White Chocolate Pomegranate Pistachio Truffles

step 1Gather your ingredients

Measurements are given by weight, except for the pomegranate molasses. For those who prefer metric measurement, here is a handy dandy tool for that. 

For the truffle cream (the yummy inside bit), you will need: 

• 3 ounces heavy cream. (Sometimes also called heavy whipping cream; it is whipping cream with a milk fat content of between 36 and 40 percent.)


• 8 ounces white chocolate, either finely chopped or commercial chips.


• 3 ounces finely chopped roasted pistachio nuts. (I prefer the salted kind, others may prefer non-salted.)


• 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses. (I make my own using Alton Brown's recipe, but it is also commercially available from chef suppliers.)

You will also need: 

• spatula, baking sheet, wax or parchment paper, kitchen scale, candy thermometer (instant read digital is best, but regular works too) dipping tool/fondue fork.


• powdered sugar (perhaps up to a cup, may vary on usage.)


• 8 - 16 ounces of tempered chocolate for dipping the truffle creams if you choose to enrobe them.

step 2Heat cream and add to chocolate

• Heat cream to boiling, either over a double boiler, or in the microwave. It takes about 45 seconds in the microwave, in 15 second bursts.


• Pour cream over chocolate.


• Let it sit for about a minute.


• Stir together until blended and no chunks remain.

Add pomegranate molasses and ground pistachios. Stir to blend. Let come to room temp, then cover and cool in fridge until set - about 3 hours.

• Using a damp pastry brush, brush your baking tray with a little water, then lay down your wax paper. (The dampness is just to help the paper stick to the tray so it's not moving all over the place.)


• Sift powdered sugar onto the paper.


• Scoop blobs of your truffle cream onto the tray. Don't worry about shape at this stage, but try for a uniform amount of blob. I use demitasse spoons to keep my blobs from being ginormous.

• Dust your hands with powdered sugar and roll your cream blobs into balls. Redust your hands as needed to keep the cream balls from sticking to your hands.

If you don't want to enrobe your truffle creams, you can put some powdered sugar in a small bowl or plate, and while the creams are still slightly warmed from being worked, roll them in powdered sugar to cover them, and poof...you're done! 

Eat and enjoy. 

• If you want to enrobe your truffle cream, put your cream balls back in the fridge for another couple of hours. You want the balls to be chilled enough that they don't melt when you dip them in the warm chocolate.

step 6Enrobe truffle creams

Temper the chocolate you'll be using. There are a ton of different ways to temper chocolate, and the tempering methods vary by type of chocolate. Tempering is the process stabilizing the crystalline structure of chocolate by melting, cooling, and rewarming your chocolate until it is satiny, smooth, and workable. Cooled tempered chocolate will have a crisp snap and won't melt on your fingers as easily as improperly tempered chocolate. 

• For white and milk chocolate: Heat to 116 to 118 degrees Fahrenheit; cool to 80 degrees Fahrenheit; reheat to 85 to 87 degrees Fahrenheit and hold at that temperature.


• For dark chocolate: Heat to 118 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit; cool to 80 degrees Fahrenheit; reheat to 88 to 91 degrees Fahrenheit and hold at that temperature.


• Once your chocolate is tempered, you'll want to hold it at that temp. In these instructions, I've done that by setting my chocolate bowl in another bowl that has water 5 degrees hotter than my tempered chocolate.


• Dip your chilled truffle creams into the chocolate, swirl to get an even coat, then remove and place on your tray. Tip: If your creams have a lot of powdered sugar on them, roll them briefly in your palms to take some of it off, else you may run into difficulties while dipping.


• Allow to harden.

Truffles (if your chocolate was tempered correctly) are stable at room temp, but should be stored in the fridge. They should keep, theoretically, for 2 months. I say theoretically; they tend to get eaten long before that around here. 

• Bring to room temperature before eating. Enjoy!

