1 Sketchy's Kitchen: Ingredients Archives

Recently in Ingredients Category

DSC_0179.jpg

Next up on the cupcake train: delectable devils food cupcakes.  With these, you start with a great cupcake base, and then you just start adding stuff to them without telling anyone.  These cupcakes are ripe for filling; something deserves to go inside so they can be happy.  Some might think custard, or some weird store bought icing substitute, but marshmallow fits the bill the best.

 

Thumbnail image for DSC_0169.jpg

What kind of marshmallow should go inside?  Obviously, homemade marshmallows, what other kind are there? Well, in a pinch, marshmallow fluff might be acceptable, but not in my house :)

 

Flavors:  Plain is just too plain, you need something to jump out and surprise your cupcake patrons.  First, think about your icing.  If you use the recipe here, it will have a strong cocoa flavor, so you need something to compete with and compliment that flavor at the same time.  Some favorites with chocolate are orange, lavender, mint, raspberry, and cherry.

 

I chose a vanilla orange filling for these cupcakes.  First, you have to let the cupcakes come to room temperature, or you will have a huge mess on your hands.  I have a few recipes for marshmallows; I chose to use the one that I adapted from the elBulli recipe for passionfruit marshmallows.  This is a moister marshmallow, this helps keep the cupcake from drying out.

 

I should have already mentioned this - if you don't have a stand mixer, you will either lose an arm making this recipe, or have to compromise some of the parts and use store bought replacements. 


DSC_0149.jpg

The marshmallows will make your stand mixer work a little overtime, but it will make enough to fill 36 cupcakes AND probably another 60.  So you will end up with homemade marshmallows afterward.  Friends and family will gladly take them.  If you cannot find anyone to take them, start drinking list of hot chocolate, or go camping....

 

Where were we?  Ok, you have the cupcakes made and the marshmallows in the stand mixer, the next step is to pipe the filling into the cupcakes.  This should be easier, but it's just a mess.  The marshmallows are beyond sticky; i suggest using gloves when you load the mess into the piping bag.  Use a plain round tip, and test the amount to pipe inside the cupcake.  The goal is to get a decent amount of marshmallow in the cupcake; it is easy to underestimate how much you piped in.

 

Once they are all piped, you need to take the remaining marshmallows and spread them in a pan, or pipe out strings for mini mallows. Follow this link to learn about the recipe.

 

Icing: Chocolate Swiss Buttercream. This produces a wonderful icing every time that is delicate and flavorful.   Using cocoa instead of chocolate alters the flavor and makes it a little more ... chocolaty.  Get a good Dutch processed cocoa and give it a try.  Making this can be a little different.  You whisk the egg whites and sugar over a double boiler before whisking in the stand mixer, then you add in the butter two tablespoons at a time (along with the cocoa) until you have a stable buttercream.  Many people have issues making Swiss and Italian buttercreams.  If you follow the directions and use a candy thermometer when needed (depending on the icing you are making).  I've never had a batch that I could not recover if it tried to break.  If you try this and it breaks, I can probably help.

 

DSC_0182.jpg

For piping, I use an Ateco 825 tip with most of my icings.  I love the shape and size of the output, many people have asked me about this, so I thought I would share that here.

 

Pipe the buttercream and eat some cupcakes :D  Recipes after the break.


DSC_0185.jpg


 

 

chocolatechip.jpgEveryone likes chocolate chip cookies, I'm a fan of the thin and crispy ones, my wife likes the chewy ones, and our son likes anything you give him.  I've seen Alton Brown make thin and crispy ones, I've made toll house cookies, and every variation across the board.  A few months ago i set out to make the perfect chocolate cookies for us.  I estimate 20 to 25 batches of cookies were baked to come up with the one the family like the most.


Brown sugar makes a chewy cookie, white sugar makes a thin, crispy cookie.  With this recipe, i have opted for more white sugar for a thin edge, and some brown sugar to keep part of the cookie thick and chewy. I chose to use baking powder and baking soda to keep the cookie from spreading too much, and the addition of the baking powder adds a subtle salty taste to the final product, which everyone has enjoyed.


