Check out Tom’s free eBook – Bob Moore: No Hero

Check out Tom’s free eBook – Bob Moore: No Hero

It’s like a reunion podcast. We may very well be over our scheduling hurdles. Sorry for the delay, and thanks to everyone for hanging in there. The Skype lag is impressive, so if it sounds like we are out of sync every now and then, sorry, we’re working on getting it tightened up. The Andry’s found a house and we get to hear how awesome Perth is. Jacques is Australian. Who knew? He makes a guest appearance as well. School is great, and Punkalicious is quickly turning Australian. Only a matter of time before he turns Japanese. Caged eggs. Liquor is not cheap and the football is weird. Thanks for listening and don’t forget to vote for us on Podcast Alley. Want to know more about Tanel, Tom, Punkalicious, or Captain Evil? Click here.

Thanks for listening and don’t forget to vote for us on Podcast Alley. Want to know more about Tanel, Tom, Punkalicious, or Captain Evil? Click here.

The next morning I have enough wits to figure out the Internet, we actually find a menu for that pizza place in a drawer, and I whip up some eggs for breakfast. After figuring out the nearest grocery, we head out. I’ll address this more later, but let’s just say that driving on the opposite side of the road is like trying to sign your name with your off hand – you can do it but it ain’t pretty.

We get to the store and, like always, look for what’s freshest. We pick up some lunch meat for the kids, a few veggies and such and notice that chicken is on sale. Great – the kids love it and I can bake it. But wait, there’s shrimp for $15 a kilo (like $7 a pound) so let’s go with that. The rental house has a few pots so I can boil them. A bit of ketchup, some pasta with garlic butter for the kids and I’m done. When we get back to the rental I decide to roam around the backyard and low-and-behold find, tucked in the back, a small gas grill! Hurrah! Now it’s olive oil, garlic, balsamic, and some pilfered rosemary from a neighbor’s bush grilled shrimp!

And as I start to cook the first shrimp I realize – I’ve moved all the way to Australia and the first thing I do is throw a shrimp on the barbie. Australia, I apologize. Now, does anyone have a good recipe for a blooming onion?

Sorry for the delay. All of the packing and travelling has taken its toll. The last Jacksonville podcast already happened. This is the last same time zone All-American podcast. Pat needs a vacation, everything is just too stressful for him. The wonders of cabbage. Bribing/paying your kids. Tom and Tanel’s tales of cleaning out the house. The Capitan is still Evil. Summer is here, so are monster electric bills.

Thanks for listening and don’t forget to vote for us on Podcast Alley. Want to know more about Tanel, Tom, Punkalicious, or Captain Evil? Click here.

Thanks for listening and don’t forget to vote for us on Podcast Alley. Want to know more about Tanel, Tom, Punkalicious, or Captain Evil? Click here.

Yes, we’re late again, but better late than never.  The Andry’s “alone” time was productive.  Does life get harder the more kids you have?  We don’t really want to find out.  Tom tells a story involving the most loving thing a father can say during a road trip, “Get out.”  Pat tries to teach the Captain some manners.  ”The Party.”  This turns out to be an instant classic Theresa story.  Tanel and the Keymaster.  Theresa put all the kids to work over the weekend.  Pat has a smoking conversation with Jacques.

Thanks for listening and don’t forget to vote for us on Podcast Alley. Want to know more about Tanel, Tom, Punkalicious, or Captain Evil? Click here.

And Theresa…

And Tom…

OFM-169-Laying Down the Law vid from Tom Andry on Vimeo.

Transcript of Call:

Hi. Are. Firstly, I just. I’m a baker feminist Connie, I stopped listening to your last podcast at 9 AM, P and I think 20 seconds because I live in South Dakota, but I’m also precooked I well and we have and awesome agent store resume people don’t even speak English and my husband and I think we need to needs. I love to make type food in Asian food and I say don’t cut the me so soon because it’s phenomenal, and if you have a good recipe, please pass that on. I’d love to know what you soon. I have a great recipe. 4 Green Curry Chicken soup with Coconut Milk and other wonderful ingredients, so please chance. I would like to know if I have another call me and I have my and I’ll call you back. Bye.

