Hounds In The Kitchen » Make it Yourself

Making Egg Rolls {Wordless Wednesday}

Rachel — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:43:39 +0000

My family has a winter holiday tradition to make egg rolls from scratch. Usually the lengthy process happens on Christmas Day but this year we made them on New Years Day. We all love to cook and working together makes light work of the tedious rolling.

A corollary tradition is to stuff any remaining wrappers after the filling is gone with random foods. This year, cocktail cherries and chocolate was a hit. Lil’s roll with a gumball, seen above? Totally disgusting! Though I love her face and my Mom’s smile in the picture.

Does your family have any similar traditions?

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Making Egg Rolls {Wordless Wednesday} is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

How to Cook a Perfect Whole Bird

Rachel — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:09:08 +0000

Thanksgiving is a little over a week away. This week I’ll share some of my favorite recipes.

Cooking a whole bird is a beautiful thing. The cook has the ability to infuse the meat with distinct flavors and a whole bird can feed a family for many meals. Use these techniques for a perfect Thanksgiving turkey, family style chicken dinner, or delicate individual game hens.

Brine - A sugar/salt brine infuses the bird with flavorful juices. (2-18 hours)

Make one by boiling one half gallon (8 cups) water and adding one cup kosher salt and one half cup sugar, boiled to dissolve and then cool it with one half gallon (8 cups) ice. You can add aromatics such as bay leaf, peppercorns, whole allspice, or orange peels once the brine is made.

Soak the bird in brine for a time appropriate to the thickness of the breast. For a fresh (or thawed frozen) bird, leave the bird in brine for the appropriate length of time:
game hen – 2 hours, fryer chicken – 6 hours, roaster chicken – 8 hours, turkey – 12+ hours. Brine is optional but greatly enhances the flavor and juicy-ness of the bird.

Stuff - Add flavor to a bird by stuffing the cavity and skin with aromatics. Stuffing with bread filling is not recommended by the USDA and extends cooking time, which can dry the meat. (10 minutes)

Fill but do not over-stuff the cavity with quartered onions, fresh herbs, or citrus. Slide a finger between the breast and skin and place butter and/or herbs under the skin for a more delicious and juicy bird. Stuffing is totally optional.

Truss - Tie up the bird’s legs to cook evenly and not dry out. (5 minutes)

Using a 2 foot length of butcher’s twine or plain cotton string, tie the feet together. Push the tail fat under the legs inside the cavity. Then, drive a bamboo skewer between the two wings and through the bird so that they are held closely to the rest of the bird.

Roast Hot and Fast - Low and slow methods work well for fat-marbled meats, which turkey, chicken and the like are not. Instead, roast at a high temperature to brown the skin, reduce temperature and do not over-cook. NB: Fatty water fowl should be steamed before roasting. (1-3 hours)

Thaw your bird to room temperature. Place it atop a few chopped vegetables (carrots, celery, onion) or directly in a roasting pan, breast side up. Optionally, rub with olive oil or butter. Sprinkle skin with salt and pepper.

Put the pan in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 15-25 minutes until skin is browned. Drop the temperature to 350 degrees and continue cooking until the meat reaches 165 degrees F at the thickest part of the breast. Be sure you are not hitting bone when you measure temperature. Do not rely on pop-up gauges.

Rest - Allowing meat to rest is the most overlooked part of cooking. This step is absolutely necessary for the protein to cool and seize up the juices. (5-20 minutes)

A whole turkey should rest for at least 20 minutes, a chicken 10, and a game hen 5. Rest out of the oven on a cutting board.

Carve - Use a very sharp knife and bold strokes to carve a bird. (10-15 minutes)

First, break shoulder to wing joint. Carve through the wing at the shoulder joint to remove the wing. Split into wing and drum if you wish. Next, cut the breast pieces off, leaving skin in tact. Set aside and slice later. Then, remove the leg and thighs from the hip by breaking and cutting through the joint. If desired cut between leg and thigh at the knee joint.

Savor - The drippings and carcass of a bird can yield several more dishes. (20 minutes – days)

For gravy, skim fat from pan drippings. Heat drippings over medium heat. Add a slurry of water and flour slowly. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until sauce thickens.

Pick bits of meat off the carcass for making into salad, soup, or sandwiches.

