Sweet Treats

Tomato Leek Soup

2011-10-18T08:49:00.002-04:00

I've been burning the candle at both ends. Again. And both-end-candle-burning can only occur for so long before you get burned.

With all the busyness of this semester coupled with wedding planning, I have not been taking very good care of myself. My body has finally had enough and is voicing its protest through yet another nasty cold. I'm fighting the cold as best I can: lots of rest (when I can) and lots of soup!

Aside from making pastry, soup is my second favorite thing to make. I often make big batches of soup and freeze them in individual portions. Since the weather has been so warm here this fall, I have not yet been in the mood for soup and do not have a stockpile in my freezer. So this past weekend, I made a couple batches of soup to eat this coming week.

My favorite soup to make is Tomato Leek. It's so easy and delicious (and I will never be able to go back to eating canned soup again). Truly, you can make the entire soup in less than an hour, and most of that time in inactive prep time. You can leave the soup chunky and full of texture, or you can puree it until it is smooth and velvety.

So, as the weather turns cooler, and the sickness slowly rears it's head again (hopefully not to you, though!), I hope this soup will be a comfort and an easy meal. It's great all on its own, but I like mine best with a spoonful of creme fraiche and a sprinkle of cheese (such as parmesan). Crusty bread is optional :)

Recipe

2 Tbl Olive Oil
1 medium leek, chopped and rinsed well
2 14.5 oz cans Diced Tomatoes (organic, if you can)
3c. Vegetable Juice (like V8)
1 tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Pepper
3 Sprigs of Thyme
3 small dried Bay Leaves

1. Heat the oil in a large pot and saute the rinsed leeks until translucent.

2. Add the diced tomatoes and vegetable juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer.

3. Add the spices and allow to gently simmer covered for at least 30 minutes (though can be much longer), stirring occasionally.

4. Puree before serving if you desire a smooth texture (but don't forget to fish out the bay leaf and thyme stems). Or leave as is for a chunky texture.

5. Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche & a sprinkle of cheese (like Parmesan or Comte).

Silent Sunday: Sept 5-11

2011-09-11T21:18:00.002-04:00

This past week (Sept 5-11), as seen through my iPhone.

End of my Texas Trip, Petit Fours sections & a trip to Poe's on Sullivan's Island.

Not pictured: me *dying* of a sinus infection.

Labor Day Brunch Remnants

Torching Orange Sections

Wed section Petit Fours Plating

Crispy Corkscrews dipped in dark chocolate (Wed section)

Vacherins with Blackberry & Mint (Wed Section)

Speculoos with maple cream & candied almonds (Wed Section)

Raspberry Pistachio Financiers (Fri Section)

Speculoos with maple cream & candied almonds (Fri Section)

Vacherins with Blackberry & Mint (Fri Section)

Dinner at Poe's Tavern on Sullivans Island: Gold Bug Plus burger (with Pimento Cheese) and Edgar's Nachos

Heirloom Tomato Galette & an ode to summer 2011

2011-09-05T06:51:00.000-04:00

Labor Day weekend usually signals the end of summer. School has already begun. The weather has started getting cooler. (Oh wait, wishful thinking, not so much in SC). But hopefully there are still fresh tomatoes in your life, whether ones you have grown yourself, ones a friend has grown, or ones you find at the Farmers' Market.

Essentially, summer has been over for several weeks for me. School has started again, and this semester more than any previous semester is jam-packed-filled with hours teaching (37 in-the-classroom-teaching hours a week) and preparations for future classes (always have to work a couple weeks ahead to ensure we actually have food in classes).

I have some really fond memories from this past summer. Teaching 134 kids how to bake. Taking several trips to TX to see my love (and subsequently spending an entire night in the ATL airport). Visiting family in ND and MN. Attending a wedding of some college friends. Seeing Josh Groban in concert from the 6th row! Finally meeting Helene Dujardin "in real life" after reading (and drooling over) her blog Tartelette for several years. She (and her husband, and doggies) are WONDERFUL!

Helene and her husband get a great majority of their weekly groceries from the downtown Charleston Farmers' Market. Many times I have drooled over her posts and pictures of their farmers market finds. I have been fortunate to accompany Helene, Bill, and "the square baby" (a rolling cart, of sorts) on their trips around the market. Having worked almost every Saturday last year, it has been so lovely to actually GO to the Farmers Market. And it has been even more amazing to go with Helene and learn her "route" through to market. After all, you have to make sure you get everything you want before the vendors run out and before the market is overrun with hordes of people (who potentially may be, to borrow the words of Helene and Bill, pushing a double-wide stroller AND walking a dog)!

I've challenged myself, on the weeks when I am in town on Saturday, to get the majority of my groceries from the Farmers' Market. Some weeks, I went with Helene and Bill. Some weeks alone. I started getting eggs, bacon, fruit, veggies, pasta & other things on a weekly basis.

Specifically, there have been lots of tomatoes. Not just any tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes. Prior to moving to SC, I had never seen an heirloom tomato. And I was a bit intimated by them initially. Now that I have tried them (assisted by Helene in choosing the perfect one), I am hooked! Each variety has a slightly different flavor and texture while still retaining a familiar "tomato-y-ness." (Yes, I did make up that word). They're delicious all on their own with a sprinkling of salt and pepper, great in tomato sandwiches (bacon optional, but Dukes mayonnaise not optional), tasty in pasta or with seared scallops (just to name a few of the ways I've enjoyed them this summer)

Another instructor at CIC mentioned a tomato galette one day, and the idea took root in my brain. Finding a way to showcase the beautiful tomatoes in a delicious dish that could be served at lunch or dinner, and served warm, cold or at room temperature. I chose as many different varieties of heirloom tomatoes as possible, both contrast in color and texture and also in taste. I paired the beautiful tomatoes with a cornmeal parmesan pastry dough, a light smearing of whole-grain mustard, some nice creamy goat cheese, a little thyme, and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

I love galettes for their more free-form, lazy nature. Lots of wow without tons of effort (and without a tart pan to wash). Just roll out the rested dough (resting is important) to a somewhat circular shape, add fillings, fold the edges up, egg wash, and bake! Once baked, and topped with a spicy arugula salad, this galette is a perfect hot, sticky summer night supper or an elegant lunch. And the leftovers are great too.

When I finished the main large galette, I had some leftover pastry dough and a few tomato slices, which I fashioned into mini tarts. Waste not! Some of the mini tarts made it into my freezer to be packed in a future lunch. Some of the tarts made it into my luggage for a somewhat impromptu trip to Washington DC to help my sister move. I arrived in DCA a little before the rest of my family. When they landed, everyone was ravenous, so I pulled out my mini tarts and we had a mock picnic at baggage claim. One of my sisters said "Who brings food like this on an airplane?!?" Well, I do :)

RECIPES

Cornmeal Galette Dough (with Parmesan Cheese)

Adapted from M. Kelly Wilson

makes enough for two large galettes

1 lb 6 oz AP Flour

5.5 oz Cornmeal

2 tsp Salt

1 oz Sugar

14 oz Cold Butter, cubed

8 oz Ice Water (without any ice pieces)

8 oz Sour Cream

handful Good parmesan cheese, grated

1. Combine the dry ingredients in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add in butter and mix until the fat is the size of a hazelnut. Alternately, cut the butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry blender or two forks.

2. Add the ice water, sour cream, and parmesan cheese and mix until just combined. The dough should have a marbled appearance with pieces of fat visible throughout.

3. Divide into 2 pieces. Wrap well. Chill. For best results, rest the dough over night to relax the gluten and allow the hydration to distribute throughout the entire dough.

Heirloom Tomato Galette assembly

1/2 recipe of the cornmeal galette dough (quick secret: if you don't have time to make your own dough, grocery store dough works beautifully too!)

2 Tbl Dijon or Whole Grain Mustard

0.75 oz Breadcrumbs

3 oz Goat Cheese, divided

1.5 oz Good Parmesan cheese, grated

to taste Fresh thyme

as needed Heirloom Tomatoes, thickly sliced

to taste Salt & Pepper

1 large Egg, beaten

1. On a floured surface, roll out the galette dough into a roughly circular shape. Make sure there is enough flour underneath that the dough can be picked up and moved around. Transfer the dough to a parchment lined sheet pan to build the galette.

2. Spread a thin layer of mustard over the dough, leaving a border around edges free of mustard. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the surface of the mustard (these will help soak up tomato juice and keep the dough from getting too soggy).

3. Crumble half the goat cheese and half of the parmesan over the bread crumbs. Top with tomato slices arranged artfully (alternating colors and tomato varieties). Dust tomatoes with salt and pepper and fresh thyme. Watch how much salt you add, depending on how salty your cheese already is!

4. Top the seasoned tomato slices with the remaining goat cheese and parmesan.

5. Beat the egg well and use a pastry brush to paint the open edges of the galette dough. Begin folding the edges up (egg wash will act like glue) over the tomato slices and cheese. Once folded, egg wash the visible surfaces of dough.

6. Bake at 400 F for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the galette is golden brown on the top and bottom. Cool slightly.

7. Serve warm, room temp, or cold. Top with an arugula salad (recipe follows) if desired.

Arugula Salad with Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette

(note, you do not need to use all the vinaigrette at one time!)

1.5 oz Olive Oil

1 Tbl whole grain mustard

0.75 oz Lemon Juice

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Fresh Arugula

Comte cheese (or other cheese of choice)

1. In a small jar, combine the olive oil, mustard, lemon juice and salt/pepper. Top with a tightly fitting lid. Shake until well combined.

2. Toss arugula lightly with the vinaigrette. Shave comte cheese over the greens. Serve atop or along side the heirloom tomato galette.

3. Store any remaining vinaigrette in the refrigerator and shake well before serving.

Silent Sunday: Tomato Galette Preview

2011-09-04T10:45:00.000-04:00

Coming tomorrow!

An heirloom tomato galette & an ode to Summer 2011 post.

Brown Rice Pudding with Maple Blueberries

2011-08-27T17:17:00.001-04:00

Until I moved to South Carolina a little over 2 years ago, hurricanes & earthquakes had very little impact on my life. Sure, I have family in North Carolina and family in California, and when I would hear about hurricanes, I would think of my family in North Carolina and pray for their safety. The same would happen regarding earthquakes in California. The past two years I have spent in Charleston have, thankfully, shown very little hurricane activity (and very little earthquake activity. I have been hearing this year that the experts are anticipating an above average hurricane activity season, but to be completely honest, I still had not given it much thought until this past week, when a "little" storm named Irene formed and began moving her way towards the East Coast.

I am grateful that Charleston saw only a small, small portion of Irene's furry. Some rain, some wind, but not anywhere near the destruction NC and the northern part of the East Cost are seeing (and will see). My heart goes out to everyone affected by the devastation of this enormous storm.

Ironically, one of my sisters just moved to Washington DC two weeks ago. Not only will she be experiencing her first hurricane (and experiencing it much more than I will be, even though I am directly on the coast), she also got to experience the earthquake of earlier this week that impacted the Virginia/D.C/East Coast!

Another irony is the name of this hurricane. Irene. Irene was the name of my late great grandmother. She was neither large nor destructive :) but is someone I loved very dearly and someone who has directly influenced my career path. How ironic is it that the first hurricane both my sister and I experience is named the same as our late great grandmother? I find it funny....

Even though it's still summer, some days call for comfort food. Yesterday was one of such days. With the stormy weather as a result of Hurricane Irene, this craaaazy cold I cannot seem to shake, and the end of my first week of teaching for the fall semester (where I am teaching 5 college courses), I needed comfort food! And I needed it to be something I could make with ingredients I already had on hand.

On the drive home from school yesterday, inspiration hit me: rice pudding. Something that can be served warm, cold, or room temp. Something I could put in a warm bowl (warm rice pudding is my preference) and wrap my hands around it while I hunkered down in front of the TV and watched Irene's developing path.

I used brown rice for my rice pudding because I had it on hand. I'm not a big rice eater... especially white rice. I'm more of a potatoes girl. But I do like the nutty flavor and the slightly crunchy texture of brown rice. And I found frozen wild blueberries in my freezer and I decided that might make an unexpected change from the raisin accompaniment traditional to rice pudding.

A great thing about a big batch of rice pudding is the leftovers! Now, I've got breakfast for the next couple of days too :)

R E C I P E S

Brown Rice Pudding

This particular pudding is a little on the "soupy" side, which I how I prefer it. If you do not want it to be as loose, reduce the amount of milk and perhaps add an additional egg or two.

2 cups of Water

1 cup of Brown Rice (I used organic Texmati Brown Rice)

2 cups of Milk (I had whole milk on hand)

60 g Brown Sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste

Freshly Grated Nutmeg, to taste

Splash of Bourbon (totally optional, but I think it adds to the depth of flavor of the pudding)

1/4 c Real Maple Syrup

1. Combine the water and brown rice together in a heavy sauce pan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stir, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes. (and take a nap during that 30 minutes, if you're me)

2. Add the milk (reducing the amount if you want a less soupy end product) and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Whisk the brown sugar and egg together. Temper some of the hot rice milk mixture into the sugar and egg. Return everything to the pot and stir constantly until the mixture thickens. If it coats the back of the spoon and holds a line when you run your finger over the back of the spoon, it is done! Do not allow it to boil, or else the mixture may curdle. Remove from the heat.

4. Off the heat, stir in the vanilla bean paste, nutmeg, splash of bourbon, and maple syrup.

5. Serve immediately, or serve chilled or at room temperature. Top with maple blueberries, if desired. Store any leftovers, covered, in the fridge.

Maple Blueberry topping

inspired by this recipe from 101 cookbooks. The original recipe is one of my favorite pancake toppings!

180 g Blueberries (I used frozen wild blueberries, because they were what I had on hand.)

100 g Real Maple Syrup

Freshly grated Nutmeg, to taste

1. Combine the blueberries and maple syrup in a sauce pan. Heat until hot and until the blueberries have begun giving off their juices.

2. Remove from heat and add freshly grated nutmeg, to taste. Store any leftovers in the fridge.

Zucchini Scones

2011-08-17T20:17:00.000-04:00

Getting back to a normal routine since finishing Kids Camps hasn't been easy. In some ways, I was a bit burned out on baking (gasp) but it turns out, I was just burned out on the same recipes I had been making all summer with the kiddos.

We had some leftover shredded zucchini after the last cake decorating class-we had used it to make a zucchini cake with white chocolate pastry cream & white chocolate cream cheese icing. I knew I wanted to try another zucchini dessert without making a zucchini cake. No offense to to zucchini cake... I just wanted a change.

Summer is always a great time for zucchini. My grandparents always grow lots of it, and growing up, I ate lots of zucchini in both savory and sweet applications. My grandma makes a great chocolate zucchini cake that has even been my birthday cake previously! But, like I said, I wanted a zucchini baked good that wasn't a cake.

I love to make scones. Love. As in, I make them several weekends a month. I have one basic recipe and I tweak it each time based on what "mix-in" ingredients I have on hand. So, I give you zucchini scones! A great, unexpected summer-time scone.

They're wonderfully spicy. And they've got beautiful streaks of green zucchini throughout. People may give you a few funny looks when you explain what they are... And that they do contain vegetables. But in the end, the scones still disappeared quickly!

And disappearing baked goods is the best sign of a great baked good :) Icing is optional on these, but my insatiable sweet tooth always gives in to icing.

Fresh zucchini is always best. But if you find yourself with a huge amount of extra zucchini, grate it, squeeze as much liquid from it as possible, and freeze it. Then, you can have summer-flavored baked goods all year long.

One last side note before the recipe.... On my last trip back from ND, I was given a couple plates and silverware that belonged to my late great grandma. This shoot was the first time I was able to use them! I thought their golden tones matched the zucchini scones quite well :)

ZUCCHINI SCONES
4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 c AP flour
1/4 c Granulated Sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp to 1 tsp freshly grated Nutmeg
1 c buttermilk (plus additional, if necessary)
1 c grated zucchini, dried well
Flat Icing, as needed

1. Grate the unsalted butter on a box grater. (Putting the box grater on a plastic-wrap-lined plate works well for me). Throw the grated butter into the freezer for 10-15 minutes, or until the butter is hard.