The liquor adds a nice hint of flavor to the cookie that can be hard to identify, but it also serves another purpose.  The additional liquid helps the spread, and ensures crispy edges with their high sugar content.  Rum is a great flavor, but amaretto works nicely, as well as grand mariner.  Ricard was noticable by me, but the taste testers didn't mind the additional bitter hint.  I think I will try sambuca next time.  Mint liquors would also be interesting to play with.


Why parchment paper? Well, there is nothing better for cookies.  I have tried non stick pans, i have tried silpat. Use parchment paper!  The cookies never stick to it, and you can use it over and over.  I have two scoops to dish out the cookies.  If you do not have a scooper, you can use a tablespoon to drop the cookies on the parchment paper lined pans.  The scoop I use to make chocolate truffles is perfect for small, children size, cookies.  And the larger scoop makes nine sized adult cookies.


Let the cookies rest for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer them to a cooking rack.  The edges are crispy, and the centers are nice and chewy

 

If you decide to use this recipe, go ahead and tell me how they came out, and what you used in them.  Perhaps I will try adding some bacon next time I make them ...

Due to some domain issues, my website went down the day before the big reveal. SO verry sorry.

Each month the Daring Cooks take on a challenging new recipe to test out abilities and comfort zones. I was granted the honor of hosting the July challenge. I opted to go for one of my own culinary passions - Molecular Cuisine.  Many people are afraid to even broach the subject in the kitchen, or have decided they don't like the cooking style - having never attempted or tried the resulting food.

I chose something that would introduce the Daring Cooks to the style of cooking without requiring expensive tools or exotic ingredients (no chemicals required). An oven or microwave would prepare most of the ingredients.  All you needed that was 'different' - a coffee/herb grinder, or a morter and pestle.

For July, I delved into a fascinating cookbook and pulled out Skate - Traditional Flavors Powdered. This is a dish from Grant Achatz, found in the Alinea cookbook - page 230.I feel this is a good introduction to Molecular Cuisine.  Just a little work and you can make this, the techniques are not very hard and only require a few tools.

DSC_0875.jpg  Onto the recipe:

Skate, Traditional Flavors Powdered - with changes

  • 4 skate wings
  • * Beurre monte
  • * 300g fresh green beans
  • sea salt/kosher salt
  • 1 banana
  • 454g butter - 4 sticks
  • 300g lemons
  • 5g citric acid/vitamin c tablet
  • 150g cilantro
  • 150g parsley
  • 100g dried banana chips
  • 300g spray dried cream powder (or powdered milk)
  • 100g cup minced red onion
  • 200g capers (brined, not in oil)
* For green beans, slice each beans into very thin rounds (2 mm) * Beurre Monte - 454g butter (4 sticks, 1 pound) cubed and cold, 60g water. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil, remove from heat and whisk in the butter 1 cube at a time. This should from an emulsion. Keep this heated, but under 195 degrees. The emulsion will not break - this is your poaching liquid.

DSC_0830.jpgPowders - prepare ahead of time
caper / onion
lemon powder
cilantro/parsley powder
'brown butter' powder

Powders once dried, all powders should be pulsed in a coffee grinder/spice mill/morter and pestle then passed through a chinois or fine mesh strainer.

Citrus powder
300g lemons
1000g simple syrup
5g citric acid/vitamin c tablet

Zest 300g of lemons (10.6 oz), remove the pith from the zest and poach in the simple syrup three times. dry with paper towels and move to a dehydrating tray. 130 for 12 hours. pulse the zest in a coffee grinder, pass through chinois, and mix with citric acid/vitamin C powder. If you do not have a dehydrator, place in microwave for 8 to 10 minutes at medium powder. Once dried, follow the other instructions.

DSC_0816.jpgCilantro/parsley powder
150g cilantro
150g parsley

Blanch the parsley in boiling saltwater for 1 second, submerge the leaves in ice water for 3 minutes. Dry on paper towels and place on dehydrator tray. 130 for 12 hours. grind and pass through chinois. If you do not have a dehydrator, place in microwave for 30 seconds, turn over leaves and microwave for another thirty seconds. They should be dry by now, pulse in coffee grinder, pass through chinois and reserve.

