Hello everyone,
This month's meeting will not have a demo. Doug is at his competition in San Diego until the day of our meeting, so while he might feel up to joining us to talk abuot the book, he will not have time to plan or make us food. We will still be meeting to talk about Four Fish, though.
I'll see you all next Wednesday, the 25th at 6:30PM.
Enjoy the sunshine!
Brianne
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Mexican Chocolate Pot de Creme topped with Dulce de Leche and Almond Whipped Topping
I pity everyone who wasn't able to make our meeting last night, as Doug's pot de Creme was amazing! With my pity, comes my belief that I must share the recipe on our blog so that you can all attempt to make it on your own.
Definitely begin with the Dulce de Leche, as it takes by far the most time (about 3 hours).
Dulce de Leche (courtesy of Alton Brown)
Ingredients
1 quart whole milk
12 ounces sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Directions
Combine the milk, sugar, vanilla bean and seeds in a large, 4-quart saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. once the sugar has dissolved, add the baking soada and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to low and cook uncovered at a bare simmer. Stir occasionally, but do not re-incorporate the foam that appears on the top of the mixture. Continue to cook for 1 hour. Remove the vanilla bean after 1 hour and continue to cook until the mixture is a dark caramel color and has reduced to about 1 cup, approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Store in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to a month.
Mexican Chocolate Pot de Creme
For the custard:
2 1/4 cup half and half
1 cinnamon stick, busted (Doug suggested a meat mallet)
1 Morita Chili (ancho will also work)
4 oz Bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 egg yolks
1 Tbsp White Sugar
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 dash Salt
For the whipped topping:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp Almond extract
2 oz Sliced almonds, toasted
Directions:
For the custard:
1. Preheat an oven to 320 degrees'
2. Combine the chili pepper, cinnamon stick, and half and half in a medium-sized pot and bring to a simmer for 2 minutes
3. Combine the two chocolates in a medium-sized mixing bowl and melt over a double boiler.
4. Turn off the hat for the half and half mixture
5. Combine the egg yolks with both sugars and the salt, and whisk until well combined and fairly smooth.
6. Temper the egg yolk mixture into the half and half mixture.
7. Pour the custard base through a mesh strainer over the chocolate and mix until completely combined
8 Pour the chocolate custard base into ramekins, and place these on top of clean kitchen towels in a casserole pan.
9. Fill the casserole pan with hot water so that it reaches 1/2 way up the sides of the ramekins.
10. Bake the prepared custards for 25-35 minutes (or until almost completely set).
11. Allow custards to cool on the counter for 10 minutes, then refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
To Finish:
1. Top the cooled pot de cremes with warm dulce de leche (if using).
2. Whisk together all of the ingredients listed under the whipped topping heading until the cream forms stiff peaks.
3. Top the pot de cremes with the whipped topping, and then garnish with the toasted sliced almonds.
Then commence with the eating, pronto!
Definitely begin with the Dulce de Leche, as it takes by far the most time (about 3 hours).
Dulce de Leche (courtesy of Alton Brown)
Ingredients
1 quart whole milk
12 ounces sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Directions
Combine the milk, sugar, vanilla bean and seeds in a large, 4-quart saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. once the sugar has dissolved, add the baking soada and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to low and cook uncovered at a bare simmer. Stir occasionally, but do not re-incorporate the foam that appears on the top of the mixture. Continue to cook for 1 hour. Remove the vanilla bean after 1 hour and continue to cook until the mixture is a dark caramel color and has reduced to about 1 cup, approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Store in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to a month.
