Forum Thermomix
Welcoming Center, Management and General Chat => Chit Chat => Topic started by: Frozzie on September 14, 2011, 09:07:50 pm
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Just wanted opinions on what slow cookers you have for those of you who have them, what brand it is, what you think of them and also any suggestions on cookbooks for them??? oh and how much you use them?? Thankyou lovelies :)
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Frozzie, I just have a Belle brand. It was $40 from BIG W. Holds about 6 litres.
I make stews, casseroles in them, a lot of chicken dishes.
just put all the meat/veg in, and what stock / water, herbs, spices.
I just make things up as I go.
I use our at least 1 or 2 times a week.
I do a chicken curry, with coconut cream, and chickpeas which is yummy.
My thermomix nearly every night, and all weekend.
there are alot of recipes on line for slow cookers / crockpots
Robyn
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I have a Breville (Avance meal maker model) and I really like it. Great when cooking for larger numbers (and believe me if I don't really watch what goes in my mouth I become one ;D ;D ;D), kidding aside I never cook corned beef, pickled pork etc by any other method, the shape is ideal to fit lamb shanks with the keep warm setting being so convenient. I have found the AWW Slow cooking books great (same as all their recipe books), there is a great potato bake done in the SC which is popoular every time it is served. Hope this helps Frozzie!!!!1
(http://www.breville.com.au/media/catalog/product/cache/11/small_image/228x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/b/s/bsc300_01_product_101112_1.jpg) (http://www.randomhouse.com.au/system%20pictures/9781742450124.jpg)
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I habe a George Foreman brand. It has a ceramic bowl, it got chipped, i havent bought a new one as yet. Nect purchase will be an upgrade to one with a stainless steele bowl. It is still useable.
Before tm, it was used 2-3 times per week in winter. Now i use it for silverside and lamb shanks. Would probably use it more if it wasnt at the back of my cupboard, also i still get so much pleasure using my tm.
The WW book s great, loads of recipes on line.
Hally
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I have a Breville same as Robyn, there is a new one on the market now you can remove the middle and place it straight onto the hotplates if you want to brown something first only using the one thing. This is a little dearer but I will be getting that one when mine dies. The insert on mine is sometimes a pain to wash, although DH does it. I would like to use mine more must find some new recipes
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That one is also programmable Yvette - the browning function would certainly be so handy. :)
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I'm looking for one with a stainless steel insert/bowl, apparently the ceramic ones leach a "safe" amount of lead into the food!
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Thanks for that ahoney that justifies me throwing mine out and buying a new one. YAY ;D
H :)
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I have the one that lets you brown on the stove-top and really love it. It is a good size and save on washing up. I don't use mine as much as I should, but find it very handy both in the cold weather as well as the hot weather when I can slow cook a pot roast or pulled pork without heating up the kitchen.
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Amanda, what brand do you have? I like the browning ootion.
Wont buy ie until next winter, but feel i can throw my other one out now. Silly me, but i need to jutify thungs.
I amalso wondering if I really need one nw i have tm and also my new Le Creuset pots.
Silverside is my only problem but think youbcoukd put that in the oven on 160 for hours.
I am a stay at home mum, so not needed for dinners.
Hally :)
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I'm a Pressure Cookin' gal, and can recommend them 100%
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thanks girls that gives me something to get started to look at.... :)
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Oh glory - we have two of the jolly things. Have not gone near the jolly things since the arrival of Thermie! And we have two pressure cookers that never see the light of day now either. Ed used to swear by the slow cooker. I did use it from time to time, particularly in the wintertime. Might need to start ebaying some of these items...
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I love Sally Wise's slow cooker book (http://www.sallywise.com.au/images/Cooker.jpg)
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thanks katesjoy...will check that one out too..
i have a pressure cooker but since thermie not much else in kitchen appliances get used just mainly saucepans and oven dishes etc but I have been interested in getting a slow cooker just to change it up a bit for a while now...and it will help on the days that i dont want something quick but dont have the time to cook...
for those of you who have them and use them does it create great flavours like when you simmer a dish for hours??
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Hi Fozzie
Mine is an English brand - Morphy Richards but it's almost worn out I've used it that much over the years. I mostly use mine for cooking meat, I just put a full joint of lamb/beef/pork/full chicken etc in the pot, sprinkle with herbs of your choice and cook on high for 3-4 hours depending on size of meat or cook on low for 8 hours. The meat with a bone is usually best and it is so tender. No water, no stock, just place in the bottom. It cooks in it's own juices which is then used for the gravy.
