It has been eye opening to see what a toddler can do in the kitchen without preconceived notions as to what may or may not be challenging. It has definitely been a wake up call for me as a parent to not pre-judge my child’s intellectual capabilities or interests.

For example, Layla takes pâte brisée and rolls it out and flips it about like a pro and for this pasta recipe, I thought for sure it would be too difficult, but she got right up on her chair and helped make the dough by hand and then guide our finished product out from the pasta roller . And she had no problem helping me stuff our little half moons – or “pockets” as she calls them – pressing gently around the filling to release air bubbles. She punched the pasta out and then dusted it with a little flour to prevent sticking and neatly placed her pockets with no overlap on a plate. Honestly, I don’t know where she channeled this from. I’ve never made homemade pasta for her.

The only caveat to making great ravioli is that you do need a pasta roller of some sort. Thanks to my dear foodie friends Ivan and Nadine, I have a professional KitchenAid with every attachment known to mankind (best house warming gift ever!). I also have an old-school counter mounted hand crank type pasta roller, and this one is not easy to use because it doesn’t stay attached to the counter. My only warning to parents making this recipe with kids is: young children should not be allowed to work an electric pasta roller on their own because their little fingers could potentially get caught and crushed – ‘yes’ on catching the pasta from the bottom and ‘no’ on feeding it into the roller.

This recipe came about because I’m working on how to get orange foods past Layla’s pursed lips. Orange foods (sweet potato, carrots, pumpkin, squash, etc) are disgusting in her mind and they get shoved far across the plate and sometimes just thrown to our pup – who doesn’t like them either.

I am a true believer that it becomes easier to eat things you hate if you spend time cooking and preparing them in the kitchen. For me, my time cooking on the Meat Station at Guy Savoy in Paris helped me to get over my disdain for thymus glands, liver, and brains. I still won’t go out of my way to eat those things, but I’m not as grossed out as I used to be by offal. For Layla, that’s just orange veggies.

In order to face her orange fears, we roasted a whole butternut and then puréed it in the VitaPrep. We made nutty smelling brown butter and added it to our butternut purée base. She did try it. Twice. It didn’t totally pass muster but at least she tried it. We added half of our purée to a cupcake recipe topped with a salted caramel whipped cream frosting and she decided that maybe – just maybe – butternut was okay.

To the other half of the purée we added parmesan and ricotta and she tasted it and her response was: “Layla doesn’t like it” (she refers to herself in the third person still). But then she tried it again and there was no response so I could tell she was thinking about it. I was hopeful that her silence meant: “hmmm, maybe I like this”.

But no, the finished product was a no-go. Even with the seriously yummy maple Parmesan cream. She did eat the pasta around the ravioli. My husband and I wolfed the ravioli down and we ate her portion up too! This is a delicious recipe perfect for the cold weather and if you’re making it for some one special on Valentine’s Day, then they are going to love you forever (unless it’s for a two-year-old named Layla).

What’s the moral of the story you might ask? Well, here’s my Mommy take away: if you want your toddler to just eat something they aren’t sure about, sugar coat it in a cupcake. But if you want your Little One to gain appreciation and understanding of something they dislike, show them up close that their fears are unfounded by introducing them personally to the source – they will eventually come around. Oh, and making ravioli is easy, even a two year old can do it.

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After 16 years of writing about food, you’d think I could at least get some recipes out before the actual event, but no, I just get too busy! I did do things different this Christmas and I want to share my revelation even though it’s after the fact.

I finally created a feast I could make the day before the event so I could spend more time with family and friends instead of running around like a headless chicken cooking everything à la minute. This year I just pulled platters out of my fridge, plopped them on the buffet table and reheated the foods that needed to be hot. It was wonderful! Glorious in fact! Long live the buffet table! 

Normally for the holidays, I do these crazy elaborate meals with hot and cold appetizers, a multiple coursed dinner and elaborate desserts for a crowd – anywhere from 15 to 30 people. I tent my backyard and decorate to the max and honestly, it’s just exhausting to prepare. The end result is always beautiful but it takes a physical and emotional toll on the whole family. By the time the actual celebration arrives, we can’t enjoy it because we’re tired. Maybe when we’re out of the toddler era and sleeping normally we’ll enjoy setting up that kind of party again.

Since I’m very pregnant and very uncomfortable and I also have a toddler running around, I decided to simplify things this year. And you know what? I think this was one of my best holiday menus yet! I did zero actual cooking on Christmas day which left a lot more time to enjoy our yearly White Elephant party and lounge around. And I thought the food looked and tasted beautiful.

The Holiday menu:

Deluxe Bloody Mary Bar

Roasted Whole Salmon with Niçoise Salad garnish

Pistachio Cardamom Poundcake with Winter Citrus Orange Blossom Salad

4-inch Quiche Lorraine

Clam Chowder Cups with Dill & Thyme

Rosemary and Garlic Roast Beef French Dip Sandwiches with Au Jus

Bedazzled Pistachio frangipane & Chocolate Tart with Soft Whipped Cream.

I hope to follow up with the recipes over the next few weeks. Wishing everyone a wonderful 2019 full of LOVE!

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Nopales and Delicata Squash Quiche

This quiche is completely a Pie Ranch creation: from the flour grown & milled on-site, to the foraged nopales (edible beaver tail cactus), to the eggs, to the milk, to the last of the winter squash – it’s a great feeling to be able make a meal from food that fresh.

For the most part I have cut out gluten from my diet. However, I don’t seem to have the same sensitivities with flour from Pie Ranch. The variety of wheat they grow, called Expresso,  is a hard red Spring wheat that is low in gluten and as high as 13% protein. For pies and tarts it is fantastic and yields very flaky pastry crust with a toasty nutty flavor that can’t be beat .

Nopales & Delicata Quiche with Pie Ranch everything!

Nopalitos (chopped nopales) pairs great with eggs because it has a slightly sour taste (remnicient of a canned green bean – yes, I know that sounds terrible, but you gotta trust me on this one). Delicata squash are butternut sweet, but much easier to handle. Just slice them crosswise into rings; don’t worry about peeling, or perfectly cubing, or any of that annoying stuff. .

This is one of my favorite squashes because it’s so pretty as a topping. I often use it on pizzas (no need to cook ahead), in quiches, roasted for salads & sides, or cut lenthwise, roasted and filled with brown butter. The seeds are great too! If you are roasting Delicata as a side dish leave the seeds in the slices for some extra crunchy pepitas!

Thomas Keller has cornered the market on quiche custard filling. I don’t stray too much from his proportions. Of course, when I use fresh Pie Ranch whole milk with a cream float,  it’s often hard to tell exactly what the fat ratio is and I use farm eggs that vary in size and weight but, my quiches always seem to turn out gorgeous. There’s a lot of forgiveness in this recipe.  I love to sauté up whatever is seasonal and scatter it around the bottom of the crust before adding my milk-cream-egg mixture. Don’t be afraid to experiment! If Gruyère cheese is not available, use whatever is! Sometimes I like to use a combo of soft and hard cheese.

More recipes on Quiche, Edible Cactus, and Delicata Squash:

Heirloom Carrot & Nopales Green Salad

Prickly Pear Margaritas

Roast Pork Loin with Fresh Bay Leaf & Prickly Pear Glaze

Mini Quiches in Eggshell Cups

Pie Ranch Quiche & Kids

Delicata Squash Flammekeuche

Delicata Squash with Nogada (walnut) sauce

Nettle Pesto Pizza with Delicata Squash

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That’s fantastic to hear how much everyone enjoyed the cornmeal soufflé! It sounds like a real hit for any gathering. I bet it paired perfectly with the farm-fresh ingredients you likely used. For those looking to try it at home, the recipe’s simplicity makes it a go-to for any occasion. Plus, with Gluten free articles increasingly highlighting the benefits of cornmeal in baking, it’s not just delicious but also a great choice for those with dietary restrictions. Whether served warm with a dollop of fresh butter or as a savory side to a hearty meal, this soufflé is sure to become a staple in your kitchen rotation.

Spoonbread! It’s a gluten free soufflé!

One of the most frustrating parts of being wheat-free is the amount of terrible things I end up digesting in my quest to satisfy that bread craving. The gluten-free all-purpose flours on the market are expensive and mostly composed of cornstarch which is not healthy and they don’t make me feel any better than the wheat counterpart and I’m sorry but they never taste anything like wheat flour baked goods.

Pie Ranch Corm Meal grown and milled on-site

However, for this recipe I used organic stone ground cornmeal (milled onsite) from Pie Ranch and the flavor and texture was awesome and I didn’t feel like napping directly afterwards which is normally how I get after eating complex carbs.  The high amount of eggs (protein) in this spoonbread balances out any crazy glycemic index spikes for me.

Chef Victoria testing Spoonbread recipe at Pie Ranch

I have some words of advice on preparation especially if you are serving this for a party: it will fall quickly just like a soufflé and there’s no Mornay sauce in this recipe to truly give it a base (like there would be in a traditional French soufflé). But, it wouldn’t be a spoonbread anyway if it didn’t collapse. I’ve added a little cream of tartar and baking powder to help with the rise of the heavy stone ground cornmeal but it will only extend the post-oven puff a little bit longer than normal and both can be left out if desired. Make sure dinner is ready to go or even plated so you can rush this to the table when guests are seated. And make extra. Your guests will have seconds and thirds – it’s just so darned light! I’ve octupled this recipe before so feel free to expand it as necessary.

I think spoonbread is great with just about anything, but being a Southern dish it seems to go best with regional fare (beans & greens, pulled pork, etc.). You could serve this with steak too as a substitute for Yorkshire pudding. And I certainly wouldn’t turn it down for breakfast with some nice glazed ham on the side and a drizzle of maple syrup. Heck Easter’s just around the corner – why not include spoonbread in your Easter feast? Whether you’ve got crown pork roast, ham, or lamb on the menu this will be a great light side dish or as part of an elegant brunch!

Spoonbread Soufflé

One more note: the middle will be pudding-like. That’s the way it’s supposed to be so don’t fuss over that. Leftovers can be reheated and drizzled with syrup and butter in the morning….but again, unless you make extra there won’t be any…don’t say I didn’t warn ya….

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Beef Empanadas made by Edible After School

We have tried out many recipes over the year some gluten -ree and some a combination of flour and masa. The masa recipes are harder to work with for turnovers (we do like to make tacos with it though) and not as flaky even when we use lard instead of butter. But they are much more flavorful and more traditional. A mixture of flour and masa can be used as well. The best mixed masa-flour empanada dough recipe we tested is Martha Stewart’s:  flour-masa dough. However, my students prefer the flour recipe (printed below) for its ease and super flakiness.

Game Day Beef Empanadas with Avocado Crema

We have yet to experiment with some of the new non-gluten all-purpose flour mixtures that are now on the market but I’ve heard lots of praise from King Arthur’s new mixture as well as Cup4Cup developed by Lena Kwok for Thomas Keller at the French Laundry.

Empanada dough is made using the same as technique as a shortcrust except there is vinegar and egg added to the wet ingredients.

First, cut in the fat with the flour, then add the wet ingredients (vinegar, water, egg) until the dough comes together, and lastly knead dough a few times until it is pliable. It’s important to beat the egg with the wet ingredients and mix them thoroughly together (don’t add the egg separately) before adding to dry ingredients or the dough doesn’t combine well and it changes the elasticity. You will find your dough streaked with tough dried out yolk if you don’t head my words!

If making to consume for a later date: freeze empanadas on parchment on a baking sheet making sure they’re not touching. Once completely frozen they can be stacked and stored in ziplock bags without the risk of the the meat pies crushing, touching, or smooshing each other.

Don’t worry about defrosting them, just place the frozen disks on a baking sheet and bake away!

Puente’s Edible After School has been written up in Edible Magazine and other local publications including theHalfmoon Bay Review. Our program has existed for two years through sponsors like the Packard Foundation and private donors but we are ever growing and expanding and looking for help to buy ingredients, pay for kitchen rental, and buy computers so that we can add technology to our class and create an online teen-run cooking program and manage an online store selling our jams, pickles, and grab n’ go market items. Would you consider a donation to our program to help us continue teaching practical Math & English, Nutrition, basic & intermediate cooking, food safety & handling, teamwork and leadership?

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Farm Fresh Eggs from Tunitas Creek Organic Eggs at Potrero Nuevo Farm

Once you have mastered the art of gently cracking the shell top with one of the devices pictured below without shattering the entire shell, then you can move on to the easy part which is the custard filling. A word of advice on using this instrument: crack gently then use the butt of a pairing knife to crack/puncture the top of the shell and peel down to the crack line. Then discard the white & yellow into a container to reserve for the custard.

Rösler, a German company, makes this device for cutting the top off of soft poached eggs but it works well for raw eggs too

Your egg shells should look like the photo below when you are done. You will break a lot when you are just beginning – don’t beat yourself up about it – just keep your eyes on the prize. Everyone comes up with their own technique for perfection. Place the egg shells back in the carton when they are cleaned. They will cook in the cartons so don’t jette them!

