Text 35118, 139 rader
Skriven 2016-01-15 02:26:14 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av NANCY BACKUS
Ärende: Re: aged 811
====================
>  ML> Then they should have given us crabcakes to take home.
> Probably figured that Annie would just have tossed them...

She admits that. More than admits, considers it a bit
of a thing to be proud of. I suppose she keeps extra
farmers in business.

We were
> at El Latino at about closing time one Sunday, and the owner pressed
> some empanados on us to take home with us, gratis... just to keep them
> from going to waste, I guess...

If there were no chance you or anyone else was going to
buy them, and if giving them to you didn't jeopardize the
possibility of your going back, no reason not to.

On the other hand, similar behaviors have got other
industries into some trouble. Like the airlines giving
away upgrades - it got to the point where nobody was
actually buying first class, and worse, some customers
(such as myself) worked out ways of sitting in the front
while paying the rock-bottomest of prices - and complaining
when we didn't! It'll be some time before the effects of
that miscalculation will right themselves. I hope I'm not
around to be victim of the correction!

>  ML> I hope the help got to clean out all the perishables.
> That would be much better than simply tossing things...

As few jurisdictions any more allow donations of that sort 
to shelters and food banks, that strikes me as the best of
all ways. Or perhaps have a cleanup party on the first day
of vacation.

>  ML> Mostly, and it made some dough for the SPCA, but it was
>  ML> a bit of a waste-fest and economically inefficient, as
>  ML> I think I've described. 
> I suppose that's the risk of that sort of thing... 

I figure it was guaranteed to happen that way, with
Annie being both generous and unrealistic.

>  ML> a restaurant at this rate. Spending $50 a head on a meal
>  ML> for which one received $31 a head, not so good.
> True, not exactly cost-efficient... :)

I could have cut the expenses in half, easily; but then
Annie would have felt guilty about not bringing out the
"best" for her guests.

>  ML> Yes. I ended up convincing her to throw a bunch of rice
>  ML> in the cooker and let it steam half an hour by itself
>  ML> instead of messing around for half an hour with all
>  ML> the fruits and nuts.
> Good thinking.  :)

She'd have had a meltdown, the way she pretty much did 
regarding the Christmas consomme. Did I tell you that Anne
(Dan's mother) admitted to using Campbell's?

I would have done the work but been gritting my teeth
throughout.

> I looked in my Fannie Farmer cookbook, and that just uses the commercial
> marshmallows or marshmallow cream in recipes, doesn't have a recipe for
> the marshmallows themselves....  

Hah, so here.

Easy Old-Fashioned Homemade Marshmallows
categories: candy
yield: 70

1 c water, divided
2 pk gelatin (7 g each) or 4 1/2 ts gelatin powder
2 c sugar
1/2 Tb pure vanilla extract
1/8 ts salt
icing sugar to dust the pan
h - to roll the marshmallows in
icing sugar
or 1 3/4 c toasted coconut
or 1 1/2 c finely chopped toasted pecans

Sprinkle the gelatin on top of 1/2 c cold water in 
a small bowl or measuring cup. Stir lightly with a 
fork. Let it ‘bloom’ for at least 5 min, until it is 
all moistened and softened. It will be very thick.

Meanwhile, heat the sugar and the remaining 1/2 c 
water in a medium saucepan until the sugar is 
dissolved. Add the dissolved gelatin to the sugar 
syrup, using a spatula to get every bit of gelatin 
out of the bowl.

Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. It will 
get foamy and you can’t stir down the bubbles.

Remove the saucepan from the heat. Let sit until 
lukewarm (20 to 25 min).

Add vanilla and salt, and pour into the bowl of a 
mixer. Beat with a stand mixer using the whisk 
attachment on high speed until thick and tripled 
in volume – 7 to 8 min, or with a rotary hand 
mixer, which will take a bit longer – maybe 10 min.

While it is beating, prepare a 9 x 13? pan by 
lightly greasing it and dusting it with icing 
sugar. Tip the pan over and knock out any excess 
icing sugar.

When the marshmallow mixture has finished whipping, 
scrape it into the prepared pan, and use a wet 
spatula to smooth the top.

Allow to set until cold, about 4 hr (or less if 
placed in the fridge) or up to overnight.

Cut into squares with a knife dipped in water 
between each cut. If the top of the marshmallow 
mixture has dried out too much to stick well to 
the coconut, wet your fingers and smooth a thin 
slick of water over the top to moisten it again.

Roll the marshmallow cubes in either icing sugar, 
toasted coconut, or chopped nuts. Shake off excess 
if using icing sugar. Press down firmly into the 
coconut or nuts if using them, so they stick to 
the marshmallows.

Place on a rack and allow to air dry for 3 to 4
hr, then store in an airtight container at cool 
room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

From Mabel Johnson
www.kitchenfrau.com
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