Bread-and-butter rules

Posted on June 12, 2012 by bilrob

Bread-and-butter rules

Dear Charles the Butler,

Could you please explain the proper etiquette for slicing bread at the table? Sometimes restaurants serve a small loaf of bread, which is supposed to be cut at the table and shared by the patrons. Do I cut it just for myself or for everyone? I have to hold the other side of the bread while I’m cutting it — isn’t this unsanitary for the other people at my table?

Rachel

Hello Rachel,

Lets start with the simplest ways to deal with bread at the table. If bread is served in a basket, already cut, then take one piece and put it on your bread-and-butter plate.

If you are served a small loaf in a restaurant, it would always be polite to cut several pieces and offer everyone at the table a piece.

In both cases you would always serve yourself last because it is polite to allow others to go before you. As well, hopefully the piece you were holding will become your piece.

Never draw attention to a task at the table; simply cut the bread, offer it around to everyone, then take your piece, all the while having conversations with everyone at the table.

Now, just as an aside, technically it is the hostess who deals with offering bread and cutting it, however in a more casual restaurant setting, this is something anyone can do at the table.

Once you have the slice on your plate, how do you deal with butter?

Use the butter knife to take butter from the butter dish to your side plate, then return the butter knife to the butter dish.

Now break a small one-bite size piece of bread and use your butter spreader from your bread-and-butter plate to put a small amount of butter on your bread and eat the entire piece of bread all at once.

Remember, the only time you can ever butter an entire piece of bread and eat it is at the breakfast table.

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It’s barbecue time again - Marinade, sauces and butter

Posted on April 6, 2012 by bilrob

It’s barbecue time again – Marinades, sauces and butters

Transform the most ordinary meal into something different and delicious with a marinade. They not only add flavour to the dish, but also help to tenderise your meat. Because food is cooked quickly on the barbecue, marinating it beforehand gives it a head start.

Acidic-based marinade containing vinegar, citrus juice or wine break down and tenderise meat fibres and are particularly good for tougher meats. Oil-based marinade will moisturise the meat and are suitable for chicken and pork, which have a tendency to dry out when cooked. Try a yoghurt based marinade for chicken or lamb. The marinade will form a delicious crust over the meat when it is cooked.

A a dry marinade is usually a combination of salt and ground spices or dried herbs. Pastes are made by adding a little oil to the dry mixture to allow it to adhere more easily to the meat.

lf you barbecue regularly, it’s a good idea to have a couple of your favourite marinade made up and stored in the refrigerator. Remember also, to use any leftover marinade to baste the food occasionally while you are cooking; but don’t use a plastic or nylon bristled brush as it may melt onto the food. Any marinade that contains sugar or honey (or hidden sugar like tomato sauce) should only be brushed over almost at the end of the cooking, or the sugar will caramelise and become very dark and bitter.

Ideally, large cuts of meat and whole chickens should be marinated for some hours in the refrigerator, turning occasionally to allow for as much penetration of flavour as possible. Cubed meats and smaller portions require less marinating time. Don`t marinate seafood for longer than one hour, particularly when using an acidic ingredient in the marinade.

Fresh relishes or a delicious sauce can really dress up simple meat or seafood dishes. Some of those featured here also make good dipping sauces for finger food like barbecued king prawns or satays. lf you have no time to prepare a sauce you could always make a selection of flavoured butters and store them in the freezer. Use them to liven up barbecued vegetables or a steak, or use them to flavour bread rolls or jacket potatoes. They are all simple to prepare and make a real difference to the look and flavour of your meal.

Lemon and wine marinade

Use to marinate lamb or chicken.

2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons soft brown sugar
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon lemon thyme

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Teriyaki marinade

Use to marinade lamb or beef.

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
3 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons soft brown sugar
1/4 cup chicken or beef stock
2-3 tablespoons sweet sherry
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Spiced yoghurt marinade

Use to marinade lamb or beef.

1 cup plain yoghurt
1 onion, finely chopped
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon garam masala
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon sugar
1 clove garlic, crushed
salt and pepper, to taste
pinch cardamom

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Apricot and onion marinade

Use to marinade pork or chicken.

1/3 cup apricot nectar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon malt vinegar
1-2 tablespoons French onion soup mix
2-3 spring onions, finely sliced
1/4 cup red or white wine (optional)

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Mustard and herb marinade

Use to marinade beef or lamb

1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons soft brown sugar
2-3 teaspoons Dijon, German or wholegrain mustard
1-2 teaspoons mixed dried herbs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Horseradish Cream sauce

Serve this sauce with fish or beef.

125 g cream cheese
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sour cream
1-2 teaspoons minced horseradish or horseradish cream
1 tablespoon chopped chives,
lemon thyme or parsley

1 Using electric beaters, beat the cream cheese until soft and creamy.
2 Add the rest of the ingredients and beat until well combined.

