Cornbread

April 11, 2010 at 3:50 PM | Posted in Baked, Bread | Leave a comment

I was looking for a basic cornbread recipe online and came across the one below.  The name of the blog initially won me over and the cornbread itself sealed the deal.  Simple, moist and delicious.

Source: Hillbilly Housewife

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 C butter, melted & cooled
  • 1 – 1-1/2 C milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 C sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 C cornmeal
  • 1 C flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda

Instructions:

You really need an iron skillet to make this, but if you just don’t have one, a nine inch square or round cake pan will do. Get your large iron skillet, or 9″ pan and put the margarine in it. Put the pan into the oven at 400° allowing the margarine to melt, and the pan to heat.

In a large bowl combine the buttermilk, eggs, sugar and salt. Use a whisk to mix it up really well. Pour in the melted margarine, leaving about a tablespoon of it left in the hot pan. Be careful pouring so you don’t get burned. Beat everything up again. Finally add the cornmeal, flour and baking soda. Whisk again until the batter is mostly smooth. Turn the batter into the hot skillet or pan, on top of the little bit of margarine you saved in it. Carefully put the skillet back into the oven. Bake the cornbread at 400° for about 25 minutes. It will be golden brown and the edges will pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool a little while before slicing into 8 or 12 wedges.

Amber Ale

January 26, 2010 at 11:04 PM | Posted in Braumeister | Leave a comment

“oans, zwoa, g’suffa!

Beer Style/ Name: Amber Ale

Recipe:

  • Brew Date: 24 Jan 2010
  • Batch Size: 6 gal
  • Extract: 3.3 lbs hopped sryup
  • Malt: 2 lbs DME
  • Grain: none
  • Start Time:
  • End Time:
  • Pitching Temp: 78
  • Time to Cool: 45 min
  • Yeast: Mutons dry yeast
  • Exp Beg SG:
  • Exp Fin SG:
  • Hop Bittering Units: unk (1 oz hop pellets)
  • End of Primary: 27 Jan
  • End of Secondary:
  • Bottle Date:
  • Keg Date:

Boil

  • Boil Duration: 70 min
  • Specialty Grains: none
  • Vol in Primary: 5 gal

Fermentation

  • Beg SG:
  • Ferm Temp Ck 1: 64
  • Ferm Temp Ck 2: 64
  • SG Ck 1:
  • SG Ck 2:
  • Fin SG:

Packaging

  • Keg or Bottle:
  • Carbonation; forced or primed:
  • Carbonation method; CO2/ sugar/ gyle and amount:
  • Storage Temp:
  • Storage Time:

Final Assessment

  • Head:
  • Clarity:
  • Bubbles:
  • Aroma:
  • Odors:
  • Bitterness:
  • Sweetness:
  • Sourness:
  • Saltiness:
  • Carbonation:

Notes:

Boiled a total of 6 gal and it reduced down to just a little more than 5 gal.  I waited for 30 minutes after cooling before transferring via siphon to the primary fermenter.  I was hoping to reduce the amount of trub in the fermenter.  There was a small amount in the bottom of the stock pot along with all the hops.  I boiled the wort and added 1/2 oz of hops at the beginning, with 10 minutes left in the boil I added the rest of the hops and 1 tsp Irish Moss.  I also made a yeast starter with the dry yeast. The fermenter quickly developed a thick trub on the bottom.  Fermentation began within 24 hours and was vigorous lifting large pieces of the trub in the process.  I attached a blow off tube and large amount of the foam was pushed out.

I transfered the beer into another carboy after only 4 days, fermentation activity had slowed but was still moderately active.  The yield here was approximately 4 1/2 gal, no trub was transferred to the secondary fermenter.

Belgian Strong Blonde Ale (organic)

January 26, 2010 at 10:53 PM | Posted in Braumeister | Leave a comment

“oans, zwoa, g’suffa!

