Booze

[Anne]

As all of you well know, I like baking quite a bit. Around christmas there are two recipes that require alcohol; Trifle and Fruit Mince Pies. For those I need sweet Sherry and Grand Marnier (sp?), the latter sooner then the former as Fruit Mince pie filling need to be made way before hand so it has a chance to sit. In the fridge the stuff will, as my great aunt said, 'last for ever' and the longer it sits the tastier it is.

So we asked my brother to get me some yesterday, as my mum works full time and can't really get any for me until saturdayish, and being the useless turd that he is, he didn't get it. So I complained to my mum through e-mail about how he had failed his task in hopes she would get soe one the way home. This is what was said:

Me: Josh didn't get muh booze. I don't know if he's gone out to get it now, but I'm not overly hopeful that he has...

My mum: You tell him...mum said that if his underage little sister wants booz... then he has to get it for her.


XD On a slight side note, I can't believe I'll be able to buy my own cooking booze in six months!

Edit: My mum got muh booze for me <33
The Grand Marnier was $44 and imported from France x.< No wonder my aunt said you could substitute it for Sherry and Brandy, both of those are much cheaper!

[Anne]

Woot! The fruit mince mixture has been made! Of course now I want to pass out from all the strong smells Dx

There is an insane amount of stuff in it.

Me: *sitting cutting dates* It's like someone sat down and said 'what's in my cupboard? Great! I'm going to shove it all in here and then make Anne chop it up so her wrists break'

Mother: No! They made it with lots of yummy stuff and you were really fortunate if you could afford all these things for Christmas. Of course they probably had servants to make theirs... which is where you come in.

Me: XD Gee, thanks.

Mother: No! I mean... its so you can feel all proud that you made this and stuff... *gets out the camera to take footage*

[Anne]

Basic Fruit Mixture

For anyone whose interested! My aunt gets about 50 pies, a christmas putting and a christmas cake out of this recipe so naturally I halved it because I'm not going to need all of that. I actually think this might be vegan because the pastry has no dairy or eggs in it and unless Glace isn't vegan... (P.S, if this is 'basic' I'm not sure I want to know what 'complex' fruit mixture contains)

1kg sultanas
375g currants
375g raisins, chopped
250g dates, chopped
250g prunes, chopped
250g glace cherries, quartered
125g glace appricots, chopped
125g glace pineapple, chopped
125g glace ginger, chopped
125g mixed peel

3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, grated
2/3 cup fig (or any other) jam
2 tablespoons grated orange rind
1/2 orange juice
1 tablespoons grated lemon rind
/4 lemon juice
2 cups (500g) brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tablespoon mixed spice
1 1/3 Grand Marnier (Sherry or brandy will do)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl (and they mean REALLY HUGE, seriously o.o), mix well with hand. Cover tightly with plastic wrap to exclude air. Store the mixture in a cool, dark cupboard for up to a month (or longer, if desired) before using. Sir fruit mixture every 2 or 3 days.

My aunt told me the fridge would do and that she left it in the bowl for a few days so it was easier to stir. After that she kept them in jars, with those jam-lid things on the top.

[Sofia]

Dec 17, 2008 2:32:12 GMT -5 Anne said:

My mum: You tell him...mum said that if his underage little sister wants booz... then he has to get it for her.

xDDD

Proof my dad is crazy: When I was three, he put wine in my bottle. 0_o
Needless to say, I got drunk. I passed out actually, and my mom got REALLY huge angry at him.

[Sorie]

My mom's tried before to make me an underaged drunkard, but just the smell of alcohol repels me, let alone the taste of it.

The pie sounds well tasty, though.

[Anne]

The smell is equally repugnant to me, Sorie, as is the taste. I dislike a substance that is cold but makes me feel warm inside. Bleh.

However it can be nice in cooking and the process should cook away most of the alcoholic elements.

www.countryliving.com/cooking/recipes/holiday-desserts-1208 - You should look at this site, its really nifty. Those people like maple syrup and pumpkin a lot, though xD

[Ice]

50 pies? Good lord! How big are they, exactly?

(Also, I never got the point of putting alcohol in food... does it add flavor? Smell? Some sort of chemical reaction?)

[Uber Loodle]

I love putting alcohol in food.
Beer battered fired haddock, gnocchi in vodka sauce...<3

But alcohol isn't tasty.
My parents aren't big drinkers, but whatever they buy, I try, then spit out in disgust. XD

[Sofia]

Gnocchi = <3

[Uber Loodle]

Indeed it does.
No one else shares my passion for it around here.

The best place to get it is Tony's Little Italy in Boston. You get this giant bowl of gnocchi and vodka sauce and this big thing of bread to dip in your vodka sauce when your gnocchi's gone. And then there's spices on top and...*dies*

[Anne]

Yes, its for flavour, Nut. I think that it also acts as a kind of... non-bad-chemical food preserver also, which is why I assume it was so loved in the grand old olden days xP

[Uber Loodle]

Dec 18, 2008 18:53:12 GMT -5 Anne said:

I think that it also acts as a kind of... non-bad-chemical food preserver also, which is why I assume it was so loved in the grand old olden days xP

I do believe you are correct.
Based on my knowledge that the pilgrims drank beer instead of water because it didn't get stale/contaminated.
But now that I think of it...water doesn't get...stale. XD
Shutting up. =P

[Monkey]

Dec 18, 2008 19:10:19 GMT -5 Uber Loodle said:

Based on my knowledge that the pilgrims drank beer instead of water because it didn't get stale/contaminated.
But now that I think of it...water doesn't get...stale. XD
Shutting up. =P

No, but standing water is a breeding ground for insects and waterborne illnesses, so you may be on the right track. ^^

[Anne]

Plus I think alcoholic drinks can help you warm up (I've read mead does, anyway) and acts as a great self-medication, which I would probably want too if I'd spent 4 months trapped on a ship only to be dumped on some alien wilderness to get speared by natives or eaten by a bear xD

Or, in our case, dumped in the middle of no where with no obvious food sources, a sack of crop seeds and weather that no pom could possibly be aclimatized to, to get speared by natives xD

[Uber Loodle]

Actually, I never even thought about that...how WAS Australia settled?
They teach us no world history until junior year. XD