hello everyone! happy bastille day! i just made a bunch of crepes for my office mates, and i'm heading home tonight to make macarons for a bastille day party sam & i are attending on saturday. in the meantime, i have the final stylecaster & hawaiian tropic video to share - along with a couple of recipes, including a galette, which is french. full circle.
galettes are free-form french pastries that are great for any time of year - a delicious, buttery pastry that you can fill with just about whatever meat, cheese or veggies you have hanging around in your fridge, mixed up with an egg and topped off with some salt and pepper. i also love rhubarb - it's only around for a short time of year, and it's sweet and tart flavor is well paired with juicy summer strawberries. the crumb i use here is good on just about any fruit you can cut up and bake - peaches, apples, or blackberries all make delicious crisps.
thanks so much for watching! i had so much fun making these videos with the guys from stylecaster, and i'm very grateful to hawaiian tropic for helping me keep my skin freckled but sunburn-free this summer.
+ + + + + + + + + + +
heirloom tomato & swiss chard galette
ingredients:
for the dough:
2 cups all purpose flour
a pinch of salt
12 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter
1/3 - 1/2 cup of ice water
for the filling:
1 yellow onion, sliced
2 bunches rainbow chard, with stems removed
6-10 heirloom tomatoes of various sizes & colors, cut into thin slices
1/4 cup white wine
a splash of olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
salt
pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 eggs, beaten
feta cheese
thyme
directions:
1) cut the butter into small cubes and combine with flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.
2) use two knives to cut the butter until it becomes pea sized pieces, adding a little bit of water as needed.
3) add just enough water so that it does not crumble and roll into ball; there will be bits of butter throughout the dough.
4) wrap it in plastic and refrigerate while making the filling.
5) preheat oven to 400 F.
6) cut and separate onions, swiss chard and tomatoes
7) sauté onions in a large pan with a splash of olive oil and butter until soft.
8) add the swiss chard and cook down until wilted; add white wine, salt and pepper. cook until most of the wine has evaporated.
9) add cream and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the veggies are coated with a thick liquid and little excess remains. Remove from heat.
10) roll out the dough into a large circle
11) beat egg in small bowl. stir almost all the egg into the chard and onion mixture, reserving a bit to brush the dough with.
12) put the mixture in the middle of the dough circle and tile the tomatoes on top of it in a mosaic type pattern. sprinkle the top generously with feta cheese, then a few leaves of thyme.
13) fold up the edges of the galette around the filling; there should be three or so inches of crust all around the edge. brush with the reserved egg, and then bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
+ + + + + + + + + + + +
ingredients:
for the filling:
4 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced in half
6-7 stalks of rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
vanilla
for the crumb:
1 stick of butter, cut into squares, chilled
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cup of nuts of your choice (I used almonds)
1 cup oats
1 cup brown sugar
pinch of salt
tarragon whipped cream:
several tarragon leaves, made into a chiffonade
2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
directions:
1) preheat oven to 350 F.
2) cut strawberries and rhubarb and place into ovenproof dish.
3) combine water, sugar, cornstarch and vanilla in a pot over the cooking range until boiling; stir carefully and let it boil for 2 minutes. pour this over the strawberries & rhubarb.
4) to make the crumb mix flour, oats, nuts, and brown sugar and salt together in a food processor until finely chopped. add butter and pulse the processor until you have a good-sized crumb. sprinkle this on top of the rhubarb.
5) bake for 30 minutes or until crumb is browned and the edges bubble.
6) for the cream, beat ingredients until cream makes soft, but stable peaks.
enjoy!
there is also a recipe for a cocktail i whipped up, straight of an ernest hemingway novel i read while sam & i were on the honeymoon - you can find it here.
all right! i hope everyone has a lovely thursday! one day closer to the weekend. . .
