Steak and Kidney Pudding – Daring Bakers Challenge April 2010

They had a pudding in a basin, and the smell that arose from it was so delightful that Bunyip Bluegum was quite unable to pass on.
“Pardon me,” he said, raising his hat, “but am I right in supposing that this is a steak-and-kidney pudding?”
“At present it is,” said Bill Barnacle.
“It smells delightful,” said Bunyip Bluegum.
“It is delightful,” said Bill, eating a large mouthful.
Bunyip Bluegum was too much of a gentleman to invite himself to lunch, but he said carelessly, “Am I right in supposing that there are onions in this pudding?”
Before Bill could reply, a thick, angry voice came out of the pudding, saying--
“Onions, bunions, corns and crabs, Whiskers, wheels and hansom cabs,
Beef and bottles, beer and bones, Give him a feed and end his groans.”

(by Norman Lindsay)
“Albert, Albert,” said Bill to the Puddin’, “where’s your manners?”
“Where’s yours?” said the Puddin’ rudely, “guzzling away there, and never so much as offering this stranger a slice.”
“There you are, “ said Bill. “There’s nothing this Puddin’ enjoys more than offering slices of himself to strangers.”
“How very polite of him,” said Bunyip, but the Puddin’ replied loudly--
“Politeness be sugared, politeness be hanged, Politeness be jumbled and tumbled and banged. It’s simply a matter of putting on pace, Politeness has nothing to do with the case.”
“Always anxious to be eaten,” said Bill, that’s this Puddin’s mania. Well, to oblige him, I ask you to join us at lunch.”
“Delighted, I’m sure,” said Bunyip, seating himself. “There’s nothing I enjoy more than a good go in at steak-and-kidney pudding in the open air.”
(by Norman Lindsay)
from The Magic Pudding, by Norman Lindsay

The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

The recipe I followed is from the cook’s companion by Stephanie Alexander, except that I halved the recipe and used a 500ml or 1 pint pudding basin. I liked the mushrooms (I used swiss browns). They balanced the flavours of the steak and kidney well.


aunt nora’s steak and kidney pudding

Stephanie Alexander
1kg blade steak, cut into 2cm cubes
250g ox kidney, trimmed and cut into small pieces
1 1/2 tbsp plain flour
125g flat mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 small onion, very finely chopped
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup rich stock or water

Suet crust
500g plain flour
250g coarsely grated suet
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup water

Grease a 1-litre pudding basin. To make the crust, mix the ingredients in a large bowl and knead lightly. The dough should not be too stiff. Roll two-thirds of the dough quite thinly into a round and line the basin.

In a large bowl, combine the steak and kidney with the flour, mushrooms, onion, salt and pepper. Pack firmly into the basin.

Roll out the remaining dough to make a lid. Place on top of the mixture, wet the edges and press to seal very well.

(Stephanie doesn’t mention covering her pudding – which I did. I covered the pudding with a circle (4 cm or 2 ” larger than pudding’s diameter) of baking paper, then one of foil, held down the sides with a rubber band, and then tied it twice round with kitchen string. I didn’t take a picture though. But instead a picture of a smaller pudding in illustration.)

Stand the basin on a cake rack or steamer rack or upturned cake tin in a stockpot
(NB: I used a steamer saucepan this time which worked well. Other methods are using a collapsible vegetable steamer basket; or a folded cloth or an upturned plate on the bottom of the saucepan. Alternatively, this method (which is my own idea and worked well on a pudding I made the other day) - this pictured type of simmer mat sitting inside the saucepan and under the pudding with the prongs downward and then pour in the boiling water. )

and pour boiling water to come two-thirds up its sides. Cover and steam the pudding steadily for 4 hours. Check the water level every 30 minutes or so.
(The pudding puffed up while cooking and then when it was cooked I took it out and took off the baking paper and foil and let it rest for a while. The suet crust then changed from a pale yellow colour to a deeper colour and shrank down and settled to what you see.)
To serve, heat the stock to boiling or have boiling water ready. Carefully remove the pudding from the stockpot (use a tea towel to prevent being burnt). Cut a small hole in the lid and pour in the boiling stock or water. Wait 10 minutes before serving.

Steak and kidney pudding is traditionally served at the table from the basin, still wrapped in the tea towel. I like serving a puree of buttery parsnips with this, and a big dish of beans or crisply sautéed cabbage.
Serves 6.

Technorati Tags: Steak and Kidney Pudding,Suet,Recipe,Steak and Kidney,Stephanie Alexander,the cook's companion,daring bakers

This recipe is a low fat, rich and tasty version of Chicken Cacciatore using either the stovetop or a slow cooker crockpot. 

