[Sca-cooks] Re: Sca-cooks digest, Vol 1 #1507 - 12 msgs

[Ruth Frey]

> Also sprach Randy Goldberg MD:
>
> >The rice was parboiled in plain water for about 7 minutes, then dumped out
> >and the almond milk was added. It was then cooked for about 20 minutes, by
> >which time it was burned, despite almost constant stirring. Next time I will
> >NOT use a 20 qt stock pot - if I really NEED that much rice, I'll do it in
> >two or three smaller vessels - you just CAN'T keep that much stuff in
> >constant motion without a motor. :-)

	Just for the heck of it, here's how I handled Blancmange
(for 60 people) for the local 12th Night:
	I basically started with Cindy Renfrow's redaction in
the first volume of _Take a Thousand Eggs..._, with the flavorings
adjusted to personal taste based on a test batch made as written.
I scaled the whole thing up 10X, as I recall.
	First, I cooked the rice (long-grain brown, which I got free
as a donation -- short-grain would've been more Period, but I'll take
"free" when I can get it) separately, in salted water, till it was done,
then mixed in a portion of almond milk.  The chicken (boneless, skinless
breasts) were cooked separately in the 2nd portion of almond milk,
removed from the milk, shredded with forks, then mixed back into their
almond milk.
	I didn't have a container large enough to mix the 2 portions
together, so I took my gallon-sized freezer bags and filled each one
half-and-half with each mixture, squished them around, and then put
them on the porch to cool off (one of the advantages to living in
a cold climate).
	The next day (the feast), I dumped the blancmange into
2 big aluminum roasting pans, covered them with foil, and set them
in the oven at low temp (about 200 - 250F) about 2 hours before the
feast.  By the time of serving, the blancmange was piping hot and
ready to go.  I sprinkled on rosewater (not in the original redaction,
but common in blancmange recipes, and tasty) and stirred it in just
before serving.
	People loved it, and it solved the question of how to
make that much blancmange without burning it in the bottom of
a big pot, or using up valuable stovetop space with lots of little
pots.  As it turned out, I had over 2 times the amount of the stuff
we needed, but it was very popular in "leftover bags".

	Not that this would've helped in a situation where there
was no kitchen, unfortunately, but it's a successful way to make
a lot of sticky rice stuff.

		-- Ruth