16 its time having Recipes

finding gold is really easy. i always go on saturday morning ., best spots to find gold is scraping the moss off rocks by the river or cleaning out crevasses in bedrock along the river shore. i scrap moss as it acts like the carpet in a sluice box and traps the gold that is washed down the river during the winter. i have had pans with hundreds for pieces, just amazing to see., i designed customs tools for scraping and getting the fine dust and matter off the rocks. well i am an inventor., nothing is better than sitting down against a rock at lunch time , having a great sandwich, ice cold water, the river is flowing by, the sounds of the water, birds on the wing, lizards scooting over the rocks, and there is gold in the bag., by bag i mean , i scrap the moss or clean crevasses, put the material in a special pail, place the pail under the surface and stir to get the dirt to float out., then i put this material in my pan , swish it around, work a little of the sand out and then tilt it back and let the water roll over the sand. bang! glitter all over. now most people sit there and pan out all the sand, get down to the black sand (iron), pan out the iron, and then put the gold in bottle. total waste of time., panning is strictly recreational. i have a limited time at the river and ever minute counts. i carry my 6 mil 12 x 12 inch zip lock bags. once i see there is color in the sand, it is dumped into the bag and i go get more material. this way i can collect the most material for the 5 hours i have to pan. this is a very cool way to get gold and developed by me., once i get home , i put the material onto cookie sheets and dry it in the oven. once dry and cool, i use a special magnet and remove the iron particles. once the iron is removed, i put the sand through different size brass screens to separate the larger particles so when i pan i am not trying to move large and small particles., sunday morning i sit in my recliner , a light over my shoulder and put a tbsp of material in the green pan in the pics. watching a dvd i start panning the material, suck up the gold and put in a bottle. i do this starting with the biggest particles, love seeing the biggest pieces of gold., i work all the sand i can on sunday and if i am down to really fine particles of sand, it is put in quart containers for another day. there are so many of these containers still not panned. 1 might say there is gold in the garage., if there is a river known to have been a producer of gold close to you, go out and give it a try. i have taught many kids to pan; 1 went and found a nugget as big as my nail on my finger. it was huge! rotten kid wouldn tsp give to me for teaching him. oh, its all right, i will find my own some day. what was cool was after teaching the kids they would go back and pan on their own and find gold. how cool is that, hope you enjoyed finding gold for fun. jj - thegoldminer

i use a 3 1/2 to 4 lb chuck roast, well marbelized with fat, and if you can find a bone-in roast, that s better yet (but it s almost always boneless chuck that you find at the grocer). i like to quickly rinse the roast in cold water just before i lay it on the cutting board to coat it with seasoned flour. place the following ingredients in a small baggie and shake the closed bag to mix it up, flour, salt, garlic salt, crazy mixed-up salt (if you can tsp get this seasoning, use seasoned salt instead, but jane s is by far the best), pepper, use your hands to generously pat the seasoned flour into the roast, on both sides, flipping the roast a couple times and repeating the process., in a dutch oven or roasting pan large enough to hold the roast, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium high heat - you want your pan and oil to be hot enough to sear the roast well when you put it in the pan. when the oil is just about to the smoking point, put the roast in and cover the pan. let the meat sear until nicely browned on the bottom, then flip the roast. let it sear for a minute or two on the second side, then add, beef stock (i much prefer the boxed stock to the canned broth - it just seems to give the gravy a much richer taste in the end), cover the roasting pan and place it in a pre-heated 300 degree oven. roast for 4 to 5 hours, until the meat is fork tender and falls apart easily. i check the roast each hour, quickly opening the lid, just to make sure the stock has not evaporated. as long as your pan has a good seal on it, this shouldn tsp happen. but if necessary, add more stock to the pan., an hour before the roast is done , prepare the mashed potatoes. peel 6 large red potatoes (these work better - at least for me - because they are much moister than the russets, so the mashed potatoes are creamier); cut into 1/4th, and place them in a large saucepan - rinse the cut potatoes 2 times in cold water, then cover them in fresh cold water and place the pan over medium high heat; boil until tender. this is usually about 30 minutes, but it depends on the size of your cuts, so just cook them until you can easily insert a fork into a potato. drain potatoes well, reserving 1 cup of the water for the gravy. add the following to the hot potatoes, butter, sour cream, milk, salt, crazy mixed up salt (use regular salt or garlic salt if jane s salt is not available), pepper, i use a hand masher , but you can use an electric mixer or however you chose to mash the potatoes into a creamy yet firm texture. add more milk if potatoes are too stiff. place the mashed potatoes in a buttered casserole dish, cover with foil, and place in the oven to keep warm while you make the gravy., prepare the gravy, melt 2 tbsp butter, stir in 1/4 cup flour to make a paste, stir in enough beef stock to thin the paste enough to pour., finished roast from the pan and place it on a plate; cover meat with foil to keep warm., place the roasting pan over a medium flame and bring the liquid to a gentle boil (i usually seem to have about 1 1/2 to 2 cups liquid in the pan when the roast is done - if you have less, just use the beef stock to increase your liquid)., use a whisk to gradually whisk in the butter/flour/stock liquid., add 2 tbsp beef base - i use tone s (i prefer beef base to buillon - has a richer flavor and is really worth having on hand, but if you can tsp find this, try knorr s beef buillon extra large cubes), add the 1 cup of reserved potato water, add 1/2 cup beef stock, taste the gravy and see if you want more seasoning. i usually find i don tsp need to add anything at this point, since i have the seasoning from the flour coating and the stock and the beef base. if you think you need more seasoning, add salt and pepper to your taste. beef base will also give you more saltiness., keep the gravy warm while you uncover the meat and use 2 forks to pull the meat apart into small to medium chunks., you are now ready to assemble...