Beer Style/ Name: Belgian Strong Blonde Ale (organic)

Recipe:

  • Brew Date: 09 Jan 2010
  • Batch Size: 5 gal
  • Extract: 6 lbs DME
  • Malt: 2 1/4 lbs Gambrinus organic Pilsner, 1 1/4 Great Western organic 2-row, 1/2 lbs Briess Carapils organic, 1/2 lbs Briess caramel 20 deg L
  • Start Time:
  • End Time:
  • Pitching Temp: 78
  • Time to Cool: 45 min
  • Yeast: Wyeast #1388
  • Exp Beg SG: 1.064-1.070
  • Exp Fin SG: 1.008-1.014
  • Hop Bittering Units: 28
  • End of Primary: 16 Jan 2010
  • End of Secondary: 27 Jan 2010
  • Bottle Date: 27 Jan 201o
  • Keg Date:

Boil

  • Boil Duration: 60 min
  • Mash: 60 min
  • Vol in Primary: 4 1/2 gal

Fermentation

  • Beg SG: 1.078
  • Ferm Temp Ck 1: 64
  • Ferm Temp Ck 2: 64
  • SG Ck 1: 1.024
  • SG Ck 2:
  • Fin SG: 1.024
  • % Alc: 5.7

Packaging

  • Keg or Bottle: bottle
  • Carbonation; forced or primed: primed
  • Carbonation method; CO2/ sugar/ gyle and amount: sugar, 3/4 cup with 16 oz filtered water, boiled for 5 min
  • Storage Temp: 60-70 deg
  • Storage Time:

Final Assessment

  • Head:
  • Clarity:
  • Bubbles:
  • Aroma:
  • Odors:
  • Bitterness:
  • Sweetness:
  • Sourness:
  • Saltiness:
  • Carbonation:

The beer seems to be much darker than advertised.  Also the alcohol (SG) measurement seems low, this is a trend for my measurements.  The flat bee tasted sweet and moderately hoppy, with good aroma and no noticeable off flavors.  This produced 23, 22 oz bottles.

Hard Cider

January 10, 2010 at 10:31 PM | Posted in Braumeister | Leave a comment

“oans, zwoa, g’suffa!

Beer Style/ Name: Hard Apple Cider

Recipe:

  • Brew Date: 29 Dec 09
  • Batch Size: 5 Gal
  • Cider: 3 Gal raw Julian Cider and 2 Gal pasteurized unfiltered TJ’s Cider, 4.5 lbs brown sugar and 1 lb honey
  • Start Time: 1400
  • End Time: 1445-1515
  • Pitching Temp: 78
  • Time to Cool: 5 hours
  • Yeast: 2 packets Mutons Dry Ale yeast
  • Exp Beg SG: unkn
  • Exp Fin SG: unkn
  • End of Primary: 2000 10 Jan 10
  • End of Secondary:
  • Bottle Date:
  • Keg Date:

Boil

  • Boil Duration: 1 hour – 1+15
  • Vol in Primary: 5 Gal

Fermentation

  • Beg SG: xxxx (hydrometer was broken)
  • Ferm Temp Ck 1: 64
  • Ferm Temp Ck 2:64
  • SG Ck 1:
  • SG Ck 2:
  • Fin SG:

Packaging

  • Keg or Bottle:
  • Carbonation; forced or primed:
  • Carbonation method; CO2/ sugar/ gyle and amount:
  • Storage Temp:
  • Storage Time:

Mid Stage Transfer

  • 10 Jan 2010 – 12 days of primary fermentation.
  • The cider had been fermenting vigorously since just 6 hours after pitching the yeast.  Airlock bubbles had slowed to an avg of 1 gurgle/ 10 sec.  Cider was left on the counter overnight to allow to settle and racked the next evening into a secondary fermenting bucket.  The cider smelled very sweet, no off odors and looked like there was active fermentation occurring. The cider was very sweet to taste and yeasty, but there was the flavor of alcohol and an initial smell of CO2 .  After transferring the cider was placed back into the spare room, the airlock showed some light gurgling 1 hour after racking.

Final Assessment

  • Head:
  • Clarity:
  • Bubbles:
  • Aroma:
  • Odors:
  • Bitterness:
  • Sweetness:
  • Sourness:
  • Saltiness:
  • Carbonation:

Thin Pizza Crust

January 6, 2010 at 10:17 PM | Posted in Bread | 1 Comment
  • 4 1/2 cups (20.25 ounces) unbleached high-gluten, bread, or all-purpose flour, chilled 
  • 1 3/4 (.44 ounce) teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon (.11 ounce) instant yeast 
  • 1/4 cup (2 ounces) olive oil
  • 1 3/4 cups (14 ounces) water, ice cold (40°F) 
  • Semolina flour OR cornmeal for dusting

 

1. Stir together the flour, salt, and instant yeast in a 4-quart bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). With a large metal spoon, stir in the oil and the cold water until the flour is all absorbed (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment), If you are mixing by hand, repeatedly dip one of your hands or the metal spoon into cold water and use it, much like a dough hook, to work the dough vigorously into a smooth mass while rotating the bowl in a circular motion with the other hand. Reverse the circular motion a few times to develop the gluten further. Do this for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are evenly distributed. If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes, or as long as it takes to create a smooth, sticky dough. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet and doesn’t come off the sides of the bowl, sprinkle in some more flour just until it clears the sides. If it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a tea- spoon or two of cold water. The finished dough will be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50 to 55F.