And we got tons of compliments on our shrimp dumplings – we bought frozen dumpling wrappers at the Asian supermarket, and they were easier to assemble than we expected; the recipe we used is also posted on Epicurious….

• What Pat looks like when he’s skiing
• How to ensure that your child plays T-ball for the next 5 years
• How to get back into the emergency room with your 6 year old
• Saying “No” to kids – good or bad?
• Organizing your children – not just for the OCD
• New Year’s Resolutions – some suggestions

Thanks for listening and don’t forget to vote for us on Podcast Alley. Want to know more about Tanel, Tom, Punkalicious, or Captain Evil? Click here.

In almost all baking, we combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients. There are three conventional ways for combining the wet and dry ingredients.  And it is here that we see the difference in oil and butter since it is these methods of combining the ingredients that determine the consistency of the end product.

Creaming - This method  mixes fat with sugar, and results in a cake-like texture.  Fat and sugar are mixed together and then the dry ingredients are added.  This method will usually generate a dough rather than a batter.  Creaming requires that a solid is added to the sugar, so this method will use softened butter or shortening, not oil.

Cutting In - This method  results in a flaky, biscuit-like texture. Shortbread and pie crusts also fall into this category since they are flaky.  Here, the fat and sugar are “cut in” using a pastry blender or two knives.  This method will usually generate a dough rather than a batter.  Like creaming, this method also requires that a solid is added to the sugar, so this method also uses softened butter or shortening, not oil.

Two-Bowl – This method results in a texture with larger and irregular air holes.  This is used primarily in muffins and many breads.  All of the dry ingredients are mixed together in one bowl, and all of the wet ingredients are mixed in a second bowl.  The two bowls are then mixed together, often leaving the batter slightly lumpy.  This will always generate a batter and not a dough.  The method requires a liquid, so oil must be used.

What is the most important lesson?  Butter and vegetable oil are not substitute ingredients.  Butter is a solid, oil is a liquid.  They have very different chemical compositions and therefore generate very different results.

It can be tricky to get these to set right, the last thing you want is for this to be runny.  But if it is fully set when it comes out of the oven, it is overcooked and will taste gritty.  The center should still jiggle, while the edges should be set.  Kind of like a cheesecake, but more so.  Pecan pies can be left out at room temperature, but if you are concerned that the pie has not set up, refrigerate it, then remove it before serving and bring to room temperature.  The pie will cold set in the fridge.

Ingredients

• 2 Pie Crusts (9 in”)
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 3 sticks of butter, softened
• 9 eggs, beaten
• 3 cups pecans
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325.
2. Combine sugar, syrup, and butter and mix well
3. Add eggs and pecans – thoroughly mix
4. Pour into two pie shells and bake for 50-55 minutes

Ingredients

• 12 oz bag cranberries, rinsed
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 1/2 tablespoons black pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon grated nutmeg
• 1/2 cup water

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients and stir over medium heat until the cranberries “pop”
2. Reduce heat to low and cook for 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 4 cups thinly sliced onion
• 2 1/2 lb. butternut squash, skinned and cut into 1/2″ cubes
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 cups sharp white cheddar, grated
• 1 1/2 tablespoon rosemary
• 1/2 tablespoon thyme

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350.
2. Butter a 13×9 baking dish
3. Melt butter in large pan and saute onions until golden
4. Add squash to pan and saute 5 minutes
5. Add sugar, salt, and pepper, saute 5 minutes
6. Spread mixture into dish – pour stock over mixture
7. Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes
8. Mix all of the remaining ingredients – breadcrumbs through thyme, and sprinkle over squash
9. Bake in a 400 oven for 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 16 oz. package ground pork sausage
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 large celery stalks, diced
• 16 oz. package cornbread dressing
• 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup sherry
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon each – salt, pepper, thyme, nutmeg