Tartare sauce

Serve this sauce with seafood.

1/2 cup whole egg mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sour cream
1-2 tablespoons halved capers
3 teaspoons finely chopped gherkins
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill (optional)

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.

Chilli Barbecue Sauce

Serve this sauce with lamb or beef.

20 g butter
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce
1/3 cup bottled barbecue sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 Heat the butter in a small pan.Add the cumin, coriander and paprika and cook for 30 seconds.
2 Stir in the sweet chilli sauce, barbecue sauce and Worcestershire sauce and mix well.

Creamy Mustard Sauce

Serve this sauce with beef or chicken.

2 tablespoons whole egg mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream
2-3 tablespoons Dijon or wholegrain mustard
1 tablespoon of your favourite chopped fresh herbs (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. If the sauce is too thick, add a little cream to achieve the required consistency.

Coriander mayonnaise

Serve this sauce with chicken, seafood or veal

3 egg yolks
3/4 cup light olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
salt and pepper, to taste
1 clove garlic, crushed (optional)

1 Place the egg yolks in a food processor bowl or blender. With the motor constantly running, add the olive oil in a thin stream and process until thick and creamy.
2 Add the lemon juice and coriander and process until combined. Season the mixture with salt and pepper and the garlic, if using.

Tomato Sauce

Serve this sauce warm or cold with burgers, sausages, steak or fish.

1 tablespoon olive oil
20 g butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1-2 teaspoons Italian mixed dried herbs
2 large tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1/2 cup tomato purée
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste

1 Heat the olive oil and butter in a small pan and add the onion, garlic and herbs. Cook for 2-3
minutes or until the onion is soft.
2 Stir in the tomatoes, tomato purée and vinegar and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove from the
heat.
3 Place the mixture in a food processor and process until smooth, seasoning with salt and pepper.

Garlic Herb Hollandaise

Serve this sauce with seafood, chicken or beef.

2 egg yolks
160 g melted butter
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice or white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1 tablespoon chopped basil
1 tablespoon chopped oregano
1 clove garlic, crushed
salt and pepper, to taste

1 Place the egg yolks in a food processor bowl or blender. With the motor constantly running, add the melted butter in a thin stream. Process until thick and creamy.
2 Add the lemon juice or vinegar, chives, basil, oregano and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Process for 10 seconds to combine.

Smoky Cajun Barbecue Sauce

Use this as a dipping sauce or accompaniment to beef, pork or chicken.

1 medium onion, grated
1 cup tomato sauce
1/3 cup sweet chilli sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
5 cloves garlic, crushed
3/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1 tablespoon liquid hickory smoke (optional)

1 Place all the ingredients except the liquid smoke in an enamel lined or flameproof glass pan.
2 Stir over a low heat until the sugar dissolves, then simmer for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, allow to cool and add the liquid smoke, if using.
3 Stir well and store in a glass jar in the refrigerator.

Tomato and Coriander Relish

Serve this relish with satays, kebabs, vegetable dishes, breads and seafood.

3 firm ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 cups coriander leaves, chopped
juice of half a lime
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chilli powder (optional)
1 medium onion, finely chopped

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Note: This makes an appealing salad combination as well. Slice tomatoes and onions on a platter, sprinkle with the salt, chilli powder and coriander leaves. Combine lime juice with a little olive oil and drizzle over the salad to serve.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

Use as a dipping sauce or accompaniment to seafood or chicken.

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1 tablespoon cornflour
1 tablespoon water

1 Place the water, pineapple, vinegar, brown sugar and tomato sauce in a small pan.
2 Mix the cornflour and water to a smooth paste. Add to the pan, stirring constantly over a medium
heat until the sauce boils and thickens. Cool slightly before serving.

Rosemary Butter

125 g butter, softened
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
squeeze lime juice
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Combine the butter with the other ingredients and beat until smooth. Place in a butter container or, using plastic wrap, form into a log shape and refrigerate. Slice into 1 cm thick rounds to serve.

Herb Butter

Use with steaks, chicken, seafood, vegetables and hot breads or rolls.

125 g butter, softened
1 tablespoon finely chopped spring onions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives
or 2 teaspoons dried mixed herbs
1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Combine the butter with the other ingredients and beat until smooth. Place in a butter container or, using plastic wrap, form into a log shape and refrigerate. Slice into 1 cm thick rounds to serve.

Lime and Chilli Butter

Serve with chicken or seafood

125 g butter
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 teaspoon chopped chilli
2 teaspoons chopped fresh coriander

Beat the butter until it is light and creamy. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat again until
smooth. Place in a butter container or, using plastic wrap, form into a log shape and refrigerate. Slice into 1 cm thick rounds and serve

Savoury Anchovy Butter

Serve with beef.

