Wow, I had an entire blog written about butter and using it in baking. When and why and why not and what the experts say. As much as I love butter (and given a chance I would put it on bacon and do put it on about anything including toast with schoko-moo) I decided that it was probably even more lame than any of the other blogs, many of which are lame.
So, I decided to go back to writing about books and murder. I am going through a time where I am trying desperately not to buy digital books at jacked-up prices. For those who haven't heard my rant, check out earlier blog entries. So, because of this I have begun to read a large number of "classic" novels that are available on Amazon for free or .99 cents.
I recently finished one of these classic thrillers, Murder at Bridge by Anne Austin. Murder at Bridge was "Set up and electrotyped" in 1931. And brilliantly so. It's been a long time since I've received such pleasure from a novel. Not a lot of suspense as we expect from a modern novel, but truly an enjoyable read. So much so I might try to find her other novel (only one?) It reads like film noir. The dialogue is a bit campy or kitschy but must have been very edgy for its time. The characters behave in manners that would be considered dysfunction and bizarre in the extreme today.
It's great to have a chance to return to world where a nice young woman can be [SPOILER ALERT ] can just feel better about life after her father, who abandoned wife and family leaving little to live on so that he could run off with an actress, returns and agrees to take her mother back...very generous. And of course, mom is grateful. Yet, in the context of the time it contributed to a very happy ending.
I wasn't going to write about Murder at Bridge; as I noted before I was going to write about butter. Then I began to read, Blind Spot by Nancy Bush. Now, this is not a bad book. Well, maybe it is. Maybe you'll hear about how trite and insanely stupid the beginning is in my next blog....OK it is kind of but I'm trying to move through it. But by realizing that I'm working hard to get through what must be Act One of this stupidly crappy novel, I also realized what under-valued books there are available by authors who are little known and deserve some recognition for their work. It's a product of its time.
No, Murder at Bridge is not a world/life changing novel. No one will be redeemed by reading it. Not one child will be saved and not one life turned from bad to good. It will not fight poverty, pestilence, or even cancer. What it did do was give me some honest moments of pleasure. Thank you Anne Austin.
Showing posts with label butter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label butter. Show all posts
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Book & Baking Blog Entry 29
Christmas is exciting. So exciting that I still have 2 batches of unbaked cookies in my refrigerator. Yep. Chocolate with peanutbutter chip and oatmeal with butterscotch chip. I like cookies with chips. I don't care for cooked raisins. Everyone has their thing. That's mine. I like raisins raw (so to speak) but never want to see one in a baked good. Ever. It can ruin an entire breakfast if my cinnamon roll has raisins. I try not to let it, because, well, frankly diners seem pretty set on having raisins in the cinnamon buns. Oh well.
So I got lucky this Christmas. As a gift a friend gave me her best shot at a recipe for Danish Kringle. So I expected this to be a bread-like concoction. I had a friend come over and we got out my NEW Kitchen Aid pro (OH YEAH==600watts of baking power PLUS an icecream attachment) and tried to follow the recipe. I'll be curious how her 1/2 turned out.
So, first analysis: the dough was more like stretchy cookie dough than bread. I used the paddle to make it, I'm sure that the bread hook wouldn't work. The other surprise was that the dough needed to be refridgerated over-night. OK, I can do that. We split the dough, I kept half and my friend took the other half. No harm, no foul. I can do this.
So, the next morning, imagine my surprise that the dough did not rise. WHY does my dough never rise. Seriously. Never ever. I use fresh yeast. I think that my kitchen is too cold. That's my hope. Either that or I just am not the rising sort.
But as per usual, I trudge on not letting failure stop me now. I knead the dough and divide it into 2 pieces and then roll it out. Now you get to add the filling. What's not great about sugar, butter, and cinnamon. But I forgot I only had 1/2 the recipe. Yep, you guessed it. I made a full amount. I did feel compelled to use it all. Yes. Too bad, because my oven was just cleaned. So I put in my extra filling and rolled it up, cut and twisted per the recipe. I left it to rise.
Did it rise? No NO NO No no.... That stinks. But again, undeterred I put it into the oven. So, twice as much butter as called for in the filling. And the filling isn't sealed into the pastry--merely "twisted." My oven smokes more than a teen-aged boy.
The BEAUTY moment: I don't know if it was the extra filling, but I do know that this is an incredible pasty. Absolutely nothing like any pstry that I had in Denmark, but well worth the time and effort.
Changes that I might make: I might add more flour and make it more bread-like. I might heat my kitchen so that it's warmer or wait for a warmer day.
This may kill my determination to not over-indulge in 2011. If it does I'll just be happy with my buttery, buttery pastry.
PS: Did I mention how unattractive the whole mess looked? I need a photo next time.
So I got lucky this Christmas. As a gift a friend gave me her best shot at a recipe for Danish Kringle. So I expected this to be a bread-like concoction. I had a friend come over and we got out my NEW Kitchen Aid pro (OH YEAH==600watts of baking power PLUS an icecream attachment) and tried to follow the recipe. I'll be curious how her 1/2 turned out.
So, first analysis: the dough was more like stretchy cookie dough than bread. I used the paddle to make it, I'm sure that the bread hook wouldn't work. The other surprise was that the dough needed to be refridgerated over-night. OK, I can do that. We split the dough, I kept half and my friend took the other half. No harm, no foul. I can do this.
So, the next morning, imagine my surprise that the dough did not rise. WHY does my dough never rise. Seriously. Never ever. I use fresh yeast. I think that my kitchen is too cold. That's my hope. Either that or I just am not the rising sort.
But as per usual, I trudge on not letting failure stop me now. I knead the dough and divide it into 2 pieces and then roll it out. Now you get to add the filling. What's not great about sugar, butter, and cinnamon. But I forgot I only had 1/2 the recipe. Yep, you guessed it. I made a full amount. I did feel compelled to use it all. Yes. Too bad, because my oven was just cleaned. So I put in my extra filling and rolled it up, cut and twisted per the recipe. I left it to rise.
Did it rise? No NO NO No no.... That stinks. But again, undeterred I put it into the oven. So, twice as much butter as called for in the filling. And the filling isn't sealed into the pastry--merely "twisted." My oven smokes more than a teen-aged boy.
The BEAUTY moment: I don't know if it was the extra filling, but I do know that this is an incredible pasty. Absolutely nothing like any pstry that I had in Denmark, but well worth the time and effort.
Changes that I might make: I might add more flour and make it more bread-like. I might heat my kitchen so that it's warmer or wait for a warmer day.
This may kill my determination to not over-indulge in 2011. If it does I'll just be happy with my buttery, buttery pastry.
PS: Did I mention how unattractive the whole mess looked? I need a photo next time.
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