anj68 – Page 11 – Alice the Cook

September 24, 2012

Pumpernickel Bread (Oktoberfest)

Ingredients:

6th weekend5 — Pumpernickel bread baked on September 22, 2012.

1-1/2 tbsp active dry yeast
1-1/2 cups warm water
1/2 cup molasses
4 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp caraway seed
2-3/4 cups rye flour
3 cups bread flourPreparation:
In large bowl, add warm water and yeast. Stir until yeast is dissolved. Stir in the molasses and butter.

In a separate bowl, mix the salt, caraway seed, rye flour along with 2 cups of bread flour. Slowly add the liquid in with the dry ingredients. Add the remaining bread flour until you have a dough that can be kneaded. You may or may not use the full amount of bread flour that is called for, depending on ingredients and weather. Turn dough out onto floured board and knead for 5 minutes. If dough is too sticky, knead in more bread flour, a tablespoon at a time.

Place dough in greased bowl. Flip dough over so that top is lightly greased. Cover and let dough rise in warm place for about an hour or until double in size. Punch down dough. Cover and let rise for another 45 minutes.

Punch down dough a second time. Turn out on lightly floured board and knead dough briefly. Cut dough in half. Shape each half into small, round loaf.

Grease baking sheet. Sprinkle sheet with cornmeal, optional. Place both round loaves on baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about 45 minutes or until double in size.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 35 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped on.

Remove from oven and let loaves cool on rack.

September 18, 2012

Oktoberfest Weekend – September 21 and 22

Oven — Alice the Cook working at her wood-fired oven

This weekend at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival is Oktoberfest and Alice the Cook and her assistants are planning German themed demonstrations at our 12:30pm and 4:00pm shows. Below is our schedule for this coming weekend:

11:00am – Spice making demonstration – garam masala, curry, and ras el hanout

12:30pm – German pretzel and pumpernickel demonstrations

2:00pm – History of spices in Europe and their uses

4:00pm – German wiener schnitzel, red cabbage, and spaetzel

5:00pm – Seasoning your cast iron cookware.

We hope to see you there!

September 17, 2012September 17, 2012

Field Mushrooms with Hazelnuts

Another recipe from this past weekend. A delicious side dish that compliments the entrée nicely. I prefer to use this recipe with wild game.

Ingredients:
2 garlic cloves
grated rind of one lemon
6 tbsp olive oil
6 large field (button) mushrooms, diced
1/2 cup hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp chopped parsley
salt and ground black pepper

Crush the garlic cloves with a little salt using a mortar and pestle or on a chopping board. Place the crushed garlic in a small bowl and stir in the grated lemon rind and the olive oil. Allow the items to steep for one hour. In a large fry pan, place the mushrooms in the pan and drizzle 4 tbsp of the garlic and oil mixture on top of the mushrooms and sauté for 5-10 minutes.

Add the hazelnuts and the additional oil mixture to the pan and sauté for another 5-10 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender. Add salt and pepper and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve immediately with the quails or game hens. Serves 4

September 17, 2012

Orange and Rosemary Game Hens

final 5th weekend dish — Final dish of the orange rosemary game hen (cut in half), field mushrooms with hazelnuts, and port wine poached pears. Created September 16, 2012.

A very simple dish to make. We created enough for 4-8 depending on the size of the rest of the meal and the appetites of your guests.

Ingredients:
4 game hens
2 cups of orange juice
1 tsp garam masala (can be found in most ethnic food sections)
4 oranges
1 large leeks, diced (a very mild onion flavored vegetable)
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
Black pepper (to taste)

Marinate the hens in 2 cups of orange juice for at least 4 hours. While marinating, remove the zest and juice from the oranges. In a large pot or Dutch oven, place the hens with a trivet at the bottom to prevent sticking.

Add the majority of the zest (reserve 2 TB of orange zest) and fresh juice along with 1 cup of water. Tear the rosemary in half and add to the mixture.

Cook until the hens reach 160 degrees. Pull off the heat and let set for 5 minutes before serving, sprinkling the 2 TB zest and garam masala to the dish and serve family style along with some rustic bread and red wine.

September 17, 2012

Port Poached Pears

This past weekend was Wine, Romance, and Chocolate weekend at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. We created quite a few recipes and this is one of many.

The Port Poached Pears continue to be one of my favorite recipes, and yet it is fairly easy to make:

Ingredients:
4-6 Pears, peeled (recommend Bosc or Anjou)
1 1/2 cups of red wine (recommend Merlot or Port)
3/4 cups of granulated sugar
2 tbsp of lemon juice (can also add lemon zest if desired)
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp of ground cinnamon or 3 sticks of whole cinnamon
1/2 tsp of whole cloves
1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients, except pears, and bring to a boil. Once the wine mixture is boiling, turn heat down to a simmer and add the pears. Simmer pears for 10-12 minutes and then turn pears and simmer for an additional 8-10 minutes – until they are tender. Remove pears and let them cool. Boil wine sauce until the liquid has been reduced by half. Pour sauce over pears and serve.