Onion powder
100g cup minced red onions

dehydrate - 130 for 12 hours microwave at medium power for 20 minutes. pulse in grinder, pass through chinois

DSC_0827.jpgCaper powder
200g capers (get the ones packed in brine/vinegar)

Run the capers under cold water for two minutes to remove some of the brine. dry on paper towels and dehydrate for 12 hours at 130 degrees. microwave instructions are unclear. Dry them as much a possible with paper towels, the microwave on medium for 1 minute. Check the moisture content and stir them. repeat for 30 second intervals until they are dry. If you use this method, pleas post the time needed to dry the capers. Once dry, pulse and sift the powder. Mix it with the onion powder.

DSC_0828.jpgBrown Butter powder
100g Dried banana chips (unsweetened if possible - many are coated in honey - the freeze dried ones would be brilliant)
300g spray dried cream powder

If you cannot find the cream powder, you can substitute Bob's red mill non fat dry milk powder, or even carnation instant milk powder. The substitutions will alter the flavor a little, but you will still get the general idea. preheat the oven to 350 degrees, sift the cream powder into a fine layer on a silpat or on parchment. bake for 4 minutes, then remove for heat. If it bakes for too long, it will burn.

Be very cautious with all powders in the oven. They all go from browned to burnt in a few seconds. grind the banana chips in a coffee grinder and mix with the toasted cream powder. Pass this through a chinois and reserve.

* For green beans, slice each beans into very thin rounds (2 mm)
* Beurre Monte - 454g butter (4 sticks, 1 pound) cubed and cold, 60g water. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil, remove from heat and whisk in the butter 1 cube at a time. This should from an emulsion. Keep this heated, but under 195 degrees. The emulsion will not break - this is your poaching liquid.

Skate
Prepare the skate - 50G v shaped cuts are recommended Bring 100g water, 100g beurre monte, and green bean rounds to a boil over high heat. Cook until the water has evaporated (about 3 minutes), when the pan is almost dry, remove it from heat and season with 3g salt.

DSC_0843.jpg 
Bring 300g water and 300g beurre monte to simmer over medium heat, add skate wings and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and flip the wing over and let rest in pan for two more minutes. Transfer to warming tray lined with parchment and season with 5 grams of fine sea salt.

Plating
Take the tip of a small spoon and make a small mound of the citrus powder, the onion-caper powder, and the cilantro parsley-powder. Swirl these around in a hurricane type pattern. I found that it is easier, and you get finer lines if you lightly shake the plate to flatten out the mounds, then swirl the spoon through it to get the pattern.

DSC_0862.jpg
DSC_0868.jpg
Peel the remaining banana into very think slices (3mm) fan three slices on the plate, place green beans on top and place skate wing portion on top. On the tall edge, sprinkle the brown butter powder.

DSC_0874.jpg


Dominion Harvest

| | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
For those of you who have not heard of Dominion Harvest (probably most), let me introduce them to you.  They are a local company to Richmond that specializes in home delivery of local produce.

We've been getting packages for a few weeks, and for the most part, they are great.  The vegetables are excellent.  Swiss chard, asparagus, sugar snap peas, beets, radishes - so many vegetables. They are in very good condition, and lost a long time if you store them properly.

chard1.jpgWe wash and dry the vegetables, then wrap in paper towels and store in zip top bags.  All of the produce comes from local sustainable farms within 100 miles of Richmond.  They've been in business a few weeks, and are doing a very good job.  We get a crate of vegetables once a  week for under forty dollars ($37).  It gives us fresh produce without having to leave the house.  Each box has 10 to 12 different types of produce.  We've gotten a wide selection, and each week we could get different things - whatever's in season.

This makes it very interesting when planning meals - what veggies will we get today!

mushrooms.jpgchard.jpgMy wife has discovered she loves Swiss chard if prepared correctly.   We're eating a lot of greens now - having to come up with creative ways to cook it, and the stems to keep things interesting.  We've typically lived off the 'staple' vegetables - carrots, onions, squash, potatoes, etc.  Now we are eating a lot of spinach, chard, radishes, peas, greens, etc.  We have a much larger variety of options when cooking.  And it's all super healthy for pregnant women, so the wife is happy.


