What I learned today

I just learned that one should never EVER buy Galbani brand part skim ricotta cheese. It's gross. Soft, wobbly and sweet, the texture of a milk jello. Couldn't have been further from the BUF ricotta I longed for, or less edible.

Thanks for the warning. Galbani is a common brand here, and every now and then I'm tempted when I see it go on sale.

I usually just make my own, and although it's not as good as buffalo it's better than tubbed, and keeps us happy. I even wrote a blog post about it a while back https://dangerdangerwordpresscom.wordpress.com/2016/08/14/whey-to-go/.

[Jenise]

Fun blog post, Tom. I do know it's easy to make your own but I'd just as soon buy a local organic dairy's version on the occasions I decide I need it. BUF is miles out the best, however the last time I went to Whole Foods there wasn't any--they may have discontinued carrying that item and if they did, what a shame. I've had homemade by others though--usually using lemon juice for the acidity rather than vinegar which adds a nice citrus note.

Fun (funny) blog. Good job.
I don;t use much ricotta (stuffing squash blossoms is probably #1), but we have a branch of an Arthur Ave deli in my little town, can buy container of their ricotta, never needed to make own. But tempting,
'

[Jenise]

The BUF is so good (if you haven't had it or their mozzarella BUF is made in Colombia, South America of all things) I found I like it as well or better in a summer caprese salad. I also sometimes mix it with crushed marinated artichokes and lemon zest as a crostini topping. Offhand I can't think of any other regular uses, nor can I recall how I planned to use the dreadful Galbani--it was neither of my usuals, and the store I was at didn't carry the local organic brand. Usually only looking for about 8 ounces at a time, so large quantities are wasted.

We love fresh ricotta, when it's actually fresh and the vendor is working with very short production->sale timeframes. When we have a good source for that, the standard use would be as the cheese in a pasta dish. It has a creamy rich but light aspect that can be very nice. But I agree the size and the short shelf life once opened often means it's a quick race to use it all!

Today I leaned that rasperry bushes planted from supermarket tubs take about 3 years before they start producing fruit, but the fruit ripens unevenly so I can only make one mini tart at a time!

Raspberry small.jpg

I have never been a bread lover, not big on sandwiches, and any pizza must be made on thin crust. Today was a day with bread and confirmed my dislike of it. Not that I do not like the bread itself, but how much of it is on a sandwich. I had company and it was going to be 111 degrees, so I really did not want to make the Greek Pasta Salad I had planned. Our local grocery store is well known for their sandwiches, loaded with lots of good ingredients, always fresh and made to order. So, I decided to run up to the store and grab a couple of their huge sandwiches. Served them with a refreshing, and rehydrating pineapple, cucumber salad with fresh lime juice. The deli has started using a different bread roll, and both were very thick. I served dill pickle slices on the side and fresh sliced tomatoes in case my guest wanted to add more to her meal. A bowl of Rainier cherries, and a few chips were also on hand. I ate half of my sandwich and was so full and commented on the thickness of the bread to my guest, she agreed.
I buy excellent sourdough from a local baker, he makes his garlic bread with whole cloves of roasted garlic, his Jalapeño Cheddar is to die for, as is the Kalamata Olive. Huge loaf that I cut into three large hunks and freeze. I love this bread because I can cut thin slices and toast. Called my next-door neighbor who is a bachelor and asked if he wanted the second sandwich...he is a bread lover and was at my door in ten seconds. Lesson is from now on I will make my own sandwiches using the bread I love and cut myself! Not very hungry at dinner time, so had a small bowl of the pineapple salad and was happy.

The bagel joint near my office has a sandwich option: "scoop". It means they'll cut the bagel in half and scoop out a bunch of the bready inside before making the sandwich. Much less bread, easier to handle, improves the chewy-to-squishy ratio... a win all around.

Today I learned a very efficient way to unwrap a stick of butter. I had to unwrap 21 of them today when making the ghee.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Last weekend I learned to not buy canned beans at Trader Joe's ever again. Two types, a black and a great northern, were both overcooked, the whites ones particularly so, such that they broke down in the salad I deliberately made one day ahead of time and turned it into a creamy mess. You wouldn't think I'd rinsed them thoroughly after removing from the can, though I did. From now on, it's S&W brand or nothing!!!

I CAN make pastry!
I’ve always struggled with pastry, I know the rules cold butter, don’t over handle, rest, chill, yadayadayada results meh at best.
It’s all about FAT and lots of it. This week I’ve made several batches of SOUR CREAM PASTRY
et voila,!!, success. I’ve rejected such recipes in the past because of the amount of fat, how wrong was I!
Basically 250 g flour 200g butter blitzed to”crumb” like adding salt or sugar . blitz in 125g sour cream til it comes together.
Chill!
Excellent this will be my go to, sweet or savoury.

Congrats, Barb. Not only the amount of fat, but the type of fat, can be important in pastry. Chinese curried meat pies, for example, are best made with lard. You can use other types of fat, but the results are never as good.

-Paul W.

