Thread: The Easter Menu

Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:


>
> Maddingly, I went to 2 major markets today and couldn't find cooked,
> crushed carrots for the carrot cake, which I plan on making tomorrow.
> Anyone have an idea for that? My initial thought is to cook a batch of
> carrots and puree them.

I have always used grated raw carrots in the batter, never heard of
cooked & pureed for carrot cake.
--
JL

On Thu, 21 Apr 2011 19:13:04 -0700, Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:

> Maddingly, I went to 2 major markets today and couldn't find cooked,
> crushed carrots for the carrot cake, which I plan on making tomorrow.

I don't think I'd be able to find them if I went to every market in
town!

> Anyone have an idea for that? My initial thought is to cook a batch of
> carrots and puree them.

Not that I would ever use such an ingredient, but that sounds like the
most obvious solution.

I'll be having a smoked pork butt for Easter. And a napkin.

-sw

"Terry Pulliam Burd" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..

<snip>

> Maddingly, I went to 2 major markets today and couldn't find cooked,
> crushed carrots for the carrot cake, which I plan on making tomorrow.
> Anyone have an idea for that? My initial thought is to cook a batch of
> carrots and puree them. I'll make one more stab at the market(s)
> tomorrow, as I'll be going by both Gelson's and Pavillions.

<snip>

I don't think I've ever seen those. Can you use baby food or toddler food
carrots?

"M. JL Esq." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:ioqok0$m33$[email protected]..
> Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
>
>
>>
>> Maddingly, I went to 2 major markets today and couldn't find cooked,
>> crushed carrots for the carrot cake, which I plan on making tomorrow.
>> Anyone have an idea for that? My initial thought is to cook a batch of
>> carrots and puree them.
>
> I have always used grated raw carrots in the batter, never heard of cooked
> & pureed for carrot cake.

That's how I make it too.

M. JL Esq. wrote:

> Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
>
>
>>
>> Maddingly, I went to 2 major markets today and couldn't find cooked,
>> crushed carrots for the carrot cake, which I plan on making tomorrow.
>> Anyone have an idea for that? My initial thought is to cook a batch of
>> carrots and puree them.
>
>
> I have always used grated raw carrots in the batter, never heard of
> cooked & pureed for carrot cake.
> --
> JL

Just FYI

http://www.joyofbaking.com/CarrotCake.html
--
JL

On Thu, 21 Apr 2011 20:45:50 -0700, "Julie Bove"
<[email protected]> arranged random neurons and said:

>
>"M. JL Esq." <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:ioqok0$m33$[email protected]..
>> Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
>>
>>
>>>
>>> Maddingly, I went to 2 major markets today and couldn't find cooked,
>>> crushed carrots for the carrot cake, which I plan on making tomorrow.
>>> Anyone have an idea for that? My initial thought is to cook a batch of
>>> carrots and puree them.
>>
>> I have always used grated raw carrots in the batter, never heard of cooked
>> & pureed for carrot cake.
>
>That's how I make it too.
>
And that's how I'm going to roll tomorrow. Happen to have a backlog of
carrots in the fridge.

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd

--

To reply, remove "spambot" and replace it with "cox"

"Julie Bove" <>
> I don't think I've ever seen those. Can you use baby food or toddler food
> carrots?
>Good idea, Julie. I often use baby food for my banana nut bread when there
>are no 'just right' bananas at hand. Polly

"Terry Pulliam Burd" <[email protected]> ha scritto nel messaggio
> Anyone have an idea for that? My initial thought is to cook a batch of
> carrots and puree them. I'll make one more stab at the market(s)
> tomorrow, as I'll be going by both Gelson's and Pavillions.

I've never heard of precooked smushed carrots! OTH, my carrot cake uses
grated raw carrots, too. Go ahead and boil them and rice or smash them.

Squeaks wrote:

> I've pretty much decided what's on the menu for Sunday. Since I'm
> doing everything from scratch by myself (and hoping that the farmer's
> Market in Irvine cooperates Saturday morning), it's a fairly modest
> menu for 11 people (plus two gummers and one toddler, who won't be
> plated, erm, served at table).
>
> I'm sticking my neck out and attempting the recipe our own dear Ranee
> posted yesterday for homemade croissants. I thought this sounded like
> fun and I can do them a day ahead and let them proof in the
> refrigerator overnight. Since I have gone on record as admitting to
> being a mediocre baker at best, I will either be raining curses or
> blessings on her head on Sunday
>
> Maddingly, I went to 2 major markets today and couldn't find cooked,
> crushed carrots for the carrot cake, which I plan on making tomorrow.
> Anyone have an idea for that? My initial thought is to cook a batch of
> carrots and puree them. I'll make one more stab at the market(s)
> tomorrow, as I'll be going by both Gelson's and Pavillions.
>
> The menu:
>
> mini Brie popovers
> smoked salmon barquettes
>
> Honeybaked ham
> croissants
> deviled eggs
> Scalloped Potatoes with 4 Cheeses
> Roasted Asparagus Bundles
> Panzanella
> sauteed pineapple rings with cinnamon
>
> carrot cake
>
> That's all, folks!