The only complaint I have it the fruit.  So far, we've gotten very little, and what we get is not in the best condition.  The strawberries were small and overripe - to the point where they 'splattered' when tossed into the sink.  The only reason this was an issue - the Ashland Berry Farm had a festival the same weekend - giant strawberries in great condition.  I thought - why can't we get these strawberries.  We had around 6 usable raspberries in the last shipment.  And with a 3 ½ year old, we tend to eat fruit every meal.

But the vegetables are excellent.  I'm looking forward to when they activate the options on the website to add/remove certain items to your order.  I wonder if the fruit is damages in transit - it tends to be near the bottom of the package (instead of on top) or if the 'newness' of the company is affecting their ability to get the best fruit available.

asparagus.jpgEven with the fruit quality, I would still highly recommend the service. If enough people in your neighborhood sign up, they will start delivering to you.  We have the option for every week or every other week.  And they have a deluxe package with additional items, eggs, cheese, etc at a higher price.

Local company, local produce - if you are in Richmond, check it out



TKO's

| | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)
TKO's - better known as the Thomas Keller Oreo

DSC_0077.jpg
I've meant to make these for quite a long time.  I just forgot about them.  These are grown up cookies.  They are very rich, they have a deep chocolate flavor, and they are a little salty.

They have a nice, deep chocolate flavor, they are a little sandy, buttery, and oh so good. The adults and kids in the neighborhood loved the cookies,  I made two flavors for the filling.  The white ones were straight white chocolate, and the red centers were white chocolate with dried raspberries.

These were not that hard to make -- the ingredient list was short, and it makes a bunch of cookies.  I made two batches of these - one for a party, and a second batch for us and the neighborhood families.  I used raspberry powder for the filling, I Added it with the cream and it worked really well. The color was nice, and the flavor was very strong.

TKO's
from The Essence of Chocolate
makes about 3 dozen sandwich cookies

Cookie:
    • 1 1/2 cups plus 3 Tbsp all purpose flour
    • 3/4 cup sugar
    • 3/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (dutch process if you have it)
    • 1/2 tsp baking soda
    • 1 1/2 tsp salt
    • 15 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 3/4" cubes, at room temperature
Filling:
    • 1/2 cup heavy cream
    • 8 oz. white chocolate, chopped

1. For the Filling: In a small pan, bring the cream to a boil. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute, then whisk to melt the chocolate until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, and let stand for 6 hours to thicken up.

2. For the Cookies: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, and mix on low speed. With the mixer running, add the butter, a piece at a time. The mixture will be dry and sandy at first, but over 2 minutes, will form pebble-sie pieces that start to cling together. Stop the mixer and transfer the dough to your board.

3. Preheat oven to 350F. Seperate dough into 2 pieces. Roll each piece of dough between 2 pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper to 1/8" inch thick. Using a fluted cutter, cut into rounds. Scraps can be pieced together and rolled out again. Place 1/2" apart on baking sheets lined with Silpat liners or parchment paper.
DSC_0051.jpg4. Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating halfway through baking. Remove and cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Cool completely.

5. To Assemble: Lightly whip the white chocolate cream to aerate and fluff up. Transfer filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4" plain tip. Pipe about 1 1/2 tsp in the center of half the cookies. Top with another cookie to sandwich. Gently press down until the cream comes to the edges.

6. Cookies can be stored in a container for up to 3 days. Loosely cover

DSC_0069.jpg

DSC_0003.jpg
Some say there are no practical uses for molecular gastronomy.  I have to disagree.  You might have to get creative, but we have great resources to give you inspiration.  WD~50 has a dish where they wrap chicken breast in chicken thighs ad wrap the bundle in chicken skin.  Well, I took that as my first challenge.  There are no recipes, there are no instructions oh how to make it, just a tiny 1 inch picture on a website.

Running blindly with a pouch of Activa RM (provided by Veronica), I took a stab into the world of Transglutaminase (meat glue)!  It has no flavor, but allows you to do things that would be close to impossible to do otherwise.  After the enzymes have bonded the two proteins together, you have a sturdy single piece of protein to work with.  One practical use is to bind two tenderloins together - this way, you don't have to deal with small tail portions.  Everything can e uniform.  Then you could use the 'glue' to bind a slice of bacon around each cut tenderloin.  The bacon will not fall apart or unravel when cooking.  But who said anything about practical - I want to experiment!

