JCC Tomo-spiced karkana ribenes - the foodies' thread

I'll be starting my turkey once I've finished checking things here. Plan is to eat around 1PM. Hopefully it will come out OK..

 

My turkey came out pretty good. I tried a different brand of sage and onion stuffing this year though and that wasn't as good. I'll be going back to the other brand next year. Got a ton of leftovers now..

 

Cinnamon Rolls!

1 c buttermilk, warmed
2/3 c sugar
1 1/2 T (2 standard sized packets) active dry yeast
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
2 large eggs, preferably room temperature
1/2 t salt
4 1/2 c all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

Make sure the milk is a little warmer than lukewarm and pour the warm milk into the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment (OR you can use a handheld mixer OR no mixer, but a stand mixer is ideal). Stir in the sugar and yeast. Cover with a towel and let sit until the yeast is foamy, about 5-10 minutes. If the yeast does not dissolve and foam, start over with fresh active yeast. On low speed, beat in the softened butter until it is slightly broken up (it won't really mix in at this point, so don't worry). Next add the eggs, one at a time, and then the salt. On low speed, gradually add the flour. Once it's all added, beat on medium speed until a soft dough forms. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is soft and supple, about 4 to 6 minutes longer. If you do not have a stand-mixer with a hook attachment, knead the dough by hand in this step.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for a minute. Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly greased bowl. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap, a paper towel, or aluminum foil and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 to 2 hours.
Grease or spray with nonstick spray the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish (you can also then line with parchment, but I didn't). Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using a rolling pin, roll into a 13x18 inch rectangle (I just eyeballed mine, it ended up being a little longer but whatever).
Spread 6 T of softened butter all over the dough. Don't skimp -- you want it allllll on there! In a small bowl, toss 1 1/2 T cinnamon and 1/2 c brown sugar (I also added a touch of ground clove, ginger, and nutmeg) together until combined and then sprinkle evenly over the dough. Tightly roll up the dough to form an 18-inch-long log. Cut into 12 to 16 even rolls (about 1.5 inches in width each -- I cut my log in half, then the halves in half, then in half, then in half...you get it, right?). Arrange them in the prepared baking pan, cut sides up. Cover the rolls very tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap -- make sure they're completely sealed to avoid dried dough that forms a skin -- and stick in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours.
Remove rolls from the refrigerator and let rise in a warm place until they are puffy, about 1-2 hours.
After the rolls have risen, preheat the oven to 375 F. Bake for about 25 minutes, until they are golden brown. Remove pan from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes as you make the icing.
For icing --
2 oz cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 c powdered sugar
3 T milk
1/2 t vanilla

Cream the cream cheese until light and fluffy, then beat in the remaining ingredients until super smooth. Drizzle or spread allll over the warm rolls and dig in!


If you want to bake the rolls right away, loosely cover them once they're in the pan and let rise until puffy (about 1 to 2 hours).

Cover frosted rolls tightly and store at room temperature, they should last for a few days.

 

yummmmmmmmmmmmm

 

Even though I'm still full from my turkey those look good. I could eat one..

 

So I didn't cook the cardoons, after all. I went to Publix and they were out of it.

But don't despair! I made the traditional Catalonian "canelones", the Spanish version of Italian caneloni. You make them just like the Italian version,but ours don't have any of those "tomato" or "veggies" I've heard of. Our canelones are hardcore. The stuffing has lots of onion, ground beef, finely chopped chicken, cognac, milk and flour (you are also supposed to add chopped liver and some duck paté, but my wife dislikes both, so I went with a lighter version). You top the caneloni with a thick bechamel with a pinch of nutmeg and some parsley for looks, sprinkle some grated cheese on top, and broil in the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese gets brown and crunchy. My American family loved them!

 

xblackout Copied-pasted and saved for future reference. I am DEFINITELY trying those asap.

JoinTheSchwarz Those canelones sound fabulous. Also like a coronary in the making

Okay, so. Today we had roast pork and potatoes. My stepmother-in-law made it, she's from a village and it was the traditional Greek sort (with garlic, lemon and oregano). It was melting-in-the-mouth great. Last night my mother finally decided to go for turkey (she likes to cook "European" food). It was faaaaabulous. She made a stuffing with onion, garlic, minced pork, apricot jam, celery, orange juice and peel and a wide variety of spices (from the top of my head, ginger, coriander, Spanish paprika and chili pepper, but I'm sure there was more.) Her trick is to separate the skin from the breast and tuck half the stuffing there, then the other half inside the turkey, and to add a whole orange to block the exit. And then of course she took it to the bakery to have it baked there, and there's just something special about a dish that's been baked with a gazillion other dishes.

Then we made diples all day, and ate them of course. And now I think I'm going to die, but it's okay, I'll die happy

 

Yeah, they are really... let's say you usually have small portions and spend the rest of the night wishing they had been even smaller. But they are oh so good.

Oh, we also have chocolate sandwiches ("pan y chocolate") as one of our comfort foods.

 

Very nice. I love Moroccan food.

 

Is Joy of Cooking a bad thing?

 

Ahhh, gotcha! I was so confused but that makes sense. One of my prized possessions is a copy of Joy of Cooking from the 60s that was given to me by a mentor. It belonged to her husband and has little hand-written notes on certain recipes from him -- very cool to look at but so many of those recipes are way too outdated/terrifying.

 

Ha, I'm right there with you... I tried to steal my mom's first edition of Mastering the Art of French Cooking when she moved but... I was caught.

