1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
8 Tbs. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into
1/2-inch pieces
1 egg yolk, beaten with 2 Tbs. heavy cream
Friday, August 18, 2006
Pastry
Salad Trivia
During the 1930s, almost 1/3 of the recipes for salads in the average cookbook were for gelatin or Jell-O salads!
Saffron
A Tandoori Chicken recipe I wanted to make calls for this spice.
Crocus sativusFam: Iridaceae
Coming from the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus, it takes 75,000 blossoms or 225,000 hand-picked stigmas to make a single pound which explains why it is the world’s most expensive spice. According to Greek myth, handsome mortal Crocos fell in love with the beautiful nymph Smilax. But his favours were rebuffed by Smilax, and he was turned into a beautiful purple crocus flower. A native of the Mediterranean, saffron is now imported primarily from Spain, where Moslems had introduced it in the 8th century along with rice and sugar. Valencia coup (coupé meaning “to cut” off the yellow parts from the stigmas) saffron is generally considered the best, though Kashmir now rivals this reputation. Saffron is also cultivated in India, Turkey, China and Iran. The name is from the Arabic word zafaran which means ‘yellow’. The French culinary term safrané means ‘coloured using saffron’. Its colouring properties have been as prized as its unique flavour. In India its colour is considered the epitome of beauty and is the official colour of Buddhist robes. Saffron was used to scent t baths and public halls of Imperial Rome. Pliny wrote that saffron was the most frequently falsified commodity, which has been true throughout history. Low grade saffron has even been treated with urine to give it colour, though it has most often been falsified with dried calendula or marigold. The Romans initially brought saffron to England, though it was lost to them in the Dark Ages. It is claimed that in the 14th century a pilgrim to the Holy Land, smuggled back one crocus bulb in a hollow staff from which all English saffron supposedly descends. It is grown in great quantities in Essex, especially in a town called Saffron Essex, whose coat of arms includes three saffron crocuses. Francis Bacon wrote “it maketh the English sprightly”.
Spice Description
Saffron is the three stigmas of the saffron crocus. They are delicate and thread-like, each measuring 2.5 - 4 cm (1 -1.5 in). Its colour is a bright orange-red, and in high quality saffron this is uniform. Saffron bearing white streaks or light patches is inferior and when light specks appear in its powdered form it suggests adulteration.Bouquet: Strongly perfumed, with an aroma of honey
Flavour: A pungent bitter-honey taste
Item: 44623 Section: SpicesSpanish Saffron 1 pound Whole stigma (threads) Mancha Spanish saffrom in a tin. Click on picture for more information.Suggested Retail Price: $766.59Amount of Gross Profit: $237.64Wholesale including shipping*... $528.95
Fiesta Shrimp Appetizers
Spice up cooked shrimp by marinating in lime, cilantro and Anaheim pepper. For even more heat, substitute 2 to 4 tablespoons chopped jalapeno pepper for the Anaheim pepper.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Earthquake!
EarthQuake 8/2/06
My conversation with my sister Chris:
ssbaci: we just had an earthquake!!!!!!!!!!!!
ssbaci: omg the florr was shaking
sister: everyone felt it but me!!!!!
ssbaci: shit man it was at least a 5. something
ssbaci: i can tellssbaci: what were u doing?
sister: it was a 4.5
sister: in sonoma
ssbaci: how do u know so fast?
ssbaci: wow
ssbaci: amazing
sister: news just came on
ssbaci: scary i didnt think it was gonna stop like that '89 one
sister: i was cooking
sister: thats what mike said
sister: he came running out
sister: i didn't no what was going on
sister: lol
sister: brb
ssbaci: vince n i both looked at each other and said holy zhit were having an earthquake ....of course i was louder!!
ssbaci: ok
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