2. Sprinkle flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Prepare a sheet pan by lining it with baking parchment and misting the parchment with spray oil (or lightly oil the parchment). Using a metal dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you are comfortable shaping large pizzas), You can dip the scraper into the water between cuts to keep the dough from sticking to it, Sprinkle flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Lift each piece and gently round it into a ball. If the dough sticks to your hands, dip your hands into the flour again. Transfer the dough balls to the sheet pan, Mist the dough generously with spray oil and slip the pan into a food-grade plastic bag.

3. Put the pan into the refrigerator overnight to rest the dough, or keep for up to 3 days. (Note: If you want to save some of the dough for future baking, you can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag. Dip each dough ball into a bowl that has a few tablespoons of oil in it, rolling the dough in the oil, and then put each ball into a separate bag. You can place the bags into the freezer for up to 3 months. Transfer them to the refrigerator the day before you plan to make pizza.)

4. On the day you plan to make the pizza, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator 2 hours before making the pizza. Before letting the dough rest at room temperature for 2 hours, dust the counter with flour, and then mist the counter with spray oil. Place the dough balls on top of the floured counter and sprinkle them with flour; dust your hands with flour. Gently press the dough into flat disks about 1/2 inch thick and 5 inches in diameter. Sprinkle the dough with flour, mist it again with spray oil, and cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap or a food-grade plastic bag. Now let rest for 2 hours.

5. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone either on the floor of the oven (for gas ovens), or on a rack in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven as hot as possible, up to 800F (most home ovens will go only to 500 to 550F, but some will go higher). If you do not have a baking stone, you can use the back of a sheet pan, but do not preheat the pan.

6. Generously dust a peel or the back of a sheet pan with semolina flour or cornmeal. Make the pizzas one at a time. Dip your hands, including the backs of your hands and knuckles, in flour and lift I piece of dough by getting under it with a pastry scraper. Very gently lay the dough across your fists and carefully stretch it by bouncing the dough in a circular motion on your hands, carefully giving it a little stretch with each bounce. If it begins to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue shaping it. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss as shown on page 208. If you have trouble tossing the dough, or if the dough keeps springing back, let it rest for 5 to 20 minutes so the gluten can relax, and try again. You can also resort to using a rolling pin, though this isn’t as effective as the toss method.

7. When the dough is stretched out to your satisfaction (about 9 to 12 inches in diameter for a 6-ounce piece of dough), lay it on the peel or pan, making sure there is enough semolina flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide. Lightly top it with sauce and then with your other top- pings, remembering that the best pizzas are topped with a less-is-more philosophy. The American “kitchen sink” approach is counterproductive, as it makes the crust more difficult to bake. A few, usually no more than 3 or 4 toppings, including sauce and cheese is sufficient.

8. Slide the topped pizza onto the stone (or bake directly on the sheet pan) and close the door. Wait 2 minutes, then take a peek. If it needs to be rotated 180 degrees for even baking, do so. The pizza should take about 5 to 8 minutes to bake. If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone to a lower self before the next round. if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone for subsequent bakes.

9. Remove the pizza from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Wait 3 to 5 minutes before slicing and serving, to allow the cheese to set slightly.

Oktoberfest

January 1, 2010 at 4:43 PM | Posted in Braumeister | Leave a comment

“oans, zwoa, g’suffa!

Beer Style/ Name: Oktoberfest

Recipe: True Brew Kit

  • Brew Date: 26 Dec 09
  • Batch Size: 5 Gal
  • Extract: 3.3 lbs Amber all malt
  • Malt: 2 lbs Mutons light malt
  • Grain: 1 cup german specialty grain
  • Start Time: 1100
  • End Time: 1330
  • Pitching Temp: 75
  • Time to Cool: 15 min
  • Yeast: Mutons brew yeast, 1 pk
  • Exp Beg SG: 1.040 – 1.042
  • Exp Fin SG: 1.010 – 1.012
  • Hop Bittering Units: 6.0
  • End of Primary: 02 Jan 10
  • End of Secondary: N/A
  • Bottle Date: 02 Jan 10
  • Keg Date: N/A

