Big Trouble
INGREDIENTS
2 or more bored 10-year-olds
1 blowtorch
1 stray cat
1 can gasoline (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Blend and leave unattended.
Variation: Add Kool-Aid with grain alcohol or fortified wine before blending. Neighbor’s dog or backyard shed may be substituted for stray cat.
[QUOTE=tdn]
In what recipes is a blow torch called for? I just got one as a gift, but my poor arteries can’t handle creme brulee on a regular enough basis to justify owning one.
How long does it take to blow torch a frozen turkey to doneness?
[/QUOTE]
Seems to me that with a handy-dandy blow torch you could buy yourself a lot of real estate on your kitchen counter that is presently being wasted on a toaster…
Custard fireball!
ANYTHING fireball!
You just need a length of hose attached to a funnel. Put 2 spoons of powdered whatever (I’ve used cornflour/starch, custard mix and non-dairy creamer to great success) in the funnel, position the funnel under the blowtorch flame, and blow!
The sugar in the custard powder burns, giving a delightful roast marshmallowy smell.
So, its not exactly a recipe for food - it’s a recipe for FUN!
You could try making Irish coffee but I don’t know where you’ll get the asbestos gloves these days.
Actually, last night I used it to crisp up some chicken skin that was looking a bit “wet.”
I got some good ideas when I asked the same thing on eGullet.
I don’t like it for toasting bell peppers though. The torch is so hot the skin falls off before the flesh has a chance to cook so what you get is a deskinned, raw pepper.
[QUOTE=Shalmanese]
I got some good ideas when I asked the same thing on eGullet.
[/QUOTE]
Good stuff there, thanks.
French onion soup seems like a great use for it.
I once saw Julia Child on the Letterman show, using a propane hand torch to make a patty melt.
[QUOTE=Vinyl Turnip]
Big Trouble
INGREDIENTS
2 or more bored 10-year-olds
1 blowtorch
1 stray cat
1 can gasoline (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Blend and leave unattended.
Variation: Add Kool-Aid with grain alcohol or fortified wine before blending. Neighbor’s dog or backyard shed may be substituted for stray cat.
[/QUOTE]
Is this supposed to be funny? Because I assure you it’s not.
I’m sure I’m about to be piled on, but I have to look askance at anyone who finds humor in the idea of setting animals on fire. Ha ha, torturing small animals in the most hideous way imaginable, yeah that’s a real knee slapper.
You could conceivably make candy apple ribs. Dip the finished rack o’ ribs in cherry juice and then roll in brown turbinado sugar and torch them babies up! Make a hard candy rub.
[QUOTE=Licentious Ectomorph]
Is this supposed to be funny? Because I assure you it’s not.
[/QUOTE]
Eh, it’s not my A-list material. I think the refund counter’s still open if you hurry.
[QUOTE=Shalmanese]
I don’t like it for toasting bell peppers though. The torch is so hot the skin falls off before the flesh has a chance to cook so what you get is a deskinned, raw pepper.
[/QUOTE]
I think this just means you’re holding it too close to the skin. But I use a plumber’s blowtorch to toast peppers - much quicker.
[QUOTE=tdn]
Actually, last night I used it to crisp up some chicken skin that was looking a bit “wet.”
[/QUOTE]
Stuck in the back of my brain somewhere is this memory of a news report or article where they state that all of that delicious food in magazine pics, on TV commercials and some window displays is not as delicious as it looks.
When the food exists only for the pretty picture the preparers do some weird things like -
shaving cream used as a sub for whip cream
Mashed potatoes made with paste or other unnatural additives
and
A whole raw turkey made to look fully roasted by takinf a blowtorch to the skin and carefullyh “painting” in the browness. :eek:
…rising steam coming from a tampon dipped in boiling water and hidden behind a food item or behind the back of the plate - the food itself is not steaming hot.
[QUOTE=Mangetout]
…rising steam coming from a tampon dipped in boiling water and hidden behind a food item or behind the back of the plate - the food itself is not steaming hot.
[/QUOTE]
Yeah, well…
Now I have a craving for rose hip tea.
[QUOTE=Dr. Rieux]
I once saw Julia Child on the Letterman show, using a propane hand torch to make a patty melt.
[/QUOTE]
Ya gotta love the woman.
[QUOTE=CalMeacham]
tdn – We went to two restaurants in the past few months that had creme brulee, which I’d never had before, so we tried it. MilliCal loved it – except for that hard-crackle sugar crust on the top (that’s so hard to make and that some people die for). The second time we tried it, she insisted that someone else eat the crust off.
[/QUOTE]
The crust indeed is the best part, nay, the point of crème brûlée. MilliCal might want to try crème caramel next time. It’s a similar idea, although usually a little bit lighter than crème brûlée, and instead of hard candy caramel on top, there’s a caramel syrup. So, in other words, flan. Wikipedia says they’re the same thing–I’ve noticed that flan usually has evaporated milk and/or condensed milk, while crème caramel doesn’t have either (that I’ve seen).
Oh, the crust is not hard to make at all. Just sprinkly a layer of fine sugar, and blowtorch it or place it under a broiler. With the broiler, it is a little bit tricky to get it to brown evenly and not burn. With a torch, it’s simple.
You can use a blowtorch to finish off a Spanish tortilla when you’ve put far too much into it to turn it over in the pan.
I wonder if one could use it to make pizza…
[QUOTE=pulykamell]
The crust indeed is the best part, nay, the point of crème brûlée. MilliCal might want to try crème caramel next time. It’s a similar idea, although usually a little bit lighter than crème brûlée, and instead of hard candy caramel on top, there’s a caramel syrup. So, in other words, flan. Wikipedia says they’re the same thing–I’ve noticed that flan usually has evaporated milk and/or condensed milk, while crème caramel doesn’t have either (that I’ve seen).
Oh, the crust is not hard to make at all. Just sprinkly a layer of fine sugar, and blowtorch it or place it under a broiler. With the broiler, it is a little bit tricky to get it to brown evenly and not burn. With a torch, it’s simple.
[/QUOTE]
I thought the preferred method entails using turbinado sugar–raw sugar. True, false, donna matter?
[QUOTE=Licentious Ectomorph]
Is this supposed to be funny? Because I assure you it’s not.
I’m sure I’m about to be piled on, but I have to look askance at anyone who finds humor in the idea of setting animals on fire. Ha ha, torturing small animals in the most hideous way imaginable, yeah that’s a real knee slapper.
[/QUOTE]
Agreed.