My instructions always said i needed to cover the top of the meat with stock or water but since i've been in Australia a friend told me they don't add water/stock and i've done that every since.
On Wednesday I did leg of lamb in the slow cooker, made the yorkshire pudding batter in the tmx, then the gravy in the tmx and put in the thermoserver to keep warm, followed by mash in the tmx while cooking the vegetables varoma style on top, no pans needed at all, oh yes and the oven was on to cook the yorkshire puddings and they turned out so light and fluffy.
See how you go.
Jo
x
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thanks jo :)
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Wish you lived close to me Frozzie. I'd give you one of mine. I have an old one that is simply high or low and a Morphey Richards that I bought as I wanted to be able to programme cooking times. When I bought it I didn't investigate it enough and discovered it only had 1 heat setting and it was between the old high & low. This meant I had to cook things for a shorter time and then it would click to warm. Sounds ok, but if I put it on before work things were cooked by early afternoon and then kept warm for 4-5 hors before I got home and were actually overcooked. So that one has been mothballed pending sale on ebay and I bought the NewWave 5 in 1 cooker. This also has only 1 heat setting for slow cooking but I can programme a delayed start time which works perfectly. The browning function is also fantastic before switching to pressure cook or slow cook.
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I have Russell Hobbs 6 litre version with ceramic pot that can be used over an open flame for browning and wouldn't be without it. I do lots of dishes using cheaper cuts of meat (ox/pig cheek, scrag end of lamb, oxtail, shanks etc) and the long, slow cooking tenderises them beautifully and makes a rich, unctious (love that word ;D) gravy/sauce. Just chuck it all in and in 4-8 hours you've got a top class meal. Just be careful you don't use too much liquid to start with.
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I actually have 3 - small, medium and large. And I use a selection of them several times per week when I know there isn't going to be time to cook, even with Thermie. Or i'll be exhausted, or it's a dish that tastes better slow cooked, or I'm cooking extra for the freezer.
The smaller ones tend to be used for doing potatoes and side veg or pudding, or if i'm batch cooking several things at once.
My medium size is Breville. Small is basic own brand from Argos. And I can't remember what the large one is right now, although it allows me to brown, has a timer function so things don't overcook, and a keep warm function.
I mainly just throw things in, but my favourite cookbook is ultimate slow cooker recipes which is a British one. I'll look up the author if you're interested.
They don't replace thermie, but I wouldn't be without them.
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My slow cooker is one of the few things that have survived the TMX invasion. I have several books, the SallyWise one and a couple that I gave my daughter and these...
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ah vhj the story of my life lol...thanks to everyone else for the info...just seems something i would use when we wil get home late or are tied up with sport etc...thanks for the books you have too...will check them all out!
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Just thought I would mention (for anyone who has a very old slow cooker) that there was a warning issued on TV regarding vintage slowcookers a couple of years ago. Some of the older ceramic bowls contained lead which was found to leech into the food. My sister bought a vintage one at a garage sale (rather retro and very cool) but has since replaced it.
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Just thought I would mention (for anyone who has a very old slow cooker) that there was a warning issued on TV regarding vintage slowcookers a couple of years ago. Some of the older ceramic bowls contained lead which was found to leech into the food. My sister bought a vintage one at a garage sale (rather retro and very cool) but has since replaced it.
How old Chelsea? Mine is pretty old,so I could be in this position :o
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I have a brevile and love it for chucksteak casseroles. You can put it on in the morning and come home to a fabulous smelling house. Throw on mash or rice in the Tm or just eat it as is :) I think the larger the better in terms of capacity.
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I have been trying to find the report online CC. The problem is that slowcooker "leads" (or cords) also contain lead which makes googling a nightmare. The report basically said that all vintage slowcookers that are glazed contain lead. Many modern slow cookers also contain lead and when cooked it does transfer into the food. It is in very small "permitted" amounts but the problem is that lead builds up in our system so no amount is really acceptable. Some modern slow cookers have a stainless steel insert which solves the problem. Cuisinart are certified lead free and they have ceramic glazed bowls. In the US you can buy disposable slow cooker nylon liners. That opens up another whole can of worms though. :)
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Thanks Chelsea,it looks like I will be looking for a new Slow Cooker. :-[
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Does anyone know what brands make them with the stainless steel bowl? My understanding is all the ceramic ones leach lead even if guaranteed lead free as they are allowed to say they are lead free as long as they are within the required limit!