How to make Coca-Cola at home

Codenamed "Merchandise 7X", the list of ingredients that go into Coke - 922 million litres of which were drunk in the UK last year - has been kept carefully shrouded in mystery since the drink's inventor, a medicinal chemist called John Pemberton, first wrote it down in 1886. These days it is supposedly kept under 24-hour guard in a vault in Atlanta, Georgia, which is odd considering that author Mark Pendergrast published it in his exposé of the cola industry For God, Country & Coca-Cola (Basic Books) in 1993. The company maintains that this recipe is not the same as the one it uses.

Kate Rich and Kayle Brandon are bar managers at the Cube Microplex, an "alternative" cinema in central Bristol. Opposed in principle to the business and environmental practices of the Coca-Cola corporation, the Cube bar has never served Coke. That doesn't mean there isn't a demand for it. "We'd tried Pepsi and Virgin Cola and various others too," says Brandon, "but they weren't really a positive alternative. They were acceptable, but they weren't Coke. And people really want Coke."

After conducting various taste tests, they felt the preference had less to do with flavour than the power of the brand. Any alternative they were going to offer had not only to taste almost identical but overcome the incredible pull of Coca-Cola's marketing. "Given that most of the Cube's customers come because they like the place's DIY attitude," Brandon explains, "one way of doing that was to make the cola ourselves."

Cola is basically a mix of caramel, caffeine, sugar, fizzy water, citric or phosphoric acid, and eight essential oils. It's the precise blend of these oils that lies at the heart of the 7X secret formula. A trawl of the web soon uncovered several 7X-type recipes, the most promising of which was adapted from the one in Pendergrast's book.

But turning the recipe into a palatable drink turned out to be more difficult than it looked. "The oils we had to import from the US," says Rich. "The caramel had to be sourced direct from DD Williamson, a large operation based in Manchester which actually provides the caramel for all the Coca-Cola manufactured in the UK. And the caffeine we found at MyProtein.co.uk, a body-building website."

When they had assembled most of the kit, they invited friends along to an "open lab" to help them make the drink. "Unfortunately none of us had any scientific knowledge whatsoever, and it's quite a scientific process," says Rich. "We spent half our time running out to get ingredients that we didn't have, and we kept having to go round to the local post office to weigh things on their parcel scales."

Though they came up with something like cola by the end of that first day, they couldn't replicate their success. The problem was getting the oils to mix with the other ingredients, a process called emulsification, or binding together.

The emulsifier used in most soft drinks is dried acacia sap, better known as gum arabic. But Rich and Brandon couldn't get this to work. "We managed to destroy a whole series of kitchen mixers, completely trashed them. The gum arabic scoured the sides, the blades snapped ... it was really violent and very distressing."

After the fourth mixer went west they realised it was time to seek help. A mass email to the Cube's mailing list uncovered Dr Peter Barham, adviser to the Fat Duck restaurant and expert in food emulsification. He pointed out that they were using the wrong kind of gum arabic. "We'd bought ours from the local Indian food shop, but it wasn't particularly homogenous, so each time it was giving us different results."

Barham also pointed out that making an emulsion was all about force. Rich and Brandon had scaled up their quantities, but not their mixing power. They were looking forlornly at the constituents of their cola lab when they noticed the tubular metal handle on one of their hand whisks was about the same thickness as a large drill bit. Bingo! Whisking the mixture with a hammer drill produced the desired effect.

All they needed to do now was to add caffeine, caramel, sugar, citric acid and sparkling water - and suddenly, from a single cup of emulsion, they had enough cola for a month.

So how does it taste? First, we try the real Coca-Cola. A restrained sweetness, low cool notes of caramel, dry on the tongue, quite flat on the palette. Very refreshing, but with little depth.

Now for Rich and Brandon's home-made product. The initial surprise is that it really does taste like Coke. Very slightly sweeter than "the real thing" but less acidic. A satisfying, complex flavour, subtly different from the brand leader, but easily as good.