There are many versions of Chicken Cacciatore. This dish has been popular and commonly made  in Australia (we have many Italian immigrants) for many years. This recipe is my adaptation of my mother’s recipe (I think she got it from a magazine, long forgotten), but now so altered by my changes over many makings that our recipes are now nothing alike.

I look for a thick, low fat very tomato-ey garlic oregano sauce which doesn’t separate. I like to add some extra tasty flavours right at the end, so that I can adjust them to taste.

I skin and then brown the chicken (brushed lightly with oil and sprinkled with pepper) on a ridge grill. This develops flavour and also cuts down on  fat.

In the past I’ve tried versions where the pieces (skin attached) are coated first in seasoned flour before browning. I think this just soaks up oil however you do it, and there can be a tendency for the flour to burn, leaving a bad taste. Also, all that oil floating around tends to make the sauce separate later and that’s not a good look.

Cooking on a low heat also keeps the sauce from separating.

This recipe can be made in a slow cooker/crockpot (use less liquid) and it will be yummy.  However, when I have the time I prefer to cook it on the stove top on a very low heat (a simmer mat is good), as even with the lid on some steam tends to escape during the cooking and you can take the lid off and cook for a short while at the end, which all results in a more condensed, tasty sauce.

 

Chicken Cacciatore

by mandarine

2 kg (4lb 40z) chicken pieces, bone in

(Use any chicken pieces with the bone in, because the bones develop flavour. If you only have boneless chicken pieces, then use chicken stock or consomme instead of water when it’s time to add the liquid).

Here I’ve  used:

1 kg (2lb 2oz) chicken drumsticks; and

1kg (2lb 2oz) chicken marylands (chicken drumsticks attached to the thigh)

Olive oil

(1 tbl to sauté the onions plus enough to brush on the chicken pieces to brown them)

2 large onions, chopped (I used 4 small onions today)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

110g (4oz) tomato paste

2 x 400g(140z)  tins peeled tomatoes

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves

Water (use chicken stock or consommé if using boneless chicken pieces)

1/4 cup dry red or white wine (optional)

2 medium anchovy fillets, finely chopped

1/8 tsp chilli paste (I used sambal oelek this time)

1   1/2 tsp vinegar or to taste (I use white wine vinegar)

1/2 tsp sugar

3/4 cup stoned black olives (I like whole kalamata olives, or use sliced)

Cracked black pepper

Salt

(I use a 250g or 8 oz cup)

Method

Remove skin and any bits of fat from chicken pieces. Brush chicken pieces lightly with oil and sprinkle with cracked black pepper. Heat a ridged grill or a barbeque plate and brown the chicken pieces, a few at a time. Remove chicken pieces from grill and set  aside. When all are done deglaze the pan with water (or wine if using), scrape up any brown bits and reserve the deglaze mix.

 

In a large heavy bottomed saucepan, sauté the onions.  When the onions are almost done,  add the finely chopped garlic and cook a short while so the garlic doesn’t brown.  Add the tomato paste and cook out the rawness for a minute.

Meanwhile, with a pair of kitchen scissors chop inside the tins of tomatoes to break them up (this way you won’t get squirted later!), then add.

Add bay leaf, oregano, reserved deglaze mix, and some salt and pepper. 

If you want to transfer to a slow cooker/crockpot, do it now. If using a slow cooker crockpot pour in water (or chicken stock) to less than the level of the chicken. Cover and cook on low until tender, redistributing chicken occasionally.

If however, you’re continuing with the saucepan on the stove, pour water (or chicken stock)  to the level of the top of the chicken pieces and cover the pot with a lid. Cook on a very low heat with hardly any bubbles, stirring sometimes to redistribute the chicken.  I put my pot on a simmer mat. Cook until the chicken is tender and starts to fall away from the bone.

Finally, add the finely chopped anchovies, the chilli paste, vinegar to taste, sugar, olives, and adjust for pepper and salt. Heat through with the lid off.

I like to serve Chicken Cacciatore with plain boiled rice.

Technorati Tags: Low fat,recipe,chicken cacciatore

Bouquet of Roses Birthday Cake - How I made Flowerpaste Roses

I can now make roses from flowerpaste! It was my birthday on Monday so I told everyone I’d like to make my own cake and we had a family get together. The cake was made up of layers of Coconut Mud cake from the Planet Cake Book and Chocolate Mud Cake, syruped and then covered with dark couverture chocolate ganache. Homemade fondant here.

I thought it would be a good time to experiment again in making flowers out of flowerpaste and not allow my previous endeavours discourage me! Two years ago I’d tried making a couple of roses and they both really sucked so I gave up – my intention was for good. This is one of the roses I made at the time. See what I mean? Crap isn't it?