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I have read that in the US companies are allowed to claim they are lead free if they are under the permitted level. I'm unsure about Australia - probably the same >:(. Cuisinart have stated that they are completely lead free.
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i noticed one that had a stainless steel base and total glass bowl and lid..it was however alot more expensive than the others...im still doing research :)
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Don't be too concerned about the lead in your older slow cookers.
The "lead" thing has been blown way out of proportion. A researcher at UCLA, who is the son of a friend, tested a large number of ceramic cooking vessels, including slow cookers, as part of his doctorial thesis in 2004.
I contributed some of my old (cracked or chipped) bean pots, casserole dishes and a couple of slow cooker liners.
Unless cooking with very high acid foods, they don't leach at all and if they have been used for several years, there is so little lead remaining that it won't be a problem.
He both cooked in them with various types of food and afterward broke them up, ground to a powder and burnt the stuff in a crucible and measured the gases produced. Very scientific, I didn't understand half of what he told me and his mum.
The amounts found in all but a few ceramic cooking vessels (none of them slow cookers) were about the same as found in "background" amounts in most areas. There is more lead blowing around in the air in China and parts of the American west - around old silver mines, for instance - than in these vessels. And many vegetables, especially root vegetables, contain minute amounts of lead if grown in these areas.
In one test, vegetables cooked in a stainless steel pan had only slightly less lead than in the ceramic and probably was in the vegetables to begin with and was nowhere near the minimum allowable.
You could breath in ten to one-hundred times that amount on a windy, dusty day where I live.
Nine miles north of me is a "mountain" of tailings from an old silver mine and the stuff that blows in the wind is pretty nasty stuff. The town up there had to relocate an elementary school because of the lead, cadmium and arsenic in the soil on the playground.
The wind often blows from there to here.
Anyway, as I said in the beginning, unless your ceramic liner was made in Mexico or China prior to 1980, it should be perfectly safe.
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Thanks Andie.I will keep my slow cooker for the time being,I value your knowledge and you have put my mind at rest about the problem. :)
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thanks andie :)
however if you were to buy a new one would you still buy a ceramic one or glass or stainless still or you really dont think it matters?
Im always a bit iffy about cooking materials in general :)
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thanks andie :)
however if you were to buy a new one would you still buy a ceramic one or glass or stainless still or you really dont think it matters?
Im always a bit iffy about cooking materials in general :)
I would buy the ceramic. I have a "few" slow cookers - the Cuisinart 5-quart that has the liner that can be used on the stovetop, an 8 quart West Bend "Crockery Cooker," a 4 quart Rival CrockPot, a 2 1/2 quart Rival CrockPot and a 1 quart Rival CrockPot "Fondue/Chocolate Pot" as well as a few others that are "collection" pieces, being rare discontinued models that appeared for only a brief time on the market. One has inserts to cook multiple things at the same time, works okay. One is a "programmable" slow cooker/steamer combination with a ceramic line AND a stainless steel liner with a stacking steamer for use when turned on "Ultra High/Steam." The latter was made by Panasonic in Japan and was only sold in the U.S. for a few months back in 2003-2004 - it was too expensive as one could buy a rice cooker, a slow cooker and another appliance for the same price as that not-too-efficient combination.
I only used it once. Even on the lowest setting any liquid would boil, thus defeating the purpose of a "slow" cooker. Bad design.
The ceramic liners work better because they also insulate as well as transmitting the food, allowing the appliance to use less electricity to maintain the desired temperature.
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Andie you can always be relied upon to come up with the right information and I applaud you for that. I tried to google slow cookers with a stainless steel bowl and didn't come up with any at all. I thought maybe there might be one with a pyrex insert but nothing along those lines either. That doesn't mean they don't exist, just that Mr Google is a bit slack on this one ;) He could have said there are none, instead of proceeding to show me all types of slow cookers with ceramic inserts.
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Just check the lining of the metal ones too, some have a non stick coating which can have nasties too :-\
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thanks andie....really love your contribution and input to this forum....you are a world of information....how lucky those close to you must be...i hope they realise how lucky they are!
JD I have found a few in both treated glass (they call it trempé here which is basically put in a really hot oven then rapidly cooled to strengthen the glass) and some stainless steel and obviously alot ceramic but they are mainly european brands...
