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An elderly friend died last year and among other things I inherited a couple of bottles of Creme de Menthe. For anyone unfamiliar, it's bright green and very minty -- 60 proof / 30% alcohol by volume. I'm not a regular drinker, and I am one of those weirdos that believes in waste-not, want-not, so I felt obligated to find a way to (slowly) consume it. My eventual choice was to pour a shot or two over a bowl of chocolate ice cream -- not bad, compare to mint chocolate-chip ice cream, with a little kick.
Any other suggestions?
[An Anonymous Editor suggested Creme de Menthe Brownies (located at the bottom of the page).]
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Ask Soylent - What to Do With a Bottle of Creme de Menthe
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(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 19 2018, @12:37AM (5 children)
Use it to make pie crusts. Alcohol will add liquid to make the crust easier to work, but not allow for gluten development (the protein structure obtained through kneading requires water).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 19 2018, @09:40AM (3 children)
You shouldn't really be handling pie crust enough enough for it to form gluten anyways. Cut in your butter, mix until it holds together and shape.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 19 2018, @11:36AM (1 child)
While it is true you shouldn't be mixing enough to develop gluten, lots of folks overdo it by accident, or tear the crust and end up re-rolling or add too much flour during rolling or whatever.
Adding high proof alcohol has been shown to help mitigate gluten development with some of this, resulting in an extra tender/flake crust. The original recipe that made the rounds quite a few years ago used vodka, but I immediately realized it could also help with flavor. Making an apple pie? Add some apple brandy, etc. Chocolate mint seems a good application here too.
(Score: 2) by Muad'Dave on Monday November 19 2018, @12:42PM
You follow Alton Brown, don't you?
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 19 2018, @01:01PM
True, but it will still make it easier to handle. It can also allow you to use a higher protein flour, which will promote browning of the crust, with less caution.
Different techniques and recipes for different problems:
Too much browning - add a little bit of acidic ingredients (lemon juice, vinegar, tartaric acid) to inhibit the Maillard reaction, use a bleached low protein flour (cake flour or southern flours like White Lily), use a light colored pie dish and don't or only briefly blind bake, use water instead of milk, etc.
Tough pie crust - substitute some alcohol for water, use a low protein flour, use whole wheat flour, substitute some non-gluten flour (e.g. almond flour), use shortening or lard instead of butter (which is ~20% water), etc.
(Score: 2) by meustrus on Monday November 19 2018, @08:49PM
If you're all that worried about gluten, use a gluten-free flour! Cup4Cup's blend is good for flaky pastries. Personally, I have my own mix of sorghum, tapioca, and almond flours with potato starch and xanthan gum, but I don't remember the exact proportions. The Gluten-Free On A Shoestring website has a recipe for this purpose [glutenfreeonashoestring.com] as well.
If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?