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Dec. 28th, 2003 10:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kirkcudbright1. Slept late. Very late. First day in about a week we weren't madly cleaning house, or entertaining, or both.
2. Had a nice ride. When I got down to the barn, Cheyenne was having a siesta in the only place that was neither snow nor ice nor otherwise cold and icky. There's a big hay rack in the middle of the paddock, where the horses hang out. The ground around it is covered with equal amounts of trampled hay, manure, and urine. And this is where my filthy animal chose to lay down his filty body. He stays outside year round, so he gets a nice thick coat in the winter, and this nice thick coat was sodden with filth-juice. I had to use a sweat scraper when I was brushing him out. Yecchh.
Anyway. The ring was still a rink, so I had no choice but to (suffer!) go out on the trail. Much of the trail was bare, but much of it was still covered in mixed snow and ice. But the ice was relatively soft, and we didn't have trouble with the footing. We walked a lot, with some long trots and a couple slow canters. He tends to get keyed up once he starts running, so the slow pace was more to keep him under control than anything else. e.g. He took a kick at the other horse while cantering, which earned him a big whack, and a place at the back of the line. (Okay, two horses isn't much of a line, but he had to both follow and walk the rest of the way back.)
3. Made bread pudding from leftover Swedish Coffee Bread. This is traditional braided yule bread, with lots of cardamom. It's light but substantial, sweet, great with a bit of butter, and makes a killer bread pudding. If there's any left by Thursday, we'll serve it at our party. :)
[EDIT: added recipes]
Swedish Coffee Braid (Kirk variation)
makes two loaves
1¼ C. lukewarm milk
½ C. sugar
½ t. salt
1½ t. ground cardamom (or more)*
1 pkg. yeast
1/3 C. melted butter
1 egg
3 C. flour
Mix milk, sugar, salt, cardamom; dissolve yeast. Add butter, mixed with egg. Add flour in two additions. Turn out onto pastry board (clean counter, or wherever you're going to knead), cover, and let sit 10 minutes. Knead until smooth and elastic. Round up and place in greased bowl; cover with damp cloth and rise until doubled (about 2 hours). Punch down, round up, and rise again until not quite doubled (about 45 minutes). Punch down again, and divide dough into two parts. Divide each half into 3 parts. Roll each part into a rope about 16" long. Braid, beginning in center. Cover and let sit until light (about 30 minutes). Brush with beaten egg, milk, or melted butter, and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake 350° about 30 minutes.
*Each generation adds a bit more cardamom. A tablespoon would not be amiss.
Bread Pudding (Cook's Illustrated, issue 36, Jan/Feb '99)
serves 8-10
4 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
¾ C. sugar
2½ C. whole milk
2½ C. heavy cream
3 T. bourbon
1 T. vanilla
¾ t. nutmeg
¼ t. salt
12 oz. (about ½ loaf) good-quality American-style white bread, cut into croutons (about 8 cups)
1½ T. unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing pan
Whisk eggs, yolk, and sugar in a large bowl to blend well. Whisk in milk, cream, bourbon, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt. Stir in 6 cups bread, mix thoroughly to moisten. Let stand 20 minutes.
Pour mixture into greased baking dish. Scatter remaining 2 cups bread on top, pushing down gently to partially submerge. Brush exposed bread with melted butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake until pudding is deep golden brown, is beginning to rise up sides of baking dish, and jiggles very slightly at the center when shaken, about 45-50 minutes. Let cool until set but still warm, about 45 minutes.
If you're making this with Swedish Coffee Braid, reduce the sugar to ½ cup, and omit the nutmeg.
The orignal recipe calls for 1½" squares of bread. It's a matter of aesthetics. I automatically cut bread into crouton-size pieces. The recipe also notes "For an extra-creamy bread pudding with a sauce beneath a crisp top layer, remove about 1 cup of soaked bread and 1 cup of soaking liquid to a food processor or blender, and puree until smooth, about 10 seconds. Add the puree back to the rest of the mixture, and stir to combine before transferring to the baking dish."
Even after 20 minutes of soaking, it looks like an insane amount of custard for the amount of bread. It's not, although it can accomodate another 2 cups of bread, if you cut too much.
Finally, this is rich enough that whipped cream or sauce is superfluous. But I won't stop you.