Criminy, that's ENOUGH! My own Easter menu is much more modest, since I'm
cooking just for Lin and myself:

BRUNCH
hot-smoked salmon
lemon-dill-garlic omelette
Tuscan kale salad with bacon dressing
multigrain toast
Irish breakfast tea (for me)
coffee (for Lin)


DINNER
asparagus with homemade tarragon mayonnaise
baby carrots[1]
grilled lamb chops
new potatoes
haricots verts (or fava beans, depending on Saturday's farmers' market)
zinfandel

panna cotta with passionfruit sauce and strawberries
Dolce

If the spirit moves me, I might also make some kind of soup to go with
dinner. And there will probably be some kind of salad too, but I haven't
made concrete plans for that.


Bob
[1] I mean REAL baby carrots, not those whittled-down old carrots preferred
by clueless drooling degenerates in upstate New York.

"Bob Terwilliger" <virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz> ha scritto nel messaggio
> DINNER
> asparagus with homemade tarragon mayonnaise
> baby carrots[1]
> grilled lamb chops
> new potatoes
> haricots verts (or fava beans, depending on Saturday's farmers' market)
> zinfandel
>
> panna cotta with passionfruit sauce and strawberries
> Dolce
>
> If the spirit moves me, I might also make some kind of soup to go with
> dinner.

A traditional buttery sorrel soup would be seasonal and delicious with that
menu, IMO. I could eat your whole menu except the potatoes and the sweets.

Bob Terwilliger wrote:

> panna cotta with passionfruit sauce and strawberries

I would love your recipe
Seriously.

Goomba wrote:

>> panna cotta with passionfruit sauce and strawberries
>
> I would love your recipe
> Seriously.

This is from an old issue of Cook's Illustrated:

Classic Panna Cotta

Serve panna cotta very cold with strawberry or raspberry sauce or lightly
sweetened berries. Though traditionally unmolded, panna cotta may be chilled
and served in wine glasses and sauced on top. I you would like to make the
panna cotta a day ahead, decrease the gelatin to 2 5/8 teaspoons (2 1/2
teaspoons plus 1/8 teaspoon), and chill the filled wine glasses or ramekins
for 18 to 24 hours.

1 cup whole milk
2 3/4 teaspoons gelatin
3 cups heavy cream
1 piece vanilla bean, 2 inches long, slit lengthwise with paring knife (or
substitute 2 teaspoons extract)
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch salt

1. Pour milk into medium saucepan; sprinkle surface evenly with gelatin and
let stand 10 minutes to hydrate gelatin. Meanwhile, turn contents of two ice
cube trays (about 32 cubes) into large bowl; add 4 cups cold water. Measure
cream into large measuring cup or pitcher. With paring knife, scrape vanilla
seeds into cream; place pod in cream along with seeds and set mixture aside.
Set eight wine glasses or 4-ounce ramekins on baking sheet.

2. Heat milk and gelatin mixture over high heat, stirring constantly, until
gelatin is dissolved and mixture registers 135 degrees on instant-read
thermometer, about 1 1/2 minutes. Off heat, add sugar and salt; stir until
dissolved, about 1 minute.

3. Stirring constantly, slowly pour cream with vanilla into saucepan
containing milk, then transfer mixture to medium bowl and set bowl over ice
water bath. Stir frequently until thickened to the consistency of eggnog and
mixture registers 50 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 10
minutes. Strain mixture into large measuring cup or pitcher, then distribute
evenly among wine glasses or ramekins. Cover baking sheet with plastic wrap,
making sure that plastic does not mar surface of cream; refrigerate until
just set (mixture should wobble when shaken gently), 4 hours.

4. Serve panna cotta in wine glasses or unmold panna cotta from ramekins and
serve immediately.


To make the passionfruit sauce I plan to slightly thicken passionfruit syrup
(the Torani stuff) with a cornstarch slurry, then mix it with thawed
passionfruit pulp. The strawberries will be thinly sliced and arranged
decoratively on top and around the unmolded panna cotta.