First up - Sketchy's attempt at chicken balls (gotta find a better name):

DSC_0065.jpg
These were great -- they were crispy on the outside, and very juicy on the inside.  I served them with asparagus tips, potatoes, and a reduction of potato and fresh roasted vegetable and chicken stock.  We both really liked this, it will probably been seen again in our household.

Next up is the mythical dragonscale fish. OK -- it should be mythical - it was so good.

DSC_0016.jpg
I took some cod, layered two on top of each-other, and bound them with the Activa.  Next, I took thinly sliced spicy chorizo and wrapped the fish in the sausage (each slice brushed with Activa to promote the creation of a skin of chorizo).  This was tightly wrapped and allowed to set up for overnight in the refrigerator.  the next day, I pan seared the top and bottom, then tossed it in the convection oven until the fish was cooked.

The fish was unbelievably moist.  The Activa bonded the sausage to the fish and created a kind of skin.  This held in the moisture when it cooked in the dry heat. The fish had a great texture, and the addition of the chorizo flavor added so much flavor to the normally bland cod. I call it dragonscale because the layered effect of the chorizo makes it look like scales. They exposed parts of the chorizo were crunchy, while the covered parts were perfect.

DSC_0031.jpg
I served this with an olive and tomato tapenade, honey glazed spicy carrots and red peppers, and a celery and cumin salad.  The spanish flavors exploded from this dish, and the fish was simply amazing.  This will definitely be making another appearance.  Perhaps at a certain bbq taking place this month.  Adding some smoked flavor to this would be amazing.  I think I will have the guys at Belmont Butchery slice the chorizo for me, that will give me uniform thin slices and save me a TON of time cutting it with a knife.

What's next?  Perhaps hammering some chicken pasta-thin and making ravioli with an unbroken egg yolks.  
DSC_0092.jpgTo continue with my Molecular Gastronomy posts, this one will address the texture of a commonly used item: cheese.  Parmigiano-Reggiano to be precise.  I found a great, and simple, recipe from the 1998 - 2002 El Bulli Cookbook.  It involves cheese, a grater, egg whites, silpat mats, and a rolling pin.  Most people are familiar with the traditional parmesan crisp.  Baked cheese, sometimes it has a lacy appearance.  This recipe is just as easy to make, but you get a more refined, delicate, crisp.

When buying cheese for this - look for the imported Parmesan.  In the US, we have very lax rules for cheese naming.  In europe, Parmigiano-Reggiano is regulated under the name Parmesan.  American copies of the cheese have to be sold as pamesello italiano, or some other name.  Pamesello italiano is what Kraft sells as Parmesan.  American Parmesan has a larger sodium content, is mechanically pressed, and lacks the complex flavors that are achieved by the long time in the brine solution.

DSC_0085.jpgParmigiano Crisps

Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
egg whites

preheat oven to 340 degrees (convection)

tools needed - 2 silpat mats, microplane grater, rolling pin, and parchment paper.

Shave the cheese with a microplane, add the egg whites and mix with a spatula until the mixture resembles pasty dough.  Transfer this to a silpat and spread evenly across the middle.  Place the second silpat over the paste and evenly spread around with a rolling pin.  You want a very thin, even layer of cheese across the entire silpat.

Place this into a preheated oven and bake for five minutes

Remove from oven and carefully remove the top silpat.  I used an offset spatula to loosen and unstick any cheese that didn't want to release.  Place a sheet of parchment over the cheese and flip over.  Remove the remaining silpat and reduce the oven to 320 degrees (convection).  Place back in the oven and cook for another 4 minutes.  If you do not have convection, you may have to cook this for longer.  You want the entire crisp to brown.  If there are white spots, they will sag after you cut them.

When it is evenly browned, remove the crisp from the oven and cut immediately.  You want them to be long and skinny.  If you wait for the cheese to cool down, it will shatter when you try to cut it.  Once cut, allow the crisps to cool to room temperature on a flat surface. I ended up using a chef's knife for slicing; the pizza wheel didn't do the trick. Serve in a dish or cup that will show off their height.  They stay crisp for a long time. We ran out before they got soggy.