Tunitas Creek Organic Egg Shell Cups

Before making the custard it’s a good idea to sauté your shallot and bacon. You should see the size of the shallots growing here at Potrero Nuevo Farm. Holy Moly, I don’t know what they put in the soil (yes, it is an organic farm) but I have never in my life – not even in France – seen or tasted shallots quite like these. First off, they’re about as big as my whole entire hand. Secondly, they’re juicy when you cut into them. I don’t know if I’m crying tears of joy half the time or tears of onion fume inhalation. Either way, they are magnificent.

The bacon is also special. Suzie & Jay, co-farm manager’s, just processed the Berkshire pigs they’ve been raising for our events and for customers that bought shares, and we have some pretty serious bacon – O.M.G. do we have bacon! It’s not even funny how delicious it is. I can’t even cook it for events without eating half. It’s amazing there was even enough bacon for this recipe after I demolished most of it.

Fill your nicely cleaned eggs shells (remove that little lining inside if possible and give them a rinse in cold water) with bacon and shallot and Gruyère cheese. I know Gruyère is expensive but you only need a little bit and quiche Lorraine is not quiche Lorraine without it.

Quiche Lorraine in Egg Shell Cups

After the garnishes have been gently administered. The custard can be poured in over top. This part is really easy. Which is a good thing because – I’m not going to lie to you here– making the actual egg cups is a total nightmare (there’s another word for “nightmare” but I think my students are on to my blog so….)

Gently place the cartons into a large baking pan and fill it with boiling hot water just below the edge of the carton so the water comes up about 1/3rd the side of the egg shell. Cover tightly with tin foil and bake at 350˚F for about 15-20 minutes. When they are just set and have stopped jiggling all over, then they are done.

Garnish with caviar, micro greens, herbs – you name it – make ’em look pretty.

Quiche Lorraine Appetizer in Egg Shell Cups

Here’s another picture of this very same appetizer made with pancetta instead of bacon and topped with caviar:

Caviar topped Egg Custard Baked in Eggs Shells

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Broa, Portuguese Cornbread

Caldo verde, the traditional Portuguese potato &  shredded kale soup is popular around these parts. But the everyday Portuguese bread, Broa, is strangely M.I.A. so my students and I decided to recreate it for fun to go with our soup. We always use ingredients sourced from the surrounding farms and in this case we used the cornmeal from Pie Ranch which made the bread flavorful and added a little texture.

This is by far one of the most satisfying breads I’ve ever had. I can’t even begin to tell you how elated my students were to see their beautiful crusty loaves come out of the oven. And the inside was so soft and delicious. Truly a great addition to your homemade bread repetoire and a fantastic rustic pairing with hearty soups & stews or Caldo Verde.

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Ramin Hedayatpour Photography

I love stroganoff but, I do not love that greyish beef gravy it is often served with. As good as it tastes, the look is not appealing. If you add the crème fraîche or sour cream while reducing the sauce it will not change color but it will have that characteristic tang that makes stroganoff, stroganoff.

I serve homemade thick cut egg pasta with this dish called Pappardelle. Sometimes I toss the noodles in butter and add a twist of cracked blacked pepper. Or, in this case, I poured my favorite parmesan cream sauce with caraway seeds over top. Either way is delicious, it just depends how decadent you want to go.

Ramin Hedayatpour Photography

Creating shortribs rolled on the bone takes a little knife work. However, the extra attention to detail creates a beautiful presentation and a more succulent finished product.

Ask your butcher for a rack of beef shortribs of 3 to 4 bones. I have used racks of 3 bones before but 4 is easier to roll. Ask the butcher to cut the ribs across the rack of bones in 2-inch strips. This cut is similar to what is called “flanken” (often used in Korean BBQ) but larger.

Ramin Hedayaptour Photography

Figure on 3 to 4 servings per shortrib rack. One strip is going to be smaller because ribs tend to be fattier at one end. Even though shortribs are still considered a butcher cut, they are very expensive today even at wholesale prices which makes this dish, rolled on the bone, a special one. Each roll is about 1-pound before braising.

Remove the bones from each strip, clean the best looking one, trim excess fat from the strip and any silver skin, roll strip back around bone and tie with string. Sounds easy, but it will take a little practice to get the hang of it.

When tying the kitchen string around the roll start at the bottom, then tie the top, last secure the middle. And don’t tie too tight or your shortrib roll will have muffin top.

Ramin Hedayatpour Photography

Generously season the shortribs before searing with Kosher salt and black pepper. Add mirepoix and sauté until lightly caramelized. Add dry red wine, herbs, then beef stock bring to a boil and braise, braise, braise…

This is a great dish to entertain with because it can be made the day ahead – and it is much, much better if made the day before. I have yet to serve this dish at a restaurant or at home and not have all the dishes come back squeaky clean!

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Todd Parsons Photography

If you ask for Tarte Flambée Gratinée  in Alsace you will get an addition of Gruyère, or if you demand your pizza forestière you will receive added mushrooms. However, I think you will get nothing but strange looks if you ask for delicata squash slices…hmmm…would the translation be courgière?

Tunitas Creek Kitchen whipped up this Alsatian pizza to pair with wheat beer from Cypress Brewing Company at our recent dinner. We only made a few slight changes to the original recipe – we added delicata squash, rosemary, pancetta instead of lardon, pecorino, and a drizzle of malt extract – an ooey gooey malty sweet tasting syrup used in beer making.

Flammekueche, is said to have been created by bread bakers in Alsace to test the heat of their wood burning ovens. Legend has it, they would push the embers back and bake this pizza, then I presume enjoy a nice snack before getting down to business. The intense 700˚heat (or higher!) would torch the crust hence the term Flambé.

Even though this pizza can be cooked in a regular oven the wood fire smokes the cream sauce base and makes this simple pie incredibly more-ish. The malt syrup drizzle adds a hop-y caramel flavor that brings everything together. Brian (co-owner of Cypress brew with wife Lea) tells me he brushes pizza crust with the syrup, which would also be tasty. I opted for the drizzle because it has the consistency of honey and its troublesome to get off the spoon and off my fingers.

Our guests thought the pairing went great together. But when you’re drinking fresh cold beer that looks as good as this…

Cypress Brew Co. wheat Beer: Todd Parsons Photography

how can it not?

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The Trexlers are the proud farmers of the beautiful coastal Potrero Nuevo Farm and I’m their chef. Featuring locally brewed Cypress beer at our first farm-to-fork dinner, we decide that we really need pretzels. Pretzels go with beer: warm, soft, chewy, brown pretzels with crunchy salt – like the kind you can buy from a street-vendor!

Napa Cabbage Slaw with warm Pretzels: Todd Parsons Photography

In the middle of researching how exactly to make pretzels, my husband takes me to the French Laundry for my birthday. And guess what kind of bread they are serving? Pretzels! Man, what is going on here? Is there a transcendental pretzel wave that I am vibe-ing off of?

I ask the server if they are cooked in lye. Not sure he returns to ask the kitchen and then informs me: “Yes, they are cooked in lye – you’re the only one who has ever asked that question!”  I enjoy keeping servers on their toes, and he seems to enjoy refilling my empty bread plate with beautiful mini pretzels. No complaints here.

Todd Parsons photography

So what is lye and why are pretzels traditionally cooked in it? Let me quote Wikipedia because I think this is fascinating:

“Lye is a corosive alkaline substance, commonly sodium hydroxide, or historically potassium hydroxide. Previously, lye was among the many different alkalis leached from hardwood ashes. Today lye is commercially maufactured using a membrane cell method.

Solid dry lye is commonly available as flakes, pellets, microbeads, and coarse powser. It is also available as solution often dissolved in water. Lye is valued for its use in food preparation, soap making, biodiesel productions, household uses, such as oven cleaner and drain opener, and the clandestine production of the illicit psycho-stimulant drug methamphetamine.

Lye is used to cure many types of food, such as lutefisk, black olives, canned mandarin oranges, hominy, lye rolls, century eggs, and pretzels. It is also used as a tenderizer in the crust of baked Cantonese moon cakes and in lye-water “zongzi”. In the United States, food-grade lye must meet the requirements outlined in the Food Chemicals Codex. Lower grades of lye are commonly used as drain openers and oven cleaners.”

Huh, so lye is also used to open drains, clean ovens, and make crystal meth. Fascinating….

Pretzel dough is boiled in a lye solution before heading to the oven. That’s what seals them and makes ’em last oh-so-long. The lye also departs that characteristic slightly alkali flavor and deep brown crust. But I just don’t think lye sounds good. No. I think it sounds poisonous. What to do? In fact I’m not even sure that I want it in my soap bar either.

I research all sorts of recipes online and then turn to my very old edition of the Joy of Cooking. I often find great recipes in here like how to skin & cook squirrel or boil boar’s head to perfection. Not to mention great hostess advice like how to set up a champagne tower and pour the bubbly over just right so it cascades into every flute.

The old Joy of Cooking pretzel recipe makes the most sense in terms of ratios and it calls for baking soda otherwise known as Sodium Bicarbonate, instead of lye, which has a slightly salty and alkaline taste – a great replacement.

I find that adding baking soda to the water gives the taste and the look I’m hoping for. But note: adding baking soda to an aluminum pan will react with the metal and leach it out into the food.  (This is a bad thing, use a nonreactive pan or stainless steel.)

Kat, my friend and event planner extraordinaire, helps me to make hundreds of twists for the upcoming dinner. We knead the dough, let it rest and rise, punch it down, then roll it out into twists and proof it one more time before dunking the pretzels into a boiling baking soda-water solution, brushing with egg wash and sending off to the ovens.

During the Farm to Table dinner, the pretzels disappear quickly from peoples plates. There are none left over for the kitchen staff. I guess they were good!

And I’m happy to admit that even though Thomas Keller features them at his restaurant, this recipe is very easy (probably much easier than his) and would be fun to do with kids. Give it a shot and let me know how it turns out!

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Um, Let me rephrase that: a fun filled week of thirty hormonally challenged high school students cooking, baking, farming, learning all about food systems, boning up on agriculture, and camping at Pie Ranch with no cell coverage – let the hunger games begin!

For the first time in my life, I was very popular. These young adults were keenly aware of who buttered whose bread. Either that or they just enjoyed listening to their “S.F. beats, yo” in my outdoor kitchen yo. A stereo with large bose speakers does wonders for one’s status. Who knew? And who knew that so many young people wanted to become chefs too? Pictured below is an upcoming culinary star…

Yes, I heard it several times throughout the week: “Chef Amy is sooooo raw.”

That’s slang for ‘cool’. In case you didn’t know.

I knew I would impress with a chicken parting demonstration. I began the demo slowly taking one chicken apart piece by piece explaining each cut with careful attention to detail and then sped through the next chicken with shouts and gasps of amazement for my speed and precision from the teenage onlookers.

Again, the crowd roared: “Soooooo raw……”

But I wasn’t the only “raw” instructor there. Oh no, there were several including their teacher Laurie, who has pioneered this partnership and program with Pie Ranch for the last five years. For half a decade she not only has camped with the students, monitored behavior, and provided lessons but also cooked 3 meals a day for them. I gave her a little break this time around with some culinary assistance.

Debbie  my colleague from Echo Valley Farm (who is also “raw”) demonstrated chicken processing. By this I mean: capturing the chicken, putting the chicken head downward in the killing cone, holding the chicken still, cutting quickly through jugulars on each side to kill and bleed (not so easy), and then plucking and gutting.

Suprisingly, the kids were brave and respectful during this demonstration. And, yes, the students were heavily prepped for this experience and no one was forced to partake. Every student ate chicken for dinner no problem. And all said they would think differently about buying chicken in the market and choose organic!

For the quiche recipe, the students collected eggs. Which I found out wasn’t so “raw” because cleaning eggs is “sorta boring” and they feared the chickens would peck them. (No one was actually maimed however.) I sympathized with this feeling because I, myself, have the same fear when it comes to chickens. That’s not to say that I don’t care how they are raised and treated, I just don’t find them cute and cuddly like the baby lambs on the farm. (And I will never understand why France has adopted Le Coq as it’s emblem.)

Before I wax on about how cool it is to actually be considered cool for a week, please tell me you’ve heard of Pie Ranch. You haven’t? Whaaaaat??!?!

It’s a pretty big deal out here on the West Coast. Pie Ranch is a non-profit working farm teaching students and communities about sustainable agriculture & farming, food systems. They do community outreach with schools all up and down the coast, barn dances, weddings, events, team building workshops, they host a CSA & a farm stand, and help newly trained farmers with land aquisition to ensure our future food source in Northern California.

This is a great video. Take a few minutes and check out this slice of Pie. They do so much more there but this is an example of the program…

Their mission is to: “inspire and connect people to know the source of their food and to work together to bring greater health to the food system from the seed to the table”.

One of the products grown and milled at the farm is wheat. Hard red wheat that is very low in gluten, has excellent nutty flavor, and high protein. It is outstanding for pies and patries. I have never in my life had pie crust like this – so flavorful and flaky.

And if flaky pie crust isn’t enough for you, it does get better – we light up a fire in the enormous wood burning oven and bake all day and night in it. That’s right, quiche Lorraine out of a wood fired oven. Can you smell the smokey bacon & onions gently melting away into a farm fresh egg custard? Thomas Keller eat your heart out! Oh, and that’s Pie Ranch Bacon by the way. And Pie Ranch flour. Pie Ranch eggs. Pie Ranch goat milk. Pie ranch onions. You get the idea…

This experience was one of the highlights of this year. I am looking forward to more opportunities like this one.