I just learned that Basmati rice does not make good rice pudding. At least the way I make it. Actually, it was rather odd. Initially the dish came together as it always does with other types of rice. But as this pudding cooled it began to separate, with a pretty good puddle of liquid forming on top of the grains by the time it reached room temperature. Also, on tasting I don't think the distinctive Basmati was a good match with my recipe. If I do use it again, I'll make it in more an Indian style.

I just learned that Basmati rice does not make good rice pudding.

I love rice pudding, but it's ages since I last had it.

I know one need a specific sort of rice, and long grained rice isn't it; its short grained. But I don't know its proper name, so I looked at the BBC Food website which says:

Pudding rice recipes
This is not a specific type of rice, but a generic description for short-grained white rice used for making rice pudding. The term is rarely used outside England. Whichever rice you use, the important thing is that it should give a soft, creamy, slightly sticky result.

So I don't know what it's called in the USA. Not sure that's any help.

Thai sticky rice or Chinese glutinous rice ought to work for English rice pudding. Or perhaps Arborio or Bomba?

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Yesterday I learned, if my source is right, that Flour tortillas are Jewish. That is, when Spain brought wheat to Mexico, the Jews in exile there (mostly crypto-Jews, pretending to Catholicism for the outside world but practicing Jews at home) fastened onto it and made unleavened bread for passover and other purposes. Until then Mexicans only made tortillas from corn.

I love rice pudding, but it's ages since I last had it.

I know one need a specific sort of rice, and long grained rice isn't it; its short grained. But I don't know its proper name, so I looked at the BBC Food website which says:

Pudding rice recipes
This is not a specific type of rice, but a generic description for short-grained white rice used for making rice pudding. The term is rarely used outside England. Whichever rice you use, the important thing is that it should give a soft, creamy, slightly sticky result.

So I don't know what it's called in the USA. Not sure that's any help.

Thank you Peter, that was indeed a help. I must say though, I've had generally good success with my rice puddings regardless what size, shape, style, or religious persuasion the grains are. With one exception: this Basmati. Maybe because that style's drying process doesn't allow it to absorb as much liquid, or at least hold onto it? I have no idea. I do made minor adjustments when shifting between long, medium, and short grain rice. But once I make those adjustments, they always seem to come out ok and don't separate afterwards. Odd.

Thanks again!

Thai sticky rice or Chinese glutinous rice ought to work for English rice pudding. Or perhaps Arborio or Bomba?

-Paul W.

Oh yeah, I've used them (with the exception of Bomba) and had no problems. But likewise, I've had no problems with just no-name bagged long grain from the supermarket either. (See my answer to Peter above.) There are slight differences between the grain types which require adjustments in cooking, but other than this Basmati they always turn out an acceptable product.

Yesterday I learned, if my source is right, that Flour tortillas are Jewish. That is, when Spain brought wheat to Mexico, the Jews in exile there (mostly crypto-Jews, pretending to Catholicism for the outside world but practicing Jews at home) fastened onto it and made unleavened bread for passover and other purposes. Until then Mexicans only made tortillas from corn.

That was fascinating. I had no idea!

[Jenise]

Yesterday I learned, if my source is right, that Flour tortillas are Jewish. That is, when Spain brought wheat to Mexico, the Jews in exile there (mostly crypto-Jews, pretending to Catholicism for the outside world but practicing Jewish beliefs and rituals at home) fastened onto it and made unleavened bread for passover and other purposes. Until then Mexicans only made tortillas from corn.

That was fascinating. I had no idea!

Basmati, and especially the aged basmati preferred for Indian pilaus and biryanis, has exceptionally long, thin, and hard grains. About as far from short-grained rice as you can get.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Yesterday we had a grand lunch at the home of a friend who served a side dish Polenta Souffle. It was nothing short of incredible. I believe his version came from the Staub cookbook. Couldn't find that recipe on line but there were many others. Gotta make it someday myself.

[Jenise]

Yesterday we had a grand lunch at the home of a friend who served a side dish Polenta Souffle. It was nothing short of incredible. I believe his version came from the Staub cookbook. Couldn't find that recipe on line but there were many others. Gotta make it someday myself.

OH, forgot to mention, this friend also served a divine starter with champagne: thick grilled bread topped with the garlicky sauteed greens and diced bulb of a golden turnip and some shredded pecorino cheese. I have never seen a golden turnip before. I wondered aloud if they were actually rutabegas due to the pale orange-gold color but no, they have a similar earthy flavor but a slightly finer texture. Delicious! I wonder why something so good isn't widely grown/known. Anyway, here's a link to a picture:

https://www.everwilde.com/store/Organic ... fsQAvD_BwE

I’ve been trying the occasional cocktail having a surfeit of limes and a few bottles of spirits with “a bit” left. Along the way I found on the bookshelves a book I don’t even remember buying called Modern American Drinks, George J. Kappeler, published in 1900.
I guess I’ve always thought of cocktails and mixed drinks coming into vogue in the 20’s so found it interesting to see what was around much earlier. There are 120 pages and with from 3 to 6 recipes per page that’s a lot of drinks.
I noted the price sticker for whatever junk shop or thrift store I found it $2.50. Out of curiosity I did a quick search on eBay and turned up a couple for sale around $1300! Yikes.! I may need to look at the other oldies in my collection.