any liquid can be reduced just by heating it - but why would you want to do that, answer comes back to two of our old friends, flavor and consistency (texture)., by reducing any flavored liquid you intensify its flavor and at the same time thicken it. you can continue this process until what you have left is a syrup if it contains sugar, or a sauce if it does not., this is 1 of the most important tools in the kitchen , believe it or not, because a great sauce can rescue an indifferent meal., literally any liquid can be reduced ., a few uses, wine is frequently used in cooking , both as a marinade and as an addition to sauces for meat., there are some problems with it though, 1 of which is that you need a really good wine and quite a lot of it to produce a reasonable sauce for, say, six people., on the other hand , if you use pure grape juice and reduce it to a syrup, that syrup, added to any sauce (or gravy if you prefer) will lift it into the realms of gourmet ., more , you don tsp have to make your reduction on the night you prepare your meal. you can reduce a liter of grape juice at any time to the consistency and flavor you want; then just store it in the fridge., you can do the same thing with any fruit juice - prune is sensational - and store it until needed. just about all of them will do things for ice cream, pies or tarts that will have your guests demanding the recipe, pork with apple sauce use a carton of fresh apple juice from the supermarket and reduce it. and if you want a real sensation add in a glass of apple brandy during the reduction process., are you getting an idea of how simple this is, take any carton of fresh stock straight of the shelf and reduce it. you will transform it into something even the manufacturer won tsp recognize. but beware, you need to start out with good quality in the first place, because when you reduce a liquid you intensify all the flavors, and not just the good ones., if it s salty to start with, for example, it will be salty beyond belief by the time you ve reduced it even by half. so if you are going to use a supermarket stock, make sure it s an extremely good 1., believe me when i tell you that stock cubes should not be used for reduction sauces., thickeners, because you will be tasting as you go (won tsp you ), you may find that you get the flavor you want before the desired consistency is reached., a couple of hints right now for your sauces., sweet ones can be thickened successfully without loss of color by adding in liquid glucose early on in the reduction process. surprisingly, this will add little in the way of sweetness and produces a beautiful velvety sauce when whisked., if you get it wrong and add too much, no problem. stir in a little extra water to thin it., reduction pans, reductions need to happen rapidly in serving to preserve flavors. and the greater the surface area of the liquid the faster the water will evaporate., however you may want to whisk something into the sauce while its cooking - such as butter or olive oil for example - and for that i find a small wok is best; 1 with a handle., a wok is less likely to reduce so fast that the sauce is burnt while your back is turned. but try both methods and see which you prefer. you may even end up using something totally different., no magic to this. whatever works for you, that s what you should use, in this and everything else to do with cooking., just bear in mind that what you re after is speed and ease of use. as well as a great tasting result, of course. :>), keeping, if they should dry out , simply add a little water and heat through., sauces containing meat juices of any kind must be frozen if you re going to keep them, and should be brought to boiling point before being used again. there is no need to thaw them out to do this, in fact it s better not to. simply drop the frozen cubes into a saucepan, melt them over a gentle heat, and then bring swiftly to the boil., why do you do this to avoid food poisoning, that s why. you are making sure that any bugs introduced into the sauce during the preparation process are killed off., worry , this will not be because of anything you have done wrong (i hope!), but because bacteria are part of our everyday lives and they exist in every kitchen, however clean., in fact your food , and especially your meat, is crawling with wildlife that you will never see. don tsp worry about them. careful handling and simple precautions will ensure that these miniature monsters can never multiply enough to harm either you or your guests.