Pie Ranch is very very RAW.

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Lobster Ravioli with Smoked Paprika Cream Sauce & Pea Shoots

This is not the quickest dish especially if you start from scratch, but it’s extremely tasty. I picked up my live lobsters from my fish monger, butchered them, barbecued the bodies and poached the claws for presentation. Then I made the filling (while trying hard not eat all the lobster) a tasty mixture of: pancetta, lobster meat, tarragon, spinach and lemon zest with enough ricotta & parmesan to bind it together.

I rolled out the egg pasta with the ol’ hand crank pasta machine. Boy, isn’t that fun. Especially when it won’t grip the granite.

Five hours later I put filling and pasta together to form ravioli resembling the shape of agnolotti. Technically agnolotti are stuffed with meat, cream, and cheese. But I like the little fluted half circle pillow shape, so I used lobster. And yes, agnolotti come square in shape too . (I know one of my former chef’s is going to email that correction to me, so I might as well mention it upfront.)

Lobster Agnolotti

The red sauce gets its flare from the smoked paprika and the lobster roe which dots the plate in  little red pearls. The base is cream and parmesan – my fav. If you get a lobster with roe, by all means use it! When you remove the head from the thorax if a blob-like dark green jell-o substance spills out, that’s what you are looking for. When cooked the roe changes color from green to red.

Not to be confused with ‘lobster butter’ which is grey-ish green in color and located towards the front of the head. (wish I had photographed the parts here). I stir a tablespoon of roe into the sauce right before serving because it can give an amoniated taste if boiled too hard. The roe will thicken the sauce, keep this in mind when making the cream sauce and don’t reduce it too much beforehand. And, it will add a lovely lobster stock flavor. A little roe goes a long way.

Spring has finally started to sprung (does that make sense?) and I think pea shoots are a festive way to celebrate the season. They pair nicely with tarragon and lobster which is generously mixed in the ravioli stuffing.

Lobster claw on Lobster Agnolotti

Cut the 5 hours prep time to something more manageable if need be, and buy frozen lobster tails (the presentation claw could be ix-nayed) and pre-packaged sheets of pasta which are sold in such reputable stores like Whole Foods. Check the date on the pasta. Egg pasta should be very fresh otherwise it’s no good.

If you do want to butcher the lobsters here’s how I do it. And I’m pretty darned fast after killing about a million a day at Le Bernardin. Chef Eric Ripert is adamandt about fish/shellfish sustainability and also that they are processed humanely. This is his technique for the quickest death (we do not boil them alive or twist thorax from body while they are alive even though it’s faster).

Put lobster on cutting board. Taking a big heavy sharp chef’s knife place the tip right above the eyes in the center of the head. With a quick and sharp movement press straight down through the head (kills lobster instantly) and pull forward with the knife blade splitting the frontal lobe in two right between the eyes. Pick up lobster, turn it over, and make a quick jab right above tail and through body (under legs).

From here it depends on what you want to do with the lobster. It is easy to twist the thorax from the tail and the claws from the thorax. I like to split the tail in half (using my extra heavy sharp chef’s knife) and barbecue it shell side down with lots of butter – yummmm. The claws can be cooked in salted water (like the sea – I mean salted!) water on a strong simmer for about 3 minutes.

Cracking the shell off the claw and keeping it in tack is difficult and hard to explain in words. But I’ll try: pull the smaller lower pincer off by gently shaking it loose with an up and down movement. A cartilidge disk will come out with the pincer. It is very important to get the whole lower pincer out in one piece or some one can choke on that invisible little disk. To get the remaining claw shell off I take the back of a heavy knife (not the blade, don’t ruin your nice sharp knife!) and whack the claw on the top and then on both sides. The shell should pop off. Then I pull out the meat gently!

(Good luck with that, the claws can be tricky).

Some day I’ll get around to making a lobster butcher video, in the meantime, I hope you enjoy this recipe!

The post Lobster Ravioli, Pea Shoots, & Smoked Paprika Sauce first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

I revived our family recipe for a brunch at Echo Valley Farm but offered a choice of sweet or savory – or both! It cooks perfectly in cast iron skillets. (In fact I wouldn’t do it any other way.)

And it looks great on the table – rustic charm. Bandana and Coveralls not included…

 

Next to opening a box of cereal and putting it on the table, this is a very easy breakfast. And unlike tradional soufflés there really is no messing it up: It will puff, it will fall, it will be delicious.

While heating two cast iron skillets in the oven with a generous amount of butter, I make the egg base in a blender (eggs, cream, milk, flour, salt). In one hot skillet I add apple slices, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract creating a pan caramel. Then I pour in half the egg base once the apples are soft and the sugar is ooey-gooey…

To the other hot skillet I use the rest of the egg mixture adding a little truffle oil, chopped truffle shavings, and fresh thyme. Half way through the cooking I add pieces of homemade goat cheese. Just about any omelet concoction could be added to the savory soufflé: ham & cheese, wild mushrooms & spinach, etc.

The main trick to this pan soufflé is to make sure the iron skillet is well heated and that your guests are seated when you are ready to serve it. Just like any soufflé it will deflate some after a few minutes. The filling has a texture somewhere between custard and quiche.

Serve up with a big green salad and some bacon and sausages.

The post Dutch Apple Baby & Truffled Skillet Soufflé: Cast Iron Breakfasts first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

“The bad part is…” she says while lying still looking up at us looking down at her. “I’ve just fallen into nettles and they are stinging me and I don’t want to move until some one reaches down and helps me up…”

“The good part is…” she begins as we carefully lift her up avoiding the angry nettle patch. “The good part is – it’s nearly Spring!” And this does call for celebration because soon the whole farm will be bursting in flowers and buzzing with bees and just looking magical again.

It’s not that the kale, cabbage, and broccolini haven’t been inspiring this Winter, it’s just that nettle shoots are always a sign of the changing seasons.

Nettles Sting! Be careful and wear gloves!

Red welts develop on her arms, back of neck, and side of face in front of our very eyes. She likens the sting to red ant bites. Which is not suprising since the same stinging formic acid in red ants is also in the fuzzy hairs of this sprightly leafy plant. Not to mention oxalic acid, tartaric acid, and histamine.

We return back to the farmhouse and grab paper bags and gloves to take our revenge on the offenders. I notice the red welts on Kate’s neck are still there. Nettles sting – they really sting. It’s the price one pays for this little foraged plant that has miraculous curing and protective properties according to forklore, fairy tales, and modern science.

But who’s to say there’s not some truth in it? Can nettles protect from lightening striking if you keep some in your pocket? Will they break a magic spell if sewn into a coat? Will chickens produce more eggs if dried nettles are added to the grain? Do they help with allergies, arthritis, enlarged prostate, and other maladies?

Nutrition wise they are high in iron, vitamin C, and carontinoids. And apparently (ahem – ladies this is just for us…) they are also a diuretic and help with bloating.

I’ve heard it said that nettles taste fishy. To me they taste like spinach and smell like wet hay when cooked. The flavor is very mild. I can see a comparison with nori, but not fish.

I will say they do have a slightly algae like texture after being blanched and blended. Not slimy, but just more viscous than spinach puree. Any method of high heat cooking (I’ve blanched them here as pictured above) is the only way I know to get that stinging to stop. I monitor the cooking/blanching process and test the nettles along the way to see if the painful part has passed. It normally takes about 45 seconds if blanched.

Nettle puree

Blanching greens in salted water and shocking them after in ice water helps to lock in chloroform and it also helps green veggies or purées to stay greener longer even when reheated. That’s a restaurant tip. Just about anything green and cooked that you get on your plate in restaurant will have been blanched and iced before being reheated.

So how does one pick nettles? There’s some Scottish lore to this: if you are a “man of mettle” you shouldn’t have any problems swiping them up with your bare hands. I say put some gloves on and pick the new bright green tips. When nettles start to flower the leaves get tough again.

Once you get a whole large grocery paper bag packed of nettles tips that should make at least one quart of purée. And if you make a whole batch of purée then there are lots of possibilities: soup, pesto, pesto pizza!, chevre beurre monté nettle sauce, pasta, potatoes with nettles and hot bacon vinaigrette…. you get the idea.

It’s easy to make big batches of nettle purée and freeze it then use how you like. And although normally I make pesto by hand in a mortar and pestle, for pizza I wanted something a little more sauce-y so I opted to mix nettle purée to the other ingredients.

The post Nettles! Nettle Pesto Pizza with Delicata Squash & Bacon first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

The fleshless fruit imparts a lovely fragrant sweet lemon essence minus the furniture polish aftertaste. Use the zest in just the same way you would a lemon. It can be candied, blended up in vinaigrette (pith included- it’s sweet!), or displayed as a fragrant center piece on the dining room table. It also makes a sexy twist in a glass of champagne.

Take the ingredients of this salad and use them simply or, if you feel like spending an hour on a dish that will be eaten in less than thirty seconds, you can follow my lead!?! I’ve sugared the walnuts with maple syrup, fried Cambozola blue cheese in beignet beer batter, and served the persimmon roasted in honey and sliced raw. Either way the flavor profiles hit all the right notes: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter plus the varying textures make for an exciting first course.

Blue cheese beignets are a guilty pleasure. If you’re not a salad lover they also taste good with a juicy steak. But, it’s hard to resist a crunchy beignet oozing salty blue gooeyness all over a sweet roasted perimmon…

I like kale raw, it’s so much healthier that way. And if I’m popping fried cheese balls in my mouth I favor the idea of a cleansing antioxidant chaser. Here’s farmer Jessica with a fresh picked bunch of curly kale at Echo Valley Farm…

The post Kale and Fuyu Persimmon Salad, Blue Cheese Beignets first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

I think this recipe could be called: The Lost Stuffing due to its somewhat obscure yet once popular ingredients. At Guy Savoy we had a dish called des légumes oubliés, meaning ‘forgotten vegetables’ consisting of salsify, crosnes and…well….I forget what else…hmmmmm….

I’m a stuffing person. I normally eat half of it raw (egg yolk and everything) before I even get it in the oven. Other people pass out on the couch because they’ve eaten too much turkey on Thanksgiving day, I pass out because the bread is expanding in my stomach with every sip of Champagne.

I use a mixture of bread crumbs: cornbread, sourdough, and whatever artisanal bread I have on hand. Why choose between cornbread or white bread? I know there are purists who would go to war over this notion. I say let there be peace in the kitchen. Mix them, it only adds flavor. I also add a whole stick of melted butter, grated fresh Asiago cheese, and two eggs – it makes for a richer stuffing.

I moisten the stuffing with turkey stock simmered with giblets. THIS IS WHAT MAKES THE DISH! If you do not have time to make turkey stock (and Michael Ruhlman has an excellent turkey stock post) then check out Savory Choice liquid turkey broth concentrate sold in Whole Foods and other specialty shops.

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I experimented with different types of flour for these biscuits, hoping to create a healthier recipe. The addition of pumpkin pack to the batter keeps whole wheat flour biscuits (like sprouted whole wheat) moist but they do not rise tall even with added leavening. They still taste delicious, but instead of having a flaky filling the crumb is more cake like. Unbleached white flour works best.

Making pumpkin pack is as simple as roasting sugar pie pumpkin wedges in a roasting pan with a 1/4 cup of water covered with tinfoil. When soft, scoop the flesh out and purée. Other squashes can be substituted for pumpkin like Kuri or Kabocha.

Two of the farmer’s at Echo Valley carved messages in the pumpkins while they were still small. Nobody noticed until the pumpkins grew up and the messages stretched and hardened. What fun to find a pumpkin with your name on it in the pumpkin patch!

The post Pumpkin Sage Buttermilk Biscuits first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

Yes, I am from California. We don't do weather like this. Nonetheless it's an excellent time to practice recession recipes. What recession?!?! The one that's making hundreds of restaurants go out of business and cut back on overtime and staff. And forcing more people to cook at home and choose less expensive cuts of meat.

That kind of recession.

If you're like me and feeling the cold inside and out, then this recipe is sure to bring some comfort back in your life. It was one of those experiments that I would happily serve at my own restaurant and to friends and family. Beef short ribs are cooked best when braised at a low temperature over a long time. They are fatty and tough, so the slow cooking aids in turning blubbery sinews into mouth watering morsels.

At the supermarket there are normally two types of beef short ribs: 'flanken' cut which are short ribs cut across the bone into more manageable pieces or 'short ribs" which look like long logs of beef muscle on the bone.

I chose the normal short ribs for this recipe and cut them off the bone so I could keep the rib meat in one piece for half of the cooking time. My goal was not to have a mushy stringy pile of meat but actual pieces. After cooking the rib meat for an hour, I sliced it thick and returned it to the braising liquid for another hour. To finish the dish the braising liquid is de-fatted and a splash of balsamic vinegar and some fresh cherry halve are added to give a little sweetness and acidity to the rich red-wine beef sauce.

The buttermilk biscuits are from my thoroughly destroyed (torn with gooey fingerprints everywhere) 1975 copy of the Joy Of Cooking and I have yet to find a better a recipe. They are quick to whip up in a Cuisinart and simple to roll out.

