As you all know, I love blogging; its good for me to get things out of my head, its my communication to the world, a chance to air my dirty laundry to the masses, and generally practice my spelling and grammar.
So I was thinking, I now live with a vegetarian, yes I know shock horror, I actually agreed to live with a vegetarian, what will my mother say? Actually I used to be vegan and then became allergic to wheat, and well, couldn't eat much and so I got over-myself tucked into an organic bacon sandwich (with gluten free bread obvioulsly) and never looked back ;-).
So back to the point, the vegetarian....we have a sort of deal, I do the cooking, and he does the clearing up, think I got the good side of that bargain as Elly will tell you, and also seeing as I now have a kitchen that Nigella would envy, I am really putting my cooking skills to the test, and quite frankly loving every moment of it.
I am loving it so much I was thinking maybe I should start a cooking/restuarant review cooking blog, mainly because I want to document my cooking and also I want some damned answers to my cooking questions, for example, why did my pastry case shrink when I baked it blind? Imagine if that had happened at a dinner party, eek, and no-one has succesfully given me a decent answer as to why, NOT EVEN MUM!!! I know!!!!; the roast potato queen doesn't even have the answer!!!!
And I can take photo's of my yummy things and use it as somewhere to put my recipes on, and I drool over other peoples food blogs, so what the hell, I always wanted to be a restaurant critique in my next life, so whats stopping me? Um nothing .....apart from I can't decide on a name, any suggestions? ...................
xxxxxx
Hi,
ReplyDeleteLove the chapel - looks fab!!
Not an expert in these areas but, from experience, the best way to deal with blind baking a pastry case is to not trim it before you cook it. Let the pastry overhang for an inch or so, bake it, then trim with a sharp knife flush with the pie dish once cooked. That way you get a nice neat edge - at the right height!!
Sarah x
I think your pastry shrank cos you might not have used lard and butter/marg when rubbing in. Also did you weigh out your flour and put the correct amount of water in, cos too much water makes it soggy. Use really cold fats from the fridge and have cold hands it helps at the rubbing in stage. Yep, Sarah got it right too, you are not supposed to trim the pastry before baking and use baking beans on a piece of greaseproof or baking parchment.
ReplyDeleteName for your cooking blog
Fyberfoods just thought of that in a flash,
Fyberdishes
Jen's Fybers
Can't think of anymore.
I think your pastry shrank cos you might not have used lard and butter/marg when rubbing in. Also did you weigh out your flour and put the correct amount of water in, cos too much water makes it soggy. Use really cold fats from the fridge and have cold hands it helps at the rubbing in stage. Yep, Sarah got it right too, you are not supposed to trim the pastry before baking and use baking beans on a piece of greaseproof or baking parchment.
ReplyDeleteName for your cooking blog
Fyberfoods just thought of that in a flash,
Fyberdishes
Jen's Fybers
Can't think of anymore.