Archive for the 'dessert' Category
I’ve been more or less off dinner duty lately – last night I was in Red Deer teaching a class, and tonight we went to Vin Room (didn’t want to miss out on Dine Out Calgary completely! we ate creamy mushroom soup, braised lamb shoulder and crème brulée, with wine pairings for each, for $50) but I do have something on offer. This morning we talked about lard on the Eyeopener, and I finally made some pastry using my homemade stash, and a third of it came back home with me. And wow.
Seriously-I am pulling up my soapbox and preaching the word of the lard. A little more research on the subject revealed that lard is only (I realize only is relative – but far lower than I would have guessed) 39% saturated fat and 45% monounsaturated fat. (I know! It’s pig fat! How can that be? Is lard really that misunderstood? I think perhaps so.) Comparatively, butter is about 63% saturated fat. So it’s not just a smidge lower – it’s quite substantially lower. In saturated fat. Than butter. Pig fat, that is. My worlds are colliding. My Dad called later in the morning to stress that he couldn’t possibly believe this to be true. But yes, I double and triple-checked, and so far no one has called or emailed to point out that I got my facts wrong.
So swapping some of the butter for lard when making pastry (I usually do all-butter pastry) makes it flakier (lard makes it flaky while butter adds flavour) while reducing saturated fat. Crazy. And it’s an ingredient my Grandma used, and would recognize – which is the whole point, no? The movement back to whole and familiar and real food? And it makes some pretty fab poutine, by the way. (Although canola oil does too, and there’s no question that canola oil is better for you than lard.)
Not Without Salt has a nice little write-up and video on rendering your own lard, although hers is much darker than I like mine to be – the darker it gets the toastier and more intensely flavoured. If you’re gentle and slow, you should be able to keep it pure white and almost flavourless, if you like it that way. Strain it – chill it – lard. I have done a batch in the slow cooker and it works fabulously – it does tend to colour the fat, though – or mine did, anyway – which intensifies the flavour a bit and gives it a pale golden hue. Which is fine, if you don’t mind that – just be warned.
Grandma Woodall’s “Never-fail” Pastry
This will give you enough pastry to line a 9” pie plate; double it to make enough for two pies or a double crust.
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter, chilled and cut into pieces
1/4 cup lard or shortening, chilled and cut into pieces
2-4 Tbsp. ice-cold water
1 tsp. vinegar (optional, stir it into the water)
In a large bowl or the bowl of a food processor, stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and shortening and use a fork, pastry blender, wire whisk or the “pulse” motion of the food processor to blend the mixture until it resembles coarse meal, with lumps of fat no bigger than a pea.
Drizzle the minimum amount of water over the mixture and stir until the dough comes together, adding a little more a bit at a time if you need it. Gather the dough into a ball, flatten it into a disc, wrap it in plastic and chill it for at least half an hour. If you are making a double crust pie, divide the dough in half, making one half slightly larger than the other. (Your pastry can be prepared up to this point and frozen for up to 4 months; let it thaw on the countertop when you need it.
Maple Hazelnut Pie
Bon Appétit, October 2008
unbaked single pie crust
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. bourbon
1/4 cup butter, cut into bits
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1 cup hazelnuts, husked, coarsely chopped
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
In a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat, combine maple syrup, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Continue boiling for a minute, reducing heat if it looks like it might boil over. Remove from the heat and stir in the bourbon, then the butter; whisk until butter melts. Let cool to lukewarm, whisking occasionally, about 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush crust with the beaten egg white, and scatter with hazelnuts. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla; whisk in the cooled maple-sugar mixture. Pour into the crust, over the hazelnuts. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until filling is set and slightly puffed. Cool completely on a wire rack.
One Year Ago: Curried Red Lentil, Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup with Ginger, and Root Vegetable Cake
March 09 2010 | dessert | 31 Comments »
Remember that cobbler we had for dessert last week at Forage? And how one of you requested the recipe? Well Wade came through for us, and I found this in my inbox:
Forage Saskatoon Berry Cobbler
Filling:
6 cups Saskatoon berries (Pearson’s at the Calgary Farmers Market has frozen berries)
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon (we used Silk Road Vietnamese)
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
Place all in a saucepan on low heat and stir occasionally. Once the sugar has dissolved turn the heat up to medium and bring to a boil until the filling thickens. Remove from heat and pour into a casserole dish.