2. Preheat the oven to 400 F. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg (I use my hands).

3. Once the butter is hard, toss it gently with the dry ingredients, being careful not to melt the butter with your body heat.

4. Add the buttermilk and grated zucchini and mix quickly with your hands. The mixture shouldn't be dry. If it is, add an additional splash of buttermilk.

5. Using a portion scoop, scoop mounds of scone dough onto a parchment lined sheet pan. Leave enough space between mounds so that the scones can expand slightly as they bake.

6. Bake at 400 F for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool slightly.

7. Make flat icing, using confectioners sugar and enough liquid (water... cream... milk) to make it fluid. Drizzle or dip the slightly warm scones into the flat icing. (Personally, I like to dip them.... more icing). Allow the icing to harden and serve! These scones are best enjoyed the day they are made.

(almost) Silent Sunday: Kids' Camps

2011-08-07T19:22:00.000-04:00

Want to know what's been keeping me busy all summer?

134 KIDS (ages 8-16)! I have a whole new respect for elementary/middle/high school teachers!

Here's a pictoral representation of the 7 weeks of Kids' Camps I just finished teaching at Trident Technical College.... I look forward to no longer dreaming every night that 16 small voices are calling "Chef V! Chef V!"

Pastry Boot Camp

June 6-10 class (ages 8-11)

Banana Cream Pie

Peach Bacon Pizza

Cinnamon Rolls

Cake Decorating

Rice Krispy Treat Cake

Student Work

Rice Krispy Treat Cake

Zucchini Cupcakes with White Chocolate Pastry Cream & White Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

Zucchini cake bites with White Chocolate Pastry Cream, White Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing & Candied Zucchini

Strawberry Whipped Cream Torte

Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Icing & Chocolate Decoration

Devils' Food Cake with Swiss Meringue Icing

Cake Truffles & Cake Pops: Devils Food, Red Velvet, Zucchini, Vanilla

June 7-13 class (ages 8-11)

July 18-22 class (ages 8-11)

Aug 1-5 AM class (ages 8-11)

Aug 1-5 PM class (ages 12-16)

The Art of Chocolate

Things dipped in chocolate (Pretzels, Oreos, Potato Chips, Strawberries...)

Tuxedo Strawberries

Things dipped in chocolate (Strawberries, Pretzels, Potato Chips)

Clusters (Cashew, Feuilletine, Frosted Flakes, Marshmallows)

Apple Jack Clusters

Sweet & Salty Mix for clusters

Nutella Truffles

Raspberry Truffles (pink stripes) & Nutella Truffles (white stripes)

Triple Chocolate cookies sandwiched with Chocolate Butter cream,

dipped in dark chocolate & striped with white chocolate

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Icing & white chocolate striping

Chocolate Cake Bites with Chocolate Icing & Piped Chocolate Garnish

June 20-24 class (ages 8-11)

July 25-29 AM class (ages 12-16)

July 25-29 PM class (ages 8-11)

Outtakes & Quotes

What happens when kids crack eggs....

Quote (while I was demonstrating how to cut a pineapple): "NOOOOOOOO! Not Sponge Bob's house?!?"

Quote (during a Cake Decorating week)

Student: When do we get to play with the fondu?

Me: you mean Fondant?

Student: Yeah, that stuff...

Quote (while showing a student how to get hardened chocolate off a table)

Me: "Just use a little elbow grease"

Student (very seriously): "Where do I get the elbow grease?"

Frequent Quote of all the weeks:

"Chef V, can I lick the spoon?"

"Chef V, Can I eat it?"

Another Frequent Quote of all the weeks:

"Chef V, are there any MORE dishes I can wash?"

(they just loved the giant 3 compartment sinks)

Quote (overheard during class): "This is the BEST WEEK OF MY LIFE!"

And that about sums my summer up! Yes, it was a great challenge, but also greatly rewarding :)

Finally, a BIG thank you to my assistants throughout the summer: Megan (who helped all summer, a great majority of my camps), Laura, Abby, Sonia, Georgia, Alexis, Sarah, Sandrea, Amber, Caroline & others....

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Guinness Icing

2011-07-26T20:01:00.000-04:00

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Guinness Icing

Nearly every summer, I look forward to my birthday. There are a variety of reasons, one of them being that I still have romantic notions about the "perfect" birthday where everything goes just as planned. Another reason I love my birthday is that it gives me a chance to make myself a birthday cake.

Well, this last weekend was my birthday. And it did not go according to planned.... But that's OK because it was better than I imagined.

See, I've been spending this summer teaching kids how to bake, and last week I taught cake decorating. Teaching a classroom full of 16 kids ages 8-11 has been a very rewarding experience, but also extremely draining! By the time the weekend came, I lost any desire at all to make myself a cake.... Instead, I opted to go to Peninsula Grill in downtown CHS with A (who came to visit as my birthday present) to eat their famous coconut cake.

iPhone pic of the coconut cake

The cake was delicious! And huge! I got my birthday cake fix, and I didn't even have to make it myself (or clean up the dishes).

There is a small part of me that is sad about not making cake this year. So, I am going to share a beloved cake recipe instead. Chocolate Stout Cupcake with Guinness Icing.

It truly is one of my favorite cake recipes, and probably my favorite chocolate cake recipe. I'm not a beer drinker myself, but there's just something really lovely about the combination of a good dark beer with chocolate. The beer enhances the chocolate flavor and makes it more "chocolaty."

I last made this recipe while visiting A in Texas in May. He IS a big beer fan, even starting to brew his own beer. Perhaps one day I'll make this cake with beer he has brewed. I usually ice this cake quite simply with just some chocolate ganache. But A asked if I could try to make a Guinness icing to intensify the beer flavor.

I didn't want to just add beer to the icing. The amount of liquid necessary to add enough flavor might compromise the texture of the icing. So, I decided to start reducing Guinness to make a "Guinness Syrup" to add to a plain Swiss Meringue Buttercream icing.

The results were amazing! Though, it did take several tries to get the syrup just right. I totally burned the first batch of Guinness syrup.... Answered a phone call during the boiling process and completely forgot about the pot on the stove. Boiled the syrup away to nothing but a black, caked-on mess. So, I started again with another bottle. Once it reduced from an entire bottle of liquid to about 2 tablespoons of syrupy goodness, I added it into the Swiss Meringue.

We tasted it. And it was good. But A wanted it to have a more bold beer flavor. So I reduced a second bottle. For us, 2 bottles seemed to be the correct amount. Adjust as necessary for personal preference. And make sure you don't burn the syrup :)

RECIPES

Chocolate Stout Cake: recipe can be found here on the Epicurious website. The only change I usually make is that I never make more than a half recipe. Even the half recipe made over a dozen generous cupcakes! Oh, and I also microwave the butter and stout instead of melting it on the stove.

Guinness Icing & cupcake assembly
4 oz Egg Whites
8 oz Granulated Sugar
12 oz Unsalted Butter, cold & cubed
Guinness Syrup, as needed to taste, (see recipe below)

1. Combine the egg whites and granulated sugar in a double boiler. Whisking constantly, heat the mixture to 140 F, making sure the sugar crystals all melt.

2. Remove from the double boiler and add to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Turn the mixer on high. After 30 seconds of whipping, start adding the butter, cube by cube. Do not add it too slowly, or else there will be lumps of butter that are not fully combined! Continue whipping until a thick, glossy icing is achieved. Swiss Meringue icing always goes through an "oh crap" stage where it looks curdled... Do not be alarmed! Keep whisking and it will eventually come together!

3. Add the Guinness syrup & whisk to combine. Taste and add more syrup as needed.

4. Pipe onto cupcakes and garnish with chocolate jimmies. Enjoy!

Guinness Syrup
1 to 2 bottles of Guinness (or other stout beer)
Granulated sugar (1 tbl per bottle of beer)

1. Pour the Guinness into a small, heavy duty sauce pan. Stir in 1 tablespoon per bottle of beer.

2. Bring to a boil and cook, without stirring, until the mixture reduces to 1-2 tablespoons of liquid. Do not forget it on the stove! I suggest setting a timer.

3. Add to icing. Taste and repeat process if more syrup is necessary.

Lakeside Dessert: Nectarines with Grand Marnier Chantilly Cream

2011-07-11T21:57:00.003-04:00

::edited to include recipe at the bottom::

I've recently returned from a whirl-wind trip to visit my boyfriend, then my family in ND. Any summertime trip MUST include a trip to my family's lake cabin, which was built by my grandparents & great-grandparents in the 1950s.

The cabin truly is a cabin (none of this "Lake Home" grandeur) . Three small bedrooms (where we sleep 7 total), a kitchen with a 1930s (we think) stove/non-working oven, no dishwasher, a shower where military-style showers are taken, the craaaziest carpet I've ever seen (see above), and a lovely lovely screened in porch that faces the lake.

I never realized until the past couple of summers how much of a food styling/photographing dream the cabin kitchen is. Any sort of cast-off dish, utensil, kitchen equipment piece that my family has discontinued using has somehow migrated to the lake. I wanted to take everything home with me!

On this particular trip, my mom brought an abundance of gorgeous nectarines. I decided to turn the nectarines into dessert after a dinner of walleye, caught by my Grandpa "The Master Fisherman." The nectarines were so lovely that I just simply sliced them into a large bowl, allowing my family to serve themselves, and top the nectarines with whipped cream as they chose.

But, not just any whipped cream.... Grand Marnier whipped cream! I bought a small bottle of Grand Marnier to take to the lake so that I could make my famous French Toast, but there was a little extra. So, why not Grand marnier whipped cream? I did actually use the old fashioned rotary whisk that belonged to my great grandma to make the whipped cream because I accidentally left my beloved OXO whisk in Texas!

As much as I love vanilla, I get a little tired of plain old vanilla whipped cream. By changing out the flavoring to the hint of orange and cognac Grand Marnier brings, the whole flavor changed. And it complimented the ripe nectarines beautifully.

The dessert was a hit! No leftovers at all is usually a good sign. Grandpa couldn't resist using his finger to get the last bit of nectarine juice and cream. Typical grandpa!

GRAND MARNIER CHANTILLY CREAM
I always make chantilly cream (sweetened whipped cream) to taste, sans recipe. So, use these directions as "guidelines" and keep your tasting spoon(s) close! I also always make whipped cream by hand, but feel free to use your favorite mechanical mixer if you so desire. I think making whipped cream by hand tastes better and gives you better control over the end product (i.e. less "overwhipped" grainy cream).

Heavy Whipping Cream
Granulated Sugar
Grand Marnier

1. Place a large bowl (glass or metal preferable) and whisk in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. Keep the heavy whipping cream in the fridge until just ready to use.

2. Pour the cream into the frozen bowl. Add some granulated sugar. Begin whisking. Once tracks begin to form (i.e. the cream thickens enough to show lines made by the whisk), taste and see if additional sugar is needed. Continue whisking until soft peaks form.

3. Add Grand Marnier to taste. Make sure to use enough to taste the Grand Marnier! Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Recap: Laminated Doughs & Breakfast Pastries, pt 1

2011-05-17T15:34:00.000-04:00

Hello from hot, sunny Texas! I'm away from SC for a few weeks visiting, resting & preparing for the busy summer ahead. My 365 blog shows what I've been doing in Texas thus far.

Anyway, I'm long overdue for this last recap: Laminated Doughs & Breakfast Pastries. This one is so long that I've decided to break it into two posts. So, watch for part 2 (all about the practical final) coming soon!

I love, love, love laminated dough. It was my favorite class as a student and just might be my favorite to teach too (but shhh... lets keep that one quiet). There are several reasons why I love laminated dough. First, the class is all about repetition. We "laminated" dough nearly every class for the entire semester. Most classes switch techniques every week, so it is nice to get some practice in one technique. By the end of the semester (I hope) everyone feels very confident in their laminating abilities. Secondly, this class is all about the details. There are lots of small steps that contribute to a stellar end product. Plus, there are infinite decoration options. Thirdly, this class makes absolutely AMAZING tasting product. Seriously. Nearly every class, I would declare to my students "This is my favorite product".... I obviously had a lot of favorites. When I was in France last spring, I was all excited to taste their breakfast pastries after making them myself. I was (mostly) disappointed: the Lamianted class makes better!

We did five major "units" in this course: Other Laminated Doughs (think baklava... streudel...), Puff Pastry, Croissant Dough, Danishes, Other Breakfast Pastries. By spending a couple weeks on each unit, student are really able to master the subject matter.

Without further adieu, here is a pictorial representation of what we made this semester. Quick side note, I did teach 2 sections of this class, so I may denote which class (Saturday, or Fast Forward) on photos.

Other Laminated Doughs

Saturday Baklava

Phyllo dough, clarified butter, spiced nuts

FF Baklava

Phyllo dough, clarified butter, spiced nuts

Hand Stretched Austrian Apple Streudel

Streudel Dough, Clarified Butter, Apples, Cranberries, nuts

Puff Pastry

Saturday Blueberry Lemon Chaussons

Apple Tart Tatin

Saturday Mustard & Cheese Saccristans

Pithivier

Puff Pastry, Apricot Preserves, Frangipan, Apricot glaze, Confectioners' Sugar

Pithivier

Puff Pastry, Apricot Preserves, Frangipan, Apricot glaze, Confectioners' Sugar

Jalousie

Puff Pastry, Raspberry preserves, Frangipan,

Apricot glaze, Confectioners' Sugar, Sliced Almonds

Napoleon

Baked Puff Pastry Sheets, Creme Diplomat, Poured Fondant, Chocolate Striping

Croissants

Pain au Chocolat

Croissant Dough, Chocolate Batons, Chocolate Semper, Confectioners' Sugar

Pain au Chocolat: Student Midterm

The midterm in this class is generally pretty brutal

(working alone to make & laminate croissant dough, then turn it into

Parisian Croissants & Pain au Chocolat).

This student got the highest grade of both sections!

Savory Croissants

(from evaluations, one of the students' favorites for the entire semester!)

Savory Croissants

Tomato Goat Cheese, Breakfast Squares, Ham and Cheese, Pizza

Savory Croissants: Tomato Goat Cheese

Croissant Dough, Mustard, Tomato, Goat Cheese, Parmesan Cheese

Savory Croissants: Ham & Cheese

Croissant Dough, deli Ham, Swiss Cheese

Danish

(which can be made from croissant dough OR danish dough)

Saturday Danish

Pepitos (Pastry Cream, Chocolate Chips, Apricot Glaze)

Apricot Creme brulee pinwheels (Pastry Cream, Almond Streusel, Apricot halves, Cherry, Apricot Glaze)

Sunny Side Up Fleur-style (Pastry Cream, Apricot halves, Apricot Glaze...

names comes from them looking like sunny side up eggs)

Bee Danish Squares (Honey Almond Filling, Confectioners' Sugar)

Saturday: Bee Danish

Honey Almond Filling, Confectioners' Sugar

Saturday Danish: Apple Cheese Streusel Strudel

Scandinavian Danish Dough, Cream Cheese Filling, Diced Apples, Almond Streusel, Apricot Glaze

FF Danishes: All in a day's work

FF Danishes: Apple Fontains

Croissant Dough, Apple Honey filling, Apricot Glaze, Confectioners' Sugar

FF Danish: Coconut Pineapple Twists

Croissant Dough, Coconut Cream, Roasted Pineapple, Cherry, Apricot Glaze, Toasted Coconut

FF Danish: Cranberry Cheese Schnecken

Cream Cheese Filling, Cranberry Orange filling, Cinnamon Sugar, Apricot Glaze

Other Breakfast Pastries

Some of these were used as fillers during days when we had down time (like when waiting for dough to proof) and some were used at the end of the semester.

Saturday Class: Coconut Quick Bread

FF Class: Enormous Rhubarb for a Rhubarb Quick Bread

Scones!

