Given my preoccupations with Menu for Hope and a couple of things on my side of the computer screen, it took me a while to get to this, the final of the "2006: Not So Vanilla" posts.
If you've been reading me this year, you know that I took 2006 to learn about and work with vanilla. I think like many people, I was used to it in sweets--cakes, ice creams, candies, custards, so in that respect I really didn't know what this pod with its millions of minute seeds could really do.Granted, not all of the experiments were successful (I won't be doing that vanilla-scented halibut again), but there were also some surprises--chicken kurma and the taste testing. Here are links to my adventures, for those of you who are curious...
And now this. The final series' post. I've done sweet and savoury, puddings, cakes and meats. But what I didn't do was a drink.I knew I was going to do this one in the winter...or what is supposed to be winter. It's 31 December, and the mercury is bobbing at just above 0C. That's not right--we all know it, and until we actually mend our ways (myself included) white winters may become a rareity...insert Kyoto comment here.I first tasted this sort of hot chocolate drink at my favourite chain coffee shop--The Second Cup. This version of their White Hot Chocolate is a little sweeter, but still creamy. The colour is a pale yellow, because of the melted ivory couverature, and is speckled with teensy seeds from vanilla paste. It is very easy and very quick. this is a little more than enough for my favourite mug, but really is meant to be shared with one other...that is, if you really like them.430ml milk (at least two percent, full-fat is better)120g white chocolate (in chips or chopped)1 tsp vanilla paste (or the pod and scraped seeds of one vanilla bean or 1-2 tsp vanilla extract)Simmer the milk and vanilla paste (or seeds and pod) and remove it from the heat. Stir in the white chocolate until fully incorporated.If you are using vanilla extract, pour it in *now* and whisk the mixture well until smooth and frothy. Pour into one or two cups, as you see fit...cheers!
jasmine
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Back to our irregularly scheduled programming...
I am very happy to report that Mummy screwed up all of her patience and actually waited for Christmas to have the pudding. No, her fuzzyheadedness did not file the secret-to-me location of the puddings in that murky thing of hers called "short term memory," allowing her to forget where she stashed the puds...
Not that she didn't use every trick in the book to get early access...
"Oh look it's snowing out, let's steam the pudding..."
"Oh look we don't have any sweets for supper, let's steam the pudding..."
"Oh look at how cute the cat is, let's steam the pudding..."
"Oh look, the snow melted away, let's steam the pudding..."
"Oh look Coronation Street is on, let's steam the pudding..."
"Oh look it's Saturday and Coronation Street isn't on, let's steam the pudding..."
and of course the old
"Are you sure it's good, how will you know if we don't try it before Christmas? You don't want to be the one who ruined Christmas because the pudding was rot, do you?
Yes...she tried her level best...but my stubbornness is equal to (or greater than) her eagerness to have pudding. Each time my answer was "No"--except for the last one where my answer was "the puddings are fine and they'll be better if you let them alone." Each time the reply was "You are so mean to me, I'm glad you aren't my mother."
Given all the food for Christmas, we actually steamed the pudding on Sunday, with plans to do a light resteaming-warming for Christmas. She was so excited.
"You need to make a hard sauce for it, " she announced.
"Really? You don't want brandy butter instead?"
"No. Lots of sauce."
"Okay."
Never having made a hard sauce before, I searched my shelves for a recipe--Delia, as ever, had the answer.
"Okay, I have a recipe. It serves four to six."
"Double it."
"Double it? There are only four of us for lunch (Mummy, Daddy, the exbf and me) and four again for supper (Mummy, Daddy, and the two boys from Toronto)--and daddy won't have any."
"Double it. I want lots of sauce for my pudding."*
Making the sauce didn't take long and we wound up with a vat of it...enough for at least 20 (imo), but just enough in hers.
"More brandy."
"You want more brandy?'
"Yes, I like brandy. It will be nicer with the pudding--just a spoon more."
I think I used something like a total of 100ml of brandy (the one with the shadow of Napoleon on it, in case anyone is interested) for an 850ml vat of sauce. There's a reason it's called a hard sauce
We unmolded it and turned it onto a plate--she insisted that we flame it.