Anyway, I'm glad I changed my mind.

These videos are by Aine2 from Extra Icing on the Cake, who makes the most beautiful cakes. I used larger cutters than she did in the video – a 75mm (3”) and a 90mm (3 1/2”). The glue she’s using is 1 tsp Tylose (CMC) mixed with some 8 tbl (15ml tbl) warm boiled water and left to set a bit.

Flowerpaste Recipe (recipe from Cakes by Francesca)

500g fondant (sugarpaste) (I used fondant from the supermarket for this)

2 tsp Cream of Tartar

1 tsp Tylose (CMC) or gum traganth

1/3 tsp raw egg white

Copha or Crisco or vegetable fat

Rub copha over board. Knead fondant till pliable. Sprinkle Tylose and Cream of Tartar and knead in. Add egg white into a well in the dough. Mix well. Knead a very small amount (like about 1/16 of tsp) copha into the dough. Immediately wrap in glad wrap and then into a ziplock bag. Take out only enough to use immediately.

Syrup (Planet Cake)

100g Apricot Jam
100ml Hot boiling water
10ml Orange liquer
Mix all ingredients together with whisk.

Ganache

300 ml cream
600 g Dark Chocolate (couverture)

1. Boil cream, take off heat (I use a double boiler).
2. Combine with chopped chocolate and mix until the ganache is smooth.
3. Let to cool completely, best to use it the next day.
4. If ganache is too hard to apply on the cake it can be bought back to its right consistency by heating it in the microwave oven

copyright mandarinelemon 2010

Brunswick Stew - A pan-Southern Classic – Daring Cooks Challenge

Before now I had never heard of Brunswick Stew, from the Southern United States, (in my defence I am an Australian) but I am really glad that I have now made it.  The meat flavours all meld together well, the vegetables have a  sweet taste, and there is a vinegar and chili kick at the end (especially as I put in extra chili in mine, heh heh). It is absolutely delicious and I recommend it. Thank you Wolf of Wolf’s Den for the Challenge.

We enjoyed the Chicken and Pork Brunswick stew at a family dinner.

Not knowing until now what Brunswick stew was and finding it delicious I was very interested in its history.

Brunswick Stew has a long, and oft debated history. Brunswick, Georgia claimed that the first Brunswick Stew was created there in 1898. There is, at the Golden Isles Welcome Center on Interstate 95, a bronzed stew pot with a plaque proclaiming this fact.

However, Brunswick, Virginia claims that the first Brunswick Stew was created there by a camp cook named Jimmy Matthews in 1828, for a hunting expedition led by Dr. Creed Haskings, a member of the Virginia State Legislature for a number of years. He was said to have used squirrel in the original Brunswick Stew created for the group when they returned. The hunters were at first sceptical of the thick, hearty concoction, but upon tasting it, were convinced and asked for more.

Every year, there is an Annual Brunswick Stew Cookoff that pits ‘Stewmasters’ from both Virginia and Georgia against their counterparts, and takes place every October in Georgia.

In the early 20th Cent, the rivalry of the two Brunswicks helped make this dish as popular as it is today, and it quickly became a pan-Southern classic.

The main difference between the Georgia and Virginia versions have been the types of meat used. The Virginia version tends to favor chicken as the primary meat, along with rabbit. The Georgia version tends to favor pork and beef along with squirrel. As there is no "official" recipe for Brunswick stew, it is possible to find chicken, pork, beef, and other types of meat included in the same recipe. Also,North Carolina natives have been known for their own unique concoction, leaving the tomato base and thickness but divering between meats with chicken breast chunks or pulled Eastern Carolina style bbq. (Wikipedia)

The vegetables can vary widely from variation to variation, however, the Brunswick Stewmasters recipe says *exactly* what is used in competition stews, and states that “Adding any additional ingredient(s) will disqualify the stew from being an original Brunswick Stew.”

I found this at  Welcome to: Brunswick County, Virginia.

 

Most agree that, Brunswick stew is not done properly “until the paddle stands up in the middle.”

Photograph of my stew in the pot to prove it was done properly!

The 2010 April Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Wolf of Wolf’s Den. She chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make Brunswick Stew. Wolf chose recipes for her challenge from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook by Matt Lee and Ted Lee, and from the Callaway, Virginia Ruritan Club.