And frankly, nothing compares to warm soft biscuits fresh from the oven – with or without the short ribs and sauce. This recipe was supposed to provide left overs. But it didn't. Everything was demolished – the best compliment of all! Serve with horseradish cream.

Beef Short Rib Shortcakes with Cherry Balsamic Sauce

serves 4-5

3 beef short ribs, bone-in

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

2 cups dry red wine

4 cups veal stock (can substitute beef stock)

2 sprigs of thyme

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Bing cherries halved and pitted (as many as you want to plate)

Buttermilk Biscuits from The Joy Of Cooking

1 3/4's cup sifted all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder

1 teaspoon sugar (optional) 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup lard or 5 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 325˚F. Cut the bone away from the rib meat in one straight shot. Keep both. Trim any outer fat on the rib meat if it is thick and white. On the stove top heat a large oven-proof pan with olive oil on high heat. Generously Salt and pepper the rib meat. Sear the rib meat hard on all sides to brown. Remove the rib meat to a plate and if there is a lot of fat in the pan throw away all of it but three tablespoons.

Add in 2 of the bones and the carrots and onions. Sauté until soft then add the rib meat back to the pot. Pour in the wine and reduce by 1/3rd. Add in the beef stock, thyme, and bay leaf and place in the oven to braise for one hour. Check in to make sure things are happily braising and bubbling. After 1 hour remove the rib meat and cut into 1 1/2-inch slices. Place slices back into the braising liquid. If necessary add a little more red wine and veal stock to cover slices. Place a lid on the pot and continue cooking for another hour until the fat in the rib meat has rendered and the meat is tender.

When rib meat is done remove slices to a plate and keep warm. Throw away the bones, strain the braising liquid, and return it to the pot. Carefully spoon out as much of the fat as possible. If the braising liquid is thin – not yet thick enough to coat the back of a spoon – reduce on the stove top. Add the balsamic vinegar little by little until the sauce has a nice rich slightly acidic taste. Toss in the cherries halves to warm right before serving.

The meat can be reheated in the sauce right before serving too.

For the bisuits: Preheat oven to 450˚F. Put all the dry ingredients in a Cuisinart and blend for 2 seconds to evenly distribute. Add the butter or lard in cubes and blend with on and off pulses until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add the buttermilk and blend with on and off pulses until the dough just comes together. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead gently for 30 second.

Roll the dough gently to a thickness of 1/2-inch and cut with a biscuit cutter (I often use a water glass). Brush the tops (not the sides or they won't rise) with a little milk if you want glaze the tops. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for 10-12 minutes until they are golden delicious.

Serve warmed short ribs over biscuits. Spoon over balsamic sauce and place cherries around. Serve with horseradish cream

The post Beef Short rib Shortcakes with Cherry Balsamic Sauce first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed chatting en français and practicing the one skill I'm quite good at in French: grocery shopping. After three years of living in Paris here's what I can do: give and take an order in the kitchen, shop for food, ask where the toilette is, order from a menu, get directions, and swear like a sailor. What can I say? I learned my French in the kitchen. Anything on God, philosophy, or politics is just a big question mark.

Happy Quail's peppers are impressive: sweet Basque fryers (doux long des Landes), spicy purple and brown bells, super sweet Hungarian bells in light cream and red, banana yellows, Cubanelles, and the famous Spanish Piquillos that normally can only be found roasted in cans or jars. I paid $8 for 4 peppers. I know, outrageous, right? Wow, the real price of food is high.

I thanked the French farmer, wished him a bonne journée, then turned and gasped for air. Perhaps I should have practiced some of my swear words instead, but I'm sure growing organic peppers is a costly business.

This tart is all about highlighting the sweet pepper flavors instead of masking them in a stew or as a side dish. The crust is a simple pâte brisée with added black pepper and parmesan that gets a thick slather of pesto before the goat cheese filling is added.

The topping is nothing but peppers in all different colors and flavors with red onions and chili flakes for extra kick. Serve along side a big green salad and a nice glass of red or white wine.

Heirloom Pepper & Goat Cheese Tart with Parmesan Black Pepper Crust

Serves 6-8 in one 11-inch tart pan

Ingredients

Parmesan Black Pepper Crust:

200g All-Purpose flour, sifted

30-40g Grated Parmesan Cheese

5g teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4g salt 100g unsalted butter, cold cut in small pieces

1 egg

2-3 Tablespoons ice water

Filling:

1 bunch basil Olive oil

460g (16oz) goat cheese

60g crème frâiche

2 eggs

30g flour

Topping:

4 colorful peppers, sliced thinly

1 small red onion, sliced thinly

Red chili flakes

Preheat oven to 400˚F (convection preferred) with baking sheet•

For Parmesan crust: Place dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir with a whisk to incorporate. Cut in cold butter – you can use your finger tips to do this – pretend like you're counting money and squishing the butter and flour together to form a sand-like dough. Add egg and continue to cut in with fingers. Then add water, little by little, just until the dough comes together. Knead the dough a few times inside the bowl to make sure all is incorporated. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 10 – 15 minutes.

Heat a large non-stick skillet on medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When oil is hot quickly sauté red onion until soft but not brown, remove to a bowl. Sauté red peppers until al dente in the same pan with a little extra olive oil if necessary. Season with a pinch of salt, and a few dashes of chili flakes, remove to a bowl.

Coarsley chop 1/2 bunch of basil. In a blender or cuisinart blend basil with 1/4 cup of oil. Reserve. Rinse the cuisinart or blender out and add the goat cheese, crème fraîche, and eggs. Blend until smooth. Add the flour and blend just until incorporated. 7. On a floured surface roll out the parmesan crust until 1/4" thick and place onto the tart pan. Prick the tart bottom with fork tines and slather on pesto.

Pour in goat cheese filling. Sprinkle onions on top then peppers. Place tart on the hot baking sheet and bake at 400˚F for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 350˚F and back for 15-20 minutes more until the filling is set and the crust is golden brown.

Cook's notes: In order to create a crisp tart shell for this recipe without having to blind bake it first, make sure the baking sheet is good and hot before placing the tart on top of it.

The post Heirloom Pepper & Goat Cheese Tart with Parmesan Black Pepper Crust first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

I used to have a Pink Pearl apple tree in my backyard and that's the only reason I even know about them. The trees are just as striking as the fruit with bright pink blossoms that attract lots of bees. These fuchsia fleshed beauties have an extremely short growing period (mid August through early September) so if you're lucky enough to find them, buy a whole bushel.

Pink pearl's are sweet and mouth puckering tart at the same time. Even more so than granny smith and pippin so they are fantastic for making PINK apple tarts, apple sauce, and apple appetizers.

The idea for the apple cups came from Chef François Payard who often finds creative ways to present mini bites. Every time I have made these cups, whether with regular apples or pink pearl's, I get rave reviews. They just dissolve magically when you bite into them. To make the cups slice the apples thin on a mandoline, dip in simple syrup, and dry out in the oven until they feel like leather.

While they are still warm from the oven, press the slices gently into a mini muffin pan and voilà you have a little cute cup to stuff with whatever tickles you pink. (I used fromage blanc and crème fraîche with a little brunoise of pink pearl apples, celery, and proscuitto)

Pink Pearl Apple Cups with Fromage Blanc

Ingredients

3 pink pearl apples

8 ounces fromage blanc

2 ounces crème fraîche

2 celery stalks with some extra light green leaves for garnish

3 sheets of proscuitto

2 pinches dried thyme

1 lemon

salt and pepper

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 160˚F and use convection if possible. Make simple syrup by adding water and sugar to a small pot, place on medium-high heat and simmer until all the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and cool. Using a mandoline slice 2 whole apples (don't core or peel) horizontally and paper thin, about 1/8-inch or even less if you can. The thinner the slice the easier it is to mold later.

Dip slices into simple syrup and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat. Bake for an hour or until the apples are no longer wet and sticky. They should feel like leather and be dry. Once apples have dried remove them from the oven. While still warm press the slices gently into a mini muffin tin.  

In a small bowl mix the fromage blanc, crème fraîche, dried thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate. 6. Brunoise (cut into tiny, tiny cubes) the celery and the remaining apple. Mix the two together and squeeze a little lemon over to keep the apple from discoloring. Chop the proscuitto and fry in a small pan until crisp and brown. Remove from heat and chop into even smaller bits.

Fill the apple cups with a small dollop of the cheese mixture and garnish with the proscuitto, apple & celery brunoise, and a little celery leaf.

The post Pink Pearl Apple Cups with Fromage Blanc first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

Due to post traumatic stress disorder, I rarely make the buttery cake-like cookie because mine seldom turn out with that little bump that signifies a well baked madeleine.

These mini fresh corn madeleine sandwiches are easy and there’s no need to worry about the little ‘top knot’ because no one can see it. Cut it off and make a sandwich or leave it on and place the accouterments on top.

Either way these savory mini cakes stuffed with crème fraîche and smoked salmon are mouth popping tasty. And they go perfectly with a glass of cold champagne.

Try Ruinart blanc de blanc if you are looking for a beautiful and unusual pairing.

Technorati Tags: appetizer, corn, French, madeleine, smoked salmon, sweet

Sweet Corn Mini Madeleines with Smoked Salmon, Crème Fraîche

Ingredients
Melted butter and all-purpose flour for the molds

2 ears fresh corn kernels, sautéd in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil for 2-3 minutes until al dente
3/4 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
1 1/4 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup fine yellow cornmeal
4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Crème Fraîche
Smoked salmon (I used wild sockeye)
Fresh dill for decoration

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375˚F. Brush the mini madeleine molds with melted butter. Make sure to do this thoroughly and get all the grooves greased. After the butter has congealed slightly, dust with flour.
2. Purée the corn and milk to form a soupy paste.
3. With a hand mixer on medium speed, mix the eggs and sugar together until they quadruple in volume and turn light yellow in color. The mixture will get thick almost like cake batter. About 4 minutes.
4. Sift together baking powder, cornmeal, salt, and flour. On low speed mix the dry ingredients into the egg batter alternating with the corn/milk in three parts.
5. On low speed mix in the melted butter. Don’t over mix. The batter should have the consistency of thick pancake batter.
6. Using a pastry bag or a small spoon, pour the batter into the molds up to the top. Tap the molds once to remove any air bubbles.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on racks.
8. If using the madeleines like a sandwich, cut the ‘bump off and smear a tiny bit of the créme fraîche onto one side. Add one small slice of smoked salmon, and the other madeleine to cover. Top with a little crème fraîche and a piece of dill.

The post Sweet Corn Mini Madeleines with Smoked Salmon & Crème Fraîche first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

I'm catering a private appetizer party this weekend and while looking for inspiration came across this recipe by François Payard, a renowned French chef, who lives in New York and owns the Payard Pâtisserie & Bistro. Sliders are popular at appetizer parties these days and they are so adorable. But, as I've been finding out, making mini bites taste adorable can be challenging.

Small bites have a tendency to dry out faster and often lack the flavor that bigger bites do. However Lamb, if not overcooked, stays juicy. And the yogurt sauce with harissa spice adds heat. Harissa is often used in Morocccan and Meditarrean cuisine. It's a chili paste made with a blend of spices. Be forewarned: a little goes a long way. The buns are a simplified brioche dough with toasted cumin and compliment the lamb and spicy yogurt sauce.

For more fun appetizers by François Payard, check out his cookbook: Bite Size

Mini Lamb Sliders with Harissa Sauce & Toasted Cumin Buns Adapted from Small Bites by François Payard

Makes 20

  Cumin Buns

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

3 tablespoons warm water (110˚ to 115˚F)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons ground cumin

4 large eggs

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

Harissa Dressing

1/2 cup whole-milk yogurt

1/2 teaspoon harissa

Burgers

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup chopped onion

10 ounces ground lamb

sea salt & freshly ground white pepper Olive oil  

Sprinkle yeast over warm water and let stand for ten minutes until the yeast starts to foam. In a bowl of an electric mixer with a dough hook, combine the flour, sugar, salt, 2 teaspoons of cumin, and 3 of the eggs. Mix on low speed for about 2 minutes. Add yeast and beat on medium speed for 5 minutes, until a soft dough forms. Add the softened butter and beat for 5 more minutes until the dough is elastic and slightly sticky. Remove dough and allow to rest on a floured surface, covered with a damp towel for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough out to 1/2-inch thickeness. Cut out 20 rounds with a 1-inch cookie cutter. Cover the cut rounds with a damp towel and let rest again for another 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. With the remaining egg beat with 1 tablespoon of water and brush the tops of the buns (only the tops or the buns won't rise). Sprinkle a little ground cumin over all buns. Bake buns for 15– 20 minutes until golden brown.

Mix yogurt with harissa paste. This can be made a few hours ahead. Mix ground lamb with chopped onion and salt and pepper to taste. Form mini patties. Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet on medium-high heat. Sear patties, about 45 seconds to 1 minute each side for medium-rare. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels.  Slice buns in half. Put a tiny dollop of the dressing on the bottom bun and the hamburger on the top.

The post Mini Lamb Sliders with Harissa Sauce first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

I'm not talking corn-in-the-can which is often sprinkled on the popular 'Salade Californienne' that graces the menus of trendy bistros. Or pre-husked corn wrapped in Saranwrap and set out for people to point and giggle at in supermarkets. I'm talking: fresh corn, in the husk, just picked.