Directions

1. Cook sausage in large pan until completely cooked and crumbly
2. Remove sausage, leaving 1 Tablespoon fat in pan
3. Drain sausage in sieve or on paper towels
4. Saute onion and celery in hot fat until onions are translucent
5. Combine all ingredient in a large bowl and combine until moistened.
6. Stuff bird, or spoon into lightly buttered 13×9 baking pan
7. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes

Ingredients

• Turkey
• Fresh Herbs (Rosemary, Sage, Thyme)
• 2-3 onions
• 4-5 carrots
• 4-5 celery stalks
• 1 Head of garlic cut in half and broken into cloves
• 2 Cups chicken stock

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400
2. Remove all organs, save the neck
3. Rinse and pat dry
4. Arrange vegetables, neck, and fresh herbs on bottom of roasting pan (do not use a rack)
5. Add stock to bottom of pan
6. Put bird, breast side down on vegetables
7. Roast for 20 minutes
8. Reduce oven temp to 300
9. When temp in bird (between drumstick and thigh) hits 140, flip bird and roast for 30 more minutes
10. When temp is 175, remove from oven, tent with foil, and let rest 30 minutes before carving

For Gravy

1. Remove bird from pan and strain, discarding all solids
2. Allow fat to seperate
3. Skim fat off top and combine fat with equal amounts of flour in a pan over medium heat
4. Cook until roux is a light brown
5. Add pan juices gradually, stirring constantly, until the gravy is the desired consistency – (you may need to add chicken stock to thin the gravy out if there are not enough pan juices)

Cheesecake Tips

• I recommend cooking all cheesecakes in a water bath.
• To avoid overbeating, ensure that all ingredients are at room temp.
• For the cleanest cuts, dip the blade of the knife in hot water and wipe between cuts.

Ingredients

For Crust

• 1 1/2 cups pecans, toasted, cooled, and well chopped, (but not gorund, or chopped too fine)
• 3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons unslated butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground cinnamon (if you don’t grind your own cinnamon, you are not allowed to make this recipe – sorry)

For the Filling

• (3) 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, at room temp.
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
• 4 large eggs
• 1 15-ounce can pumpkin
• 1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (spend the extra time hunting down the whole milk yogurt, it makes a difference)
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• pinch of salt

For the Sauce

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350.
2. Butter a 9″ springform pan, sides included.
3. Mix all crust ingredients until the mixture sticks together.
4. Press mixture onto the bottom of the pan evenly.
5. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. 
6. Cool completely.
7. While the crust is ccoking/cooling, using a mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and lemon peel in a large bowl until smooth.
8. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, fully incorporating before adding the next egg.
9. Mix in the pumpkin, yogurt, flour, vanilla, spices, and salt. 
10. Pour into pan.
11. Bake until outer 3 inches puff slightly and the center is softly set.  (It should still jiggle a little) – About 75 minutes.
12. Cool in a fresh cold water bath for 30 minutes.  Refrigerate in pan until cold, 4 hours or overnight.

For the Sauce

1. Bring sugar, cream, butter, corn syrup, and salt to a boil, whicking until the sugar dissolves.
2. Reduce heat to medium; boil 1 minute without stirring.  Remove from heat, and stir in bourbon.
3. Cool, stirring occasionally.

I also use prepared pie crusts.  In my experience, they turn out just as nice, but if you feel strongly about making your own crust, knock yourself out.

Ingredients

• 2 Pie Crusts (9 in”)
• 1 Cup sugar
• 1/3 Cup all-purpose flour
• 4 Cups Fresh Blackberries
• 2 Tablespoons butter, cut into fourths

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425.
2. If you aren’t using prepared crust, make your own crust.
3. Mix sugar and flour.
4. Stir in Berries and mix well.
5. Turn out into a pie crust-line pie plate.
6. Dot with butter.
7. Cover with second pie crust, seal and flute.
8. Bake until crust is brown and juice starts to bubble through flutes – About 35 – 45 minutes.

Turkey (Brined, then Roasted)

Dressing (In-Bird and Pan)

Gravy

Mashed Potatoes

Butternut Squash and Carmelized Onion Gratin

Green Beans

Fresh Cranberry Relish

Pecan Pie