Having found their liquid gold, Brandon and Rich plan to sell concentrate kits to other small bars and businesses. They maintain that they are not out to challenge the Coca-Cola hegemony, but they "do hope that along the way we'll help produce a small reality-shift. It's social change through science and baking. Sort of DIY aesthetic meets the WI."

The mega corporation remains unfazed. "As the saying goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," says a Coca-Cola spokesman. "But our product is unique. Anyone with a selection of ingredients could make a type of cola, but there can only be one Coke."

Thanks to Rich and Brandon, we have a much better idea of what that really means.

Brew it yourself

NB. 1 batch of 7x formula will produce three batches cola syrup, or approximately 54 litres of cola.

Step 1: 7x formula:

Using food-grade essential oils, assemble 3.75ml orange oil; 3ml lime oil; 1ml lemon oil; 1 ml cassia oil (nb. reduce cassia content for next production); 0.75ml nutmeg oil; 0.25ml coriander oil (6 drops); 0.25ml lavender oil (6 drops); 0.25ml neroli oil (optional/removed due to high cost).

Using a measuring syringe, measure out the oils into a glass or ceramic container. Keep covered to avoid volatile oil fumes escaping. Then dissolve 10g instant gum arabic (equivalent to 22ml) in 20ml water (low calcium/low magnesium, Volvic is good) with one drop vodka - Cube uses Zubrowka. (Be aware that total quantity of vodka will be 0.0007ml per litre of Cube-cola).

Place the gum/water/vodka mix in a high-sided beaker - stainless steel or glass are best. Using a high-power hammer drill with kitchen whisk attachment, whisk the gum mixture at high speed while your assistant droppers the oils. Mix in steadily with the measuring syringe. Continue to whisk at high speed for 5-7 minutes, or until the oils and water emulsify.

The resulting mixture will be cloudy. Test for emulsification by adding a few drops of the mixture to one glass of water. No oils should be visible on the surface. You now have a successful flavour emulsion, which should hold for several months.

Step 2:The mixers

This makes two allied concentrates, Composition A and Composition B, which can be stored separately before being mixed into cold syrup with the addition of sugar and water.

Composition A

Mix 30 ml double strength caramel colouring (DD Williamson Caramel 050) with 10 ml water. While stirring, add 10ml 7x flavour emulsion (oils/gum/water mix).

Composition B

Mix 3 tsp (10ml) citric acid with 5-10ml water, then sieve in 0.75 tsp (2.75ml) caffeine. Mix thoroughly using a pestle and mortar until caffeine granules are no longer evident. The mixture may behave erratically, turning either white or clear for no apparent reason. If it goes white, add more water. Pass through muslin or jelly bag to remove any anomalies.

At this point, A+B can be packaged separately and later reconstituted into cola syrup.

Step 3: The cola syrup

2 litres water; 2kg sugar

Compositions A & B

Make a sugar syrup (mix in a cooking pot on low heat to dissolve quickly) using 1.5 litres of the water and all the sugar. Filter if unsure. Mix Composition A into the remaining 500ml water. Add Composition B, then the sugar syrup. You now have 3 litres Cube-Cola syrup or approx 18 litres cola.

Step 4: The cola

As required, make up your cola as a 5:1 mix, five parts fizzy water to one part cola syrup. Cube uses 350ml syrup in a 2l bottle of Tesco Ashford Mountain Spring. This cola recipe is released under the GNU general public licence.

Why choose home made dog food?

