Penney’s Palate

This month’s recipe came from Pierre Hermé, whom I had never heard of until this month. He is a very fancy French pastry chef. The recipe comes from a cookbook written by Dorie Greenspan that features a lot of his recipes involving chocolate, called Chocolate Desserts By Pierre Hermé.

I enjoyed making these, although they didn’t turn out quite how I had imagined. The Pâte à Choux was too eggy and the pastry cream was also very eggy. I chose to do a regular vanilla pastry cream instead of the chocolate pastry cream that was recommended. Next time I would like to find a pastry cream that is less eggy and tastes more like vanilla pudding. I also thought that making a chocolate sauce to go into the chocolate glaze was dumb. It tasted and acted just like chocolate glaze, but it took 3 times as long to make as regular chocolate glaze. So next time I will take the more simple approach and just make plain chocolate glaze with chocolate and heavy cream. The overall product looked ugly too… I wasn’t able to pipe them nice and smooth, so when they baked up they were a little deformed.

I keep saying next time because I really want to make these again. Despite the eggy choux and the fact that 90% of them flattened out so that I couldn’t fill them unless I sliced them in half, they were pretty good. The internet says that I should have kept them in the oven after baking (turn oven off and leave door open) so that they won’t deflate when I take them out. Tommy and I didn’t have a problem eating most of them over the weekend. They only took about 2 hours to make, start to finish including cleaning all of the dishes. Next time I make them, they won’t be eggy and they will look beautiful!

Eclairs

Ingredients
Cream Puff Dough (see below for recipe), fresh and still warm
Pastry Cream of choice
Chocolate Glaze

1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the oven into thirds by positioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets with waxed or parchment paper.

2) Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough. Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers. Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff. The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs.

3) Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 12 minutes. After the éclairs have been in the oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continue baking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking time should be approximately 20 minutes.

4) Using a small, sharp knife, cut a small slit in each eclair to let the steam out. Let cool for a few minutes before filling and icing.

5) Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside the bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper (or you can poke a hole in them and fill with pastry cream instead of slicing them into two pieces).

6) Fill the eclairs with the pastry cream, then dip the eclairs (or eclair tops if you have cut them in half) down into the chocolate glaze. The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F or 35 – 40 degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer).

Pierre Hermé’s Cream Puff Dough
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé

Ingredients
• ½ cup (125g) whole milk
• ½ cup (125g) water
• 1 stick (4 ounces; 115g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature

Preparation
1) In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the
boil.

2) Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough will be very soft and smooth.

3) Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your hand mixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough. You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.

4) The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.

Notes:
1) Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.

2) You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer the piped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.

Pastry Cream
I used a pastry cream from a cookbook that I was borrowing from the library. I have since returned the book, and forgot to write down the recipe. Basically, any pastry cream (or vanilla pudding) will work.

Chocolate Glaze
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé

Ingredients
• 1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream
• 3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
• 7 tbsp (110 g) Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature

Preparation
1)In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.

2) Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.

Notes:
1) If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly? in the microwave or over a double boiler. A double boiler is basically a bowl sitting over (not touching) simmering water.

Chocolate Sauce
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé

Ingredients
• 4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup (250 g) water
• ½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar

Preparation
1) Place all the ingredients into a heavy?bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.

2) It may take 10?15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.

One evening Tommy and I went to the new Caribbean place in town. It is a pretty neat place both inside and out. It is a renovated gas station that the owners have turned into a restaurant, with a gas-station decor (the name of the restaurant is Fuel). It looks like an old Gulf station. Out back there is some really nice seating, both covered and uncovered out on the grass. It has a bar area and a bocce ball court (more like a lane). Tommy chose to order Patacones as his side. The server described them as green plantains that were smashed and fried to a crisp. We loved them so much that we wanted to re-create the recipe at home so that we could eat them whenever we wanted. A few looks around the internet later, I had a fairly easy recipe that basically said to cut, fry, smash, fry, season, eat. At Fuel, they were served with a light orange mayonnaise-type sauce. After browsing the grocery store, I decided that the sauce was most likely Thousand Island dressing, so that is what we dipped our Patacones in.

Patacones

Ingredients
1 plantain, as green as you can find
oil for frying (I used vegetable oil this time)
Salt
Dipping sauce (I used Thousand Island dressing, but the internet says that people use ketchup, mayonnaise, and pretty much anything else you can think of to dip into)

Preparation
1. Heat oil in pan over medium to medium-high heat (oil should be 1/4 inch in depth)

2. Peel the plantain — Peeling a green plantain like a banana won’t work. Chop off a little of each end, then score the flesh down the length of the plantain 4 times, so that you have 4 sections of flesh. Then take your thumb and wedge it between the flesh and the meat and run your thumb down the length of the plantain to get the skin off.