One base recipe (adapted from this recipe) and then each group picked their own flavor combos

Brioche a tete

("brioche with a head".... though most of ours lost their "heads")

Gibassier

Brioche-type dough, candied orange, anniseed, orange blossom water....

Like eating a memory of Dakota Harvest Bakers (for me anyway)

FF: Homemade Pop Tarts

Saturday Doughnut Day: Apple Fritters

Saturday Doughnut Day: Yeast Raised doughnuts dipped in sticky bun glaze

a student came up with this combo.... and it was AMAZING!

FF Doughnuts: Cake & Yeast Raised

Banana Bread Doughnuts with maple glaze

German Chocolate Cake Doughuts with coconut pecan icing

Carrot Cake Doughnuts with Cream Cheese Icing & walnuts

Glazed yeast Doughnuts

With the exception of the final, that is nearly all the product we made in this class! Though we had a busy production schedule, the students still produced excellent product.

Watch for part 2 coming soon!

Recap: Petit Fours & Mini Pastries, Spring 2011

2011-05-01T22:08:00.001-04:00

Let me preface this post by getting something off my chest: I am supremely bothered that this course is grammatically incorrect by being called "Petit Fours" instead of "Petits Fours" or "Petit Fours."

Moving on, haha.

Petit Fours & Mini Pastries has been my most challenging course to date. The students were wonderful, but the planning and paperwork side of things was much more labor intensive than any other class. While the class was previously taught by another instructor, there was not any record of a syllabus or how the class was structure. The lack of record meant that I could virtually design the course myself while staying within the catalog description of the class. But designing a course takes a lot more work than one might initially think.... I thank all my students for their patience this semester :)

I also wish this course was longer.... or that there was a Petit Fours I and a Petit Fours II. There was so much material I'd have liked to cover, but there simply was not enough time. So, I made due with what I could.

And let me state one further item: Petit Fours does not simply mean glazed cakes with flowers piped on them. That is only one category of Petits Fours. Most people think glazed cake, but true Petits Fours are SO MUCH MORE!

There are four major classical categories of Petits Fours: Sec {"dry", like cookies}, Frais {"fresh," like mini fruit tarts or mousses}, Glacé {"glazed," like the glazed cake previously mentioned}, & Deguises {"disguised," like candied fruit... not so common these days}. Then, there is the Salé category {"Savory," like mini quiche, vol au vents, etc. with a pastry base} and the most advanced Prestige {any modern dessert in miniature form}. We concentrated on the classics first, then branched out, and finished with group projects and practical finals.

We not only created Petits Fours, but we also presented them, in various capacities. Following production, all the product we made that day had to be plated appropriately (different guidelines for different days) and presented for grading. Then we delivered the platters around school for others to enjoy! People rather liked us :)

So, here's a pictorial recap of our semester.

WEEK 1 & 2

Red Velvet Cake Petits Fours

with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing,

Pecan Dust & Chocolate Garnish

Our red Velvet Cake Petit Fours, Lemon Vanilla French macarons &

Grand Marnier Marshmallows for the Vintner's Dinner

WEEK 3 & 4: CLASSICS

Opera Cake

Pyramide Petits Fours

Petits Fours Glace

Classical Petits Fours: Lace Tuiles dipped in Chocolate, Financiers,

Opera Cake, Pyramides, Glace, Domes

WEEK 5: CONFECTIONS

Charleston Pralines, Salted Caramels,

Marshmallows (experimenting with some including egg, some not),

& Pate de Fruit

WEEK 6: TEA PARTY

Scones, Mango Earl Grey Opera Cake, Madeleines, Matcha Dacquoise fingers

WEEK 7: PATE A CHOUX

Paris-brest, Raspberry Chocolate Eclairs, Chocolate Swans

WEEK 8: CHARLESTON WINE + FOOD FESTIVAL

Chocolate mousse for a wine seminar held at the Palmer Campus

Traditional Chocolate Mousse, Vanilla Bean Chantilly Cream, Chocolate Cigarette & Mint

WEEK 9: TROPICAL/EXOTIC WEEK

Coconut Rice Pudding with Roasted Pineapple,

Mini Tarts with Passion Fruit filling,

Macadamia Stickies

(sorry for the poor quality cell phone pic)

WEEK 11: "NUTS IN THE KITCHEN" GROUP PROJECT

Almond Cakes, Chocolate Pecan Tarts with Bourbon Cream,

Hazelnut Macarons with Chocolate Ganache

Peanut Butter Mousse in edible Chocolate Cups

Almond Cakes, Chocolate Pecan Tarts with Bourbon Cream,

Hazelnut Macarons with Chocolate Ganache

Peanut Butter Mousse in edible Chocolate Cups

Joanne, Mandy, Gilly & Carol

WEEK 12: "THE 80'S FLASHBACK" GROUP PROJECT

Laura, Neecee, & Corley (and I assisted)

"Purple Rain" Purple Velvet Petit Fours;

Chocolate Petit Fours with Edible Album Cover Art;

Mini Frozen Yogurt cones,

"Rockin Krispy Treats" with rice cereal

(Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Pebbles, Rice Krispies) and Pop Rocks

WEEK 13: "CUPCAKES" GROUP PROJECT

Lemon Cupcakes

Key Lime Cupcake

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcake

Pineapple Almond Cupcake

Noel, Marilyn, Jeff & Rita

WEEK 14: OPEN SKILLS

Fresh Fruit Tarts, Candied Orange Peel,

Chocolate Walnut Glazed Petit Fours, Fromage Blanc Panna Cotta,

Cake Bon Bons

Fresh Fruit Tarts, Candied Orange Peel,

Chocolate Walnut Glazed Petit Fours, Fromage Blanc Panna Cotta,

Cake Bon Bons

WEEK 15: PRACTICAL FINALS

Each picked their own unique them and planned three petits fours

(that fit in to different petits four categories) around that theme

Joanne's Honey Theme

Laura's Chocolate Theme

(her Salted Chocolate Caramels were one of my favorites of the day)

Rita's Fruit Theme

Marilyn's Cinnamon Theme

Noel's Pistachio Theme

Gilly's Lemon Theme

(her Rosemary Lemon Shortbread cookies were one of my favorites of the day)

Corley's Christmas Theme

Carol's Traditional Italian theme

Mandy's Pie Theme

(She had one of the most creative and whimsical themes of the day)

Class shot!

WEEK 16: WRITTEN FINAL & CLEANING

And here's my class! Taken with the lovely assistance of my camera timer, the ice cream machine & a measuring cup to prop the lens. :)

Recap: Advanced Bakeshop, Spring 2011

2011-04-26T20:58:00.001-04:00

My life has been pretty busy lately. Busier than I'd like, but I love my job and my life, so I'm not complaining too much. The only thing is that I haven't had any time to blog... and that makes me sad! So, I'd like to show my dwindling readership exactly what has been keeping me busy... Starting with Advanced Bakeshop, which concluded tonight.

Hazelnut Dacquoise

Chocolate Macaron ~~Disaster~~ Experiment

Turns out, it does matter in macarons if you're using dutched cocoa powder or natural...

Macaron Assembly

Lemon Macarons for the Vintners' Dinner

Grand Marnier Souffles

Saucing the Souffles

Raspberry Fruit Mousse Torte

Petits Fours Week

sorry for the poor quality... used my phone for this one.

Tiramisu Ice Cream Sandwiches Assembly

Tiramisu, classical style

Raspberry White Chocolate Passion Fruit Torte

Pate Sucree, Raspberry Jam, Raspberry Sponge, White Chocolate Mousse,

Passion Fruit Gelee, Jaconde with red decor paste, Raspberry Gelee

Marjolaine Gateau

Marjolaine Gateau, the following day, plated for 181 Palmer Restaurant

(best lunch deal in Charleston!)

Making-meringue-surprise-bonus-quiz

Carol, pictured on the right, writes a blog called "Live Well, Eat Often, Snack Much"

about her adventures in culinary school.

Tempering chocolate & practicing chocolate cigarettes

The William

Almond Dacquoise, Nougatine, White Wine Poached Pears, Creme Chiboust

Open Skills: French Macarons

Practical Final: Giant Strawberry Macaron Entremet

Macaron shell, Chocolate Mousse, Creme Diplomat, Fresh Strawberries,

Chocolate Cigarettes, Confectioners' Sugar & Mint

Practical Final: Giant Strawberry Macaron Entremet

Macaron shell, Chocolate Mousse, Creme Diplomat, Fresh Strawberries,

Chocolate Cigarettes, Confectioners' Sugar & Mint

And so you have now seen a pictorial representation of how I've spent the past 16 Tuesdays from 3pm to 9:10pm. This class has been great and very dedicated to their learning, even throughout hardships and unexpected circumstances that always come with culinary school. Many did back-to-back classes, meaning they had two 6.5 hour classes with very little break! Talk about exhaustion at the end of the day? Yes.

Stay tuned for more re-caps as classes conclude for the semester!

Daring Bakers' February 2011: Panna Cotta

2011-02-27T19:00:00.004-05:00

***Edit: the link to my 365 photo project has been fixed!***

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

Vanilla Bean Fromage Blanc Panna, Chocolate Crumble,

Chocolate Shortbread Tuile, Blackberr Coulis & Fresh Blackberry

Many apologies for my absence these past months. I hoping to not make such a hiatus again, at least not for the time being! Lots of exciting (and challenging) things have been happening and I look forward to sharing them! FYI, If you want to see my newest 365 photo project, and keep up with what's going on in my life on a day-to-day basis, visit here.

This month also marks my return to Daring Bakers' challenges, also after a several month hiatus. However, I do feel the need to get one thing off my chest: I followed the challenge inspiration, but not the given recipes. I had planned for my Petit Fours & Mini Pastries class to make a panna cotta in the near future and decided to practice that recipe instead!

One thing that often surprises people is that I am a pastry chef who really doesn't particularly care for cheesecake (feel free to gasp... I know, I'm unusual). I often find it too heavy/rich and frankly, not sweet enough for my insatiable sweet tooth! This Vanilla Bean Fromage Blanc panna cotta, inspired by a recipe from Dessert Fourplay by Johnny Iuzzini, comes very close to cheesecake-y flavors without being too rich.

Fromage Blanc, for those who are not familiar with it, is a zero-fat, French-style, fresh cheese that has similar flavor tones as yogurt. I like to think of it this way: if Greek yogurt and cream cheese got married and had a baby, it would taste like Fromage Blanc, haha!

Some may remember from a previous post, that I am a big fan of panna cotta. It's relatively easy and doesn't require an oven! It can be very sweet and very rich, so I've made a petit-four size dessert with garnishes. After tasting the combination, I do wish I'd made them a little larger because they are so tasty! Instead I've compensated by eating several :)

If you're not a cheesecake or a panna cotta fan, I still urge you to make this dessert. It may turn you into a believer!

Fromage Blanc Panna Cotta
adapted from Dessert Fourplay by Johnny Iuzzini

4 g Gelatin Sheets (reduce gelatin if you do not plan to unmold the panna cotta)
112 g Heavy Cream
50 g Granulated Sugar
pinch of fine Sea Salt
2 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
225 g Fromage Blanc, room temp

1. Bloom the gelatin sheets in ice water until soft, approximately 10 minutes.
2. Combine the cream, sugar & sea salt in a sauce pan. Bring to a simmer. Add the bloomed gelatin and whisk to combine. Cool slightly. Add Vanilla Bean Paste. Cool until just warm.
3. Whisk the cooled cream mixture into the Fromage Blanc (the cream mixture must be just barely warm, or else it may cause the fromage blanc to sepearate) and strain into a vessel with a spout (a spout will help the ease of portioning)
4. Portion the mixture into the desired molds and chill until set.
5. Once set, unmold, if desired, and garnish with Blackberry Coulis, Chocolate Shortbread Tuiles, & Chocolate crumble.
6. Enjoy!

Final humorous note....
Here's what happens when you decide to photograph on your balcony and the wind blows over your foam core while you're back inside grabbing one final garnish.... hahahaha. I'm laughing, but it was rather expensive mishap since the foam core is ruined (one covered in blackberry coulis, one in speckles from the butter in the crumble)... Thankfully, though, I did have enough product to plate a second set up!

Daring Bakers November 10: Pistachio Pear Crostada/Galette

2010-11-30T08:12:00.000-05:00

The 2010 November Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

This post is a bit late, but better late than never! I completed the challenge on time, but then got sick in the middle of Thanksgiving break, and so my pictures and this post suffered a bit. My apologies!

Mom holding one of my new business cards with dessert at L.I.M.E

For this challenge, I "recycled" one of the desserts I created for L.I.M.E. earlier this month: a Pistachio Frangipan tart/crostada/galette with spiced red wine poached pears & pate sucree crust. When I plated it for L.I.M.E., I also included poaching liquid reduction, vanilla bean ice cream, pistachio lace tuile & pistachio garnish.

unbaked crostada/galette

I have always been taught that a "crostada" or "galette" is a freeform tart, made without a tart pan. While I used a tart pan for L.I.M.E., I decided to make free form-style tarts with dough left over from the event. The small ones were happily consumed before the photoshoot, but I did get a shot before they were eaten.

I went a bit too "frangipan happy" and overfilled the crust, though they did taste delicious anyway. If you've never had frangipan before, you're missing out! Usually, it's made with almonds (ground, paste, flour etc), but I have a particular fondness for pistachios and so I ground some of the raw pistachios I bought in France for the filling instead.

My pistachios had a wonderfully brilliant green color that contrasted beautifully with the red wine poached pears. I like to leave the pears in the poaching liquid at least 48 hrs before slicing so the pears retain a beautiful red color.

I hope this challenge inspires you to make a free-form tart sometime this holiday season!

THE RECIPES

Note: these are the recipes I used for L.I.M.E. and so the amounts may be a bit high....

SHORT CRUST DOUGH WITH ALMONDS

Ingredients

250 g Flour

150 g Butter

173 g Icing Sugar

32 g Almond Flour

pinch Fine Salt

55 g Eggs

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle, mix the butter and flour until you get a sandy mass. Add the other ingredients and knead only until incorporated.

Wrap and refrigerate at least 24 hours before using.

RED WINE POACHED PEARS

3 pears, peeled just before use.

3c red wine

1.5c granulated sugar

peel of 1/2 orange

juice of 1 lemon

1 cinnamon stick

2 whole cloves

boil 5 minutes, simmer 20 minutes or until pears are tender. Cool on ice bath. Chill pears in poaching liquid at least 48 hours before use.

PISTACHIO FRANGIPAN

adapted from Cannelle et Vanille

100 grams organic unsalted butter, softened

100 grams sugar

1 organic egg

30 grams unbleached all purpose flour

100 grams raw pistachios, ground to a fine meal

1 tsp Almond Extract

Cream the butter and the sugar together. Add the egg. Scrape and mix well. Add the flour and the ground pistachios and mix until all ingredients are well incorporated.

Place the frangipane in a pastry bag and pipe onto the rolled out crust.

Pumpkin Panna Cotta & Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T23:17:00.001-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope this has been a blessed day filled with family, friends & good food.

...And once again, too much time has lapsed since my last post. I've hardly had time to even think about Thanksgiving, that's how busy this last month has gone. Between teaching regular classes, and then teaching two back-to-back months of Continuing Education, and then getting ready for the November L.I.M.E. event, it's a wonder I've even gotten any sleep! (p.s. I do have a LIME post in the works as well....)

But, in preparation for the "Advanced Pastry Boot Camp" Continuing Education course I've been teaching, I tested two delicious panna cotta recipes: Pumpkin Panna Cotta & Nutella Panna Cotta. They weren't so delicious the first time around, but with some tweeking, they're fabulous now!