Here is the recipe I used (with my comments in italics):

 Recipe From “The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook: Stories and Recipes for Southerners and Would-Be Southerners” by Matt Lee and Ted Lee
Serves about 12

1/4 lb / 113.88 grams / 4 oz slab bacon, rough large diced
2 Serrano, Thai or other dried red chiles, stems trimmed, sliced, seeded, flattened  (Note: I used 2 fresh red chilis and two dried chiles – don’t chop them up at all just deseed the fresh chilis because you  fish them out later)
1lb / 455.52 grams / 16oz rabbit, quartered, skinned (I substituted pork shoulder with bone in)
1 4-5lb / 1822.08- 2277.6 grams / 64-80oz chicken, quartered, skinned, and most of the fat removed
1 Tablespoon / 14.235 grams / ½ oz sea salt for seasoning, plus extra to taste
2-3 quarts / 8-12 cups / 64.607-96.9oz Chicken Broth 
2 Bay leaves
2 large celery stalks (leave whole because you fish them out later)
2lbs / 911.04 grams / 32oz Yukon Gold potatoes, or other waxy type potatoes, peeled, rough diced
1 ½ cups / 344.88 grams / 12.114oz carrots (about 5 small carrots), chopped
3 ½ / 804.72 grams / 28.266oz cups onion (about 4 medium onions) chopped
2 cups / 459.84 grams / 16.152oz fresh corn kernels, cut from the cob (about 4 ears) (I used tinned corn kernels)
3 cups / 689.76 grams / 24.228oz butterbeans, preferably fresh (1 ¼ lbs) or defrosted frozen (I used tinned butterbeans)
1 35oz can / 996.45 grams / 4 cups whole, peeled tomatoes, drained
¼ cup / 57.48 grams / 2.019 oz red wine vinegar
Juice of 2 lemons
Tabasco sauce to taste

Directions-

1-In the largest stockpot you have, which is hopefully larger than the 5 qt ones I have, preferably a 10-12 qt (I used an 8 litre pot) or even a Dutch Oven if you’re lucky enough to have one, fry the bacon over medium-high heat until it just starts to crisp. Transfer to a large bowl, and set aside. Reserve most of the bacon fat in your pan, and with the pan on the burner, add in the chiles. Toast the chiles until they just start to smell good, or make your nose tingle, about a minute tops. Remove to bowl with the bacon.

2- Season liberally both sides of the rabbit and chicken pieces with sea salt and pepper. Place the rabbit pieces in the pot and sear off all sides possible. You just want to brown them, not cook them completely. Remove to bowl with bacon and chiles, add more bacon fat if needed, or olive oil, or other oil of your choice, then add in chicken pieces, again, browning all sides nicely. Remember not to crowd your pieces, especially if you have a narrow bottomed pot. Put the chicken in the bowl with the bacon, chiles and rabbit. Set it aside.

3- Add 2 cups of your chicken broth or stock, if you prefer, to the pan and basically deglaze the4 pan, making sure to get all the goodness cooked onto the bottom. The stock will become a nice rich dark colour and start smelling good. Bring it up to a boil and let it boil away until reduced by at least half. Add your remaining stock, the bay leaves, celery, potatoes, chicken, rabbit, bacon, chiles and any liquid that may have gathered at the bottom of the bowl they were resting in. Bring the pot back up to a low boil/high simmer, over medium/high heat. Reduce heat to low and cover, remember to stir every 15 minutes, give or take, to thoroughly meld the flavours. Simmer, on low, for approximately 1 ½ hours. Supposedly, the stock may become a yellow tinge with pieces of chicken or rabbit floating up, the celery will be very limp, as will the chiles. Taste the stock, according to the recipe, it “should taste like the best chicken soup you’ve ever had”.

4- With a pair of tongs, remove the chicken and rabbit pieces to a colander over the bowl you used earlier. Be careful, as by this time, the meats will be very tender and may start falling apart. Remove the bay leaf, celery, chiles, bacon and discard.

5- After you’ve allowed the meat to cool enough to handle, carefully remove all the meat from the bones, shredding it as you go. Return the meat to the pot, throwing away the bones. Add in your carrots, and stir gently, allowing it to come back to a slow simmer. Simmer gently, uncovered, for at least 25 minutes, or until the carrots have started to soften.

6- Add in your onion, butterbeans, corn and tomatoes. As you add the tomatoes, crush them up, be careful not to pull a me, and squirt juice straight up into the air, requiring cleaning of the entire stove. Simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring every so often until the stew has reduced slightly, and onions, corn and butterbeans are tender. Remove from heat and add in vinegar, lemon juice, stir to blend in well. Season to taste with sea salt, pepper, and Tabasco sauce if desired.

7- You can either serve immediately or refrigerate for 24 hours, which makes the flavours meld more and makes the overall stew even better. Serve hot, either on its own, or with a side of corn bread, over steamed white rice, with any braised greens as a side.