest the folks at Gourmet give their editors test kitchen notes if they decide to publish vintage recipes in the future. We realize there was a disclaimer, but some insight into how they adapted these recipes to modern kitchens would be welcome.
Be sure to visit my other baking friends and see what they chose to bake for the holidays from Gourmet.com.
Jerry – http://www.cookingbytheseatofmypants.com/
Judy – http://www.nofearentertaining.blogspot.com/
Sandy – http://www.bakersbench.blogspot.com/
Kelly – http://sassandveracity.typepad.com/
Claire – http://www.thebarefootkitchen.com/
Andrea – http://www.andreasrecipes.com/