So, the other night, while enjoying my evening tea, Alton Brown's 'Good Eats' came on the telly. Alton Brown is probably my favorite Food Network cook/chef, though, that doesn't take a lot. In the show, Alton Brown takes one ingredient (from herb, protein, fruit, or legume) and shows the viewers how to make the most of it.
Well, the Ginger episode was on the other night, and it inspired me. He showed me how to make chrystalized or 'candied' ginger (very simple), homemade ginger ale, ginger snaps, and, of course, gingerbread. I started to get excited about it. I don't eat a lot of ginger, but this past Christmas I had begun to find a new love for gingerbread cookies. I hadn't cared for ginger before, due to a bad experience with Starbucks' Gingerbread Latte (ick!). But now I was thinking differently.
The next morning I traipsed off to New Seasons Market and bought some fresh ginger. I came home, and immediately started planning what I wanted to make. I decided to make some gingerbread chewy cookies, ginger biscotti, and gingerbread scones.
The cookies turned out very well. Nice and chewy (and are still chewy after several days.They would be gone by now but I, as well as my whole family, are trying to avoid butter and sweets so...), and substituting freshly grated ginger instead of the tasteless powder worked wonders for these little guys. Daddy said they were the best gingerbread cookies he had ever had.
The biscotti also turned out beautifully. It is less sweet than the cookies, so the ginger was more of a star than the sugar. The ginger was very pleasantly spicy. I melted some white chocolate, butter and milk, and then dipped the biscotti in. The sweetness of the white chocolate complimented the spicy ginger very well.
Lastly, there were the scones. They came out a little dry, and not very sweet. I made a maple icing to go on top, which was good, but overpowered the ginger flavor. Next time I will us the icing recipe I use for my pumpkin scones. The pumpkin recipe has the same flavor profile, so I would expect it to taste yummy.
In conclusion, I am excited to continue new (even though those recipes don't seem daring at all) experiments with ginger. I used ginger frequently before, but only in savory dishes, such as curries and different Asian dishes. Now, I will know that just because I had a dud latte, doesn't mean all ginger should stay out of the sweet dishes.
What will I make tomorrow?
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Congrats, RubySkies, and a hearty welcome to blogdom!! Your blog looks great; love the name and the colors you chose!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your first post. I'm not big on ginger, but I've only used the 'tasteless powder', so perhaps I need to give the real thing a chance. You've peaked my curiosity!
So, a big thumbs up from me... I'll be stopping by regularly!
Aunt J.
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ReplyDeleteEllie good job with the cooking and the blog. It looks very attractive and like HSMOM I have never used the fresh ginger but I have seen your Unca Dale use it quite often. I have a container of ginger powder that is probably older then me !!!!!! Anyway just want to tell you a good job well done !! ON the eats and the blog.
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