Daring Baker's Challenge ~Macarons!

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe. Check out Ami's blog, Baking Without Fear for her take on this recipe.

Now I have to say...this challenge has really been the realization of a long unrequited desire of mine. I first had Macarons when I was in Paris nearly 20 years ago. I was attending a college summer program in Aix-en-Provence and on the long weekends (we only went to class for 3 days a week) we traveled throughout Europe on trains seeing the sights. For most of these trips it required us to take a train to Paris to make a connection to our final destination. Pauvre Moi..suffering all those jaunts through Paris! On our way to Lucerne & Munich, we had one such stop in Paris with enough time for lunch and a patisserie stop. I believe it was Le McDonald's for lunch...mais pour dessert...an event that would change the course of my culinary life. I cannot be for certain if this is THE place,


but through the magic of Google Earth I transported myself back to the streets near Gare de l'Est and found want I believe may be the place I first tasted the fabulous macaron. I have confirmed that Le Grenier a Pain does indeed sell les macarons...so I am sticking to this as my story. My friends and I were charmed by the little colored hamburgers in the case and each chose 4 to go, boxed up in the french way. (Like these which ARE NOT mine)



Once on the train bound for Switzerland we opened our treasures and I took a bit of the tender cookie. I am quite certain I ate a pink one first, but I do recall having a yellow and brown one as well. The 4th color escapes me. I was in pure heaven. I didn't know what they were called.....silly me had not paid attention, not knowing I would be so enamored. I spent the next few years just trying to put a name to the face. I finally had success at the library whenI found a book of fancy french pastries. Many more years passed and suddenly MY secret cookie was suddenly the rage of foodie blogland. Here are two classics:
David Lebovitz take on Macarons

Tartlette's Take on Macarons

With so many recipes and so many other people making them, I got brave and tried a recipe a year or two ago. We shall not speak of that experience here since it was an utter failure. I figured it was just not meant to be for me to make such creations in my home kitchen. Enter...this months Daring Bakers Challenge. A nudge to give it another try. While still not an entire success, this try was much closer to that sweet little bit of goodness I had 20 years ago.



I can see from these pictures that my batter was too thick..maybe too much beating of the egg whites? They should be flatter with no peaks. But once baked...woohooo..I did have the required "legs" and the taste....YES...I achieved the taste. Its amazing how long the memory of a taste bud is.



I went with a whole batch of pink...the macaron of my dreams! The filling was harder to decide. I started with something simple..strawberry jam.


I had plenty to play with so figured I would take it a notch up...Strawberry Almond Buttercream


So cute!




And so tasty...I have unfortunately eaten more than a plateful of these little sweeties.


So I got braver..daring shall we say. I wanted to take my pink macarons to their pinnacle of cuteness, so stuffed a few with a Vanilla Peppermint verrry green buttercream. They tasted like wedding mints...which isn't a bad thing at all!



They ARE a little gaudy though :-D


Here's a little wobbly group of pink and green. Next batch...my goal is flat tops.


Out of the fillings that I tried, I have to say tastewise I really loved the jam the best. The gooiness of it really melds the two halves together in a very yummy way.



So...any suggestions on what I can do with all this leftover icing?????? I'm seeing some preppy little cupcakes in my future.


Check out the recipe..few ingredients and not really that complicated at all. I think it just takes LOTS and LOTS of practice on getting the eggwhites just right. The finer you can get the almonds the better too.

Ingredients
Confectioners’ (Icing) sugar: 2 ¼ cups (225 g, 8 oz.)
Almond flour: 2 cups (190 g, 6.7 oz.)
Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons (25 g , .88 oz.)
Egg whites: 5 (Have at room temperature)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.
2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.
3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.
4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.
5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).
6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.
7. Cool on a rack before filling.

Yield: 10 dozen. Ami's note: My yield was much smaller than this. I produced about two dozen filled macaroons.

For the buttercreams I used this recipe

Buttercream Icing

adapted from "Ateco Simplified Cake Decorating."

1/4 c butter
Speck of salt (if needed)
2 c sifted powdered sugar
3 T milk or light cream
1/4 t vanillaWhip the butter until fluffy.