As a dog owner and lover it is only natural to want the most healthy pet. However, many people simply forget the importance of a puppy or dog's diet. We keep repeating this but it is very important that when making your own dog food you check with your Vet the kind of diet and recipe that would be most suitable for your Dog. Some dog owners choose to make their own dog food from home for various reasons. It maybe that they want the freedom to choose what their dog or puppy eats. They may be worried about preservatives, additives or pet food recalls. A dog owner may feel that they can feed their dog a healthier diet if they make the food themselves whether it is freeze dried, dry, moist or grain free - it is your choice - but we can not stress this enough check with your Vet first -one simple reason for this is that many sites across the Internet mention feeding a dog or puppy Garlic in their diet - this is not correct - garlic is is part of the deadly nightshade family and is toxic to dogs in large quantities. Here are some of the top reasons why dog owners choose to make their own dog food. Pro's for making your own dog food By making your own dog food you are able to avoid pet food recalls. You are in control of what goes into your dog food -this enables you to leave preservatives, additives and colorings out of your homemade dog food. It has been argued that some Vets feel home made dog food reduces bloating in dogs compared to bought dog food. You are able to choose a diet that fits your moralsand values i.e. a vegetarian diet - so that you don't have to handle meat, see meat or even smell it. You are able to customize your dog's diet. By makingyour own dog food you can cater for specific health concerns that yourdog or puppy may have. If you have a dog or puppy that has food allergies you can customize a diet to cater for this. Con's against making your own dog food If you have a busy schedule and work long hours you may find it hard to make homemade dog food. If you are unable to buy the ingredients in bulk it can be quite expensive You need to be fully aware of your dog's diet needs - so regular check ups with your vet maybe needed - so the cost may mount up. It is not always easy to assess whether your dog or puppy is getting the appropriate nutrients. If you are not educated in what is safe and not dangerous to your dog regarding the ingredients you may inadvertently feed your dog something that is dangerous to your dog or puppy's health.

It is entirely up to you whether you decide to use the same recipe everyday for your dog or puppy. Some dog owners do choose to mix and match so that it gives some variation to their dog.  However, some dog owners feel that if their dog is getting the required ingredients there is no need to keep changing their diet so they just keep it the same. Either way it's up to you!

How to make restaurant-quality food at home?

I use a variety of salts (usually kosher salt for cooking, different salt for finishing dependent upon the dish. Oh, and that big fancy flaky salt is called Maldon sea salt and will impress guests).

 

Assuming Anthony's Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential is true (see chapter called "How to Cook Like the Pros"), how to make your home cooking seem more like restaurant cooking:

 

- Use a a single good chef's knife as large as is comfortable for your hand, non-German brands like do just fine. Bourdain says a Global vanadium knife will certainly do. You don't need a full set. Read Pepin's La Technique on how to use it properly.

 

- Use home tools like blenders and such for creating vegetable purees and fancy oils to drizzle later on.

 

- Plastic squeeze bottle for artfully drizzling sauces and fancy oils on the plate. Fill a plate with two contrasting sauces in concentric circles and then draw a line using a toothpink (personally I think if you can do latte art you can do the same here).

 

- Plate the food to be tall using a thin metal ring or cut down PVC pipe. Stack accordingly, add fresh herb garnishes, remove ring.

 

- Use a pastry bag to pipe in purees and mashed potatoes in impressive shapes or designs.

 

- Get a mandolin to slice thinly. Perfectly julienned vegetables and waffle cuts are possible using the machine and look very professional.

 

- Get the neighborhood deli guy to slice your sausage or meat for you, to make it look beautifully thin, as home meat slicers are inferior.

 

- Get thick-bottomed, heavy pots and pans from restaurant close-out sales. It needs to be heavy enough to hurt someone if you hit them over the head. For non-stick pans, never wash them, just wipe them down, and protect the non-stick surface with non-metallic utensils.

 

- Shallots for sauces, dressings, etc.

 

- Butter. Sautee in a mixture of butter and oil. Every fancy sauce is finished with butter.

 

- Roasted garlic (turns sweet if roasted whole). Not old, burnt, smashed, or cut long ago. Sliver it for pasta. Smash it with a knife blade (the flat), not a press. Avoid burnt or rancid garlic.

 

- Chiffonaded parsley. Slice it by hand, as thinly as possible.

 

- Stock. Restaurants make it by hand using roasted bones and roasted vegetables on a regular basis. Make a big batch. Reduce, reduce, reduce. Strain. Freeze in small containers for later use.