xo audrey
Showing posts with label strawberries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label strawberries. Show all posts
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
under pressure
sous vide cooking has been kind of an obsession of mine since i first learned about it a couple of years ago. for a good long time, our wedding registry on amazon consisted of one item alone: a $400 sous vide circulator. i finally wised up and realized if i didn't register for more, it didn't mean that i'd get the machine, it meant that i'd get NOTHING. (and boy am i glad i did! ladies, if you're on the fence about this marriage thing, do it. worthwhile for the gifts alone. [i kid.]) four hundred dollars for an appliance isn't really in the budget these days (not to mention that our apartment, post-wedding-gifts, is so overflowing with appliances - a slow cooker, a pressure cooker, a large roasting pan, an upright chicken roaster, an ice cream/sorbet machine [thanks keiko!] two different mixers - that i don't know where we'd put it in our little brooklyn abode) so i'd given up on the idea of sous vide cooking for the time being, until sunday. some people exercise after a shitty day; some sleep, some drink (well, i do that, too,) and i cook. i decided to make a big, fancy dinner to get the stink of the weekend off.
i'd bought a duck breast at smorgasburg a week before, and i'd planned on turning it into prosciutto - next time. this time, i decided to see how well i could turn our large le creuset french oven into a sous vide-r. i knew duck needed to be submerged in 135 degree water for at least an hour, so i used a digital thermometer to monitor it and slowly brought up the temperature of the water. i used this pot because it holds heat well and evenly; even so, i had to turn the stove off and on several times to keep the temperature between 130 and 140. first, though, i took out the duck breast and cut off all the excess fat i could and set that aside. rub the duck thoroughly with salt and pepper and vacuum seal the duck back up, ready to be submerged. (if you don't have a vacuum sealer, a. i recommend getting one [it really helps keep things fresh longer, freeze without freezer burn, etc.] b. you can use strong ziploc bags with the air pressed out - or so i've read. haven't actually tried this method myself.) i put the duck in and kept the lid on and temperature monitored for about an hour and a half before taking it out of the water and letting it rest for a minute.
all the while, i got the rest of the meal ready - i peeled 2 potatoes, chopped them, and threw them in some salted water and mashed up a half quart of too-ripe strawberries. the strawberries were reduced with some balsamic vinegar for sauce, and the potatoes were mashed with some horseradish cream, butter and a bit of milk.
now time to break the duck free from its binding, pat it dry, and start a cast iron pan on medium high heat. once good and hot, turn it down to medium and set the duck to crisping. once good and brown on one side (after four or five minutes,) flip it and let the other side just brown before taking it off the heat. let the duck breast rest on a cutting board for a few minutes, then slice. serve on top of horseradish potatoes, with the strawberry balsamic sauce; i served this with a simple strawberry arugula salad on the side.
on the left, just out of the water bath; right side, post-resting and drying.
the duck was perfect - pretty rare, but firm; totally moist and succulent and then crispy around the edges. the strawberry balsamic sauce was great with it, and worked surprisingly well with the horseradish potatoes, too; i'd pour yourself a nice glass of wine with this and enjoy.
oh! and, lest i forget - all that fat you've saved from the duck breast? i put this in a small saucepan and turned the heat on very low and basically just poked at it now and then until it had turned into mostly liquid. strain this out into a jar, and voila! you've got duck fat. you can use it for frying anything. . . i've got plans for this stuff later on this week.
and thanks so much to everyone for your sweet words about my haircut! i'm still getting used to it but all of your kind compliments certainly help boost my confidence in it. still working on feeling like a lady in it.
xo audrey
i'd bought a duck breast at smorgasburg a week before, and i'd planned on turning it into prosciutto - next time. this time, i decided to see how well i could turn our large le creuset french oven into a sous vide-r. i knew duck needed to be submerged in 135 degree water for at least an hour, so i used a digital thermometer to monitor it and slowly brought up the temperature of the water. i used this pot because it holds heat well and evenly; even so, i had to turn the stove off and on several times to keep the temperature between 130 and 140. first, though, i took out the duck breast and cut off all the excess fat i could and set that aside. rub the duck thoroughly with salt and pepper and vacuum seal the duck back up, ready to be submerged. (if you don't have a vacuum sealer, a. i recommend getting one [it really helps keep things fresh longer, freeze without freezer burn, etc.] b. you can use strong ziploc bags with the air pressed out - or so i've read. haven't actually tried this method myself.) i put the duck in and kept the lid on and temperature monitored for about an hour and a half before taking it out of the water and letting it rest for a minute.
all the while, i got the rest of the meal ready - i peeled 2 potatoes, chopped them, and threw them in some salted water and mashed up a half quart of too-ripe strawberries. the strawberries were reduced with some balsamic vinegar for sauce, and the potatoes were mashed with some horseradish cream, butter and a bit of milk.
