Cookin again

[Dannyalcatraz]

Been cooking all day.

Started by setting a corned beef in the oven to braise in beef broth & Guiness. Should be coming out a couple of hours from now.

Followed that up by frying 1lb pepper bacon and 1lb brown sugar bacon from Divine Swine.

Then I did my stir fry. sigh There were things I simply didn’t have on hand (that I thought I did), so I had to do some substitutions. So it didn’t come out quite as good as hoped. But the main fault was my tendency to underseason when experimenting.

Still, I did learn some things, and next time will be better.

 

[prabe]

@Dannyalcatraz Gonna be eating a little late, eh? Or gonna break it down into leftovers for later?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

The corned beef?

I already had the beef stir-fry for dinner, but I had a modest portion. Which means I may have a small sandwich later for...ummm...quality control.

Once it comes out of the oven, I’ll let it rest a moment and then start slicing it. Then, into the Rubbermaid container and a space in the fridge. By pre-slicing, nobody else will have to struggle with it, and dirty up another knife & cutting board.

 

[prabe]

The corned beef?

I already had the beef stir-fry for dinner, but I had a modest portion. Which means I may have a small sandwich later for...ummm...quality control.

Quality control is important.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

O.M.G.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Beer-braising is my usual technique for doing corned beef. It always comes out juicy & tender.

This time, it was surprisingly tender. As I sliced it, some of it was simply falling off the side. And the last few inches disintegrated in the grip of my tongs.

 

[Zardnaar]

Haven't been shopping in 10 days so it was kinda end of week what's left.

Used the remaining Tikka Masala sauce and served up chicken on rice.

No naan bread left but some tortilla s mad the sacrifice under the grill.

Washed down with some hot chocolate for dessert.

Apparently the supermarkets are quiet and more or less fully stocked.

 

[CleverNickName]

I heard that so many people are baking bread at home that there's a shortage of yeast.

If you want to make bread but can't find any yeast, I've got two options for you. The first is my recipe for Irish Soda Bread, which doesn't use yeast at all, and the second is a recipe for a homemade sourdough starter.

Spoiler: Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 stick of unsalted butter, frozen
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup raisins (optional)
2 tsp. caraway seed (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Grate the stick of frozen butter into the mixture, then rub it into the flour with your fingers until it is well-incorporated (the mixture will look a bit like cornmeal).

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and buttermilk together. (If you don't have buttermilk, you can put two teaspoons of vinegar in the bottom of your measuring cup and then fill it up to the 2-cup mark with milk). Then add the milk/egg mixture to the flour mixture, along with the raisins and caraway seeds if you're using them, and stir until just combined.

Turn out onto a floured board and knead for 1 minute, then shape into a ball. (Don't over-knead it or it will be tough...it's okay if the ball of dough is still shaggy.) Place the ball on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Flatten the ball of dough with the palm of your hand, then cut a cross into the top with a sharp knife about one inch deep.

Bake immediately for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before slicing.

Spoiler: Wild Sourdough Starter

Ingredients
Flour
Water

Yep, that's it. Just flour and water. I followed Alton Brown's recipe, and it makes a good loaf.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

A food thread I participate in on a guitar website has several bakers in it who are also making the yeast shortage observation.

 

[Zardnaar]

Yeast shortage here was 2 weeks ago.

We have some in the fridge but it turns out I wasn't the only one who had the idea to bake bread.

You can still buy it. I'm not worried about supermarkets running out but told the wife it's more if you want to go to the supermarket if things get bad.

The chokepoint is the distribution centers. 20 guys supply close to half a million people. Well 16 odd guys 1 female.

They've got help but that's where there's only so many headsets and electric palatizers to fulfill the supermarket orders on.