Adventures in Puff Pastry

Well, I did it! I made puff pastry this weekend. Cross off another recipe on the 10 Most Difficult Recipes Challenge. I'm starting to realize that maybe these recipes aren't really all that "hard" - but they are time-consuming and tedious and precise. As a cook, I'm not really one to follow directions to a tee (I like to improvise), but I've been trying to be exact on these recipes, so as to not screw them up all that bad.

I found a great puff pastry recipe and tutorial from the White on Rice Couple, which you can find HERE. Their blog post had step-by-step instructions WITH PICTURES! Pastry making is incredibly temperamental, so the advice, tips and suggestrions were really helpful. Maybe I'm a little slow, but start to finish, this recipe took me about 5 1/2 hours. Granted, a lot of that time is just chilling the recipe in the fridge, with not a lot of action needed on my part. But you really have to be patient with this recipe.

First off, make a butter block, out of butter, flour, lemon juice and salt. It is absolutely disgusting how much butter is in this recipe!!  Not diet-friendly at all. You mix these ingredients in a mixer w/ paddle attachment until it's a smooth paste.

Next, on a sheet of wax paper, roughly form an approx. 6″ square with the butter block mixture. Then lay another piece of wax paper on top and smooth out the square & straighten the sides. When everything's even, refrigerate until firm.

As you can see, I was determined to be exact, so I had a tape measure out. I actually marked out a 6 inch square on my wax paper and formed the butter block with my hands to fit the measurements.  I know I'm a dork, you don't have to tell me.  It was a greasy buttery mess.  But kinda fun getting your hands in there...like sculpting or something.

Next, you make the dough. Similar to the pizza dough technique, make a mound with a well in the center. Add the salt and cold water into the well, then with a fork, use a whisking motion to gradually incorporate the well’s sides into the water. When it starts to form a solid mass, finish incorporating the flour by kneading. Incorporate just until it is still sticky and has a rough texture. Cross the dough and refrigerate.

Then, the recipe suggests that the "butter block should have approximately the same consistency as the dough, after the dough is rested. You don’t want the butter rock hard, but not mushy soft, either. If your dough is softer than the butter, it'll stretch while the butter doesn’t. If the butter is softer than the dough, it will be pushed out the sides. Either suck to some degree. You may have to adjust chill/resting times for either dough or butter block so they are about the same."

This is where it took me for-freaking-ever to move on. I had to take the butter block out of the fridge because it was so hard. Then I left it out too long and it got all mushy. Then the dough was kinda hard so it had to sit out for a while. FINALLY, they were both about the same consistency (or I just stopped caring) and could continue. See what I mean by temperamental?!

On to the assembly process. First, pull the corners of the cuts out of the dough ball to make a square shape. Roll the dough out to a square slightly thicker in the center than on the sides, and slightly larger than the butter block. Place the butter block diagonally on the dough square. Fold the uncovered dough corners over the butter block to completely envelop the butter. Pinch the seams tightly together to seal in the butter.

Ok.

Now, dust your work surface with flour and roll the dough into a rectangle about 1/2″ thick.

Now, size up your rectangle visually into three. Fold one third over the middle, then fold the opposite third over. Just like a tri-fold brochure. Try to have everything as even as possible. All the edges should match fairly closely. Put on a plate, cover, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. The White on Rice Couple says, "Relax, read the paper, check email, whatever you like." - Hahahahahahaha! Relax. Yeah right.

After 30 minutes, remove from fridge and roll out to 1/2″ thick and repeat the fold. Don’t forget to flour as you roll. Plate, cover, and refrigerate for 30 more minutes.

Now repeat this for a total five roll and folds. FIVE. That's like hours and hours and hours of folding and waiting. Folding and waiting. Folding and waiting. I really have no patience.

And if you're ready to use it right away...roll it out and wait another 30 minutes.

But it looks pretty good huh?  And yes, I used it right away.  For what?  I'm so glad you asked.  Make sure to tune in tomorrow for the next recipe!

Everything but the Kitchen Sink Soup

We do a lot of cooking at our house. But inevitably, not everything in our fridge gets eaten. Some weeks turn out to be busier than expected and I don't get around to cooking every meal that I planned. Or we changed our minds about what to eat. Or something else comes up. Anyway, at the end of the week, there's leftover veggies in the fridge on the verge of going bad. And I don't want to throw them out, but it's not likely that I'm going to eat a raw half onion or a few raw potatoes. What do you do with all that food?

Make soup!

For the past few months, I've gotten in the habit to make soup on Sunday. I can usually get 4-6 big bowls of soup out of each batch and that way Ryan and I both have lunch a couple days during the week. It's healthy, cheap and convenient. Plus it saves us from throwing out food! Win, win, win.

Here's how I do it. I start with a bean soup base (beans are high fiber, low fat and lower cholesterol). It's a great base for soup b/c you can add whatever ingredients you have on hand and the flavor's a little different every time. You don't get bored with it and it's really filling so I'm not hungry again 2 hours later.