now time to break the duck free from its binding, pat it dry, and start a cast iron pan on medium high heat. once good and hot, turn it down to medium and set the duck to crisping. once good and brown on one side (after four or five minutes,) flip it and let the other side just brown before taking it off the heat. let the duck breast rest on a cutting board for a few minutes, then slice. serve on top of horseradish potatoes, with the strawberry balsamic sauce; i served this with a simple strawberry arugula salad on the side.
on the left, just out of the water bath; right side, post-resting and drying.
the duck was perfect - pretty rare, but firm; totally moist and succulent and then crispy around the edges. the strawberry balsamic sauce was great with it, and worked surprisingly well with the horseradish potatoes, too; i'd pour yourself a nice glass of wine with this and enjoy.
oh! and, lest i forget - all that fat you've saved from the duck breast? i put this in a small saucepan and turned the heat on very low and basically just poked at it now and then until it had turned into mostly liquid. strain this out into a jar, and voila! you've got duck fat. you can use it for frying anything. . . i've got plans for this stuff later on this week.
and thanks so much to everyone for your sweet words about my haircut! i'm still getting used to it but all of your kind compliments certainly help boost my confidence in it. still working on feeling like a lady in it.
xo audrey
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
dinner for one
when sam isn't around, i am really, really lazy about cooking. what's my favorite thing in the world becomes something of a chore when there is no one exclaiming over how delicious the pasta is or how well this flavor pairs with that. a night home alone is usually a night of chinese takeout or cereal for dinner. i didn't have plans for anything grand when i came home last night - i carried my wedding dress, fresh from the tailor, all the way home on the subway, then stopped to pick up some dry cleaning (that i'd literally dropped of last november. the lady at the shop laughed in my face) and struggled to open the door to find a pile of mail and a big box from crate and barrel. i teetered up the stairs and barely managed to open the door without dropping everything; finally inside, i dumped everything on the couch and attacked the crate and barrel box with my keys. and voila.
new dishes. after my kvetching on sunday, i could hardly believe my luck - my sweet sister's mother-in-law, kathy, either read my mind or just happened to order the very things i wanted most of my registry. i texted sam "MOST EXCITING NEWS EVER," resolved to scrub up my kitchen and head to the grocery store so that i could get some ingredients to break these plates in with the tastiness they deserve.
lobster strawberry risotto. i took my inspiration from a couple of places - one of my favorite cookbooks includes a peach and pancetta risotto that is absolutely to die for, and i worked at a sushi restaurant when i lived in chicago that made a lobster strawberry maki special in the summer months. i had to deal with frozen lobster tail, which isn't ideal, but i have to say this was damn delicious.
lobster strawberry risotto
prep time: about 30 minutes
serves: 2 (or one pastry chef who eats like renee zellwegger preparing for her role as bridget jones.)
ingredients:
1 frozen lobster tail (or two if you'd like it to me a little more lobster-y)
1/2 tiny yellow onion, diced
about 1 cup of strawberries, cut into small cubes
1 T butter
3/4 cup of arborio rice
~ 1 1/4 cups of chicken stock
~ 3/4 cup of dry white wine
a few sprigs of thyme
1/4 t white pepper
1/2 t ground fennel
2 T marscarpone cheese
so. if you decide to make this more than an hour in advance, thaw out your lobster tail in the fridge the night before. much easier than what i had to do here. and just skip this step if you do. if not, get a pot with a little water and put a steaming basket in there; steam the lobster for just 3 minutes or so - you just want it to be thawed and easy to remove from the shell, not cooked at all, if possible. take it out and let it cool off a minute, then use some kitchen shears to cut the shell of the thing; rinse it, and chop it into bite-sized pieces.
start your butter in a good sized saucepan. once it's sizzling, turn the heat down to medium low and add your onion; toss it around until it starts to be transparent, then add your lobster for like 30 seconds, then your rice. mix this around the pot to keep it from sticking for a couple of minutes, then add half of the wine and half the chicken stock, turn it to low, and let it simmer, stirring occasionally to keep it from sticking.
once most of the liquid has been absorbed, add the thyme, the fennel, and more chicken stock & wine. basically, just keep tasting and adding until it comes to the texture you want. make sure you keep it on low heat all the while. once the liquid is gone and the rice is nice and creamy but al dente, remove it from the heat, stir in the marscarpone cheese and the strawberries, and serve.
