Text 1089, 89 rader
Skriven 2010-09-05 22:29:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
Ärende: Aspic
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I detest Jell-O with its gaudy colours and artificial flavours but
can tolerate fruit jellies made with unflavoured gelatin and real
fruit juices, doctored up with chunks of additional fruit, liqueurs
and other flavour boosters like Angostura bitters.

And I like tomato aspic although I don't think to make it often.
Last week I made a really nice one, the first batch in years. I
started with the basic recipe right off the envelope just to get the
right proportion of gelatin to liquid and then went to town with
bloody mary seasonings and dill pickle juice (which is how I screwed
up the black bean chili afterwards using the left over bloody mary
mix). As it started to set I chopped up onion, celery and green
olives and sprinkled them over it. About half the additional
ingredients sank to the bottom, while half remained floating to form
two colourful layers. It was really quite pretty and went very well
with roast beef and horseradish.

The g'kids were not impressed with my "spicy tomato jello" but were
intrigued on how gelatin works. They started scheming how they
would use it: things like gelled chocolate milk with bananas and
coconut. Sadly, they were pulled away to their new home in Fort Mac
before we had an opportunity to experiment together.

A grown up version of their vision:

--MM

Chocolate Panna Cotta with Port and Balsamic-Glazed Cherries
cat: Italian, desserts, chocolate
yield: 6

PANNA COTTA
Canola oil
1 cup whole milk
2 1/4 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
CHERRIES:
1 pound cherries, stemmed, pitted
3/4 cup ruby Port
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

For panna cotta: Brush six 3/4-cup glass custard cups with canola
oil. Pour milk into medium bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over; let stand
until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes.

Stir cream and sugar in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat
until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil; remove from heat. Add
chocolate; whisk until melted. Whisk warm chocolate mixture into
gelatin mixture; stir to dissolve. Stir in vanilla. Working in 2
batches, transfer mixture to blender and use only 3 on/off turns to
just fully blend mixture (do not overmix). Divide mixture among
custard cups. Cover and chill 24 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead.
Keep chilled.)

For cherries: Stir cherries, Port, sugar, and vinegar in heavy large
skillet over high heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil; reduce
heat to medium and simmer until cherries are soft and wooden spoon
leaves path in sauce when drawn across bottom of skillet, about 15
minutes. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature. (Can be made 2
days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before
continuing.)

Set custard cups in large baking dish. Pour enough hot water into
dish to come halfway up sides of cups. Let stand 11/2 minutes. Take
cups out of water; wipe bottoms dry. Invert each onto plate, shaking
gently to dislodge panna cotta. Spoon cherries and sauce over panna
cottas and serve.

Bon Appetit  | August 2004

http://www.epicurious.com

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Cheers

YK Jim


... Just 'cause I peel my banana from opposite end, don't mean I'm weird.

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