Panna Cotta, Italian for "cooked cream," is an item that I had seldom made before this fall. For whatever reason, I simply hadn't given it enough of a chance. I am now a believer! For those who maybe haven't had panna cotta before, it's an egg-less custard that is thickened with gelatin, essentially a "milk jello" but much more delicious than that sounds. It's a cinch to prepare (like 5 to 10 minutes tops) and it doesn't require an oven (though you do need enough refrigerator space). Some people use a higher ratio of gelatin, which then allows the custard to be unmolded once firm. I, however, do not like that much gelatin in my panna cotta (I'd rather lean towards a custard-y texture than a jello-y texture), so mine must be served in their chilling vessels.

I'm especially pleased with the Nutella panna cotta that I got to use the adorable Nutella glasses I brought back from France (with the assistance of my friend Kelli). Did you know that in France, the small jar of Nutella becomes the most adorable little glass vessel once all the Nutella has been consumed? While Kelli was in France, she happily consumed several of these jars; and then once I visited, I helped consume more. Kelli wasn't going to keep the adorable glasses, but I rescued them and carried them in my travel pack for the rest of the trip. I knew they would one day serve a special purpose :)

If you don't have adorable Nutella glasses, 4 oz mason jars work well too. I had some left from various canning adventures and they were the perfect size. Anything larger and you won't be able to finish the rich custard in one sitting (or at least I couldn't and I've got an insatiable sweet tooth). I really like serving panna cotta in vessels which allow one to see the contents inside. Plus, with the jars, you've got ready-made lids as well!

Another option is to use plastic cups. I searched high and low for little, clear cups, and alas, none could be found.... But I did find some cute little white ones that worked instead. The nice thing about using plastic cups is that they can be very easily brought to an event and there's no worry about misplacing any of the dishes afterwards. And there's no dishes to wash! :)

Perhaps there's some leftover pumpkin puree from Thanksgiving festivities or a spare jar of Nutella that you can use to make one (or both) of these recipes.

NUTELLA PANNA COTTA

Ingredients
1.5 oz Cold Water
16 oz Heavy Whipping Cream (you may substitute milk or half-and-half if you find cream to be too rich)
5.25 oz Granulated Sugar
2.5 oz Nutella
0.25 oz Pure Vanilla Extract
¼ oz Granulated Gelatin (1 Packet)

Instructions
1. Into a medium size bowl, add cold water and sprinkle the gelatin package on top of water. Do not stir; set aside.

2. Place your cream and sugar into a sauce pan over medium heat. Stirring frequently with a wooden spoon until well combined, continue cooking until it nears boiling.

3. Melt your Nutella for about 30 seconds in the microwave and then add to the cream mixture. Whisk together to combine well.

4. Remove from heat, add vanilla extract. Melt the bloomed gelatin in the microwave for 20 seconds. Slowly pour the melted gelatin mixture into the cream mixture and whisk together until well-combined.

5. Equally divide the mixture into your prepared custard cups. Place in the refrigerator to set up for a minimum of 2 hours or until firm.

PUMPKIN PANNA COTTA

Ingredients
43 g Water, cold
¼ oz    Gelatin (1 package)
342 g Half-and-Half (171 g Cream; 171 g milk)
40 g    Maple Syrup
85 g    Brown Sugar
228 g Pureed Pumpkin (Canned is fine)
7 g    Cinnamon
2 g    Ginger
pinch Nutmeg
pinch Salt
to taste Vanilla

Instructions
1. Place the water in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Leave for 5 minutes to soften.

2. Combine the half-and-half in a small saucepan with the syrup, sugar and pumpkin, and heat until the mixture just reaches the scalding point but does not boil, whisking often. Remove from the heat and whisk in the spices.

3. Melt bloomed gelatin in the microwave for 20 seconds. Whisk the gelatin mixture into the hot dairy mixture until smooth.

4. Divide the mixture into 4 glasses or ramekins and refrigerate.

Daring Bakers October 10: Doughnuts

2010-10-27T07:00:00.217-04:00

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

What a fantastic challenge this has been! It's probably one of my most favorite DB challenge to date. But it wasn't without difficulties.....

I've had this fear. A fear of deep frying. Not a fear of eating fried foods, but of actually, physically frying them. I was going to attempt to conquer this fear last November with the Daring Baker's Cannoli Challenge, but I chickened out.... and ran out of time.

I was concerned about all the hot oil and it's ability to seriously burn people. Seeing as I don't a have roommates, what would I do if I seriously burned/hurt myself? Who could take me to the ER? I'm really good at over-analyzing things, if you couldn't already tell. Yes, I am the person who if you don't call me when I expect to hear from you, I suddenly worry that you're dead in a ditch somewhere. I'm trying to get over this.

Plus, it just seemed really inconvenient. What do do with the oil after I was done frying... Having my apartment smell like a fast food restaurant... Standing over a hot, oily stove frying doughnuts for hours.... And the list goes on.

But, I decided to conquer the fear. I decided to challenge myself, after all, that is part of what the Daring Bakers is all about. So, I got a jug of vegetable oil. I set aside a Saturday afternoon after teaching Advanced Bakeshop. I dusted off my trusty candy thermometer. I kept my phone (and a bowl of ice water) at arms length, just in case of any mishaps. I bought & lit a lovely scented candle and opened my patio door to try to keep the oil smell from inundating my apartment. And I began heating the oil.

I carefully monitored the temperature of the oil. And when it finally reached the correct temperature range (350 F to 375F) I reached for my first doughnut hole to test. But, when I looked down into the oil, I saw these funny red blobs. That is when I realized that my candy thermometer must have somehow developed a crack. My perfectly heated vegetable oil was contaminated with mercury (and really I feel we have enough mercury in our diets as it is). So sad. Especially sad, since I had used all my oil in attempt #1. So though I was tired from teaching and really had just planned on staying in the rest of the day, I grabbed my keys and wallet and drove to the grocery store to get more oil.

I found a second pot, though not as ideal as the first, and my second candy thermometer and went to work heating a second batch of oil for "deep frying attempt #2." Just as I was, once again, getting ready to test the first doughnut hole, I gazed into the bottom of the second batch of oil. What did I see? MORE MERCURY BUBBLES! ARGH! Thankfully, I had bought a larger jug of oil the second time around "just in case." I decided that if "deep frying attempt #3" was not successful, then I clearly wasn't meant to deep fry anything. Ever. Period.

However, "deep frying attempt #3" was successful! Though, by that point both my candy thermometer were broken and I had to settle for testing every few minutes with my instant read thermometer instead.

Originally, I had planned to make yeast raised doughnuts. Specifically, I wanted to make spiced pumpkin yeast raised doughnuts. After much searching of the internet with no results for yeasted pumpkin doughnuts, I settled on making cake doughnuts. I like yeast doughnuts better (Krispy Kreme trumps Dunkin Doughnuts anyday, in my book) and I do have enough yeast product knowledge to develope a recipe on my own. But alas, I only had the few precious Saturday hours and I figured it would not be enough time to be a successful venture. Perhaps in the future I'll develop a yeasted pumpkin doughnut?

I've been seeing a pleathora of doughnut recipes in the blogosphere lately, partially due to the recent release of Lara Ferroni's Doughnut cookbook (she's a blogger whose blog I follow via my Google Reader accound). I guess that if there's now a doughnut cookbook, it means that the "low-carb" "Atkins" movement is finally over. Hurray!

I decided that if I was going to conquer the fear of deepfrying, I might as well really conquer it and make two kinds of doughnuts: Pumpkin Doughnuts (to which I added a maple glaze or cinnamon sugar after frying), and then one of Lara's recipes I found on another fantastic blog (use real butter) for Apple Cider Doughnuts (to which I added an Apple Cider Glaze to bring out the "apple-y-ness" or cinnamon sugar after frying).

The results from "deep frying attempt #3" were fantastic! I've never ever tasted cake doughnuts as good as these ones were. Seriously. I may be a convert, both to deep frying at home (now that my fear has been conquered) and to the cake doughnut (though only if made at home).

I can see many more doughnut adventures in my future. Plus, the looks on peoples' faces when you offer them a freshly fried homemade doughnut is an amazingly satisfying experience. People are in such shock and awe that you've actually made them yourself. I try to give away most of the product of my baking adventures (usually to people at church).... I find it's better for my waistline to do so, plus I really enjoy making peoples' day a little brighter by giving them a homemade item. It just gives me warm fuzzies inside.

I encourage everyone to try making doughnuts. They're SO WORTH IT! Thanks to Lori for such a great challenge!

THE RECIPES
Note: a couple changes I made (or would make in the future)

Like Jen of "use real butter" , I reduced my apple cider slightly to try to concentrate the flavor. But in the end, after frying, I still didn't detect a huge "apple" flavor. So I added the apple glaze (just apple cider and powdered sugar). But in the future when I make these again, I think I'd add some actual apple pieces to the dough... perhaps just dicing them small or even grating them into the dough. I think it would make a lovely addition.
I think the pumpkin doughnuts could use some extra spice. Maybe it's just because I've grown up eating pumpkin products with lots of spice... but I think in the future, I would double the amount of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. I didn't add the cloves because I didn't have any. I also found that the pumpkin doughnuts seemed to develop better flavor by sitting a little while. I made mine on a Saturday, but didn't serve them until the following morning. And, unusually, they tasted better with a little melding time (unusual because fried things usually taste best while they're still warm from the frying process).
I also made a maple glaze for the pumpkin doughnuts. I just added pure maple syrup (none of the immitation crap) to my confectioners sugar and then added enough cream to make the consistancy I wanted.

Pumpkin Doughnuts with Powdered Sugar Glaze and Spiced Sugar Doughnut Holes

Bon Appétit | October 2004

Spiced sugar
1 cup sugar
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

Doughnuts
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk
1 cup canned pure pumpkin
Canola oil (for deep-frying)

Powdered Sugar Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
LV addition: Maple Syrup (just enough to flavor and add liquid)

Whipping cream

PREPARATION

For spiced sugar:
Whisk all ingredients in medium bowl to blend.

For doughnuts:
Whisk first 8 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until blended (mixture will be grainy). Beat in egg, then yolks and vanilla. Gradually beat in buttermilk; beat in pumpkin in 4 additions. Using rubber spatula, fold in dry ingredients in 4 additions, blending gently after each addition. Cover with plastic; chill 3 hours.

Sprinkle 2 rimmed baking sheets lightly with flour. Press out 1/3 of dough on floured surface to 1/2- to 2/3-inch thickness. Using 2 1/2-inch-diameter round cutter, cut out dough rounds. Arrange on sheets. Repeat with remaining dough in 2 more batches. Gather dough scraps. Press out dough and cut out more dough rounds until all dough is used.

Using 1-inch-diameter round cutter, cut out center of each dough round to make doughnuts and doughnut holes.

Line 2 baking sheets with several layers of paper towels. Pour oil into large deep skillet to depth of 1 1/2 inches. Attach deep-fry thermometer and heat oil to 365°F to 370°F. Fry doughnut holes in 2 batches until golden brown, turning occasionally, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Fry doughnuts, 3 or 4 at a time, until golden brown, adjusting heat to maintain temperature, about 1 minute per side. Using slotted spoon, transfer doughnuts to paper towels to drain. Cool completely.

For powdered sugar glaze:
Whisk powdered sugar (plus maple syrup) and whipping cream to blend. Whisk in additional cream, 1 teaspoon at a time, to form medium thick glaze. Can be made up to 3 hours ahead. Add doughnut holes to bowl of spiced sugar and toss to coat. Spread doughnuts on 1 side with Powdered Sugar Glaze. Arrange doughnuts, glazed side up, on racks. Let stand until glaze sets, at least 30 minutes.

Apple Cider Doughnuts

taken from the blog "use real butter." Jen includes high altitude instructions as well. She reproduced with permission from Doughnuts by Lara Ferroni

1 3/4 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (30g) graham flour (or sub all-purpose flour)
2 tsps cinnamon
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsps (1 oz) unsalted butter or vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (120 g) superfine sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup apple cider (used 1 cup apple cider, simmered down to 1/4 cup apple cider concentrate)
1/4 cup buttermilk
vegetable oil for frying

PREPARATION
Whisk together the flours, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sguar together. Add the egg yolks and beat until the mixture is fluffy and pale yellow. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the vanilla, cider, and buttermilk.

Add the dry ingredients and stir just until the mixture comes together in a soft, slightly sticky dough. Cover and refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/2-inch thick. Cut the doughnuts out with a 2 1/2 inch-diameter cutter. You can re-roll any scrap dough.

Heat at least 2 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot until a deep-fat thermometer registers 360°F (335°F @8500 ft.). With a metal spatula, carefully place the doughnuts in the oil. Fry in small batches, taking care not to overcrowd the pot. Cook until a rich golden brown, about 1 minute on each side (a little longer @8500 ft.).

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Let cool to the touch before glazing and eating. You can also bake these doughnuts in a doughnut pan in a 350°F oven for 5 to 10 minutes, but they won’t achieve the same rich golden color.

"L" is for "Laminated Dough"

2010-10-15T21:16:00.002-04:00

Where has October gone? In fact, where has the Fall semester gone? I've been so busy with teaching (and loving it) that I haven't done as much personal recipe testing. Well, I have been doing some, but it's for a very special surprise.... I'm the featured chef November chef for a new Charleston underground supperclub: L.I.M.E. Everything I'm doing for L.I.M.E. is a secret (for now), but I will reveal more as the date gets closer.

In the mean time, I have been very privileged to observe and assist in the "Laminated Doughs & Breakfast Pastries" course this semester. Laminated doughs and viennoisserie are probably my favorite area study, probably due to the fact that it is the meeting between baking and pastry. It requires a great deal of time, patience and attention to detail. Currently, I'm slated to teach the course next semester! Hurray! So, here are a few images of things done in class as I observe in preparation for next semester.

Some of the product has been made by Chef Jeff Alexander, some by the students, and a bit done by yours truly as well! It's been a fun change to have time to concentrate on setting up great shots in class, instead of hurriedly snapping photos in between presenting product and hurrying to clean up the classroom. Thanks to Chef Jeff and all the talented students for allowing me be a part of their class and to photograph their product.

Napoleon
Puff Pastry, Diplomat Cream, Glaze with chocolate striping.
Product by Chef Jeff Alexander

Blueberry Chaussons
Puff pastry, blueberry filling
Product by Chef Jeff Alexander

Tart Tatin
Puff Pastry, Caramel, & Apples
Product by Chef Jeff Alexander

Pain au Chocolat
Croissant Dough, chocolate batons, chocolate striping, confectioner's sugar.
Product by Chef Jeff Alexander

Just look at the gorgeous lamination! Every layer is visible!

Student piping work on Pain au chocolat
Product by D

Loooove the piping!

Apricot Raisin Scrolls (top) Banana Coconut Cream (middle) Pistachio Cherry (bottom)

Product by various students.

All delicious, but I do have a particular fondness for Apricot Raisin Scrolls....

A happy accident done by "k." She forgot to add the garnish prior to baking, so we added a stripe of pistachio flour in lieu of an actual pistachio. Beautiful variation!

Sourdough Rye Croissant

Sourdough Rye starter, rye flour, carroway seeds, plugra

by Me!

These were a side project that I concocted with the assistance of Chef Jeff. Wow! They are tasty!

I may never be able to re-produce them, due to the nature of the starter, but they are mighty delicious. I think they'd make a really killer hot ruben sandwich.

Or they're also good all by themselves!

Stay tuned for more images from my classes and for more LIME sneak peeks!

Daring Bakers September 10: Decorated Sugar Cookies

2010-09-27T20:35:00.000-04:00

The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

Whew, it's been a while since I've been able to participate in a Daring Bakers' Challenge! This summer was just so crazy that I'd conceptualize and start a challenge, but then fail to follow through. But this month, since it is actually the anniversary of my membership in the Daring Bakers' and also the birthday of this blog, I made especially sure to complete the challenge.

I have to admit, though, that I was a little disappointed when I initially read about the challenge. Royal Icing and I have had quite the relationship and I was a little disappointed that I wouldn't be doing something "new." But, then, I realized that I simply needed to stretch myself and do something I hadn't done before. I decided to paint the royal icing after it was piped and glazed. I used gel food color (Wilton brand is what I had) and I used a little alcohol (Kirschwasser to be exact because I had it on hand) to liquify the color when needed. See, I've learned from previous experience that water and royal icing really do not mix (the icing won't harden), but alcohol will work better.

