Adventures in cooking, baking, and freezing

This weekend I decided to make bread again, and then my roommate and I made a somewhat last minute decision to make cookies. A lot of cookies.

Bread recipe from the Food Network

Cookies were my favorite chocolate crasin oatmeal!

For more recipes click here:

Petit fours

This was the Daring Bakers’ August challenge. I really don’t have much commentary this month, heh, mostly because I didn’t really care for the finished product. The ice cream tasted fine, but the pound cake was kind of icky. It had SO much butter in it that my hands were greasy whenever I handled the cake and I just couldn’t get past that. My neighbours liked it though, so I guess that was what mattered?

Not all who wander are lost

This summer I am studying at Cambridge university, Selwyn college, at an International Summer School. I’ve made dozens of new friends, and done a lot of traveling. Here are some of the highlights so far- photos from Paris, London, Cambridge, and Edinburgh.

Asian Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing

There is something about light rice noodles in peanut sauce with a bit of shrimp that screams summer to me. I don’t know why that is. So luckily, just as the weather got warm, it was announced that this month’s Daring Cooks’ challenge would be just that – Asian noodle salad with peanut dressing.

We were required to make our own nut butter, but I don’t own a food processor so I used store-bought organic peanut butter.

Source: noodle salad from Thai Noodles with Peanut Sauce from Cooking Light, October 2002 and sauce from “Chinese Peanut Dressing” recipe (p. 22) in Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds

Peanut Dressing:

• 1⁄2 inch (1 cm) slice of fresh ginger, chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, more or less to taste, chopped
• 1⁄2 cup (120 ml) peanut butter
• 1⁄4 cup (60 ml) soy sauce
• 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) sugar
• 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) toasted sesame oil
• 1⁄4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon (75 ml) water
• Hot sauce to taste (optional)

Noodle Salad:

• 1/2 pound (225 g) linguine or thin rice noodles
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
• 1/2 pound (225 g) small or medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 large red bell pepper, cored and seeded, cut into thin strips
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, sliced
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) sliced green onions
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) chopped peanut (optional garnish)
• Lime wedges (optional)

Directions:
1. Make peanut butter: Grind peanuts in food processor for about 2 minutes until smooth. (*Or start with 1⁄2 cup (120 ml) prepared peanut butter.)
2. Prepare peanut dressing: Combine ginger, garlic, peanut butter, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, and water in food processor or blender. Process/blend until smooth. Be sure to process long enough to puree the ginger and garlic. The dressing should be pourable, about the same thickness as cream. Adjust consistency – thinner or thicker — to your liking by adding more water or peanut butter. Taste and add your favorite hot sauce if desired. (If the peanut butter was unsalted, you may want to add salt to taste.) Makes about 1 1⁄2 cups (360 ml) dressing. Store any leftover dressing in the refrigerator.
3. Prepare noodles according to package instructions in salted water. Rinse and drain noodles. Set aside.
4. Heat oil in large non-stick pan over medium heat. Add shrimp to the pan and sauté for about 3 to 4 minutes or until opaque throughout. Alternately, cook shrimp in boiling water for about 2 to 3 minutes or until done.
5. Slice basil into thin ribbons. Combine noodles, bell pepper, cucumber, onions, and basil in a large bowl. Add about 1⁄2 cup (120 ml) cashew dressing; toss gently to coat. Add more peanut dressing as desired, using as much or as little as you’d like. Scatter shrimp on top. Squeeze fresh lime juice over salad or serve with lime wedges. Sprinkle with chopped peanut if desired.

Chocolate Pavlova with Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse

Ah, pavlova. About 80% of my family is in Australia & New Zealand, and they’re always fighting over which of their respective countries invented proper pavlova, with whipped cream and fruit on top. Chocolate pavlova is ridiculously decadent and yummy – kind of like a dark chocolate brownie. Which is basically what mine turned out to be.

I had a very good experience baking this, actually. I changed a couple of things in the pavlova recipe because the recipe actually wanted me to make a meringue, but pavlova is not dry and crispy – it is crispy on the outside with a soft marshmallowy inside. Baking the pavlova for 3 hours would have made it crispy everywhere. My creme anglaise turned out perfectly, as did the mascarpone cream and mousse, not that those are particularly hard to make when you have a stand mixer by your side, heh.

All recipes from Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard.