Meagan Im not a fan either of non stick anything even though i have some pots and pans non stick but will start slowly replacing them after christmas...just too many projects going on before!! .my thing is that each individual item may have very few nasties but its the additional of so many nasties that do harm...I just try to minimise as much as possible without getting freaky about it....someone once said to me and its quite true that if you look how much most people put into or onto their body these days on a daily basis and not just food but also what we cook with, what we wash with, such as toothpaste, shampoo, soap or washing gels, makeup, perfume, deo etc etc etc plus whatever is around in the soil and air...I just think you need to be sensible and not go overboard but be aware all the same what your adding into that 'pile'..im very aware that specialists say something isnt dangerous...their right its not...but add up everything you have with even minimal baddies in it and thats where the problem starts...one example is I can get alot of cooking stuff for free, mainly plastic moulds etc and I dont take any of it as I just dont trust it
again thats just me and my crazy ways lol!
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just got this email from simlpy savings
TURN A STYROFOAM BOX INTO A SLOW COOKER!
Slow cookers (aka crock pots) can be expensive to buy but my version works
just as well and is free. It doesn't even use any electricity! I make a 'Hot
Box' using a styrofoam vegie box with a lid (you can get these for free from
supermarkets or greengrocers) and two old pillow cases full of polystyrene
packing chips, like the ones used for packing parcels. First, make your stew,
soup, curry or whatever you want to cook in the morning as usual and simmer
for five minutes, then turn off heat and cover with a lid. Place one stuffed
pillow in the bottom of the box, then place your cooking pot on top of the
pillow in the box. Take the second stuffed pillow and tuck your pot into
'bed'. Put the styrofoam lid on and leave to gently cook all day. Come home
tired, open the box and you will find the pot is still hot. Simply place it
on the stove, bring to the boil for three minutes and serve. That's it! I
have been using my 'Hot Box' once a week for the last 22 years!
:D :D :D ciao
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:D :D :D I like saving up to a point but I think this one is going a little too far - they are not that expensive afterall ??? ???
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Fundj that reminds me of a friends mum who makes slow cooker bags for families in Africa who have no electricity etc. It is a fabric thing like a bean bag with a space for a lidded pot and has the poly balls like a bean bag has inside. And a top and it insulates the food and cooks it like a slow cooker would ;) great charity thing she did.
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Unless you absolutely know that the temperature is not going to fall below 140° F., or 60° C., this is a chancy method.
I have a couple of the insulated hot dish carriers and have experimented with stews, chilies and soups, using a remote probe thermometer with an alarm. (The one I use for yogurt.)
The problem is, even with the best home insulating material, with the food starting at 190° F., 88° C., the temp will drop into the danger range within at most, 5-6 hours, depending on how dense the food is. Thick chili will retain heat longer than stew with chunks of meat and veg in a thinner gravy. You certainly can't cook chicken or meats under these conditions without a constant heat source.
There are commercial hot containers that will retain heat for several hours but they are very expensive. When I was catering I had several but I also had two electric "hot carts" when there was a possibility I would have to keep food hot longer than 5-6 hours. I had plenty of insurance but my business depended on not having any "accidents" with food safety.
Every year here in the U.S. there are reports of outbreaks of salmonella following church or other social potlucks because hot foods do not remain hot enough long enough or cold foods don't remain cold enough - below 40° F., 4.4° C.
It's a lot easier to keep foods cold than it is to keep them hot without an outside heat source.
The very young and the elderly and people with other health problems are the most at risk.
In my opinion, it is cheaper in the long run to spend the money on one of the inexpensive slow cookers, without all the bells and whistles of the programmable ones, than risk the health of family and friends.
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I love my cuisinart 6.5L programmable, with auto keep warm
(http://www.kitchenwaredirect.com.au/core/media/media.nl?id=19501&c=732990&h=b577f3824504a56ddd73)
It is big, but great for joints, and large capacity amounts. I love slow cooking Mexican beef for at least 12 hours on low, and then shred it.
Great for leaving and forgetting, and cooking tough meats.
Choose a smaller one (3-4 litres), if you are not making large quantities.
Smaller ones are fab for keeping gravies warm if you have people over.
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Maddy what is the bowl made of?