We were challenged to decorate the cookies in whatever "September" means to us (or should it be "we," hmmm). Regardless of what is gramatically correct, "September" brings different visions to me now living on the East Coast than it did when I lived in the Midwest. I'm used to the leaves starting to change to briliant autumnal colors during September.... to the weather cooling off.... I'm feeling a bit nostalgic for what I consider "Fall." Fall, how I think of it, doesn't happen here until more around Thanksgiving, and even then, it doesn't seem quite as dramatic. I know that if I was to go to the upstate, I'd get the traditional Autumn feeling that I'm use to. But I probably won't get to take a trip like that this year, at least. So I've painted "Fall" instead.

And I flavored my sugar cookies with some of the same spices I think of when I think of Fall. Cinnamon. Nutmeg. Ginger. All "pumpkin pie"-ish spices. Oh, and I threw in a little cardemom as well, but you've got to be careful with cardemom because even 1/8 tsp is noticable in these cookies! Plus, I added a little salt to help open the taste buds to help taste these autumnal spices.

RECIPES

Basic Sugar Cookies:

200g Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
400g All Purpose
200g Sugar
1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Cinnamon, to taste
Ground Ginger, to taste
Freshly Grated Nutmeg, to taste
1/8 tsp Cardamom
Pinch of salt

Directions
• Cream together the butter, sugar and any flavourings you’re using. Beat until just becoming
creamy in texture.
• Beat in the egg until well combined, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the sifted flour and mix on low until a non sticky dough forms.
• Knead into a ball and divide into 2 or 3 pieces.
• Roll out each portion between parchment paper to a thickness of about 5mm/1/5 inch (0.2 inch)
• Refrigerate for a minimum of 30mins.
• Once chilled, peel off parchment and place dough on a lightly floured surface.
• Cut out shapes with cookie cutters or a sharp knife.
• Arrange shapes on parchment lined baking sheets and refrigerate for another 30mins to an hour. It’s very important you chill them again otherwise they’ll spread while baking.
• Re-roll scraps and follow the above process until all scraps are used up.
• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Bake until golden around the edges, about 8-15mins depending on the size of the cookies.
• Leave to cool on cooling racks.
• Once completely cooled, decorate as desired.

Royal Icing:
315g – 375g Confectioner’s / Powdered Sugar
2 Large Egg Whites
2 tsp Lemon Juice

Directions
• Beat egg whites with lemon juice until combined.
• Sift the icing sugar to remove lumps and add it to the egg whites.
• Tip: There are listed 2 amounts of icing sugar, the lesser amount is good for a flooding consistency, and the larger amount is for outlining, but you can add even more for a much thicker consistency good for writing. If you add too much icing sugar or would like to make a thinner consistency, ~~add very small amounts of water, a few drops at a time, until you reach the consistency you need~~. (LV Note: Add more egg white instead.... it will dry much faster.
• Beat on low until combined and smooth.
• Use immediately or keep in an airtight container.
• Tip: Royal Icing starts to harden as soon as it’s in contact with air so make sure to cover containers with plastic wrap while not in use.

Charleston Restaurant Week: The Ocean Room, Fall 2010

2010-09-23T19:27:00.001-04:00

This past week, the fall edition of Charleston Restaurant Week occurred. After drooling over many of the featured menus from restaurants at which I normally cannot afford to eat, a couple of friends and I decided to visit "The Ocean Room." Ironically, I did a stage at "The Ocean Room" before I worked at the "Jasmine Porch" restaurant (both within the Kiawah Golf Resort Sanctuary Hotel) this passed summer; however, I had never eaten at "The Ocean Room."

Note, please forgive the quality of the images.... My normal camera has been away for cleaning and my backup camera just doesn't have the same capabilities I'm used to.....

looking back at just a portion of the Sanctuary hotel

So we made the long trek from Charleston all the way out to Kiawah. And, WOW, it was worth it! As part of the Restaurant Week promotion, we had three courses for $30. We added a few things on to our meal, but still, for the caliber of restaurant, it was quite a deal.

To start, we shared with an additional appetizer: Southern Caviar (smoked trout & roe, mascarpone, dill, corn brioche, corn blinis).

Then my appetizer arrived: Farmer's Fall Salad (greens, honey vinaigrette, marcona almonds, kadota figs, cornbread croutons, camembert cheese) Delicious!

My two companions had a Golden Corn Soup (sweet shrimp, avocado, charred corn), which was poured tableside.

We all chose the same main course: 130 degree Prime Beef Tenderloin, (creamed silver queen corn, foraged chanterelles, black summer truffle jus). I'm not usually a beef eater. In fact, I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've eaten beef in the past 12 years..... But this was some of the best beef I've eaten. Sous vide style is truly the way to go. The dish just melted in my mouth!

And then why not just add an order of "Truffled Pomme Frites" for the table to share! Mmmmm.

And next comes dessert..... I'm not exactly sure of the official name for this chocolate dessert, because we never saw the menu, but it featured a rich chocolate souffle cake with vanilla ice cream and an isomalt garnish. We shared this dessert as a table.

My two companions each had the Goat Cheese Cheesecake (walnut crust, candied walnuts and wild huckleberry sauce.)

And I had the Banana Pudding (vanilla wafer tuile, roasted banana ice cream, caramelized bananas, toasted meringue). I thoroughly enjoyed all our desserts (and the rest of the food, for that matter), but I think I like my dessert best of all the desserts!

It was a great, memorable meal with good friends, good wine, good conversation. Charleston Restaurant week will happen again this winter, and I encourage everyone to take advantage of the amazing promotions that happen. I know I'll be saving up for future experiences :)

If you're interested in finding out more about Charleston restaurant week, please visit here.

If you're interested in dining at the Ocean Room, here's their website as well.

Absence & Palmiers

2010-09-13T22:00:00.000-04:00

I've been terribly, terribly absent lately. Being a teacher is much, much more time consuming than even I thought! But it also is just as rewarding. I really love it!

I promise, more posts are in the works. But please be patient :)

In the mean time, here's a picture of some GORGEOUS (and delicious) Palmiers made in the "Laminated Dough & Viennoiserie" class that I'm assisting with this semester. Puff pastry & Sugar. What could be better? (especially when it's puff pastry made with european butter....)

Life Changes & Plated Desserts Final

2010-08-05T21:12:00.000-04:00

It's been a while. Sorry :( Once again, my life has flipped upside down! Just when I thought I was getting all my ducks in a row, my ducks have all been replaced by new ducks!

I guess there are two big pieces of news I have to share.

1) I'm graduating from Culinary School after finishing this summer semester.

2) I've been offered an adjunct teaching position at the Culinary Institute and will begin teaching in less than 3 weeks!

This job is really a dream come true. I really feel a great passion about pastry & desserts, and I truly desire to share that passion with others. Now, I'll have a chance to do that again!

Prior to going to pastry school, I taught in the Culinary Corner Demo Kitchen at the University of North Dakota Wellness Center, a position I loved! I taught a series called "Sweet Treats," (a name which also inspired the name of this blog as well!) and was privileged to teach UND Faculty, staff, associates, students & Grand Forks Community members how to bake. Not only did I teach the courses, but I conceptualized the entire series, wrote & tested most of the recipes, photographed the subject matter and designed booklets for each participant, in addition to teaching the actual course. For anyone who is interested, some of the material can be found here. (I even won an award from the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association for the design work associated with the series.)

While I had hoped this opportunity to teach would come someday, I never dreamed it would happen so quickly. I'm excited to get started with all my lesson plans! These weeks will go fast....

So this course, Plated Desserts, I've been taking this summer is ending up being my final course as a student at CIC. I've learned so much in Plated Desserts.... many of the formulas & techniques we learned are now included in my little book of "best" formulas.

For our final, we were asked to take all the knowledge we've accumulated throughout our class experiences and develop one cold and one hot plate design. We had two class periods to prepare, execute, and present our best work.

This is my cold plate, all based around the flavor of Earl Grey tea: A trio of mousses (Milk Chocolate, Earl Grey & Vanilla Bean) with Earl Grey French Macarons filled with Mango Cream, Mango Curd Sauce, Vanilla Chantilly Cream and garnished with Chocolate Leaf Decoration, Fresh Blackberry & Mint.

While there are always things I would change if I could go back and do it again (like, lining my mousse molds with acetate so the layers would have better definition), I still think this dessert is one of the best I've done. Conceptually, it took a great deal of thought, both in deciding what flavor components to include and which formulas best showcased those flavors. I've loved Earl Grey tea since visiting London with my sister in 2008 and I've loved the London Fog beverages we use to make at Archives Coffee House when I worked there. I wanted to draw on both of those experiences, but also throw in a twist with the milk chocolate and mango components. Plus, I love French Macarons :)

The mousses are adapted from a fabulous mousse recipe we learned in class. If you're interested in making mango curd, Epicurious.com has a great recipe here. I'll write more about my hot dessert soon! It includes Golden Grahams Cereal Milk Ice Cream! Yum!

Unfortunately, my computer is rebelling against me and won't open the program where I've got the recipes stored... So, I'll have the recipes up in a few days!

Bittersweet.

2010-07-10T21:52:00.001-04:00

I've had a couple more France posts in the works, but as you can see, I haven't exactly posted them yet.... Life seems to have gotten in the way. And life hasn't exactly been kind lately..... In fact, it's been quite bittersweet.

I struggle with how much to reveal, but things haven't been easy.....

I like having all my "ducks in a row".... knowing what's coming.... having stability.... succeeding at what I do. All these options seem to have flown to the wind lately. The future is even more crazy unknown. And I'm failing miserably.

Every situation happens for a reason, but finding that reason can be quite painful.

Recently, through the "explore" option on my Google Reader, I've discovered the blog "things we forget" and have found some consolation.

"Don't let success go to your head or failure to go to your heart" #513

"Don't let what you can't do interfere with what you can do" #519

Yes, the future is unknown. Yes, discovering you aren't good at something (and are, in fact, terrible) isn't fun. Yes, the next months will be much more difficult than I thought they would be.

But there will still be learning experiences. There will still be good times.

Bittersweet. It's how I've been feeling.

So, with some free time this afternoon, I decided to make scones. Bittersweet Chocolate & Cherry Scones, to be exact. Things may not be going as smoothly in my life as I wish, but I can still make scones!

I love the sweet flavor of cherries.... I've been eating tons of them lately! They provide not just sweetness, but lovely color to the scones. And the dark chocolate chunks provide a slight bite and are chocolaty without being overwhelmingly sweet.

Then, I couldn't just leave them plain and naked. I had to glaze them :) Confectioners sugar with a little Kirschwasser (additional cherry flavor) and a splash of almond milk. Mmmmm!

So, whether or not you've been feeling slightly bittersweet, or perhaps life is a little sweeter these days, think about making these scones. Cherry season doesn't last long!

Bittersweet Chocolate & Cherry Scones

yields approximately 16 scones

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup Sugar

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt

1 stick (1/4 lb) Unsalted Butter, cold

3/4 c Buttermilk, cold

splash of almond extract

125 g. chocolate chunks (use chocolate bars, not chips. I used part 70% dark and part 85% dark chocolate)

160 g. Fresh cherries, pitted and quartered

Instructions:

1. Using a box grater, grate the cold butter into small pieces. Then, place the grated butter into the freezer to chill approximately 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

3. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add the frozen butter and rub together with your hands until it forms a crumbly mixture. Do not work too much or else the butter will melt.

4. Add the almond extract to the buttermilk. Form a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk mixture. Mix by hand. Additional splash of buttermilk may be added if the dough is dry. When the mixture is nearly combined, add the chocolate and the cherries and mix only until combined.

5. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a large scoop, portion dough into mounds on the sheet pans. Let the dough rest 20 minutes.

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

7. Allow to cool and glaze (recipe follows) if desired. Enjoy!

Cherry Almond Glaze

Ingredients

Confectioners sugar

Kirschwasser (cherry brandy)

Almond Milk

Instructions

1. Whisk a splash of Kirshwasser and Almond Milk into the confectioner's sugar until it forms a thin glaze. Add additional liquid or confectioners sugar until the desired consistency is reached.

2. Dip scones into the glaze or pour over the top.

France: Pique-nique

2010-06-25T08:20:00.000-04:00

We did some creative eating while traveling through France, mainly in the form of "pique-nique" or "picnic" for those of you who aren't fluent in "franglais." By eating pique-nique meals some of the time, we were able to save some of our budgets for the important meals (and of course, ice cream)!

How simple to run to a Monoprix or Carrefour for some cheese, bread (though generally crappy), yogurt (because Europe has greatly superior yogurt than the US has), fruit, and probably something sweet. Ironically, I'm not a big cheese fan (except for parmesan) in my daily life in the US. Nor do I particularily fancy yogurt (thought I've taught myself to tolerate greek yogurt). But in France, neither of those indifferences mattered!

Mmmm.... Cheese!

Delicious comte cheese, my second favorite cheese variety of the trip, devoured in Lion-sur-Mer

Amazing, amazing Mustard cheese from Alain Hess in Beaune.

Seriously best cheese of my life!

And then the delicious mustard cheese was turned into one of the best sandwiches ever during our "biking through burgundy" picnic! We bought all our ingredients from the "smashing" Saturday market.

Baguette, cheese & local tomatoes, combination recommended by the owner of the bike shop where rented our bikes.

But alfresco meals pose a few challenges one often doesn't think of prior to buying the desired ingredients.....

picnic in Nice

Like I said, we consumed copious amounts of yogurt. But, we didn't have any spoons! So, we drank all our yogurt!

mmm.. rhubarb yogurt, consumed during a pique nique in Dijon!

Aaand, we also didn't have any forks. So a wicket from a bottle of Cremant (French sparkling wine that is not from the champagne region) was used to eat carrot salad!

yes, we are very creative.

But, even with all these pique-niques and creative eating, we still had many memorable times filled with laughter and good food!

only a couple more France posts... I promise! I'm using these as a sort of visual journal for myself as well!

France: Markets

2010-06-21T10:13:00.001-04:00

Charleston is very fortunate to have one of the best farmer's markets in the US offering "fresh locally grown produce & locally processed food products as well as distinctive hand wrought arts and crafts." You can read more about it here. After moving from the midwest to Charleston, I became completely spoiled by both the length and the products available at various farmer's markets around where I live.

Well, hold on to your hats (or perhaps reusable shopping bags), because if I thought the Charleston farmers market was amazing, it's nothing compared to what I saw in France! Here are a few markets I had the pleasure of experiencing during my trip.

CAEN: Friday Market

And Kelli's favorite part of the Market? Fry Man! He makes some of the most delicious "frites" I've ever had! We got spicy Samurai sauce with ours.

BEAUNE: "Smashing" Saturday market.
I like to research (yes, it's true). And so I bought several guidebooks before our travels. This book mentioned that Beaune had a "smashing saturday market." And WOW they were not at all joking! We felt some sorrow we couldn't spend more time experiencing the Beaune Saturday market, but alas, we had already rented our bicycles for the day and planned a slightly vigorous route (well, vigorous for me). Another sad fact about the wonderful Beaune market: my digital camera card decided to corrupt a good chunk of photos I'd captured at the market. So unfortunately I cannot share all my memories with you. I just encourage everyone to go themselves!

potentially the largest asparagus stalks I've seen in my life!

France: Burgundy Region

2010-06-17T21:15:00.000-04:00

I've been back in "The States" just over a week. Coming home should be relaxing..... time filled with extra rest, lots of laundry, time to edit photos..... Well, so far, only the third one has been happening! And it's only happening because I've been physically exhausted, but not necessarily "sleepy" exhausted, so many hours have been spent in bed, with my laptop, trying to edit photos :)

I returned to Charleston at 10:30pm EST on June 9th, collected my luggage, and spent two precious hours with A, who had driven down just to pick me up from the airport. Then, the following morning (last Thursday), I had to get up to be to my summer school class by 7:30. The getting up early wasn't difficult.... it was the staying alert part! On top of getting over jet lag, catching up from being gone over two weeks, and starting summer school, I also began my new job. Exciting and stressful all at the same time!