3. Cut it into 1/2 to 1-inch pieces

4. Fry the pieces for about 2 minutes on each side, just until they start to get some color

5. Put a piece of wax paper on a cutting board. Put one piece at a time on one half of the wax paper,then fold over the other half to cover the piece of fried plantain. Use a heavy skillet to smash the plantain (it should now be no more than 1/4 inch thick. I like them on the thicker side, but some may like them super-thin).

6. Put the flattened plantains back in the frying pan and fry on each side until golden.

7. Sprinkle salt on the plantains after taking them out of the frying pan..

8. Let cool, then dip in your favorite sauce and eat!

A few nights ago I really wanted to make chocolate chip cookies. I wanted cookies and I wanted chocolate, so this seemed like a good choice. My favorite kind to make involve using 3 kinds of chocolate chips just like this recipe. The three kinds of chocolate chip cookies that I like to use are White chocolate, milk chocolate and bittersweet chocolate, all equal parts. Normally I like my chocolate stuff more chocolately and less sweet. With this combination, the bittersweet chocolate chips help to balance the sweetness of the white and milk chocolate chips. I only had maybe half of a handful left of bittersweet chocolate chips (not nearly enough to make this recipe possible). I meant to pick some up when I went grocery shopping but I forgot. After dinner when I was ready to make the chocolate chip cookies that I had been wanting all day, I realized that I didn’t have any bittersweet chocolate chips. I didn’t want to use only white chocolate and milk chocolate due to the sweetness factor, so I started to pout. Tommy suggested adding cocoa powder in place of the bittersweet chocolate chips to try and cut down on the sweetness factor. So after altering Melanie’s recipe, I ended up with 22 chocolate chocolate cookies. They turned out moist and gooey right out of the oven, and oh so chocolatey. I tried one the day after and it was still soft and chewy. I was surprised at how rich and chocolatey they were.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup AP flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350-degrees and prepare cookie sheets for baking.

1. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until blended.

3. Add flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt, mixing until just blended.

4. Add chocolate chips, mixing until combined.

5. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto cookie sheets and bake for 12 minutes

6. Let sit on cookie sheets until they have flattened out and cooled down, 3-4 minutes.

I haven’t been very creative in the kitchen lately. Just chugging along, finding recipes to make for dinner. No substitutions necessary since I have nothing in the fridge and nothing on the counter to use up. Even though my creativity level has been low, we have had some pretty good dinners lately.

And not that this affects the typical dinners that Tommy and I make, I thought I would let everyone know that I have quit using high fructose corn syrup. NO MORE! I’m sure I won’t really notice an actual difference in my body by not having HFCS, but I feel better about it. I’m curious to know how long I will be able to not use it. Tommy and I watched King Corn a few weeks ago, and since then I’ve been anti-HFCS, and I’ve also been a little uneasy about beef and such, the non-grass fed kind. I’m definitely not a vegetarian or even close, but I don’t feel bad about paying a little bit more for local (ish) grass fed beef.

Some recipes that I have enjoyed recently are:

Chipotle Shrimp Tostadas, from our most recent Food & Wine magazine. I have recently discovered that I love cabbage and fish tacos, so this meal wasn’t a big stretch. The only variation I used was that I didn’t have chipotle chile powder, so I just used regular chile powder. The wine pairing recommendation was a Rose, which is exactly what we had. Delicious.

Another dinner from our most recent Food & Wine, Lemongrass Pork with Pickled Carrots, served alongside Caramelized Broccoli with Garlic was delicious too. We used boneless pork chops sliced thin, and served it over brown rice. The only thing that I would like to note about this recipe is that this is the first time that Tommy and I have cooked with Fish Sauce. When Tommy saw it on the grocery list, he said “ewww”. But I remained optimistic and forged on anyway. As I started preparing the meal, the fish sauce SMELLED REALLY BAD. I was dreading the thought of finishing the cooking and it tasting like it was smelling. But again, I kept quiet (I was hoping that Tommy wasn’t smelling what I smelled) and forged on. The finished product tasted nothing like it smelled. All of it was pretty tasty. Aside from all of the chopping (Tommy was chopping, and he goes really slow because all of his minced pieces are of uniform size), this meal was fairly quick to make. I like quick but delicious meals.

