Author: Robert Andrews

Tips: Yeast

TYPES OF YEAST

  • Instant, Quick Rise or Rapid Rise Yeast :: Think Born Ready to Go – This has been gently dehydrated and can be added to flour directly without proofing
  • Dry Active Yeast :: Think Old and Dry – This has been quickly dehydrated and must be proofed before using.  It also will live longer in your pantry.
    THE FOLLOWING ARE NOT AS COMMON
  • Bakers Yeast :: Used to get from the local brewery
  • Liquid Pitchable Yeast :: Liquid, live and ready to go – keep refrigerated – Shake and pour – likes barley
  • Fresh or Cake Yeast :: Hard to get, but the yeast is totally alive and ready to go

ABOUT YEAST

  • If you are using sugar, eggs, zest, fruit, butter … or pretty much anything that dilutes the pure yeast/water/sugar combination – keep in mind that they all retard the growth of yeast, so take that into consideration.
  • Potato water nourishes the yeast, and promotes faster rising, but dough may be darker than dough made with water

ABOUT BAKING BREAD

  • Just because your bread is beautifully brown, does not mean that it is done.  Internal temperature should be 200º in the center.  Less than that, and the gluten structure will break down.  Also, it should NEVER be above 210 or it will be intolerably dry – The water in the bread starts to turn to steam and escape.

ABOUT INGREDIENTS

  • Use water instead of milk in breads when you want a firm crust.
  • The crust is softer and browner when you use milk rather than water
  • Milk increases the food value of bread.
  • Milk should be scalded to about 160º and then cooled to 100º or below
  • If using evaporated milk or nonfat milk powder freshly mixed with water, you do not need to scald the milk
  • Sugar is not essential in bread, but it adds flavor and supplies food for the yeast.
  • Sugar also creates a browner crust
    White sugar, brown sugar, honey or molasses may be used for slightly different flavors.

 

Grandpa’s French Toast

french-toastINGREDIENTS – REGULAR

  • Bread – Preferably French bread, Brioche, or Challah bread
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 C buttermilk
  • 1 TBL Grandpa’s CinnaSugar®
  • 1 TBL sugar

INGREDIENTS – SPECIAL

  • Above ingredients plus
    • 2 TBL cream cheese
    • Fruit Jam or Compote

STEP BY STEP

  1. Combine all of the above except the bread
  2. Cut your bread.  Don’t be boring. Cut your French Toast into triangles, rectangles, or even circles.
  3. Use the scraps to make a French Toast Casserole.
    • SPECIAL:  Cut a “pocket” in the bread
    • Spread inside with softened cream cheese and compote
  4. Dip bread and let it soak for a couple of seconds, then put into hot greased pan @ 375º
  5. Flip a total of 4-5 times so that it heats all the way through and gets a nice crust on it.
  6. Serve with butter and syrup or heat fruit in the microwave.

VARIATIONS

  • Try using a bit of cardamom rather than cinnamon

Grandpa’s SOS Creamed Beef

imageGood: 2 handfuls ground beef
Better: 1 handful ground beef and 1 ground pork or turkey
Best: 1/2 pound corned beef

Cook meat until browned

Good: Add 1 can Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup then heat

Best: in a medium sized skillet…
Fry 1 piece of bacon, cut into bits
Add 1 TBL butter
Add 1/4 diced onion
Add 1 clove fresh minced garlic
Add 1 hefty splash of Worcestershire sauce
Sprinkle in 1 tbl flour . DO NOT be tempted to add more
Cook till browned
Drizzle in 1 C cold milk stirring continually
Stir until thickened – about 4-8 minutes
Serve over drop biscuits
Top with a poached egg

Sangria

CLICK HERE to see what we fixed while living in Spain.

Really Good Sangria

sangriaBefore we begin…
Everything should be cold, and then cut, and then placed in the freezer for 30 minutes before preparing and serving.  You can alternately freeze the ingredients, but this will tend to make your fruits mushy when they thaw.

Ingredients to feed 4 people

Ingredients to prepare and place in the freezer

    • 1 cup fresh raspberries
    • 1/2 C sliced strawberries
    • 1/2 C sliced peaches
    • 1/2 C pineapple pieces
    • 1 blood orange – medallions
    • 1 lemon – medallions
    • 1 lime – medallions
    • large pieces of lemon peel
    • Optional:  Mango, kiwi, etc.
    • Ingredients to measure and set aside
    • 1 pt red wine – Rioja from Spain
    • 1 pt white wine – Riesling (Rhine Wine) from Germany
    • 1/4 C rum
    • 1/4 C agave syrup
    • 2 C pineapple juice
    • 1/4 C orange liquor or triple-sec
    • 2 cinnamon sticks
    • 6 whole cloves
    • 1 liter ginger ale or champagne (Add just before serving)

Step by Step

  1. Prepare all ingredients in the left column and place on a plate (spread out) in the freezer for 30-60 minutes.  This will help keep the sangria cold without using ice.
  2. Refrigerate your pitcher.
  3. Gather the ingredients in the right column.
  4. Place your frozen ingredients in the cold pitcher.
  5. Add everything else except the ginger ale
  6. Ideally, let meld in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours
  7. Just before serving, pour in the ginger ale
  8. Serve with mint, basil and ice cubes

NOTE:  DO NOT put ice cubes into the pitcher, it will dilute your sangria.