200 g butter
4 anchovy fillets, drained
2 spring onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind

1 Place all the ingredients in a food processor bowl and process for 20-30 seconds or until the mixture forms a smooth paste.
2 Transfer the mixture to small serving pots and refrigerate.

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Diet craze has Norway begging for butter

Posted on December 14, 2011 by bilrob

Diet craze has Norway begging for butter

The soaring popularity of a fat-rich fad diet has depleted stocks of butter in Norway creating a looming Christmas culinary crisis.

Norwegians have eaten up the country’s entire stockpile of butter, partly as the result of a “low-carb” diet sweeping the Nordic nation which emphasizes a higher intake of fats.

“Sales all of a sudden just soared, 20 percent in October then 30 percent in November,” said Lars Galtung, the head of communications at TINE, the country’s biggest farmer-owned cooperative.

A wet summer which reduced the quality of animal feed and cut milk output by 25 million litres had already limited supplies and the shortage has led some pundits to suggest the world’s eighth-largest oil exporter offer some of its plentiful fuel supply in exchange for butter.

“Norwegians are not afraid of natural fats, they love their butter and cream,” Galtung told Reuters.

Butter is now selling on Norway’s top auction website, with a 250-gram piece starting at around $13, roughly four times its normal price.

Just weeks before Norwegians will be expecting to eat plenty of buttery traditional biscuits and other homemade Christmas treats made with love and the liberal inclusion of dairy products, residents of the world’s second-richest per-capita country can’t even hope for help from a friendly neighbour who is rolling in butter.

Top dairy producer Denmark lies just across a narrow sea channel, but its stores of creamy butter will be kept out of the country by the high import duties of Norway, the only Nordic nation that does not belong to the European Union.

Still, the problem has certainly provided the Danes with a good laugh over their richly buttered breakfast toast.

Morning TV show Go’ Morgen Danmark amid much hilarity offered a paltry 1,000 packets of butter on Wednesday to help ease the pain.

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Holiday baking: Fresh is best, butter is better

Posted on December 4, 2011 by bilrob

Holiday baking: Fresh is best, butter is better

It’s worth it to spend a bit more on fresh spices and good butter when it comes to holiday baking.

The best baked goods come from the best ingredients. But quality can be spendy. And, frankly, you probably would not notice the difference of using premium ingredients in, say, an everyday pan of brownies.

Yet because so much of holiday baking is about butter-rich cookies, bread and desserts, it’s worth the money and the time spent searching out the best of the best. Within reason. Which reasons? See below:

You needn’t upgrade your whole pantry. Staples such as flour, sugar, salt and yeast don’t have a dramatic range of quality. Yeast breads benefit from using bread flour; its higher protein level helps support the loftiest loaf, especially one with dried fruits or butter. For more tender treats such as cookies, cakes and pie crusts, use softer all-purpose flour.

Freshness, more than quality, is the key: Opening a new box of baking powder or baking soda helps ensure that your baked goods achieve the highest heights.

Stock up on fragrance

Spices also have a shelf life and, while they don’t spoil, they can lose their “oomph.” A general rule is to replace them every six months, so it makes sense to buy in small quantities. Storage conditions vary, and the directive to store them in “airtight containers in cool, dry places” has a lot of leeway in some climates.

So for baked goods in which spice is a star, buy a new supply. Even better, grind some fresh from whole seeds. A new jar of ground cardamom is good, but cardamom freshly ground is a revelation. Ditto for cloves, coriander, allspice, cinnamon, anise. Nutmeg needs a rough grater — and the fragrance alone is worth the effort.

You don’t need a fancy spice grinder. If you have a coffee grinder, thoroughly wipe down the blades, basin and lid with a damp cloth. (Repeat the wipedown before grinding your next batch of coffee beans.) Another method, after grinding spices, is to process a little rice into fine particles, then discard the rice and wipe it out; this will get rid of the oils and residue from the spices.

For even more intensity, lightly toast the seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat before grinding. This won’t take more than a minute.

While we’re talking about flavourings, use pure vanilla extract — not vanilla flavouring or artificial vanilla. Most of the pure vanilla on store shelves is from Madagascar, whose beans have an especially rich, smooth flavour when steeped in alcohol. It may seem expensive, but teaspoon by teaspoon, worth every penny.
And here’s a tip: Don’t add vanilla to hot liquids because as the alcohol evaporates, so does some of the vanilla flavour.

Best of the butter

Butter is the ingredient that can make the most difference, especially with treats such as spritz or sugar cookies. Use unsalted butter for baking, which lets you control the level of salt. Also, do not consider using whipped butter or whipped margarine for baking because the extra water they contain will adversely affect your recipe.

