Pastry classes, Day 6

This was a much more laid back class. We made Chocolate Heaven cookies, which are similar to the coconut-almond cookies I made for Christmas, and chocolate-pecan-cranberry and white chocolate cookies we make at Magnolia. We melted all the chocolate and butter together, and then added them to whipped eggs and flavorings, folding in the dry ingredients at the end. I don't know if there is a name to this method, but it yields a soupy batter, that when is baked yields glossy intensely flavored cookies. I thought these Chocolate Heaven cookies were pretty tasty - I liked the addition of pecans and coffee extract (to be honest though, the ones I made with coconut and almond extract at home was pretty booooooomb).

We also made mini fruit tartlets. There's nothing gayer than a mini fruit tart! I didn't understand why we were doing these, it was just a different combination of things we had already done before. Pate brissee, with creme legere (pastry cream combined with whipped cream to make, as far as I am concerned, vanilla pudding) with fruit cut and arranged on top. Of all the fruit tart combos though, I probably liked this one the best. It was light, I like the brisee dough, and if the fruit had been a bit more ripe it would have been perfect. Again, I love segmenting those oranges!

Pastry classes, Day 5

Day 5, our chef-instructors started kicking our asses. In this section, we are learning the basics - how to slice and prepare fruit, how to roll dough, how to make basic dough, how to cube butter, etc. While I am find this information useful, it is technique I have done already (although not necessarily the way they want me to do it). I understand that this is important to go over, in order to get everyone up to snuff, and I see it as an opportunity to ask a lot of questions on the whys and science behind the baking process.

But because this is considered pretty basic, there is a drive to get through it and be done, so we can go onto more advanced levels - Pate a choux! Puff pastry! Bread! Chocolate! So during this class, there was a lot of "you're not moving fast enough! You need to slice that apple in 30 seconds! etc... " which for me, sends the adrenaline rushing through my veins and I love it. Class is over before I know it and I say holy shit that was fucking awesome.

Here is the selection of treats from Day 5:

Tart Alsacienne. This was sliced apples that we got to flambe (fucking awesome! If there is ever a flambe station in a pastry kitchen, I think I have found my true calling. I probably wouldn't have any eyebrows left though), and then was baked in a sweet dough with custard. I think this shit is disgusting. It looks like an infected vagina. I'm not a fan of custard really, so obviously this did not appeal to me.

Vanilla Cresecents. On a lighter note, these appealed to me. This was made with a basic butter cookie with the addition of hazelnut flour. Hazelnut is one of my favorite flavors in dessert, so I was a fan. We shaped them in cute little crescents like little wrapped up babies, and coated them with vanilla-sugar after they baked. They had a very tender crumb, and were nutty and buttery.

Baked Fruit tart. A variation of the fresh fruit tart, only this time, its baked! Sweet pastry dough, with pastry cream, a layer of cake crumbs, and then in this case, nectarines sliced on top. Again, I am not a fan of pastry cream (its just sweet goop! There are such better things to take up space!) so I wasn't going bonkers after this shit either. But it at least looked appealing. Adam enjoyed it.

SKITTLES PIE!

How to make a Skittles Pie:

1- Invite like-minded friend over

2- Pulse 2/3 of skittles in a food processor (will be loud) until they look chewed up a bit

3- Place in double boiler with 1/2 C. corn syrup to make "skittles sludge"

4- Cook sludge until actively sludge-like, keep over heat as you prepare the crust

5- Unwrap and place Starburst in the bottom of a pie tin- feel free to be decorative

6- Place in preheated oven for about 10 minutes, until slightly melted and pliable

7- Once cool enough to work with, shape the crust

8- Combine sludge with remaining fresh skittles, and working quickly, place in pie shell

9- Spread evenly, place some more fresh skittles on top

10- Weave a lattice top out of twizzlers, place on top of pie, trim to edge

And viola! A beautiful, tasty, and perfect birthday present for Misty Martin!

Pastry classes, Day 4

I am in my second week at the French Culinary Institute Pastry Program! I am in the process of uploading the documentation of my trials so far. So going back to week 1, this is what's going on!

Days 1, 2, and 3 we made an apple tart, a banana cream tart, and did administrative stuff. I didn't bring my camera those days, so we're just going to skip over them.

Day 4!:

We made a Fresh Fruit Tart, a Tarte Bourdaloue (Pear and Almond Tart) and baked off gingersnaps from a previous class.

The Fresh fruit tart was made using a Pate Brisee (Flaky tart dough), a layer of Almond Cream, a very thin layer of Creme Patisserie, and then an arrangement of fresh fruit on top. I found out I really like segmenting oranges. This tart has a really nice thin flaky dough, similar to a good American pie crust. I liked the amount of almond cream in it too- not too much as to overwhelm it with flavor, but enough to create a nice cushion. I found out that I don't like pastry cream- its just kind of goopy and when its cold it looks like lipo-suction fat. Fresh fruits are always nice. Overall, this was one of my favorite tarts because it was delicate with nice flavor.

The Tarte Bourdaloue was made with a Pate Brisee, a layer of almond cream, topped with sliced poached pears and sliced almonds. This was generally tasty, but I thought it had too much almond cream in it. And because the thick almond cream baked under the pears, it didn't brown or get anything other than just pasty. I like the flavor, I would just use less of it. The pear part was super yummy- we poached them in a liquid with a dry caramel, wine, and spices, and they were just perfect!

We also baked off gingersnaps from a previous class. These were delicious cookies- taste and texture just perfect. We used ginger, cinnimon, cloves, and cardamom, and molasses, and I thought it was just the right level of spice. We also used vinegar in the recipe- something I haven't seen in a cookie dough before - and I've been meaning to ask the chef what thats about. We rolled them in granulated sugar before sticking them in the oven!

More updates soon!

Adam's Lemon Tart

As if Adam didn't get enough for his birthday, I decided to make him a lemon tart as well. I made it using Alice Medrich's recipe from her book Pure Dessert. I have mentioned this book a few times, and it is one of my favorite resources for recipes.

While I was making the dough for the crust- which was simply sugar, salt, melted butter, and flour, mixed together and then patted into the pan - I decided to throw some dried lavender in. Which turned out to be a great idea. Just about 1/2 tsp really added a light perfume to the crust that complimented the lemon well.

I served the tart with glazed strawberries, and strawberry-vanilla soft whipped cream. Adam loved it, as did I. It was nice and lemony and tart, without being too sweet. The crust was crispy, and the lemon curd was pretty thin on the tart.

Blue Hill at Stone Barns

For Adam's birthday, our buddies Steve and Devi joined us on a trip up north to visit Blue Hill at Stone Barns and the Stone Barns Agricultural Center. We went early to get a tour of the farm, which was well worth it. So many vegetables and cute animals really got my stomach groaning. It was actually very inspiring to see this farm as an example of sustainability, and it was a beautiful day hanging out with people I really like.

The food at Blue Hill was very tasty. For the most part it was simple food, prepared very well. It was not mind blowing or really all that innovative, but simple fresh food prepared very well can be pretty phenomenal and it's really all I needed.

Weeknight Dinners

Below I have posted some images of what Adam and I eat on a regular basis. Most of the meals, I just make up.

They are:

Black beans with warm tortilla, plantains, and serrano cilantro rice

Smoked pork chops with cannelli beans and sweet bell peppers

Sauteed swiss chard with pine nuts and raisins, topped with a poached egg

Orzo and wild rice salad with roasted root vegetables and spring onions

Chinese 5-spice chicken with a peanut noodle salad