Dulce De Leche

For a long time, Dulce de leche was on my list of things to try. But I had heard of just two methods, one was to slave over a stove top for four hours and the other cooking a can of condensed milk under pressure - unopened. Neither seemed worth the effort. A few months back everything changed. I bought a new Instant pot pressure cooker right in the middle of the holiday season and joined a Facebook group of IP users. Everyone was trying Dulce de leche. This is my attempt.

I bought a pint sized mason jar and a can of Eagle brand 14 oz. condensed milk. I poured the milk in the mason jar and cooked it in the IP. Dulce de leche was ready. It was that simple. If you have an instant pot and a sweet tooth, you have to try the recipe.

You will need
1 can condensed milk (I used the 14 oz Eagle brand sweet condensed milk)
You will also need a mason jar. I used a one pint sized jar.

Wash and clean the jar. Open the can of milk and empty the contents in the jar.

Place the top on the jar, then place the lid and screw into place until you feel it resisting but not too tight. Place a trivet in the IP, I used the trivet that came with the IP. Place the jar over the trivet. Pour water around the jar until it is the same height as the milk in the jar, about half way up the jar.

Set the IP in manual mode for 35 minutes on High. NPR (natural pressure release) for 15 minutes. What that means is that you do not touch the IP until it finishes cooking and then starts counting up. You stop when it counts up to 15. Thereafter, you can release the pressure slowly by turning the value to venting. Once the pin drops and the pressure is released, open the IP and remove the jar. Careful, the jar is hot. Place the jar on the counter top to cool.

I let it cool for an hour and a half on the counter top then placed it in the refrigerator. Let it cool for a few hours. The Dulce de leche is ready!

Enjoy!

Note: If you like a thinner consistency, cook it for about 30 minutes, no more.





Enjoy!

This is my entry for week four, day three of BM #88 for the theme Bookmarked recipes. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#88.

Gruyere Cheese Sauce

Gruyere white sauce is usually served over dumplings. But you can use it in any recipe that calls for a cheese sauce. This sauce is really an application of the béchamel sauce with Gruyere cheese. The cheese thickens the sauce. This is a nice to know basic recipe that can be pulled out of the hat when needed.

Use a cooking cheese like gruyere or substitute Asiago or Romano.

You will need
4 tbsp. butter
4 tbsp. all purpose flour
1 cup cold milk
1/4 cup gruyere
salt and black pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Watch the pan, I looked away and burned one batch of butter. Add the flour and whisk continuously until the flour is blended in and the mixture cooks and turns a light brown color.

Add cold milk. If you cook with wine use 3/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup dry white wine. Let the mixture cook for about 5 minutes. Add shredded cheese and season with salt and pepper. Turn off heat and whisk until smooth. Tastes best when hot.

Note: If you like it a runnier texture increase the amount of milk or decrease the amount of flour.

Basic Bread Dough For Shaping

This is a simple basic bread dough recipe that I use when shaping bread. I use commercial yeast and mostly whole wheat flour.

You will need
1 egg
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. milk
1/2 cup water
1 1/4 oz. Fleischmann instant yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1 cup all purpose flour
3 cups whole wheat flour (I used chappati flour, you can use white whole wheat flour)

Beat the egg in a mixing bowl. In a microwavable cup mix the milk and water. Heat in the microwave for 20 seconds or until warm. Combine the milk solution with the beaten egg. Mix in the sugar, oil and the yeast. Sift the flour. Add the flour and salt to the wet ingredients. Knead into a soft dough. This dough is not very sticky. If it gets sticky add a little flour but no more than 1/2 a cup.

Knead into a ball and place in an oiled bowl. Cover and allow it to rise until doubled in volume. Use to shape as needed.

Chocolate glaze (without corn syrup)

Chocolate glaze is used to decorate cakes and pastries. It is very easy to make. Most recipes use corn syrup but it is not really needed to make good chocolate glaze.

You will need
1 1/2 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. Agave nectar or honey
2 tbsp. butter
a handful of semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine all the ingredients in a microwaveable bowl and heat for 10 seconds. Stir and put it back for 10 seconds. Repeat until the chocolate chips and butter are completely melted. Keep aside and let it cool. It will thicken a little. Use as needed.

Basic White Sauce

White sauce is used as a base for a lot of recipes. It adds a creamy texture and provides a flavored base to build on.

You will need

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. flour

3/4 cup warm milk

salt and pepper to taste

In a sauce pan melt butter on medium heat. Add in the flour a half tbsp. at a time and whisk in. Cook the mixture for a couple minutes. Pour in warm milk whisking all the time to prevent lumps. Never add cold milk to the sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 3-4 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn off heat. Used as called for in the recipe.