i also threw together a little side dish, just to ensure that i dirtied every new porringer. i am a hollandaise freak - i would eat a bowl for breakfast if i could - but every recipe i find makes way too much for one person. i thought i'd toast up some bread, grill some asparagus, and make my own recipe for solo hollandaise.
hollandaise sauce for one
1 egg yolk
2 T butter, divided
about 1/2 t lemon juice (1 quick squeeze of a lemon)
a dash of paprika & salt
in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, start 1T butter melting on the absolute lowest heat you can manage. once melted, stir in the yolk and whisk whisk whisk whisk whisk; add the other tablespoon of butter and whisk and whisk until melted. squeeze in your lemon juice and continue to stir; sauce is done when you can coat the back of a spoon and drag your finger through it and it stays put. nice and thick. add your paprika and salt and serve. they key to this is really to cook it on the lowest setting possible - if your butter is bubbling at all, your egg will cook up as soon as you add it and it's no good. slow and low, that is the tempo.
all right. i actually like my outfit but didn't get out of the shower in time for any outfit pics this am - more from me later!
xo audrey
new dishes. after my kvetching on sunday, i could hardly believe my luck - my sweet sister's mother-in-law, kathy, either read my mind or just happened to order the very things i wanted most of my registry. i texted sam "MOST EXCITING NEWS EVER," resolved to scrub up my kitchen and head to the grocery store so that i could get some ingredients to break these plates in with the tastiness they deserve.
lobster strawberry risotto. i took my inspiration from a couple of places - one of my favorite cookbooks includes a peach and pancetta risotto that is absolutely to die for, and i worked at a sushi restaurant when i lived in chicago that made a lobster strawberry maki special in the summer months. i had to deal with frozen lobster tail, which isn't ideal, but i have to say this was damn delicious.
lobster strawberry risotto
prep time: about 30 minutes
serves: 2 (or one pastry chef who eats like renee zellwegger preparing for her role as bridget jones.)
ingredients:
1 frozen lobster tail (or two if you'd like it to me a little more lobster-y)
1/2 tiny yellow onion, diced
about 1 cup of strawberries, cut into small cubes
1 T butter
3/4 cup of arborio rice
~ 1 1/4 cups of chicken stock
~ 3/4 cup of dry white wine
a few sprigs of thyme
1/4 t white pepper
1/2 t ground fennel
2 T marscarpone cheese
so. if you decide to make this more than an hour in advance, thaw out your lobster tail in the fridge the night before. much easier than what i had to do here. and just skip this step if you do. if not, get a pot with a little water and put a steaming basket in there; steam the lobster for just 3 minutes or so - you just want it to be thawed and easy to remove from the shell, not cooked at all, if possible. take it out and let it cool off a minute, then use some kitchen shears to cut the shell of the thing; rinse it, and chop it into bite-sized pieces.
start your butter in a good sized saucepan. once it's sizzling, turn the heat down to medium low and add your onion; toss it around until it starts to be transparent, then add your lobster for like 30 seconds, then your rice. mix this around the pot to keep it from sticking for a couple of minutes, then add half of the wine and half the chicken stock, turn it to low, and let it simmer, stirring occasionally to keep it from sticking.
once most of the liquid has been absorbed, add the thyme, the fennel, and more chicken stock & wine. basically, just keep tasting and adding until it comes to the texture you want. make sure you keep it on low heat all the while. once the liquid is gone and the rice is nice and creamy but al dente, remove it from the heat, stir in the marscarpone cheese and the strawberries, and serve.
i also threw together a little side dish, just to ensure that i dirtied every new porringer. i am a hollandaise freak - i would eat a bowl for breakfast if i could - but every recipe i find makes way too much for one person. i thought i'd toast up some bread, grill some asparagus, and make my own recipe for solo hollandaise.
hollandaise sauce for one
1 egg yolk
2 T butter, divided
about 1/2 t lemon juice (1 quick squeeze of a lemon)
a dash of paprika & salt
in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, start 1T butter melting on the absolute lowest heat you can manage. once melted, stir in the yolk and whisk whisk whisk whisk whisk; add the other tablespoon of butter and whisk and whisk until melted. squeeze in your lemon juice and continue to stir; sauce is done when you can coat the back of a spoon and drag your finger through it and it stays put. nice and thick. add your paprika and salt and serve. they key to this is really to cook it on the lowest setting possible - if your butter is bubbling at all, your egg will cook up as soon as you add it and it's no good. slow and low, that is the tempo.