Gradually add in 1 cup of the powdered sugar and reduce speed to low, add in the liquid, salt and flavoring. Last the rest of the powdered sugar. If firmer icing is needed, add in a bit more powdered sugar, if softer icing is needed, add in a bit more of the milk. Flavor as desired. (For the Vanilla mint I used 1 tsp vanilla & 1/2 tsp peppermint extract. For the Strawberry Almond I used 2 tbls strawberry jam in place of some of the cream and 1/2 tsp almond extract instead of vanilla)

Be daring and join in next month at the Daring Kitchen. Check it out HERE.

Daring Cooks Challeng ~Chicken Pho and a Sweet Surprise

The October 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge was brought to us by Jaden of the blog Steamy Kitchen. The recipes are from her new cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook. Check it out HERE.
Gotta love a blogger who gets her own cool cookbook published! And if the recipes I tried today were any indication of the rest of the recipes I'm sold.


The recipes Jaden chose are Vietnamese Chicken Pho and Dessert Wontons. I have had a love of Chicken Pho for a while now. The secret spices were always a mystery to me. It seemed to simple but I could never quite put my finger on the flavors. If I had been really daring I would have tried beef pho, but the truth be told I tried the chicken first at a Vietnamese restaurant and loved it so much I just never wanted to order anything other flavor. So I figured this challenge should be about me making a restaurant food that I LOVE. I was so pleased that the end result was very very much like the pho I fell in love with. The recipe is really straightforward. The spices were the key. I had to search a little bit for the star anise but found it at a local gourmetish grocery store, Metropolitan Market.

For those of you that have no clue what Pho is, Jaden explains (go check out her blog, Steamy Kitchen HERE):

"So what is Vietnamese Pho? Well, it’s like the most insanely delicious noodle soup popular in Vietnam. The broth is simmered for hours and hours with either beef knuckle/leg bone or with a whole chicken. Other accompaniments include ribbons of rice noodles, fresh herbs like cilantro or basil, a wedge of lime or lemon, fresh bean sprouts and fresh sliced chilies if desired.

What makes Pho so different than any other type of noodle soup is the spices that go into the simmering broth. Warm spices like coriander, star anise, cloves, cinnamon, fresh ginger transform an ordinary broth into a very authentic Vietnamese Pho.

Our challenge focuses on Chicken Pho, or “Pho Ga” in Vietnamese. By the way, the correct pronunciation of Pho is “fuh?” Yes, you say the word like it’s a question! Chicken Pho is lighter than Beef Pho and the spices used are a little different as well."

Try not to look too hard at the photo or you will see that I lacked one ingredient (fresh limes) but made do with the dreaded squeeze bottle...hey they come in handy. Here is the broth at a rolling boil. You strain all of the bits and pieces out for the end product. And shred the chicken.


I think Vietnamese cuisine must have its roots in communal eating. Lots of fixings to pick and choose from. Each person can make the dish their own. Shredded chicken, bean sprouts, cilantro, shaved onions, fresh sliced chile peppers, hoisin sauce and sriracha (Cock) sauce were on hand today. For those that don't like cilantro I've seen basil used as well or mint.


Rice noodles round out the Pho. I kind of keep adding ingredients as I eat. When I run low on "stuff" and just have broth I pile more things in.


I just love my little Vietnamese dishes I picked up at Daiso. So happy to have a perfect occasion to break them out!


Here is the recipe:

Servings: Makes 4 servings

Quick Vietnamese Chicken Pho (Pho Ga)

Ingredients:

For the Chicken Pho Broth:
2 tbsp. whole coriander seeds
4 whole cloves
2 whole star anise
2 quarts (2 liters/8 cups/64 fluid ounces) store-bought or homemade chicken stock
1 whole chicken breast (bone in or boneless)
½ onion
1 3-inch (7.5 cm) chunk of ginger, sliced and smashed with side of knife
1 to 2 tbsps. sugar
1 to 2 tbsps. fish sauce

1 lb. (500 grams/16 ounces) dried rice noodles (about ¼ inch/6 mm wide)

Accompaniments:

2 cups (200 grams/7 ounces) bean sprouts, washed and tails pinched off
Fresh cilantro (coriander) tops (leaves and tender stems)
½ cup (50 grams/approx. 2 ounces) shaved red onions
½ lime, cut into 4 wedges
Sriracha chili sauce
Hoisin sauce
Sliced fresh chili peppers of your choice

Directions:

1. To make the Chicken Pho Broth: heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the coriander seeds, cloves and star anise and toast until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Immediately spoon out the spices to avoid burning.
2. In a large pot, add all the ingredients (including the toasted spices) and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes, skimming the surface frequently.
4. Use tongs to remove the chicken breasts and shred the meat with your fingers, discarding the bone if you have used bone-in breasts.
5. Taste the broth and add more fish sauce or sugar, if needed. Strain the broth and discard the solids.
6. Prepare the noodles as per directions on the package.
7. Ladle the broth into bowls. Then divide the shredded chicken breast and the soft noodles evenly into each bowl.
8. Have the accompaniments spread out on the table. Each person can customize their own bowl with these ingredients.