2. Had a nice ride. When I got down to the barn, Cheyenne was having a siesta in the only place that was neither snow nor ice nor otherwise cold and icky. There's a big hay rack in the middle of the paddock, where the horses hang out. The ground around it is covered with equal amounts of trampled hay, manure, and urine. And this is where my filthy animal chose to lay down his filty body. He stays outside year round, so he gets a nice thick coat in the winter, and this nice thick coat was sodden with filth-juice. I had to use a sweat scraper when I was brushing him out. Yecchh.
Anyway. The ring was still a rink, so I had no choice but to (suffer!) go out on the trail. Much of the trail was bare, but much of it was still covered in mixed snow and ice. But the ice was relatively soft, and we didn't have trouble with the footing. We walked a lot, with some long trots and a couple slow canters. He tends to get keyed up once he starts running, so the slow pace was more to keep him under control than anything else. e.g. He took a kick at the other horse while cantering, which earned him a big whack, and a place at the back of the line. (Okay, two horses isn't much of a line, but he had to both follow and walk the rest of the way back.)
3. Made bread pudding from leftover Swedish Coffee Bread. This is traditional braided yule bread, with lots of cardamom. It's light but substantial, sweet, great with a bit of butter, and makes a killer bread pudding. If there's any left by Thursday, we'll serve it at our party. :)
[EDIT: added recipes]
Swedish Coffee Braid (Kirk variation)
makes two loaves
1¼ C. lukewarm milk
½ C. sugar
½ t. salt
1½ t. ground cardamom (or more)*
1 pkg. yeast
1/3 C. melted butter
1 egg
3 C. flour
Mix milk, sugar, salt, cardamom; dissolve yeast. Add butter, mixed with egg. Add flour in two additions. Turn out onto pastry board (clean counter, or wherever you're going to knead), cover, and let sit 10 minutes. Knead until smooth and elastic. Round up and place in greased bowl; cover with damp cloth and rise until doubled (about 2 hours). Punch down, round up, and rise again until not quite doubled (about 45 minutes). Punch down again, and divide dough into two parts. Divide each half into 3 parts. Roll each part into a rope about 16" long. Braid, beginning in center. Cover and let sit until light (about 30 minutes). Brush with beaten egg, milk, or melted butter, and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake 350° about 30 minutes.
*Each generation adds a bit more cardamom. A tablespoon would not be amiss.
Bread Pudding (Cook's Illustrated, issue 36, Jan/Feb '99)
serves 8-10
4 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
¾ C. sugar
2½ C. whole milk
2½ C. heavy cream
3 T. bourbon
1 T. vanilla
¾ t. nutmeg
¼ t. salt
12 oz. (about ½ loaf) good-quality American-style white bread, cut into croutons (about 8 cups)
1½ T. unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing pan
Whisk eggs, yolk, and sugar in a large bowl to blend well. Whisk in milk, cream, bourbon, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt. Stir in 6 cups bread, mix thoroughly to moisten. Let stand 20 minutes.
Pour mixture into greased baking dish. Scatter remaining 2 cups bread on top, pushing down gently to partially submerge. Brush exposed bread with melted butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake until pudding is deep golden brown, is beginning to rise up sides of baking dish, and jiggles very slightly at the center when shaken, about 45-50 minutes. Let cool until set but still warm, about 45 minutes.
If you're making this with Swedish Coffee Braid, reduce the sugar to ½ cup, and omit the nutmeg.
The orignal recipe calls for 1½" squares of bread. It's a matter of aesthetics. I automatically cut bread into crouton-size pieces. The recipe also notes "For an extra-creamy bread pudding with a sauce beneath a crisp top layer, remove about 1 cup of soaked bread and 1 cup of soaking liquid to a food processor or blender, and puree until smooth, about 10 seconds. Add the puree back to the rest of the mixture, and stir to combine before transferring to the baking dish."
Even after 20 minutes of soaking, it looks like an insane amount of custard for the amount of bread. It's not, although it can accomodate another 2 cups of bread, if you cut too much.
Finally, this is rich enough that whipped cream or sauce is superfluous. But I won't stop you.
no subject
Date: 2003-12-29 04:59 am (UTC)recipe please?
no subject
Date: 2003-12-29 03:31 pm (UTC)