Recipe 1: Chocolate Meringue (for the chocolate Pavlova):

3 large egg whites
½ cup plus 1 tbsp (110 grams) white granulated sugar
¼ cup (30 grams) confectioner’s (icing) sugar
1/3 cup (30 grams) cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 200º F (95º C) degrees. Line two baking sheets with silpat or parchment and set aside.
2. Put the egg whites in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar about 1 tbsp at a time until stiff peaks form. (The whites should be firm but moist.)
3. Sift the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder over the egg whites and fold the dry ingredients into the white. (This looks like it will not happen. Fold gently and it will eventually come together.)
4. Fill a pastry bag with the meringue. Pipe the meringue into whatever shapes you desire. Alternatively, you could just free form your shapes and level them a bit with the back of a spoon. (Class made rounds, hearts, diamonds and an attempt at a clover was made!)
5. Bake for 2-3 hours until the meringues become dry and crisp. Cool and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Recipe 2: Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse (for the top of the Pavlova base):

1 ½ cups (355 mls) heavy cream (cream with a milk fat content of between 36 and 40 percent)
grated zest of 1 average sized lemon
9 ounces (255 grams) 72% chocolate, chopped
1 2/3 cups (390 mls) mascarpone (don’t forget we made this a few months ago – get the printable .pdf HERE)
pinch of nutmeg
2 tbsp (30 mls) Grand Marnier (or orange juice)

Directions:

1. Put ½ cup (120 mls) of the heavy cream and the lemon zest in a saucepan over medium high heat. Once warm, add the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let sit at room temperature until cool.
2. Place the mascarpone, the remaining cup of cream and nutmeg in a bowl. Whip on low for a minute until the mascarpone is loose. Add the Grand Marnier and whip on medium speed until it holds soft peaks. (DO NOT OVERBEAT AS THE MASCARPONE WILL BREAK.)
3. Mix about ¼ of the mascarpone mixture into the chocolate to lighten. Fold in the remaining mascarpone until well incorporated. Fill a pastry bag with the mousse. Again, you could just free form mousse on top of the pavlova.

Recipe 3: Mascarpone Cream (for drizzling):

1 recipe crème anglaise
½ cup (120 mls) mascarpone
2 tbsp (30 mls) Sambucca (optional)
½ cup (120 mls) heavy cream

Directions:

1. Prepare the crème anglaise. Slowly whisk in the mascarpone and the Sambucca and let the mixture cool. Put the cream in a bowl and beat with electric mixer until very soft peaks are formed. Fold the cream into the mascarpone mixture.

Recipe 4: Crème Anglaise (a component of the Mascarpone Cream above):

1 cup (235 mls) whole milk
1 cup (235 mls) heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks
6 tbsp (75 grams) sugar

Directions:

1. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns pale yellow.
2. Combine the milk, cream and vanilla in a saucepan over medium high heat, bringing the mixture to a boil. Take off the heat.
3. Pour about ½ cup of the hot liquid into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to keep from making scrambled eggs. Pour the yolk mixture into the pan with the remaining cream mixture and put the heat back on medium. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens enough to lightly coat the back of a wooden spoon. DO NOT OVERCOOK.
4. Remove the mixture from the heat and strain it through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until the mixture is thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours or overnight.

Assembly:
Pipe the mousse onto the pavlovas and drizzle with the mascarpone cream over the top. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and fresh fruit if desired.

Peasant Bread!

At long last, I have found a really delicious homemade bread recipe!

No-knead Peasant Bread (source: Food Network Magazine)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• all-purpose flour for dusting

Directions:

1. Combine the bread flour, whole-wheat flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water and mix with your hands or a spoon until the dough comes together (it will be wet and sticky). Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap. If you have extra time, refrigerate 12 to 24 hours to improve the flavor of the bread (I highly recommend this!)
2. Let dough rise, covered, at room temperature for about 18 hours; this rise is necessary whether you refrigerate the dough first or not. The surface will be bubbly after rising.
3. Generously dust a work surface with all-purpose flour. Turn the dough out onto the flour, then sprinkle flour on top. Fold the top and bottom into the center, then fold in the sides to make a square-ish shape. Turn the dough over, then tuck the corners under to form a ball.
4. Line a bake sheet with parchment paper and generously dust with flour. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet, seam-side down, and sprinkle with more flour. Cover with a cotton kitchen towel and let rise at room temberature until doubled in size, 2 to 3 hours.
5. Position a rack in the bottom of the oven and place a 2- or 4-quart cast iron or enameled Dutch oven (without lid, but must have a lid) on the rack. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees for at least 30 minutes. Then transfer the hot pot to a heatproof surface, uncover dough, and invert into the pot (shake to center the dough if necessary). Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake until brown and crusty, 15 to 30 minutes more. Turn out onto a rack to cool.