So on to dessert! Jaden challenged us to come up with a creative dessert wonton, so I gave it a go. Not sure how creative they really were..but definitely tasty! I did a trio of wontons in different shapes..mainly so I could remember what was what!



First up....ye olde nutella wonton. I made this shape to resemble a Napoleon hat for the French twist on things. Well..that was kind of an after thought actually...I must admit.



The second was stuffed with one of the limited edition Fudge Snickers minis. They are really good if you haven't tried one. I wrapped those up like little presents.



My favorite and I think the most creative were the Pumpkin Spice Kiss Wontons. Pumpkin flavored kisses might not sound good, but I urge you to give them a try. They are like little bites of pumpkin cheese cake...in this case fried up in a crisp shell.


Here are the simple instructions for the wontons

Chocolate Wontons (and variations of)

Ingredients:

1 large egg
1 tbsp. water
12 wonton wrappers, defrosted (keep wrappers covered with damp towel)
12 pieces or nuggets of chocolate (use any type of chocolate you like)
High-heat oil for frying (i.e., vegetable oil, corn oil)
Confectioners’ sugar (icing sugar) for sprinkling

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and water to make an egg wash.
2. On a clean, dry surface lay 1 wonton wrapper down with a point toward you, like a diamond.
3. Place 1 piece of chocolate near the top end of the wrapper.
4. Brush a very thin layer of the egg wash on the edges of the wrapper.
5. Fold the bottom corner of the wrapper up to create a triangle and gently press to remove all air from the middle. Press the edges to adhere the sides. Make sure the wrapper is sealed completely.
6. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and chocolate pieces.
7. Keep the folded chocolate wontons covered under plastic wrap or a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying.
8. In a wok or medium pot, pour in 2 inches (5 cm.) of high-heat oil.
9. Heat the oil to 350º F (180º C) and gently slide a few of the chocolate wontons into the hot oil. Make sure you don’t crowd the chocolate wontons.
10. Fry the wontons for 1 ½ minutes, then flip over and fry another minute until both sides are golden brown and crisp.

I'm offering this up as my Mosaic Monday contribution as well. Be sure and go look at the other Mosaics at Little Red Kitchen.


For those of you interested in joining in on these Daring Challenges, check out the Daring Kitchen.

Daring Baker's Challenge ~ Vols-au-Vents!

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

So puff pastry is one of those things that is so much easier to just buy in the store!!! Having said that....homemade puff pastry was WAYYYYYY easier than I thought it would be! Could be that I have recently watched two videos of Julia Child making puff pastry with two different chefs and they made it look like a piece of cake. Even more than that, they made it look FUN! And it was fun. The best part was beating the butter! I have a new kitchen toy that made it easy. My sister was sneaky when she was out visiting last month and bought me one after I commented it was on my wish list. Here I am rolling out one of my "turns" with the sweet silicone french rolling pin she gave me.


And an "action" shot (a great euphemism for blurry).


The dough was surprisingly easy to work with. I wish I had more shots of the process, but I was too floury to pick up the camera most of the day. I was thrilled with how my little vols-au-vent turned out. I'm sure there could have been more layers, but I DID get a few!!! (Kind of reminds me of Hungry Jacks) This one I stuffed with a Pear, Raisin & Walnut filling and drizzled with a little caramel sauce. Sooo good! These were the large ones, about 4 inches I guess.


The smaller ones (2.5 inches) were simply filled with chocolate whipped cream.


I really have never gone wrong with a recipe originating from Dorie Greenspan. Even if they aren't her recipes she certainly does know how to build a collection. She's a baking genius in my opinion. If you've ever had the inkling that you might want to do your own puffed pastry I suggest giving this recipe a try. You don't have to make the Vols-au-Vent...you can do whatever you want with it. I made enough to have two more batches to put in the freezer. So here's the recipe. Be Daring..........