Mexican Chocolate Pot de Creme
For the custard:
2 1/4 cup half and half
1 cinnamon stick, busted (Doug suggested a meat mallet)
1 Morita Chili (ancho will also work)
4 oz Bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 egg yolks
1 Tbsp White Sugar
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 dash Salt
For the whipped topping:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp Almond extract
2 oz Sliced almonds, toasted
Directions:
For the custard:
1. Preheat an oven to 320 degrees'
2. Combine the chili pepper, cinnamon stick, and half and half in a medium-sized pot and bring to a simmer for 2 minutes
3. Combine the two chocolates in a medium-sized mixing bowl and melt over a double boiler.
4. Turn off the hat for the half and half mixture
5. Combine the egg yolks with both sugars and the salt, and whisk until well combined and fairly smooth.
6. Temper the egg yolk mixture into the half and half mixture.
7. Pour the custard base through a mesh strainer over the chocolate and mix until completely combined
8 Pour the chocolate custard base into ramekins, and place these on top of clean kitchen towels in a casserole pan.
9. Fill the casserole pan with hot water so that it reaches 1/2 way up the sides of the ramekins.
10. Bake the prepared custards for 25-35 minutes (or until almost completely set).
11. Allow custards to cool on the counter for 10 minutes, then refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
To Finish:
1. Top the cooled pot de cremes with warm dulce de leche (if using).
2. Whisk together all of the ingredients listed under the whipped topping heading until the cream forms stiff peaks.
3. Top the pot de cremes with the whipped topping, and then garnish with the toasted sliced almonds.
Then commence with the eating, pronto!
Book Selections!
Thank you to everyone who made it out last night. Below are your choices for the next 4 months.
Please note that the order of when we read these may move around a bit if necessary.
#1: Maman's Homesick Pie by Donia Bijan (10 votes)
#2: In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (7 votes)
#3: The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn (6 votes)
#4: Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl (6 votes)
These are the books that were on the list, but that we won't be reading (at least in the next few months):
The Chef's Apprentice by Elle Newmark (5 votes)
Twain's Feast by Andrew Beahrs (3 votes)
The Spice Necklace by Ann Vanderhoof (3 votes)
Life, On the Line by Grant Achatz (2 votes)
Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain (2 votes)
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (1 vote)
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer (0 votes)
The Face on Your Plate by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson (0 votes)
Remember that next month we will be reading Four Fish by Paul Greenberg.
Please note that the order of when we read these may move around a bit if necessary.
#1: Maman's Homesick Pie by Donia Bijan (10 votes)
#2: In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (7 votes)
#3: The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn (6 votes)
#4: Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl (6 votes)
These are the books that were on the list, but that we won't be reading (at least in the next few months):
The Chef's Apprentice by Elle Newmark (5 votes)
Twain's Feast by Andrew Beahrs (3 votes)
The Spice Necklace by Ann Vanderhoof (3 votes)
Life, On the Line by Grant Achatz (2 votes)
Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain (2 votes)
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (1 vote)
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer (0 votes)
The Face on Your Plate by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson (0 votes)
Remember that next month we will be reading Four Fish by Paul Greenberg.
Monday, February 27, 2012
February Demo
Hello Everyone,
I'm sitting in my office looking out at this gorgeous day, and hoping that the rain and snow stay away for awhile (at least until after our meeting). I hope all of you have the opportunity to go out and enjoy today a little bit.
This Wednesday will be a busy meeting for us. I've chosen a decent list of books for us all to choose from. We'll conduct it very similarly to what we did before. I'll have everyone vote for their top three choices, and then based on the highest voted titles, make the selections for the next several months.
I'm very excited for Doug's demonstration as well. Using Mexican chocolate, he will be making pot de creme, which is basically a baked custard. In case you haven't made or had them before, I assure you, they are delicious. While definitely not your traditional Mexican fair, I think the cinnamon in the Mexican chocolate and the subtle heat of cayenne pepper will maintain the essence of the food Tita made in Like Water for Chocolate.
Remember that March's book is Four Fish by Paul Greenberg. We have copies in store if you want to buy them Wednesday.
I hope that everyone can make it, and has enjoyed reading about the tumultuous love of Tita and Pedro.
Brianne
I'm sitting in my office looking out at this gorgeous day, and hoping that the rain and snow stay away for awhile (at least until after our meeting). I hope all of you have the opportunity to go out and enjoy today a little bit.
This Wednesday will be a busy meeting for us. I've chosen a decent list of books for us all to choose from. We'll conduct it very similarly to what we did before. I'll have everyone vote for their top three choices, and then based on the highest voted titles, make the selections for the next several months.