To make stock, cover the carcass with water in a wide roasting pan with an onion, halved, celery chunks, and carrots. Cook at 200 degrees F in the oven for 8 hours. Strain the resulting stock, skim fat from top, and use in soup, risotto, or sauce. Stock can be frozen for up to one year.

This tutorial was part of the instruction at a recent cooking class. The participants there had plenty of questions. Do you?

Added to Hearth and Soul.

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How to Cook a Perfect Whole Bird is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Homemade Biscuits From The Freezer

Rachel — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:04:46 +0000

My grandmother is the young lady pictured to the left and behind the horse in this historic photo of celebrants of the end of World War 2. Click to enlarge.

At the Tayse family Xmas extravaganza, Grandma Joyce, of Rhubarb Crunch and Ginger Snap fame, inquired about freezer biscuits. She is a fantastic biscuit maker, trained by the best I’ve ever known, her mother (my late great grandmother) Leona.

Now living alone, she would like to have a biscuit or two for dinner but doesn’t want to consume a whole batch. She could buy some of those dough boy frozen ones, but she is too thrifty (like all good Tayses) to spend more than a dollar a dozen. What’s more, she suspects they don’t taste as good as her own.

Always up for a challenge, I set out to find out the best way to store homemade biscuits in the freezer. The next time I made biscuits, I froze two before baking (raw) and two after baking just before they were browned. Holler in the comments if you want the recipe I use – it’s a standard from Betty Crocker.

This weekend, I took all four biscuits out of the freezer. I immediately put one raw and one baked in the toaster oven, preheated to 350 degrees F. The baked one I pulled after about five minutes when the top browned; the raw baked for about 25 minutes until the top was brown. The other two were allowed to thaw in room temperature, and then I baked the thawed raw dough for 20 minutes until brown.

Both frozen-raw biscuits had less than desirable texture, though the rich buttery taste remained. Neither rose to the height of the pre-baked biscuits. You can see that in the biscuit pictured below and to the right, the raw frozen one, the fat pooled in pockets rather than lofted the flour into flaky layers as usual.

The pre-baked biscuits held their flaky texture and tasted great. Lil judged the one reheated in the oven as the very best and I agree. The thawed and not re-baked biscuit was perfectly passable.

My advice to Grandma and any person wanting to save the trouble of baking a mess of biscuits for a small gathering is this: bake a large batch of biscuits, removing what you wish to save for later just a minute or two before they are fully ‘done’. Freeze these on a cookie sheet and then pop into a freezer safe bag, squeezing out the air. When you later wish to eat a biscuit, cook one in a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes, or until brown on top.

Added to Simple Lives Thursday 46.

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Homemade Biscuits From The Freezer is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Make Your Own Pie Crust

Rachel — Tue, 10 May 2011 14:30:47 +0000

When I wanted to make a derby pie for the Kentucky Derby over the weekend, every recipe I could find included a store bought pie crust. Crazy!

Pie crust isn’t hard, folks. Why shell out a few bucks for an over-processed, floury, off-tasting crust when you likely have the ingredients right at hand? With the fresh fruit pie season approaching, now is a great time perfect your pie crust.

Anyone can make a crust as good as store bought in fifteen minutes at home. With some practice, home cooks can make an outstandingly flaky and tasty pie crust. The techniques are few but important.

Science Behind the Perfect Crust

Whenever I struggle with something in the kitchen, I attempt to find out the scientific methods behind the results I want. In the case of pie crust, we’re talking about melting temperature and mixtures.

An ideal fluffy and tender crust contains hundreds of tiny pockets of air. These are made by tiny bits fat that melt and poof up layers of flour. To get tiny bits of fat into flour layers, a pie maker cuts cool fat into flour. Chilled water is added to hold the dough together. Everything must be cool so the fat stays as whole pieces trapped in the flour. When baked in a hot oven, the fat melts and creates the pockets of air that result in a flaky texture.

If a crust is overworked or the fat is too warm, the flour absorbs the fat before baking. This creates a dense crust.

Ingredients and Techniques

The perfect crust, in my opinion, has a delightful texture and subtle flavor. The baker can change the flavor by changing the fats used. I use mostly vegetable shortening with a few tablespoons of cultured butter.

Flour should be unbleached all purpose or pastry. While I have made pie with whole wheat flour, the bran in the flour weigh down the crust and add a nuttier flavor.