Vols-au-Vent with Michel Richard’s Puff Pastry Dough

Forming and Baking the Vols-au-Vent

Yield: 1/3 of the puff pastry recipe below will yield about 8-10 1.5” vols-au-vent or 4 4” vols-au-vent

In addition to the equipment listed above, you will need:
-well-chilled puff pastry dough (recipe below)
-egg wash (1 egg or yolk beaten with a small amount of water)
-your filling of choice

Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

Using a knife or metal bench scraper, divided your chilled puff pastry dough into three equal pieces. Work with one piece of the dough, and leave the rest wrapped and chilled. (If you are looking to make more vols-au-vent than the yield stated above, you can roll and cut the remaining two pieces of dough as well…if not, then leave refrigerated for the time being or prepare it for longer-term freezer storage. See the “Tips” section below for more storage info.)

On a lightly floured surface, roll the piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick. Transfer it to the baking sheet and refrigerate for about 10 minutes before proceeding with the cutting.

(This assumes you will be using round cutters, but if you do not have them, it is possible to cut square vols-au-vents using a sharp chef’s knife.) For smaller, hors d'oeuvre sized vols-au-vent, use a 1.5” round cutter to cut out 8-10 circles. For larger sized vols-au-vent, fit for a main course or dessert, use a 4” cutter to cut out about 4 circles. Make clean, sharp cuts and try not to twist your cutters back and forth or drag your knife through the dough. Half of these rounds will be for the bases, and the other half will be for the sides. (Save any scrap by stacking—not wadding up—the pieces…they can be re-rolled and used if you need extra dough. If you do need to re-roll scrap to get enough disks, be sure to use any rounds cut from it for the bases, not the ring-shaped sides.)

Using a ¾-inch cutter for small vols-au-vent, or a 2- to 2.5-inch round cutter for large, cut centers from half of the rounds to make rings. These rings will become the sides of the vols-au-vent, while the solid disks will be the bottoms. You can either save the center cut-outs to bake off as little “caps” for you vols-au-vent, or put them in the scrap pile.

Dock the solid bottom rounds with a fork (prick them lightly, making sure not to go all the way through the pastry) and lightly brush them with egg wash. Place the rings directly on top of the bottom rounds and very lightly press them to adhere. Brush the top rings lightly with egg wash, trying not to drip any down the sides (which may inhibit rise). If you are using the little “caps,” dock and egg wash them as well.

Refrigerate the assembled vols-au-vent on the lined baking sheet while you pre-heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). (You could also cover and refrigerate them for a few hours at this point.)

Once the oven is heated, remove the sheet from the refrigerator and place a silicon baking mat (preferred because of its weight) or another sheet of parchment over top of the shells. This will help them rise evenly. Bake the shells until they have risen and begin to brown, about 10-15 minutes depending on their size. Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF (180ºC), and remove the silicon mat or parchment sheet from the top of the vols-au-vent. If the centers have risen up inside the vols-au-vent, you can gently press them down. Continue baking (with no sheet on top) until the layers are golden, about 15-20 minutes more. (If you are baking the center “caps” they will likely be finished well ahead of the shells, so keep an eye on them and remove them from the oven when browned.)

Remove to a rack to cool. Cool to room temperature for cold fillings or to warm for hot fillings.

Fill and serve.

*For additional rise on the larger-sized vols-au-vents, you can stack one or two additional ring layers on top of each other (using egg wash to "glue"). This will give higher sides to larger vols-au-vents, but is not advisable for the smaller ones, whose bases may not be large enough to support the extra weight.

*Although they are at their best filled and eaten soon after baking, baked vols-au-vent shells can be stored airtight for a day.

*Shaped, unbaked vols-au-vent can be wrapped and frozen for up to a month (bake from frozen, egg-washing them first).

Michel Richard’s Puff Pastry Dough

From: Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan
Yield: 2-1/2 pounds dough

Steph’s note: This recipe makes more than you will need for the quantity of vols-au-vent stated above. While I encourage you to make the full recipe of puff pastry, as extra dough freezes well, you can halve it successfully if you’d rather not have much leftover.