I'm very excited for Doug's demonstration as well. Using Mexican chocolate, he will be making pot de creme, which is basically a baked custard. In case you haven't made or had them before, I assure you, they are delicious. While definitely not your traditional Mexican fair, I think the cinnamon in the Mexican chocolate and the subtle heat of cayenne pepper will maintain the essence of the food Tita made in Like Water for Chocolate.
Remember that March's book is Four Fish by Paul Greenberg. We have copies in store if you want to buy them Wednesday.
I hope that everyone can make it, and has enjoyed reading about the tumultuous love of Tita and Pedro.
Brianne
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Updates
Hello everyone,
I hope you are all enjoying Like Water for Chocolate. It's not typically the type of book I read, but I found it genuinely enthralling. Tita's tortured, complicated love is perfect for our favorite February holiday (nevermind that with the exception of President's Day, it's pretty much the only holiday in February).
Anyway, I just wanted to give everyone an update on what we will be reading for March. Next month we will be reading Four Fish by Paul Greenberg. Doug has mentioned this book at our meetings, and he found it both enjoyable and informative. I hope you will all like it as well. We have the books here at the store already in case any of you want to get a head start.
This month's meeting will be pretty packed. I'm going to let you all decide what you want to read for April, May, and June. I'll bring a selection of 10 or so books and let everyone vote on which ones they want to read, much like we did last year.
Here's hoping everyone enjoys the latter half of the month!
Brianne
I hope you are all enjoying Like Water for Chocolate. It's not typically the type of book I read, but I found it genuinely enthralling. Tita's tortured, complicated love is perfect for our favorite February holiday (nevermind that with the exception of President's Day, it's pretty much the only holiday in February).
Anyway, I just wanted to give everyone an update on what we will be reading for March. Next month we will be reading Four Fish by Paul Greenberg. Doug has mentioned this book at our meetings, and he found it both enjoyable and informative. I hope you will all like it as well. We have the books here at the store already in case any of you want to get a head start.
This month's meeting will be pretty packed. I'm going to let you all decide what you want to read for April, May, and June. I'll bring a selection of 10 or so books and let everyone vote on which ones they want to read, much like we did last year.
Here's hoping everyone enjoys the latter half of the month!
Brianne
Monday, January 23, 2012
A Life in Provence Demo Announcement
Hello Everyone,
I hope everyone made it through last week's storm alright. Thankfully it didn't interrupt this week's meeting.
I personally loved A Year in Provence. It was funny, quirky, and despite the fact that Provence is notoriously expensive, Peter Mayle made me think that maybe, just maybe, someday I'll be able to live and eat decadently in the Provencial countryside. Of course, my American impatience makes their particular lifestyle hard to imagine. But I think if I get to eat delicious food and drink wine all day, I just might be able to stand it.
Because I can't imagine that all of you are all that interested in my day dreams, I'll get on with the point of this post: announcing what Doug will be making. As I'm sure all of you at least know after reading Mayle's book, the French are all about rich, interesting, delicious flavors. They are also about bread, in all its carby-goodness. So, for this meeting, Doug will be making duck rillettes, which are duck confit, shredded and seasoned as a topping for bread. I'm not entirely sure what this seasoning process is, but I am sure Doug will go over that on Wednesday.
I hope everyone made it through last week's storm alright. Thankfully it didn't interrupt this week's meeting.
I personally loved A Year in Provence. It was funny, quirky, and despite the fact that Provence is notoriously expensive, Peter Mayle made me think that maybe, just maybe, someday I'll be able to live and eat decadently in the Provencial countryside. Of course, my American impatience makes their particular lifestyle hard to imagine. But I think if I get to eat delicious food and drink wine all day, I just might be able to stand it.
Because I can't imagine that all of you are all that interested in my day dreams, I'll get on with the point of this post: announcing what Doug will be making. As I'm sure all of you at least know after reading Mayle's book, the French are all about rich, interesting, delicious flavors. They are also about bread, in all its carby-goodness. So, for this meeting, Doug will be making duck rillettes, which are duck confit, shredded and seasoned as a topping for bread. I'm not entirely sure what this seasoning process is, but I am sure Doug will go over that on Wednesday.