I've simply come to realize that my life, most assuredly this summer, but potentially from here on out, will most likely have no routine or pattern. This fact is difficult for me to wrap my mind around, as I am one of those "ducks in a row" kind of person. So please forgive me, dear elusive readers, if my sporadic posting becomes even more sporadic.

I've got a bunch of France posts still in the works, though? Hope no one's sick of france quite yet....

Today's post is all about the Burgundy region. Burgundy had the most highs and lows (both in relations to our spirits and geographically), but it probably remains my favorite area visited on the trip. Kelli has also written a wonderful post about our time in Beaune, which I encourage everyone to read!

Biking through Burgundian Wine Country.

Though we stayed in Dijon during our time in the Burgundy region, we took a day trip to the picturesque village of Beaune. We rented bicycles, stopped by the "smashing" market (post to come), and headed out into wine country on a 24km tour.

The beauty was unbelievable!

We participated in a wine tasting at Olivier Leflaive in Puligny Montrachet where we sampled Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs.

I'm not the most physically fit person (actually, I'm not athletic at all and I'm terribly, terribly out of shape). And so I spent most of this day dying surviving on the trail and not taking as many photos as I wished I could have..... I'm not kidding when I say I thought I was going to die while biking. And no, it was not from the wine tasting (the French do a lot of spitting when tasting wine, a practice which I embraced!)......

Still, even though the act of biking through vineyards in France sounded much easier than it actually was, completing the tour is probably my most proud accomplishment of the trip! I made it! Even if I was painfully slow (and in great pain later that night and into the following day)!

Eating in Burgundy:
I did a great deal of research prior to this trip.... lots of hours online.... time spent pouring over books.... And from my research, I learned that Burgundy has some of the best food in France! So although eating had been on my agenda this entire trip ("eating" was even the purpose I gave for this trip when I went through customs in Atlanta upon returning to "the States"), it became even more important to me during our time in Burgundy!

Beaune celebratory meal
We celebrated surviving our bike tour by a lovely, lovely outdoor meal in Beaune. We asked the owner of the bike shop for a good place for "traditional burgundian" food and his suggestion did not disappoint!
I chose to do a four course meal to experience a little of everything and to share with my companions.

First Pre Course: Wine was a must with this meal! A nice spicy, peppery red from Beaujoulais

First Course: Escargot with mushrooms and puff pastry

Snails, take one! Snails take two happened the following night....

Second Course: Boeuf Bourguignon with lovely buttered pasta and garlic toast

Best. Beef. Ever! And that's coming from someone who really hasn't eaten beef at all in the past 12 years, until finally venturing to make Boeuf Bourguignon this past winter. This boeuf totally blew my boeuf out of the water

Third Course: Fromage

The most stressful portion of the meal.... choosing cheese! Thankfully our waiter spoke a bit of English and could help explain some of the cheese to me.

I ended up choosing (from left to right): a soft burgundian mustard cheese, comte, a goat cheese, and a soft cheese similar to brie. The mustard cheese though: Best. Cheese. Ever! (more will come on that one during a future post)

Fourth Course: Pears poached in Burgundian wine with Cassis (black currants traditional to the area) sorbet & a raspberry/currant sauce.

Fruity, slightly sweet, delicious!

It was a meal to remember! A meal filled with laughter, good company, and lots of eating :)

Dijon celebratory meal
The following night, we had yet another, what I consider, "celebratory" meal. You see, although it was our 3rd night in Dijon, it was as though we were in a completely new city! There were some slight "issues" with our original hotel in the Dijon area. Actually, we weren't even in Dijon--we were in an adjoining city at quite possibly the worst hotel ever. I double checked my finances (discovering I was quite under-budget) and insisted we move to another hotel for the last night. Although it wasn't an easy decision for anyone, by the time we checked in to our clean, cool, wifi-compatable hotel in the heart of old town Dijon, we honestly did feel as though we were in a whole new city! So celebrations were in order.

First course: Les Escargots.

This first picture is for my dear Grandma with whom I use to watch "I Love Lucy" at times that were way, way past my bedtime.... For those not versed in the specific episode of "I Love Lucy" which I was imitating, Lucy goes to France and orders "les escargot" off a menu, not realizing what they are.... And she then proceeds to try to tell her french waiter, through words and pantomime, what exactly they are: SNAILS!

Actually, though, they were quite delicious!

Second Course: Poulet a la Gastron Gerard.

Some of the best chicken I've ever eaten! But really, when you cook chicken in cream and wine and mustard and cheese, what's not to love?

Dessert
Once again at this restaurant, I did a multi course package so I could try many things.... but the only unfortunate side was that I had only two dessert choices. So I twisted Kelli's arm and asked forced her to order a dessert as well! How terrible, extra dessert.....

Mine was a pear and cassis crumble. Mmmmm! Tasty and not too sweet!

Kelli's dessert was unbelievable! A Trio of Chocolate Desserts! The chocolate macaron was one of the best of the trip.

Stay tuned for more memories from France!

France: Ice Cream!

2010-06-06T17:48:00.000-04:00

My trip is winding down and this is the first hotel where I've had free WiFi. Currently we're in the city of Dijon in the Burgundy region, and we've had a few ups and downs with this city. But it's ending on an up note! You get what you pay for with hotels.... a 33 euro a night hotel may look tempting for the sake of your pocket book, but it's NOT a good idea. Just say NO!

Regardless, we've been eating quite well on this trip. After all, one of my main goals with this trip has been to experience as much of the food culture as possible. That being said..... we've also made it a goal to consume as much ICE CREAM as possible!

Starting in Paris......

Even though it was quite chilly, and nearly raining. I just couldn't resist some pistachio ice cream in the Tuilleries garden while I waited for my companions to finish touring the Louvre.

Yep, I'd totally eat ice cream for lunch any day, especially if it's pistachio!

Then, when we went to Nice, we discovered the wonder of Fenocchio: maitre glacier!

They have 96 flavors! Oh my!

And the flavors range from the normal to the abnormal, including savory flavors, like Tomato Basil, Rosemary, Thyme, Olive etc! One flavor that really intrigued me was the "Vanilla Pink Peppercorn Rose" but I didn't get a chance to try it before we left.....

We frequented Fenocchio, many, many times. But we have no shame!

Kelli's first flavors: Pamplemousse (Grapefruit) & Ananas (Pineapple)

My first flavors: Speculoos & Nougat

Laura T's first flavors: Rose, Violet & Jasmine

Fenocchio seriously has the best ice cream I've ever had in my life! So smooth and creamy. Great consistency. True, pure flavors.

In fact, it is so good my camera and my shirt wanted to have a taste! Camera's still a bit sticky, but no worse for wear!

Fenocchio round two later that night after dinner. Kelli (left) had Mandarin flavored, Laura T (right) had Cactus, Baileys, and Abricot (Apricot).

I had Rhubarb & Poire (Pear)

And Fenocchio round three (the following day.... no, we didn't eat ice cream three times in one day!)

Laura T's (left back) were Coconut & Chocolat Orange, Kelli's (left front) were Pain d'Espice (spice cake) & Lait du Caramel (milk caramel) and mine (right) Banane (Banana) and Nocciolato (Nutella)

Needless to say, we've been a bit spoiled on this fabulous ice cream! So our dessert the following day in Monaco was a bit disappointing....

Plain-jane Vanilla with hot chocolate poured over it? hmmmm.... could be really good, but not very memorable. At least it photographed well....

Then our final ice cream experience thus far occurred last night in the town of Beaune in the Burgundy region.....

We ate very traditional burgundian food and I decided to have a very traditional dessert as well: Pears poached in red burgundy wine, Cassis sorbet (black currant) and a raspberry/currant sauce!

Then Laura had profiteroles with chocolate sauce.

Stay tuned for more sweets from France!

France update

2010-06-04T05:50:00.000-04:00

Hello from the sunny south of France! I'm currently using McDo internet in the Marseille train station as we travel from Nice to Dijon. I've meant to post much more often, but free wifi that my computer will actually connect to has been difficult to find. I'd also hoped to post more pictures, but unfortunately the internet connection is insanely slow :(

But I have been eating some fun dessert items! Most notably, in Nice we found this amazing "maitre glacier" (master ice cream maker) called Fenocchio who boasts 96 flavors! We made it our mission, between the three of us (our third traveling companion, Laura T, joined us last Sunday night in Paris) to try as many flavors as possible! We made it to over 20 flavors in just over 24 hours by each getting something different each time and sharing tastes of each others. In fact, the ice cream was so delicious, my camera decided to have a taste (aka, my cone dripped).

Anyway, we're off to get our connection! More later!

France: Days 1-3

2010-05-28T15:37:00.000-04:00

Bonjour from Caen in the Normandy region of France. I arrived safe and sound, albeit later than I intended. Thankfully there were no major hicups in travel! And I've had virtually no jet lag.

For those of you who do not know, one my my dearest childhood friends, Kelli, is studying abroad in Caen this semester and I've come to visit her during her last days in Caen and then we will tour other areas of France with another girl before heading back to the US. Kelli writes a simply wonderful blog, and I encourage everyone to read it.

I am SO EXCITED to be in France and one of my biggest goals is to eat as much as I possibly can, particularly at as many patisseries and boulangeries (pastry shops and bread bakeries) as I can find. After all, I need to "research" for my education :) And in Europe, one does so much walking (I've got the blisters to prove it) that eating is no problem what so ever!

Here's a few random pictures from my trip thus far..... Some food-related, and some just travel ones.

Day 1&2: Charleston to Atlanta to Paris to Caen

A slightly exhausted me on the train in Paris to Caen

Kelli making soup for dinner on her super sweet induction cooktop! We're currently eating cheap to save our Euros for later in the trip

Speaking of eating cheap, did you know that you can get perfectly wonderful chocolate mousse for like the equivalent of $.25? Mium-Mium (the french equivalent of "um-yum," the spelling of which I may or may not have butchered....)

Old-town Caen at night

Day 3: Caen

A patisserie I passed by!

My first laminated dough product in France: jalousie

(croissant dough with almond frangipan inside and pearl sugar outside)

Sainte Etienne le vieux, a church in Caen that was destroyed around D-Day.

Actually much of Caen was destroyed during that time.

A lovely book store

Baguettes with the best stipples I've seen so far....

unfortunately we were on our way to dinner when I saw them, so I have yet to try them....

Traditional Norman Galettes for dinner! Galettes are made with buckwheat flour.....

Crepe Caennaise: Crepe with apple filling, apple sorbet,

and a flambe'd shot of Calvados, a Norman apple brandy

Day 3: Bus trip to Lion-sur-Mer

Visiting the beach in Lion-sur-Mer

THEY HAVE RHUBARB YOGURT IN FRANCE! Drool.......

Picnic lunch: heavenly Comte cheese, a baguette, nectarines, nutella, cornishons (spicy pickles), Orangina, and cookies! Mmmmm!

Kelli, channeling Sean Connery in "The Last Crusade" and frolicking on the beach with her parapluie.

Preston, willing to risk his own life and the welfare of the cider he bought for his mother, to protect us girls from the potential perils of the squatty-potty (and not just a squatty-potty, but one that has a motion detector to flood the floor with water once one braves a step inside.

Photos from Day 4 (today) to come next post!

p.s. I failed to mention at the beginning of this entry that I am composing this blog at McDonalds (McDo here) because they have the best free internet around! And this is the most chic McDo I've ever seen (and who thought "chic" and "McDo" would ever be used in the same sentence)..... They even sell French Macarons? Pictures to come next post......

Daring Bakers May 10: Piece Montee/Croquembouche

2010-05-27T09:00:00.103-04:00

The May 2010 Daring Bakers' Challenge was hosted by Cat of Little Miss Cupcake. Cat challenged everyone to make a piece montee, or croquembouche based on recipes from Peter Krump's Baking school in Manhattan & Nick Malgieri.

How appropriate to be doing a French challenge when I've been preparing to go to and currently am in France! I was super excited about this challenge because while I've made nearly all the components previously, I had yet to construct a croquemouche on my own before.

I've grown to really like choux paste (what is used to make the puffs and swan) over the past year.... I've used it to make cream puffs, eclairs, even apple fritters! In fact, we had to properly execute cream puffs and eclairs for my final in Bakeshop Production last fall.

Because I've been challenging myself to think in terms of plated desserts, I decided to try to make something a little different that just a huge croquembouche..... Thinking in terms of plated desserts isn't something I've often done and is now required for me to do for my new job. So, I decided to make a Banana Cream Mini Croquembouche with a Chocolate Cream Swan, Caramelized Bananas & Caramel Sauce. Though my finished product doesn't quite look as good as it looked in my head prior to the challenge, I'm still pretty happy with it..... I'd like to practice doing more swans in the future.... I seem to struggle with making the head proportionate :)

One component I had no experience with was the caramel threads. I've had terrible luck with burning myself this spring, thus I was extra cautious and probably not as adventurous as I could have been, but I still tried :)

Ironically, I ran out of milk right before I'd planned to make the pastry cream; however, I did have almond milk (which is my milk of choice for consumption these days). So I had my first experience making almond milk pastry cream, which also is an egg free pastry cream and thus vegan.... It's relatively easy to make, just almond milk, sugar, cornstarch and a little salt. Then I added some chocolate to half the batch and bananas to the other half to make my flavored creams. Even though the cream was chilled over night, it still has a much more loose consistency that the regular pastry creams I've worked with. I think if I were to make it again, I would probably add some gelatin, unfortunately not making it vegan any more but it would hold up better. And the bananas added to the pastry cream do discolor it slightly, so do not be alarmed and do consume it quickly!

Since I am still relatively new to the South, I'm still learning about traditional southern desserts, but one that I'm growing to greatly love is a Banana Puddin' (note the lack of a "g".... it's important to leave it off when pronouncing, haha). Banana Puddin' is basically a layered dessert of Vanilla Wafer Cookies, Sliced Bananas and Vanilla Pudding. My Croquembouche variation has some of the same flavors as Banana Puddin' but it is a bit more elegant and exotic. I had absolutely no trouble consuming the entire thing!

RECIPES & ASSEMBLY

Pate a Choux
¾ cup (175 ml.) water
6 Tbsp. (85 g.) unsalted butter
¼ Tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup (125 g.) all-purpose flour
4 large eggs

For Egg Wash: 1 egg and pinch of salt

Pre-heat oven to 425◦F/220◦C degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Preparing batter:
Combine water, butter, salt and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and stir occasionally. At boil, remove from heat and sift in the flour, stirring to combine completely.

Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly until the batter dries slightly and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. {NOTE: I cook mine several minutes longer (at least 3 minutes, if not longer) to allow it to dry out further, which in turn allows it to better absorb the eggs. A starchy film should form on the bottom and that film should develop some color)

Transfer to a bowl and stir with a wooden spoon to cool slightly.

Add the eggs one at a time. The batter will appear loose and shiny. As you stir, the batter will become dry-looking like lightly buttered mashed potatoes. It is at this point that you will add in the next egg. Repeat until you have incorporated all the eggs.

Piping:
Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large open tip (I piped directly from the bag opening without a tip). Pipe choux about 1 inch-part in the baking sheets. Choux should be about 1 inch high about 1 inch wide. {NOTE: I made minis}

Using a clean finger dipped in hot water, gently press down on any tips that have formed on the top of choux when piping. You want them to retain their ball shape, but be smoothly curved on top.

Brush tops with egg wash (1 egg lightly beaten with pinch of salt).

Baking:
Bake the choux at 425◦F/220◦C degrees until well-puffed and turning lightly golden in color, about 10 minutes.

