Someone’s In the Kitchen with Daddy

More cross-blog posting fun, where woodworking and the kitchen combine…

The two spurtles, I made last fall in a woodturning class. The top one is oak the bottom is cherry. Both are finished with walnut oil, and so far remain unused. I’ve only seen Alton Brown over on the Food Network use one to make oatmeal, or perhaps it was haggis. I just don’t seem to make enough of either to neccessitate two spurtles!

The turner, my brother-in-law liberated from a broken cutting board. Maple.

More artisan homegoods from (and more coming) over at my lumberjocks blog.

10 Cups of fresh (and now frozen) Christmas ham stock.

now… what to do with it? (apart from forget about it, and throw it away next fall)
Seriously.

I’m not finding much inspiration out there - little beyond split pea soup or ham and beans… I can’t be heading into uncharted waters here, can I?

What would you do?

I knew today was going to be a busy day, but I didn’t think I’d get close to everything accomplished.

I had to assemble (on the Q.T.) the toy kitchen set Santa pre-delivered (for assembly) for my little girl… (he’s getting up there in age, the worlds population is exploding and sometimes he just has to outsource the assembly) but while I was working on her kitchen, I always had something going on in mine.

I lost out in the yankee swap at work yesterday, but I scored the leftover Honey Baked Ham & bone so stock will be enjoyed by all. Got it started just after 7am! Good thing I made stock from the turkey last month, so I new exactly what to do - and thanks to Alton Brown, so I knew exactly how to cool it down quickly, without ruining everything in the fridge! (Sink full of ice water, and a frozen water bottle in the middle of the pot chilling in the sink.) Already had fat congealing on the surface when i got back from (yet another) trip out to the grocery store…. Current estimates has me going through 25-28 sticks of butter in one week! (can you hear the arteries hardening).

With the stock simmering, I moved onto making two batches of shortbread. Tried Cooks Illustrated’s recipe, which I’ve had, but never made before (was much easier than what I’ve done in the past). I’ve normally made individual cookies (with a slightly different ingredient proportions than I used today and a very different prep method). Today they spread out like lava… so I cut them into smaller shapes and no harm done. They’re still delicious. Next year, back to the tried and true.

While the Shortbread was baking, I broke open the box that the kitchen came in, sorted through everything, and started assembly. By the time I stopped for lunch, I’d finally put the finishing touches on what is essentially a piece of pre-fab furniture (that I generally abhor as a woodworker,.. but since this is a toy,.. that’s different), I’d also made a sweet and spicy nut mix - two double batches (one with the spicy, one without) and a batch of chocolate peanut butter biscotti.

After lunch - which was a trip out to Lowes, The Home Depot, Lowes again (oops), A Bookstore and the Grocery store - I pulled together the dough for sugar cookie pinwheels that were slated for the evenings baking agenda. I took Alton Brown’s recipe for Chocolate Peppermint sugar cookies, and skipped the peppermint in favor of Bailey’s. Yum!

Then… the recipe I’d been waiting for.  The Gingerbread with the Stout I made a few weeks back.

Yes, a busy day for sure…

The verdict, after all the baking, tasting and so on…

First, I still LOVE my new mixer. I wouldn’t have bothered doing half as much today without it.

Second… The Chocolate Peanut Butter Biscotti is my new favorite (after 5 batches of chocolate chip in a week (no I didn’t eat them all. Yet.) I like the peanut butterey and saltiness of these… they are suppoed to go well with coffee. (I don’t buy that, but I know my Dad will also love these. (Scientists found peanut butter in his bloodstream)

The sugar cookies - also awesome, look really good too - not an off the shelf slice and bake, but nearly as easy, without all the preservatives.

I’ve been hankering something sweet and spicy  since I saw Emeril do a spicy nut chocolate bark a week or two back… I thought this recipe would fit the bill, but it’s just not for me. Got raves online… so maybe it’s just me. Tried adding chocolate to it - a good improvement, but haven’t decided if I’ll be “gifting” that… no prob though, between the Spritz, Shortbread, 3 types of Chocolate Chip, Biscotti, and sugar cookies, I’ve got giving covered.

Oh, and the beer - The stout tastes just like a “chocolate/vanilla porter” a local microbrewery used to make - the first beer (and possibly only) that my wife could actually drink without making a face. Too bad they’re out of business. The gingerbread just came out of the oven and it looks really good too… but I can’t call it gingerbread. I accidentally left out the molasses. (after everything I’ve done today it’s a miracle I didn’t mess up anything else!) So I’ll call it a ginger stout cake. Sounds good to me.

All this butter and sugar, it’s no wonder so many people start eating salad in January… if not for the diet excuse, then to give the body a rest from all the sweets and carbs. (mmmm carbs)

A double batch of spritz cookies last weekend, then a double batch of chocolate chip yesterday morning, two loaves of multi-grain bread this morning and a triple layer birthday cake tonight…

I LOVE my new mixer. I’m so happy my friend had to “upgrade” to the bigger one (ahh the demands of the foodwriter), otherwise I might have put off this purchase indefinately…

…and consequently not spent the money I saved (off retail) on flour, sugar and eggs this week! Don’t think I’m kidding.

