Jam

I learned the secret of making small batches of jam years ago from my dear friend Sylvia Thompson, a terrific cookbook writer.

Here's how the technique goes: Cut up the fruit and weigh it. Add an equal weight of sugar. Bring it to a boil on top of the stove and then let it sit overnight to macerate. The next day, finish the jam a couple of cups at a time in a nonstick skillet. Cooked over medium-high heat, it'll set in less than five minutes.

That's all there is to it. Last weekend I turned 2 pounds of nectarines into jam in less than 30 minutes of total work. What's more, because I couldn't figure out what sounded best as an accent flavoring — lemon verbena, rose geranium or basil — I made one batch of each. (For what it's worth, I'm still undecided: All of them are delicious. Obviously, more testing and tasting are required.)

Because the fruit cooks more quickly in small amounts, the flavor of the jam stays fresher. You also use less sugar than commercial jams, so the flavor is more about the fruit than the sweet (instead of 50% sugar by weight, commercial products must contain more than 55% sugar just to legally be called jam).

hamburger buns

40 Minute Hamburger Buns or Rolls
By Sue Edwards

***(Note: By Sue Edwards)*** Here on our ranch, I cook for three men besides by family and they all love hamburgers. These fluffy yet hearty buns are just right for their big appetites. I also serve the buns plain with a meal.

Ingredients
* 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
* 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (110° to 115°)
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 3 to 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions
* In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil and sugar; let
* stand for 5 minutes. Add the egg, salt and enough flour to form a
* soft dough.
*
* Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about
* 3-5 minutes. Do not let rise. Divide into 12 pieces; shape each into
* a ball. Place 3 in. apart on greased baking sheets.
*
* Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Bake at 425° for 8-12 minutes
* or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.
* Yield: 1 dozen.


1/2 milk, 1/2 water for buns

Another liquid nitrogen ice cream recipe

Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Recipe

heidi notes: This is a nice, creamy gelato-type base. Infuse it, add stuff, get creative. I wrote this recipe a few years back - I tend to use arrowroot instead of cornstarch as a thickener in recipes that need it (it is usually less-processed than cornstarch). But because I haven't tested arrowroot in this base, I'll give you the cornstarch version. If you use this as a base for liquid nitrogen ice cream, please read up on the safety precautions that must be observed when handling LN2.

4 cups whole organic milk
1 vanilla bean, split
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place three cups of the milk in a saucepan with the vanilla bean over medium-low heat.

Meanwhile, pour the remaining 1 cup milk into a large glass measuring cup. Add the sugar and the cornstarch. Mix well.

When the milk starts to simmer, remove it from the heat and pour in the cornstarch mixture, stirring the whole time. Return the saucepan to medium-low and stir, stir, stir, until things start thickening up, 10 to 12 minutes. It should end up thicker than, say, a runny milkshake, but thinner than a frosty one.

Pour the mixture through a strainer into a mixing bowl, whisk in the vanilla extract, and let it cool on the counter for 20 minutes or so. I like to then chill it in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight until it is completely chilled.

Now you are ready to place this mixture in a metal-bowl mixer and do the liquid nitrogen thing (see above links and do your safety reading and research first), or you can just freeze this using the manufacturer's instructions on a standard ice-cream maker.

Serves 6.

Liquid Nitrogen ice cream

The price is about two cents to $2.75 per 100 cubic feet depending on purity, which isn't anything important here, so get the two cent stuff. You will also probably need a container, which you can rent/borrow from the people that you are buying the Nitrogen from. Don't use a cooler, as it will not survive the trip.

Simple rules for handling Liquid Nitrogen:
I could say DO NOT LET IT TOUCH SKIN but someone will be a bone head and do it anyway. The truth of the matter is that the human body is so hot to the Liquid Nitrogen that it will boil in your hand with out any harm to you. However, the instant you contain the liquid Nitrogen, like in a fist, you increase the pressure of the gas trying to escape. The pressure builds up enough to give you a very bad freezer burn. Enough to need medical attention, so take my word for it and don't.

Ingredients needed to make simple Vanilla Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream:

---

Milk
Heavy Cream (Half and Half will do nicely)
Real Vanilla (not that fake junk that's sold!)
Sugar
Liquid Nitrogen

Equipment needed:

---

Stainless Steel mixing bowl
Wooden mixing spoon
Gloves
A big sink or a level place out side.