My favorite pie pan is the pictured Hartstone Pottery pie plate baking stone made in Zanesville Ohio. It evenly holds and distributes heat, creating a crisp bottom to the crust. A glass pan is the next best choice. Avoid metal pans as they tend to not heat as evenly.

Because all pie crust ingredients must remain cold and be brought together quickly, mise en place is important. Measure the flour and set aside. Measure the fat and chill. Put aside a glass of water with ice, along with some excess flour in case the dough sticks. Lay out a pastry cloth pin, and your pie pan of choice.

The final trick is to remember that there’s nothing better than a rustic pie. Little hiccups in the appearance are the delightful reminders that your pie was made with love.

The Recipe (for a single 9 inch crust)

Using knives or a pastry cutter, cut 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon fat into 1 cup flour plus 1/2 teaspoon salt. Keep working until the mixture is in the size of small peas.

Add two tablespoons of icy cold water and stir just until combined, adding more water if necessary.

Turn out the dough on a floured cloth. Quickly form into a thick round with your hands. Handle as little as necessary to keep the dough cool.

Gently but swiftly roll into a bigger circle. Turn the dough regularly to be sure it is not sticking to the cloth. Stop rolling when the dough is 4 inches bigger than the size of your pie plate.

Carefully fold the dough into quarters. Line up the center with the center of the pie plate and unfold.

Trim the edges to the height of the pie plate. Fold the edges under and then press between your fingers or use a fork to decorate the crust.

If at any time you must attend to something else, place the crust in the fridge to stay cool. Before filling or baking, I recommend chilling the crust for 15-20 minutes.

Homemade pie crust is more delicious, more fresh, and less costly than buying from a store. Will you try to make your own?

Added to Hearth and Soul blog hop 47.

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Make Your Own Pie Crust is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Making and Using Natural Egg Dyes

Rachel — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 13:48:14 +0000

The lovely Catherine of Photo Kitchen came over last week to take photographs for Hounds in the Kitchen Egg Week 2011. Yesterday, I shared how to blow out eggshells. Continue reading for recipes, tips, and even an eggshell planting project.

Encouraged by my friend Vanessa Prentice, I made egg dyes from edible materials this year. I was surprised to find that natural dyes are easy to make, completely safe to consume, and don’t stain your fingertips.

I made dyes from purple cabbage, red beet, and ground tumeric, pictured left to right above. Other edibles that Vanessa recommends include blueberries (purple color), tea (light brown), and coffee (dark brown). Green is a particularly difficult color to achieve, she says.

I boiled the edible materials in water with a splash of vinegar to act as a mordant. A mordant is a chemical that encourages dye to attach to a surface. These mixes simmered until the colorful edible until the liquid was brightly colored, about an hour.

I strained out the solids and poured the liquids into jars. Because I was using them the next day, I stored the dye in the refrigerator overnight.

Next, I gathered the prepared the eggs for decorating. Some were boiled and most were blown out for a more permanent canvass.

Lil wrapped the eggs in string, tape, or rubber bands for patterns. Shaped stickers also make white space on the shells.

Finally, it was time to dunk the eggs. I should have predicted that the hollow eggs would float, but I didn’t until we actually observed them. Because we wanted solid colored eggs, I gently weighed them down with glass jars on top of the dye.

The hardest part came next: waiting. Natural dyes make the deep rich colors if left in the dye bath for 24 hours. The blue egg in the picture on left was in the bath for about 2 hours; the one on the right soaked for 24 hours.

Finally we had a rainbow of dyed eggs with fun patterns!

Are you dying eggs this year? Will you experiment with natural dyes?

All photos with the Photo Kitchen watermark belong to Catherine and were generously shared with me. You may purchase copies and view the whole set of photographs in the online gallery. Use the coupon code houndscrossover to receive 25% off prices until May 15.

Added to Hearth and Soul Volume 44.

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Making and Using Natural Egg Dyes is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Kefir from the Land of B

Rachel — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:56:09 +0000

Today is my final guest post as my time as a teacher at Franklin Park is winding down. Fellow chicken-lover and charcutier Rachell Bernhardt from Land of B contributes a post today about kefir. Kefir is one food we have never made for ourselves but I am inspired by her words to get started soon!

Cliff and I have a variety of things bubbling on the counter and in the fridge. One of those things is kefir. I took a yogurt, kefir, and butter class at Whole Foods offered by Snowville Creamery. We had already taken a great butter making class at The North Market offered by Snowville. Warren who teaches the classes has business cards that say he’s a dairy evangelist and he truly is. We had a thorough lecture on milk and milk fat, patuerization, and homogenzation.

