Penney’s Palate

This month’s challenge didn’t seem too daunting to me. I was excited for the first three weeks of May, anxiously waiting a free day when I could make it. During those 3 weeks, I dreamed up of the flavors that I wanted to add. I finally dreamed up a limoncello flavored cake. The butter cream looked like a disaster (though it tasted okay). And the jaconde was a little on the dark side (next time I will buy better almond meal that doesn’t appear to include the skins). Other than that, everything seemed to come together quite nicely. A touch of yellow food coloring to the glaze distinguished the glaze from the mousse layer. The result: a pretty tasty dessert! Although I have to admit, I wasn’t a fan of the texture. It seemed a little too mushy (too much syrup on the jaconde maybe, or the funky butter cream not adhering to a butter cream-like texture). And it wasn’t very lemony after all. The only thing that I made in advance was the butter cream. Everything else was assembled one exciting Saturday in May.

Le Opera Cake

Jaconde
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
2 cups ground blanched almonds
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
6 large eggs
½ cup all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1.Divide the oven into thirds by positioning a rack in the upper third of the oven and the lower third of the oven.
2.Preheat the oven to 425?F. (220?C).
3.Line two 12½ x 15½- inch (31 x 39-cm) jelly-roll pans with parchment paper and brush with melted butter.
4.In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or using a handheld mixer), beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy. If you do not have another mixer bowl, gently scrape the meringue into another bowl and set aside.
5.If you only have one bowl, wash it after removing the egg whites or if you have a second bowl, use that one. Attach the paddle attachment to the stand mixer (or using a handheld mixer again) and beat the almonds, icing sugar and eggs on medium speed until light and voluminous, about 3 minutes.
6.Add the flour and beat on low speed until the flour is just combined (be very careful not to overmix here!!!).
7.Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture and then fold in the melted butter. Divide the batter between the pans and spread it evenly to cover the entire surface of each pan.
8.Bake the cake layers until they are lightly browned and just springy to the touch. This could take anywhere from 5 to 9 minutes depending on your oven. Place one jelly-roll pan in the middle of the oven and the second jelly-roll pan in the bottom third of the oven.
9.Put the pans on a heatproof counter and run a sharp knife along the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Cover each with a sheet of parchment or wax paper, turn the pans over, and unmold.
10.Carefully peel away the parchment, then turn the parchment over and use it to cover the cakes. Let the cakes cool to room temperature.

Syrup
½ cup water
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp. limoncello

1.Stir all the syrup ingredients together in the saucepan and bring to a boil.
2.Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

Butter cream
Alton Brown’s Butter cream
Alton Brown’s technique (The Icing Man Commeth episode)

White Chocolate Mousse
7 ounces white chocolate
1 cup plus 3 tbsp. heavy cream (35% cream)
1 tbsp. limoncello

1.Melt the white chocolate and the 3 tbsp. of heavy cream in a small saucepan.
2.Stir to ensure that it’s smooth and that the chocolate is melted. Add the tablespoon of liqueur to the chocolate and stir. Set aside to cool completely.
3.In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream until soft peaks form.
4.Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate to form a mousse.
5.If it’s too thin, refrigerate it for a bit until it’s spreadable.
6.If you’re not going to use it right away, refrigerate until you’re ready to use.

White Chocolate Glaze
14 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup heavy cream (35% cream)

1.Melt the white chocolate with the heavy cream. Whisk the mixture gently until smooth.
2.Let cool for 10 minutes and then pour over the chilled cake. Using a long metal cake spatula, smooth out into an even layer.
3.Place the cake into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set.

Assembly
1. Cut the jaconde into 2 10X10-inch sqaures, and 2 10X5-inch rectangles. Place one 10X10 inch square on a serving platter or cutting board. Brush on 1/3 of the syrup.
2. Spread 1/2 of the butter cream onto first layer.
3. Put 2 jaconde rectangles side-by-side on the butter cream layer. Brush jaconde layer with next 1/3 of syrup.
4. Spread remaining 1/2 of the butter cream onto 2nd jaconde layer.
5. Put remaining jaconde layer on 2nd layer of butter cream. Brush with remaining 1/3 of syrup.
6. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
7. Spread mousse layer on top of 3rd jaconde layer.
8. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
9. Make the glaze while the cake is chilling in the refrigerator.
10. After 2 hours of chilling, pour the glaze on top of the mousse layer.
11. Refrigerate for at least 2 more hours.
12. Trim all 4 sides of cake so that layers are visible.
13. Eat the scrap.
14. Eat and share the cake.

Tommy and I have quite a few large onions waiting to be used. Last night we put one to good use by making onion rings. I didn’t want to have to deal with the hassle and the heat of frying, so I opted for oven-fried onion rings instead. I knew that there was a big risk in doing these in the oven: Onion rings are supposed to be FRIED! They are pretty simple to make, just dip in batter, pan fry for 1 minute on each side, then put in the oven for 15 minutes. After taking them out of the oven, I thought that these were going to be a prime candidate for But We Suck At Cooking. However, Tommy and I dished them onto our plates and decided to suck it up and eat away. One bite was all it took for me to fall in love with these. The batter was tasty, the onion was tasty, and they were cooked properly through… They didn’t look pretty, but they tasted great. I think that this is a good recipe if you’re trying to avoid frying stuff. Some of the reviewers complained about all of the batter sticking to the pan instead of to the onions during the pan fry step, so I added a bit of sour cream to the batter to thicken it up a bit.

Oven Fried Onion Rings

Ingredients
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 large sweet onion, cut crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preparation
Preheat oven to 450°F. Separate onion slices into rings and pick out the 12 largest, reserving remainder for another use.

Whisk together egg white, buttermilk, sour cream, flour, salt, and cayenne in a shallow bowl until smooth. Add onion rings to the mixture, making sure onion rings are coated well. Let onion rings sit in the batter in the refrigerator for a few hours or until ready to use (you don’t have to let the onion rings sit in the batter, but I chose to do this in hopes of the onion absorbing some of the batter).

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Working in batches of 4, cook onions in skillet until golden brown, about 1 minute on each side. (Use 1 teaspoon oil per batch.) Transfer rings as browned to a lightly oiled shallow (1-inch-deep) baking pan.

Bake rings in middle of oven, turning once, until crisp and deep golden, 15 minutes total.

Tommy and I signed up for a CSA (community shared agriculture), and as a result, get about 10 lbs of vegetables weekly from a local farm. I want to believe that we are eating more vegetables as a result. We’re DEFINITELY eating more salads as a result. Each week we have gotten, among other things, 2 heads of lettuce. We don’t even make it through one head before the next week, when we get 2 more heads! Time to start giving away lettuce.

But the other vegetables have been fun to cook with. Spring in South Carolina yields plenty of greens, broccoli, turnips, radishes, and an abundance of strawberries. Last week we got an unidentified vegetable that I had never seen before. After a few long internet searches, I finally found what this vegetable was: Kohlrabi. Once finding out what it was, I began trying to figure out how to prepare it. It sounds like it is a lot like broccoli stems in texture and taste, only a tad bit sweeter. It can be eaten raw or cooked. I am going to cut it up into bitesize pieces and roast the pieces along with the cute little baby squash that we got.

I pick up my box on Wednesdays after work. Every Wednesday I find myself anxiously waiting to find out what is in the box for that week. This week we’re supposed to be getting fresh eggs too! I am also learning what grows in South Carolina and when it grows. The vegetables will keep coming through mid-July. I think that once the summer heat hits, we will be transitioning away from the greens (the heat kills them) to water melons, canteloupe, beans, and peppers.