I don't think I've mentioned this before, but my mum has this uncanny ability to set off fire and smoke detectors by just walking near them. She can open the fridge and the detector goes off. She thinks about preheating the oven and the detector goes off. You don't want to know what happens when she actually does start cooking. It's not as if she actually burns things or sets the gas to 800C or anything. It's her weird human trick.
So, knowing that she wanted to flame the pudding--something we've never done--I was rather nervous. With full knowledge of the locations of all three fire extinguishers were in the kitchen, we soused the somewhat boozy, a tad sticky, almost ebony pudding with (you guessed it) brandy.
Daddy lit it. It burned a very pretty blue. It burned for a while before going out, but even with all that time, I was too slow with the camera, so we had to re-souse and re-light. if you look really carefully around the edges of the pudding you'll see it's swathed in blue. That's the colour of a flame fed by alcohol.
We dished the pudding and poured on the sauce. It was lovely and moist. And umm...boozy.
The pudding's all gone now...but the sauce isn't. I'm not sure what I'll do with it...Mummy has an idea.
"We should make another pudding..."
* Please note the possessive used: "my."
cheers!
jasmine
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With profuse apologies to Clement Clark Moore, Pim, Helen, David, Sam, Adam, Kalyn, Alder and anyone else who thinks I've been sipping too much eggnog, baking too many cookies and soaking too many fruitcakes (24 fruitcakes and 51 dozen cookies isn't too many, is it?)
Twas the night after Pim’s joyous Menu for Hope Three,
A giving event for the U-N-W-F-P.
The prizes were posted on blogs far and near,
In hopes that from readers, donors would appear.
Asia Pacific, hosted by Grab Your Fork,
Whose Helen sorted honey and vouchers and more.
From peppercorns to vodka, from books to a Zen,
If she found time to sleep, I do not know when.
David was there for Europe and U-K,
On davidlebovitz.com we all did stay.
Gifties from Italia, Hungry and of course France,
For all those prizes, we all want a chance.
On the American West Coast, Sam kept tab
On Becks and Posh, she created a post fab.
When, what to our wondering eyes should appear,
A tea with Harold McGee and macaroons so dear.
With a lively, dear Foodie, for U-S-A (East Coast),
To Adam, The Amateur Gourmet we raise a toast.
He cared for prizes, each ticket $10 was paid,
for a painting, a catered lunch, or a Kitchenaid.
And for the rest of America so vast,
Was Kalyn, in Kalyn’s Kitchen, prizes she amassed
Turkish hot pepper and cook’ry books galore,
Even to be an Honor’y lamb owner.
For wines white and red, our winebloggers did fly,
To Alder at vinography, where prizes we did eye:
Eric Asimov and private sommeliers,
Wine guides and tours and romantic getaways.
And then, for Canucks, I did my very best
On Confessions of a Cardamom Addict.
Autographed cookbooks and things from Halifax,
Along with all that chocolate, were things in sweet packs.
For eleven days we watched firstgiving.com,
In hopes that this campaign soon would catch on.
And catch on it did, to our overwhelming glee.
As the total grew, it was a lovely sight to see.
Our eyes-how they twinkled! Our dimples how merry!
Our cheeks were like roses, not because of sherry!*
All of our mouths were drawn right up like bows,
We were all pleased with how well our prizes did show.
"Now a hundred, now a few more! Now a thousand grew!
On, Books! On, foods! on, on dinners and a ewe!
To ten thousand! Then twenty, then thirty and more!
Now dash away forty! Dash away all!"
Pim sprang to her keyboard, to us gave a whistle,
And her fingers all flew like the down of a thistle.
We heard her exclaim, with many thanks a-plenty,
"$58, 256.70”
*really, they weren’t…mine were rosy because of brandy…can’t say about the others.
All cheekiness aside: A great big thank you to all of our prize donors, those who helped publicize the event, people who contributed to the campaign and everyone else who supported Menu for Hope III. Our event was incredibly successful and it couldn't have been done without each and every single one of you.I'm taking a short break, but intend to be back before the New Year.All the best to you and yours for a happy and healthy holiday.Edit: 29 Dec 06 - Just opened a note from Pim. Due to a couple of things (donations processing, a very generous donation by a friend and a one per cent donation from firstgiving.com) our total amount raised $60,925.12. Yay you!jasmine
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