Kefir is a fermented milk drink loaded with probiotics and other great stuff for your insides. It is made from what are called grains, that really look like cauliflower. The grains are cultured at room temperature in fresh milk for 24-36 hours. Then the grains are strained from the kefir. The kefir goes in the fridge and the grains get more fresh milk to start the process over.

One of the cool things about kefir is that the grains grow each time they are cultured. So, there’s always some to share with friends! The grains we got from Snowville have been in use since 1978. If you are interested in getting some grains comment below to let me know and I’ll contact you when we have more. View the picture slide show with descriptions.

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Kefir from the Land of B is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

How to Make a Titanium Scraper by Mike Tayse

Rachel — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 12:11:47 +0000

While I am busy leading spring break camp at Franklin Park Conservatory (a few spots still available for next week, by the way), I am filling the blog with guest posts and reposts. Happy reading!

This guide comes from my Uncle Mike, teacher, jeweler, handyman, and all around good guy. He writes a blog about his classroom activities and Mike Tayse Jewelry with more tutorials like the one below. I love the post he wrote about making a pendant with my little girl Lil.

Mike’s teaching job in Cleveland may evaporate next year. If you have any leads on an elementary school position for a master’s degree educated, certified teacher in the Dayton/Cincinnati/Columbus area, please contact one of us.

Making a Titanium Paint Scraper

This project was done around Christmas time in 2010. In my family we draw names to do a random gift exchange and have to give/make gifts that are generally handmade and preferably use less than $10.00 worth of materials. In the jewelry class I teach I’ve done a bit of simple knife making and this falls under that realm. There is really no particular reason to make a titanium paint scraper other than the fact that the person I drew that year was Alex, who is an engineer, and I figured he would appreciate, no demand, a tool that utilized aero- space materials. Since Alex makes beer, I figured I’d also cut out a profile on the side of the scraper into the shape of a bottle opener- a handy addition to any tool. In addition to the titanium blade I used/cut apart a largish walnut branch from my yard for the handle on Alex’s scraper. You can see from the pictures I really made two scrapers The other one I used a piece of scrap Corian, a counter top material. I rarely make just one thing at a time, let face it, the tools are out, might as well make at least two.

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This is a picture of the walnut log, recently pried out of the snow, with my friendly neighborhood rechargeable Milwaukee Sawzall, perched on top.

A close up of myself cutting apart the walnut branch into a couple of usable slabs destined to make a handle or two. I really should have cut this in the summer and let the slab dry-age, plus it would have been easier than doing the deed in the snow.

A picture of the tool, material, and finished slab.

This is a picture of a sheet of 14 gauge titanium partially cut on my small band saw. It’s a portable band saw with a homemade plywood base screwed together to make it a stationary band saw.

Continue to Mike Tayse Jewelry to read about how to finish and assemble the scraper.

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How to Make a Titanium Scraper by Mike Tayse is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Miracle of Doing Nothing: Making Cider Vinegar

Rachel — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 15:11:39 +0000

Sometimes it’s better to just do nothing at all.

That’s what I did when a dinner guest commented, “Ew! Gross!”

And when my daughter sneered, “Mama! It’s different!”

Friends and family members, including Alex, regarded the open jar of smelly cider with raised eyebrows and pinched noses. I maintained that I was following the vinegar recipe: pour fresh raw apple cider in a jar, cover with an air permeable top, and set it aside for months.

Wouldn’t you know, when I pushed the ‘mother’ aside with a spoon on Sunday, the underlying clear tan liquid smelled and tasted exactly like cider vinegar! What an amazingly simple homesteading success!

Science says that natural yeast in our home pressed cider converted the sugars to alcohol. Natural bacteria then fermented the alcohol to acetic acid, or vinegar.

To store and use the vinegar, I removed the mother and strained out the flocculate, i.e. yeast poopies. I poured the vinegar into a vintage blue Ball jar and it’s ready for salad dressing, mayonnaise, soups, and sauces.

Sometimes doing nothing turns into something amazing.

Added to Simple Lives Thursday 27.

