Good morning GUSmucklucks! So, because we didn't get the full 30 inches here last week, Mother Nature has decided to take another whack at us today and tomorrow and then infinity starting on Thursday. Oh, well. It is the cold I hate most. Below zero last night and this a.m., not factoring in the wind chill. I turned on the bathroom sink and no water!!! Everything else worked. The pipes to the sink are in my kitchen cubby -- uninsulated like everything else. So, I finally had to turn on the frigging heater. One spigot works, hopefully the other will unfreeze later.
It is 8:35 and Roger the Cat is still in my bed under 50 pounds of blankets, comforters and quilts. Odd for him since he starts poking my head for food about 5 a.m. I'll check on him after I finish this post. He can be quite the nuisance.
No stupor bowl for me. Lost my interest years ago and considering the ridiculous prices for tickets, I don't want to waste a second on the non-profit that is raking in the profits left and right.
Yay!!! second faucet now functioning -- for now.
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from Cook's Country
Sour Cream Drop Biscuit
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
The first round of sour cream biscuits not only didn’t taste like sour cream but also didn’t taste like biscuits either. Made with self-rising flour, and without any butter to moisten and enrich them, they never had a chance. Trading the prepared dry mix for flour with the proper amount of salt and baking powder improved flavor without much effort. We then upped the ante with an entire 16-ounce container of sour cream so the tangy flavor finally came through. Adding melted butter to the batter kept the biscuits tender and moist, and brushing melted butter on top helped them brown and crisp nicely.
MAKES 12 BISCUITS
We use vegetable oil spray to grease the 1/4 cup measure for portioning.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 (16-ounce) container sour cream
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in bowl. Stir in sour cream and 5 tablespoons butter until combined.
2. Scoop and drop generous (slightly heaping) ¼ cup of dough 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheet using greased ¼-cup measure. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons butter and bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let biscuits cool on sheet on wire rack for 15 minutes. Serve warm.
from
America's Test Kitchen
Split Pea and Ham Soup
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Instead of the traditional hambone, we opted for a ham steak. Simmering the steak and some bacon in the broth made our Split-Pea and Ham Soup recipe smoky and meaty. Unsoaked peas absorbed the pork-enriched broth so that every layer of the soup was deeply flavored. Gently fried croutons floated on top of the split-pea soup were the perfect finish to this updated classic.
Serves 6 to 8
Four ounces of regular sliced bacon can be used, but the thinner slices are a little harder to remove from the soup. Depending on the age and brand of split peas, the consistency of the soup may vary slightly. If the soup is too thin at the end of step 3, increase the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the desired consistency is reached. If it is too thick, thin it with a little water. Serve the soup sprinkled with Buttery Croutons (related), fresh peas, and chopped mint and drizzled with aged balsamic vinegar. The soup can be made up to 3 days in advance. If necessary, thin it with water when reheating.
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped fine (about 1 1/2 cups)
Table salt
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
7 cups water
1 ham steak (about 1 pound), skin removed, cut into quarters
3 slices thick-cut bacon (about 4 ounces) (see note)
1 pound green split peas (about 2 cups), picked through and rinsed
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
1 medium celery rib, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
Ground black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat butter in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When foaming subsides, add onion and ½ teaspoon salt; cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add water, ham steak, bacon, peas, thyme, and bay leaves. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer, stirring frequently to keep peas from sticking to bottom. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until peas are tender but not falling apart, about 45 minutes.
2. Remove ham steak, cover with foil or plastic wrap to prevent drying out, and set aside. Stir in carrots and celery; continue to simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender and peas have almost completely broken down, about 30 minutes longer.
3. When cool enough to handle, shred ham into small bite-size pieces with two forks. Remove and discard thyme sprigs, bay leaves, and bacon slices. Stir ham back into soup and return to simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper; serve.
from
Cook's Illustrated
Crispy Salt and Pepper Shrimp
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
To keep our shell-on, deep-fried salt and pepper shrimp shells crispy and crunchy rather than tough, we employ several tricks. First, we choose shrimp that are not overly large (31 to 40 per pound), which ensures that the shells are thinner relative to those on more jumbo specimens. Next, we coat them in a thin layer of cornstarch to dry out their shells, which helps make them brittle upon frying. Then we cook them in small batches in very hot oil, which ensures that any remaining water in the shells is driven off. To season the shrimp and keep them moist, we toss them with salt and a little rice wine and let them sit briefly before dredging and frying. For an extra jolt of spiciness, after frying the shrimp, we also dredge and fry a couple of thinly sliced jalapeños. And to give the dish lots of depth, we add black peppercorns, Sichuan peppercorns, cayenne, and sugar to the coating and fry more of the same with ginger and garlic to make a flavorful paste. Finally, we toss the shrimp in this aromatic paste to unify the dish and keep the flavorings well distributed.