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That's the one I bought my DD for her birthday. I see it everytime I'm down there but have never taken any notice of what the bowl is made out of - mind you after this thread I was definitely going to next time I'm there ;)
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It's ceramic.
I had looked at the stainless steel versions, but I have read reports that people complained their food had a metalic taste :o and I thought it would a P.I.T.A to clean after several burnt-on hours :-\
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i had a look at one just now cusinart looked hte same as maddys but it said it was aluminium bowl for heat distribution?? maybe its another model but it was 6,5L programmable etc
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I would have thought aluminum wouldn't be great either :?
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as far as I know its not sorry forgot to say that too...alzeihmers has been linked to aluminium..I never use it!
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I am try DD cooker for a while before i go out and buy one. I have heard that if lift the lid to stir it’s worth 1 hour of cooking time. is that true?
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I usually stir mine a few times after a few hours and it still cooks fine so not sure if this is true Fundj I would say no
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I just cannot see the attraction of a slow cooker nowadays as I am used to Thermie doing everything for me at lightning speed. It feels as if I would be regressing rather than progressing. No, seriously it is a marvelous invention and my darling Ed swears by it. I just think Thermie is far cuter and heaps more fun.
xxx
;D
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thermie cant do EVERYTHING...alot yes but slow cooking meat etc where it just falls off the bone just isnt a thermie dish...still havent had time to have a good search for what Im after...too busy planning for a weekend in a country house with a group of friends....love catching up with friends from all over...cant wait yay!! :)
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thermie cant do EVERYTHING...alot yes but slow cooking meat etc where it just falls off the bone just isnt a thermie dish...still havent had time to have a good search for what Im after...too busy planning for a weekend in a country house with a group of friends....love catching up with friends from all over...cant wait yay!! :)
I so agree! There is just nothing like a long, slow braise at a fairly low temp to really tenderize and develop the flavor in an inexpensive hunk of meat.
The prolonged exposure to heat, in a tightly closed (often sealed with dough) vessel, at a temperature less than 300° F. (149° C.), causes the collagen (connective tissue, ligaments and etc.,) to dissolve and the protein strands to relax and release the juices into the meat itself.
(Higher heat drives the liquids out of the meat entirely, thus defeating the object of getting a juicy result.)
I took some French cooking classes from a French chef back in the late '60s and we prepared beef cuts from the shoulder (chuck) and round, in a big heavy roaster with the top sealed on with plain bread dough. It was a revelation to me.
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...too busy planning for a weekend in a country house with a group of friends....love catching up with friends from all over...cant wait yay!! :)
Sounds like fun Frozzie.
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It is jd...we do it a few Times a year to be able to catch up with friends we dont see very often...its always a really Nice weekend and we change destination each time...this Time im taking thermie (mainly for cocktails) ;D there is also a friend of a friend who is mexican coming and Will be cooking mexican (mmmmm) so that Will be interesting and Nice to meet her!
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Frozzie, have fun with your friends.
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thanks chookie :)
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I hope your weekend went well Frozzie.
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It did cookie...had a great time and I met the mexican friend of a close friend of mine and she showed us how to make Gorditas, solas i think they were called (recipes on their way lol), chicken mole and some divine chilli sauces...we had lots of fun...cant beat making new friends, free cooking class and lots of fun! Oh and I love how they pronounce the names of the dishes...sounds so much better than how we said it...she did tell me I was a natural lol and that also for pronunciation we were all very good, practically no accent at all ;D ;D There were four of us in the kitchen...only hick was one of our friends doesnt speak english but understands it pretty much but we were mostly speaking in english so sometimes she got a bit lost but it all worked out and everyone had fun!
Oh and I learnt there are so many different chillis out there haha..I knew a few existed but they put different chillis in each sauce but she is going to send me what you can substitute etc. I told her she should create a blog with her recipes and also the story behind them and what you use them for example the solas (think thats what they were called ..its all downstairs) anyway you only eat them at festivals usually church festivals where she comes from etc and I loved how she was telling me her aunts all get in and help her grandmother cooking etc..was a really interesting to talk to her and spend time with her and of course all our friends this weekend :)
and you cookie are you all settled back in at home?
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It's possible the items are sopes (so-pez) little corn patties, much thicker than tortillas that are used under a staggering array of fillings to make little appetizers.
If you can't find masa harina - you can take regular cornmeal and process it in the TMX - just as you would granulated sugar to make a finer flour-like substance.