There is a wonderful on-line video from the PBS show “Baking with Julia” that accompanies the book. In it, Michel Richard and Julia Child demonstrate making puff pastry dough (although they go on to use it in other applications). They do seem to give slightly different ingredient measurements verbally than the ones in the book…I listed the recipe as it appears printed in the book. http://video.pbs.org/video/1174110297/search/Pastry

Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups (12.2 oz/ 354 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups (5.0 oz/ 142 g) cake flour
1 tbsp. salt (you can cut this by half for a less salty dough or for sweet preparations)
1-1/4 cups (10 fl oz/ 300 ml) ice water
1 pound (16 oz/ 454 g) very cold unsalted butter

plus extra flour for dusting work surface

Mixing the Dough:

Check the capacity of your food processor before you start. If it cannot hold the full quantity of ingredients, make the dough into two batches and combine them.

Put the all-purpose flour, cake flour, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse a couple of times just to mix. Add the water all at once, pulsing until the dough forms a ball on the blade. The dough will be very moist and pliable and will hold together when squeezed between your fingers. (Actually, it will feel like Play-Doh.)

Remove the dough from the machine, form it into a ball, with a small sharp knife, slash the top in a tic-tac-toe pattern. Wrap the dough in a damp towel and refrigerate for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the butter between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and beat it with a rolling pin until it flattens into a square that's about 1" thick. Take care that the butter remains cool and firm: if it has softened or become oily, chill it before continuing.

Incorporating the Butter:

Unwrap the dough and place it on a work surface dusted with all-purpose flour (A cool piece of marble is the ideal surface for puff pastry) with your rolling pin (preferably a French rolling pin without handles), press on the dough to flatten it and then roll it into a 10" square. Keep the top and bottom of the dough well floured to prevent sticking and lift the dough and move it around frequently. Starting from the center of the square, roll out over each corner to create a thick center pad with "ears," or flaps.

Place the cold butter in the middle of the dough and fold the ears over the butter, stretching them as needed so that they overlap slightly and encase the butter completely. (If you have to stretch the dough, stretch it from all over; don't just pull the ends) you should now have a package that is 8" square.

To make great puff pastry, it is important to keep the dough cold at all times. There are specified times for chilling the dough, but if your room is warm, or you work slowly, or you find that for no particular reason the butter starts to ooze out of the pastry, cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it . You can stop at any point in the process and continue at your convenience or when the dough is properly chilled.

Making the Turns:

Gently but firmly press the rolling pin against the top and bottom edges of the square (this will help keep it square). Then, keeping the work surface and the top of the dough well floured to prevent sticking, roll the dough into a rectangle that is three times as long as the square you started with, about 24" (don't worry about the width of the rectangle: if you get the 24", everything else will work itself out.) With this first roll, it is particularly important that the butter be rolled evenly along the length and width of the rectangle; check when you start rolling that the butter is moving along well, and roll a bit harder or more evenly, if necessary, to get a smooth, even dough-butter sandwich (use your arm-strength!).

With a pastry brush, brush off the excess flour from the top of the dough, and fold the rectangle up from the bottom and down from the top in thirds, like a business letter, brushing off the excess flour. You have completed one turn.

Rotate the dough so that the closed fold is to your left, like the spine of a book. Repeat the rolling and folding process, rolling the dough to a length of 24" and then folding it in thirds. This is the second turn.

Chilling the Dough:

If the dough is still cool and no butter is oozing out, you can give the dough another two turns now. If the condition of the dough is iffy, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Each time you refrigerate the dough, mark the number of turns you've completed by indenting the dough with your fingertips. It is best to refrigerate the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns.

The total number of turns needed is six. If you prefer, you can give the dough just four turns now, chill it overnight, and do the last two turns the next day. Puff pastry is extremely flexible in this regard. However, no matter how you arrange your schedule, you should plan to chill the dough for at least an hour before cutting or shaping it.




Please check out my Pay It Forward contest HERE and leave a comment if you want to join in! You have until 9pm PST on Monday, October 5th, 2009.

Daring Cooks Challenge ~Arroz con....

