September fades as fall shows its colors. Today's opener comes from "Regular Reader," and it's about yellow rice. "I used to be able to buy yellow rice without seasoning, but all I can find now is packaged yellow rice with peppers and other spices added. I would like to know a source or a recipe for yellow rice. I also have a small box of saffron threads that were given to us as a gift. I know they are expensive, and I would like to use them carefully. Recipes, please."
BROWNIE COOKIES
Mary Jo LaFollette sent the sought-after Brookies recipe from her home in East Brainerd.
Brookies (Brownie Cookies)
Cookie layer:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9- by 13-inch metal pan with parchment paper. (Don't use glass. Brownies get hard around edges if baked in glass or dark metal. I just learned this.) Spray parchment with Pam.
Beat together butter, sugars and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Add egg; beat until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.
Whisk together flour, salt and baking soda in a small bowl. Gradually stir flour mixture into butter mixture until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread dough in prepared pan, covering bottom completely.
Brownie layer:
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
Stir together butter, sugars and vanilla. Add eggs, and beat well. Stir in cocoa powder until well combined. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt until combined. Pour batter over cookie dough, spreading to cover completely.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. (Remove earlier for a gooier brookie.) Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares.
BUTTER BELLS, BOATS
The European kitchen favorite, the butter bell, is explained here by Valerie Bowers.
She wrote, "If your reader has the old-fashioned butter bell, it is made of two pieces: a base and a rounded cup with a centered handle to grip (the bell). Fill the bell with softened butter (not melted or hard usually half a stick will fill it). Press down and smooth the butter to remove any air pockets. Fill the base with cool water to the fill line and, holding it by the handle, turn the bell upside down. (If you've used softened butter and removed air pockets, it won't fall out, I promise.) Place the bell inside the water-filled base. Be sure to change the water every 2 to 4 days.
"For readers interested in keeping a whole stick of butter on the counter, I personally love my porcelain butter boat. It consists of three pieces instead of the butter bell's two: water holding base, a butter bowl and a lid. The butter and water are separated. All you do is add cold water to the base, plop your stick of butter in the bowl and put the lid on. I often keep two types of butter in it at once: salted and unsalted, goat and regular, plant and dairy. Check Amazon. I have one from Trudeau, but they have several porcelain ones from which to choose."
SOUS VIDE ROAST
C.D. Pritchard sent detailed instructions for a "sous vided" eye of round roast.
Sous Vided Eye of Round Roast
This recipe takes 24-plus hours.
805-gram eye of round roast
1 3/4 teaspoons Morton kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Canola oil
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
Dash of powdered garlic
Set sous vide temperature to 133 degrees for medium-rare doneness.
Remove silver skin and fat from eye of round roast. (Use remaining meat for country-fried steak.)
Rub salt and pepper and canola oil on meat. Park in fridge while heating lightly oiled cast-iron comal or skillet on high until just past smoke point.
Lightly brown roast on all sides and ends; two pairs of tongs help.
Cool the pan a bit, and deglaze with a few tablespoons of water.
If water tastes bad, discard and do the deglazing in another pan, adding a few tablespoons of water.
Deglaze:
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
Dash of powdered garlic
To the deglazing skillet, add wine, thyme and garlic. Heat until reduced by about half.
Add meat and sauce to bag, vacuum-seal and put in sous vide.
Check water temperature, and check roast periodically to ensure it remains submerged, especially toward the end.
Take out after 24 hours, but, beforehand, heat pan as above.
Drain juice in bag via a strainer into a microwavable bowl, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of packaged brown gravy mix, stir well and nuke to just shy of a boil.
Dry the roast well with paper towels and sear well.
Slice (no need to rest with sous vide), and serve with gravy on the side.
GO-TO COOKBOOK
Sharon Allsbrook of Signal Mountain may be found on Instagram as isimplify. In a recent Instagram post, she included a photograph of a kitchen shelf made simple by saving only favorite cookbooks. Today's nomination for a favorite regional cookbook reminded me of that photograph.
Barbara Howard wrote, "When I saw your request for our favorite regional cookbooks, I knew I had to share our all-time favorite. 'Emerald Treasures' was published in November of 1983 in honor of the 55th anniversary of Brainerd Baptist Church. My husband and I have used this cookbook so long and so often that we have literally worn it out. Even though we have had it re-bound, the many years of use are obvious. Virtually all of our go-to recipes are in it."
This, of course, leads me to wonder whether that cookbook may still be purchased. I bet some of you will know.
Wednesday is a good day, in my opinion. I plan to continue this end of the conversation, and I hope you will keep it up on your end.
REQUESTS
* Unseasoned yellow rice
* Uses for saffron threads To Reach Us:
TO REACH US
Fare 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
Jane Henegar