all right. i actually like my outfit but didn't get out of the shower in time for any outfit pics this am - more from me later!
xo audrey
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
april showers
good morning! well, afternoon. i spent most of my morning adding things to my etsy shop; my closet is packed to the gills and beginning to overflow onto my desk, my chair, my floor, so it's time to dig in deep and get rid of some things, no matter how attached i may feel. i'll post in a bit about the stuff up for sale - if you're interested in anything, leave a comment and i'll hold it for you.
as for today, i'm combatting another rainy, chilly day with one of my favorite outfits of all time. this little red dress has been in my closet, completely untouched and all but forgotten, for probably two years; it was a little big when i bought it, and by the nature of the way i organize my closet - by color, starting with red and ending with black - it's all the way to one side of the closet, and gets kind of hidden by the wall. it fits much better now that i've put on a few pounds, and the strength of the corduroy allows me to cover it with the mess of flower brooches i've amassed, via etsy, bonanza and a few thrift stores. my new favorite collection.
dress: on sale at anthropologie (a long time ago)
belt: thrifted
brooches: thrifted, etsy'd, bonanza'd
tights: man on the street
shoes: urban
someone asked for the cupcake recipe, so here it is! it's adapted from the vanilla cake we made at the bakery where i used to work. without further ado -
2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter , softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 Tbsp. vanilla bean paste
2 large eggs , at room temperature
1 1/2 cups ice cold water
3 large egg whites , at room temperature
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
preheat oven to 325. sift together flours, baking powder, soda, and salt; set aside. cream together the butter and shortening until soft and no chunks remain; add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. add egg and vanilla and mix juuuuust until combined. in three additions, add flour, then water, then flour, then water, then flour and mix until just barely combined. whisk up your egg whites and cream of tartar in a separate bowl until they are white and frothy and no yellow remains - NO peaks, though. fold this in to your cake batter and scoop it into cupcake cups, about 2/3 of the way full. makes about 30 cupcakes. bake for 10-12 minutes, until they just start to turn golden and a toothpick comes out clean. i actually don't know how many minutes this was - i just kept an eye on them.
pastry cream
2 cups milk
1/4 cup white sugar
2 egg yolks
1 egg
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
cherry whiskey or brandy (optional)(but highly recommended)
put milk and 1/4 cup of sugar on the stove on medium - high. meanwhile, whisk the remaining ingredients together until they're pale yellow and well combined. once the milk starts to boil, take it off the stove and add it to your egg mixture, bit by bit, whisking furiously all the while, until it's combined; pour the whole thing back into the pot and whisk it on medium heat until it starts to BOIL. once it's boiling, KEEP IT GOING for another 2 minutes at this heat to get rid of the starchy taste from the cornstarch. pour it through a seive into a bowl or tupperware, cover it with plastic, and let it cool.
take about 1 cup of strawberries and cut them into pretty small dice. mix this with about 1/2 of your pastry cream, and set aside.
take a big star pastry tip and insert it into the cupcakes; twist, and pull. you'll pull out a little tube of vanilla cake. you can keep this for munching, or making a trifle with your leftover pastry cream and strawberries! yum. put your pastry cream/strawberry mixture into a piping bag and fill the holes you've made. ta da! i plan on topping these with a lavender buttercream, or maybe even just whipped cream for the sample ones.
all right, that's all from me for today. stay warm, stay dry, and i'll see you tomorrow!
xo audrey
as for today, i'm combatting another rainy, chilly day with one of my favorite outfits of all time. this little red dress has been in my closet, completely untouched and all but forgotten, for probably two years; it was a little big when i bought it, and by the nature of the way i organize my closet - by color, starting with red and ending with black - it's all the way to one side of the closet, and gets kind of hidden by the wall. it fits much better now that i've put on a few pounds, and the strength of the corduroy allows me to cover it with the mess of flower brooches i've amassed, via etsy, bonanza and a few thrift stores. my new favorite collection.