For this month's Daring Cooks Challenge. Olga from Las Cosas de Olga and Olga’s Recipes has chosen a delicious Spanish recipe, Rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish and artichokes by José Andrés, one of the most important Spanish Chefs at the moment and host of the PBS program Made in Spain. Although I am daring enough to try the ingredients as listed, I'd be eating it all by myself! So I made Rice with mushrooms, CHICKEN and artichokes instead! I think I still stayed with the spirit of the recipe..just made it more do-able. I was very excited to see the cuisine featured in this month's challenge was Spanish! My parents lived for 3 years in Spain well before I was born, but they had such a great experience and they shared many memories and photos, including food related ones. Then, when I was 16 they did a return trip and we spent a month in Alicante, Spain and I have to say it made an impression that has lasted a life time. The food, the people and the lifestyle are things I love! I made another trip in 1990, then again in 2000, almost 10 years ago. It's time to go back!!!!



So getting back to the recipe, I've tried paella once before but I didn't have saffron..so kinda not the real thing. Not that long ago I bought some saffron at Trader Joe's with plans to try it again.



While this isn't Paella exactly, it's similar and gives me a chance to dip into my precious stash.


Also a chance to use up some of my fresh tomatoes that have been piling up on my counter!


AND a chance to use my "Alhambra" serving piece (nevermind it was made in China). I have always thought it would be great for a paellaish dish!


I just have to sneak in a pic from from when I visited the Alhambra..one of the highlights of my life! I have more but this is the only one I have on my computer....its a view of the summer gardens from the Alhambra.


So here is the recipe:

Rice with Mushrooms, Chicken (or Cuttlefish) and Artichokes

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 4 Artichokes (you can use jarred or freezed if fresh are not available)


• 12 Mushrooms (button or Portobello) ( I ended up running out of mushrooms because I used them in the Sofregit, so I also added peas for interest)
  
• 1 or 2 Bay leaves (optional but highly recommended)


• 1 glass of white wine


• 2 Cuttlefish (you can use freezed cuttlefish or squid if you don’t find it fresh) ( I used a couple of chicken breasts)
  
• “Sofregit” (see recipe below)


• 300 gr (2 cups) Short grain rice (Spanish types Calasparra or Montsant are preferred, but you can choose any other short grain. This kind of rice absorbs flavor very well) – about 75 gr per person ( ½ cup per person) Please read this for more info on suitable rices. (I ended up using arborio because I had some)
  
• Water or Fish Stock (use 1 ½ cup of liquid per ½ cup of rice) (I used chicken stock)
  


• Saffron threads (if you can’t find it or afford to buy it, you can substitute it for turmeric or yellow coloring powder)


• Allioli (olive oil and garlic sauce, similar to mayonnaise sauce) - optional

Directions:

1. Cut the cuttlefish (or chicken) in little strips.


2. Add 1 or 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan and put the cuttlefish in the pan.


3. Cut artichoke hearts in eights.


4. Clean the mushrooms and cut them in fourths.


5. Add a bay leaf to the cuttlefish (or chicken) and add also the artichokes and the mushrooms.


6. Sauté until we get a golden color in the artichokes.


7. Put a touch of white wine (about 1/3 cup) so all the solids in the bottom of the get mixed, getting a more flavorful dish.


8. Add a couple or three (very heaping) tablespoons of sofregit and mix to make sure everything gets impregnated with the sofregit. (I watched a video of the guy making it and his tablespoons were more like scoops, so I was generous and used everything in my pan)
   


9. Add all the liquid and bring it to boil.


10. Add all the rice. Let boil for about 5 minutes in heavy heat.


11. Add some saffron thread to enrich the dish with its flavor and color. Stir a little bit so the rice and the other ingredients get the entire flavor. If you’re using turmeric or yellow coloring, use only 1/4 teaspoon.


12. Turn to low heat and boil for another 8 minutes (or until rice is a little softer than “al dente”). ( I ended up adding about a cup more liquid..I think the arborio drank more, so I cooked a little longer).
    


13. Put the pan away from heat and let the rice stand a couple of minutes.

First I started the Sofregit

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil


• 5 big red ripe tomatoes, chopped


• 2 small onions, chopped


• 1 green pepper, chopped (optional)


• 4 or 5 garlic cloves, chopped


• 1 cup of button or Portobello mushrooms, chopped (optional)


• 1 Bay leaf


• Salt


• Touch of ground cumin


• Touch of dried oregano

Directions:

1. Put all the ingredients together in a frying pan and sauté slowly until all vegetables are soft.


2. Taste and salt if necessary (maybe it’s not!)

Two allioli recipes were given..a traditional one and a modern one. I went modern! The taste was great..I flopped on texture. It never got thick so it was more of a sauce.