It may sound crazy, if you haven't stopped to consider it before, but there is no such thing as fresh corn in any classic French recipe. "Corn is for pigs!" as one French Chef told me long ago. And considering that I am a little piggy when it comes to fresh corn, I'm happy to hog it all to myself. Oink.

I did get a chuckle over last month's French cooking publication, Elle à la Table, because they published a recipe for BBQ'd corn on the cob and made a point of emphasizing that Americans really like to eat it that way. Yes, we do. So maybe corn is getting a second chance in France? Yeah, and maybe pigs will fly and French kids will demand PB&J's with the crusts cut off. But, you never know, stranger things have happened.

The recipe for this soup is an adaptation from the 1 Michelin Star restaurant in San Francisco, Boulevard, created by chef & owner, Nancy Oaks. What makes the soup special is that she uses a corn stock created with the cobs to flavor the soup. Chef Oaks often tops this soup with lobster and always serves it alongside delicious mini crab cake souffles. For more recipes by Chef/Owner Nancy Oaks and Chef de Cuisine Pamela Mazzola check out their awesome new cookbook:

"Boulevard: The Cookbook" (Nancy Oakes, Pamela Mazzola, Lisa Weiss)

If you're really jonesing for corn, my dealer is on the tiny rue Poncelet in the 17th arrondisement. He's the guy that sells vegetables from a tiny stand. And he doesn't carry corn all the time – just so's you know So, don't get your hopes up for a regular fresh corn fix!

Sweet White Corn Soup adapted from restaurant Boulevard, by Nancy Oaks & Pamela Mazzola

Note: Chef Oaks and Chef Mazzola give 2 detailed ways to make this soup. I have modified their recipe slightly and I would encourage corn soup lovers to purchase their cookbook just to read their suggestions and inventions. And for the heavenly crab souffles that go alongside!

Serves 6-8 people

10 ears white corn, husked

2 onions chopped

3 large leeks chopped (white part only)

1 head garlic, halved crosswise

4 thyme sprigs

1 bay leaf

10 black pepper corns

4 quarts water

3 Tablespoons olive oil

5 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

 Cut the corn off the 10 cobs and reserve. To make the corn stock: in a stock pot add the garlic, 1/2 the chopped onions, 1/3rd the chopped leeks, corn cobs plus any milk you can scrape from the cobs, thyme sprigs, bay leaf, pepper corns and 4 quarts of water. Bring to a boil then turn down the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the stock and reserve.

In another large pot sautée the remaining onions and leeks until soft but not browned, about 7 minutes. Add 8 cups of the corn stock and return to a boil. Add all but 1 cup of the corn kernels (reserve for garnish) and sauté for another 5 minutes until corn is just cooked and still a little crunchy. If the corn is over cooked, it will loose it's flavor. Purée the soup with the butter in a food processor until smooth, in batches. Add salt and pepper to taste. Strain (if you want to, sometimes I like it a little on the rustic side). Refrigerate until ready to serve. Can be made a few days ahead.

To serve: reheat the soup and place in bowls. Sauté the remaining corn kernels in butter with a little salt and pepper and spoon over. Garnish with chopped chives, crab, or lobster.

The post Sweet White Corn Soup first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

This crustless quiche is my new favorite party recipe. It's great to bring to a party or serve at your own and it pairs with just about everything. You can make it for brunch, lunch, or dinner and serve alongside sliced tenderloin, smoked salmon, or tomatoes.

It looks pretty on the plate or dramatic, left whole, featured in the middle of a buffet table. It's effortless to whip up, and most importantly for my friends out there who suffer from Celiac disease, this recipe is GLUTEN FREE.

The crustless wonder quiche reheats well so it can be made in advance. I also found it to be quite tasty cold at 3 A.M in the morning after the party was over. Jeez, what else can I say? This could quite possibly be the miracle quiche – the quiche that allows real men to finally unite with real women on the subject of real food. Besides, finally that bizarre rectangular tart pan will get put to good use.

More recipes like this:

Kalyn's Kitchen Mushroom & Feta Breakfast Casserole

Simply Recipes Cheesy Crustless Quiche

Baking Bites Crustless Spinach, Onion,

Feta Quiche

Epicurious Crustless Quiche

Crustless Asparagus & Cheese Quiche serves 6-8 people

 1 bunch skinny asparagus, trimmed and blanched

5 large eggs

1 Heaping Tablespoon crème fraîche or sour cream

1 Tablespoon milk 250 grams crumbled feta or crumbled goat cheese

70 grams grated emmental cheese (about 3/4's cup loosely grated, not packed)

1 shallot, minced

1 Tablespoon butter 

Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

1 rectangular tart pan

Cooking spray

Preheat oven on Bake to 350˚F 2. Trim asparagus to the size of the tart pan and blanch in boiling water either on the stove top or in the microwave for 2 minutes, until bright green and tender-crisp. Stop the cooking in cold ice water, drain, and reserve. In a mixing bowl whisk eggs, milk, crème fraîche (or sour cream) until one uniform consistency. Season with salt and pepper – not too much salt as the cheese is plenty salty. Add crumbled goat cheese or feta and emmantal, stir gently.

In a small skillet melt the butter and sweat the shallots until translucent and soft. Add to egg-cheese mixture. Wrap tart pan with foil around the bottom and up the sides to insure that the mixture does not spill out the bottom. (these pans normally have removable bottoms) Spray tart pan with a cooking spray or lightly butter. Pour egg-cheese mixture in pan and spread cheese around around evenly to the best of your ability. Layer asparagus on top in a row.

Bake for 35 minutes until top is golden brown and the quiche begins to slightly pull away from the sides of the tart pan. Cool slightly before trying to un-mold or the quiche will stick to the sides. You can gently unstick the quiche with a pairing knife if it gives any resistance.

Note: Can be made the same day and then reheated before serving. Tastes good cold too.

The post Real Women Eat Crustless Quiche: Asparagus & Cheese first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

I hate it when I do that. I'm so A.D.D. in supermarkets. The colors really sidetrack me. This is why people make lists. Stick to the list! I guess I was a little curious to see if tomatoes were starting to taste juicy again. I realize I didn't need to buy 4 pounds to answer that question.

The tomatoes were juicy (Hallelujah!). So I roasted them up with a whole bulb of garlic and puréed them separately to taste their differences. The yellow tomatoes were a bit milder in acid but just as flavorful as the red.

Originally I thought the roasted tomatoes would make great soup (they did, I'll post that next) but, I also thought they would make a nice rich coulis, a sauce made from puréed and strained vegetables or fruits. Which led to: tarragon shrimp salad in choux puff boats with my little shoots and sprouts, and a few swirls of red & yellow tomato coulis. Whoo-wee, that all sounds complicated doesn't it?

It's not, just a tad time consuming. Like I've got anything better to do on my days off – tax extension be damned! I've never used buckwheat sprouts before and they sure have an interesting flavor: a cross between sour grass and wheat grass. Sweet and sour. Pea shoots, on the other hand, taste exactly like pea shoots.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. If serving a crowd or in need of a dish to take to a party, the choux puff boat can be baked in a Springform 9" cheesecake pan and filled with any salad right before serving. Egg salad, chicken salad – whatever.

Then people can scoop it from the boat or cut wedges. As for the 4 pounds of roasted tomatoes all I can say is they have far more uses than just soup and coulis. They also make great pasta sauce, meat sauce, salsa base, or side dish when served whole. I've left the quantities in tact so you have room to experiment too! 

Shrimp Salad in Puff Boats with Roasted Red & Yellow Tomato Coulis Serves 4 Ingredients Roasted tomatoes:

2 pounds yellow tomatoes

2 pounds red tomatoes

1 yellow onion

1 medium shallot

1 cup chicken stock

2 small bay leaves

Olive oil

Tumeric

Salt & pepper

Shrimp salad:

3/4's pound bay shrimp

1 celery stalk, brunoised (finely chopped)

1 basket pea shoots

1 basket buckwheat sprouts

1 bunch tarragon

1 basket cherry tomatoes

1 Tablespoon mayonnaise

1 Tablespoon champagne vinegar

Choux Paste:

2/3rd's cup water

5 Tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3rd's cup flour

3 eggs

4 ramekin molds or 1 9"Springform Cheesecake pan

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Slice tomatoes in half top to bottom and place in a baking pan. Take one bulb of garlic (about 10 cloves) and break up. Scatter cloves around pan leaving them in the skin. Season tomatoes generously with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Roll everything around to coat, but leave tomatoes cut side up. Roast until they begin to slightly brown, about 35 minutes. (I baste the tomatoes with the pan juices half way through.)  

Chop onion and shallot. In two separate medium sized pots heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in each and sweat the onions on medium heat. Add 1/2 cup chicken stock and a bay leaf to each. Add roasted tomatoes, garlic removed from skin, and pan juices (split between the 2 pots separating the red and yellow tomatoes) and bring to a lively simmer. Season with salt and pepper.  Remove bay leaf from each. Purée yellow and red tomatoes separately. Strain back into pots, removing skins & seeds, and reserve. The flavor will deepen while it rests. Note: if you wish to make the yellow coulis yellow-er add a few dashes of tumeric. It will not change the flavor in small quantities but will make a brighter color.

For choux boats: preheat oven to 400˚F. In a medium sized pot bring the water, butter, and salt to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium-high and add the flour in one fell swoop and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. Once the mixture comes together and is smooth and no longer sticks to the side of the pot or the spoon remove from heat. Let cool for 1 minute. Then incorporate 1 egg at a time stirring vigorously after each to thoroughly incorporate. The pastry dough should be smooth and shiny and hold stiff peaks.  

Lightly butter the ramekins and spoon 2 Tablespoons of choux paste into each. With a plastic spatula smoosh the dough up the sides of the ramekins leaving a well in the center. Bake at 400˚F for 10 minutes then reduce the heat to 350˚F and bake for 30 minutes more. Once golden brown, remove from oven, turn off heat, and take pastry boats out of ramekins. With a wooden pick, poke several holes in the boats to release steam. Place them back on a baking sheet and into the oven (which is turned off) to dry out for 5 minutes.  

Mix shrimp with mayonnaise, vinegar, celery, and chopped tarragon to taste (about 2 stems, leaves only). Dress shoots and sprouts with a splash of olive oil, champagne vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. 7. Fill pastry boats with sprouts & shoots, and shrimp. Place on plate and drizzle yellow and red coulis around with extra shoots and sprouts and cherry tomatoes.

The post Shrimp Salad in Puff Boats with Roasted Red & Yellow Tomato Coulis first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

Flipping through old cookbooks to find something different to serve for Easter dinner I came upon a recipe I made at Le Cordon Bleu during my Superior Cuisine course: Lamb Rib Roast Baked in a Bread Crust served with Jus and an Artichoke Hazlenut Oil infused Purée.

The lamb is baked in yeast bread crust with a vegetable stuffing surrounding it and served with a purée of artichoke blended with hazlenut oil and a teensy bit of cream. Globe artichokes are in season now, and of course, Spring lamb is always symbolic of Easter. The addition of hazlenut oil adds extra warmth and comfort to the purée.

The tricky part of this recipe is getting the cooking time right. Since there is no way to check for done-ness of the lamb through the bread. I find that by the time the bread is browned the lamb is cooked perfectly. Be careful not to over sear the lamb in the pre-cooking steps. It needs to be rare.

The fun part of this recicpe is decorating the top of the lamb loaf. Why not make an Easter basket or give it some bunny ears?

Happy Easter!

Recipe from Le Cordon Bleu Superior Cuisine

Filet D’Agneau Du Boulanger, Purée D’Artichauts a L’Huile de Noisette

(Lamb Rib Roast in Bread Crust, Artichoke Purée with Hazelnut Oil)
serves 4

Ingredients

Artichoke purée:
5 large artichokes
50ml cream
30 ml hazlenut oil
salt, pepper
1 lemon
2 tablespoons flour

Lamb and Jus:
1 lamb rib roast (best end neck – 8 ribs), fillet removed from bones and trimmed. Bones chopped.
1 chopped seeded tomato
Trimmings from vegetable stuffing
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup lamb stock (can substitute chicken, vegetable, or beef stock –without salt)

Vegetable Stuffing:
1 shallot
1 carrot
1/2 leek
1 celery stalk
100 g mushrooms
20 g butter (1 Tablespoon)
1 T chopped parsley

Bread Dough:
500g country style bread flour (pain de campagne)
20g fresh compressed yeast (can substitute active dry yeast)
330ml water at 9˚c or 18˚F
10g salt
kneading: 15 minutes at slow speed, form into ball, cover, keep warm

Decoration on Bread Loaf:
125g flour
30f butter
5g salt
50 ml water
15g glucose

Instructions

For Artichoke Purée:
1. Cut leaves off of artichokes with a serrated knife down to the bottom, including the tough outer part around the artichoke bottom. Scoop out the thistle in the center with a spoon (takes some work here). Rub with lemon.
2. Cook artichoke hearts in a “blanc” or simmering water with two heaping tablespoons of flour and the lemon used to rub the artichoke bottoms with. This will keep the artichoke hearts from turning black in color. Once the hearts are cooked, drain, and rinse in warm water to remove any flour.
3. Purée in a blender until smooth then add in hazlenut oil, cream, and salt in pepper
4. Place in a bain marie (pot in a water bath of warm water) and keep warm until ready to serve. Or refrigerate and reheat in a bain marie.