dress: on sale at anthropologie (a long time ago)
belt: thrifted
brooches: thrifted, etsy'd, bonanza'd
tights: man on the street
shoes: urban
someone asked for the cupcake recipe, so here it is! it's adapted from the vanilla cake we made at the bakery where i used to work. without further ado -
2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter , softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 Tbsp. vanilla bean paste
2 large eggs , at room temperature
1 1/2 cups ice cold water
3 large egg whites , at room temperature
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
preheat oven to 325. sift together flours, baking powder, soda, and salt; set aside. cream together the butter and shortening until soft and no chunks remain; add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. add egg and vanilla and mix juuuuust until combined. in three additions, add flour, then water, then flour, then water, then flour and mix until just barely combined. whisk up your egg whites and cream of tartar in a separate bowl until they are white and frothy and no yellow remains - NO peaks, though. fold this in to your cake batter and scoop it into cupcake cups, about 2/3 of the way full. makes about 30 cupcakes. bake for 10-12 minutes, until they just start to turn golden and a toothpick comes out clean. i actually don't know how many minutes this was - i just kept an eye on them.
pastry cream
2 cups milk
1/4 cup white sugar
2 egg yolks
1 egg
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
cherry whiskey or brandy (optional)(but highly recommended)
put milk and 1/4 cup of sugar on the stove on medium - high. meanwhile, whisk the remaining ingredients together until they're pale yellow and well combined. once the milk starts to boil, take it off the stove and add it to your egg mixture, bit by bit, whisking furiously all the while, until it's combined; pour the whole thing back into the pot and whisk it on medium heat until it starts to BOIL. once it's boiling, KEEP IT GOING for another 2 minutes at this heat to get rid of the starchy taste from the cornstarch. pour it through a seive into a bowl or tupperware, cover it with plastic, and let it cool.
take about 1 cup of strawberries and cut them into pretty small dice. mix this with about 1/2 of your pastry cream, and set aside.
take a big star pastry tip and insert it into the cupcakes; twist, and pull. you'll pull out a little tube of vanilla cake. you can keep this for munching, or making a trifle with your leftover pastry cream and strawberries! yum. put your pastry cream/strawberry mixture into a piping bag and fill the holes you've made. ta da! i plan on topping these with a lavender buttercream, or maybe even just whipped cream for the sample ones.
all right, that's all from me for today. stay warm, stay dry, and i'll see you tomorrow!
xo audrey
Thursday, April 15, 2010
shortcakes
hi everyone! quick recipe post for katie, who requested the goods on the strawberry shortcake, and stephanie says, who asked about the tomato tart.
strawberry shortcake
i took the recipe from cooks illustrated (i think i've said this before but they are great. they have an amazing test kitchen so you really get the best version of whatever classic dish you're looking for,) only to realize as i was cutting out the biscuits that i had completely forgotten to include the sugar. my stomach dropped. then i sucked it up, brushed the tops with a little extra cream, and poured sugar on top of each. they turned out absolutely incredibly, not overly sweet but with a beautiful, crispy sugar crust on top. the sugar from the strawberries seeps into the cake so you don't miss any sweetness at all. try it either way.
3 pints fresh strawberries , with tops cut off; 1 pint crushed with potato masher or fork, 2 pints quartered
enough sugar to cover them generously
2 c bleached all-purpose flour , plus more for work surface and biscuit cutter
1/2 t kosher salt
1 T baking powder
3 T granulated sugar
2 T granulated sugar for sprinkling
1 stick unsalted butter (8 T), frozen
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 T half-and-half
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 T cream
1 c heavy whipping cream , chilled
1 T powdered sugar
1 t vanilla extract or paste
mix crushed and quartered berries with sugar in medium bowl; set aside while preparing biscuits.
adjust oven rack to lower middle position; heat oven to 425 degrees. whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and 3 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl. using large holes of box grater, grate butter into dry ingredients. toss butter with flour to coat. use fingers to finish cutting butter into flour until it is the side of peas.
mix beaten egg with half-and-half; pour into flour mixture. toss with fork until large clumps form. turn mixture onto floured work surface and lightly knead until it comes together.
pat dough into 9- by 6-inch rectangle, 3/4 inch thick. flour 2 3/4-inch biscuit cutter; cut 6 dough rounds. place 1 inch apart on small baking sheet; brush dough tops with egg white mixed with cream and sprinkle with remaining sugar. (can be covered and refrigerated up to 2 hours before baking.) bake until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. place baking sheet on wire rack; cool cakes until warm, about 10 minutes.