The little guy helped me make them; he ate so many of the crisps. I had to move them so he didn't finish them off.

DSC_0112_JPG.jpgNext time I make these, I might add some smoked Spanish paprika into the mix.  Depending on when you add it, and how thoroughly you incorporate it, you could end up with streaks of dark red in the crisps.

DSC_0160.jpg

This will be my first installment of Molecular Gastronomy Techniques for the home chef.  I'm going to focus on the recipes and my experience with it.  I'll try to keep the science talk to a minimum, but give enough for those interested.  My first technique will be sferification.  I think this technique goes to El Bulli Restaurant/labs, if I'm wrong, someone feel free to correct me, and I'll update this little point.

apple_dish.JPGWhat is sferification?  Sferification is the process of making liquid caviar and pasta-less raviolo. With the use of chemicals, one can take a food liquid (anything from fruit, vegetables, meat juice, or chicken stock), submerge it in another liquid, and a gel will form around the liquid through ion transfer. OK -- if you want the science behind this, send me a mail and I'll send you some resources.

I started with caviar because it is one of the easier things to attempt. In the last week and a half I've attempted this five times.  My first attempt was using the wrong chemical bath, so that was a mess, my second attempt was a success, three and four were a mess and a pot of gooooooo. My fifth attempt worked great.  I've determined it is all about measurements, pH, and timing.

  • Measurement is the first critical thing.  I need a scientific scale, something that can measure a tenth of a gram.
  • pH is the next critical thing. I think I need to buy testing strips. If the pH is too high, it will not work, if it is to low, it will not work. I already have chemicals to alter the pH, but I need a way to test the solution before I proceed.
  • Third is timing, this is the easiest.  If you let your sferes sit for too long, you get a solid gel.  If they don't sit long enough, they break.

There are two processes for sferification.  I will focus on the standard process, and explain the reverse process in another post.
 
First, you need the right chemicals: Sodium Alginate, Sodium Citrate, and Calcium Chloride.

apple_spooned.JPG

Apple Caviar

8 ounces Apple Juice
1/2 tsp Sodium Alginate
1/8 tsp Sodium Citrate

2 cups of water
1/2 tsp Calcium Chloride

One or two water baths.

Mix a third of the apple juice with the sodium alginate.  You need to use an immersion blender for this to work (a stand blender would also work).  Heat this mixture to 205 degrees - this helps remove the air bubbles formed from blending.  Add the rest of the apple juice and sodium citrate, mix to combine.  Chill.  This part can be made in advance and held for service.

Mix the water and calcium chloride in a large bowl.

When you are ready to 'cook' the sferes, transfer the apple mixture to your dropping apparatus. Syringes can be purchased at CVS, specialty equipment can be purchased from your chemical vendor, and you can use a squirt bottle. I have a 96 pipette dropper, and a squirt bottle.  For speed, the dropper is amazing, but I prefer the slightly larger sferes that the squirt bottle makes.

(This is where the timing comes into play)

When you drop the mixture into the water bath, the reaction is instantaneous.  The longer the sfere is in the water, the thicker the shell.  As the chemical reaction takes place, the apple is gelling; if it sits too long, you have a solid sfere, instead of a liquid filled sfere. Thirty seconds to 45 seconds is the time the sferes need to cook.  If they are in there much longer, they will solidify on you.  Remove the sferes with a slotted spoon, strainer, or skimmer and dip in the water bath.  I use two baths: one for the first dip, and the other ice water bath to cool the sferes (I used them in a cold dish).

You now have apple caviar.

If you want to make raviolo, fill a round teaspoon with the apple mixture and place the spoon under the water. Rotate the spoon over and flip the apple out of the spoon.  It will naturally take on a sphere shape in the fluid as the bonds are formed. Let these rest for sixty to ninety seconds.  Then remove and dip in water baths to remove the chemicals from the outside.

apple_ravioli.JPGDISCLAIMER: These are not completed dishes, they are just examples of technique. 

bee3.jpgThe lavender is flowering, so I need an excuse to use some.  I decided on marshmallows, honey-lavander-lemon marshmallows.  Most people are amazed that I make marshmallows, but they are not that hard.  I often find myself rattling off the recipe at request, so I've decided to post it up for you. The recipe makes basic marshmallows, but it is easy to add ingredients to drastically alter the flavor.  I will give credit to the great Alton Brown for coming up with the base recipe.




