It may have become obvious, but lately I’ve been taking on some dinner party-type projects in response to reader requests (some of them urgent). Popovers and Yorkshire pudding are next in line. Let me know if you have a holiday baking conundrum of your own. There are a few weeks left before Christmas and New […]
READ ON
“Lucy cats” is another of their many names. With two little currant or raisin eyes on one end, they’d certainly be reminiscent of a cat with a fluffy curled up tail. Think? I took a big box of these to a party on Saturday and happened to be standing nearby when a woman blurted out “Somebody tell me which bakery these came from, because they’re the best rolls I’ve ever eaten!” I then had to pretend to be embarrassed as several people pointed over my way. Aw shucks, it was me. I was impossible to deal with for the rest of the evening, just ask the missus.
But that’s the sort of reaction these buns get. They’re fluffy and moist to the bite, exotic on the tongue and bewitching to the eye (they look like little flames to me). It’s a devastating combo. Plus you can make them start-to-finish in only a couple of hours. Oh yes, I’ll be making these again. Start by getting your ingredients together. Crush or grind the saffron as finely as you reasonably can. Add it to the milk and set the mixture on a low stove. Warm it and stir it but don’t simmer it. You just want to infuse the milk with all that lovely flavor and color. Set it aside to cool.
READ ONAs mentioned below, the Feast of St. Lucia is celebrated with particular verve in Scandinavia. Given how short the days are come December, it makes all the sense in the world that they’d set a day aside to honor the patron saint of light. But if these folks were really serious about celebrating light — especially daylight and the return of longer days — wouldn’t it have made more sense to honor St. Lucy on the 21st of December? That’s the winter solstice, after all.
Interestingly, December 13 was the winter solstice at the time the Feast of St. Lucy was established. This wasn’t because people during the High Middle Ages couldn’t measure the passage of time accurately, but because they lived according to the old Julian calendar, which as we already know had been diverging from actual solar time since it was instigated in 46 B.C.. Thus the feast of the patron saint of light would seem to have some rather suspicious origins. Indeed it seems quite likely that it was a (successful) Catholic attempt to co-opt a major pagan festival.
READ ONReader Kempy writes:
It seems to us that there is a big difference in really good butter and ones that are not always cheaper but seem very watery. Are there laws on the amount of water in butter, or ranges of the amount of water that would allow us to know if we are getting good butter?
Hey Kempy! There definitely are laws regulating water content in butter. American butters can contain no more than 16% water and must be at least 80% milk fat (the rest is protein, lactose and, perhaps, salt). However it’s not so much the water content that’s important as the fat content. Higher quality butters will have more, and even a percentage point or two makes a big difference. French butters, for example, must be 82% fat by law, with some going as high as 85%. Of course French butter is also cultured, which means it tastes a cheesy/tangy as well. You can often check fat content on labels, so let that be your guide.
READ ON
It’s a logical question, no? We Catholics have a lot of saints, which we employ for a variety of household purposes. But St. Lucy is one of the special ones, and very old. In fact she’s so old that very little is known about her. She lived during the Great Persecution, a ten-year period that started in the year 303 when a series of laws were passed erasing the limited legal rights of Christians in the Roman empire. Under them, all Christians were ordered to observe Roman religious practices (make sacrifices to Roman gods, etc.) on pain of death or imprisonment.
Lucy was one of those Christians, a native of Syracuse, Sicily, who at the time was engaged to a young Roman pagan-about-town. Her father had died many years prior and her mother had arranged the marriage as well as a substantial dowry. Things were going as planned until Lucy was visited by a vision of St. Agatha who told her she had a big future ahead of her as devout — and chaste — servant of the Lord. Once that happened she instructed her mother to give her dowry away to charity and her fiancé to get lost.
READ ONThese lovely “S” shaped buns are commonly made with quark (kesella) but that’s not terribly easy to find in the States. Mascarpone is an excellent substitute (homemade if you’re feeling ambitious!). Crème fraîche can also be used, but sour cream is perfectly good as well. Most recipes for these call for fresh yeast, but I’ve converted it instant. As my dear departed grandmother Margaret liked to say “why not do it the easy way?” God she was a great lady. Anyway, here’s what you need:
1 gram saffron threads
16 ounces (2 cups) milk
2 lbs. 3 ounces (7 cups) all-purpose flour
4.5 ounces (2/3 cup) sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (20 grams) instant yeast
8 ounces quark or sour cream (room temperature)
3.5 ounces (7 tablespoons) soft butter
egg wash
raisins (optional)
Also known as “Swedish saffron buns” in some quarters, St. Lucia buns are traditionally made and consumed on December 13th in Scandinavia (the Feast of St. Lucia). They are a type of brioche infused with saffron and enriched — or should I say further enriched — with a farmer’s cheese called kesella which we know as quark. They’re rolled into a “S” shape and baked in a hot oven. The result is rich, moist and extremely addictive. Let’s do this thing.
READ ONI’ve received many requests to post rice pudding recipes from around the world. The trouble is I don’t know them. However many, many of you have described the rice puddings you grew up with, so…post them! Right here in the comment fields. Other readers will thank you for it. Oh, and please make sure that […]
READ ON
Americans often have a tough time making rice pudding since our long grain rice tends not to bake up well when it’s added to custard in its raw state. The solution: make rice pudding with cooked rice. The result is every bit as delicious, plus it’s convenient if you order out a lot of Chinese food. The individual rice grains tend to maintain their integrity at bit more — i.e. are a bit chewier — but I like the contrast. Here I should note that everyone has their own favorite version from childhood. I’m not putting this forward as the standard by which all rice puddings should be judged. It happens to be one I like.
READ ON
His name was actually Hiram Ulysses Grant, but that’s what happens when you’re born in 1822 and someone spells your name wrong on a military school application. You suddenly get an “S” stuck in there. Forever. Grant put up with it, but made it clear that it never stood for anything other than “S”. He had a lot more on his mind than middle names anyway.
READ ON