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ruthanna_gw
7 years ago
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LOOKING for: Pie crust made with butter
Comments (6)I just realized this was a year old thread. Anyhow, if anyone ever reads it again - pie crust isn't all that hard to make. Just remember that what you're doing is shortening the flour, in other words you're rubbing grease onto the flour grains and that prevents the gluten from linking up too easily and making a chewy, rubbery crust. You want to develop gluten in bread, you don't want it in crust. What would you use besides butter? Maybe duck fat or even lard. Don't use margarines or commercial shortenings - they ruin the dough and leave a horrible coating on your mouth and to their credit, the good folks at the NYC Dept of Health banned them in baked goods. Butter has different amounts of water / butterfat ratios. That water isn't going to work on your crust like the water you add to the dough, but it will have an effect on the final product. When you cut the butter in, make sure you leave some larger pieces - pea size for example. It shouldn't be all uniform, which can happen if you use a food processor and run it too long. Pulse it. I always add the water by hand. Add a bit then pinch it together with your fingers. Toss those bits aside and add some more to the dry stuff. It's hard to give precise measurements because you have to go by feel, but figure one part butter to 3 parts flour and slightly less than one part water. And a bit of salt. So in measuring cups, that's like a stick of butter, 1 1/2 cups flour, and somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 cups of flour. And obviously you can vary those proportions - a little more flour, a little less flour, and your need for water will change accordingly. So add the water by hand and just gently work it with a fork and / or your fingers to make the clumps of dough stick together. Then gather them into a ball and smear the mass across the counter with the heal of your hand. You don't want to knead the dough like bread, but just smear it once or twice. The French call this fraisage and the purpose is to distribute the water and fat. Then gather into a ball and let it rest. Don't roll it right away. Leave it for an hour or more - you'll be surprised at how much easier it is to handle once it rests. The globs of butter you've distributed thru the dough when you rolled it out will melt, the water will create steam, and that will fill the vacuum created by the butter, blowing the crust apart into flakes. If your butter has a higher water content than some, you'll get a harder crust than if it's got a higher fat content - that's because the moisture will be incorporated throughout the crust with the butter. But even with the widely available commercial butters, you'll get a delicious crust. Duck or goose fat make a beautiful crust as well, as does good lard. The texture will differ however, as the water content is different from butter. Also, if you're using rendered duck fat, you may want to eliminate the salt from the dough if the duck has been salted. But taste and adjust accordingly. Any liquid will work, but water is the basic one. Milk contains some fat and solids. Cider, which I use sometimes, contains sugars, which affect the taste - not always for the worse. Vinegar and/or lemon juice also affect the flavor. Cold stock, which is kind of cool to use if you're using duck fat or lard, will have it's own seasonings and may have additional salt. Make sure the liquid is cold - you don't want to melt the fat at all, or make it too warm. It's tricky to use duck fat because it melts so quickly, so you have to work extra fast. Good luck....See MoreMade another soup today!
Comments (10)Gayle, here it is! I found it on Recipezaar La Madeleine's Tomato-Basil Soup 4 cups fresh tomatoes, cored, peeled, and chopped (8-10) or canned whole tomatoes, crushed 4 cups tomato juice (or part vegetable or part chicken stock) 12-14 basil leaves, washed fresh 1 cup heavy cream 1/4 lb sweet unsalted butter salt 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper lemon juice (optional) Combine tomatoes, juice/and or stock in saucepan. Simmer 30 minutes. Puree, along with the basil leaves, in small batches, in blender, food processor (or better yet, one of those handy hand-held food blenders, right in the cooking pan). Return to saucepan and add cream and butter, while stirring, over low heat. Garnish with basil leaves and serve with your favorite bread. Excerpted from an article by Beverly Bundy of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram around May 20. 1994. She wrote, "Once a year, in January I run a column of our most requested recipes -- This year, that column included the recipe for La Madeleine's popular tomato basil soup. I continue to get at least 10 calls a week asking for the recipe. So here it is, once again -- ". Michelle...See MoreYay, I get to have a dinner party!
Comments (6)Yeah, I've heard the cooking of Scandanavia is pretty good. I did some investigating two years ago when I got invited to a scandanavian pot luck! I brought blue cheese spread on rye krisp, and potato-beet salad, yum! Those nectarines sound divine. My mom used to make us grilled peaches for dessert when I was a kid, sounds similar. I could even add a sprinkle of cardamom, which I love. Or make this recipe for cardamom cookies that I have and have never tried. Grilled nectarines in a little glass dish with a cardamom cookie on the side, sounds very elegant. I was toying with making the peach-raspberry pie that I love, but that seemed too rich. I love to make it though, I throw together a bag of frozen raspberries, a bag of frozen peaches, a glop of brown sugar, a dash of cinnamon, dot with butter and then use a pre-made crust. "Homeade pie" that always gets me raves at potlucks, all in about 10 min. to prepare. Those mushrooms sound awesome Lars, thanks! It will give me a chance to use up some of the basil I froze last summer....See MoreCheesecake on a stone - I made it and WOW!
Comments (3)Loves2: Guess I was wrong!!!That's the story of my life on the CF. I think it would be better for you, if you didn't associate yourself with me. One day they may have another drawing and the" BLACK BALL " won't be picked . Thanks again, LOU PS: Good thing you didn't bake my Cheese Cake !!!...See Moreplllog
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