you will need : makes 2 large baguettes or 4-5 smaller loaves(12 inches), sponge, bread flour, warm water(110 degrees ), instant or rapid rise yeast, dough, bread flour, instant or rapid rise yeast, warm water (110degrees), salt, glaze, egg beaten with 2 tbsp water, directions: this recipe requires 2 days... so plan ahead ., day 1, make the sponge. in a medium bowl, stir all of the ingredients until combined. you will need to cover the bowl with plastic wrap. let it sit at room temp until the sponge has risen and fallen at least 6 hours and up to 24 hours. i made mine in the late afternoon and started on it in the morning., day 2, in a mixer bowl, fitted with the dough hook, combine 3 cups of the flour and yeast. on low speed, add water and mix until the dough comes together. it will be about 2 minutes. stop the mixer and cover the bowl with a plastic wrap. let it sit at room temp for 20 minutes. after the 20 minutes. remove the plastic wrap and add the sponge from the previous day. add the salt and knead the dough on medium-low for about 8 minutes. after about 4 minutes, if the dough is still sticking to the sides if the bowl, add the remaining 1/2 cup flour, 2 tbsp at a time. the dough should not stick to sides only to the bottom of the bowl. complete kneading the dough for the additional 4 minutes. you should have kneaded the dough for a total of 8 minutes., turn the dough on a lightly floured counter top. form into a nice ball ., place the dough into a large , lightly oiled bowl. cover tightly with greased plastic wrap. let rise in a warm place. like with all my breads i let it rise in a cozy oven. (i turn on the oven for about a minute and then turn it off. ...it should feel just cozy, not hot or too warm.)let rise 1 hour., after the initial 1 hour rise time , you will need to turn the dough 2 times slide a bench scraper under 1 side of the dough. gently lift and fold 1/3 of the dough toward the center., repeat with the other side. finally, fold the dough in half perpendicular to the first folds. this should be a rough square. let it rise for 30 minutes . the process of turning and folding. cover the bowl with plastic wrap. let rise for an additional 30 minutes. this process stretches the dough gently and ensures that the sheets of gluten in the bread provide the proper structure and strength. top a large rimless(or inverted) baking sheet with parchment paper. turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter top. divide it into 2 loaves(i divided mine in 4-5 pieces as my baking stone is too small)., shape each piece into a baguette and lay each piece seam side down. space them about 4-5 inches apart., shaping the baguettes, work with 1 piece at a time. gently pat the dough into a rectangle., gently fold the bottom third of the dough up to the center. press to seal. bring the bottom of the dough up to the top and seal., flour your hand and create a large crease down the middle., top and the bottom of the dough together making sure it is secure ., gently roll the baguette back and forth to make a long log. lay each piece seam side down unto a parchment lined baking sheet., remember to space them. mist the baguettes with vegetable oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap.( i didn tsp cover them with plastic wrap). let rise in a warm place till doubled about 1 hr to 1 1/2 hr., after about 40 minutes of rising time prepare your oven. adjust your oven rack to the lower-middle position. place a baking stone on the rack and heat the oven to 500 degrees. let the baking stone heat for 30 minutes but no longer than 1 hour. after the baguettes have doubled in size, score them with 1/2 inch slashes. use a very sharp knife or a sharp blade. brush the breads with egg-water mixture. carefully slide the breads and parchment paper unto the baking stone. immediately reduce the oven to 425 degrees. don tsp forget this step. bake until golden and center of bread registers at 210 or about 25 minutes. rotate loaves halfway to ensure even browning. i don tsp think i bothered with turning them. let cool for about 30 minutes. this bread is amazing for steak sandwiches. delicious, recipe was adapted from america s test kitchen baking cookbook .

