What I learned today

Learned two things last night
1) Castelfranco radicchio is my new favorite salad green.Mild but with some snap. I had enjoyed at a meal at Chambers (former Racines).I saw at farmer's market and was totally thrilled with salad
https://www.thekitchn.com/ingredient-sp ... fra-109790

2) I need to be careful with the berbere. I sprinkled too generously on some root vegetables (turnip, carrot, potato, onion) that I was roasting with lamb last night. Tasted great, but afterburn wreaked havoc with wine. Lots of water.

[Jenise]

Castelfranco is one of my favorites, too.

[Jenise]

Saw a pic of a very crowded Thanksgiving plate at a dinner a new internet/foodie/cook posted of the dinner he prepared in Colorado which had, in the center, a blob of green jello 'salad'. I accused him of resurrecting my grandmother. He asked if she was Swedish, saying that jello mould foods around the holidays are very popular in Sweden.

Yes, she was. Never had a clue that that's where her jello salad fetish came from.

We’ve had some discussion here about baking powder and oven ‘fried’ chicken so I was interested, Whilst trawling the net for ideas for tofu, to find a recipe for crispy tofu which stipulates coating with cornstarch and baking power. (1.5 tabs cornstarch to 0.25 teas baking powder)"
As I’ve got a bit of a yen for tofu at the moment I’ll give it a shot soon.

[Jenise]

Barb, I just read an article about latkes, a Jewish tradition at this time of year as you probably know. In this article an analytical, skilled cook prepared latkes 8 different ways to determine the best. She or he used the same pan, stove, etc, and the same base recipe (shred potatoes and onions in food processor, then add egg and matzoh meal) unless deviating from that was one of the alternatives tested.

The eight methods were: baked, pan fried, air fried, swapping AP flour for the matzoh, swapping panko for the matzoh, adding baking powder, adding a carrot to the cooking oil (huh??), and shredding the potatoes by box grater.

The winner, which had a superior crisper outside and a fluffier inside? Baking powder.

I just read an article about latkes, a Jewish tradition at this time of year

This reminded me of a review I kept of my favourite London restaurant, the relevant part read

latkes.jpg

[Jenise]

What a great line, though I'd wince if I were Jewish!

The reviewer and his mother - who is being quoted - are Jews.

I should have said so.

[Jenise]

Peter, though in the past I've had Jewish friends who adored borscht-belt humor and even one who specifically collected Jewish Mother jokes, my current best friend up here is Jewish and tolerates ZERO of it. About two years ago I bought her dog a Hannukah gift--a blue 'kosher' plush toy shaped like a dog bone. Never saw it again after the first day though other toys I've given the dogs remain in the toy pile. I thought a dog toy would surely be safe but apparently not. So I've gone from being around where it's not just okay but welcome, to it absolutely not being tolerated at all. Hence: my cringe. I don't know what's okay anymore.

I had guessed that those were Jews in the review. It's funny, in a sharp sort of way. I'm fine with it, and I'm Jewish.

Making dinner last night I was supposed to add a can of tomatoes, only I found I'd used them all and had none left. So I added some generous squirts of Heinz Tomato Ketchup. Worked out OK. But I bought 8 cans of tomatoes today.......

Congrats. Knowing what to substitute is half the battle sometimes, e.g., the almond flour I used in lieu of ground almonds when making cookies.

[Jenise]

So when I made cabbage rolls this week, instead of standing over a pot of hot boiling water and tediously peeling off the leaves one by one while my arms scalded like lobsters, I put the whole cabbage in the freezer. Next morning, I removed it and let it thaw. It didn't quite thaw all the way so I put it in a bowl in the fridge to continue thawing thru the next day where I let it warm up. Peeling the leaves off was a breeze! Got to plan ahead a bit, but there is NO BETTER WAY to get cabbage leaves ready for rolling.

Best practice would probably be: on Monday afternoon, put cabbage in freezer. On Tuesday afternoon, remove it to thaw. On Wednesday, at room temp separate and make cabbage rolls.

I'd love to have space in my freezer for a head of cabbage. I doubt I could fir a stick of butter in it.

