More Bacalao!

After the salt cod fritters, which came out great, I made Brandade de Morue. I followed different procedures for the cod re-hab, and realized one needed a much longer cooking time. While normally i would poach cod for 5-6 minutes, with the salt cod 20-25 minutes was necessary. And while overcooking normal fish might make it tough, the extended period worked well for the salt cod.

I think it comes down to what happens to the protein structure of the fish when it dries out in the salt. Something must drastically change to make the structure of the fish change so much.

So while the fritters came out nicely, the brandade came out great. I think, retrospectively, if I had cooked the cod for the fritters for significantly longer, their texture would have radically improved.

For the fritters, a small hockey puck, breaded in panko, pan fried, and served with a herby, garlicky home-made mayo. for the brandade, quenelles on toast points topped with roasted red pepper bits.

Bacalao

I bought some salt cod, mostly on impulse. I'm thinking of codcakes for the Oscars. J. likes fry-up for it and I want something with a bit of umami. I could also make Brandade de Morue. Either way I should start my desalt. I'm not sure how long, depending on how salted the cod was. I have recommendations from 1 to 3 days, So I'm starting today.

Late Xmas Post

I made a Buche De Noel for Christmas at my mom's. The best part was playing without any goal or reason. I tried merengue mushrooms, but had trouble. It didn't matter! Leaves/vines/berries are all marzipan that I kneaded with food coloring. Wish I had a holly leaf cookie cutter, but oh well. Lots of help too, which was nice. Everyone wanted to pitch in, which made my mom's day.

Whole Wheat?

My bread has been going really well, so I decided to try and branch out and make a grain filled whole wheat. It has flax seed, sunflower seed, and rolled oats as filler, but I can't see how they affect the chemistry. The flax is so J. gets some omega-3 fatty acids, and the other stuff is just to add flavor and texture.

This is the third attempt, and the first that I think is acceptable. I am amazed how different the chemistry of whole wheat is. the first time I did half WW flour, and it barely rose. So I have been cutting the WW and adding some honey to feed my limited yeast. I also can't find the right info in either On Food And Cooking or in Bakewise, but I know it is there.

The first rise is really good, so next time I'll cut the first rise significantly so that the second one still has some gumption. I thought the seeds/WW might just be adding weight that counters the rise.

Bread has turned into my own personal chess game. I can do it, but can I do it well? (Also, J. won't eat store bread anymore.)

Corned Beef (served up late)

So the corned beef came out delicious. A beautiful pink color, glorious texture, and a delicious cabbage broth. Pleased as punch. Sorry the photos are so bad, I need a better camera. We did eat on St Patrick's Day, it just took me forever to post.

Corned Beef!

I decided to make corned beef for St. Patrick's Day. After looking at a couple of recipes, two things stood out; the long cure, and saltpeter. the cure isn't a problem, I just need a big enough ziplock to hold a 5 pound piece of meat in a brine in the fridge for 10 days. I can figure that out.

Saltpeter, on the other hand, is a problem. Living in New York I figure I can buy anything here. Greatest City In The World, right? This is not an easy ingredient to find. Being a key ingredient to gunpowder, it is difficult to find on the open market. So I did some google searching, and started at the pharmacy. The old, independent place around the corner first. The pharmacist was very polite, and luckily knew what I was talking about. She was so old school she spoke of grinding ingredients together with a mortar and pestle and filling gelatin capsules for prescriptions. Alas, she hadn't seen saltpeter in years and her distributor no longer carried it.

On to my regular pharmacy! While my pharmacist didn't know what it was, saltpeter did appear in the Rite Aid drug catalog. However, it was listed without any pricing, dosage, or form (liquid, powder, pill, capsule) information. She graciously called her distributor, who laughed and asked if someone was making corned beef! Progress! And then defeat. They haven't had it in years.

On to the witchy store! Luckily(?), there are 3 wiccan/herbal shops in our neighborhood. The first didn't know what i was talking about, but then I realized they only dealt with herbal organics. Down the block, through the door with a broom as a handle, past the 4 black cats, waving the incense clouds out of the way, was a polite young lady with a giant urn of saltpeter. The wiccans use it to prevent infidelity. Despite my lack of wiccan wardrobe, she was polite and willing to sell me some. 2 ounces, 6 dollars. Meat goes into the brine on Sunday!