Cheese Straws Cracker Un-Recipe

My gran used to make cheese straws, basically shortcrust pastry with cheese in the dough and more grated cheese sprinkled on top. She cut hers into strips and twisted them. No reason why you shouldn't cut yours into political shapes instead.

Be sure to use a good sharp cheese with plenty of flavor so they taste of cheese not pastry. A little fresh ground black pepper in the dough helps too, but leaves little black dots.

J.
(10/31/04)

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Cheese Crackers from Carolyn

Here's a recipe from Bernard Clayton.

Makes 4 dozen tiny crackers (note -- I haven't made these, but his recipes are generally good. I suggest you double this recipe because your crackers won't be tiny, and the quantities below seem small.)

Cheese Crackers

1-1/2 oz Cheddar cheese (I'd go with something very sharp)
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp tepid water
1/2 tsp malt syrup
2 tbsp solid vegetable shortening, room temperature

Shred the cheese. Into a mixing bowl measure 1 cup of the flour and add all dry ingredients and the cheese. Stir.

In a separate bowl dissolve the malt in the water and add the shortening. Mix with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Add flour, a few tablespoons at a time, to form a dough that can be kneaded by hand or with a dough hook on the mixer. If the dough is wet, continue to add sprinkles of flour. Once dough has formed, place in refrigerator for at least one hour, wrapped. (Can be kept up to 2 days in fridge this way before baking).

Roll dough out into rectangle, very thin. Dough should not be thicker than 1/16" according to Clayton. Fold the dough from the ends to make three layers (as if you were making puff pastry). Turn the dough and again roll into a rectangle no thicker than 1/16".

Cut your shapes and bake on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, in a preheated 400°F oven, for 8-15 minutes. Sprinkle with salt when done.

Like I said, I haven't made these, but they sound pretty good. It may be a bit dicey cutting your elephants and donkeys. Let me know how they turn out.

Carolyn
(10/31/04)

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Chutney and Channa Dal

Chutney and Channa Dal

This recipe came from a cooking show on the BBC back in the '80s by actress Madhur Jaffrey.

1-1/2 cups channa dal or yellow split peas, picked over, washed and drained
5 cups water
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2 thin slices of unpeeled ginger
1/4 to 1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garam masala
3 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 to 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1/4 to 1/2 tsp red chili powder

Put the dal in a heavy pot along with the water. Bring to a boil and remove any surface scum. Add the turmeric and ginger. Cover, leaving the lid just very slightly ajar, turn heat to low, and simmer gently for one and a half hours or until the dal is tender. Stir every 5 minutes or so during the last half hour of cooking to prevent sticking. Remove the ginger slices. Add the salt and garam masala to the dal. Stir to mix.

Heat the ghee in a small frying pan over medium heat. When hot, put in the cumin seeds. A couple of seconds later, put in the garlic. Stir and fry until the garlic pieces are lightly browned. Put the chili powder into the pan. Immediately lift the pan off the heat and pour the mixture into the pot with the dal. Stir to mix.

Phreadde
(10/29/04)

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Bobotie (Chutney)

Bobotie (Chutney)

Chutney is traditionally served with mince meat dishes in S. Africa. My favorite is bobotie:

2 thinly sliced onions
1 kg ground beef or mutton
1 slice bread
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tbsp. medium curry powder
1-1/2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tbsp. turmeric
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup almonds (quartered or sliced)
1/2 cup raisins
4 lemon or bay leaves (or zest of one lemon rind)
3 tbsp CHUTNEY

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Brown meat and onion in pan.

In a separate bowl mix milk and bread, stir and pour off the milk (but save). Mix all ingredients expect for half of the milk, 1 egg and the bay leaves (I also keep out the almonds).

Spoon mixture into greased pan and insert leaves into surface of mixture (leave sticking out a bit for easy removal after cooking) and sprinkle almonds on top if not already mixed in. Bake for 30 min.

Mix remaining egg and milk and pour over meat. Bake for another 30 min.

Serve with rice and chutney.