First figure out how much you want to make. Multiply the total amount of ice cream by five to get the amount of Liquid Nitrogen needed to freeze the ice cream. A gallon of ice cream will thus need five gallons of Liquid Nitrogen.
Mix the Milk, Cream, Vanilla and sugar in the mixing bowl. The ratios should be twice as much cream as milk and about 8 tbsp of vanilla for every gallon of liquid. Sugar should be about 1 cup dry measure per gallon. If that's too sweet then half it. I do not know how artificial sweeteners react to the cold, so I don't recommend the usage of them.
Mix the ingredients until the sugar has dissolved into the milk and cream. Add in any fixings (candy, coffee, other flavors). Move to the sink if you haven't already.
Pour in the Liquid Nitrogen slowly and mix with the wooden spoon until completely frozen, which should be about 10 minutes. Wear the gloves, because it's going to be cold.
For a better freeze, prepare the icecream in a pressure cooker, and after adding the Liquid Nitrogen, clamp shut for 5 minutes.

Eat!

If you want, you can add cookie dough or just about anything else to the mixture. Don't worry, it will freeze (trust me, it has no choice but too!).
Other flavors can be made by replacing or adding with the Vanilla with your choice of:
Coffee (hot, strong and fresh is the best) - with a few whole beans - yum!
Cookie dough - either homemade or store bought will do.
Candy - A Milky Way is good in bits, as is Heath Bar.
Liquors - Don't worry about the low freezing point, Liquid Nitrogen is much lower!

Ice cream without an ice cream maker

I do believe in equal-opportunity ice cream-making; even if you don't have an ice cream maker, you should be able to make it home for yourself. Yes, an ice cream machine doesn't cost too much, but it takes up precious space in small kitchens, and you may not want to keep one around. But up until now I hadn't been satisfied with any methods of making ice cream sans machine.

The bag method is simple, but messy. You fill a large plastic bag with ice and salt, and then put a smaller bag inside with a cup of ice cream mix. After some agitation, the mix in the inner bag will get cold enough to freeze into ice cream.

But this method is prone to leakage — you often end up with salty brine all over the kitchen countertop, or even in the ice cream itself. There has to be a better way, I thought.

I did a little reading, and I was inspired by David Lebovitz's stir-every-30-minutes version, and by Kenji's very scientific analysis of what needs to happen for ice cream to freeze satisfactorily.

• How To Make Ice Cream Without a Machine - by David Lebovitz
• The Food Lab: Real Ice Cream Without an Ice Cream Machine - by Kenji at Serious Eats

Kenji's article is fascinating because he shows just how ice cream is affected by stirring. If you just throw ice cream mix into the freezer you'll have a solid block of icy dairy — not very scoopable or fun to eat. You have to prevent large ice crystals from forming while freezing the mix. There are many ways to do this, but they are variations on one simple concept: Mix or agitate the ice cream while it is being frozen.

David Lebovitz addresses this by simply stirring the ice cream every 30 minutes for about 3 hours as it freezes in the freezer. David's is a good method, and the one below is directly inspired by it. I just didn't want to be bound to my ice cream for 3 hours! I also felt that the mixing option still leaves in some large crystals.

This method makes the process much quicker, and you only need to mix it twice. It also produces a very smooth, creamy ice cream which, depending on how much fat is in the ice cream base, rivals any other homemade ice cream for texture.

The only drawback is that you need a fairly large freezer and a bag of ice — which again may be hard for those of you in small city kitchens. But if you do have the space, then give this a try! It's easy, not messy at all, and awfully delicious!

What You Need

Ingredients
1 pint (usually a half recipe) of ice cream mix, well chilled
Easy Ice Cream Mix Options:
• Eggless Cornstarch-Based Mix
• Rich Ice Cream Base with Eggs and Cream
• Sweetened Condensed Milk Ice Cream Base

Equipment
Very large mixing bowl or stockpot
Small 1-quart bowl
Chopped ice
3/4 cup rock salt or kosher salt
Electric hand mixer OR whisk
Towel

Instructions

1. Fill the large bowl about halfway with ice. Stir in 3/4 cup rock salt.

2. Nestle the smaller bowl in the ice. Try to get almost completely buried in the ice. Fill the smaller bowl halfway with ice cream mix (use at most 1 pint of mix).