dried fruit compote with sambuca, this quick compote is a good choice for a winter dinner when you have little time to cook but want to make an impression. you can prepare it ahead (it s better made ahead), then spoon it over store-bought ice cream to create an original and memorable dessert. i also like it with blue cheese at the end of a meal, especially if there s a dessert wine on the table., dried peaches or nectarines, cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips, dried pears , cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips, dried apricots, cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips or quartered, golden raisins, dried cherries, water, sugar, cinnamon stick, lemon zest strips, fresh lemon juice, sambuca or other anise liqueur

eggs, beaten, pumpkin puree (fresh is best but if you don tsp have time you can use canned pumpkin, but make sure it s not the pump), vegetable oil, sugar, flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, salt, fresh cranberries or 4 cups frozen cranberries

oreo cookies, lightly crushed (i like to have some chunks), instant chocolate pudding mix, cold milk, you can also easily control the fat with this dessert by using non fat whipped topping and pudding mix along with the reduced fat oreos. no 1 can tell it isn tsp full fat! a major plus this time of year

boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped onion (i use sweet ), minced garlic (or 1 tbsp. fresh , smashed), olive oil, red curry paste (i used more, but it was very hot, so use to your taste) (if you don tsp have paste, mccormack makes a red curry powder now), chicken broth, coconut milk (i used a taste of thai - lite), red bell pepper, chopped (i used fire roasted, jarred, this time because i didn tsp have a raw 1, i prefer the brightness of the fresh, but either will do), chopped fresh mushrooms (i used 4 large white), fresh chopped basil (about 1/2 cup), cooked jasmine rice (or long grain white, whatever you like)

beef or pork roast, coca cola (classic) or dr. pepper (for a tangy twist) not diet, your favorite barbeque sauce (i like kc masterpiece original, or if we want it sweet, longhorn barbeque sauce - i think it s only available here in washington or on their website, www.longhornbarbeque.com), if you have time and want to be fancy try my homemade barbeque sauce on my page., soft split buns or rolls, for serving, cole slaw , for serving

this is suitable for making by hand or bread machine. simply add ingredients to you machine in the serving instructed in the manual. set the machine to dough or pizza setting but you must rest the dough for 45 minutes further or more if you have time. or if making by hand, see below, dried yeast powder, strong white flour (ideally strong bread flour), white granulated sugar, butter, milk powder (this is trick (i) to make it rise & airy), salt, luke warm water, choose between, fresh basil , oregano, parsley, dill: or, italian mixed dried herbs, low fat spread or butter for blending with the herb topping, garlic granules or 3 crushed & diced garlic cloves

green capsicum, finely chopped, french beans, finely chopped, cauliflower, finely chopped, onions, finely chopped, carrots, finely chopped, green chilies, finely chopped, cornflour, all-purpose flour, chili sauce, ginger-garlic paste, bread, sesame seeds, oil, to deep fry, pizza cheese, grated (if you dont get this, you can use any processed cheese)