Topping:
1/4 cup butter (1/4 inch dice)
1 cup flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
1/4 cup half and half cream
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Put the butter in a food processor. Add the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Process to a fine crumb. Place in a bowl.
Whisk the egg and cream together. Pour into the flour and stir until just combined. Spoon onto the berry filling. Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown. Serve with ice cream.
Thanks Wade.
P.S. About those puddle cookies. I should have touched on the subject of sugar yesterday – specifically those 4 scary cups of it. I know, the sheer quantity made me think twice about making them too. However – I knew that powdered/icing/confectioners’ sugar (all the same thing) had less, well, sugar per cup than table sugar, on account of all that air. (Same principle as whipped butter having less butter per cup than the solid stuff.) But what I learned upon checking numbers is that cup for cup, powdered sugar -when aerated a bit -stirred or sifted and not terribly packed down- has pretty much half the calories and carbohydrates as regular granulated sugar.
1 cup granulated (plain old white) sugar: 774 calories / 200 g carbohydrates (200 g total sugars)
1 cup icing sugar: 389 calories / 99.8 g carbohydrates (97.8 g total sugars)
(source: USDA Nutrient Database)
Interesting, no?
So really, using 4 cups of icing sugar is actually equal to using 2 cups of white sugar. Which is still a lot, but not quite so shockingly high, and it is after all a cookie. A delicious, delicious cookie.
March 01 2010 | dessert | 16 Comments »
Sorry – I fell asleep at close to 1am trying to post this. When you read what I had for dinner you’ll understand why.
We’re in a dinner club. How cool is that? The last dinner, which we missed, was 80s themed, complete with dress code, old photos and mix tapes. Tonight the theme was cheesy (as in corny, not Whiz-based) Kraft recipes, preferably vintage, and none of us had trouble coming up with disgusting courses of processed food-like product (the meal would have come straight from Michael Pollan’s worst nightmares), all of which was served on a long cheese-slice-covered table.
We started with Harvey Wallbangers topped with a blop of marshmallow Fluff:
Then – Shake n’ Bake chicken strips with Velveeta fondue, spiked with blue cheese dressing and Bac-Os. (SALT!Y!)
And then Kraft dinner surprise (the surprise being bits of broccoli D’s mom used to sneak in between layers of “cheese” and shells):
And a salad – a 7-Up salad, to be precise (Jell-O, 7-Up, marshmallows, Miracle Whip, Cool Whip, pineapple chunks):
Jaws was projected onto the ceiling above the table (some hadn’t even seen it):
And later, Fantasy Island.
A and I were on dessert duty. She made a layered frozen orange sherbet thing from the cover of the Kraft cooking magazine:
And I made Candy Bar Pie and a Chips Ahoy! Tiramisu (of sorts) in which you fold together instant chocolate pudding and Cool Whip (we bought the generic kind, because who cares? On the ingredient list: beta carotene, for colour. Colour? Have you seen anything whiter than frozen whipped topping?) and then layer it in a pan with rows of chocolate chip cookies. When you refrigerate it overnight the cookies soften and you can cut it into soft squares. Disgusting, but I liked the concept, and might try a shortbread – fruit fool (saucy fruit and cream) combo.
Chips Ahoy! Tiramisu (of sorts)
adapted from the Kraft foods website (they called for 3/4 cup milk, which made a thick paste and wouldn’t have worked, I think)
1 1/2 cups milk
1 pkg. (4 serving size) Jell-O Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1 (8 ounce) tub Cool Whip, thawed
27 Chips Ahoy! Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pour milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes or until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping.
Arrange 9 of the cookies in single layer on bottom of 8″ square dish; top with 1/3 of the pudding mixture. Repeat layers 2 times; cover.
Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Yield: 9 servings
Candy Bar Pie
from the Kraft foods website
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1 Tbsp. milk
1 tub (12 oz.) Cool Whip Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
1 (2.07 oz.) chocolate-coated caramel-peanut nougat bar, finely chopped (I used Rolos)
1-1/2 cups cold milk
2 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
1 Oreo pie crust (I made my own, with pulsed Oreos and a drizzle of canola oil – every bit helps!)
Mix cream cheese and 1 Tbsp. milk in large bowl with wire whisk until well blended. Add 1 1/2 cups of the whipped topping and chopped candy bar; stir gently.