For vegetable stuffing:
1. Brunoise all ingredients (chop into a small perfect dice) and sauté in butter until just cooked. Stir in the chopped parsley and let cool. Use vegetable tirmmings for lamb jus.

For Meat and Jus:
1. Trim fat off of rib roast and trip filet off of bones. Then trim off the silvery tendons on fillet. (Or have butcher do this for you, but reserve all meat trimmings and the bones for jus.) Chop bones with a cleaver for jus.
2. Season lamb filet with salt and pepper on all sides. Heat a medium skillet on high heat with a tablespoon of olive oil. When oil is hot, sear lamb rare on all sides. This is around one minute for each side. Remove lamb to rest for five minutes and re-season with a sprinkle of salt. Refrigerate after it has rested.
3. Re-use the same skillet for the jus. Turn down heat to medium and add the lamb bones and any meat trimmings (not the fat). Do not stir too often, but let bones and meat get nice and brown. Once all is browned, deglaze pan with white wine and scrape up any carmelized bits. Add meat stock and any vegetable trimmings available including a chopped and seeded tomato (mushroom trimmings, parsley stalks). Let jus simmer on low heat until reduced by half. Reserve.

For Decorations and Bread:
1. Add the yeast to warm water and let dissolve and get foamy. Then add to flour. Put dough in a professional mixer with a dough hook and need for 1-2 minutes, then add salt and continue to knead for another fifteen minutes on low speed. The temperature of the bread should be around 24 – 26˚C by the time it’s done (48-52˚F).
2. Form into a ball and place in a bowl, cover with a towel and let rest in a warm place.
3. While bread is rising make decoration dough. Add water to glucose and heat in a small pot and stir until mixed. Melt butter. Make a well in the flour and add water/glucose mixture and melted butter. Knead on a flour surface. Roll out dough into strips and create decorations. For wheat roll into 1/2″ strips and then snip the top with scissors. Place on a floured baking sheet and refrigerate for 2-3 minutes.
4. Once the dough has risen punch down and knead by hand for 3 minutes, form into a ball and let it rise again.
5. Oil a baking sheet with olive oil.
6. Flour a large surface and roll out dough – not too thin – in a rectangle to almost fit the size of the baking sheet.. Place in the refrigerator for 3-5 minutes.
7. Take dough out of fridge and cut dough on the baking sheet to a size that will wrap around the fillet.
8. Place one quarter of vegetable stuffing down the middle of dough, the length of the fillet. Place fillet on top and pack the rest of the vegetable stuffing on top and around the sides. Seal edges of dough around the fillet with water and press to form a seam. Fold the ends of dough like a package and seal with water too. All seams should be on the top of the lamb loaf. Gently turn the loaf over so the seams are on the bottom of the baking sheet.
9. Brush top with water and place on decorations.
10. Leave to rest at room temperature for 10-15 minutes to expand a little.
11. Cook for 15 minutes on the baking sheet at 142˚C or 380˚F. Watch carefully to make sure decorations don’t burn. Cover them with tin foil if necessary.
12. Take out of oven and let cool a little on a rack. Then serve and cut into slices at table with a serrated bread knife.

The post Easter Dinner: Filet d’Agneau Du Boulanger first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

And I refuse to make excuses for enjoying brussels sprouts. If they’re not overcooked, they are delicious. Too often people boil the hell out of ’em and then they get that funny smell – you know the one I’m talking about? But, if they are steamed briefly (4-5 min.) and then quickly sautéed in a tiny bit of good ole’ fashioned bacon grease, they are absolutely edible!

So what’s the difference between a popover and yorkshire pudding? Not a lot. Except the later is cooked in the pan drippings from the standing rib roast which makes them extra flavorful. These little puffed beauties have to be cooked à la minute, but that’s okay because the rib roast has to rest for a good 15-20 minutes anyway. As soon as the roast is being carved, the popovers should be coming out of the oven so it all times out perfectly.

Happy New Years!!!

Vichyssoise with Crab, garnished with Crème Fraîche and Chives

Oyster and Heirloom Carrot salad with Warm Oyster Vinaigrette

Herb Crusted Prime Rib, Yorkshire Pudding, Brussels Sprouts

Gâteau Chocolate

Technorati Tags: brussels sprouts, New Year’s Eve menu, New Years, prime rib, New Years Eve menu, standing rib roast, yorkshire pudding

Herb Crusted Standing Rib Roast
serves 6 people

Ingredients
For thick slabs of prime rib I always figure 1pound per person of standing rib roast (weight is calculated with bone in). This is generous. Most recipe books will tell you to figure on 1/2 pound per person. We don’t eat prime rib a lot in my family, so when we do, we don’t skimp. Have butcher carve roast off the bone and tie it back on.
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 bunch rosemary minced
1/2 bunch thyme minced
4 Tablespoons olive oil
Salt and Freshly ground pepper
2/3 cup beef stock or broth and dry red wine

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400˚F
1. Generously season the roast on all sides with salt and freshly ground pepper. I mean GENEROUS!
2. Mix minced herbs and garlic together with olive oil. Pat herb mixture down to form a crust on the top of the roast.
3. Place roast on a rack in a roasting pan and put the huge hunk of meat in the oven. Drop the heat down to 350˚F once the roast is in the oven.
4. Cook until meat thermometer reads 140˚F. That’s medium rare. Sometimes I take it out a little before because it will rise at least 5˚ outside the oven. Figure about 15 minutes per pound.
5. Rest the meat tinted lightly with tinfoil for at least fifteen minutes.
6. To make jus separate the grease from the pan drippings (reserve grease for the yorkshire pudding). Pour broth, wine, and pan drippings back into roasting pan and place over medium-high heat. Cook scrapping up any extra drippings and brown bits until it’s reduced to 1/2 cup. Season with salt and pepper and pour into a serving dish. Remember jus is NOT gravy. It is only the juices from the roast with no added thickeners.

Yorkshire Pudding

Ingredients
1/4 cup hot standing rib roast grease and drippings.
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 eggs at room temperature

Instructions
Turn oven up to 450˚F and make sure it’s HOT before putting in the popovers!
1. In a small 6-muffin pan divide grease and pour directly into the muffin pan. Place in oven to keep warm.
2. In a bowl mix salt and flour to evenly distribute ingredients. Add milk and eggs and beat with a hand mixer until very smooth. Beat for about 3 minutes! Don’t skimp on the mixing part here, it’s very important.
3. Pour batter into muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes until puffed and lightly browned. Serve alongside prime rib

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
I served the brussel sprouts on a bed of potato purée because it compliments the flavor, but the mashed potatoes are not necessary

Ingredients
1 bag brussels sprouts
3 slices of thick cut bacon
salt & pepper
Olive oil

Instructions
1. Trim brussel sprouts: peel of the first outer layer of leaves. Trim the bottoms and cut an ‘X’ about 1/4″ up the base. This helps them cook a little faster. Also, a lot of the smell that people don’t like is contained in the base of the sprout.
2. Steam for 4-5 minutes until sprouts are bright green and cooked but slightly crunchy, about 4-5 minutes. Stop the cooking of the sprouts in an ice bath and reserve until ready to serve.
3. Dice bacon small and sauté in a pan to render fat. When bacon is crispy drain on a paper towel reserving 1-2 Tablespoons bacon grease for cooking.
4. When ready to serve sprouts heat up bacon grease. If you need to, you can add a little olive oil. Toss brussel sprouts in fat to reheat along with the bacon bits. Serve up!

The post Herb Crusted Standing Rib Roast, Yorkshire Pudding, Brussels Sprouts first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

My husband and I were invited by Bradley and Marie Prezant, the bread baking power duo of Bethesda Baking, to come spend a long weekend at their maison in Conzieu, an hour outside of Lyon, located at the hilly tip of the Alps. As I was madly trying to arrange last minute train tickets for our trip, my husband, being the internet guru that he is, asked:

“Honey, do you know these people?”

“Yeah, I met them on the internet.”

“No, do you know these people?” He probed again trying to ascertain the risk involved in our new adventure.

“Um, yeah, they’re bread bakers.”

No doubt the idea of driving out to the middle of nowhere and being cut up into a million pieces was plaguing him. But me? Well, I think bread bakers are a special breed of scientist that have better things to do than to draw food bloggers out of their Parisian habitats for luxurious weekends just to serve them up on a platter.

We reached their house overlooking a valley dotted with farms and rivers and pulled into a driveway bordering a church dating back over one thousand years. “Oh, mon dieu, this can’t be it!” I muttered in disbelief after viewing the incredible beauty and serenity of the surroundings. Bradley and family greeted us with a warm welcome and a cold glass of vintage Veuve Cliquot. Not a bad way to begin a weekend! They showed us to our cozy bedroom complete with clawfoot bathtub, wood burning fire place, and views of the valley out of each window.

“This is for us? You must be kidding me…” I said peering out one of the windows.

The next few days were a cooking and baking frenzy fueled by good wine and great conversation. It was my first time baking bread from scratch. I don’t mean just adding fresh yeast to flour and letting it do its bubbly thing, I mean making creating starters like ‘poolishes’ and ‘levains’ that pack extra flavor and take time and energy to develop. Then mixing them with more ingredients to form beautiful loaves of hearty tasting bread.

If you’re a novice bread baker like me, then you’re probably wondering what the difference is between a poolish and a levain yeast starter. A poolish or ‘pouliche’ as its called in French, is a liquid pre-fermentation starter that is created with roughly equal parts of water and flour with added yeast that is allowed to develop over an extended period of time of four to eight hours. It adds a nutty rich flavor to bread and can also increase its longevity after its baked (if it doesn’t get eaten immediately). The word ‘poolish’ was coined in the 1700’s from the way the Polish make a liquid yeast starter to bake bread.

A levain starter, mostly used for sourdough bread, is a little more complicated and requires several feedings over a longer period time. Its created like a poolish but has more flour than water. During the long aging process, while the levain is fed, it develops a rich sour taste that adds more complexity and character to the bread. Levain starters are like something out of the musical Little Shop of Horrors: “Feeeeed me Seymour! Feeeed me allll night lonnngg!!!”

Making bread starters reminds me of sea monkeys – remember those? You add water to a magical powder and then watch tiny creatures grow, swim around, and multiply. Only its more satisfying because you get to eat the bread at the end or trade it (like we did with the villagers) for fresh eggs and foraged mushrooms.

The entire bread making process is a combination of several steps. Yeast is ALIVE and requires oxygen, a little food, and a warm place to grow. As the yeast eats its food it releases carbon dioxide which causes the dough to stretch, rise, and ferment more. The dough must ferment at least three times. The first time with the poolish or levain starter, the second after more flour is added and the dough is kneaded and allowed to double (here it is often punched down to release carbon dioxide and rise again), and the third time after shaping the dough into loaves and allowing it to quickly ‘proof’ in a warm humid environment before baking.

Good bread bakers know how to play with the timing involved with the fermentation processes in order to create more flavorful breads. In many cases the second fermentation process can be slowed down or controlled by placing the dough in the refrigerator overnight. However, if you’re in a hurry the bread will rise quicker in a warm environment. Brioche dough contains tons of butter and needs an extra long time to rise in the refrigerator, otherwise you’ll end up with a gloppy mess of melted fat on your table.

The flour that you choose to bake bread with is important. The higher the protein content is in the flour, the more elasticity and the nicer the structure of the bread. That stretchiness comes from chemical compound gluten which is made up of protein and starch. Normally bread flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour.

We baked several breads including: brioche in all different shapes and sizes, sourdough rye, and cereal. The brioche we cooked in a normal stove but the heavier loaves we baked in Bradley’s wood burning oven. In order to heat up the bricks inside his specialty furnace, Bradley made a fire with several logs and let them burn to coal. After they had burned down completely, he swept the ashes out of the oven and we shoveled the loaves in, added some water for steam, and shut the little iron door to let the bread bake away.

To “pay” for our lessons we cooked dinner. With my husband as sous chef we whipped up some soul warming potiron (pumpkin) soup with toasted seeds, a roast chicken with root vegetables and reduced red wine vinegar jus, tomatillo and corn relish (from Bradley’s garden!), and a Tarte Aux Noix made from walnuts we gathered up from walnut trees around town. Not complicated, but completely locally grown and seasonal.

In between cooking, baking, and letting poolishes poolish my husband and I explored some of the neighboring villages. We drove through a town called Crapéou, pronounced Crappy-You and picked apples perfect enough to be something out of Snow White. Then headed for the surrounding hills to discover pristine lakes, trails, and more tiny villages. It’s hunting season right now and you can hear the hunting dogs barking away with their little bell collars ringing everywhere. Not wanting to end up on the wrong side of a shot gun we noted the trailheads for next time.

Our last evening was spent playing the French card game Tarot with some of the local card sharks in the village, eating Tarte Aux Pommes baked with our Crappy-You apples, and drinking more vintage champagne. Due to the fact that I was a little too tipsy to concentrate on the rules of the game, I lost. But I think I won overall, so no hard feelings.