Boil

  • Boil Duration: 45 min (5 cycles to reduce foam)
  • Hops: boiled entire time
  • Specialty Grains: hot steeped for 20 min and then boiled for 5 min
  • Vol in Primary: 5 gal

Fermentation

  • Beg SG: 1.045/ 6%
  • Ferm Temp Ck 1: 75
  • Ferm Temp Ck 2: 62 stabilized at 74
  • SG Ck 1:
  • SG Ck 2:
  • Fin SG: 1.018/ 2.5
  • % Alc: 3.5% (not sure why my SG measurements are so much higher than what was expected)

Packaging

  • Keg or Bottle: bottle
  • Carbonation; forced or primed: primed
  • Carbonation method; CO2/ sugar/ gyle and amount: glye – 1 1/3 qts and 2 Tbs priming sugar
  • Storage Temp: 65
  • Storage Time: 2 weeks outside the fridge

Final Assessment

  • Head: excellent, retained 1/2 of the head for 1 minute after pour
  • Clarity: only clear when room temp, significant chill haze present
  • Bubbles: bubbled well
  • Aroma: not much hops aroma, it smelled malty
  • Odors: nothing significant
  • Bitterness: slightly bitter, light hop flavor
  • Sweetness: moderately sweet and malty, good body, but not too heavy
  • Sourness: not significant
  • Saltiness: not significant
  • Carbonation: very good, next time I want to try just the guile and not any additional bottling sugar

Notes:

  1. Used 5 gal of Crystal Geyser water
  2. Two gal partially frozen and some ice was present in the ferm bucket when I poured the wort in
  3. Strained the wort into the ferm bucket, strainer fell into the wort and dumped 1/2 the hops into the wort
  4. Fermentation began within 24 hours and peaked 24 hours later
  5. A portion of the water from the airlock was accidentally spilled into the ferm bucket on day 5
  6. The un-carbonated beer was light amber, clear, slightly sweet, little body and medium hopped, there was a slight off odor, overall it tasted okay.

Brew Log Template

January 1, 2010 at 4:30 PM | Posted in Braumeister | Leave a comment

“oans, zwoa, g’suffa!

Beer Style/ Name:

Recipe:

  • Brew Date:
  • Batch Size:
  • Extract:
  • Malt:
  • Grain:
  • Start Time:
  • End Time:
  • Pitching Temp:
  • Time to Cool:
  • Yeast:
  • Exp Beg SG:
  • Exp Fin SG:
  • Hop Bittering Units:
  • End of Primary:
  • End of Secondary:
  • Bottle Date:
  • Keg Date:

Boil

  • Boil Duration:
  • Specialty Grains:
  • Vol in Primary:

Fermentation

  • Beg SG:
  • Ferm Temp Ck 1:
  • Ferm Temp Ck 2:
  • SG Ck 1:
  • SG Ck 2:
  • Fin SG:

Packaging

  • Keg or Bottle:
  • Carbonation; forced or primed:
  • Carbonation method; CO2/ sugar/ gyle and amount:
  • Storage Temp:
  • Storage Time:

Final Assessment

  • Head:
  • Clarity:
  • Bubbles:
  • Aroma:
  • Odors:
  • Bitterness:
  • Sweetness:
  • Sourness:
  • Saltiness:
  • Carbonation:

Tortilla Soup

December 30, 2009 at 9:34 PM | Posted in Dinner | Leave a comment

Casey’s recipe… the man knows what he’s doing…

Makes 1 Gal (about 8-10 Servings)

  • 16 oz black beans
  • 4 oz yellow corn
  • 8 oz tomato juice
  • 1/2 lb chicken breast diced (optional.. this makes  a good veggie/ vegan soup without)
  • 1 cup cubed tomato (or use small salad tomatos)
  • 1 onion diced
  • 1 chipotle pepper and 2-3 Tbs (adjust for spiciness) of the juice from the pepper can
  • 1 tsp garlic powder (or 3 cloves)
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp coriander powder
  • 1/2 tsp mustard powder
  • 1 cup cilantro chopped, no stems
  • 1 lime juiced

Bring beans, corn, juice, chicken and spices (except cilantro and lime) to a boil and simmer covered for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes add the cilantro and lime juice and simmer for another 10 minutes.  Heat up some tortillas for the side and pour the soup into a bowl over a small amount of blue corn tortilla chips.