 

My mother gave me her copy of Tselementes (the Greek version of Joy of Cooking) when I went to Paris on a student exchange programme years ago. It's a 1936 edition. Not only is it written in semi-ancient Greek, but it uses the Ottoman measurement units (1 oka = 400 dramia = 1.2829 kg, just try to cook with that!) and more often than not it doesn't use measurement units at all ("add as much flour as it takes"). Now you know why I can't give quantities when I post a recipe

 

My roommate makes homemade greek yogurt (plain) so I've been known to take that and just throw it in the ice cream maker by itself and make frozen yogurt... topped with fresh fruit it's amazing! (I've also been known to put some honey in it while it's freezing, that's nice too!) Super easy, takes very little time (once the yogurt is made, anyway) tastes great and is somewhat healthier than ice cream.

My favorite ice cream I've made is either chocolate/peanut butter or ginger.

 

I had pizza for Christmas dinner. Call me a traditionalist!

Couldn't find a picture of the actual food in question on this next review, so I decided to post a nice picture of the location, since I waxed so rhapsodic about it in my last post.

Fresh Cobbler - Bean Palace Restaurant, Rogers, AR



So, back to the Bean Palace for some desert, namely some of their famous cobbler. I got the peach; they have quite a few varieties. I have long argued that the secret to cobbler is the crust. A bad crust can sink a cobbler immediately and it’s kind of the thing that makes a cobbler genuinely great, what distinguishes a great cobbler from a bad one. And the crust here is unique and delicious. It’s not too sweet, which I like, especially as a contrast to the peach filling; I like a crust that kind of cuts the sweetness of the fruit filling. But the texture is what really sells it for me. It’s a very soft, chewy texture, quite unlike any cobbler crust I’ve ever encountered before. It took a couple of bites for me to acclimate to it, but yeah, I think it’s pretty great. Highly recommended. 4 stars.

tl;dr – a unique and delicious crust elevates this cobbler to highly recommended status. 4 stars.

Next time, back to Oklahoma for a dish that’s kind of a classic around here and down into Texas. It’s apt to set people’s stomachs turning if you’re not from around here. And, for all the fame/infamy of this particular dish, I’d actually never tried it. Will this be the first time I vomit on this journey? Let’s hope not.

More Food Reviews!

So picturesque. I really want to go back there now.

 

xblackout Two questions about the cinnamon rolls (I'm hoping to have those for breakfast tomorrow )
1. What you call buttermilk is fermented milk, right? Can I use instead ayran/lassi/drinking yoghurt or regular milk that I curdled with a dash of lemon juice?
2. If I use fresh yeast instead of dry, how much should I put?

And here's my mother's spicy vinegar recipe (cc KissMeImARebel )

Ingredients:

1 litre white vinegar
1 stick cinnamon
12 black peppercorns
12 allspice berries
1 whole nutmeg
12 pods Sichuan pepper
1 bay leaf
8 cloves
8 garlic cloves, peeled (we use a variety of garlic where the cloves are about the size of my thumb, if yours are smaller double the quantity)

Boil the vinegar with the spices for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to any container with a lid (still with the spices) and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 10 days. We like it really strong, so we leave it for a whole month. Strain and keep in glass bottles in a cool, dark place. It's fantastic in salads but also for homemade mayonnaise or any other seasoning you can think of.

 

Okay, I just went through this thread again to look up recipes for leftover poultry, so while I was at it I made an index (Rogue is a compulsive reviewer, I'm a compulsive indexer ) If a mod were kind enough to throw a link in the OP, I'd be grateful

Chyntuck recipes:

• Chicken with orange/lemon juice and bell peppers
• Pork/boar with honey and raisins
• Fish soup
• Imam baildi
• Baked chick peas with spinach, + fried feta cheese with honey and black sesame
• Lentil soup
• Spicy vinegar

dp4m recipes

• Pasta with garlic and anchovies + a variation thereof

Ezio Skywalker recipes

• Various, including mammoth burgers

Findswoman recipes

• Burmese-style Crispy Shredded Poultry
• Two-Tuna-Avocado Salad
• Kofta Meshweya

Healer_Leona recipes

• Marinated chicken breasts with mushrooms

hudzu recipes (you may want to reduce the quantities, unless you have an army to feed )

• Cheese grits
• Whipped cream
• Carrot soup

JoinTheSchwarz recipes

• Paprika chicken bites
• Mushrooms or Champis
• Aromatic olive oil

xblackout recipes

• Thai-style chicken and root vegetable soup
• Brown sugar cupcakes with sage browned butter and a pumpkin cream cheese frosting
• Red Wine Cake with Blackberry Cream Cheese Frosting
• Chicken with veggies, salsa and macaroni
• Cinnamon rolls

I hope I didn't leave anything out. Also, I didn't index the food/restaurant reviews, but Rogue wrote most of those and he has them all compiled here.

 

That's really helpful, thank you.

 

I learned how to make minute steak sandwiches. Sooo good.

 

I'd suggest a tablespoon of lemon juice/white vinegar with 1 c regular milk. It'd also be absolutely fine with regular milk and no curdling involved. I just used buttermilk because I like using it in baked goods. As for the fresh yeast I'm not too sure...I dug around online a bit and one site suggests 36 g fresh yeast. Another bread baking site suggests 10g fresh yeast for every teaspoon of dry, so that would put you at 45 g I think? Another just suggested 42 g. So I think you're safe with anything in the 40 g range