chill a glass or stainless steel bowl in the freezer for a few minutes, then add cream, sugar, and vanilla and whip to soft or medium peaks (depending on how you like your whipped cream, of course.)
split each cake crosswise; spoon a portion of berries and then a dollop of whipped cream over each cake bottom. cap with cake top; serve immediately.
heirloom tomato tart
i saw this recipe, or something like it, in a new york times sunday magazine a few years ago. it's pretty simple so i just remembered the important parts and make it when i get my hands on good tomatoes. i found mine at the fairway market in red hook, which, if any new yorkers haven't been there, is absolute heaven for a grocery store lover such as myself. the tomatoes are the main ingredient and the eye candy of the dish, so i try to buy at least one box of heirloom tomatoes and mosaic those on top to make it a bit prettier. you can layer vine ripened tomatoes underneath, or whatever looks best; i use plum, cherry, campari, red, yellow, and/or orange vine-ripened tomatoes. the time is coming for great produce at farmer's markets! so a good time for this one.
makes one nine-inch tart.
crust:
13 T butter (a little more than a stick and a half) cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 c all purpose flour (bleached or unbleached)
a couple pinches of salt (i like mine salty)
some ice water
tart:
1 box heirloom tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes if you can't find those
4-8 other tomatoes, depending on size; use a variety. should be about a pound of tomatoes total.
1 T olive oil (the better, the better)
1 small sweet yellow onion
about 4 oz goat cheese
about a half cup crumbled feta
basil leaves (to garnish)
salt, pepper
make the crust, and once it comes together wrap it in plastic and let it rest in the fridge for a half hour or so. pull it out and roll it out; butter or pam your tart pan, fold the crust into quarters, then place in tart pan and unfold. crimp the edges if you like; turn oven to 350, then place it in your fridge and let it chill for about 30 minutes. once oven is ready and crust has rested in fridge, take it out, line it with parchment paper (enough so that a few inches hang over the sides and is easy to lift out) and fill that with lentils or pie weights. bake for 15-20 minutes (until the edge starts to brown), rotating halfway through, then remove the lentils and bake for a few minutes without them IF NEEDED. if the crust already looks like it is starting to be done (no dark, uncooked spots but not turning brown at all yet,) don't bake it any longer.
while you're doing that, slice the whole onion so that it makes lots of little circles. start the olive oil in a medium sized pan on medium heat and add the onion, cooking it until it's transparent. add more olive oil if needed. salt a tad if you want. set aside.
slice all the tomatoes into 1/4 inch or so thick slices. cut cherry tomatoes (if using) in half.
once the crust ready (pre-baked but not browned and done,) and still a little warm, turn the oven up to broil and crumble the goat cheese on the bottom of the tart and spread it around with an offset spatula or spoon. you can always use more or less cheese as you wish. add the onion on top of that, then tile the tomatoes over it, then top it all of with the feta cheese. salt and pepper as desired, then pop it in the oven and broil it for 5-10 minutes, until the feta cheese starts to brown. if the crust starts to get too dark, you can take out the tart and cover the edges of the dough with aluminum foil. it is kind of a pain though.
and voila! garnish with a little bit of basil. actually quite simple and SUCH a great dish for the spring and summer.
happy [my] friday, everyone!
xo audrey
strawberry shortcake
i took the recipe from cooks illustrated (i think i've said this before but they are great. they have an amazing test kitchen so you really get the best version of whatever classic dish you're looking for,) only to realize as i was cutting out the biscuits that i had completely forgotten to include the sugar. my stomach dropped. then i sucked it up, brushed the tops with a little extra cream, and poured sugar on top of each. they turned out absolutely incredibly, not overly sweet but with a beautiful, crispy sugar crust on top. the sugar from the strawberries seeps into the cake so you don't miss any sweetness at all. try it either way.