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Miracle of Doing Nothing: Making Cider Vinegar is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Thanks for Handmade Gifts Received

Rachel — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 02:27:40 +0000

Our Xmas was truly lovely. The Goose Dinner went off without a hitch, Lillian was patient during the many family gatherings, and we loved the wintery weather. We received some fantastic handmade gifts during the festivities.

Click pictures to enlarge.
My sister sewed me a lower half apron with purple fabrics from my 30th birthday quilt, Lillian’s gift, a handmade purse, and gifts from years past.

She also was the crafty person behind Devie and Hawise’s gift – an eye patch for the one eyed dog and parrot shirt for the little one. Hawise is frozen in hatred in that picture.

My mom made Lil a beautiful dress and matching satchel. They fit so well and even include sparkly adornments as Lil requested in her wish list.

Sisters Megan and Heather made hand-stamped stationary, fancy chocolates, a snack pack of homemade ricotta, mozzarella, and crackers, and flavored vinegar.

Grandma sewed a top apron and my cousin Naomi made me a skirt from old men’s dress shirts.

Alex’s mom gave me a very cool earring holder made by a local artist from fine gauge copper wire wrapped evenly around large gauge wire. This seems simple enough that anyone with some patience could make it. The earrings on the display are made by my sister-in-law-to-be Kim.

Uncle Mike made Alex a home-cut and hand-sharpened titanium hand scraper/bottle opener with a hand-sanded wooden handle. As if that wasn’t enough, he cast some tiki shaped chocolate molds too.

One topic of conversation during the handmade gift exchanges is that the giving became more meaningful and fun. I am so thankful for family members that not only appreciate making presents by hand but are talented enough to produce some really creative things.

We feel perfectly present-ed this year. Did you receive any handmade goodies?

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Thanks for Handmade Gifts Received is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

DIY Historic Ammunition

Rachel — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 03:14:08 +0000

Alex and I make all sorts of things ourselves: confit, counter tops, hard cider, chicken coops…stuff most people prefer to buy. We like getting a little messy and learning exactly how things are created.

Even given our penchant for handmade goods, we freely admit that Alex’s birthday gift of homemade ammunition for his father this year is bit of do-it-yourself over-achievement.

The Back Story

Tom, Alex’s dad, has a Springfield Model 1873 rifle, more commonly known as the Trapdoor Springfield. He was gifted the firearm, made around 1880, from Alex’s mother’s mother twenty years ago.

It is likely that the rifle hasn’t been shot in about a hundred years, knowing the family history. Neither Tom nor Alex have fired the gun, and can’t but for the birthday present.

You see, modern commercial ammunition is loaded to higher pressure levels than the black-powder era Springfield. Firing with modern ammunition could be unsafe and would likely cause heavy wear on the rifle. Ammunition can’t be easily purchased, so the gun cannot be shot.

Until now.

Click pictures for biggerness.

Making Ammunition

Starting in November, Alex melted several blocks of ‘clean’ lead radiation shielding from a Brownfield cleanup project he and his father worked on. He poured the lead into a historically accurate profile in a modern mold and allowed the bullets to cool.

Next he loaded casings with smokeless powder and crimped the casings to the bullets. He tumbled the cartridges to clean off residual grease. Then, Lil and I wrapped what is certainly the most weight-per-volume gift in our family history.

Now Tom has twenty opportunities to shoot with this historic rifle. Alex invited his dad to an afternoon at an outdoor range once the weather turns warm again so they both have a chance to see how the old gun performs. More than a useful present, this gift was a labor of love.

Happy Birthday Tom!

Recipe for Black Powder Equivalent 45-70 Load

for any reloaders who found this post through a search engine, as typical Hounds in the Kitchen readers are unlikely to cook up ammunition any time soon

405 grain cast lead bullets

33.5 grains Alliant Reloder 7 powder

Winchester large rifle primers

New Starline brass cases

1. The cases can be sized using any commercially available reloading dies. In this case, Hornady 45-70 New Dimension Reloading Dieswere used in a Lee Cast Iron 4 Hole Turret Press.

2. After sizing and priming, add the powder charge. Reloder 7 is a fast-burning powder for use in small varmint calibers, but also in the larger, older 45-70.

3. Seat the bullet and crimp the case. Overall length of the cartridge is 2.65 inches.

Maybe someday I’ll write about my journey from a gun fearing pacifist to a person whose spouse produces ammunition. Would any of you care to read about my views on weapons?

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DIY Historic Ammunition is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!