This bread takes forever to make, but is worth the wait! It tastes like expensive artisan breads from a bakery. Next time I make this I’ll have to add something fun like rosemary!

The best way to eat this (or any good bread) in my opinion is to toast it, rub a clove of fresh garlic on it, spread with your favorite cheese, and top with basil and homegrown tomato. Yum!

Pâté & Bread!

This month’s Daring Cook’s challenge was pâté and bread, specifically a pâté that could be unmolded (as opposed to olives chopped up in a blender and spread on toast) and some kind of bread to serve it on. We made Tricolor vegetable pâté and a French Baguette.

Tricolor vegetable pâté (source: Bon Appétit Oct 1993 on Epicurious)
(Yields one 25 by 12,5 cm (10 by 5 inch) terrine or loaf pan)

Line your pan with plastic wrap, overlapping sides.

White Bean Layer

• 2 x 15-ounce / 900 ml cans cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained thoroughly
• 1 tbsp / 15 ml fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp / 15 ml olive oil
• 1 tbsp / 15 ml minced fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed

Mash beans in large bowl. Add lemon juice, olive oil, oregano and garlic and blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread bean mixture evenly on bottom of prepared pan.

Red Pepper Layer

• 7-ounce / 210 ml jar roasted red bell peppers, drained, chopped
• 3/4 cup / 180 ml crumbled feta cheese (about 4 ounces)

Combine peppers and feta in processor and blend until smooth. Spread pepper mixture evenly over bean layer in prepared dish.

Pesto Layer

• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 cup / 240 ml fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup / 240 ml fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 1/4 cup / 60 ml toasted pine nuts
• 3 tbsp / 45 ml olive oil 1/2 cup / 120 ml low-fat ricotta cheese

Mince garlic in processor. Add basil, parsley and pine nuts and mince. With machine running, gradually add oil through feed tube and process until smooth. Mix in ricotta. Spread pesto evenly over red pepper layer.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
To unmold, invert pâté onto serving platter. Peel off plastic wrap from pâté. Garnish with herb sprigs and serve with sourdough bread slices.

The Daring Cooks advised refrigerating as long as possible (at least 8 hours) and freezing for 30 minutes or so before unmolding. We tried that, and still ended up with a rather sad and kind of slumped pâté. In my opinion, since there is no gelatin, egg, or other substance to “set,” it would never make for a very stable centerpiece. It was tasty, especially the pesto and red pepper layers, but unless semi-frozen, wouldn’t stand up well on its own.

French Baguette (source: King Arthur Flour)

Starter

• 1/2 cup / 120 ml cool water
• 1/16 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 cup / 240 ml flour

Dough

• 1 tsp / 5 ml active dry yeast
• 1 cup to 1 1/4 cups / 240 ml to 300 ml lukewarm water*
• all of the starter
• 3 1/2 cups / 840 ml flour
• 1 1/2 tsp / 7 ml salt

*Use the lesser amount in summer (or in a humid environment), the greater amount in winter (or in a dry climate), and somewhere in between the rest of the year, or if your house is climate controlled.

Directions:

Make the starter by mixing the yeast with the water, then mixing in the flour to make a soft dough. Cover and let rest at room temperature for about 14 hours; overnight works well. The starter should have risen and become bubbly.

Mix active dry yeast with the water and then combine with the starter, flour, and salt. Mix and knead everything together—by hand, mixer or bread machine set on the dough cycle—till you’ve made a soft, somewhat smooth dough; it should be cohesive, but the surface may still be a bit rough. Knead for about 5 minutes on speed 2 of a stand mixer.