Lower the temperature to 350◦F/180◦C degrees and continue baking until well-colored and dry, about 20 minutes more. Remove to a rack and cool.

Can be stored in a airtight box overnight. {NOTE: I froze mine for a week until I had time to complete the rest of the components.... I just allowed them to thaw at room temp before using}

Filling:
When you are ready to assemble your piece montée, using a plain pastry tip, pierce the bottom of each choux. Fill the choux with pastry cream using either the same tip or a star tip, and place on a paper-lined sheet. Choux can be refrigerated briefly at this point while you make your glaze.

Use one of these to top your choux and assemble your piece montée.

{NOTE: because I made minis, i simply filled the cavity of the nearly assembled croquembouche with cream instead of filling the individual puffs}

Hard Caramel Glaze:
1 cup (225 g.) sugar
½ teaspoon lemon juice

Combine sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan with a metal kitchen spoon stirring until the sugar resembles wet sand. Place on medium heat; heat without stirring until sugar starts to melt around the sides of the pan and the center begins to smoke. Begin to stir sugar. Continue heating, stirring occasionally until the sugar is a clear, amber color. Remove from heat immediately; place bottom of pan in ice water to stop the cooking. Use immediately.

Assembly of your Piece Montée:
You may want to lay out your unfilled, unglazed choux in a practice design to get a feel for how to assemble the final dessert. For example, if making a conical shape, trace a circle (no bigger than 8 inches) on a piece of parchment to use as a pattern. Then take some of the larger choux and assemble them in the circle for the bottom layer. Practice seeing which pieces fit together best.

Once you are ready to assemble your piece montée, dip the top of each choux in your glaze (careful it may be still hot!), and start assembling on your cake board/plate/sheet. Continue dipping and adding choux in levels using the glaze to hold them together as you build up.

Almond Milk Pastry Cream from the Silk PureAlmond site.

1/3 cup sugar

3 cups Silk Pure Almond Vanilla

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

Chocolate and Semi-ripe Bananas {my additions}

Whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan. Slowly whisk in Pure Almond. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low and simmer, whisking occasionally, until mixture thickens, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Transfer to large bowl and cool completely, whisking occasionally, about 1 hour.

My Variation

I strained my cream right after removing it from the heat and then divided it into 2 containers. One I added some semi-sweet chocolate pieces. In the other, I added some banana slices. I allowed both containers to chill over night. Then the following day, I pureed the banana cream in the food processor.

Rhubarb Streusel Tea Cakes

2010-05-22T14:56:00.001-04:00

Rhubarb is a comfort food to me.... The taste transports me back to childhood and the excitement when my Grandma would make "rhubarb sauce", which we ate in bowls with a splash of cream. Grandma also makes a mean rhubarb custard pie that is positively out of this world.

I was super excited to find Rhubarb at Whole Foods a couple weeks ago as rhubarb is not an ingredient or flavor that is very familiar in the South. I set about making some poached rhubarb similar to my Grandma's kind, except I mixed it with vanilla greek yogurt instead of cream. I didn't have enough left to make a pie, but I stumbled upon a rhubarb tea cake recipe with a streusel topping on Epicurious.com and decided it looked like a great one to try.

Tea Cakes sound fancy, but really, they're similar to muffins, only shorter and minus the lining paper (though I suppose you could use the papers if you like). They were super easy to make. Even more importantly, they were a hit with my class at Church (generally speaking, it's not good for me to bake and keep things at home because I eat them).

One thing I greatly appreciate about Epicurious.com is the comment feature. I read through the comments and made a few recommended adjustments. I only wish I could have added a little more rhubarb.....

A couple baking and yield notes:

The flavor of these little cake improve with age, so wait until the following day to consume them, if you can.
I also chose to use streusel both in the bottom of the muffin pan AND on top, because hey, who doesn't love the streusel part of a muffin!
I used a sillicone muffin pan that was lightly sprayed with pan spray. I had absolutely no trouble at all getting mine out of the pan in one piece.
I ended up with extra batter, but didn't want to wait to reuse my one and only muffin pan, so I baked the extra in a non-stick tart pan instead.

Rhubarb Streusel Cakes
Gourmet Magazine, April 2003, Epicurious.com
Yields 12 individual Cakes

For the Streusel {which I added on bottom and top and used a commenter's variation}
1/3 c brown sugar
3/4 c Oatmeal
1/3 c flour
cinnamon, to taste
salt, to taste {really important addition}
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

For the Cake Batter
1 1/4 c AP flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
generous sprinkle of cinnamon
1 stick (1/2 c) unsalted butter, at room temp
3/4 c granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla {or vanilla bean paste, if you've got it}
1/2 cup whole milk {though I used skim because it was what I had}
3 cups chopped rhubarb {I only had 2 cups, so that was all I used}

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Generously butter muffin cups and top of pan {I used cooking spray in a silicone pan}.

2. Make streusel topping: Combine the flour, brown sugar, oatmeal, salt, and cinnamon. Blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture forms small clumps.

3. Make batter: Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and milk alternately in 2 batches, beginning and ending with flour. Mix only until just combined. Fold in rhubarb {my rhubarb was frozen so I added it frozen to the batter} by hand.

4. Assembly: Sprinkle a little streusel in the bottom of each muffin space. Add a scoop of batter and top with more streusel. Be careful not to fill cups too full.

5. Bake in the center of the oven until the tops and golden and a tester inserted in the center of one of the cakes comes out clean, about 22 to 25 minutes. Cool for 3 minutes then loosen the edges of the cakes. Remove cakes from the pan and put on rack to cool slightly. Store in an airtight container.

When Pastry & Artistry Meet part 3: Pastillage & Royal Icing centerpieces

2010-05-11T09:00:00.087-04:00

Not going to lie, I shed more than a few tears while in the midst of creating this centerpiece. And I blame it for the growing number of gray hairs I seem to be noticing....

But, in the end, it was beautiful! And I almost forgot the intense stress, nervousness, sleeplessness, and hand cramps that it unleashed. Almost.

I give you..... La Tour Eiffel and Paris in the Springtime!

This centerpiece is constructed entirely of "pastillage", a sugar dough used for decorative work that dries quickly and very hard, and "royal icing", a thick icing that is made primarily from egg whites (pasteurized) and confectioner's sugar and is used for decorative work. Ever seen beautifully decorated sugar cookies? Yeah, those were decorated with royal icing. I had to pipe a minimum of 8 ornaments to construct the center and a minimum of 32 ornaments for the sides.

Pastillage, used for the box portion of this centerpiece, was rolled out, cut to size and allowed to dry for a week prior to construction. Royal icing had to be piped onto sheet protectors (like those you use in a binder), allowed to dry for several days, and then carefully, carefully lifted off the sheet protectors without breaking it.

Yeah, piping was the craziest part of this centerpieces.... And although I really am happy with my results, I still kick myself for picking something so difficult. See, there are about 16 hours of PIPING ALONE in this piece. Am I totally crazy? Yes....

See, every color had to be outlined first, allowed to dry completely (i.e. not just a few minutes, but more like 12 hours or days) filled in with more runny icing (known as "flow") and allowed to dry again. And I chose to do somewhere around 8 colors on just the Eiffel Tower portion.

Oh, and did I mention how completely fragile the entire piece is? It can shatter in an instant. So, not only did I need to pipe 8 large ornaments and 32 small ornaments, but I needed extras just in case everything broke. If we were missing even one small ornament, the piece was not considered finished and thus we were not graded on it. And not getting graded would basically mean failing the entire course because of the great weight these centerpieces held in our grading system. So, needless to say, I piped many extras..... Can you see why I spent over 16 hours piping?

So with this project, not only was there concern about the quality of the piping, but then there was concern about if they would dry in time..... and concern about if they could be successfully transported back to school (what if I got into a car accident? What if they somehow "melted" What if it was windy or rainy and that compromised them)..... and concern about whether they would come off the sheet protectors intact..... and concern about if I could construct the final piece sans breakage..... Whew! I'm getting more gray hair just thinking about it again.

I had originally decided to "fill in" the tower with a gray color; however, I discovered on a test decoration that while my outlining of the tower was beautiful, many of spaces left behind were too small to neatly fill in. Bummer! All in all, I like not having the spaces filled in for aesthetic and authenticity reasons, but that also meant the strength of the piece was greatly diminished.... I than had a much greater risk for breakage as I tried to carefully lift the pieces off the page protectors.

Once they were lifted off the page protectors, the ornaments were still not out of the danger zone. They had to be expertly glued, using royal icing, to the base piece. Our goal was to have the piece look nearly 3-D once completely assembled. Thankfully, the ornaments were stronger than I had first thought. I only ended up breaking a few of the side flower ornaments while painstakingly placing them exactly 1" apart from each other. At the end of construction, I actually had many left over. What a weird feeling it was to throw away those extras at the end of the day...

Yes, I am overjoyed that this pieces is DONE and OVER and that it turned out better than I even imagined. In hindsight, though, I still think it would have been better for my sanity to have picked a less complicated subject. But I guess that which doesn't kill me makes me stronger :) This piece was also put in the display case at school as well.

Mom's Banana Bread

2010-05-09T20:59:00.000-04:00

In honor of my Mom and of Mother's Day, I'd like to share a recipe from my mom!

I think that nearly every mom has what their family would refer to as the "best" Banana Bread recipe, but I would argue (perhaps slightly biased-ly) that my mom DOES have the best Banana Bread Recipe :)

As long as I can remember, Mom has been making this recipe. It comes from a super old church cookbook from a teeny-tiny church in the middle of nowhere North Dakota. But after all, that's where many of the best recipes can be found! She makes it for special occasion, or just because. I think one of my sisters requested it in place of a birthday cake one year.....

It really doesn't require any special ingredients or supplies..... And it's a really great way to use bananas that are past their prime... Personally, I prefer my bananas on the green side, so once they've developed any sort of spots, they are destined to become banana bread for me. Subsequently, I seem to have many bunches of bananas in my freezer right now because I refuse to eat them once they get spots! So making banana bread is a great way to help clear out my freezer.

You may be tempted to cut into the loaf as soon as it comes out of the oven, but if you can control your self (the smell is positively amazing), wait until it cools. Or better yet, wait until the next day. This bread improves with age.

Mom's Banana Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt ( I usually cut this in half because I find it a bit much)
1/2 cup shortening (although my mom usually uses room temp. butter, or once she used coconut oil which was AMAZING)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 over ripe bananas, * mashed (large ones, or else add an extra small one)
3 tablespoons of cold water

Instructions:
1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

2. Cream the butter with the sugar (either by had or with a mixer) until nice and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture in two batches. Finally add the banana mixture and mix until just combined.

3. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 for 1 hour and 5 minutes. (Note: the most recent time I made this recipe, I baked it for only 55 minutes and it was a tish over baked, so maybe start checking it at 45 to 50 minutes. This overbaking may have been the result of using a ceramic loaf pan or because I had used my oven at a higher temperature previously in the day.)

*Although this may seem gross, I really prefer to mash the bananas with my CLEAN fingers. I find it's the best way to completely mash them lump-less.

The best way to eat this bread (in my opinion)? With a slather of butter and a glass of cold milk. Dunking is optional, although I am a dunker :)

Enjoy!

When Pastry & Artistry Meet part 2: Marzipan Centerpieces

2010-05-08T10:26:00.001-04:00

The next two showpieces I worked on were for my Candies & Confectionaries course. They were made from Marzipan, which is an edible almond/sugar mixture, not to be confused with "Almond Paste" which is much much grainy-er. Incidentally, I've made that mistake before...

Fruit Centerpiece:

This centerpiece had several components: 1) the dummy cardboard cake (cardboard used so that it would have a much longer shelf life) covered in Marzipan, 2) a piped border on top of the dummy cake, 3) Marzipan fruits which were hand sculpted and airbrushed.

I decided to sculpt my entire fruit selection to all resemble citrus fruits for several reasons. First of all, I wanted to challenge myself to see how many different citrus fruits I could make and I ended up with grapefruit, oranges, blood oranges, tangerines, lemons, Meyer lemons, limes, key limes, kumquats. Second of all, I thought that doing all citrus would have a unique presence and be different than what many of my classmates were doing. In order to make the marzipan fruits as authentic as possible, I went to Whole Foods (one of my favorite places) and purchased some real ones to look at while I sculpted and colored. This project was the first time I had ever used an airbrush gun. Fun, but a bit tricky!

I also decided to make the sides of my dummy cake an aqua/teal color because it would be a huge contrast from the colors of the citrus.

Overall, I was happy with the way it turned out.... I had a few issues with my piped border because I chose something more complicated than I probably should have (or I should have practiced a ton before hand....). Still, my Centerpiece was chosen for the display case and can be seen when you first walk into the culinary building!

Animal Centerpiece
Conceptually, this piece took a great deal more planning and brainstorming. We were told we needed to make an entirely edible centerpiece featuring animals sculpted out of Marzipan, only there were some other guidelines as well: 1) We needed to make three different kinds of animals; 2) we needed to make three of each of the different kinds (so a minimum of nine animals total) though not all the animals needed to be in the centerpiece (some could be presented on a separate board; 3) the animals must tell a STORY that a child would understand with little to no explanation.

I played around with several ideas, but many were not attainable due to the extremely soft nature of Marzipan. It collapses and squishes quite easily, which is good while sculpting, but not so good when you want things to stand up....

I really love sheep, so I knew I wanted to make sheep. And one of my favorite books as a wee child was "Goodnight Moon," So, I came up with the idea of making a rabbit in a bed with counting sheep around him/her, an owl standing guard over the bed, and a tiny mouse thrown in just for fun.

With the exception of the cardboard base beneath the "carpet" the entire piece is completely edible! One of the trickiest portions to construct was the bed for the rabbit. I made it a week prior to the other components, used spaghetti and linguine noodles as supports (they are edible after all), and hoped for the best :) To give the sheep their "fluffy" appearance, I painted them with royal icing several times. Aren't the little sheep tails just adorable!

My animal center piece was also chosen for the display case and can be seen when you first walk into the culinary building!

Creations from my class

Throughout this entire project it was truly amazing to see all the different subject matter my classmates all did. No one's project was like another's project. Isn't it amazing how different our minds work when given similar instructions?

Next up, the Pastillage and Royal Icing Centerpiece: the most INTENSE of them all!

When Pastry & Artistry Meet part 1: Dead Dough Sculpture

2010-05-05T10:54:00.000-04:00

There are many principles of art and design that can be applied to culinary and pastry work on an everyday basis. But sometimes there are times the artistry is used even more.

I studied art in school the first time around (graphic design and photography to be exact, with some ceramics & printmaking thrown in) and I honestly miss the daily artistic work I use to do when I worked as a graphic designer. But I feel that my art foundation makes me a better pastry chef.

This past semester I was able to especially draw upon my artistic background while working on "showpieces" in the Artisan Bread course (1 sculpture) and in the Candies & Confectionaries course (3 centerpieces). Each of these pieces used edible ingredients, though you maybe wouldn't particularly want to eat all of them... I'm going create a 3 part series about these "showpieces," starting first with my Artisan Bread's sculpture.

Dead Dough Sculpture: Artisan Breads

This sculpture is constructed of "Dead Dough" (aka non-yeasted dough) made with a sugar syrup, white rye flour and various natural colorings, like turmeric for yellow, spinach powder for green, beet powder for red, caramel color for brown etc. Our only requirements were to make a sculpture that included something bread-related and to use only natural coloring.

My original concept and my final product were vastly different, but I did know I wanted to make a prairie girl in a wheat field with a tree somewhere in the mix. I grew up in North Dakota, not quite on the prairie, but almost. The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder are also a beloved part of my childhood. My mom read all of them to my younger sisters and me. Several times. We loved them so much that we went on three specific "Little House" vacations visiting the places where Laura had lived and even dressing up like pioneer girls (too bad I don't have a picture of that with me...). I also had the now retired American Girl Doll Kirsten, back before American Girl was bought by Mattel. How I loved that doll! She went with us on our "Little House" vacations. So, pioneers have been a big part of my life. And often pioneers on the plains planted wheat, which kept with the theme requirements for the project.

