Friday, January 4, 2008

Making dinner for friends

Apple Pie

Today I made and apple pie using the vodka crust method. It does seem to make the crust more flaky. And why do I start the day making dessert rather than working on the main event? Oh, dessert IS the main event.

Crust:
2/3 c butter
2 c flour
1/2 t salt
Water/vodka mix

Filling:
Apples
1/2 brown sugar, a couple T white sugar
1/4 c flour
cinnamon
nutmeg

Grade: Excellent. Butter crust didn't got soggy this time.


Looks beautiful! Extra crust turned into piecrust pinwheels. They're dangerous.

Applesauce
Buttload (at least 7 lb) apples, peeled, cored
Apple cider (mine is on its way to turning hard)
Maple syrup

Boil - I'll need to throw it in the food processor because even after simmering for over an hour it still has pieces of apple.

Made only about 2 pints of applesauce which is depressing for as much work as it is. Tasted great though.


Grade: Good


Moose whatever - it said shoulder on the bag

Ben shot it, butchered it with a friend. It's moose but mystery moose parts and probably at least 5 lbs.

Brined meat in salt, juniper berries, crushed garlic, water, bayleaf, peppercorns about 4 days earlier. Brining really decreases gaminess.

Rinse brine off (the peppercorns and juniper berries were stuck in the meat like buckshot), add rosemary & onions & water (or whatever flavor profile you'd like) Roast covered at 300 for hours and hours. Cook until it pretty much falls off the bone - about 5 hours this time.


Grade: Very good...keep in mind that my rating is based on my general blah feeling about large pieces of meat. Everyone ate it and liked it, even the kids.

Glazed Carrots

About 2 lbs carrots cut to preferred size/shape - simmer to preferred tenderness

Mix 2/3 c brown sugar, 1/4 c butter in pan. Add cooked carrots, sprinkle w zest of one orange

Grade: Very good

Smashed local mulit-color potatoes.

I put cream cheese in the potatoes to keep them smooth even though they were done early.

These potatoes don't make nice fluffy mashed like Idaho potatoes. They taste good but are kinda heavy.

1 comment:

LisaTV said...

Interesting that our applesauces are totally different from one another. I use a mixture of apples, and then I add just water and some brown sugar. No cider, no maple syrup. It's funny, I don't know if it's the canning or what, but when I ate the applesauce, it was much sweeter than when I first cooked and tasted (and tasted and tasted) it.