3. Use the hand mixer to beat the mix for 10 minutes. You may find it helpful to half cover the bowl with a towel, to help prevent spattering. The mix should get very cold to the touch, although it will probably not start transforming into actual ice cream. (Note: If you don't have a hand mixer, then you can use a whisk, but you will need to whisk for at least 15 minutes. Great upper arm workout!)

After you have aerated and chilled the mix for about 10 minutes, cover with a towel and place the entire set of nested bowls — large and small — in the freezer. Freeze for 45 minutes.

4. Remove the bowls from the freezer. Draw a spoon across the top of the ice cream mix. It's probably the consistency of loose pudding, especially on top.

5. Mix again with the hand mixer for 5 minutes. At this point the mixture should be the texture of soft-serve ice cream.

6. Remove the small bowl from the large bowl, and cover the top with plastic wrap touching the surface of the ice cream. Freeze for an additional two hours, or overnight, before serving.

Additional Notes:
• Remember, as always with homemade ice cream: The more fat in the ice cream, the creamier it will be, regardless of churning method. A custard ice cream with all cream and egg yolks will turn out less icy than a milk-based mix. I actually used a milk-based mix here (2 cups milk, 1 cup cream) and while this is more to my taste, it definitely turned out a little icier than a more fatty mix would have.
• On ice: I used about 6 standard-sized ice cube trays (72 ice cubes, smashed up a bit in a bag beforehand) to fill my big bowl.

yogurt with buttermilk powder

Milk (2% fat), Lucerne brand
Instant powdered milk, from the bulk section
Red Mill buttermilk powder
One 150 g (5.3 ounce) container of Stoneybrook greek style yogurt

I split the milk equally into two similar sauce pans and put them on low heat on the stove. As they warmed up I whisked in a cup of buttermilk powder into one and a cup of powdered milk into the other. I tried to keep the temperatures equal while heating, brought both up to to 180F and held at 180-185F for about 6 minutes. I let both cool on the stovetop to about 118F and added half of the starter to each. I transfered to 1 qt canning jars and incubated in the oven with a 100 watt bulb as the heat source. The oven temp was a steady 110F for the first 2 or 3 hours, but in the morning it had dropped to 103F, which is not too bad. Total incubation time was about 13 hours.

Both batches were noticably thicker than basic yogurt, more solid (especially the powdered milk batch), but not quite the consistency of Fage or other commercial greek style products. The amount of added milk solids I used was less than some recipes I found, so I expect adding more would get you closer to that Fage consistency if that's what you like.

There was a big difference in taste. The powdered milk batch was pretty much like standard yogurt, but thicker. The texture was a tiny bit grainy, but that may be due to my technique, as most of the time it turns out that way for me. But still it was less so than many commercial brands. The flavor was identical to the Stoneybrook used as starter but a bit subdued, possibly due to the relatively short incubation time, small amount of starter, and temperature on the low side.

As for the buttermilk batch, this is something special! Sitting in the fridge is the smoothest yogurt I've ever made. The mouth feel brings to mind a really good creme brulee without the sugar. Perhaps that's because there's some fat (2 g per cup) in buttermilk powder. Or something else. Who cares? The trade off, however, is flavor. The buttermilk batch was noticably milder, but not so much you would call it bland. It could even be a good thing if you like your yogurt on the mellow side.

FAGE yogurt

Equipment:
Glass or pottery bowl
Microwave
Instant-read thermometer — you must have this, great tool anyway, costs $8
Clamp-on or hang-anywhere utility light, like that from a hardware store, with a 100-watt bulb
Deep drawer or cooler or Styrofoam box

This makes about 5 cups homemade Fage-style yogurt, a little more than a quart:

Ingredients:
1 quart milk — whole, 2% or skim
1½ cups dry milk or powdered milk. I checked the dry milk ratings and read that the Lucky grocery brand, Sunny Select Nonfat, tasted the best. Works great.
½ cup of plain Stonyfield yogurt, as fresh as possible, or other yogurt with active cultures. I also checked into which yogurt had the most active cultures, and Stonyfield was it.
1 Tablespoon sugar, perhaps a bit more, as food for the culture

Procedure:
In a clean glass or pottery bowl, thoroughly mix together the quart of milk, the 1½ cups powdered milk and sugar. This will be a very rich milk mixture.