When I was little, one of my favorite things to eat was “Stew and Noodles”. My parents would buy the canned beef stew, cook up some egg noodles, and BAM, I would devour it. Whole Foods had some grass-fed stew beef that I was eyeing over the weekend. After finding a use for it, I went back and bought some. Some people might think that Tommy and I are weird for making beef stew in South Carolina in August. But we eat soup all year ’round, no matter how hot. Although it has been rather cool lately, in the 80′s. The only substitution I made for this Tuscan Beef Stew was that instead of 2.5 cups of red wine (who wants to use 2.5 cups, that’s almost the whole bottle!!), I used 1 cup of red wine (a merlot) and 1.5 cups of beef stock. We ate it with egg noodles and I slurped it up while thinking of childhood memories. For some weird reason, the memory that came up first was when I was eating the soup at our kitchen table, and I was watching our ferret steal the dog’s food, and the dog was going crazy, too afraid to stand up to the ferret stealing his food.

I don’t feel like writing much about this month’s challenge. The quick summary is that I followed all of the directions, everything seemed to come together with no disasters, I forgot to take pictures of the assembled cake, and when I tasted it I was not impressed.

And now for my favorite parts about the cake:

The Swiss buttercream recipe required a hazelnut brittle be made, then ground into a paste, then added to the buttercream. I have made caramel a few times before, but I have never melted sugar only. It took about twice the amount of time to melt, but it finally did and I didn’t burn it. I felt very accomplished after mixing in the hazelnuts and spreading it out on the mat. I mean, it actually looked like nut brittle! YAY! It tasted pretty good too. And it was so easy. I was very skeptical of the instructions that said to grind the brittle in a food processor until it turns into a paste. I didn’t quite understand how brittle would turn into paste. But I kept the food processor going and then all of a sudden, there was paste! It wasn’t as good as the brittle, but it was good.

My next favorite part was making the buttercream. My first attempt at making buttercream last month didn’t go so well. The buttercream looked like vomit. This buttercream used a different method, making a meringue instead and then mixing in the butter to make buttercream. Nothing seemed to fall apart, and in the end I had some pretty tasty buttercream to put between the cake layers.

Like I already said, in my rush to get ready for the party I was going to (and taking the cake to), I didn’t take any pictures of the final cake. I thought that the texture of the cake part was off, just like in the Opera cake. I think it was the nut-base instead of flour base. I won’t be participating in anymore nut-cake challenges, they just aren’t for me. The other part of the cake that my palate didn’t enjoy very much was the apricot glaze just under the ganache glaze. For some reason, the apricot and chocolate just didn’t taste right together. A few pieces were eaten at the party, but the majority of the cake came home and sat in the refrigerator until the following weekend, when my in laws came to town and ate it up. They seemed to enjoy it.

Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream
From Great Cakes by Carol Walter

1 Filbert Genoise
1 recipe sugar syrup, flavored with dark rum
1 recipe Praline Buttercream
½ cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
1 recipe Apricot Glaze
1 recipe Ganache Glaze, prepared just before using
3 tablespoons filberts, toasted and coarsely chopped

Filbert Genoise
Because of the amount of nuts in the recipe, this preparation is different from a classic genoise.

1 ½ cups hazelnuts, toasted/skinned
2/3 cup cake flour, unsifted
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
7 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar, divided ¼ & ¾ cups
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. grated lemon rind
5 lg. egg whites
¼ cup warm, clarified butter (100 – 110 degrees)

Position rack in the lower 3rd of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10” X 2” inch round cake pan.

Using a food processor, process nuts, cake flour, and cornstarch for about 30 seconds. Then, pulse the mixture about 10 times to get a fine, powdery mixture. You’ll know the nuts are ready when they begin to gather together around the sides of the bowl. While you want to make sure there aren’t any large pieces, don’t over-process. Set aside.

Put the yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, and beat until thick and light in color, about 3-4 minutes on med-high speed. Slowly, add ¾ cup of sugar. It is best to do so by adding a tablespoon at a time, taking about 3 minutes for this step. When finished, the mixture should be ribbony. Blend in the vanilla and grated lemon rind. Remove and set aside.

Place egg whites in a large, clean bowl of the electric mixer with the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed, until soft peaks. Increase to med-high speed and slowly add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar, over 15-20 seconds or so. Continue to beat for another ½ minute.
Add the yolk mixture to the whites and whisk for 1 minute.

