Reply With QuoteHave any of you tried any of the recepies at harvest eating? I've gotten a bunch of ideas from watching those videos over the past couple days.
your mom
While agree that this is true with cooking, when it comes to baking it isn't so clear cut. Sure, it most cases with baking you can replace one fat with another, but usually a baking recipe needs to be followed pretty strictly. And even changing from shortening to butter is going to have an effect on the crispiness/flavor of a cookie or pie crust.Originally Posted by Advocate
In regards to box wine for cooking, it is actually an excellent choice. We would buy bulk boxes of wine in the kitchen I used to work in for use in sauces/reductions. It wasn't terrible or great wine by any means, but because it was in a box you could easily use a cup of it without worry of opening a new bottle of wine. If you find you want to cook with wine frequently but don't often buy wine to drink, the box is your friend. If you are going to have some with dinner anyway, just use that instead though.
edit: I often use beer in place of wine in recipes because I frequently have it on hand. Definetly a different flavor, but often excellent. Obviously you can do this with any recipe, but if it involves cooking meat in wine you can usually replace with beer.
Last edited by Mman; 22 Jan 2009 at 11:58 AM.
Have any of you tried any of the recepies at harvest eating? I've gotten a bunch of ideas from watching those videos over the past couple days.
Pontius is my Co-Pilate
Well sure, I don't advocate cooking with a bottle of St. Ides, but if you're making something like a stew then a 4 bottle and a 10 bottle aren't gonna' taste very different.
Boo, Hiss.
Godiva chocolate liquor. Can I reduce this into a sauce for putting on fruit? Do I need to add any chocolate, or do you guys think this would work by itself. I have a single shot, and a square of a dark chocoate bar. This is going to go on warmed up asian pear and cold strawberries.
Maybe you could modify the cream sauce that icarusfall posted up above. It may not work, but this is how I would try it:
Over medium heat, add about 1/2 cup cream and the Godiva liquor. Warm it up to when it just starts simmering. Add a little bit of corn starch/cold water slurry, and stir it into the sauce until it's slightly thinner than the desired consistency. Add about half of the chocolate until it just melts into the sauce. Drizzle over the fruit in a bowl, and then fresh grate some chocolate on top.
your mom
No, that is not a way to make chocolate sauce. You do not need make a slurry, chocolate is thick enough melted as is. Honestly, I'm not sure 1 square of chocolate is enough to do what you want. Chocolate bars are generally 1.5oz-3oz so your one square is at most less than 1oz of chocolate.
The easiest thing to make would actually be a chocolate fondue. Start with half-and-half (or whipping cream/milk will work if you want) and bring it to heat in a heavy sauce pan. You don't want the milk to boil, but you will know it is ready when a thin skin forms on the top. You can then add your chocolate (crushed up) slowly into the milk and stir until mixed (it will be shiny). You can add more milk if you want it to be thinner, but remember you are still adding the liqueur in. Take it off the heat and add the liqueur and you are done.
I would say to do this well you will need at least a whole bar of chocolate - 1/4 cup of cream/haf-and-half and 1 shot of the liqueur (any liqueur really works). Any less will be difficult because it will be just too easy to over heat.
What I like to do though is make a good chocolate sauce and keep it in the fridge for whenever I want to use it. You can use this just like you would hersheys syrup. Recipe totally ripped off from Alton Brown:
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups water
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups Dutch-processed cocoa
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
Directions
In a small pot, bring water and sugar to a boil and whisk in cocoa, vanilla, salt, and corn syrup. Whisk until all of the solids have dissolved. Reduce sauce until slightly thickened. Strain and cool to room temperature. Pour into squeeze bottles.
I used half a shot of the liquor, the one square of chocolate, a little bit of cream, heated it then poured it over 3 strawberries and half an asian pear. It was just enough.
Mman, when I use a chocolate sauce, I usually just melt chocolate in a double boiler and add some cream. I was trying to suggest more of a chocolate flavored sauce (I presume that there is a difference)
Josh, the million dollar question is, how was it? Did the liquor add anything of value?
You could taste it a bit. So I guess so?
It could have turned out better, but I'm a noob.
To me, desserts and sauces are an intersection of the unknown.
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