Text 15623, 103 rader
Skriven 2014-08-08 12:07:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av RUTH HAFFLY
Ärende: reductio ad salsam 762
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 -=> Ruth Haffly said to Dave Drum <=-

 RH> like a few small sips than downing it by the gulp.
 DD> That's the best way to drink unless trying to get hammered. What I
 DD> meant was that the presence of booze in a recipe would bother you to
 DD> the point of you making substitutions.
 RH> I look at the overall listing of ingredients, prep time & effort, and
 RH> other factors in determining if I want to try a recipe. Amount and
 RH> type of booze are taken into consideration--a tablespoon of sherry
 RH> makes a recipe more apt to be tried than one that has a cup of whiskey.
 RH> Usually, if it has over a quarter to half cup of alcoholic drink, it's
 RH> off my radar.

Makes sense, though one has to distinguish, as you no doubt do
in real life, among wine, fortified wine, and booze (okay, I call
everything alcoholic "booze," but more properly the term refers
to distilled liquors). A tablespoon of beer, wine, sherry, or
whiskey contains approximately 0.8 ml, 2 ml, 3.5 ml, or 6-8 ml
of ethanol respectively, so a significant difference.

 RH> My reasoning is, if it's something that won't affect the taste that
 RH> much, I can sub for it. If it is an obvious influence on the outcome
 RH> of a recipe, I won't try it. Yet, on the other hand, if I'm eating out
 RH> and there's something like chicken smothered in mushrooms and freshly
 RH> wilted spinach with feta cheese in a white wine butter sauce with
 RH> capers, I might give it a try.

As wine requires lots of reducing to get to sauce consistency,
it's likely that most and perhaps essentially all the ethanol
will have been cooked off. Not necessarily so with harder
liquors; furthermore, most people don't sufficiently reduce
their sauces, which leads to the news that sauces contain
significant alcohol. In most cases, if they're properly done,
they don't. An exception is made for cases where the alcohol
itself (rather than the accompanying chemicals) is part of
the actual taste profile.

 However, a certain chain that prides
 RH> itself on a menu full of dishes made with Jack Daniels whiskey, I won't
 RH> patronise. 

I know of what you speak - to be fair to it, TGI Friday's is
run on an alcohol-based premise, so there is no reason for you
to patronize it; in a pinch you could find stuff to eat. When
I accompany people there - I don't go there on my own for
reasons perhaps different from yours - I get an ordinary burger
with no sauce and/or deep-fried green beans.

I'm not so fond of Jack Daniel's for taste reasons and find
adding it (or more likely a flavoring extract, cheaper) to
perfectly okay food is a silly gimmick.

Here's a recipe which I would think would be enhanced by a
tablespoon of sherry or, for a flight of fancy, a teaspoon
of ouzo. For me, I'd also likely wish to substitute an almond
or walnut mylk for the obvious offending ingredient. Or, if
I wanted to try to tolerate dairy for the meal, use real
cream and go whole hog, er, chicken.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v7.07

      Title: Chicken Braised In Walnut Sauce
 Categories: Greek, Poultry, Main dish
   Servings: 4

           Karen Mintzias
      1    Frying or roasting chicken*
           Salt & freshly ground pepper
      1    Large onion; sliced
      4 tb Butter
      1    Bay leaf
      1    Sprig of fresh thyme
      1 c  Milk
      2    Egg yolks
      1 ts Grated nutmeg
      1 c  Shelled walnuts; crushed **

  *Note: Chicken should be about 2-1/2 to 3 pounds, and cut into serving
  pieces. **Walnuts may be crushed in a mortar, blender or food processor.

  Wash and dry the chicken parts and season lightly with salt and pepper. In
  a heavy frying pan, saute the onion in butter until soft, then add the
  chicken parts after a few min.  Saute on all sides, then add the bay
  leaf, thyme, and enough hot water to almost cover.  Tighty cover the pan
  and simmer the chicken until tender (approximately 1 hour).  Using a
  slotted spoon, remove the chicken to a warm platter and keep warm while you
  prepare the sauce.

  Strain the remaining pan liquid into a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
  Meanwhile, whisk the milk with the egg yolks, then add, slowly, to the
  strained pan liquid and cook over very low heat until the sauce boils,
  stirring constantly.  Sprinkle in the nutmeg, then stir in the crushed
  walnuts.  Simmer another minute and pour over the chicken.  Serve warm.

  From: "The Food of Greece" by Vilma Liacouras Chantiles.  Avenel Books, New
  York.

  Typed for you by Karen Mintzias

MMMMM
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