risotto with sausage and cranberry beans, make risotto , you absolutely must use a specific type of rice called arborio rice (carnaroli and vialone nano are also used, some say superior, but are more difficult to find). these types of rice release starch when stirred in a liquid; it is this process which makes risotto, otherwise you just have a starchy mess of mush. these types of rice are identified by their fat round grains and pearly appearance. they can be used to make other sorts of rice dishes, such as pilaf, but other types of rice cannot be used for risotto. arborio is no longer that much of a specialty product; it can be found in most large, well-stocked grocery stores in the italian section. or sometimes, misguidedly, in the asian section., okay , so now we have the rice. you will also need some good, low-salt stock or broth - it should be low-salt not for health reasons, but because a good deal of it will evaporate, leaving its salt behind, and i like to have more control over the salt in a dish. it can be homemade, but i m not going to be a snob about it because, in truth, we go through gallons of store-bought stock in this household and i don tsp see that changing anytime soon. furthermore, risotto is actually a dish which can be whipped up out of thin air when it seems as though you have nothing to eat, as long as you have butter, rice, stock, maybe a few herbs, and some leftover parmesan. i like the kind of stock purchased in tetrapak cartons, because they are resealable and can be put in the fridge and used as needed. if you really want to use homemade but you don tsp have time to make stock or don tsp like the aroma of roasting bones in your house (i don tsp blame you), you can buy really great stock at north market poultry and game - it is expensive, but can be diluted with a 2- or 3-to-1 ratio of water to stock, so it stretches. my general guideline is to plan on 1/4 cup dry rice per person, and about 4 cups of stock to 1 cup of rice. of course, this isn tsp exact and will vary depending on your elevation and the phases of the moon, but it s a good place to start. i usually just use 4 cups of stock and then dilute with water or wine (or sometimes beer, if that s all i have) if i feel i m going to run out., well, we have rice and stock covered, now we just need our setup: place the stock in a saucepan on your rear burner, bring to a simmer, and leave it there with a 6-8 oz ladle in, and place a large, wide saute pan (must be really large, plan that your rice will at least quadruple in size) or dutch oven on the burner in front. get out your favorite wooden spoon and flex your stirring arm., nice thing about using sausage is it s so full of flavor you can leave out the usual onion/garlic/shallot/celery nonsense if you re tired and don tsp feel like chopping. furthermore, sausage goes from the freezer to the pan without suffering too much. okay, let s go, risotto with sausage and cranberry beans - serves 4, links italian sausage , or 1 lb bulk (or hot, or a combination - definitely with some fennel), casings removed, cooked cranberry beans or 1 can white beans, drained, arborio rice, beef , chicken or vegetable stock, butter, freshly, finely grated parmesan cheese , plus more for garnish, an oz) flat-leaf parsley, chopped finely, lemon juice , or juice from 1/2 lemon, salt and black pepper to taste, red pepper flakes to taste, optional, good balsamic vinegar , optional

i have made this many times and the recipe comes from a french/belgium restaurant i worked in once again no written recipe , but i will try and explain how i did it., we bought the escargots (ok, snails) in a a 1 or 2 lb. tub, they came frozen and cleaned, no shells. we had shells we could stuff them in, if needed., i took a small pyrex ramekin and filled it half full of a clarified unsalted-butter, parsley and a small bit of garlic mixture. i put in 6 snails and covered the top with a puff pastry sheet. i would cut the pastry to fit the ramekin with a little hanging over the sides of the ramekin and coat with a egg wash (egg white and water) and made sure it sealed, use egg wash to make sure, pastry could shrink if not sealed good ., i put in a 425 degree oven and browned the pastry. i would make some kind of design on the pastry from a small cutters, before i browned it. i served this on a small white plate with a small paper doily on it. this dish we sold for $9.95 and sold a bunch nightly., a few sliced button mushrooms would be an option

beef stew meat, cubed (not too small because they will get so tender they will fall apart), white pearl onions, shallots, diced fine, carrots, cut in 1-inch pieces (very large carrots you can also cut lengthwise first and then in 1-inch pieces if necessary), celery ribs, cut in 1-inch pieces, celery rib, dice fine, celery leaves, chopped, parsnip, cut in 1-inch pieces, red potatoes, cut in half, cremini mushrooms, cut in half, peas (frozen are fine), diced tomatoes , i have used this a couple of times to try and it is ok, but i prefer it without (optional), beef stock , keep a little extra on hand as you may need a little more to achieve the consistency you like (available right in your grocery store or homemade), red wine (i like a cabernet), flour (to dredge the beef), kosher salt (to dredge the beef), pepper (to dredge the beef), paprika (to dredge the beef), vegetable oil (not olive oil to saute the beef), butter, garlic cloves, minced, dried parsley, fresh parsley , as a garnish, dried thyme, dried basil, dried rosemary, worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, salt, pepper