European butters generally have more butterfat and less water than domestic brands do. But that doesn’t necessarily make them better for certain baked goods. Too much fat, and your cookies may spread into flat splotches. But the same butter could make an amazing croissant.

Nor is flavour always the best determinant. Several years ago, the San Francisco Chronicle tested a variety of butters, plain and in baked goods. The results were all over the map, with some tasty butters baking poorly, and some so-so butters making a fine shortbread.

So where does that leave us?

The good folks at America’s Test Kitchen consider the Danish brand Lurpak unsalted butter “highly recommended” for eating and baking, and our own Land O’Lakes unsalted butter was “recommended” — and for half the price.

Keep track of which brands work best for various baked goods. In fact, make it a new tradition!

Kim Ode • 612-673-7185

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Oil or Butter? They Are Both Fat!

Posted on September 17, 2011 by bilrob

Oil or Butter? They Are Both Fat!

Newsflash: there is a world beyond olive oil.

Look, I like olive oil as much as the next person and I use it extensively in my cooking. However there are alternatives and there are very good reasons for using some of them. But let’s just stay with olive oil for a second or two longer.

How often have you seen this statement in a recipe; “use the best olive oil you can afford.”

Well I’m here to tell you that is nonsense. The quality of olive oil is not determined by its price, nor by its fancy packaging. It’s determined by its flavour and what you propose using it for.

For example, while extra virgin olive oil is perfect for salads, there is absolutely no point in using it for high temperature cooking. When heated beyond a certain point it loses its flavour and most of its characteristics, although not its nutritional value. You might just as well use the home brand oil of the store you’re shopping in.

What’s more, the store’s own brand of extra virgin olive oil will be every bit as good as those costing many dollars more. I never buy anything else, and I have yet to come across anyone who can tell the difference. Just don’t let them see the bottle.
Adding flavour

I mentioned before that with high temperature cooking, such as frying, olive oil quickly loses its flavour. Fortunately, all fats are not the same and the best way to overcome this problem is to mix the olive oil with something else.
You could use sesame oil for example, or add a knob of butter which will not burn because, although the oil reaches its smoking point at a higher temperature than animal fats, the overall cooking temperature will be reduced by the butter.

This is not always a disadvantage and I frequently use butter instead of oil for much of the cooking I do. However I use clarified butter, or “Ghee”, which is simply the Asian form of clarified butter and is usually sold in tins.

Clarified butter is butter with the milk solids removed so that it can be heated to a high temperature without burning. It’s also much better for you than the full fat alternative.

You can make it yourself simply by bringing ordinary butter to the boil, skimming off the solids which rise to the surface and then filtering the remainder. But for the life of me I cannot imagine why you would want to do that when you can buy a tin of it that will just about last for ever if kept in the fridge.

The great thing about using Ghee is that it retains its flavour no matter what temperature you cook it at without overpowering the rest of the ingredients.

Dangerous liaisons

Despite what the recipes may tell you, olive oil is worse than useless when used in egg liaison sauces. It makes them taste bitter.

For things like mayonnaise and hollandaise sauce, I invariably use grape seed oil. I find this has a light, clean finish and produces perfect results every time. Corn oil and canola, which is called rape-seed oil in Britain, tend to be rather too oily and I also find them very bland.

As a matter of fact, I never cook with either of them. Even my deep fat frying is done with olive oil. Which brings me to another point.

Fats and oils in cooking are mainly used for either deep or shallow frying. In both cases the food that results, with just a few exceptions such as omelettes, should be crisp and fat free. The main reason this doesn’t happen is because the fat was not able to get hot enough before the food was added.

Don’t let this happen to you. Heat your frying pan until it begins to smoke. Then remove it from the heat for a minute before adding food. Do the same with your wok, and make sure that your deep fat fryer has reached full temperature before you even think about adding the tiniest morsel.

If you have any trouble judging the correct temperature, drop a small scrap of fresh bread into the fat and see what it does. It should sizzle immediately and crisp up in a couple of seconds.

Remember that all fats are not the same. Refined oils such as sunflower, peanut and corn are best for frying because they reach a smoke point of 450°F, while olive oil – which is what I use for general cooking – comes in at 410°F.

To give you some idea of the difference in cooking temperatures, ordinary butter has a smoke point of around 300°F.

One more point. Don’t try to cook too much food at once. If you do, you will find that the temperature will drop rapidly, the food will shed water and instead of frying your chicken or whatever, you will stew it.

Better by far to cook small amounts at a time, allowing the oil to reheat between each batch. Do this, and you will avoid the limp vegetables and soggy chips (French fries) that bedevil so many home cooks.

author:Michael Sheridan

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Bread-and-butter rules