 

- Demiglace. Make your own. Bourdain recommends using your homemade stock, red wine, shallots, thyme, bay leaf, peppercorns. Freeze in ice cube trays for later use.

 

- Chervil. Basil tops. Chive sticks. Mint tops. Fresh thyme, rosemary. Elevate ordinary plates using garnishes. Throw your dried herbs and spice rack away. Use fresh herbs.

 

How to make restaurant-quality food at home?

I use a variety of salts (usually kosher salt for cooking, different salt for finishing dependent upon the dish. Oh, and that big fancy flaky salt is called Maldon sea salt and will impress guests).

Assuming Anthony's Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential is true (see chapter called "How to Cook Like the Pros"), how to make your home cooking seem more like restaurant cooking:

- Use a a single good chef's knife as large as is comfortable for your hand, non-German brands like do just fine. Bourdain says a Global vanadium knife will certainly do. You don't need a full set. Read Pepin's La Technique on how to use it properly. 

- Use home tools like blenders and such for creating vegetable purees and fancy oils to drizzle later on. 

- Plastic squeeze bottle for artfully drizzling sauces and fancy oils on the plate. Fill a plate with two contrasting sauces in concentric circles and then draw a line using a toothpink (personally I think if you can do latte art you can do the same here).

- Plate the food to be tall using a thin metal ring or cut down PVC pipe. Stack accordingly, add fresh herb garnishes, remove ring. 

- Use a pastry bag to pipe in purees and mashed potatoes in impressive shapes or designs. 

- Get a mandolin to slice thinly. Perfectly julienned vegetables and waffle cuts are possible using the machine and look very professional. 

- Get the neighborhood deli guy to slice your sausage or meat for you, to make it look beautifully thin, as home meat slicers are inferior. 

- Get thick-bottomed, heavy pots and pans from restaurant close-out sales. It needs to be heavy enough to hurt someone if you hit them over the head. For non-stick pans, never wash them, just wipe them down, and protect the non-stick surface with non-metallic utensils.

- Shallots for sauces, dressings, etc. 

- Butter. Sautee in a mixture of butter and oil. Every fancy sauce is finished with butter. 

- Roasted garlic (turns sweet if roasted whole). Not old, burnt, smashed, or cut long ago. Sliver it for pasta. Smash it with a knife blade (the flat), not a press. Avoid burnt or rancid garlic. 

- Chiffonaded parsley. Slice it by hand, as thinly as possible. 

- Stock. Restaurants make it by hand using roasted bones and roasted vegetables on a regular basis. Make a big batch. Reduce, reduce, reduce. Strain. Freeze in small containers for later use. 

- Demiglace. Make your own. Bourdain recommends using your homemade stock, red wine, shallots, thyme, bay leaf, peppercorns. Freeze in ice cube trays for later use. 

- Chervil. Basil tops. Chive sticks. Mint tops. Fresh thyme, rosemary. Elevate ordinary plates using garnishes. Throw your dried herbs and spice rack away. Use fresh herbs.

How to Make Beef jerky

instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Food dehydrator
• Appx. 3 lbs. flanksteak, London broil or beef brisket
• 2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 2/3 cup teriyaki sauce
• 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. liquid smoke (optional)
• 2-3 tsp. Tabasco sauce (optional)
• 2-3 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• Sharp knife
• Glass dish or plastic bag with a seal

1. Step1

   Mix all the marinade ingredients in a glass dish or large plastic bag with a seal. Add any optional ingredients. You can really get creative with these ingredients and add just about any flavor you enjoy. You can also buy prepared jerky flavor mixes in different flavors, and then create your own when you decide which flavors you like best.

2. Step2

   Slice the meat with the grain, about 1/8 inch thick. Place the meat in the dish or bag, and place it in the refrigerator. Allow to marinate overnight. Make sure the meat is totally covered with the marinade, and if it isn't turn the meat frequently (about every two to three hours), to coat evenly.