Allioli (Traditional recipe)

Cooking time: 20 min aprox.
Ingredients:

• 4 garlic cloves, peeled


• Pinch of salt


• Fresh lemon juice (some drops)


• Extra-virgin olive oil (Spanish preferred but not essential)

Directions:

1. Place the garlic in a mortar along with the salt.


2. Using a pestle, smash the garlic cloves to a smooth paste. (The salt stops the garlic from slipping at the bottom of the mortar as you pound it down.)


3. Add the lemon juice to the garlic.


4. Drop by drop; pour the olive oil into the mortar slowly as you continue to crush the paste with your pestle.


5. Keep turning your pestle in a slow, continuous circular motion in the mortar. The drip needs to be slow and steady. Make sure the paste soaks up the olive oil as you go.


6. Keep adding the oil, drop by drop, until you have the consistency of a very thick mayonnaise. If your allioli gets too dense, add water to thin it out. This takes time—around 20 minutes of slow motion around the mortar—to create a dense, rich sauce.
   

Allioli a la moderna (Modern recipe)
Cooking time: 3-4 minutes
Ingredients:

• 1 small egg


• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil (as above, Spanish oil is highly recommended)


• 1 garlic clove, peeled


• 1 Tbs. Spanish Sherry vinegar or lemon juice (if Sherry vinegar is not available, use can use cider or white vinegar)


• Salt to taste
  

Directions:

1. Break the egg into a mixing bowl.


2. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the garlic cloves, along with the vinegar or lemon juice.


3. Using a hand blender, start mixing at high speed until the garlic is fully pureed into a loose paste.


4. Little by little, add what's left of the olive oil as you continue blending.


5. If the mixture appears too thick as you begin pouring the oil, add 1 teaspoon of water to loosen the sauce.


6. Continue adding the oil and blending until you have a rich, creamy allioli.


7. The sauce will be a lovely yellow color.


8. Add salt to taste.

It turned out pretty good. Different than paella, but the saffron definitely gave it that Spanish taste.


I ended up just putting the garlic "sauce" on top. We ate it outside on the patio and I polished off my glass of wine with the meal.



I have a feeling leftovers will be even better! This was lots of fun and a great choice for a challenge! If you're feeling Daring give it a try.

Daring Baker's Challenge ~ Bakewell Tart

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

Now this is one dessert I knew nothing about! But I have to be honest...I've never met a dessert that I didn't like, so I wasn't scared. The ingredients were the kind that you can't really go wrong with...pastry crust, almonds, jam, what's not to like?

Since you may know as little as I do about this traditional British dish, here is a little history provided by Jasmine and Annemarie.

This tart, like many of the world's great foods has its own mythic beginnings…or several mythic beginnings. Legend has it in 1820 (or was it in the 1860s?) Mrs. Greaves, landlady of The White Horse Inn in Bakewell, Derbyshire (England), asked her cook to produce a pudding for her guests. Either her instructions could have been clearer or he should have paid better attention to what she said because what he made was not what she asked for. The cook spread the jam on top of the frangipane mixture rather than the other way around. Or maybe instead of a sweet rich shortcrust pastry case to hold the jam for a strawberry tart, he made a regular pastry and mixed the eggs and sugar separately and poured that over the jam—it depends upon which legend you follow. Regardless of what the venerable Mrs. Greaves’ cook did or didn’t do, lore has it that her guests loved it and an ensuing pastry-clad industry was born. The town of Bakewell has since played host to many a sweet tooth in hopes of tasting the tart in its natural setting.

And here is the recipe

Bakewell Tart

Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour (Suzy's note: I hope this means all purpose flour because that's whatI used)
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds

Assembling the tart
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes.

Here is mine ready to go. I used some strawberry freezer jam that I made this week.

Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

Here's mine...a little too dark?

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Jasmine’s notes:
• If you cannot have nuts, you can try substituting Victoria sponge for the frangipane. It's a pretty popular popular cake, so you shouldn't have any troubles finding one in one of your cookbooks or through a Google search. That said, our dear Natalie at Gluten a Go Go has sourced some recipes and linked to them in the related alt.db thread.
• You can use whichever jam you wish, but if you choose something with a lot of seeds, such as raspberry or blackberry, you should sieve them out.
• The jam quantity can be anywhere from 60ml (1/4 cup) to 250ml (1cup), depending upon how “damp” and strongly flavoured your preserves are. I made it with the lesser quantity of home made strawberry jam, while Annemarie made it with the greater quantity of cherry jam; we both had fabulous results. If in doubt, just split the difference and spread 150ml (2/3cup) on the crust.
Annemarie’s notes:
• The excess shortcrust can be rolled out and cut into cookie-shapes (heck, it’s pretty darned close to a shortbread dough).