Heat the milk mixture in the microwave for three minutes, and then continue heating in one-minute intervals until the milk mixture reaches 180 degrees F. Keep checking the temp with your instant-read thermometer after each minute blast to see if the milk has reached 180 degrees. You cannot eliminate this step.* Try not to over-nuke it so that the milk scalds and spills over, but if you do all is not lost. Using a stove-top and saucepan is messier and tends to unevenly heat the milk, in my opinion.

Rig your incubation chamber ahead of time. Get your clamp-on or hang-anywhere utility light, and check the wattage of the bulb (must be 100 watts, 75 watts is *not* hot enough to keep the milk mixture at 105 degrees F.). Clamp the light onto the side of the drawer so that you can shut the drawer completely (or very nearly except for the cord). You can even clamp the light onto a block of wood or other object that can fit into the drawer along with the bowls of yogurt.

I use an old utility light with a thin wire sleeve that actually fits over the side of the drawer and still allows the drawer to close completely. You can use a cooler or styro box instead of a drawer.

After heating the milk mixture to 180 degrees F, let it cool to 105-110 degrees. It will take a while — about 30 - 60 minutes depending on the quantity of milk — but keep checking it regularly with your instant-read thermometer.

When the milk mixture reads 105-110 degrees, stir in ½ cup of the yogurt you’re using as your culture. Before adding the yogurt culture, it’s best to stir it up to make sure the active cultures are evenly distributed. Make sure the milk mixture and yogurt culture are well blended, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a plastic bag, and place it inside the drawer with the light on. Leave it for 14-15 hours. Unbelievable flavor after 14 hours. 12 is good but 15 is best.

Then, chill the yogurt for 2-3 days. This sort of sets the yogurt — the yogurt gets very thick then, thicker than from just chilling, it seems to me. That's it!

Tips: I actually make yogurt now about 6 PM in the evening, then let it do its thing till 9 AM the next morning. But you can use whatever schedule works for you. Reserve some of the yogurt from each batch to make the next batch of yogurt (1/2 cup of yogurt as your culture for each quart of liquid milk). Safety tip: Make sure the lightbulb is not touching the plastic on the top of the bowl or any other object, and that no one will trip over the electric cord — basic safety stuff.

*Error on my first batch of yogurt that resulted in slimy, stringy, ropey yogurt:

Many other Chowhounds in other threads said this happened to them. And it happened to me. Why? So off I went in search of the reason. You need to heat the milk to 180 degrees to denature the milk proteins, and to allow one protein in particular — lactoglobulin, the one that’s responsible for a smooth, consistent yogurt — to unwind. If you don’t heat the milk adequately, slimy and stringy yogurt is the result.

FIRE-ROASTED PEPPER AND TOMATO WITH ROASTED GARLIC SOUP

MAGGIANO'S
4 quarts red bell peppers, rough chopped
48 roma tomatoes, halved
16 oz extra virgin olive oil, divided use
salt and pepper as needed
2 quarts fennel, chopped into 1/2-inch dice
2 quarts onion, chopped into 1/2-inch dice
1 tsp red chili flakes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chicken base
2 gallons chicken stock
8 oz roasted garlic*
16 oz heavy cream

Toss red peppers and tomatoes with 8 ounces of olive oil and 3 tablespoons of salt and pepper mix. Place on sheet pan and place under broiler for 4 minutes until vegetables start to char on top. Remove and reserve on cooking rack.

In sauce pot, place 8 ounces olive oil over medium heat and saute onions and fennel until lightly caramelized.

Add chili flakes and flour, then tomatoes, peppers, chicken base and stock. Cook for 30 minutes.

Add garlic and cream and let stand for 5 minutes. Then puree and strain.

Cool and refrigerate for at least 1 day before serving.

*FOR ROASTED GARLIC:
Place 8 ounces of garlic cloves with 3 tablespoons of butter in aluminum foil. Cook in preheated 450 degree oven for 20 minutes, with fan on high. Garlic should brown and soften. Remove and cool.