SERVES 4 TO 6
In this recipe the shrimp are meant to be eaten shell and all. To ensure that the shells fry up crisp, avoid using shrimp that are overly large or jumbo. We prefer 31- to 40-count shrimp, but 26- to 30-count may be substituted. Serve with steamed rice.
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds shell-on shrimp (31 to 40 per pound)
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
Kosher salt
2 1/2 teaspoons black peppercorns
2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cups vegetable oil
5 tablespoons cornstarch
2 jalapeño chiles, stemmed, seeded, and sliced into 1/8-inch-thick rings
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 scallions, sliced thin on bias
1/4 head iceberg lettuce, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 225 degrees. Toss shrimp, rice wine, and 1 teaspoon salt together in large bowl and set aside for 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Grind black peppercorns and Sichuan peppercorns in spice grinder or mortar and pestle until coarsely ground. Transfer peppercorns to small bowl and stir in sugar and cayenne.
3. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until oil registers 385 degrees. While oil is heating, drain shrimp and pat dry with paper towels. Transfer shrimp to bowl, add 3 tablespoons cornstarch and 1 tablespoon peppercorn mixture, and toss until well combined.
4. Carefully add one-third of shrimp to oil and fry, stirring occasionally to keep shrimp from sticking together, until light brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Using wire skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to paper towel–lined plate. Once paper towels absorb any excess oil, transfer shrimp to wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet and place in oven. Return oil to 385 degrees and repeat in 2 more batches, tossing each batch thoroughly with coating mixture before frying.
5. Toss jalapeño rings and remaining 2 tablespoons cornstarch in medium bowl. Shaking off excess cornstarch, carefully add jalapeño rings to oil and fry until crispy, 1 to 2 minutes. Using wire skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer jalapeño rings to paper towel–lined plate. After frying, reserve 2 tablespoons frying oil.
6. Heat reserved oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add garlic, ginger, and remaining peppercorn mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is fragrant and just beginning to brown, about 45 seconds. Add shrimp, scallions, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and toss to coat. Line platter with lettuce. Transfer shrimp to platter, sprinkle with jalapeño rings, and serve immediately.
HOW FRYING MAKES SHRIMP SHELLS GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT
Most of us peel shrimp before eating it—and for good reason. Made of an elastic substance known as chitin, the shell can be tough. But great salt and pepper shrimp feature a fried shell as crispy—and appealing to eat—as the skin on fried chicken.
Interestingly, the process by which poultry skin and shrimp shells become crisp and edible is somewhat different. Raw chicken skin is flabby because its fat molecules (which make up 50 percent of its weight) coat its proteins, preventing them from cross-linking and firming up the texture; it also contains a lot of water. The high heat of frying takes care of both issues: It causes the fat to render, allowing the proteins to cross-link and become more rigid, and it drives off water, turning the cross-linked proteins brittle.
Chitin, on the other hand, does not break down when exposed to heat. Furthermore, its rubbery texture is entirely caused by moisture. To crisp the shells, it is necessary to dehydrate them as much as possible—something that can be accomplished only by a dry heat method like frying. (Moist methods will leave the shells chewy and flexible; think shrimp boil.) For this reason, we eschew a wet batter and instead toss the shrimp in seasoned cornstarch. This light, dry coating helps pull moisture from the shells, which evaporates in the hot oil, leaving them brittle and crisp. Note: Since older, larger shrimp have thicker, tougher shells, it’s also important to start with relatively small shrimp; we prefer 31- to 40-count specimens.
BOILED = TOUGH
Moist heat makes shrimp shells rubbery.
FRIED = CRISP
Dry heat dehydrates—and, thus, crisps—the shells.
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