Going to be busy around here. I will post as I find time.
Gearing up for my Baking final. I’ll be making Croissants, Eclairs (including the pate a choux, the ganache and the pastry cream) A pie or tart (it will be a surprise to me on the day of the final) and a scratch cake (Either Tres Leches, Pumpkin Sponge Roll or Chocolate Sponge Roll) I’m rolling into the test with a 98.5% average. I’m feeling good about this.
Yeah, this is pretty much how my video cooking tutorials will go. Thanks to Crystal for this…
http://youtu.be/uC2_R–KB-4
Here’s what to do with all that goddam Summer Squash!
Squash potato pancakes
Author: UncaMo
Recipe type: Side dish or appetizer
Prep time:
Cook time:
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Serves: 6-8 portions
Well, I have a garden and I planted squash and zucchini. Now I have the stuff coming out of my ears! (Corn is later, hehe) My girl doesn't particularly like squash, but she loves these with a little red chile and cheese.
Ingredients
- About 6 summer squash/zucchini (3-4 pounds)
- About a pound of potato (1-2 medium to large reds)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1-1/4 cup AP flour
- 1 t. baking powder
- ¼ t. salt
- ½ t. pepper
- ¼ cup milk
- ¼ cup water
- 1 T. garlic powder
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Shred or grate squash and potatoes and place in a colander, pressing down occasionally to remove liquid.
- In a plastic or glass bowl, Beat together the remaining ingredients. It should be a thin batter.
- Once most of the liquid has been pressed out of the vegetables, mix them into the batter.
- Heat a skillet over med-high heat and add about ¼ inch of oil.
- Form rough ovals with your hands, squeezing some of the batter out and place in pan.
- Press down with a spatula and cook about 4-5 minutes per side until brown and cooked through.
- You may need to add a bit more oil for each batch.
More stuff everyone should have in a kitchen.
I use a KitchenAid stand mixer my Mom gave me. If you aren’t lucky enough to have a cool Mom with a spare mixer, you can find them on Craig’s List or on Amazon. If you can’t afford one, you will need to build up some arm strength and get some quality bowls. Glass or Pyrex bowls are great; completely non-reactive and they make sets that nest. (Something else you will need is somewhere to store all this crap!) Stainless steel bowls are also useful. Get some.
As far as mixing goes, you need some spatulas. Look for silicone. They will last a long time and are heat-safe. Target has a great selection of inexpensive ones. You will also need at least two whisks. Get a pretty big one (9-15 inches) with thick, sturdy wires. If you can get one with silicone coating, even better. Then you will need a whisk with thin, flexible wires for things like whipped cream and meringues and beating eggs.
And tongs. Get some tongs. They need to be sturdy and well made. the cheap stamped shiny ones will fail on you. It’s better to spend a few more bucks to get a set or two that will last instead of having one break or bend and drop a 4 pound roast on your foot.
You will need some saute pans. They come in a few different flavors: Sauteuse and Sauteur. Sauteuse is the basic, curved-side pan.
Sauteur is the straight sided pan.
Unfortunately, these terms have become confused and conflated. Don’t worry about it. You need a quality non-stick pan of each type. Anywhere from 8 to 12 inches will work. The hard anodized are better than the sprayed-on nonstick coatings. Get ones with lids if possible.
You also need a non-coated one. This is for pan-frying, simmering and poaching. You actually want some of the food to stick to the bottom, creating what is called “fond” in French. This is released by deglazing with some liquid and dissolves the flavorful stuff for sauces, etc.
Here’s a warning. If you are cooking with a non-stick of any sort, use the proper utensils. Silicone coated whisks, wooden spoons or spatulas, plastic spoons or silicone spatulas, etc.
If I see you stirring something in a non-stick with a metal fork, I will come to your house and kick you in the junk.
Treat your equipment nicely, please.
More stuff later. But now, some Descendants.
If this works, you will be Devo-ing the fuck out like I am.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2NJJe3ITYQ
Pescados Rellenos
Pescados Rellenos: Stuffed Up Fishies!
Author: Unca Mo
Recipe type: Entree
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
If you are lucky enough to live where you can fish for trout... If not, make friends with one. Don't buy the fish frozen.
Ingredients
- 6 fresh or fresh-frozen trout. (to do this right, you need Jemez River Trout caught by Felix's Dad.) It's okay. Your fish won't be as good as mine.
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 6 ounces cottage cheese (Fat free is okay... fatty)
- 1 t. fresh ground black pepper
- 4-6 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
- 1 bunch green onions, green only, minced
- 2 t. Sriracha Salt.(if you can't make this, use 2 t. Sriracha and 1 t. Kosher salt. I will teach you how to make Sriracha salt later. )
- 1 quarter lime per trout
Instructions
- Gut the trout.
- Rub trout with limes.
- Cream the cream cheese with the cottage cheese and blend in the salt.
- Clean and dice the jalapenos and green onions
- Toss em in the cheese mix.
- Put the cheese mix in a quart zipper bag.
- cut one corner of the bag.
- squeeze the cheese mix into each trout
- wrap the fish in foil
- grill that fucking fish until done (much less time than you think)
- thermometer in the center will read 140 or more.
- Unwrap and flake with a fork.