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Christmas Puddings
Dec. 3rd, 2011 03:57 amOh my god, they're beautiful. The batter was grainy. It took so *long*--waiting for mold-delivery, over-night marinating, then the actual irksome mixing, then six hours steaming under a careful watch so the water level remained constantly at 1/3 of the molds' depth. I feared I hadn't tied them with twine well enough and water might have been admitted. I forgot a small step (the pie-tin or jam jar lid under the puddings, between the thick ceramic pudding molds and the metal pots) and was petrified.
But I untied the strings, lifted the wax paper and the foil and--beautiful. They look as they should. They smell perfect. Worst case scenario the bottoms are too brown, or even a touch burnt (though I don't think this has happened), or I fuck up the three-hour boil on the day, or the decanting, or the final brandy-bath (though I have two puddings in case of such emergencies). But even in these cases the majority of the pudding will probable be edible (and I can sculpt it pretty again). And I've an heir and a spare. I am shocked and elated and fiercely happy. Well done.
The stir-up prep phase is complete and I can move on to the next, easier level. Nothing except possibly the Bûche de Noël, the goose or duck (haven't decided) on the day and poooosibly the gingerbread house will be so challenging as the mincemeat, christmas cakes and christmas puddings, none of which I'd made before. I've pretty much decided not to try the Croquembouche for the party because to do it well I think I'd need some serious equipment (the tower sculpting piece, because some of the free form ones I looked at seem a bit sloppy), and I already have WAY too many deserts. Also it's something I've never eaten, and I get a bit nervous cooking foods/using ingredients I've never had anything *like*, because I lack a sense of what I'm aiming for and a commensurate awareness of what might work or might not or what's success and what's failure. Edibility, obviously, is something of a success, but it's an issue if your sushi tastes like Salisbury steak.
But I untied the strings, lifted the wax paper and the foil and--beautiful. They look as they should. They smell perfect. Worst case scenario the bottoms are too brown, or even a touch burnt (though I don't think this has happened), or I fuck up the three-hour boil on the day, or the decanting, or the final brandy-bath (though I have two puddings in case of such emergencies). But even in these cases the majority of the pudding will probable be edible (and I can sculpt it pretty again). And I've an heir and a spare. I am shocked and elated and fiercely happy. Well done.
The stir-up prep phase is complete and I can move on to the next, easier level. Nothing except possibly the Bûche de Noël, the goose or duck (haven't decided) on the day and poooosibly the gingerbread house will be so challenging as the mincemeat, christmas cakes and christmas puddings, none of which I'd made before. I've pretty much decided not to try the Croquembouche for the party because to do it well I think I'd need some serious equipment (the tower sculpting piece, because some of the free form ones I looked at seem a bit sloppy), and I already have WAY too many deserts. Also it's something I've never eaten, and I get a bit nervous cooking foods/using ingredients I've never had anything *like*, because I lack a sense of what I'm aiming for and a commensurate awareness of what might work or might not or what's success and what's failure. Edibility, obviously, is something of a success, but it's an issue if your sushi tastes like Salisbury steak.