I hope to see everyone this Wednesday at 6:30PM and hear what everyone thought about the book.
~ Brianne
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Bean Spreads from our 12/28/2011 meeting
Hello everyone,
I thought I'd post Doug's recipes from our last meeting for anyone who wasn't able to make it.
This first recipe is one that Doug found on Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, and can be found in its entirety at http://honest-food.net/veggie-recipes/unusual-garden-veggies/ancient-roman-fava-bean-dip/.
We ate this with focaccia bread, but it would also be delicious with crackers, and honestly, would probably be delicious in and of itself.
Ancient Roman Fava Bean Dip (Doug also made one with Lima Beans)
Serve this as a side dish with meats, or as an appetizer with toast or crackers.
Serves 4
I thought I'd post Doug's recipes from our last meeting for anyone who wasn't able to make it.
This first recipe is one that Doug found on Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, and can be found in its entirety at http://honest-food.net/veggie-recipes/unusual-garden-veggies/ancient-roman-fava-bean-dip/.
We ate this with focaccia bread, but it would also be delicious with crackers, and honestly, would probably be delicious in and of itself.
Ancient Roman Fava Bean Dip (Doug also made one with Lima Beans)
Serve this as a side dish with meats, or as an appetizer with toast or crackers.
Serves 4
- 1 pound fresh fava beans, shelled and blanched
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce or Worcestershire
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chopped lovage or parsley
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Salt and black pepper to tast
1. Once your favas are blanched and out of their jackets, simmer them in the white wine until they are easily mashed, about 8 minutes. They should absorb the wine.
2. Put the beans, olive oil, vinegar, and the fish sauce or Worcestershire in a food processor, along with the remaining ingredients, and buzz into a paste.
3. Taste for salt and buzz a little more. Serve warm or at room temperature with a litte more olive oil drizzled on top and a sprinkling of black pepper.
The second recipe is Doug's:
Bean Spread
Beans, dry 1 lb.
Water 1 gallon
Salt 2 Tbsp (more as needed)
Garlic, whole peeled cloves 5 ea.
Red pepper flakes 1/2 tsp
Olive oil 3/4 cup
Lemons, juiced 1 1/2 ea.
Parsley, chopped 1/2 cup
1. If soaking the beans, then do so at least 18 hours before cooking in approximately three times their volume of water.
2. Simmer the beans, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes in the water for approximately 2 hours (1 hour if beans are soaked), or until completely tender.
3. Strain the beans, reserving 3/4 cup of the bean water.
4. Place the beans in a blender with the reserved bean juice, lemon juice, and olive oil and blend until smooth.
5. Adjust the seasoning and consistency using salt, water, or oil to desired result.
6. Stir the chopped parsley into the puree and serve garnished with a fine olive oil along side bread, crackers, or chips.
Bean spreads are highly versatile and difficult to mess up. In fact, after our meeting, Doug decided to try making the bean spread with black eyed peas. His reports indicate deliciousness. I've posted some pictures of this below.
The second recipe is Doug's:
Bean Spread
Beans, dry 1 lb.
Water 1 gallon
Salt 2 Tbsp (more as needed)
Garlic, whole peeled cloves 5 ea.
Red pepper flakes 1/2 tsp
Olive oil 3/4 cup
Lemons, juiced 1 1/2 ea.
Parsley, chopped 1/2 cup
1. If soaking the beans, then do so at least 18 hours before cooking in approximately three times their volume of water.
2. Simmer the beans, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes in the water for approximately 2 hours (1 hour if beans are soaked), or until completely tender.
3. Strain the beans, reserving 3/4 cup of the bean water.
4. Place the beans in a blender with the reserved bean juice, lemon juice, and olive oil and blend until smooth.
5. Adjust the seasoning and consistency using salt, water, or oil to desired result.
6. Stir the chopped parsley into the puree and serve garnished with a fine olive oil along side bread, crackers, or chips.
Bean spreads are highly versatile and difficult to mess up. In fact, after our meeting, Doug decided to try making the bean spread with black eyed peas. His reports indicate deliciousness. I've posted some pictures of this below.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