Tomorrow (if I dare), I can try my first batch of beer. St. Patricks Stout from Mr. Beer. (It may benefit from additional time in the bottle.) If it is less than stellar, I’ll have no qualms about using the lot (yes all two gallons worth) to make the gingerbread I blogged about recently….

Lets see, two gallons of beer,.. divided by 3/4 cup per batch…

We’re gonna need a bigger oven.

Yesterday I brewed up a nice (I hope) batch of Pale Ale, as well as an Apple Ale (not cider, but rather a beer with apple juice replacing some of the water and sugar in the recipe). The latter, along with the stout I started after thanksgiving, will work well in some of my recipes (Cakes, breads, and so on) if they’re less than drinkable.

If they are really tasty, then so much the better, for I’ll have 6 gallons to put down pretty soon.

I’m happy to have taken on this new hobby (yes, another one) that my wife slid under the Christmas tree a few years back. (She new I’d like it, and she was right… what took me so long? Am I worried that another interest will fill up my days, or push other intersts aside? Nope. At least not now.

With these kits from Mr. Beer, I’m basically making brownies from the box, rather than doing everything from scratch (not that either is terribly difficult – from scratch I mean). Also, working from the box (with hundreds of recipe variations available online) I’m pretty much guaranteed a fair amount of beginners luck in the quality dept. (Or so I’m choosing to believe.)

The stout will be ready to sample on Sunday, but will be better if I can hold off a little longer. Unfortunately the Pale Ale won’t be ready in time for Christmas, as it’s supposed to chill in the bottle until the 26th. I was hoping everything I needed would have arrived in time for a Pre-Christmas gathering at my grandparents… but the mail had other ideas. It’ll be fine for New Years, though nowhere is it written we can’t try an early nip. Perhaps I’ll try a little everyday to see if it keeps getting better!

Even though the Pale Ale and the The Apple Ale took me about an hour to brew, The latter will take considerably longer to finish. 3 weeks to ferment in the keg, then 3 weeks in the bottle. Minimum! (Oh well, others require months of waiting….) No prob, I need time to collect more bottles (or empty the ones I’ve already filled!)

But just in case expectations fall short, I’ve started to amass recipes for beer bread, biscuits, mustard (yes, mustard), and so on. I’d bet that the Apple Ale will work wonderfully in crepes. The recipe I learned In Bretagne called for beer instead of milk, (and were fantastic with cider) perhaps a splash in my grandmothers apple brownies will be a welcome addition!

In the end I may have a hard time deciding whether to eat or drink my beer! Oh, the problems we must endure!

There was a recipe in the paper a few years back that really caught my eye - a gingerbread cake made with Guiness! Described more like a fudgey brownie than a cake, it sounded like a winner to me. (It had me at Guinness)

I whipped up a batch a week or so before Christmas (as loaves and muffins rather than a regular layer cake). I liked it so much that I immediately worked on another batch while the first was still cooling. - As an interesting aside, the power went out while I was just getting everything started, so I packed up, drove over to the inlaws and “borrowed” their oven.

I’ve made this every year since without any problems, although, I sort of OD’d on Ginger cakes and cookies last year. I made a triple or quadruple batch of the cake, as well as chocolate chunk ginger cookies, so I’ll probably only make a single (or double) batch this year.

But I plan to take this new holiday staple of mine to a new level of homemade this year. I’m going to forgo the regular inclusion of Guinness for my own homemade stout! How’s that for “from scratch?”

If you’re not that ambitious, pop open a can, pour off 3/4 of a cup (and let it go flat) and enjoy the rest while the oven preheats. (350 degrees)

Meanwhile grab:

• 2.5 cups AP flour
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter (room temp)
• 1.25 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup molasses
• 3/4 cup stout (beer) flat, room temp - best if left out several hours to flatten

1. Butter and flour two 9″ cake pans, (muffin tins, bread pans or what have you)
2. Combine dry ingredients (first six) in med bowl set aside.
3. beat butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in molasses.
4. Beat in flour mixture in three additions, alternating with 1/3 of the stout (mixture may look curdled, but that’s ok). Beat until just smooth.
5. Pour into pans, and bake 40 min (or until passes the toothpick test). let cool before frosting.

This cake is fantastic with whipped cream, or you can take the ginger level up a couple steps and frost the cake, or plop on a dollop of:

• 3 cups chilled whipping cream
• 6 tbsp powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp minced crystalized ginger
• orange slices
• crystalized ginger
• cranberries (fresh or chopped craisins)

1. Beat cream and sugar with electic mixer until stiff peaks form.
2. Fold in minced crystallized ginger.
3. garnish with any/all other options.

I love starting my own new food traditions. I’m anxious to see how my own beer will hold up. Perhaps I’ll find myself taking homemade to a new level with other recipes as well. I’ve already made a knock-off of Bailey’s Irish Cream several years ago - mom uses it (the Bailey’s, not mine) in a few of her desserts… could certainly continue with those!