Place the dough in a lightly greased medium-size bowl, cover the bowl, and let the dough rise for 3 hours, gently deflating it and turning it over after 1 hour, and then again after 2 hours.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface. Divide it into three equal pieces. Shape each piece into a rough, slightly flattened oval, cover with greased plastic wrap, and let them rest for 15 minutes.
Working with one piece of dough at a time, fold the dough in half lengthwise, and seal the edges with the heel of your hand. Flatten it slightly, and fold and seal again. With the seam-side down, cup your fingers and gently roll the dough into a 15″ log. Place the logs seam-side down onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined sheet pan or pans.
Cover them with a cover or lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the loaves to rise till they’ve become very puffy, about 1 1/2 hours. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 450ºF (240ºC).
Using a very sharp knife held at about a 45° angle, make three 8″ vertical slashes in each baguette. Spritz the baguettes heavily with warm water; this will help them develop a crackly-crisp crust.
Bake the baguettes until they’re a very deep golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack. Or, for the very crispiest baguettes, turn off the oven, crack it open about 2″, and allow the baguettes to cool in the oven.

Having made several different kinds of bread, I have to say that this makes for a very flavorless bread. I think it needs either more salt, or some additional ingredient, like oil, butter, or milk, to make it taste like something other than flour. That said, it also had the best texture of any bread I’ve made, probably due to all that rising time (be forewarned, it takes about 20 hours from the time you start the starter until you have bread). It stays together, rather than turning to crumbs like many homemade breads.

More Flowers!

Hello summer!

Lemon Pie

My stepmom recently brought home some enormous lemons (more than 1/2 cup of juice in some of them!) so I made lemon meringue pie. Except I’m not really fond of meringue, so I just made lemon curd pie, and we ate it with whipped cream. Yum!

Pastry Shell (source: Mastering The Art of French Cooking)

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 pinches sugar
• 1/4 lb cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 tbsp vegetable shortening, chilled
• 5 tbsp cold water

1. Mix try ingredients, butter, and shortening
2. Rub flour and fat together with fingertips until roughly the size of oatmeal flakes
3. Add cold water and form into a rough ball. Up to 1 tbsp more of cold water may be added, but don’t make the dough sticky.
4. Place on lightly floured pastry board and knead the dough with the heel of one hand to finish mixing
5. Roll into a ball, wrap in waxed paper, and chill either in the freezer for 1 hour or in the refrigerator for 2 hours up to overnight.
6. Roll out quickly and place in pie pan.
7. For fully baked shell, heat oven to 400 degrees and bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Prick holes with fork to prevent blistering.

Lemon Curd (source: Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook)

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 7 tbsp corn starch
• dash salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 3 beaten egg yolks
• 2 tbsp butter or margarine
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 1/2 cup lemon juice

1. Mix sugar, cornstarch, salt, and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and stir constantly until thick (about 5 minutes.) Remove from heat
2. Add some of hot mixture to egg yolks, stir, then return to pan
3. Return to heat, cook stirring continuously for 1 minute more
4. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest and butter
5. Slowly stir in lemon juice
6. Allow to cool

This recipe supposedly makes enough for one 9-inch pie crust, but our pie dish is more like 11-inches, so I had to make two batches of the lemon curd to fill it.

Once it was full, I baked it in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes to brown the crust and cook the egg yolk. If you make the meringue, cook 10-12 minutes at 350 to just brown the peaks of the meringue.

Whipped cream (source: me!)

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp confectioners sugar

1. Beat whipping cream until peaks form or to desired stiffness
2. Beat in vanilla and sugar
3. Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cupcakes (source: me!)

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 small tube red food colouring gel (like the kind you get in the packs of four at the supermarket)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. (about 5 minutes on medium in a stand mixer)
3. Add eggs one at a time and beat until each is incorporated.
4. Add vanilla extract.
5. Sift flour, salt and cocoa powder together into a bowl.
6. Add about 1/3rd of the sifted ingredients. Beat until incorporated, but DO NOT overbeat.
7. Add 1/3rd of buttermilk. Beat until incorporated.
8. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until all flour and buttermilk are mixed in the batter.
9. Beat in food colouring until the batter takes on desired shade of red.
10. In a small bowl, stir together baking soda and vinegar.
11. Fold baking soda vinegar mixture into batter.
12. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins, lined with paper cups.
13. Bake for 20-30 min, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting (Source: The LA Times)

• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter, cubed
• 1 pound cream cheese, cubed
• 5 cups (1 pound, 4 ounces) powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
• Prepared cake

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand-held mixer, cream the butter until light and smooth, 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Add the cream cheese and continue mixing until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl often to make sure the contents are completely combined.
3. Mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla if using. Add the sugar in three stages, mixing and scraping the sides of the bowl with each addition until the frosting is smooth.
4. Frost the cake then chill slightly to allow the frosting to thicken before serving.