Pour the warm butter in a liquid measure cup (or a spouted container). * It must be a deep bottom bowl and work must be fast.* Put the nut meal in a mesh strainer (or use your hand – working quickly) and sprinkle it in about 2 tablespoons at a time – folding it carefully for about 40 folds. Be sure to exclude any large chunks/pieces of nuts. Again, work quickly and carefully as to not deflate the mixture. When all but about 2 Tbsp. of nut meal remain, quickly and steadily pour the warm butter over the batter. Then, with the remaining nut meal, fold the batter to incorporate, about 13 or so folds.

With a rubber spatula, transfer the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with the spatula or back of a spoon. **If collected butter remains at the bottom of the bowl, do not add it to the batter! It will impede the cake rising while baking.

Tap the pan on the counter to remove air bubbles and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes. You’ll know the cake is done when it is springy to the touch and it separates itself from the side of the pan. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Invert onto a cake rack sprayed with nonstick coating, removing the pan. Cool the cake completely.

*If not using the cake right away, wrap thoroughly in plastic wrap, then in a plastic bag, then in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If freezing, wrap in foil, then the bag and use within 2-3 months.

Sugar Syrup
Makes 1 cup, good for one 10-inch cake – split into 3 layers

1 cup water
¼ cup sugar
2 Tbsp. dark rum or orange flavored liqueur

In a small, yet heavy saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add the liqueur. Cool slightly before using on the cake. *Can be made in advance.

Praline Buttercream
1 recipe Swiss Buttercream
1/3 cup praline paste
1 ½ – 2 Tbsp. Jamaican rum (optional)

Blend ½ cup buttercream into the paste, then add to the remaining buttercream. Whip briefly on med-low speed to combine. Blend in rum.

Swiss Buttercream
4 lg. egg whites
¾ cup sugar
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly firm
1 ½ -2 Tbsp. Grand Marnier or liqueur of your choice
1 tsp. vanilla

Place the egg whites in a lg/ bowl of a elevtric mixer and beat with the whisk attachment until the whites are foamy and they begin to thicken (just before the soft peak stage). Set the bowl over a saucepan filled with about 2 inches of simmering water, making sure the bowl is not touching the water. Then, whisk in the sugar by adding 1-2 tablespoon of sugar at a time over a minutes time. Continue beating 2-3 minutes or until the whites are warm (about 120 degrees) and the sugar is dissolved. The mixture should look thick and like whipped marshmallows.
Remove from pan and with either the paddle or whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and sugar on med-high until its a thick, cool meringue – about 5-7 minutes. *Do not overbeat*. Set aside.

Place the butter in a separate clean mixing bowl and, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter at medium speed for 40-60 seconds, or until smooth and creamy. *Do not overbeat or the butter will become toooooo soft.*

On med-low speed, blend the meringue into the butter, about 1-2 Tbsp. at a time, over 1 minute. Add the liqueur and vanilla and mix for 30-45 seconds longer, until thick and creamy.

Refrigerate 10-15 minutes before using.

Wait! My buttercream won’t come together! Reheat the buttercream briefly over simmering water for about 5 seconds, stirring with a wooden spoon. Be careful and do not overbeat. The mixture will look broken with some liquid at the bottom of the bowl. Return the bowl to the mixer and whip on medium speed just until the cream comes back together.

Wait! My buttercream is too soft! Chill the buttercream in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes and rewhip. If that doesn’t work, cream an additional 2-4 Tbsp. of butter in a small bowl– making sure the butter is not as soft as the original amount, so make sure is cool and smooth. On low speed, quickly add the creamed butter to the buttercream, 1 Tbsp. at a time.

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or can be frozen for up to 6 months. If freezing, store in 2 16-oz. plastic containers and thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for several hours.

Praline Paste
1 cup (4 ½ oz.) Hazelnuts, toasted/skinless
2/3 cup Sugar
Line a jelly roll pan with parchment and lightly butter.

Put the sugar in a heavy 10-inch skillet. Heat on low flame for about 10-20 min until the sugar melts around the edges. Do not stir the sugar. Swirl the pan if necessary to prevent the melted sugar from burning. Brush the sides of the pan with water to remove sugar crystals. If the sugar in the center does not melt, stir briefly. When the sugar is completely melted and caramel in color, remove from heat. Stir in the nuts with a wooden spoon and separate the clusters. Return to low heat and stir to coat the nuts on all sides. Cook until the mixture starts to bubble. **Remember – extremely hot mixture.** Then onto the parchment lined sheet and spread as evenly as possible. As it cools, it will harden into brittle. Break the candied nuts into pieces and place them in the food processor. Pulse into a medium-fine crunch or process until the brittle turns into a powder. To make paste, process for several minutes. Store in an airtight container and store in a cook dry place. Do not refrigerate.