Bob

Giusi wrote:

>> DINNER
>> asparagus with homemade tarragon mayonnaise
>> baby carrots[1]
>> grilled lamb chops
>> new potatoes
>> haricots verts (or fava beans, depending on Saturday's farmers' market)
>> zinfandel
>>
>> panna cotta with passionfruit sauce and strawberries
>> Dolce
>>
>> If the spirit moves me, I might also make some kind of soup to go with
>> dinner.
>
> A traditional buttery sorrel soup would be seasonal and delicious with
> that menu, IMO. I could eat your whole menu except the potatoes and the
> sweets.


I don't think I can find sorrel locally, but I'll take a look; stranger
things have happened. In the past I've made spring pea soup with lettuce and
mint at Easter, and last year I made a very nice minestrone. Because of my
rut-avoiding behavior, I won't be making either of those, at least not for
Easter. I've been trying to find stinging nettles to make nettle broth, but
I don't think I'll be able to get them until Tuesday.

Your mention of sorrel makes me think of other sour ingredients, though. I
believe rhubarb is available locally, and we've got chicken-apple sausages
in the refrigerator; I could make a soup using rhubarb, green apples,
chicken-apple sausages, onions, and celery. Maybe thickened with puréed
chicken livers? I'll have to give that some thought. Thanks!

Bob

Bob Terwilliger wrote:

> This is from an old issue of Cook's Illustrated:
>
> Classic Panna Cotta
>
> Serve panna cotta very cold with strawberry or raspberry sauce or lightly
> sweetened berries. Though traditionally unmolded, panna cotta may be chilled
> and served in wine glasses and sauced on top.

Thank you I think this is one of my most favorite desserts, along
with flan and such. I just love smooth, cool custardy like textures.
Do you unmold yours or serve in wine glasses?

On Apr 21, 10:45*pm, "Julie Bove" <julieb...@frontier.com> wrote:
> "M. JL Esq." <jpsti...@isp.com> wrote in messagenews:ioqok0$m33$[email protected]..
>
> > Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
>
> >> Maddingly, I went to 2 major markets today and couldn't find cooked,
> >> crushed carrots for the carrot cake, which I plan on making tomorrow.
> >> Anyone have an idea for that? My initial thought is to cook a batch of
> >> carrots and puree them.
>
> > I have always used grated raw carrots in the batter, never heard of cooked
> > & pureed for carrot cake.
>
> That's how I make it too.

>
>
Me, three.

On Apr 21, 9:20*pm, Sqwertz <swe...@cluemail.compost> wrote:
>
>
> I'll be having a smoked pork butt for Easter. *And a napkin.

It's important to have some kind of pork on Easter to prove that
you're not one of those Christ-killing Jews.

"Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!"
>
> -sw

--Bryan

Goomba wrote:

>> This is from an old issue of Cook's Illustrated:
>>
>> Classic Panna Cotta
>>
>> Serve panna cotta very cold with strawberry or raspberry sauce or lightly
>> sweetened berries. Though traditionally unmolded, panna cotta may be
>> chilled and served in wine glasses and sauced on top.
>
> Thank you I think this is one of my most favorite desserts, along with
> flan and such. I just love smooth, cool custardy like textures.
> Do you unmold yours or serve in wine glasses?

I prefer to unmold because I think it's prettier, but I don't always do
that. I don't serve in wine glasses because I think it's a bit awkward to
spoon a dessert out of a wine glass, but sometimes I serve in the ramekins
with a sauce on top. For my 2008 birthday dinner I made a coffee-cardamom
panna cotta and chilled it in martini glasses with a pistachio gelée on top.

Bob

Bryan wrote:

> It's important to have some kind of pork on Easter to prove that you're
> not one of those Christ-killing Jews.

You could also accomplish that by eating lobster or a cheeseburger.

Bob

On Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:06:44 +0200, "Giusi" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
>"Terry Pulliam Burd" <[email protected]> ha scritto nel messaggio
>> Anyone have an idea for that? My initial thought is to cook a batch of
>> carrots and puree them. I'll make one more stab at the market(s)
>> tomorrow, as I'll be going by both Gelson's and Pavillions.
>
>I've never heard of precooked smushed carrots! OTH, my carrot cake uses
>grated raw carrots, too. Go ahead and boil them and rice or smash them.

Canned carrots pulsed with a blender/processor or just mashed with a
fork is simple enough to figure by anyone with two functioning brain
cells... with typical carrot cake spice one could simply use canned
yams. But this fercocktah carrot cake crap just smacks of someone who
hasn't a clue about anything kitchen... proves the entire menu is a
sham, a keyboard kook mockery... there are only a zillion carrot cake
recipes on line, none call for other than grated RAW carrots.