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It’s official… I just can’t get enough candy-making these days! I loved those Strawberry-Rhubarb Pâte de Fruit so much that I decided to try another flava and recipe – this time… lemon!
In my research I’ve found that there are approximately 4,000 different ways to make pâte de fruit; with or without pectin, with applesauce, with citric acid and/or glucose additives. Since I’m not quite willing to go scouting around pro shops for acids and whatnots, I decided to go with what’s already in my cupboard – good old fashioned smooth applesauce! This recipe was way easier than the last one I tried, mostly due to the fact that you only have to bring the candy to one temperature and then keep it there for a bit, rather than bringing the temp up in stages. You also add a LOT more pectin and as a result, these babies had the perfect texture!
Enough chat… lets down to the business.
Started out with about 4 juicy lemons… Rolled them & juiced them until I got 2/3 cup juice.
It seems like it’s taken me forevs to finish up these dinner party posts; blame it on the holiday weekend and the absolutely gorgeous weather we’ve had the past few days! But finally, I’m going to get down to the final dish I served the other day, the decadent dessert, Whiskey Chocolate Pots de Creme.
There’s nothing all that complicated to this recipe – I’ve had it a million times and have made it a few times too. But this one was a little special because I got new ramekins just for the occasion, a set of vintagey-hued ceramic dealies that were in a clearance bin at Crate & Barrel. Woot woot!
I’ve been making all kinds of excuses for the past year or so, trying to justify why I hadn’t yet attempted that most tempestuous & persnickety of French confections, the macaron. First I wasn’t confident in my egg white whipping skillz. Then I didn’t have enough baking sheets. Then I didn’t know how to handle the pastry bag situation. But slowly, I overcame each of those minor obstacles and had to come to terms with the fact that I was just plain scurred!
See, I’ve been spoiled… I’ve had moderate success with most of the culinary experiments I’ve attempted in the past year (with the exception of those lavender-infused brigadeiros and that first S’mores Pie, but I totally redeemed myself the second time around). In short, I haven’t met with real failure in the kitchen yet. But, you never learn if you don’t try right?
So I got down to it the other night for my mini dinner party…
Started out by obsessively drawing 2-inch circles on my parchment-lined baking sheets to act as a guide.
Okay, so I may have just made a pretty life-changing decision. I’m thinking about possibly going to pastry school. Like, this year.
I’ve been sitting around the past few days, trying to figure out what to do with my life because now’s a good a time as ever. I approached it the same way I decided my major… by posing the question, “what do I like to do”? In college, the answer was, “read”, thus I became an English major. Right now, the answer is staunchly, “bake”. Not necessarily breads (although, I’d love to learn), but beautiful things like cakes & tarts & candy (granted candy isn’t usually baked, but I’m including it anyway)! I think it would be a really wise investment (both financially and time/effort-wise) for me to actually learn the craft. So that’s what I’m thinking these days.
And in keeping with that thinking, I decided to try my hand at candy again. Armed with a new candy thermometer (my last one conked out mid-caramel, the bastard) and a pioneering spirit, I plunged headfirst into pâte de fruit, which is basically just a fancy French term for fruit jellies.
A few weeks ago I stumbled across a recipe for strawberry-rhubarb pâte de fruit, but I hesitated. Why, you ask? Because, as I’m sure I’ve mentioned once or twice, I am without food processor. This is a conscious decision, of course – I prefer to put a little work into my culinary experiments and not having this modern shortcut at my disposal forces me to use a little ingenuity and keeps me on my toes. So I did a little research and came up with a suitable substitute for the Cuisinart!
There was nothing stopping me…
Started out by preparing the fruit… Cleaned about half a pound of fresh strawberries by swishing them around in a bowl of cool water and then hulled each one with a paring knife.
For absolutely no reason other than I’m slightly insane, I decided to make a soufflé last night. Well that’s not entirely true.
During a phone call with my 14 year old sister, Ari, she lovingly (ha!) informed me that I am the “wholesomest” person she knows.
…
GAH! I thought/yelled. How could this be?! Where has my edge gone?! I used to be introduced as “outrageous” and now, kids call me wholesome. I was flabbergasted, so what did I do? Make a soufflé. But not just any soufflé, an edgy soufflé. With a bad attitude. Because that’s just how I roll. Perhaps this is a stretch, but I’m sticking with this assessment of the baked good that I pulled out of my oven last night.
This was my maiden soufflé voyage and I think I’m hooked. I’d heard all kinds of horror stories about soufflés not rising (thus becoming, “baked pudding”) or being dense or gritty or otherwise completely unappetizing. But I’ve also heard that the mystique surrounding this airy confection is not entirely warranted; just follow the instructions, treat your egg whites with respect and for God’s sake, don’t peek into the oven during the puffing process. If you follow the rules, it’ll totally work!
I kept it simple and made Julia Child’s Vanilla Soufflé – she’s amazing. Had I not taken piccies of every little thing, I probably could’ve gotten my soufflé from the first separated egg to plate in 45 minutes! Can’t wait to try another flavor – I’m thinking chocolate!
But until then, please enjoy this, my very first soufflé.
Started out with by buttering the entire inside of my brand spanking new Crate&Barrel, $8.99 souffle dish and then coating it with sugar…
A few weeks ago, I purchased a verifiable buttload of culinary lavender. My eyes shone and my heart swelled with the hope of delicious gourmet treats. Unfortunately, my burgeoning skill in the kitchen was not entirely ready to take on lavender – I just couldn’t seem to get the balance right!
