Text 25561, 160 rader
Skriven 2015-03-31 12:34:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av JANIS KRACHT
Ärende: NYC & silly 443
=======================
 > I hate the feel of sticky dough.
 JK> Same here.. and it sticks to the equipment as well...

Yeah, that's the next level of badness. Then the cleanup,
three strikes and you're out.

 > but as you know, sweetening with table sugar just doesn't
 > produce the same effect. Not to mention that a fraction of
 > a teaspoon would be enough to tip the balance in most cases,
 > and the versions I've tasted use far more.
 JK> Yes, a pinch _maybe_ if the tomatoes one buys are really bitter but
 JK> one can avoid bitter tomatoes if you buy tomatoes from a company like
 JK> Bionaturae.  I remember years ago cheaper imported tomatoes could be
 JK> very bitter. 

I used to like Tuttorosso brand with Cento as a second choice;
beyond that, one might as well go with California-grown, which
are mostly perfectly fine. But I do remember from my leanest
days the slightly dodgy ones in the thin cans with spotty,
discolored insides - you got pale not-quite-ripe tomatoes in
thin watery juice. Had to cook the heck out of them to get any
flavor or substance at all, and a tad of sugar and salt might
have helped.

 JK> There are some traditional salmon recipes in Italian cooking..
 > Certainly it's not a traditional fish.
 JK> I see a number recipes on some Italian sites.. I think salmon might be
 JK> a "later" import to Italy.. but I don't really know when. This recipe
 JK> mentions that smoked salmon is imported.

I imagine so. It doesn't seem quite Mediterranean to me.

 JK> ===Smoked salmon pasta recipe===

I've had variations on this. Not bad, but not Italian either.

==
 JK> From what I know, it's very 'upstate NY' in Sullivan county and the
 JK> environs to blame all the woes of NYS on NYC taking their water <vbg>
 JK> I used to hear it day in day out from Ron's parents.. Ron and I would
 JK> just look at each other and chuckle.  Oh well...

At one time I went out with the sister of the mayor of one of
your smaller upstate cities, and I got an earful about local
and state politics now and then.

Alice Medrich's House Truffles 5.0
categories: chocolate, candy
yield: 64 or more truffles

3 egg yolks, at room temperature
16 oz 60%-64% chocolate, coarsely chopped
10 Tb unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/8 ts fine sea salt
Boiling water
1/3 c premium unsweetened cocoa powder
- (natural cocoa or Dutch process)

Prepare the ingredients.

Line an 8" square pan with foil; set aside. Put the
egg yolks in a small stainless steel bowl and put
the bowl in a larger container of very hot tap
water. Set aside to let the egg yolks become
slightly lukewarm.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate, butter and salt in a
heatproof bowl set directly in a much wider skillet
of barely simmering water. Stir frequently until
the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
It should feel quite warm, but not too hot to touch
when you stick a finger in it.

"I don't like traditional double boilers," says
Medrich. She prefers the method described above,
which allows you to see the water and better
control its temperature, and prevents the buildup
of hot steam, which can cause the edges of the
melting chocolate in the bowl to burn. [M's note:
this sounds like bull]

Scrape the mixture into a food processor. Set a
fine-mesh strainer over the processor bowl.

Prepare the fudge.

Bring 1/2 c water to a boil in a microwave or
small saucepan. Immediately pour the hot water
steadily into the egg yolks, stirring constantly
with a spatula. When the yolks and water are
blended, the temperature should be at least 160F
on an instant-read thermometer.

Pour the mixture through the strainer into the
food processor. Tap the strainer against the bowl
to encourage all of the liquid to flow through,
but don't press on or mess with any bits of
cooked egg that might be caught in the strainer.
Pulse the mixture a couple times just to blend.
Scrape the sides of bowl and then wait until the
mixture cools to 108-110F, the temperature at
which the mixture will best emulsify.

Process until the mixture is thickened and satiny
smooth like pudding. The sound of the processor
will change as the mixture thickens and emulsifies
- listen for it - and the appearance will change
from shiny and slightly greasy to matte and silky.

Scrape the mixture into the lined pan and
refrigerate until firm, at least a few hours or
overnight.

"If you don't want to use a food processor,"
Medrich says, "you can just whisk the chocolate
and egg yolks-water mixture together, then pour
into the pan." It's what she describes as
"Truffles, Version 4.0," and yields delicious
results, though the truffles aren't quite as
silken in texture as the food processor version.

Shape the truffles.

Remove the truffle pan from the refrigerator and
use the foil liner to lift and transfer the
truffle sheet to a cutting board. Invert the
sheet and peel off the foil liner.

Put all but 2 Tb of the cocoa in a medium bowl,
then put the 2 Tb of cocoa into a fine-mesh sieve;
dust the cocoa over the truffle sheet.

With a long knife, cut the truffle sheet into
squares 1" or smaller, and toss them in the bowl
of cocoa powder. Pour them into an empty bowl,
then back and forth between the two bowls until
they are coated with cocoa.

"I used to roll the truffles into balls," Medrich
says. "But it was the messiest and most time-
consuming part of the process." Now she favors a
square truffle. Tossing them between two bowls is
the cleanest, easiest way to coat them; using your
hands is messy and a utensil could dent the
delicate squares.

Store and serve.

Store the truffles, tightly covered, up to 2 weeks
in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer.
Remove the truffles from the refrigerator 15 min
before serving. Be prepared to sift a bit more cocoa
over them as necessary.

Alice Medrich, adapted from Seriously Bittersweet
via chron.com 11/7/2014

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