SC - A redacting experience - LONG

[kat]

Hi folks!  Did some cooking last night & wanted to share my results with you!

A couple of times previously, I have made Hais, that wonderful date-nut confection rolled in sugar.  They tasted terrific, but I was always mystified at the statement that they were "excellent for travelers."  Ugh!  Sticky and gooey, I thought.

Well, last night I was mixing up a batch, and I decided to redact the recipe instead of just following it.  So, substituting the amounts Cariadoc translated in *his* redaction into the text of the original in place of the unfamiliar uqiya and ratl, I set up the recipe as though I was an English housewife reading it for the first time:

	"Take fine dry bread or biscuit, and grind up well.  Take [2-2/3 cups] of this, and [2 cups] of fresh or preserved dates with the stones removed, together with [2/3 cup] of ground almonds and pistachios.  Knead all together very well with the hands.  Refine [7 Tbsp] of sesame oil and pour over, working with the hand until it is mixed in.  Make into cabobs, and dust with fine ground sugar.  If desired, instead of sesame oil, use butter.  This is excellent for travelers."

I placed a little over two pounds of dates in a large bowl, rinsed them and covered them with water to which I added a little sherry.  (Why? See [1] below.)  I then pitted the dates and drained them well.

I sliced a French loaf, dried it in the oven and had my trusty scullery maid, Little Oster, make it into crumbs.  She also ground up a quarter-pound of almonds and the 1/3 pound of pistachios I had shelled and blanched.  (Why?  [2].)

I measured 5-1/3 cups of crumbs and 2/3 cup each of almonds and pistachios into a large bowl and mixed them together.  (Previous experience:  In my processor you need to add the dry stuff when you're processing the dates, or the dates will just gum up the machine.)  

In a small bowl, I softened a cube of unsalted butter and added three tablespoons of sesame oil. (Why? [3])

Little Oster then began grinding batches of dates combined with small amounts of the dry mixture and oil/butter mixture.  I didn't grind it to a smooth paste, just an evenly combined mixture.  I then kneaded that into the remainder of the dry mixture and worked it with my hands for a while.

I was still puzzled about the traveling food concept and, thinking "finely ground sugar" might be the clue, I had intended to buy superfine sugar--but my store was out of it.  So I went home, threw a cup and a half of white sugar into a tall, narrow pitcher, and sent my other trusty kitchen servant, Braun Hand Blender, to work on it.  ;-)

Lo and behold, that was the answer!  I rolled the balls into the sugar, set them aside, and then rolled them a second time after getting the date goo off my hands.  And darned if you couldn't just pick them up!  No goo, no stick, nothing!

I had made them previously with regular table sugar and once with powdered sugar (I know, I know; I was in a hurry, OK? <g>) and they had been sticky and messy both times--BUT the "finely ground sugar" worked wonders!  



[1]  I had recently redacted a couple of Euro recipes using dried fruits that had called for them to be "washed in wine."  I found I liked the idea, and did it for two reasons:  One, the slightly antiseptic quality of the alcohol might kill any germs from careless handling in the bulk bins; and two, an English housewife probably would not know that a follower of Allah would forswear wine--and if she did, it wouldn't stop her using it anyway.

[2]  I didn't think they would roast pistachios, so I tried to remove as much of the "toasted" husks as possible; and I needed to wash off the salt anyway.

[3]   One, these are rich enough and the extra fat didn't make a noticeable difference any of the times I had made them before; and two, toasted sesame oil is probably a LOT stronger than the stuff they had then, so mixing it with the butter toned it down a lot.  Unsalted butter was all they had left of the sale brand.


Thanks for listening, and sorry for the long post!

	- kat

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