First I tried honey lavender salted caramels. In a word: disaster. I was overzealous during the lavender infusion process and the lavender milk ended up tasting like soap. And then, my stupid candy thermometer broke mid-caramel so I ended up with something more closely resembling a cross between brittle and glass.
But I pushed ever forward and decided to give lavender infusions another shot, this time with chocolate brigadeiros. I’d had such success with coconut milk brigadeiros in the past, I thought, “what’s the worst that can happen?” Well, I learned from my past mistake and created a much subtler infusion, but the end result was still gross.
At that point, I was beginning to think that maybe I just don’t like lavender all that much. Until last night! Finally, I made something delicious with lavender! Granted, the lavender is more of an accent than the main event, but that’s something! Behold, my gateau au citron with lavender cream!
I didn’t do much this Cinco de Mayo… paid rent, watched a little Buffy and cooked a little something up with limes. Lime Meltaways, actually.
I’d had meltaways before, but never attempted to make them before. Boy howdy are these things easy peasy! Just mix up a couple o’ items, shape ‘em, bake ‘em and dust ‘em with sugar. Woot woot! Stumbled across this recipe via a tremendous cookie blog, written by a lil’ lady who’s baking her way through Martha Stewart’s Cookies cookbook.
Started out by zesting 2 limes…
While the Jell-O mold was a big crowd-pleaser for its sheer mid-century insanity, it was another dish that got my chiffon all in a tizzy. Cream Puffs, my dear friend… cream puffs! Is there any dessert more perfect? A flaky, tender puffball filled with glorious flavored creams. So light, so airy, so magical.
I had never attempted such a feat – I always thought that cream puffs (and puff pastry or pâte à choux, in general) was out of my league! Every puffy dessert I’ve ever had has been seriously impressive and I always imagined a seasoned pâtissier in a tall white pastry hat slaving away in a hot industrial kitchen, doing magical things with pastry bags and other specialized gadgetry. Good lord, was I mistaken!
I used Julia Child’s recipe because I trust her and the instructions are always really clear and precise. When I’m learning a new recipe, I rely heavily on accurate measurements and strong descriptions (or better yet, photos) of the process – that way I’ll know if I’m really fucking something up or if I’m on track. Ms. Child totally understood this concept and hasn’t steered me wrong yet!
Cream puffs are actually a pretty manageable task! There are about 4,752 steps (and thus, about that many photographs in this post), but none of the steps are all that hard. Seriously, without stopping to photograph every little move during this recipe, you could probably bang it out in about half an hour!
And now… cream puffs!
First I made the pâte à choux by starting out with the backbone of just about every Julia Child recipe – butter. About 6 tbsp, to be precise.
As I mentioned, my pals threw a 50s/Eames party last weekend and asked me to make a few delectable retro desserts. I totally jumped at the chance and set to researching what people ate at these cocktail parties of yore. I could only think of savories – canapes, pigs-in-a-blanket, anything with liquor. I pored over vintage cookbook sites, asked my parents, but I just couldn’t think of anything of that era that would be both delicious and interesting to make. And then it hit me… Jell-O! And not just any Jell-O, but a Jell-O mold!
I had never made a Jell-O mold before, partly because why would I and partly because I don’t actually like Jell-O… I have textural issues with it. So I did a little internet sleuthing and came upon this ingenious site done by an ingenious Brooklyn gal with a real talent for whipping up supercool Jell-O mold concoctions. And that’s when I saw it. The most perfect Jell-O recipe I’d ever encountered… Champagne w/ Strawberries Jell-O!!!
Yes, you read that correctly, champers! My old friend who’s gotten me through both hard times and celebratory times. I couldn’t wait to begin…
I started out with 2 packets of Knox Gelatine (which has proved to be a marvelous stock item in my pantry)…
I love s’mores. Who doesn’t, really? But I do not like camping, so the opportunities to indulge in said chocolatey, mashmallowy treats shrinks significantly. Until now that is! Through my digital stalking of a number of prominent food bloggers, I came across a recipe that is so inherently perfect, so attainable, I was ashamed that I hadn’t thought of it before… s’mores pie!
…
S’MORES PIE, FOR PETE’S SAKE!
Yes, I was mildly excited, so I decided to give it a shot as a welcome-to-SF treat for my little brother when he visited last month. I had the chocolate and the sugar and the candy thermometer. Everything was going well until I went renegade and made a crumbly almond meal crust and put it all into my tart pan. Oh, lord. My proportions were a little wrong, but I wasn’t going to let that deter me. I steamed right ahead, working diligently until it came time for the marshmallows… I used the raw natural cane sugar I keep in the house, which, while delicious, will not yield pure white marshmallows – so I ended up with a beigey syrupy mess! And I neglected to consider one minor detail… I had no hand mixer and marshmallows are practically impossible to make by hand! I gave it a valiant effort, but ended up with a very weird situation. It was tasty enough, but I wasn’t satisfied so I vowed to give it a second go!
Flash forward a couple weeks to when my ego had mended, I had received a hand mixer as a wildly thoughtful gift from an old NYC friend, and my talented SF pal invited us over for a mini dinner party of slow-cooked brisket and greens. A-ha, I thought, what a perfect opportunity to try that damned s’mores pie again! And this time, I was going to do it right.
Started out with a handful of graham crackers…