Pour 1 1/2 cups cold milk into another large bowl. Add pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes or until well blended. (Mixture will be thick.) Gently stir in 2 cups of the remaining whipped topping. Spread half of the pudding mixture onto bottom of crust; cover with cream cheese mixture. Top with remaining pudding mixture.
Refrigerate 4 hours or until set. Garnish with remaining whipped topping. Store leftover pie in refrigerator.
If I’m to be perfectly honest here, all of this is the stuff of my childhood dreams (as in – this was the stuff we weren’t allowed to have). A few decades later, I think it’s safe to say we all felt like crap after dinner, and left to head home with pianos tied to our asses. This morning I think a virtuous breakfast is in order, and a nice long walk. Sorry, gut.
February 21 2010 | dessert | 21 Comments »
I MADE THESE. I think the only thing I’m prouder of making is W.
I’ve been racking my brain, trying to come up with some small way to thank you. And it occurred to me I do have a little something – something that will change your life. (Most of your lives, anyway.) It comes in the form of a secret. Aren’t secrets just the best? And I have one just for you.
The secret is that you, yes YOU, can make flaky pain au chocolat from scratch. Seriously. And it’s not even that hard, nor does it take that much time. You can be a superhero without even having to wear tights. How to Win Friends and Influence People, with food.
I swear I’m not making this up. I further swear you do not require the monogrammed initials M.S. nor pastry chef certification to make these. From scratch. Meaning no frozen puff pastry dough to start with. No cheating. For real and true.
You’re probably used to working with butter, flour, eggs and chocolate, right? You can knead soft dough and roll it out into a rectangle, right? Yeah, you can totally make these.
Stop rolling your eyes. It’s not just easy for me. It’s easy, period. The only way I can prove it to you is by convincing you to try it. It’s an easy, soft dough that you just roll out, spread with butter, fold like a letter, chill, roll and fold; repeat. The instructions look long, but it’s really pretty simple. And there are probably plenty of things you could do with the dough besides wrap it around chocolate before you bake it. And it makes enough for you to bake a bunch of pain au chocolat and still have some left for something else. Or to wrap and stash in the freezer for next weekend.
Pain au Chocolat
Danish Dough:
3/4 cup milk, warmed
1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter, cold
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup(ish) good-quality chocolate (chopped, chips or squares, halved – I used Bernard Callebaut semi-sweet drops)
In a large bowl, stir together the milk and yeast. Stir in the sugar, eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add a cup of the flour and the salt, then add the rest of the flour gradually, stirring until it’s incorporated. Knead the dough on a lightly floured countertop for about 5 minutes, until smooth. Transfer to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap; chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, beat the butter and flour with an electric mixer for a couple minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until smooth. Set aside (don’t refrigerate).
When the dough has chilled, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a rectangle that is about 13″x18″ and 1/4″ thick. Spread the butter evenly over the right two-thirds of the dough. Fold the left third of the dough over, covering half the butter, then fold the right side over, as if you were folding a letter in thirds. (Unlike a letter, the dough ends should line up, so that it’s folded in three.) Cover the dough in plastic wrap and put it back into the fridge for 30 minutes.
Put the dough back on the floured surface lengthwise, with the open sides to the left and right. Roll it out into another 13″x18″ rectangle, 1/4″ thick. Fold the left third over the middle, then the right third over the middle. (This is referred to as “turns”. To keep track of each fold -or turn- press your finger into the dough at the edge to make two marks – you can do this each time you roll and fold so that you know how many times you’ve done it.) Chill the dough for another 30 minutes.
Roll, fold and refrigerate the dough two more times, so that you’ve done it four times total. Cover and refrigerate for at least 5 hours, or overnight. It can also be frozen at this point for up to 4 months.
To assemble the pain au chocolat, take the dough out of the fridge and roll it on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4″ thick. You can cut the dough into rectangles as large or as small as you like – we made them on the small side, cutting the dough into strips and then crosswise so that each piece was about the size of a business card. Put a little pile of chocolate, or a chunk of it, along the middle of the pastry, roll the sides up and place each one seam-side down on an ungreased baking sheet. If you have time, cover loosely with plastic or a tea towel and let them proof for an hour or two. (This is not absolutely necessary- we did ours in a rush!)