Red Velvet Cake

December 14, 2009 at 12:27 PM | Posted in Baked | Leave a comment

Source: “The Confetti Cakes Cookbook” by Elisa Strauss via the New York Times 2/14/07

Cake

Time: 90 minutes, plus cooling
Yield: 3 cake layers

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 3½ cups cake flour
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa (not Dutch process)
  • 1½ teaspoons salt
  • 2 cups canola oil
  • 2¼ cups granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) red food coloring or 1 teaspoon red gel food coloring dissolved in 6 tablespoons of water
  • 1½ teaspoons vanilla
  • 1¼ cup buttermilk
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2½ teaspoons white vinegar

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place teaspoon of butter in each of 3 round 9-inch layer cake pans and place pans in oven for a few minutes until butter melts. Remove pans from oven, brush interior bottom and sides of each with butter and line bottoms with parchment. 
  2. Whisk cake flour, cocoa and salt in a bowl. 
  3. Place oil and sugar in bowl of an electric mixer and beat at medium speed until well-blended. Beat in eggs one at a time. With machine on low, very slowly add red food coloring. (Take care: it may splash.) Add vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk in two batches. Scrape down bowl and beat just long enough to combine.
  4. Place baking soda in a small dish, stir in vinegar and add to batter with machine running. Beat for 10 seconds.
  5. Divide batter among pans, place in oven and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pans 20 minutes. Then remove from pans, flip layers over and peel off parchment. Cool completely before frosting. 

Cocoa Notes

Some red velvet cakes have no cocoa, others have up to half a cup. The less cocoa, the brighter the red, and the less food dye is needed to give it the desired hue. This cake has more cocoa and quite a bit of red dye, but as you cans see from the picture, it is a real stand-out red. Feel free to use less, but make sure you dissolve it in 6 tablespoons of water to compensate for any moisture lost. 
Dutch versus Non-Dutched cocoa: This recipe uses baking soda, so it calls for non-Dutch-Processed cocoa. The reason is that Dutch-Process cocoa is neutral and will not react with baking soda, so it can only be used in 1) recipes with baking powder or 2) recipes with enough other acidic ingredients that will compensate for the lack of acidity. However, you’ll notice that this recipe has both vinegar and buttermilk in it, or quite a bit of acidity, leading me to wonder if either kind of cocoa could be used with success. I had non-Dutch on hand, so I used it, but if you only have Dutch and try this recipe, let us know if it works. Personally, I prefer the Dutched stuff because it usually is of a higher quality with a more delicate chocolate flavor. 

Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from several sources

Makes 6 cups

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter room temperature
  • 3 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

Place cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl. With a handheld electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and vanilla. Beat, on low speed to combine. If too soft, chill until slightly stiff, about 10 minutes, before using.

Icing Notes: 

Technique: Cake decorators will always tell you to ice a cake in two batches, first a “crumb layer” and then the more decorative one. Though I rarely bother, in this cake in particular, with its dark hue barely disguised by a thin layer of frosting, it is especially helpful. To do this, place a small amount of frosting on the cake and spread it over the entire surface that will be iced, thereby anchoring wayward crumbs in place so that they will not mess up the final product. A few minutes in the freezer or longer in the fridge will firm this up so that you have an ideal surface to build the real layer of frosting upon. (I did a rushed, half-assed one, hence the visible crumbs in the final product.) 
Quantity: The recipe here creates an amount of frosting that allows for a thin coat between and over the cake layers. I found it to have the ideal cake-to-frosting balance for this recipe. However, you might want to double the recipe if you prefer a more decadent, padded frosting layer.

Blueberry Buckle

October 5, 2009 at 3:14 PM | Posted in Baked | Leave a comment

Source: Mom’s recipe box

Ingredients

Cake

  • 3/4 C sugar
  • 1/4 C butter, softened
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 C milk
  • 2 C flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1-1/2 C blueberries

Crumb topping

  • 1/4 C brown sugar
  • 1/4 C flour
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 Tbl butter, softened

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease & flour a 9″ cake pan.

Cream butter and sugar.  Then mix in egg and vanilla.  Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.  Then incorporate the dry ingredients and milk into the sugar/butter mixture, alternating back and forth between the two.  Fold in blueberries then spoon the mixture into the pan.

Mix the crumb topping flour, brown sugar and cinnamon.  Then add butter and incorporate with hands.  Sprinkle over the top of the pan.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a skewer can be inserted into the middle and pulled out clean.

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