I know there are those who believe that bloggers are a narcissistic bunch who only seek out others whose beliefs reflect and mirror their own while hiding all the time behind an anonymous computer screen. But, I beg to differ. I am truly thankful for all the people I have met world wide whose areas of expertise and values are different and yet complimentary to mine. Although I can be shy in social situations, I enjoy the opportunity to meet new people face to face. This weekend for me, was an example of extraordinary generosity and the desire for a world community that I think most of us seek to create in whatever way we know how.

Many thanks to the Prezants for taking the time out of their busy lives to show complete strangers a truly wonderful time. I know it will be a memory that we will cherish forever.

I will leave you with a recipe for brioche, the rest of the bread recipes are somewhat secret and you’ll have to get invited over to the Chateau…

Technorati Tags: bread, brioche, chateau, conzieu, levain, poolish, yeast

Brioche

Note: Making brioche by hand is a messy business because it almost equal weight butter and flour. I’ve done it before, but I wouldn’t recommend it unless you have unlimited counter space and a temperature controlled room to work in. Use a mixer like a kitchenaid instead. It will save you time.

Yeast Starter
1 cake fresh yeast (preferred) or 1 envelope of active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk at room temp.
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup bread flour
Dough
3 cups bread flour
11/4 teaspoons salt
4 large eggs at room temp lightly beaten
1/2 pound unsalted softened butter (not melted)
Eggwash 1-2 eggs beaten

Instructions
1. For the starter combine the yeast and milk in a bowl of a standing mixer (paddle attachment) and beat until yeast is dissolved. Stir in sugar and flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest somewhere warm for 30 minutes. If it’s working you’ll see lots of bubbles and foam created.
2. For the dough, add the rest of the flour, the salt, and the eggs to the starter and beat on low speed to get it all mixed. Then turn up the speed on the mixer to medium to begin working the dough. When it starts to come together it will turn shiny.
3. While its still mixing (and after the dough has reached that shiny phase) add the butter little by little. Stop the mixer when necessary and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Continue to beat the dough until all the butter has been incorporated and it is shiny (6-8 minutes).
4. Stop the mixer and scrape the dough out. Turn the dough into a dry bowl covered lightly with oil (or back to the same bowl that you’ve just cleaned). Cover it with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for about two hours or until it has doubled in size.
5. After it has risen, press it down to release some of the carbon dioxide and fold it in half. Continue to fold it in on itself three times.
6. Cover with plastic wrap again and place in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight.
7. To proof the bread prepare the baking pans or molds. Spray them with panspray or lightly butter. (2 bread loaf pans or 3 large brioche pans)
8. Take the dough from the fridge and cut in half for the bread loaf pans. For one design you can roll the dough out into a rectangle the same length as the pan but double in width, and roll it up from the smaller side like a jelly roll pinching the seem. Place the seem down in the loaf pan. Or make equal size balls, all the same size, and scrunch them next to each other two by two down the loaf pan. If using the brioche molds make a large doughnut shaped ring for the bottom and then a ball, flattened on one end and rolled into a cone, to place on top and hook around under the doughnut ring.
9. Cover dough with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until the bread fills the pans. About 1-2 hours longer.
10. Preheat oven to 400˚F and move rack to bottom.
11. Brush eggwash over the tops of the dough to give it a shine and help it turn brown in the oven. Make sure not to let it drip down the sides of the dough or it will burn in the pan and inhibit the bread from rising correctly in the oven.
12. Bake for ten minutes and then turn down the oven to 350˚F and let it bake for 30 minutes more.
13 Remove from baking pans immediately when done and turn out onto a rack.

The post Baking Bread in Conzieu: IT’S ALIVE!!! first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

Now that I’ve got that disclaimer out of the way, I can tell you about making puff pastry or Feuilletage with the fabulous blogger Tse of Chez Tse. We studied at cooking school together and later she joined me at Guy Savoy before interning at the famous patisserie, Pierre Hermé.

Puff pastry is easy. It really is. And it tastes better and bakes lighter than store bought dough loaded with hydrogenated oils. The ingredients are simple: flour, water, salt, and butter. If possible use beurre sec or “dry” butter that has a low moisture content and high fat content . It will make the process easier and help keep the flour from turning into a greasy mess. But, just to prove that regular butter can be used, we’ve chosen normal unsalted beurre for our video.

There are so many uses for puff pastry from easy fruit tarts to pastry shells for savory dishes. Make a big batch and freeze half!

For recipe click on “continue reading How to Make Puff pastry….”

Technorati Tags: apple turnovers, apples, apricots, chausson aux pommes, cooking videos, puff pastry, video

Puff Pastry

Ingredients
Détrempe dough:
400g flour sifted
220ml water room temperature
10g salt
80g butter, melted and cooled to room temp.

For the turns:
260g “dry” unsalted butter

Instructions
1. Watch video!
2. In a bowl put flour and salt.
3. Pour over water and melted butter and mix quickly to form a ball.
4. Knead dough on marble or in bowl until it has a smooth surface.
5. Rest dough for 10 minutes in refrigerator covered with saran wrap before starting pastry turns.
6. Dust workspace with flour. Put dough ball on surface and make a cross with a slight lump in the middle by rolling out the edges.
7. Place butter in a square on top of mound and fold flaps over it like an envelope.
8. With a rolling pin, press down in an “X” on top of envelope.
9. Roll out dough carefully the length and width of the rolling pin. Fold in thirds. Turn dough towards you like a book. Repeat the process: roll out dough the length of rolling pin and fold in thirds. Cover with parchment paper and chill in refrigerator for 10 minutes.
10. Take dough out of fridge and repeat turns twice to complete the 3rd and 4th pastry turn. Chill again for 10 minutes.
11. Take dough out again and finish 5th and 6th pastry turn. Roll out 1/8″ and cut to desired shape depending on the recipe.
12. On it’s own puff pastry only takes about 10-12 minutes to bake in a convection oven set at 375˚F

Ideas
1. Fresh fruit tart: cut pastry to desired shape and brush with abricot jam and cut fresh apricots on top. Sprinkle some sugar on top (or don’t) and bake until pastry is golden brown.
2. Apple turnovers. Cut pastry out into 3″ circles. With rolling pin, roll center of circle so it becomes an oval (leave edges thick). Dices apples and flash fry in some butter and sugar with cinnamon and vanilla spice. (you can heat the sugar and butter together first to create a nice syrupy caramel before adding apples) Fill one half of pastry circle with a tablespoon of apples. Brush a little water on the half and fold the other over and press down to seal. brush with egg wash.

The post How To Make Puff Pastry: Feuilletage first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

Seriously, if I have to de-feather, de-bone, gut, and cook another fowl I think I’ll slit my wrists. Nonetheless, I made this menu for some friends that are leaving the restaurant – and there are no birds in this meal.

And one more thing – HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! Gros Bisous and well wishes for a relaxing Holiday season and fun filled New Year!!! Thank you for all the support, wonderful comments, and inspiring emails that you have provided me over this last year!!!

Menu

Red and Black Caviar Amuse Bouches
Black Truffle Slices on Warm Crostini
Veuve Cliquot Champagne

Tuna Tartar with Pearls of Japan & Avocado
Moet & Chandon Rosé Champagne

Carrot and Red Pepper Double Soup
Magnum Jordan Pinot Noir, Nicole’s Vineyard 1999

Leg of Lamb with Herb Potatoes

Spiced Persimmon Purée with Vanilla Ice Cream & Pecan Caramel

Caviar Appetizers
Ingredients:
15-16 small fingerling potatoes
Creme Fraiche
1 lemon
A small jar of black caviar or roe (I cheated and didn’t use real caviar)
Package of belini’s
Hummous
Red caviar or roe

Instructions:
1. Trim potatoes on both ends so they stand up straight. With a small melon baller scoop out half of flesh. Cook in boiling salted water for 7 minutes or until cooked. Remove and chill until ready to fill.
2. Zest one whole lemon. Save half for decoration and finely chop the rest. Add chopped zest to creme fraiche. Fill potatoes with creme and top with a teaspoon of caviar and one zest peel.
3. For the red caviar appetizer simply place a teaspoon of hummous on a belini and top with a teaspoon of red caviar.

Truffles on Toast
Ingredients:
One baguette sliced
Olive oil
One truffle
Fleur de sel

Instructions:
1. With a mandoline slice truffle into rounds about 1/8″ of an inch thick. Thicker if your budget can allow it!
2. Make crostini with the baguette by placing sliced rounds on a baking sheet. Sprinkile olive oil over pan and bread and bake at 350˚K until bread is toasty. Top with a slice of truffle, a sprinkle of fleur de sel – and that’s it!

Tuna Tartar with Pearls of Japan
Ingredients:
1 small box of pearls of japan
Fresh herbs: chives, tarragon, chervil
1 carrot brunoised
1 zuchinni brunoised (just the green skin)
Rocket or fancy small lettuce leaves
1 Kilo of sushi grade tuna
2 Avacadoes
1 limes
1 lemon
Olive oil
Tabasco

Instructions:
1. Make half the box of pearls of Japan and follow instructions on box. Blanch brunoised carrot and zucchini in boiling water for one minute and mix with pearls and 1 T of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. In a blender or with a hand mixer blend half a bunch of tarragon, chives, and chervil with 1/3 cup of olive oil. Strain.
3. Chop tuna into small pieces and mix with a few tablespoons of herb oil, salt, pepper, and 1 T of lemon juice (not too much or it will cook the tuna).
4. Mash avocadoes and add lime juice to taste, salt, pepper, and a few dashes of tabasco
5. Layer salad in a ring mold of choice with tuna, avocado, pearls of japan, and some lettuce (dressed in the herb oil) on the top

Carrot and Red Pepper Double Soup (Alice Waters)
Ingredients:
1 Bag Carrots
3 Red Peppers
Olive oil
6 cups chicken stock
Salt and Pepper

Instructions:
1. Peel and chop carrots. Heat a skillet on medium and add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Cook carrots until soft (don’t brown!). Add carrots to a big pot with 2 cups of chicken stock. Blend with a hand mixer. Add more chicken stock as necessary to create a thick soup consistency. Season with salt and pepper
2. De-seed and chop red peppers. Repeat instructions above but add to a separate pot and start with one cup of chicken stock. Season with salt and pepper The soups should have the same consistency
3. When ready to serve ladel carrot soup in first and then the red pepper soup in the middle. The pepper soup will form a flower shape.
4. Garnish with yogurt or creme fraiche and chives

Leg of Lamb with Herb Potatoes
Ingredients:
Leg of lamb for 6 people (ask your butcher!)
One package of yukon gold potatoes. Figure 3/person
One yellow onion
6 cloves of garlic
one boullian cube of lamb stock to make 1cup of stock (you can substitute chicken stock)
Thyme
Olive oil
salt and pepper

Instructions:
1. Have the butcher cut around the bottom of the leg of lamb bone so after cooking you can simply slide it out. Tie leg with cooking string and season generously with salt and pepper on all sides.
2. Slice yukon gold potatoes into 1/2″ rounds. Slice onions. Peel and crush garlic (don’t chop finely)
3. Preheat oven to 400˚F.
4. In a large roasting pan mix lamb boullian, potatoes, onions, salt and pepper, thyme, and garlic
5. Place lamb on a grilling rack over potatoes. The melting fat from the lamb will drip onto the potatoes!!! Turn the lamb every 25 minutes.

Persimmon Purée with Vanilla Ice Cream and Pecan Caramel
Ingredients:
2 large ripe mush persimmons
1 teaspoon of lemon zest
pinches of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and vanilla powder to taste
Premium vanilla ice cream like Haagen Daas
One cup pecans chopped
1/2 cup sugar
silpat mat

Instructions:
1. Take persimmons and scoop out flesh into a bowl. Mash with a fork. Add lemon zest and spices to your liking. Cover and refrigerate
2. Spread pecans on a silpat mat
3. Place sugar in a small pot and add 3 tablespoons of water. Mix gently with your finger tip until sugar is dissolved. You can add a little more water if necessary. Be careful not to get sugar water on sides of pot because it will crystalize.
4. Place sugar water on medium high heat in a small pot and watch. Once it starts to boil and bubbles begin to pop slow and the color turns a dark amber (but not black!!!) remove from heat and pour over pecans. It will harden and then you can break apart into big decorative pieces. Do not stir caramel while it’s cooking. If necessary you and swirl the pan gently to even out the color. The color is very important too – amber to dark amber is okay for this candy.
5. Place a scoop of ice cream into a bowl and spoon spiced persimmon purée around it. Stick a caramel piece in the center of ice cream or however you find most decorative. Serve up!

Technorati Tags: 3-star restaurants, appetizers, caramel, caviar, Food, french, lamb, persimmon, red peppers, tuna

The post Holiday Menu first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

This last week our dinners have been revolting (from a preparation and eating standpoint) with French delicacies of Tete de Veau (head of veal) and Tongue, but last night was yummy. We made Croque Monsieurs for the whole staff and they were gobbled up faster than…well faster than the head cheese…

What is a Croque Monsieur? It is simply a ham and guyere cheese sandwich with a little béchamel sauce spread inbetween and on top for added creaminess. I know that many people are frightened by the idea of making béchamel because it is one of the quintessential French white mother sauces, but it’s easy and takes minutes. And you can make it the day before and refrigerate it.

