Good morning, good company.
Today we challenge you to dig up the roots of a recipe we thought was thoroughly French. Sylvie Marco is looking for a recipe for French flan.
"It is a thick custard and is wonderful. I looked on the Maison Savary website, as they are the experts, but all the instructions are in French."
Lucy Boyd wrote, "I have a question: What do you personally use self-rising flour for? Most recipes call for all-purpose flour, adding baking powder if necessary. Do you use it to coat chicken, to add when making gravy, when?"
And then came Kittie Stauffer, wanting to make at home a favorite restaurant dish. "I am looking for the recipe for the white bean dip served at Back Inn Cafe. I have tried to copy it, but without success. I know that it has bleu cheese and white beans, but there is a tangy something that I haven't figured out."
TOP MUFFINS
Georgia Nelson is a practiced cook who often takes muffins to her Bible class at St. Paul's Episcopal. I asked for recipes, and Ms. Nelson responded. "I asked my Bible class what their favorite muffins were."
Here is the first recipe from their top two. "It's from Annabel Langbein, who used to have a show on Create TV, 'A Free Range Life,' filmed on her farm in New Zealand, but I haven't seen the show lately."
Orange Lightning Cake
1 organic orange, unpeeled, washed thoroughly
1 cup fresh cranberries, in season, rinsed and sorted (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup water
4 ounces butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Heat oven to 300 degrees. Prepare an 8-inch cake pan, or 16 to 18 muffin cups (I use silicone cups).
Cut orange into quarters, and then discard stems and seeds. Put orange in food processor, and whiz until chopped. If using cranberries, add them and whiz again. Dissolve baking soda in water, add and whiz again.
Using a handheld mixer, cream butter and sugar until light. Add eggs and vanilla, and mix well.
Add flour to wet ingredients, folding gently to combine. Fold in orange and cranberry mixture, and raisins. Fold in walnuts if using.
Pour batter into prepared cake pan, or, using an ice cream scoop, scoop into muffin cups.
Bake cake for 45 to 50 minutes, or muffins for 16 to18 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. Let cool on rack for 10 to 15 minutes before turning out.
Supposedly these will keep for a week in an airtight container and also freeze well, but we have never tested this. They are all promptly devoured on Thursday morning.
ETHNIC FAVORITES
Mr. and Mrs. Sunday, on this Wednesday, have some restaurant favorites with details. As per their custom, here are several topics as they offer: A Few Reviews of Local Ethnic Fare.
* Banh mi sandwiches: "These are Vietnamese (French/Vietnamese fusion, like pho), not Korean. Asian Food & Gifts (3639 Hixson Pike) sells them mostly on Thursday. (They come in late Wednesday and are mostly sold out on Friday). We're still working on our version (had them today, in fact)."
* Korean restaurants: "If you want Korean, go to Chopstix (6903 Lee Highway) and order kalbi (preferred by a lot). Except for the small sample of kimchi, it isn't at all spice hot. The spicy eggplant special is, however, but if you can tolerate the heat, it's very worthwhile. Dak kalbi is very hot and not to our taste. As for pho, we prefer the version at Noodles & Pho (5450 Highway 153 in Hixson) to this place's."
* Thai Esan and Sweet Basil: Both are very good (the food is Laotian, like at Rain Thai Bistro), "but there is a particular dish (Isan, northern Thai) at Sweet Basil that keeps us going back: catfish. It's fried filets in 'jungle curry.' It has no coconut and is mostly fish sauce and tamarind with green (young black) pepper plus vegetables. Yes, it's spicy."
BITTER END
On the topic of bitterness (the culinary kind), Mr. and Mrs. Sunday continued: "If you or yours are supertasters and therefore highly sensitive to bitterness, try adding salt to the dish. Salt seems to bind with the bitter sensors and block the 'bitter' sensation.
"This discovery dates at least to the days of coal-fired warships. The stokers who kept the coal fires burning under the boilers of the warships needed STRONG coffee to get past the infernal coal dust taste and used salt to deal with the bitterness. This 'black gang' (because of all the coal dust) coffee became a prized commodity on board."
GROCERY PICKUP
It seems there is more and more interest in ordering groceries online and picking them up at the store. Rhonda McDaniel of Flintstone, Georgia, wrote that she has had success with Walmart pickup. "I think my longest wait has been about 15 minutes. Most times it was five to 10 minutes. It's easy online, and orders have been correct. They have your debit/credit card on record, and you simply sign and go. It is a good option for those under the weather or with limited mobility or maybe moms who want to keep new babies away from store germs. I enjoy shopping and would not use this every time, but have found it to be nice if needed."
MEAL DELIVERY
And here's a small note from J.H. We tried Thrive Market online at our house; there is an annual membership fee but a free trial month. The customer service is excellent, and if you watch the deals and the frequent email specials, you can - as per their name - thrive.
Here's another question about online orders of, well, anything. Is the cost of packaging boxes and materials environmentally wise?
I count on your wisdom to shape the columnar days ahead.
REQUESTS
* French flan (in English)
* Self-rising vs. all-purpose flour
* Back Inn Cafe's white bean dip
TO REACH US
Jane HenegarFare Exchange is a longtime meeting place for people who love to cook and love to eat. We welcome both your recipes and your requests. Be sure to include precise instructions for every recipe you send.
Mailing address: Jane Henegar, 913 Mount Olive Road, Lookout Mountain, GA 30750
Email: chattfare@gmail.com