Here's a good recipe (http://marcsala.blogspot.com/2006/06/mexican-sopes-step-by-step.html) that other folks have found very helpful.
My Mexican neighbor showed me how to make them years ago. I don't make them as cup-like as shown in the first photo.
Years ago, before I got a real tortilla press, I just mashed the balls of dough flat with a small cast-iron skillet.
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Sounds like lots of fun Frozzie
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thats them andie..sopes...i couldnt remember and i was upstairs and had just woken up when i posted the comment lol! Gina just used 3 parts corn flour (masa harina)...some ingredients arent the same as you cant always find the same as what you would get in mexico but she said its fine and they end up pretty much the same ..to one part normal flour, 2 tsp of baking powder or other raising agent, and 1 tsp of salt and she mixed it all by hand adding the water little by little until you get a non sticky dough consistency kind of like bread dough..after its the making them into thick pikeket size rounds and you turn the edges up ..to fill them we had chicken mole with cubed tomates, shredded cabbage, oignon and salsa verde (oh my goodnbess i have never had a chillli type salsa that tasted so good...yummmmmmmmmmmm) then we had the gorditas which is the same base as the sopes but instead of only water you add a chilli sauce that they make from scratch which they boil until soft with garlic and something (memory is failing me haha) and allow to cool before blending and add some of the water as it cant be a paste and must be like a sauce consistency then she uses that sauce to make the dough with a little water if not its too dry...we then fried them, slit them open like a pita bread but mini size and filled them with mashed potato and hte same filling ie tomato chopped, shredded cabbage and oignon with your choice of chilli sauces and salsas etc in seperate bowls ..miam miam mmmmmmmmmm Will be definately trying to source some of these chillis and check if the flour is just milled corn or mixed with something but she gave me the name...think ill be looking online as doubt i will find what im looking for locally! She told me that in the north they use more corn than just flour as it is typical there but in the south its not the same...but they use corn in so much of their cooking..She is translating and sending me the recipes but I have most of it in my memory...will post once i have caught up and finshed unpacking and cleaning up etc..with photos!
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Frozzie, some good subs for the mild to moderately hot chiles that you should be able to find are the banana peppers, Hungarian yellow wax peppers and the Italian pepperoncini, red or yellow.
I've a friend who lives in Lille and became "addicted" to Mexican foods when she spent a year at UCLA back in the early '90s. I used to ship her "care packages" until she found that there were acceptable substitutes available near her home.
In one letter (prior to emails) she said that she had found a store that catered to Turkish cooks and which carried the hot peppers from Turkey that were nearly identical to the dried guajillo (pronounced wa-hee-oh), or Mirasol pepper when fresh.
The fresh peppers should be blistered over a flame and the skin removed. The dried peppers should be soaked till soft but you can also blister them lightly to make the skin easier to remove.
Wear gloves - if you can get the snug-fitting surgical-type gloves, they will save your hands (and eyes).
The seeds and ribs contain more of the capsaicin than the flesh of the peppers so you can mitigate the heat somewhat by removing them.
And if a dish is too hot, you can always add sour cream and burning in the mouth can be relieved with the same or with cream or whole milk. The casein in the cream will actually surround the molecules of capsaicin and carry it away. An emergency measure, if no dairy is available or permitted, is a teaspoon of sugar, held in the mouth till it dissolves.
Water does not help, nor does beer - in spite of what some people say. Enough beer and who would notice the burn?
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thanks for that andie I jsut need to find what foreign epiceries there are in Tours where I live as that always depends on the city like anywhere i guess as to what 'foreign' products are available...i know sometimes you can find asian, african and other products in the one epicerie...there just isnt hte market for htem to have seperate shops...i know in paris there are some but Gina ended up finding a perusian epicerie that sold similar type products but she ended up smelling them she told me as they are quite distinctive apparently ?? anyway I am going to have to have a look at different foreign epiceries in the area and go and check them out to actually see what they stock as for the moment I have been relying on large supermarkets and online for foreign products..
hahaha re hte beer comment....yes although I think it would be funny to watch someone trying to get rid of the heat by drinking beer and i their reaction when and if drunk and the chilli burn...not saying want to get people drunk but you put an image in my head lol!
i know we can get either italian or spanish peppers in tins...the only fresh peppers we get are from guadaloupe or your typical birds eye chillis etc...ive usually jsut used whatever chillis are available and never really needed specific chillis like they do for mexican dishes :)