Once you make a roux (flour and butter mixture that thickens the sauce) add milk a little salt, pepper and nutmeg et Voila! C’est facile, non? For recipe click on “Continue reading Food for the Masses” at the bottom of the post.

The origin of the name Croque Monsieur, is uncertain but the first part derives from the verb croquer (to crunch or to munch). Its first recorded appearance on a Parisian café menu was in 1910. It originated in France as a fast-food snack served in cafés. If you top it with a fried egg the dish is known as a croque madame.

Bon Appetit!!!

Technorati Tags: bechamel, béchamel, croque monsieur, recipes, sandwich, white sauce

Croque Monsieur

Ingredients
Loaf of Pain de Mie or thick white bread sliced
Sliced ham
Gruyere shredded cheese

Bechamel Sauce:
2 Tablespoons / 30 g unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons / 30 g all-purpose flour
1 cup / 250ml milk
Freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Bay Leaf

Instructions
1. Make Béchamel sauce by melting butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour once the butter is foamy and cook until just golden stirring occasionally. The starch in the flour needs to cook but not overcook so be careful not to burn it.
2. Pour in half the milk and stir vigorously until smooth, then add remaining milk. Add bay leaf and season with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg. Reduce heat to low and cook gently for another 5 minutes.
3. Spread a layer of béchamel sauce on thick white bread and top with a sprinkle of gruyere. Add 1- 2 ham slices and cover with a sprinkle of gruyere and another layer of bread.
4. On top of sandwich spread another layer of béchamel and more cheese. Bake in a hot oven (400˚F / 200˚ C) for 3 minutes until cheese is melted.
5. For a variation try a Croque Madame with a fried egg on top of the sandwich.

The post Feeding the Masses: Croque Monsieurs! first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

Couscous is a pasta that is made from semolina or, in some regions, from coarsely ground barley or millet. The semolina is sprinkled with water and rolled with the hands to form small pellets. It is labor intensive to make by hand and used to be done by groups of women. Glad we have machines today! It’s origins can be traced waaaay back to North Africa and later it’s migration to Provence and Brittany around 1359.

Of course, you don’t have to get all fancy with the ring of cucumbers and shrimp on top, but it does give it that je-ne-sais-quoi. Recipe to follow…

Technorati Tags: couscous, salad, vanilla, vinaigrette

Couscous Salad with Shrimp and Vanilla Oil

Ingredients
20 shrimp cooked and de-veined with tail on if possible
1 Medium cucumber
1 Cup small grain couscous (tabouleh can be used too if desired)
1 Red bell pepper
1/2 Bunch mint shredded fine
1/2 Bunch chives minced
1 Lemon
1 Orange
1/ 4 Olive Oil
1/2 cup neutral oil like vegetable or peanut
2 Vanilla bean pods whole
4 Star anise
Ring molds with no bottom in individual sizes or one large one for a party

Instructions
1. Cook couscous according to package instructions. Normally you boil the right quantity of water, dump the couscous in, put a lid on it, turn off the heat under the burner, let it steam for five minutes and then fluff up with a fork. Simple. Nothing to it. Set aside.
2. For the vanilla oil: in a small pot heat vegetable oil on low heat – not hot – just to warm it. Split vanilla pod in two vertically and using the tip of a paring knife scrape all the little bean seeds and add them to oil. Add the pods too and the star anise. Let infuse off heat while preparing the rest of the salad.
3. Buy shrimp cooked and de-veined unless you can get fresh shrimp. In that case, de-vein and boil quickly until they turn pink. Remove and refresh under cold water. Set aside. Take most of the tails off the shrimp but reserve some whole for decoration if desired.
4. With 1/2 of the cucumber brunoise into tiny cubes 1/4″ X 1/4″. Don’t use the seeds. Reserve. Repeat small brunoise with red bell pepper.
5. Zest orange and mix with juice of one lemon and 1/3 cup of olive oil. Add chives and mint. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Using a fork or your hands mix the lemon/herb dressing and brunoised vegetables with couscous. Add more olive oil and lemon if necessary.
7. Take remaining cucumber and slice one side of cylinder off lengthwise. This way, after cutting the individual slices, you can place them in a ring mold and they will lie flush with the plate. Using a mandolin (be CAREFUL of your fingers!!!!) slice the cucumber 2mm thin.
8. To make cucumber ring take a ring mold of desired size and rub inside a little with vanilla oil to keep the slices from sticking. Layer cucumber slices overlapping all the way around mold and refrigerate until ready to use. It is best to do this on the plate you intend to serve the salad on. You will have trouble transferring it otherwise!
9. Fill cucumber ring with couscous salad to the height of the cucumber slices. Mix shrimps with vanilla oil and layer over the top however you want. Make it pretty!
10. Decorate with vanilla pods, mint leaves, or a tomato rose if desired and refrigerate until right before serving. Gently slide the ring mold up and off before bringing to the table.

The post Crazy for Couscous first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

Phyllo (Filo) pastry dough means “leaf” in Greek and it is a dough well worth having on hand. Although the flaky pastry has a Greek name, it’s origins are Turkish (Istanbul) dating back to the Ottoman reign. Phyllo is often associated with the famous Turkish dessert, Baklava, that is a rich honey and pistachio treat. However, there are countless uses for it.

I really do think phyllo is fun! It can be molded into any shape: cone, present, triangle, circle, rectangle, etc and filled with any thing left over in the fridge, savory or sweet. Although you can make the dough by hand (very difficult with unsatisfactory results) it is easier to purchase at the grocery store. Phyllo dough is flour that has been compressed with water and just a little oil. Then it is rolled through huge machines that elongate the glutens in the flour to make paper thin layers.

How to use it: I normally use about three layers at a time. Make sure they are properly defrosted if previously frozen and not dried out. Each layer needs to be brushed lightly with melted butter (clarified preferred, but not essential) or olive oil. Place the layers on top of each other, put filling in the center, and shape the dough around it. Voila! Bake it for around 6-10 minutes at 350˚F / 170˚C until pastry is golden brown.

Any filling used should already be precooked or something that only needs to be warmed through like goat cheese with fresh basil and tomato (yummy!). Just make sure filling ingredients aren’t too soupy or it will turn the dough to mush.

Recently I made a last minute dinner for my visiting parents using frozen scallops and one carrot and one leek. The results was heavenly. I julienned the veggies and sautéd with butter until al dente and separately cooked the scallops until just warm in the center. Then I buttered my phyllo dough and made a bed of the carrots and leeks with the scallops on top.

I formed the pastry dough into a big peony shaped flower around the filling and loosely tied the top with kitchen string to help keep it’s form while cooking. What fun to cut into at the dinner table and inhale the delicious steam coming through the openings in the pastry!

I have also used phyllo to wrap individual par cooked rack of lamb with a pistachio/herb dressing, confit pigeon leg with foie gras and duxelles, and much much more. The fun is endless. Kids like to play with it too – it’s like a wrapping a present and then getting to eat it afterwards.

Recipes to follow: Scallops in Phyllo Dough

Technorati Tags: pastry, phyllo dough

Scallops in Phyllo Dough

Ingredients
1 Package Phyllo Dough, thawed if frozen
1 Package of scallops (small or big, doesn’t matter)
1 Carrot, julienne
1 Leek, julienne
4T butter for scallops and vegetables
Olive oil
1/2 Stick butter melted, fat solids removed
Kitchen string
Herbs if desired: fresh or dry thyme or chives

Instructions
1. To wash leek peel off outer few tough leaves and chop off the dark green top part (reserve for soup stock if desired). Cut leek halfway down vertically from top and wash well in cold water. Dirt often hides in the inner leaves due to the way leeks are grown.
2. Slice leek all the way in half vertically, take out little core center leaves (they’re tough too) and julienne into thin strips.
3. Peel carrot and julienne into thin strips
4. Heat 1T of butter in a skillet on medium heat with a splash of olive oil. Add vegetables and herbs if using and cook until al dente: not mushy, but not crunchy. Add a pinch of salt and a twist of pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.
5. In the same pan heat the remaining butter on medium heat and add scallops frozen or fresh. Depending on size and freshness, cook until they are just warm in the center but still translucent. Over cooked they become rubbery. Drain jus from scallops and reserve both away from heat.
6. Place Phyllo pastry on a flat clean surface. Lay 3 layers on top of each other and cut a square about 6″ X 6″. It can be bigger or smaller depending on size of scallops. Brush each square layer lightly with melted butter.
7. Make a bed of leek & carrot in the middle of pastry square. Top with scallops, drizzle with a little jus, and gently fold pastry around scallops. If too much jus is added the dough will get soggy in the oven. Tie top part gently with kitchen string to create a tissue paper effect.
8. Place on lined baking sheet and preheat oven to 350˚F / 170˚C.
9. Drizzle some more melted butter on top of pastry and bake in oven for 7-10 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.
10. To serve, cut kitchen string off and plate. Serve with diced tomatoes and some left over jus if desired.

The post Fun With Phyllo first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

Amy and Marine making crêpes!

In honor of “La Chandeleur” Marine held a huge Crêpe Party. The significance dates back to the middle-ages. Traditionally, in France, La Chandeleur is celebrated every February 2nd, in honor of the dead (including the end of the winter), and for good fortune. Crêpes are a symbol or wealth, and making them while holding a gold coin should bring good fortune and health during the year. Marine found historical details dating back to Pope VII! Nowadays in early February people make these delicious thin pancakes, put on costumes and throw fresh eggs and flour at people on the streets! (well, some do, like students).

When I arrived, Marine had prepared all imaginable accoutrements: tomato confit, sautéed mushrooms, grated grûyère, chevre, lardon (bacon), blue cheese, and eggs. For the dessert crêpes we had our choice of: homemade mandarin, blackberry, and strawberry jams or flambéed with Grand Marnier. She also served an “in between” crêpe filled with chevre, honey, and walnuts–
yummm!

I watched as she tossed pancake after pancake in the air….

We did get a little too crazy with the flambéed crêpes and at one point switched from Grand Marnier to Rum which was NOT a good idea. As we discovered the higher alcohol content in rum causes a much MUCH bigger flame. We melted the air filter on her stove which ended our flambé fun. Luckily the filter is easily replaced, however it dripped all over our last crêpe of the evening.

I DO NOT recommend lighting anything on fire, but for those curious about the process you heat up a small amount of alcohol (usually a cognac or some sort of liqueur) to a simmer then pour it over gently while simultaneously lighting on fire with the longest possible match or lighter. Do not put your face over it or have anything around that can catch on fire– you can never tell how big the flames are going to be.

We gobbled our delicious crêpes with Cidre (hard sparkling cider) and had good fun with baby Zoe..the real light of the party!

Thanks again Marine for all delicious fun and to Stuart Isett (Pro photographer) for capturing our flambé moments.

The post How to Make Crepes! Crepes! Crepes! first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

Let’s face it, soufflé’s are a little scary to make. The thought of them falling before they get to the table is almost worse than forgetting to put pants on before going outside. However, this same unpredictable quality adds a wonderful magical surprise to any party when they DO make it to the table in tact. The oooo’s and aaahhhhh’s can be worth a little uncertainty.

Follow these basic intructions: use softened butter to flour and butter soufflé dish, whisk egg whites stiff but not dry just before folding into ingredients, and don’t open the oven door until it has risen 3″-4″. Voila! Soufflé’s are broken down into two three parts: béchamel sauce, egg whites, & egg yolks.

SOUFFLE AU FROMAGE (Cheese Souffle):
Serves 4 people
40g butter
40g flour
250ml milk
100g gruyére grated
3 egg yolks
5 egg whites stiffly beaten
1 pinch of salt
Butter and flour 6-cup soufflé dish. (use softened butter)
Freshly ground pepper, salt, nutmeg to taste

Instructions:
1. Butter and flour soufflé dish up to the very top. Refrigerate.
2. Make roux for béchamel sauce in saucepan: melt butter over medium heat until foamy then whisk in flour. Let flour cook in butter (while whisking) to cook the glutens. 2-3 min. Don’t let it brown.
3. Pour COLD milk into HOT roux and whisk briskly to form béchamel sauce. When it boils take off heat and add a generous pinch of salt & pepper. Add a small pinch of nutmeg.
4. Whisk egg yolks one by one into béchamel (off heat) and grated gruyére.
5. Whisk egg whites until very stiff but not dry. Add a pinch of salt as they become stiff.
6. Immediately mix 1/4 of egg whites into bechamel sauce to lighten it.
7. Pour béchamel sauce back over remaining egg whites and fold in with spatual. If you want the rustic look (like my pic below) then leave some white streaks. If you want the refined top hat look then fold quickly/gently until few eggwhite streaks remain.
8. Pour into soufflé dish leaving 1/2″ space from the top. Make a 1/2″ groove with your thumb around rim of batter to help it rise straighter. Be careful not to rub the inside of the dish.
9. Cook for around 20 min at 200˚-180˚C / 400˚-385˚F.
Check for done-ness after it has risen 3″-4″. Touch the top lightly. If it feels firm with a slight wobble in the middle then it should be moist inside and dry outside. If you like it dryer then cook a little longer. BEWARE: an overcooked soufflé will deflate.

The post Soufflé Au Fromage Recipe first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.