 
DISCLAIMER: You NEED a stand mixer! 



Basic Marshmallow Recipe: 

12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) sugar 
1 cup corn syrup 
3/4 oz gelatin * 
1 cup ice water 
1 tsp vanilla extract 
1/4 tsp kosher salt 
1/4 cup powdered sugar 
1/4 cup corn starch 

Take 1/2 cup of the water and add to the gelatin in the bowl of the stand mixer. 

Add the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and the remaining 1/2 water to a pot, heat on medium, covered, for 4 minutes.  Remove lid and attack your candy thermometer.  You want the sugar to reach 240 degrees.  Do not mix the sugar with a spoon, it can create crystals.  When it reaches 240 degrees, remove from heat and remove the thermometer. 

marsh1.jpgAttach the whisk attachment to your stand mixer, on low speed, slowly pour in the hot sugar mixture.  When all the mixture is in the bowl, turn the mixer on high and whip for 13 minutes. NOTE: hot gelatin is the most foul thing you will ever smell in your kitchen.  I've done it with sheet gelatin and powdered, both smell foul. 

While the sugar is whipped, prepare your pan.  Take a 13 x 9 pan.  I've used glass and metal.  If you can find a straight edged metal pan (I got mine from sur la table) you will get better edges.  I've not had problems turning marshmallows out of either pan. Back to the pan preparation.  Mix the powdered sugar and corn starch.  Spray the pan with non stick spray, then dust the pan with the corn starch mixture. Make sure to get the coating on the sides of the pan.  Collect the extra powder and save for later use. 

marsh2.jpgAs the gelatin and sugar mix in the bowl, the temperature goes down, and the gelatin begins to set.  At minute 13, stop the mixer and add the vanilla extract.  Turn the mixer to low speed until the vanilla is incorporated, and raise the speed back to high.  Whip for 2 more minutes. Now your marshmallows are ready to be formed.  I'm only going to cover the rustic look here, if you want to read about the piped marshmallows, I will refer you back to the Good Eats listing. 

From here on out, non stick spray is your friend. Marshmallows are the stickiest things I have ever worked with, but they are afraid of the non stick spray, so it's your friend :D  Spray a spatula with non stick and turn the sticky mess into your prepared pan.  Spread the mixture evenly around the pan.  If your spatula begins to stick, clean it and re-spray it.  An even layer will make for attractive cut marshmallows. Once in the pan, dust the top of the marshmallows with the cornstarch mixture and let them sit uncovered for a minimum of 5 hours, I let mine sit overnight. 

When you are ready to cut them, flip the brick out of the pan onto half of the remaining cornstarch mixture.  Pizza cutters are your friend at this point.  Dust both sides of the pizza cutter with corn starch and begin to cut a grid into the marshmallows.  Once you have them cut, pull strips apart and dredge in the cornstarch.  Every side needs to be covered, so I do strips at a time, then I separate the individual marshmallows and dredge the remaining sides.  These will keep for 3 weeks in a ziplock. 

marsh4.jpgNow that we have that out of the way, how can I make flavored marshmallows, like the honey lavender lemon ones, or peach? 

There are two ways to add flavor to marshmallows.  First is to use extracts.  At the thirteenth minute, when you add the vanilla, you can add other flavors.  To make the lavender ones I added 1/2 tsp of lavender extract, 1/2 tsp of lemon extract, about 20 fresh ground lavender blossoms, and 1/2  tsp of finely minced lemon rind.  You could also add other flavors here. Orange extract works exceptionally well, as does spearmint, cinnamon, etc. 

