Last night, Jenna and I went to our first meeting of a sci-fi/fantasy book club my cousin is in. It was really cool, and I think we're going to join up and read the books and all. Should be awesome, not least because it gives us another excuse to hang with my cousin and his wife. We're reading Red Planet by Robert Heinlein next. I haven't read it before, but I've really enjoyed all the other Heinlein I've read, so I think it'll be good. If anyone is interested in the book club, drop me a comment here and I'll get you the info.
I haven't been cooking too much, unfortunately, due to late nights at work. I'm going to make some enchiladas tonight, so I'll write about that sometime soon (assuming they turn out well, of course). I'm also going to make a big mashed potato-topped chicken pot pie thing on Sunday, which should be tasty. I may end up doing a puff pastry top on it if I can get it all to work out. The only issue we've had in the past is that the gravy takes forever to thicken up and if we don't give it long enough, the pastry gets too soggy to get puffy and crispy. I think if we let it simmer for a darned long time so it thickens up a bunch, it'll be fine. We'll have to see. I may also put some arrowroot in there, as I'm told that thickens very well.
This week my dad and I started another NRA Marksmanship Qualification course. We already completed the handgun course (http://www.nrahq.org/education/training/marksmanship/Handgun.asp) through the Distinguished Expert rating, and are now working on shotgun (http://www.nrahq.org/education/training/marksmanship/shotgun.asp). It's really fun already and I think it's only going to get better. We shot two rounds (25 birds from the auto-trap machine) and both scored 19 and 21. Auto-trap is really cool. When shooting clay pigeons, there are a bunch of different ways to get them in the air. Hand throwers are basically flexible plastic handles with hooks on the end that allow you to fling the bird a good way, but they're not very consistent. Personally, I am terrible with them. Manual throwing is using a thrower on a pedestal. There's a spring and a swinging arm involved, and it's very consistent. You're limited as to the variation you can get out of it, though. With few exceptions, the birds all go the same distance, direction and elevation. Auto-trap is essentially a hand trap machine operated by an electrical impulse through a wired remote. It's also oscillating, so the birds come out at different angles every time. You say "Pull" and you don't know which direction it's going to go. That adds a huge level of skill and fun to the sport. Tracking the pigeon as it moves is the toughest part of shooting, and having it go at extreme angles or straight out from you means you have to swing horizontally sometimes, and other times you have to hold steady. It sounds easier than it is. In any case, we had a really great time and are very much looking forward to continuing to progress through the ranks.
I got Friday of week one of pushups done this morning, even though I woke up extremely late. Writing about it on here and having people working on the same stuff will help keep me motivated, I think. I'm going to do my free squats tomorrow, and then move onto week two of pushups on Monday. Sweet!
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Lots of layers of emotions going on in this one
4 years ago
You had to have known this post would have gotten you a bunch of unsolicited advice...
ReplyDeleteDude. Make a roux. Fuck arrowroot. Fuck slurries in general. They're awful and add no flavor. Do this: melt 2 oz butter in a pan. Add 2 oz of flour and stir over low heat for about 3 minutes until it juuuuuust starts to smell nutty. It shouldn't color much. This, my friend, is a roux. Equal parts flour and fat cooked together. You can use bacon fat if you want extra lovin' in your food. A roux will thicken any liquid. The 2 oz/2 oz formula will thicken 6 cups of liquid, approximately.
So, you've got your hot roux. Now, whisk about 1/3 of your liquid that needs to be thickened into the proper amount of roux. Start slowly with the amount of roux you use, you can always add more. It will thicken quickly as the liquid heats from the residual pan heat. Then whisk the whole lot into the rest of the food. Again, bring to simmer and it will thicken quickly. Put it into your casserole dish, top with the puff pastry, and bake on fairly high heat until it puffs and browns. Voila. Pot pie.
Some extra explanation because you're intelligent. Starches soak up liquids. If you just put liquid and flour together, they clump as the outside gelatinizes immediately and the inside stays dry. Coating each molecule of starch with fat (via making the roux) means that they can't stick to each other, making clumps. But they can still soak up liquid, gelatinizing the starch and thickening the liquid. So basically you need enough fat-coated starch (roux) to soak up the liquid you are using, while still leaving enough free to maintain a fluid final product.
ReplyDeleteThe recipe actually calls for a roux, it seems like. You melt butter, sweat some onions in it, then add flour and let it get all gooey, then add the broth to make the gravy. Maybe what I need to do is to add the broth a lot more slowly than I have been. Well, today's the day so I'll let you know how it goes.
ReplyDeleteSo that method of making roux (where you add flour to butter and veggies) is called the singer method (pronounced "sahn-jay"). I prefer to make the roux separately so that I can add as much as I want to get it thick. Adding it slowly prevents clumping, but if you aren't getting clumps, it means you just need more butter and flour. Try doubling the amount of each (flour and butter) but sticking to the same method and speed of brothing. I'm pretty sure it'll work very quickly.
ReplyDeleteWell, by all accounts, it was a success. I have rarely gotten such good reviews of my cooking, so that's cool. Half a stick of butter, 5 tbsp of flour and then about 3 cups of chicken broth (added very slowly this time) made a wonderful gravy. Booyah! Tomorrow, I post the whole recipe.
ReplyDelete