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In the past few months, I've gotten into baking
cupcakes. Lots and lots of cupcakes. So far, I think my favorite recipe would be Red Velvet. They are light and fluffy, and the ermine icing is to die for. I chose to skip the expected cream cheese icing, and went with the traditional ermine icing (boiled milk). This icing is different from the heavy cream cheese icing that most people are used to.Ermine butter-cream icing is similar to it's French, Swiss, and Italian counterparts, but instead of using egg yolks or egg whites to create the emulsion, it uses boiled milk and flour to create a suspension. It's similar to a roux, but the lack of a fatty medium, prevents it from technically being called a roux.
How is it different? Well, French and Italian butter-creams are smooth, very very smooth. The ermine icing is a little more dense, but the suspension of the milk and flour makes it unexpectedly smooth, while having a bit of texture at the same time. The recipe is a classic that has fallen out of use in the last 20 to 30 years. I personally think the ermine icing is superior to the heavy and dense cream cheese icing you typically see on red velvet cake. I feel the cupcakes should have an icing that compliments the airiness of the cake. not one that overpowers the cake and brings so much strong flavor to a delicate cupcake.
The Neighbors LOVED these cupcakes and have even asked for them to be made into a birthday cake. I brought them to work up in DC and I think I was almost mugged on the metro getting to my building.
The Icing can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator or icebox, just make sure to bring it to room temperature and beat it in the mixer before you pipe the icing out. The consistency of the icing is made to be piped. It held up quite nicely with the two tips I used.
The Red Velvet recipe comes from the cookbook: Martha Stewart's Cupcakes The cupcakes are light and fluffy, there is a nice chocolate flavor in them, and, with the addition of food coloring, they come out nice and red. I tried making the cupcakes without the food coloring first, but the cocoa powder and vinegar gave it a weak, almost sickly, brownish red color. There was no taste difference with the addition of the food coloring, so I say go for it. Side Note - This cookbook is amazing. I don't care if you hate Martha - the recipes in here are gold
Recipe after the break
Continue reading Red Velvet Cupcakes.
Everyone 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 ...
Continue reading Cookies - Chocolate Chip.
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.
Onto the recipe:
Powders - 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.
Cilantro/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
Caper 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.
Brown 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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
Powders - 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.
Cilantro/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
Caper 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.
Brown 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.
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.
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.
Continue reading Late for my own party - Daring Cooks July.
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.
We 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!
My 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.
Even 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
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.
We 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!
My 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.
Even 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
The Daring Bakers have spawned a new sibling - The Daring Cooks. Similar concept, different method. For the first challenge, we attacked ricotta cheese. To be more specific - Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi.
This was chosen as the first challenge, and the recipe comes from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook.
Recipe:
1 pound (454 grams/16 ounces) fresh ricotta (2 cups)
2 large cold eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) unsalted butter
2 or 3 fresh sage leaves, or a few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg, or a few pinches of chopped lemon zest (all optional)
½ ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (about ¼ cup very lightly packed)
about ¼ teaspoon salt (a little more if using kosher salt)
all-purpose flour for forming the gnocchi
Forming the gnocchi was similar to making potato or butternut squash gnocchi, but the moisture differences were noticeable. The recipe came together quickly, all in one bowl. I pressed the ricotta, then mixed in the eggs, cheese, butter, nutmeg, and salt. Initially, I tried the larger form that was recommended, but I did not like the amount that you got each bite.
I rolled mine smaller and dusted them with flour. One thing I noticed. If you let them sit for more then ten minutes, they may stick together. If this happens, you will need to reshape them. If they are cooked with exposed edges, they will explode in the water and fall apart.
By themselves in a butter sauce, the cheese and nutmeg shine through. The texture is very moist and reminiscent of ricotta cheese. For dinner, I decided to toss the first ones in an almond pesto, and the second pile in a chicken mole sauce. I think I burnt part of the sauce reduction because the sauce was a little on the bitter side.
Even the small ones were filling. Neither of us finished our dinner.
By request of on of Jen's friends, I'm going to make a post about my English muffins. In an attempt to save some money, I started making English muffins for breakfast. I wasn't sure how they would turn out at first, but they are quite easy to make, and can be completed in one day, which is always nice.I'm using a recipe from A Bread Bakers Apprentice. It has a handful of ingredients, and is very easy to complete. I've made three batches of muffins, and they get easier each time. No special equipment is needed, well.. you will need a cast iron griddle or skillet to cook them, besides that, it's all straight forward.
Ingredients are flour, butter, milk, yeast, salt, sugar, and corn meal.
The recipe makes six large English muffins, the tops and bottoms are crispy, while the center is soft and full of nooks and crannies (if you open them correctly). The corn meal is used for dusting, otherwise, they would never release from the parchment paper when you go to cook them.To cook them - warm up a griddle and oven to 350 degrees. Once it is up to temperature, drop three of the muffins on the griddle and cook for seven to eight minutes. Flip them over and cook fro the same amount of time. When you put them on the griddle, you may hear they crackle and pop, this is normal and nothing to be concerned about. The goal is to get a nice dark crust on the bottom before flipping. They will come to a medium brown in two to three minutes, but may take up to eight minutes to get the nice rich brown you are looking for. They are very resilient to burning, so if you keep an eye out for the color after 5 minutes, you should not have any problems.