This sculpture did take a great deal of time to create. Each wheat stalk was individually made (thankfully, some classmates who picked less involved pieces/worked faster than me helped with some of the wheat stalks) and it was a bit of a puzzle to figure out how to make the girl stand up (she did get some extra non-edible support).

Projects like this one always take me longer than most. I like to think things through. I like to work purposefully and make things right. But I greatly enjoyed this project because it reminded me of my prior ceramics classes, which I loved but really wasn't terribly good at. I will say, though, that I spent way, way too much time working with the turmeric dough and even the smell of turmeric still makes my stomach roll a bit. But hopefully I'll get over that with a bit more time :)

Want to make your own dead dough sculpture? Here are some recipes for making dead dough.

Stay tuned for Part 2: Marzipan Centerpieces!

CIC Year One: Recap.

2010-04-30T21:18:00.001-04:00

...and it's, once again, been over a month since my last post.....

*Sigh, where does the time go?

Today marks the official end of my first year of Culinary School! Hurray! What a year it has been and I simply cannot believe how fast it has gone.

This semester has been extremely demanding on many levels. I've had some challenging, time-consuming courses (like "Retail Baking" and "Candies & Confectionaries" which I've got detailed posts about coming in the near future).... And then I've been doing some soul-searching as I try to figure out what exactly it is that I want to do with my life. So, once again, I apologize for the lack of posts.... I've even had to sit out this month's Daring Bakers challenge because of finals :(

What I'd like to do with this post is do a sort of re-cap of the most exciting things I've learned this year. Some I've posted about, and others I haven't.... Some I've got posts about coming in the future.

August 2009
Linzer Torte

(Photo coming soon)

This is the very first thing I made in school, on the first day of "Intro to Cakes." What a crazy day that first day was! I was so nervous! And then I was nearly late because I couldn't find a parking space anywhere on campus..... And this was also before I started taking my camera to class, so this image is taken with my Blackberry.

Hand-Stretched Austrian Apple Strudel

Laminated Dough was my favorite class of my first semester and we learned this strudel early in the semester. Then, when I went back home for Fall Break, I was able to teach a class on it at the UND Wellness Center.

September 2009
Pithivier

Another favorite from Laminated Dough: Puff Pastry, Frangipan filling and Apricot jam. Mmmmm....

Pate a Choux Swans

When I went through orientation before starting school, we were served Pate a Choux Swans for dessert. I'd heard about them previously, but had never tried any myself..... So, it was rather exciting when Chef Fritz showed my Bakeshop Production class how to make them! They really are much easier than I had thought.

Parisian Croissants & Pain Au Chocolat

Oh. My. Gosh! These were the most amazing croissants ever! Eating them was like eating a memory of my times in Europe, only a better memory than what I originally had! My original post can be found here.

October 2009
Chocolate Mousse Torte

This torte was one of the biggest disasters of my Cake course. I screwed up the chocolate mousse icing. FYI, it doesn't work to make faux chocolate mousse without powdered sugar.... And it REALLY doesn't work to try to add it later.... Post can be found here.

Banana Coconut Cream Danish, Apricot Cream Danish, Apple Fontain Danish, & Cranberry Apricot Scrolls

These danish were the ones I carefully packed into my carry-on when I flew home for Fall Break. And they were the ones I fought for when the Gate Agent in Detroit tried to tell me I had to check the bag they were packed in! More about them here.

November 2009
Doughnuts!

Better than anything Krispy Kreme can ever make! Post can be found here.

Brioche

Another highlight from Laminated Dough: Chocolate Brownie, Drunken Strawberry, Almond Brioche.

Key Lime & Coconut Cake

This cake was my final in Intro to Cakes and I practiced frequently prior to the practical exam. Although it turned into an upside down cake right after grading, it was a great success! Post can be found here.

January 2010
Baguettes

I love, love, love baguettes! We made them weekly in Artisan Bread. Post can be found here.

Vintner's Dinner

It was such a privilege to be a part of the Vintner's Dinner. Full post can be found here.

Bagels!

You know, I've never really been a bagel person. There are many other things I'd much rather eat for breakfast. But I've come around to bagels after this class, but only to artisan bagels. We made both savory bagels and cinnamon raisin. I'm a fan of the cinnamon raisin, personally :)

Super Fruit Bread

This bread from Artisan Bread class made the best french toast!

Chocolates

Chocolate class has been one of my biggest challenges of the semester. Tempering chocolate made me nervous and our class seemed to have some sort of disconnect of personalities. Still, we made delicious product :)

Pizza

Not only did we make the best Pizza Marguerite I've had since France, but we also made the mozzarella!

Normandy Apple Levain

We had the option in Artisan Bread class to work on side projects from recipes found in our book Bread by Jeffery Hamelman. And I decided to try to make this bread, which featured our Charleston sourdough starter, homemade apple cider, and homemade dried apples. The "icing on the cake" was the apple stencil a classmate helped me make to embellish the top flour tattoo.

The Honey Competition

My first culinary competition! The proceeds from my winnings are partially financing my upcoming trip to Europe. Post can seen here.

Modeling Chocolate

Modeling chocolate is basically a homemade tootsie roll. I made this lovely dauschund with a cat-friend who are guarding a flower.

March 2010
Bread Sculpture

Part of my final in Artisan bread. This sculpture is made of "Dead Dough" (aka, non-yeast dough) that was naturally colored using Spinach Powder, Turmeric, Beet Powder and Caramel. Though it took a great deal of time, I really enjoyed the project and was very happy with the results. Post coming soon!

Wine + Food Festival: Pinot Envy, Bubbles & Sweets, Culinary Village

Piping, Piping, Piping.....

A great majority of my semester has been spent piping royal icing (or tooth paste at home for practice--try it! it works). And my practice paid off when I totally rocked the practical final, although my arm & had hurt so badly after the exam that I couldn't even drive! We piped six 20 min increments of 20 ornaments with 10 mins between sets.

Pineapple Frangipan Tart

A creation from Jams, Jellies, Chutneys & Tarts. Lovely almond frangipan with roasted pineapple. Yummy! (I really like almond, if you can't already tell...)

Pizza Croissants

In Retail Baking, we held bake sales each Friday. Our class was split into groups and rotated through different product stations every couple of weeks. My group came up with the idea to make Pizza Croissants and they sold like crazy! Probably one of the hottest sellers of the bake sale season.

April 2010
Sparkling Wine: Sabering

I don't believe I've mentioned on here that I took an introductory wine course this semester. On our sparkling wine day, my instructor Emily taught us how to saber champagne bottles. Very cool! Then, a guy in my class, who had sabered bottles previously, tried his had at it.... And the bottle of Prosecco nearly EXPLODED! Definitely one of the most exciting experiences I've ever had in class. This is what was left of the bottle.....

Ambrosia Cake/Tart

I am in love with Ambrosia Conserve! Pineapple, coconut, almonds and cherries all cooked together. Delicious! Then, we turned it into one of my favorite cakes ever (it may, in fact, be what I make for my next birthday cake) and used it in a coconut pineapple ambrosia tart.

Tomato Tart

Another one of my favorites from Jams, Jellies, Chutneys and Tarts. It featured class-made tomato marmalade, fresh tomatoes, herbed goat cheese and Parmesan cheese. I ate it for dinner for several days with an arugula salad on top. Yummy!

Marzipan Centerpieces: Animal Theme and Fruit Theme

Both of these pieces are entirely edible and hand constructed of marzipan that was either pre-colored, or airbrushed.

Royal Icing & Pastillage Centerpiece

This show piece is made entirely from pastillage and royal icing decorations. Over 16 hours of just piping alone..... Post to come!

Retail Final: SILA croissanteria + tapas bakery

My final project in Retail Bakeshop. And what a project it was..... Post to come!

Lemon Meringue Tart with Raspberry

My Final for "Jams, Jellies, Chutneys & Tarts." An almond short-crust shell with homemade Raspberry Jelly, Lemon Curd, Swiss Meringue, & Raspberries. Post coming soon!

So, that's the highlights of my first year! I can't wait to see what the rest of my classes have to hold :)

Daring Bakers March 10: Citrus Tians

2010-03-27T20:13:00.001-04:00

I've been a bad blogger. A very bad blogger! I've had ideas for posts.... "drafts" started even. But alas, no completed entries....

Meyer Lemons

And I've been a bad baker! When I pulled out my mixer to do this challenge, I realized that I don't think I've had my mixer out in over a month. How terrible of me. But, I managed to complete this challenge, even if I still did it rather last minute.

I'm having a terrible busy semester with school and then I've had family visiting (yay!). But now I'm trying to catch up, starting with this challenge.... which turned into a "use up leftovers in Laura's fridge" challenge.

The 2010 March Daring Baker's Challenge was hosted by Jennifer of Chocolate Shavings. She chose Orange Tian as the challenge for this month, a dessert based on a recipe from Alain Ducasse's Cooking School in Paris.

I did take a few liberties with the given recipes..... First of all, I made multiple tians! One with Meyer Lemon & Orange and one with Strawberry & Orange. I also used a chocolate crust.

I haven't even had a chance to mention that I finished my Artisan Bread course and have moved on to "Jams, Jellies, Chutneys & Tarts." And ironically, one of our first project was to make orange marmalade, which was a component of this DB challenge. So, instead of re-making marmalade at home, I just used some of the marmalade I took home to "test" as "homework." I didn't want to be wasteful, after all :) And then I used the Strawberry Jam we made in class as well in the Strawberry & Orange Tian.

I really enjoyed this challenge! It was different than anything I've done before, but yet, had some aspects that I was really comfortable with completing. I'd like to explore more layered desserts in the future.

Meyer Lemon & Orange

I mixed up the traditional orange by using Meyer Lemons instead of orange. I found them on sale earlier this month and didn't want them to go to waste either! I topped the Meyer Lemon segments with an Orange Marmalade Caramel, another product from my Jams & Jellies class, although it's more of an accidental product (aka, overcooked orange marmalade). A layer of whipped cream, flavored with Grand Marnier & more marmalade, came next, followed by the Chocolate Short Crust Circle.

Strawberry & Orange

Secondly, I made a strawberry & orange tian, mostly because I had run out of citrus segments! And also because I had strawberry jam from class. I had a container of mascarpone cheese leftover from my honey competition trials, so I mixed that into my Orange Whipped Cream and used it on top of the strawberry jam. I finished with the Chocolate Short Crust Circle.

The Recipes:

Orange Marmalade: from my Jams & Jellies course
1 lb oranges
1 lb granulated sugar

1. Peel the oranges, being careful to just peel the zest and not the bitter pith. Julienne the peel finely.
2. Place the peel in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil to blanch the zest. Drain and repeat twice more, blanching a total of 3 times.
3. Juice the naked oranges.
4. In a heavy pot, combine the blanched peel, orange juice and sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer, stirring often
5. Transfer to sterilized containers.

Note: if you overcook the marmalade, it will turn to caramel hard candy.....

Chocolate Short Dough: Adapted from "On Baking: a Textbook of Baking & Pastry Fundamentals"
8 oz Unsalted Butter, softened
5 oz Granulated Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
splash vanilla extract
1 egg, room temp
1.5 oz Almond Flour
8 oz AP Flour
2.5 oz Cocoa Powder

1. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light.
2. Cream in the sugar, salt and vanilla, scraping down as needed.
3. Add the egg and mix until just incorporated.
4. Sift together the AP flour and Cocoa Powder, and mix with the Almond Flour. Add to the butter mix and beat on low until just combined.
5. Chill dough several hours to allow the gluten strands to relax and the dough to become completely hydrated.
6. Roll on a lightly floured surface and chill.
7. Cut into desired shapes and chill again.
8. Bake at 350 F.

Whipped Cream:
1 pint of heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons of hot water
1 tsp gelatine
1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar
2 tsp grand marnier
2 tablespoons orange marmalade

1. In a small bowl, combine the water and gelatine. Allow to bloom.
2. Whip the heavy cream in a very clean, cold bowl. Once it starts to thicken, sprinkle over the confectioner's sugar.
3. Whip on high until it forms soft peaks. Warm the bloomed gelatine in the microwave until liquid again. Slowly drizzle over the whipping cream. Do NOT overwhip the cream.
4. Fold in the grand marnier and the orange marmalade.
5. Use immediately before gelatin begins to set.

Varation: Mascarpone whipped cream. Fold one 8 oz tub of mascarpone to the whipped cream when the marmalade is added.

Citrus segments:
Cut the desired citrus (Meyer Lemons in my case) into segments and place in a bowl. Squeeze the extra juice over the segments and add a spoon full of orange marmalade. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator over night.

Assembly
1. Drain the citrus segments & pat dry with paper towel.
2. Layer the citrus segments in the bottom of an individual-size springform pan, arranging them artfully and snuggly. This will become the top of your dessert.
3. Add a layer of orange marmalade/orange marmalade caramel over the citrus segments. Chill slightly.
4. Place the whipped cream mixture into a piping bag and pipe into the springform pan.
5. Top with the pre-baked chocolate short dough round. Gently press to adhere.
6. Wrap the entire pan in plastic wrap and freeze overnight until ready to serve.
7. Enjoy!

Charleston Wine + Food: Pinot Envy Uncorked

2010-03-08T10:00:00.002-05:00

This past weekend, I've had the pleasure of volunteering at the Charleston Wine + Food Festival. What an experience it has been!

On Thursday, I assisted in the prep kitchen by chopping vegetables for the Tyler Florence demo..... Scary enough for a Pastry Student with very rudimentary knife skills to be chopping vegetables (Thank you Chef Alexander for teaching us to chop onions in Artisan Bread Class). Even scarier when those vegetables are for TYLER FLORENCE!!!

Then on Friday, I was a chef assistant in the SCE&G Celebrity Tent and assisted several chefs, including Linton Hopkins from Atlanta's Restaurant Eugene (and also an Iron Chef competitor); Brian Malarkey from San Diego's Seersucker (and also a Top Chef Miami Season 3 Finalist); & James Peterson, author of Cooking, as well as Baking. Being a chef assistant mainly meant that I cleared dishes during the demo and then cleaned up after demos & set up for the next ones. Not as glamorous as it sounds, but I enjoyed helping. Since I've had some demo experience from working that the UND Wellness Center Culinary Corner Demo Kitchen, it was quite interesting to observe demos from well established chefs who are well versed in giving demos. Demos are a lot harder to do than people imagine...... I loved the fact that these Chefs were intent on showing the audience super delicious dishes that were also very feasible for the home chef.

Pinot Envy Uncorked Festivities!

And that brings me to Saturday's Pinot Envy Uncorked event. Pinot Envy Uncorked was sponsored by the Culinary Institute of Charleston and featured a variety of national Vintners (aka wine makers) who exhibited extrordinary Pinot-variety wines.

Preparing one of the buffets

Along with the wines, delicious local sustainable seafood was provided (prepared by Crew Carolina and CIC Chefs & Students), and chocolates, prepared by the Candies & Confectionaries class at the Culinary Institute of Charleston, were also served.

Mmmmmm..... chocolates!

Don't you know Chocolate pairs well with Pinot?

Since I'm currently enrolled in the Candies and Confectionaries class, I helped serve beaucoup de truffles to the masses. And wow did people eat truffles!! I'm happy I was able to specifically with this service because I knew what was in each one and how to explain what they tasted like.

Talking about chocolates all while sporting a super lovely bow tie

Other students assisted the featured vintners.

Pouring a taste

Examining a bottle

Everyone seemed to greatly enjoy the wines, the food and, of course, the chocolates! We were fortunate to have such beautiful weather for the event, although still much cooler temperatures than is usual for this time of year.

People mingled, and ate, and relaxed, and tasted the amazing wines.

What a great afternoon at the Mount Pleasant Waterfont Park!

Stay tuned for several more Charleston Wine + Food Festival-themed posts. The Bubbles & Sweets event is up next!