I was told to drop the entire cabbage head in water, boil gently for a time and then remove and let it drain for a bit. Leaves come off just fine, and a lot of them are perfect for rolling. The rest go to line pan and top the prepared dish. I do cut most of the hard core on the bottom off prior to placing in water.

I see a head of cabbage and flee the premises!

[Jenise]

I was told to drop the entire cabbage head in water, boil gently for a time and then remove and let it drain for a bit. Leaves come off just fine, and a lot of them are perfect for rolling. The rest go to line pan and top the prepared dish. I do cut most of the hard core on the bottom off prior to placing in water.

That's the old way. And I personally never got all the leaves to come off just fine, as you put it--outer ones yes but never cooked all the way through where freezing freezes all the way through. I promise you, freezing's better. Easier, and the leaves aren't full of water which will dilute your final product.

OK, will try the freeze method on the next round of cabbage rolls.

Microwave cabbage to separate leaves for stuffing. I've not done it but I have seen it on a cooking show and here is a link https://freefoodtips.com/how-to-soften- ... microwave/. Surely the main reason to avoid making stuffed cabbage is the pain of prepping the leaves. A Ukrainian friend makes the best golubtsi adding a bit of fenugreek to the sauce and stuffing

I did some reading on it yesterday and the consensus was boiling the head is better. Article said that freezing takes away from the flavor and structure of the leaves. Since I have not tried freezing, I cannot comment on that. The trick to boiling is to cut out the tough core in the middle, then drop the head into boiling water for about 7 to 8 minutes. The outer leaves are the ones to use to line the cooking vessel. I have made it dozens of times and it works great. I usually let the head drain and rest for a few minutes and then proceed to remove the leaves. Whatever works for you it what your should do. Jenise inspired me to make it again and now I am craving those stuffed rolls. It is on the menu to do on Saturday! I found my favorite Bavarian sauerkraut on Amazon and it came yesterday, two big jars!

[Jenise]

I've not tried microwaving, but can understand that it should work well, Christina.

Karen, as for whoever said freezing takes away flavor and structure--well, BALDERDASH. I found the structure of the entire head perfect, better than anything I've achieved from boiling (and yes, always cored) --and I didn't burn my fingers! And let's be real here--what could take away flavor more than boiling in a pot of water? Water leaches out flavor, right?

The only downside to freezing is the time it takes to freeze thru and thaw thoroughly. If needed to save time, I would consider microwaving. However, microwaving is cooking. Flavorwise, better to my mind to have them thoroughly softened and pliable but raw. In what alternate universe would that not be optimum?

"Flavorwise, better to my mind to have them thoroughly softened and pliable but raw. In what alternate universe would that not be optimum?"
Jenise, the cabbage is dropped into boiling, salted water for 5 minutes only. Then taken out and allowed to drain and cool. When I removed the first two leaves they were cooked and a bit damaged from store handling, etc. Those are the ones used to line the bottom of the cooking vessel. The rest of the leaves, 8 of them came off easily, with care and were not cooked , but just pliable enough to remove. Very easy to do and took me about 10 minutes between cooking and removing. The leaves are cooled and drained before stuffing. There is no flavor or texture damage at all. I had not done this for a long time, so wanted to be sure of what I remembered, before answering. I had a good portion of the cabbage left over and it is what I used to sauté with red peppers as a base for the shank to sit on at serving The cabbage feel to the knife was still a bit raw, but leaves are pliable enough to form a roll. I also use two leaves to top off the stuffed rolls. The dish gets better each day as the stuffing mix absorbs the sauerkraut flavor, which I love. I added fennel seeds this time to the meat mixture and I like that a lot.

[Jenise]

The rest of the leaves, 8 of them came off easily, with care and were not cooked , but just pliable enough to remove. Very easy to do and took me about 10 minutes between cooking and removing. The leaves are cooled and drained before stuffing.

You haven't convinced me. Doesn't sound like an improvement over freezing, not at all. And--only 8?

Only 8, only me here. Finishing up the last one for lunch today. I did not try freezing because it was too much to do for a head of cabbage and method I use works perfectly for what I like. Everything went together just like I remembered.