Once cooked on both sides, place the muffins in the oven for 8 minutes to insure the centers are cooked through. Then cool on a rack until room temperature. We keep ours chilled, and fork separate them before toasting in the morning. To get the expected texture when toasting, you really need to use fork to separate them, otherwise, you get a uniform smooth cut with no where for the butter/lemon curd/cheese/etc to go.These can easily be completed in an afternoon. When the little chef gets a little bigger, I think he would have fun helping me make these. Since everything is done on the griddle, they are easy to shape, drop, and flip.
Recipe after the break ---
Continue reading English Muffins.
This months Daring Bakers challenge was Tulies. These are very thin and crispy cookies that can be bent and curved fresh out of the oven. Once set, they can support a little weight and will retain their shape. The recipe was simple, and it produced a thin crispy cookie that could be formed about 60% of the time.
This month's challenge is
brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte
aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by
Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.
The cookies are very fragile, and if they are too thin, they break when forming. If they are too thick, they are hard to chew, but very easy to mold. Getting the balance between the two were a little hard, but I got about 55% that allowed me to form them.
After breaking and shattering countless thin crisps, I got a little disenfranchised with these cookies. But, I needed to finish the challenge. We were supposed to make some topping, dip, soup, or other accompaniment.
My first attempt had a dollop of lemon curd, then topped with fresh meringue, a little caramel syrup and lime zest. The second attempt was ice cream based. Ice cream was way too cold. My wife liked the meringue, I think it would have been better with a whipped cream, but we did not have any at the time.
The rest of the cookies will be served with a port wine-chocolate dipping sauce.
This month's challenge is
brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte
aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by
Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.The cookies are very fragile, and if they are too thin, they break when forming. If they are too thick, they are hard to chew, but very easy to mold. Getting the balance between the two were a little hard, but I got about 55% that allowed me to form them.
After breaking and shattering countless thin crisps, I got a little disenfranchised with these cookies. But, I needed to finish the challenge. We were supposed to make some topping, dip, soup, or other accompaniment.
My first attempt had a dollop of lemon curd, then topped with fresh meringue, a little caramel syrup and lime zest. The second attempt was ice cream based. Ice cream was way too cold. My wife liked the meringue, I think it would have been better with a whipped cream, but we did not have any at the time.
The rest of the cookies will be served with a port wine-chocolate dipping sauce.
Well, this month's Daring Bakers challenge was a Caramel Cake with Caramel Icing. The end product was a dense and moist cake with a slightly salty icing. I added some extra salt to the icing to enhance the caramel flavors. These were a big hit with the parents, and the toddlers who decided to try them.
Second, we have chocolate orange cupcakes with a cinnamon peanut-butter icing. These were 'normal' cupcakes in size and texture. The Caramel cupcakes were tiny little things. I cooked them in the 'fancy wrappers' and they released from the sides like the were supposed to. I decided to remove them from the wrappers for service. They were delicate and petite, but the density of the cake made up for the size. They were deceptively decadent and filling.
Third up were the vegan cupcakes with chocolate icing. The icing was the most interesting -- there seem to be two types of vegan icing. One is margarine based, so it is similar to buttercream, the other is like an overworked glaze. It is the exact recipe for a cocoa based corn starch pudding, cooked an whipped until it thickens well past the pudding stage, then cut with some oil. This lightens the recipe and makes for a very pleasant texture for icing.
All the cupcakes were a hit at the party.
This months challenge had us making browned butter, dark caramel, and a few other things that can be challenging to a baker. I had to make the caramel twice. The first attempt was a careless venture on my part. It all crystalized, so I opted to start over, instead of trying to cool and save it. The second attempt was perfect, and is still toping hot chocolate, and being used to flavor marshmallows and whipped cream!
The browned butter was simple. I opted to strain it through the chinois, then drip it through some coffee filters. This got all of the browned bits out, and left me with a rich, nutty, and smooth browned butter. Both if these added a complex flavor to the recipe, hinting savory bits along with the cloyingly sweet sugar. The addition of salt to the icing made a huge difference, and the flecks of Maldon salt gave a surprising burst of flavor when bitten into.
This months challenge was presented by Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity and Alex of Blondie and Brownie and Jenny of Foray of Food. Shuna Fish Lydon's Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting was the recipe we followed. I really enjoyed the challenge, an will make this cake again.
The little chef was very interested in what was going on. He loves the stand mixer and pretty much any thing else you can plug in. He helped me make a few of the items, and then we made some snack mix for him. He had a blast with the recipes.
TKO's - better known as the Thomas Keller Oreo
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.4. 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
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):
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.
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.
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.
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