Apricot Glaze
Good for one 10-inch cake

2/3 cup thick apricot preserves
1 Tbsp. water

In a small, yet heavy saucepan, bring the water and preserves to a slow boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes. If the mixture begins to stick to the bottom of the saucepan, add water as needed.

Remove from heat and, using a strainer, press the mixture through the mesh and discard any remnants. With a pastry brush, apply the glaze onto the cake while the cake is still warm. If the glaze is too thick, thin to a preferred consistency with drops of water.

Ganache Glaze
Makes about 1 cup, enough to cover the top and sides of a 9 or 10 inch layer cake

6 oz. (good) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, like Lindt
6 oz. (¾ cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. light corn syrup
1 Tbsp. Grand Marnier, Cointreay, or dark Jamaican rum (optional)
¾ tsp. vanilla
½ – 1 tsp. hot water, if needed

Blend vanilla and liqueur/rum together and set aside.

Break the chocolate into 1-inch pieces and place in the basket of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer into a medium sized bowl and set aside.

Heat the cream and corn syrup in a saucepan, on low, until it reached a gentle boil. Once to the gently boil, immediately and carefully pour over the chocolate. Leave it alone for one minute, then slowly stir and mix the chocolate and cream together until the chocolate is melted and incorporated into the cream. Carefully blend in vanilla mixture. If the surface seems oily, add ½ – 1 tsp hot water. The glaze will thicken, but should still be pourable. If it doesn’t thicken, refrigerate for about 5 minutes, but make sure it doesn’t get too cold!

Assembling Cake
Cut a cardboard disk slightly smaller than the cake. Divide the cake into 3 layers and place the first layer top-side down on the disk. Using a pastry brush, moisten the layer with 3-4 Tbsp. of warm sugar syrup. Measure out 1 cup of praline buttercream and set aside.

Spread the bottom layer with a ¼-inch thickness of the remaining buttercream. Cover with ½ of the whipped cream, leaving ¼-inch border around the edge of the cake. Place the middle layer over the first, brush with sugar syrup, spreading with buttercream. Cover with the remaining whipped cream.

Moisten the cut side of the third layer with additional sugar syrup and place cut side down on the cake. Gently, press the sides of the cake to align the layers. Refrigerate to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Lift the cake by sliding your palm under the cardboard. Holding a serrated or very sharp night with an 8-ich blade held parallel to the sides of the cake, trim the sides so that they are perfectly straight. Cut a slight bevel at the top to help the glaze drip over the edge. Brush the top and sides of the cake with warm apricot glaze, sealing the cut areas completely. Chill while you prepare the ganache.

Place a rack over a large shallow pan to catch the ganache drippings. Remove the gateau from the refrigerator and put it the rack. With a metal spatula in hand, and holding the saucepan about 10 inches above the cake, pour the ganache onto the cake’s center. Move the spatula over the top of the ganache about 4 times to get a smooth and mirror-like appearance. The ganache should cover the top and run down the sides of the cake. When the ganache has been poured and is coating the cake, lift one side of the rack and bang it once on the counter to help spread the ganache evenly and break any air bubbles. (Work fast before setting starts.) Patch any bare spots on the sides with a smaller spatula, but do not touch the top after the “bang”. Let the cake stand at least 15 minutes to set after glazing.

To garnish the cake, fit a 12 – 14-inch pastry bag with a #114 large leaf tip. Fill the bag with the reserved praline cream. Stating ½ inch from the outer edge of the cake, position the pastry tube at a 90 degree angle with the top almost touching the top of the cake. Apply pressure to the pastry bag, moving it slightly toward the center of the cake. As the buttercream flows on the cake, reverse the movement backward toward the edge of the cake and finish by pulling the bag again to the center. Stop applying pressure and press the bag downward, then quickly pull the tip up to break the flow of frosting. Repeat, making 12 leaves evenly spaced around the surface of the cake.

Make a second row of leaves on the top of the first row, moving the pastry bag about ¾ inch closer to the center. The leaves should overlap. Make a 3rd row, moving closer and closer to the center. Add a 4th row if you have the room. But, leave a 2-inch space in the center for a chopped filbert garnish. Refrigerate uncovered for 3-4 hours to allow the cake to set. Remove the cake from the refrigerator at least 3 hours before serving.