The second way to flavor marshmallows is to substitute ingredients.  For the honey lavender, I subbed out 1/2 cup of sugar for 1/2 cup of fresh honey from lavender fields (near our house).  When I made the peach marshmallows I subbed out all the water for fresh peach juice.  I took 5 peaches and attacked them with an immersion blender ( I cut them up first).  I strained the larger parts out and ended up with 1 cup of liquid. Half of that went in the gelatin, the other half went in the pot with the sugar.  The peach was quite interesting.  Half of the juice was cooked in the sugar, while the other half was flash cooked when it came in contact with the sugar syrup.  The peach flavor was surprisingly strong, and did not have a cooked peach flavor. 

marsh5.jpg*Gelatin use.  I used powdered gelatin for the peach recipe (and all previous batches). I used sheet gelatin for the lavender marshmallows.  The powdered gelatin was much more fluffy and light then the sheet gelatin.  The texture of the sheet gelatin is not bad, just more dense and chewy.  Both batches were light and fluffy, but the powdered was fluffier.  Based on the cost, I'd stick to powdered.  3 packs of powdered gelatin is 3/4 oz, 15 sheets is also 3/4 oz.


at-angle.jpgI've blogged about these before, but this time I have better pictures, a different recipe, and I will try to elaborate on the steps a little more. 

When making this dish, the flavors are the most important thing to think about.  You want something that will stand out, and the flavors need to meld together.  I don't serve this dish with a sauce - so you want strong and vibrant flavors.  Fruits, vegetables, and spices that are intense work very well.  In the past, I've done sun dried tomato basil pesto, red pepper curry, basil pesto with provolone and olives, sun dried tomato olive tapenade, and a few fruit based variants. 

Once you have the skills down, this is an easy dish to prepare.  The most difficult thing is flattening the pork out, and that's pretty easy. Well, I guess I should start the recipe :D 

Sun Dried Tomato-Olive Tapenade Pork Roulades 

Filling Ingredients: 

pork_ing.JPG
  • Sun Dried Tomato-Olive Tapenade 
  • 5 1/2oz Olive Medley
  • Sun Dried Tomato Paste 
  • 2 garlic cloves 
  • 2 sprigs oregano
  • 1 tsp dried thyme 
  • ground black pepper 
  • horseradish 
  • 1/4 dried chipotle pepper (minced) 
  • 1/2 red pepper 
  • 2 tsp sweet smoked Spanish paprika 
butterfly.JPG
Mince the red pepper, olives, and garlic together.  Mix it with the sun dried tomato paste (this will help bind it together), chipotle, thyme, black pepper, and oregano.  Mix very well and reserve for the pork. This can be made a day ahead of time.  Set the horseradish aside for later. 

silverskin.JPG.jpgOn to the pork.  First, we need to pick which tenderloin we want to use and remove the silverskin.  This is the silvery blue connective tissue near the top of the tenderloin.  If you don't remove this, your pork will distort and pull up.  This is the same thing that makes grilled pork curl up. It is a simple procedure, and it goes measures into making your dish look better. 

Prepare a baking pan with a wire rack fit into it.  Spray the rack with nonstick oil.  Next, we butterfly the pork.  Cut it down the center, but do not cut it in half.  You want the knife to come about 1/4 of an inch from the bottom.  You want to repeat this two more times.  One for each half.  If you still have a really large section, butterfly it again. 

palliard.jpgNow, place both sides of the pork between two sheets of plastic wrap.  With the outside of the pork facing down, use a meat tenderizer to hammer the meat down.  Use the spiky side first, then flip the hammer and use the flat side to flatten and form the pork.  You are looking for 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch in thickness.  The thinner the better, but do not destroy the pork, if you over work it, you will leave gaping holes when you roll it up. 

pre-roll.jpg
Next, evenly spread the filling across the pork, leaving 1/2 inch at the top so the seam can form.  Roll it up and tuck the ends if they are uneven or loose.  

Place the pork, seam side down, on the wire rack. coat the outside of the pork with canola oil, then sprinkle with sea salt (or kosher) and black pepper.
 
post-roll.jpgCook in an preheated oven at 450 degrees (use convection is available).  Cook until the internal temperature is 165 degrees (about 30 minutes IIRC).

Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting.








zoom.jpg

About this Archive

This page is a archive of recent entries in the Ingredients category.

Holiday is the previous category.

Little Chef is the next category.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.

Powered by Movable Type 4.21-en