Preheat the oven to 400F. Bake the pain au chocolat for 15 minutes, until golden. (If they are larger, they may need more time.) Try to be a good person and share with your family and friends. Makes about 3 dozen.
UPDATE: Over 800 Blog Aid cookbooks have sold! Thank you!
One Year Ago: Peanut Truffle Fudge
February 06 2010 | bread and breakfast and dessert | 47 Comments »
I love it when I wind up making something completely off my radar, simply because circumstances dictate I use up a random collection of ingredients.
This morning I had my photo taken for next Friday’s Swerve magazine (!) and so I needed to appear 1) cleaned-up and presentable, and 2) like I was right into it in the kitchen. So I rummaged around pulling out bakerly things, like a wad of pastry from the depths of the freezer, and whipped egg whites and sugar into a bowl of meringue, thinking I could strike a Nigella-esque pose with it (I didn’t). When the photographer left, I had a well-crimped (albeit horribly overworked, as most props are) pie crust and a bowl of meringue. My laptop on the table, I quickly searched for a buttermilk pie recipe, thinking that a custardlike filling would be a) quick, and b) a good way to use up those yolks. A maple version came up. I decided to top it with meringue.
I was 20 minutes from having to leave town when it was chilled and ready to be topped; rushing into the kitchen and holding it in one outstretched arm while attempting to quickly take a photo of it in its naked glory, the pie flipped from my hand and landed upside-down on the table, all over all the stuff that was on it, and I let the expletives fly. It’s been a rough week. I lost it a little bit.
And then I scooped it all back up into the pie plate, smeared it with meringue and popped it in the oven. And was glad I did, because the stuff I licked off my fingers while scooping it back was delicious. I’m sure in some part of the world a pie like this has a name; and it falls under the same classification as pandowdies and slumps and Brown Betties. Whoopsie-pie, maybe.
Warning: 6 eggs will give you a helluva lot of meringue. You could do the mile-high thing (drama is always a nice quality in pie) or bake the remainder off as meringue cookies.
Maple Buttermilk Meringue Pie
inspired by this one
1 9″ pie shell
Filling:
2 cups buttermilk
2/3 cup maple syrup
6 large egg yolks
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. maple sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch salt
Meringue:
6 large egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 325°F. Whisk all the filling ingredients together until smooth; pour into the pie shell and bake for 1 hour, until set but still wobbly in the middle. Cool completely.
When you’re ready to finish the pie (it can be chilled for up to a day), preheat the oven to 400°F. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until foamy; gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the mixture forms stiff peaks. Mound on top of the pie and swirl thickly with a spoon. Bake for about 10 minutes, or just until the meringue turns golden.
And now it’s technically Saturday – I got home from teaching an out-of-town class at midnight, and as I sat down to write this got a call from my sister across the street saying W was sick and feverish. So I ate a few forkfuls of pie, went and collected him, and am now lying next to a very hot, snotty and feverish bundle of joy.
But I’m determined to not miss Free Stuff Friday. Mostly because my friend Wade generously donated two gift certificates to his fine foodshop, Forage, which are each good for a dinner special of the day and a dessert. I’ve never eaten anything of his that wasn’t fabulous.
Which also acts as a perfect segue way to introduce my Brilliant Idea, something I alluded to ages ago when Blog Aid (which is finally coming to fruition this weekend! it is! I’ll keep you posted!) was just a spark. My idea: dinner together. Yes, as many of us who gather here as can make it. A Farm Table Dinner on Wednesday, February 24th, in the private Green Room at Forage. It’s a long, pale green room with an almost equally long dinner table that will accommodate 20 of us. All of the Green Room dinners feature a local producer, and this time it’s Buffalo Horn Ranch. Wade and his team cook and serve dinner family-style, and it’s all very cozy and delicious.
Here’s the deal: it’s $49 (I’m paying too!) which includes dinner, dessert, coffee/tea, and gratuity.
Doors open at 7:00 PM and dinner is served at 7:30 PM sharp.
Beer and wine service is extra and provided by Infuse catering.
You can call Wade and the fine folks at Forage to book your seat(s).
So.. what was for dinner last night? And what do you think – are enough of you interested in meeting in 3D and sitting down to a real dinner? Can we make a go of it?
January 30 2010 | dessert | 48 Comments »
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