Sweet shortcrust pastry

Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Jasmine’s notes:
• I make this using vanilla salt and vanilla sugar.
• If you wish, you can substitute the seeds of one vanilla bean, one teaspoon of vanilla paste or one teaspoon of vanilla extract for the almond extract

Frangipane

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

Annemarie’s notes:
• Add another five minutes or more if you're grinding your own almonds or if you're mixing by hand (Heaven help you).

It was very tasty and "homey". I liked that the frangipane wasn't too overwhelmingly almondy like the almond paste you buy in the store. A dollop of whipped cream was perfect on top. Randy isn't a sweets lover but he even he said it was good. Hopefully he will help me eat it! I should have halved the recipe.

It was a fun challenge and I'm looking forward to what next month has in store!!

Daring Cooks Challenge ~Chinese Dumplings

Jen from use real butter chose Chinese Dumplings for the 2nd Daring Cooks Challenge. I had made them before, but had used wonton wrappers. The key to this challenge was to make the dough for the dumplings so that was definitely something new to me. It always amazes me how many different things you can make out of flour and water! I have to say that although I am glad I tried...I would just as soon use the wonton wrappers! It's quite a bit of trouble and not a huge difference in taste. Now I'm sure someone's grandmother from the old country could do a WAY better job!




Remember not to put too much filling!



I chose to use my rice cooker to steam (mainly because I was lazy!). Lesson learned...don't cram too many in or they stick together! I was afraid the purple cabbage would turn my dumplings purple but the staining was minimal.



They were pretty tasty though dipped in the sauce!

Chinese Dumplings/Potstickers

My pork filling:
1 lb (450g) ground pork
Shredded purple cabbage about a cup
Shredde carrots about a cup
Small bunch mixed garlic and regular chives, minced
1 small can mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup bamboo shoots, minced
2 Tblspoons grated fresh ginger
3 tbsp (40g) soy sauce
2 tbsp (28g) sesame oil
2 tbsp (16g) corn starch

Dough:
(double this for the amount of filling, but easier to make it in 2 batches - or just halve the filling recipe)
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (113g) warm water
flour for worksurface

Dipping sauce:
2 parts soy sauce
1 part vinegar (red wine or black)
a few drops of sesame oil
chili garlic paste (optional)
sugar (optional)

Combine all filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly (I mix by clean hand). Cover and refrigerate until ready to use (up to a day, but preferably within an hour or two).

Make the dough, Method 1: Place the flour in the work bowl of a food processor with the dough blade. Run the processor and pour the warm water in until incorporated. Pour the contents into a sturdy bowl or onto a work surface and knead until uniform and smooth. The dough should be firm and silky to the touch and not sticky.[Note: it’s better to have a moist dough and have to incorporate more flour than to have a dry and pilling dough and have to incorporate more water).

Make the dough, Method 2 (my mom’s instructions): In a large bowl mix flour with 1/4 cup of water and stir until water is absorbed. Continue adding water one teaspoon at a time and mixing thoroughly until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. We want a firm dough that is barely sticky to the touch. (I chose method 2)

Both dough methods: Knead the dough about twenty strokes then cover with a damp towel for 15 minutes. Take the dough and form a flattened dome. Cut into strips about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Shape the strips into rounded long cylinders. On a floured surface, cut the strips into 3/4 inch pieces. Press palm down on each piece to form a flat circle (you can shape the corners in with your fingers). With a rolling pin, roll out a circular wrapper from each flat disc. Take care not to roll out too thin or the dumplings will break during cooking - about 1/16th inch. Leave the centers slightly thicker than the edges. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper and fold the dough in half, pleating the edges along one side. Keep all unused dough under damp cloth.

To boil: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add dumplings to pot. Boil the dumplings until they float.

To steam: Place dumplings on a single layer of napa cabbage leaves or on a well-greased surface in a steamer basket with lid. Steam covered for about 6 minutes.