3. Step3

   The next day, remove the meat from the marinade and dry well.

4. Step4

   Place the meat on the racks in your food dehydrator and follow the manufacturer's directions for the dehydration time. It will probably take about four to six hours to dry, depending on the thickness of the meat and your dehydrator's settings.

5. Step5

   Remove the meat from the dehydrator and enjoy.

Guide to make your pet food at home

Guide to make your pet food at home

Are you a pet lover? As a pet owner no doubt you want to give the quality and healthy food to your pet for the best care possible. Best care means feeding your pet the nutritious diet you can.

Many pet owners prepare their prêt food at home. By preparing your pet food at home you can save up to 80% and it’s easy; making pet food at home is probably a lot less time-consuming than you may have thought. With hundreds of websites offering free pet food recipes online, it’s now easier than ever to make your own pet food.

While preparing food for your pet does not need salt added to their diet as the natural salt in the food is enough for them. It’s a good idea to always add a grain, such as Kibble, wheat germ, cooked oatmeal or whole wheat bread to meat dinners. For dogs use 75% carbohydrate foods (grains and vegetables) to 25% meat; for cats use half carbohydrate foods to half meat.

You will find, once you begin making your own pet foods, that it is really relatively simple and you will save some money as well. Remember that all pet foods should be served at room temperature; don’t serve food cold from the refrigerator nor hot from the stove.

Homemade pet food should take a ridiculously small amount of your time. As a general guide meats should be raw and vegetables must be finely chopped in a food processor or by a hand grater.

When it comes time for feeding, it is important that you let your dogs and cats eat as much as they want at the time of feeding. Once their body becomes nutritionally satiated, they will cut their food intake, sometimes by half the amount, and go on a maintenance diet. Incidentally, you should know that cats should be fed three times a day, while an adult dog needs only one meal a day.

To get started, find a good book with pet food recipes and use it to start preparing simple meals. You can also get free recipes from many websites online.

How To Make Baby Food at Home

By making your own food at home, you can save money and you'll always know exactly what is going into your baby's body. Foods prepared at home will last in your freezer about one month.

Difficulty: Average

Time Required: 10-15 minutes

Here's How:

1. Thoroughly wash any fresh vegetables or fruits that you've purchased in the produce section to remove dirt and possible pesticides.
2. Steam or boil the fruit or vegetable. You will want the food to be mushy if your baby has just started on solids. If your baby has been eating for a couple of months you can cook the food until it is easily pierced with a fork to allow a thicker consistency.
3. Puree the food in a blender or food processor, or process with a food mill until the food reaches the right consistency for your child's stage of eating.
4. Strain the food to remove any stray peels. Alternately, before cooking food, you can remove the peels at that time to avoid this step.
5. Spoon the pureed food into ice cube trays and cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer. When the cubes are frozen, you can put them in ziplock bags or another food storage container. Be sure to label with the type of food and the date it was prepared.
6. When it's time to eat, remove as many cubes as you need and allow to thaw or thaw in the microwave.

Tips:

1. Fresh fruits and vegetables are always best, but you can also use frozen or canned. Canned fruits are especially good to use when fresh fruits are out of season.
2. When your baby is just beginning to eat solids, remember to introduce only one food at a time to identify possible allergies. As your child gets older and you know which foods have been tolerated well, you can start to blend two or three different fruits or vegetables together.
3. Use few additives such as salt, sugar or preservatives. Your baby doesn't need them, and some -- such as lemon juice -- can cause an allergic reaction in very young babies.
4. Some fruits do not need to be steamed or cooked, such as kiwi fruit and bananas.
5. Some good fruits and vegetables to start out with are apples, plums, pears, apricots, peaches, bananas, carrots, peas, green beans, butternut squash and sweet potatoes.

What You Need:

• steamer basket, stand alone steamer or microwave steamer
• blender, food mill or food processor
• ice cube trays
• plastic wrap
• food storage containers or plastic freezer bags
• fruits and vegetables