I like to eat soup all year round. About a month ago, Tommy and I had a lot of squash and other vegetables in the house, so I made some squash soup. You basically simmered onion, celery, carrots, squash, potatoes, parsley, basil and garlic with chicken stock for a long time. Puree, then eat. While the squash was the star of the show, I enjoyed the other flavors that came out as well, mainly the earthy flavor of the celery ribs that I threw in as a bonus.

The most recent Food & Wine magazine featured a very simple squash soup that caught my eye over the weekend. Knowing that we STILL had squash in the refrigerator, and knowing that I had a sore throat and wanted something comforting like soup, this was a perfect choice for dinner. The soup itself has only a few ingredients. Buttermilk is added after pureeing to give it a slight tanginess. My most favorite part about this soup was that with so few ingredients, the squash flavor was very intense. A “garnish” was also prepared, which was actually a small salad of a handful of vegetables. The garnish wasn’t really a garnish, it was more like a bunch of chopped veggies, that, when added to the soup, provided a nice crunch to every bite of soup. This description may sound a little weird for soup, but trust me, it was good.

Summer Squash Soup
Modified from August 2008 Food & Wine

Ingredients
For the soup:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 pound small yellow squash, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
2 fresh bay leaves
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup buttermilk
Salt and pepper

For the garnish:
6 scallions, white and tender green parts only
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup finely diced peeled cucumber
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Preparation
1. In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add the yellow squash, onion and bay leaves and cook over moderate heat for 8 minutes. Add the broth and water and bring to a boil. Simmer just until the squash is tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
2. While the soup is simmering, heat a pan over high heat. Rub the scallions with 1 teaspoon of the oil and grill over high heat, turning occasionally, until lightly charred, 5 minutes. Let them cool, then cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
3. Add the scallions, tomatoes, tarragon, parsley, cucumber, lemon juice and the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a bowl. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside until ready to serve the soup.
3. When the squash is tender, transfer it and 1/2 cup of the broth to a blender and discard the bay leaves. Puree the soup and blend in the buttermilk. Season with salt and pepper.
4. To serve, ladle soup into bowls. Put a generous portion of the garnish in each bowl.

I was very excited about this month’s challenge. It seemed simple enough, just a little time consuming. Up until this challenge, I had never made laminated dough. It wasn’t even on my list of things to try to bake. Some things, I thought, are better left to pastry shops where you can go in, spend a few bucks, and buy one already made by someone else. So one morning while Tommy’s family was in town, I rolled out the dough and got it to its resting spot in the fridge. The next morning I woke up at 6AM to roll the dough out one last time, get the filling in and braid it. I left it to proof for a few hours while I went back to bed.

After everyone was awake, I brushed it with the egg wash, stuck it in the oven for 20 minutes, and out came this beautifully browned pastry! Oh the excitement! The combination of an excited baker and hungry stomachs meant that there were no pictures of the final product. Only memories, and the other half of the dough in the freezer.

I chose to do two different fillings in one braid, each filling taking up half of the braid. I put pastry filling along the entire length of the braid. I filled the first half with a raspberry-blueberry filling (a very runny filling I might add), and the other half with bittersweet chocolate chips and bananas. While the whole thing was delicious, I would have to agree with Tommy that the cardamom seemed too much for the pastry. It overpowered the fillings, and in general, just didn’t seem to go with the pastry. I would happily leave that out next time. The texture of it, however, was PERFECT! Warm and flaky. I can’t wait to use up the second half of the dough. I’m thinking about doing a variety of things, including a few croissants, and some decorative danishes with filling in them. I’m just waiting for a time when others can help us eat them. I would highly recommend trying this out if you have a few hours to kill in the kitchen one afternoon. I enjoyed it.

A Danish Braid
Ingredients
For the dough (Detrempe)
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter (At the recommendation of someone on the forum, I used Lurpak butter because it has less water content than American butter. I don’t know if it helped or not, but my danish was perfect)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Preparation
Dough
Combine yeast and milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed. Slowly add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice. Mix well. Change to the dough hook and add the salt with the flour, 1 cup at a time, increasing speed to medium as the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth. You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Butter Block
1. Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.
2. After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left. Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
4. Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight. The Danish dough is now ready to be used. (If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.)

Danish Braid
1/2 recipe Danish Dough (above)
2 cups filling
1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk

1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again. Place the dough on the baking sheet.
2. Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.
3. Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling. Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.

Proofing and Baking
1. Spray cooking oil (Pam…) onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch.
2. Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Whisk together the whole egg and yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.

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.