3 pints fresh strawberries , with tops cut off; 1 pint crushed with potato masher or fork, 2 pints quartered
enough sugar to cover them generously
2 c bleached all-purpose flour , plus more for work surface and biscuit cutter
1/2 t kosher salt
1 T baking powder
3 T granulated sugar
2 T granulated sugar for sprinkling
1 stick unsalted butter (8 T), frozen
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 T half-and-half
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 T cream
1 c heavy whipping cream , chilled
1 T powdered sugar
1 t vanilla extract or paste
mix crushed and quartered berries with sugar in medium bowl; set aside while preparing biscuits.
adjust oven rack to lower middle position; heat oven to 425 degrees. whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and 3 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl. using large holes of box grater, grate butter into dry ingredients. toss butter with flour to coat. use fingers to finish cutting butter into flour until it is the side of peas.
mix beaten egg with half-and-half; pour into flour mixture. toss with fork until large clumps form. turn mixture onto floured work surface and lightly knead until it comes together.
pat dough into 9- by 6-inch rectangle, 3/4 inch thick. flour 2 3/4-inch biscuit cutter; cut 6 dough rounds. place 1 inch apart on small baking sheet; brush dough tops with egg white mixed with cream and sprinkle with remaining sugar. (can be covered and refrigerated up to 2 hours before baking.) bake until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. place baking sheet on wire rack; cool cakes until warm, about 10 minutes.
chill a glass or stainless steel bowl in the freezer for a few minutes, then add cream, sugar, and vanilla and whip to soft or medium peaks (depending on how you like your whipped cream, of course.)
split each cake crosswise; spoon a portion of berries and then a dollop of whipped cream over each cake bottom. cap with cake top; serve immediately.
heirloom tomato tart
i saw this recipe, or something like it, in a new york times sunday magazine a few years ago. it's pretty simple so i just remembered the important parts and make it when i get my hands on good tomatoes. i found mine at the fairway market in red hook, which, if any new yorkers haven't been there, is absolute heaven for a grocery store lover such as myself. the tomatoes are the main ingredient and the eye candy of the dish, so i try to buy at least one box of heirloom tomatoes and mosaic those on top to make it a bit prettier. you can layer vine ripened tomatoes underneath, or whatever looks best; i use plum, cherry, campari, red, yellow, and/or orange vine-ripened tomatoes. the time is coming for great produce at farmer's markets! so a good time for this one.
makes one nine-inch tart.
crust:
13 T butter (a little more than a stick and a half) cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 c all purpose flour (bleached or unbleached)
a couple pinches of salt (i like mine salty)
some ice water
tart:
1 box heirloom tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes if you can't find those
4-8 other tomatoes, depending on size; use a variety. should be about a pound of tomatoes total.
1 T olive oil (the better, the better)
1 small sweet yellow onion
about 4 oz goat cheese
about a half cup crumbled feta
basil leaves (to garnish)
salt, pepper
make the crust, and once it comes together wrap it in plastic and let it rest in the fridge for a half hour or so. pull it out and roll it out; butter or pam your tart pan, fold the crust into quarters, then place in tart pan and unfold. crimp the edges if you like; turn oven to 350, then place it in your fridge and let it chill for about 30 minutes. once oven is ready and crust has rested in fridge, take it out, line it with parchment paper (enough so that a few inches hang over the sides and is easy to lift out) and fill that with lentils or pie weights. bake for 15-20 minutes (until the edge starts to brown), rotating halfway through, then remove the lentils and bake for a few minutes without them IF NEEDED. if the crust already looks like it is starting to be done (no dark, uncooked spots but not turning brown at all yet,) don't bake it any longer.
while you're doing that, slice the whole onion so that it makes lots of little circles. start the olive oil in a medium sized pan on medium heat and add the onion, cooking it until it's transparent. add more olive oil if needed. salt a tad if you want. set aside.
slice all the tomatoes into 1/4 inch or so thick slices. cut cherry tomatoes (if using) in half.
once the crust ready (pre-baked but not browned and done,) and still a little warm, turn the oven up to broil and crumble the goat cheese on the bottom of the tart and spread it around with an offset spatula or spoon. you can always use more or less cheese as you wish. add the onion on top of that, then tile the tomatoes over it, then top it all of with the feta cheese. salt and pepper as desired, then pop it in the oven and broil it for 5-10 minutes, until the feta cheese starts to brown. if the crust starts to get too dark, you can take out the tart and cover the edges of the dough with aluminum foil. it is kind of a pain though.
and voila! garnish with a little bit of basil. actually quite simple and SUCH a great dish for the spring and summer.
happy [my] friday, everyone!
xo audrey
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