Options:

White . Crisp White, Refreshing White, Chardonnay
Red . Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet, Malbec, Shiraz

Simple Sangria

  1. In a bowl combine 1/2 LB mixed berries
    blueberries, raspberries, strawberries (pieced), and so forth
  2. Toss with 2 TBL sugar
  3. Slice 1 lemon very thin (rind and all)
  4. Put into a pitcher with chilled rose wine
  5. Pour over ice

 

This is a recipe that has been created or modified by Robert (Grandpa) Andrews.
CLICK HERE for a free sample copies of Grandpa's Cookbooks. © 2016, 2017, 2018.

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients

  • 4 C AP flour
  • 1 TBL baking soda
  • 1 TBL baking powder
  • 3/4 C sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 C raisins
  • scant salt
  • 1 TBL frozen and grated butter
  • 2 C buttermilk
  • 2 sprigs of rosemary – chopped
  • zest and juice from one lemon

Step by Step

  1. Preheat oven to 350º
  2. Whisk together all dry ingredients except sugar
  3. Mix raisins into dry ingredients
  4. Mix egg and sugar
  5. Put into Kitchen Aid and beat adding (a bit at a time) grated butter, then the egg, and finally the buttermilk.
  6. Add 2/3 of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl
  7. Stir to mostly incorporate
  8. Slowly add the other 1/3 of the dry ingredients
  9. Let mixture rest for 15 minutes in the mixing bowl
  10. Meanwhile, grease a 9 inch pie pan
  11. After batter has rested, pour batter into the pie pan and bake 40 minutes
  12. Open oven, cut an X in the top of the bread, rotate pan, and cook an additional 20-30 minutes

 

Mu Shu Vegetables

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 inch piece of ginger – grated and juice squeezed into a bowl
  • 2 garlic cloves – minced
  • 4 scallions – sliced and minced
  • 1/2 onion – cut into thin strips
  • 1 hand of cilantro and parsley
  • 8 oz shitake mushrooms – sliced
  • 1 large red bell pepper – julienne strips
  • 1 medium bok choy
  • salt

STEP BY STEP

  1.  Heat grapeseed oil in hot skillet
  2. Cook two eggs – scramble into medium sized chunks
  3. Add scallions, shitake, garlic and ginger
  4. Stir until onion starts to become tender
  5. Add red bell strips and bok choy
  6. Let bok choy begin to wilt
  7. Add cilantro and parsley and other ingredients
  8. Add bean sprouts
  9. Add a bit of salt and remove from heat into bowl
  10. Toss eggs into the mixture
  11. Serve family style

SAUCE

  1. Combine 2 TBL sake, 1 TBL soy and 2 TBL hoisin and mix well.  Use to dress your pancake.

See Grandpa’s Recipe for Mu Shu Pancakes

 

Rollatini Chicken

Pallard chicken breast slices
Layer proschuito, cheese, parsley
Roll and secure with toothpick
Roll in flour and fry in EVOO to caramelize
Remove chicken
Add onion, garlic, salt, pepper flake, oil
When browned, put chicken back in
Deglaze with white wine
Add crushed tomatoes and salt
When boils, cover and reduce to simmer

Irish Reuben

  1. Pastrami or corned beef – 4-6 oz 
  2. Lay meat flat and grilled
  3. Top with sauerkraut and then provolone or Gruyere
  4. Splash a little Guiness next to it and cover with a deep lid till cheese melts (about 30 seconds)
  5. Prepare marbled rye slices. Buttered on outside
  6. Put bread onto your grill
  7. Top with meat, cheese and cabbage
  8. Spread with spicy mustard and thousand island dressing
  9. Grill like a grilled cheese sandwich
  10. Serve with a dill pickle spear

Double Jack Stew

(1) Skirt steak . Chunked
. Marinate 24 hours
Applejack, Jack Daniels, stout, mustard, agave syrup, garlic, salt, pepper

(2) Strain . Reserve liquid
Sear meat over high heat
Chopped onion to caramelize
Add a bit of flour
(4) Stir to combine and brown
Splash Jack Daniels to deglaze
Add oregano, bay leaf, thyme,
Add chicken stock to deglaze
Beef stock to bring up to stew level
Drop heat and simmer 60 minutes
(6) Add carrot, turnips, potatoes
Cover and Simmer 15 more minutes
(8) Add1/2 c of buttermilk mixed with 3 tbl flour

Boxty Cakes
(3) Separate pot . Heat to brown cauliflower
Pieces of cauliflower
Add chicken stock . Cook 20 minutes
(5) Potatoes . Peeled and cubed
Use strainer to remove after 10 minutes
Add a bit of cream cheese
Beat to blend

(7) Grate one potato and cover with milk
Add 1 beaten egg, thyme, garlic, baking powder, salt, pepper, flour
Create a dough
Mix in with cooked potatoes above
Add chicken stock if it is too dry
Almost like pancake batter
Flip like a pancake

(9) Top pancake with stew
Dollop with sour cream
Garnish with greens

HTML Snippets Powered By : XYZScripts.com