4 that warms your Recipes

make and maintain your own sourdough starter, need a volume of at least 1 and 1/3 cups., there are several ingredient combinations for making wild, yeast sourdough, is to grate a raw potato. then add enough water to cover, enough flour to make a thin batter of about a cup and a, third in volume ., method is to use water that you ve boiled potatoes, in instead of the grated potato and water combination., you can also use flour , sugar and water. use 1 cup of, flour , a tbsp of sugar and enough water to make a, pancake consistency batter ., yet another is to simply mix together equal amounts of water, flour (whole wheat is best for this)., anything that provides food for the yeast and a good growing, environment will work. yeast needs sugar or carbohydrates, which it converts to sugar), and clear liquid., make your choice based on what you have handy and just because, what you d like to try. don tsp worry about whether or, not 1 set of ingredients will work better than another, because the chances are that they will all be equally, efficient in attracting wild (sour) yeast. there is no exact, recipe because there are so many other variables in each house, that will invite or dissuade wild yeasts from entering the, mixture. if at first you don tsp succeed, try, try again . the, most important thing is the method ., when you have decided on the ingredients you want , put them in, a glass container that will hold at least three times the, volume of the ingredients. mix lightly with a wooden or, plastic spoon as some metals will react to it. the working of, starter will mix itself ., leave the mixture undisturbed and loosely covered with a cloth, perforated plastic (to allow gases to escape) at warm room, temperature until it begins to froth or work and expand., this is a sign that wild yeasts have made themselves at home, what you re after. the new starter will rise up in, then fall again. when it has , it s ready for, use. (note: it will smell sour !), when you use it , always leave some in the container and add, flour and water back to equal what you ve taken out. most, recipes call for a cup of starter, so replace it with a half, flour and a half-cup of water and set it in a warm, place to work again ., you will probably see a liquid covering the top at 1 time or, this is called hooch , and it s exactly what it, sounds like , but don tsp drink it! actually, it s harmless, so, stir it back into the starter if the starter is thick, or if, either way ., keep sourdough in the refrigerator unless you use it at least, every third day. if you use it that often , you can leave it on, counter or any place where it s safe. if you can tsp, refrigerate it , you can keep it fresh by throwing out a cup of, it every second or third day and then replenish with flour and, water. wait until it works again before counting days ., a properly cared for starter can live indefinitely, but if you, leave it out without using it for too long, the yeast can, literally suffocate in its own waste products. if the starter, looks off color (grayish is normal) or turns pink, toss it and, start fresh ., what can you make with sourdough besides the traditional, bread , you can make biscuits, pancakes, pretzels, bagels, muffins , cornbread and even cookies! once you re comfortable, using it , you can experiment with your favorite yeast or, baking powder recipes. simply put , you substitute sourdough

i use a 3 1/2 to 4 lb chuck roast, well marbelized with fat, and if you can find a bone-in roast, that s better yet (but it s almost always boneless chuck that you find at the grocer). i like to quickly rinse the roast in cold water just before i lay it on the cutting board to coat it with seasoned flour. place the following ingredients in a small baggie and shake the closed bag to mix it up, flour, salt, garlic salt, crazy mixed-up salt (if you can tsp get this seasoning, use seasoned salt instead, but jane s is by far the best), pepper, use your hands to generously pat the seasoned flour into the roast, on both sides, flipping the roast a couple times and repeating the process., in a dutch oven or roasting pan large enough to hold the roast, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium high heat - you want your pan and oil to be hot enough to sear the roast well when you put it in the pan. when the oil is just about to the smoking point, put the roast in and cover the pan. let the meat sear until nicely browned on the bottom, then flip the roast. let it sear for a minute or two on the second side, then add, beef stock (i much prefer the boxed stock to the canned broth - it just seems to give the gravy a much richer taste in the end), cover the roasting pan and place it in a pre-heated 300 degree oven. roast for 4 to 5 hours, until the meat is fork tender and falls apart easily. i check the roast each hour, quickly opening the lid, just to make sure the stock has not evaporated. as long as your pan has a good seal on it, this shouldn tsp happen. but if necessary, add more stock to the pan., an hour before the roast is done , prepare the mashed potatoes. peel 6 large red potatoes (these work better - at least for me - because they are much moister than the russets, so the mashed potatoes are creamier); cut into 1/4th, and place them in a large saucepan - rinse the cut potatoes 2 times in cold water, then cover them in fresh cold water and place the pan over medium high heat; boil until tender. this is usually about 30 minutes, but it depends on the size of your cuts, so just cook them until you can easily insert a fork into a potato. drain potatoes well, reserving 1 cup of the water for the gravy. add the following to the hot potatoes, butter, sour cream, milk, salt, crazy mixed up salt (use regular salt or garlic salt if jane s salt is not available), pepper, i use a hand masher , but you can use an electric mixer or however you chose to mash the potatoes into a creamy yet firm texture. add more milk if potatoes are too stiff. place the mashed potatoes in a buttered casserole dish, cover with foil, and place in the oven to keep warm while you make the gravy., prepare the gravy, melt 2 tbsp butter, stir in 1/4 cup flour to make a paste, stir in enough beef stock to thin the paste enough to pour., finished roast from the pan and place it on a plate; cover meat with foil to keep warm., place the roasting pan over a medium flame and bring the liquid to a gentle boil (i usually seem to have about 1 1/2 to 2 cups liquid in the pan when the roast is done - if you have less, just use the beef stock to increase your liquid)., use a whisk to gradually whisk in the butter/flour/stock liquid., add 2 tbsp beef base - i use tone s (i prefer beef base to buillon - has a richer flavor and is really worth having on hand, but if you can tsp find this, try knorr s beef buillon extra large cubes), add the 1 cup of reserved potato water, add 1/2 cup beef stock, taste the gravy and see if you want more seasoning. i usually find i don tsp need to add anything at this point, since i have the seasoning from the flour coating and the stock and the beef base. if you think you need more seasoning, add salt and pepper to your taste. beef base will also give you more saltiness., keep the gravy warm while you uncover the meat and use 2 forks to pull the meat apart into small to medium chunks., you are now ready to assemble...

cardamom pods (split in half ), cinnamon sticks (whole ), fresh gingerroot (sliced ), red wine, sugar, vodka (optional), orange, sliced for serving