I have another version that uses apricot jam that is mixed with the bread and milk (in lieu of the chutney) but that's in Afrikaans and it's too late for me to translate. I have to admit that I haven't tried this version yet since Mrs. Ball's chutney is more expensive here than apricot jam but the one above is from the Afrikaner equivalent of The Joy of Cooking so I'm sure it's good.

erin in SB
(10/28/04)

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eau de Billy Goat

eau de Billy Goat

1 qt water
2 tbsp hydrogen peroxide
4 tbsp baking soda
1 tsp dish detergent (dawn, etc)

Wash with above and rinse.

(unstable, do not try to save)

Works great on eau de Skunk via dog, jeans, hair (human).... goat ought to be easy.

spinnerjen
(10/15/04)

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T*tty Twister and Twisted Wench Drinks

Titty Twister

2 oz. Pineapple Juice (unsweetened)
3 oz. Morgan's Parrot Bay Coconut Rum
5 oz Orange Juice (unsweetened)

Mix all together and pour over ice. Yummy. You can not! taste The rum.

Twisted Wench

2 oz. Pineapple Juice (unsweetened)
5 shots or 3 oz. Morgan's Parrot Bay Coconut Rum
5 oz. Orange Juice (unsweetened)
1/2 Banana

Put all ingredients into a blender. Blend just until the banana is blended through. Pour over ice.

These knock you on your hinny. Very tasty. You don't taste rum/alcohol.

PotWench (Debbi)
(10/14/04)

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Secret of Stitchin' Sedition Coffee

Secret of Stitchin' Sedition Coffee

The Secret of Stitchin' Sedition Coffee:

Two-thirds to three-quarters good quality Arabica bean coffee (at our house usually Trader Joe's Bay Blend or Colombian--good and yet inexpensive)

one-quarter to one-third Robusta bean (what you usually get in supermarket cans--we find Chase & Sanborn works best, strangely), and use a lot of grounds, don't skimp.

The Robusta adds just enough bite to the smooth Arabica to really make it an interesting cup, especially if you take cream and/or sugar. Plus also, more caffeine.

Lynn S.
(10/2/04)

More Secrets of Lynn's Coffee Success (10/9/05):

I used to own a coffeehouse, and I'm still known for making fabulous coffee in my stupid little automatic drip machine; when anyone ever talks about the Stitchin' Sedition, the knitting group I host, the two things that are always said are "The conversation is great, what an amazing group of women," and "Lynn makes the best coffee in town." How do I do it! you ask.

1) I use commercial coffee machine cleaner on my coffee maker and thermos carafe once every six months. Purocaf is one brand name; there are others. I get it at the local cash n carry grocery supply; check restaurant supply houses.

2) I never make flavored coffees; it "poisons" the coffee maker. Someone wants a flavor, I've got syrups for that.

3) I use filtered water, but this is not a hard and fast rule. I'm lucky in that Portland has fantastic tap water. Good water makes good coffee.

4) I use a blend of coffees. As most of y'all know there are two kinds of beans: Robusta, which are easy to raise and thus cheap; and Arabica, which are harder to raise and thus more expensive. All true quality coffees are 100% Arabica. That's the received wisdom. Coffee you get at SBC or Starbuck's, it's Arabica. Arabica is smoother and sweeter than Robusta; Robusta is more bitter and has a lot more caffeine. The problem is, Arabica is SO smooth that sometimes it's nearly characterless. It needs a little pepping up, especially if you like a little cream and sugar in it. Adding some Robusta to your Arabica brings out the complexities in the flavors. It's coffeehouse heresy, and it works beautifully.

So here's the secret formula: Use 2/3 to 3/4 good quality Arabica (I like Trader Joe's personally because it's quality but not too expensive) and the rest the cheapest rotgut Robusta you can find. Chase & Sanborn is good. So is Safeway's 100% Colombian. You'll have to find the right ratio of Arabica to Robusta for yourself depending on your personal tastes, your local water, your coffee maker and so on.

Lynn S.

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