I've found 11 Bean Soup, 13 Bean Soup, and 15 Bean Soup mixes at the store. I have no idea what all kinds of beans are in them (or why they only have odd numbered beans), but whatever. You can get it at your local grocery store (plus organic stores like Whole Foods) for around $4. Can't beat that. Ryan and I both like this one...Frontier Eleven Bean Soup. It has a recipe that goes with it, but just ignore that. It'll only add a ton of sodium and fat to your soup (cook with a ham hock? I don't think so).

Beans take a while to cook. So I just throw this on the stove in a large stock pan, add 10-15 cups of water and a dash of salt and cook. Sometimes I'll substitute a little chicken or vegetable broth for some of the water. Thanks to Pierce Whole Nutrition, I'm going to try adding green tea to my next batch. Add the spice bag/pack that comes with the soup or add your own spices. And then let it cook/simmer on the stove for 2-3 hours. Yes, it takes some time, but you don't have to do anything - you don't have to watch it or stir it or anything - so let it simmer and go watch TV or do laundry or whatever. It'll make your house smell amazing too!

After a few hours of simmering, add all your chopped up left-over veggies to the bean soup. I've added everything to the soup, including peppers, onions, celery, garlic, shallots, zucchini, squash, green beans, tomatoes, okra, spinach, Swiss chard, peas, mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, potatoes, carrots, eggplant, cabbage, and corn. Seriously, you can add ANYTHING. Hell, add that leftover chicken breast that you thawed and never cooked. Or those fresh herbs (thyme, basil, oregano, cilantro) that you had too much of. What about frozen veggies that you might not eat...that bag of mixed vegetables that's been in there a while? Or how about adding tomato paste or a can of diced/stewed tomatoes? Why not?! Throw it all in there. Every combination leads to different flavors. Sometimes I add some Sirachi to give it more spice. Or black pepper and garlic salt. BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce. Whatever you want. Chop it all up and throw it in. Season accordingly. Cook for another hour. Viola!

And now your fridge is clean, you don't have to throw those veggies away and you've got lunch for the rest of the week. Put 3-4 ladles full in plastic bowls, pop in the fridge and you're ready. You're welcome!!

Anyone else prepare meals ahead of time? Or have ideas on how else to use left-over food?

An Olympic 30th Birthday

This weekend we attended an Olympic-themed 30th birthday party for our friend Bob.  It was a surprise party, and everyone was dressed as their favorite Olympic sport, athlete, country, etc.  Anything goes!  And to carry out the theme of competition, we'd be placed on teams and get to compete against other "countries" in Flip Cup, Pong, Asshole and Trivia.  I know!  It was so cool.  Bob's wife Betsy organized the whole thing and did an amazing job on the games, food and decorations.  Everyone had a blast! 

Ryan and I went dressed as Team Canada, in honor of the host country.  I ironed on the Canada lables and maple leafs to the shirts.  And then sewed the maple leafs on the hats out of felt.  Ryan was in spandex and it was hot, eh.

Since Canada wasn't a team option, we decided to join Team Ireland.  Since we're Irish and all.  We had a great team and went undefeated in Flip Cup.  I am so proud.

Below is me flipping.  You can obviously see how fast I am...

There were athletes from ALL over the world at this party.  High caliber competitors. 

Like the Jamaican bobsled team.

American figure skaters.

Russian swimmers.

Brazilan soccer players.

Brian Boitano was there.

And Coach Bela Karolyi made an appearance.

And in the spirit of Olympic friendship, Beijing tennis player fraternized with US karate masters.

Some of us got to try out new sports...

And some of us perfected what we were already good at...

Good times were had by all.

Julia Child's Coq Au Vin

Recipe #1 of the 10 Most Difficult Recipes Challenge

Well, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by this recipe. Not only was it much easier to make than I thought it would be, it was even better to eat than I could have imagined! Unbelievably delicious! Ryan and I both ate so much that we passed out together on the couch about 20 minutes later! It's a very heavy recipe, not quite "Weight Watcher-friendly" as my mother-in-law would say. But every now and then it's fun to over-indulge...and this was the perfect recipe for it!

I found the recipe online at the What's Cooking America website. This site took me step-by-step through the whole recipe, in easy to understand terms and even gave a few tips.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 to 3 pounds cut-up frying chicken, skin on and thoroughly dried

4 ounces lean thick-cut bacon

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper

1/4 cup cognac

2 cups red wine (Pinot Noir, Burgundy, Beaujolais or Chianti)

2 cup homemade chicken stock or low-sodium chicken stock or broth

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cloves garlic, mashed or minced

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon thyme

Brown-Braised Onions (see recipe below)

Mushrooms (see recipe below)

3 tablespoon all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons butter, softened
Parsley sprigs

I started with the bacon. The instructions said to remove any rind off the bacon and cut the bacon into lardons (rectangles 1/4-inch across and 1-inch long). In a saucepan, simmer the bacon in 2 quarts of water for 10 minutes; remove from heat, drain, rinse in cold water, and pat dry.

I've never cooked bacon in boiling water before, but ok, I'm going to trust you on this one Julia. It looked really weird, pink and soggy afterwards. Ugh.

Next, in a large heavy frying pan over medium heat, heat olive oil until moderately hot. Add the bacon and saute slowly until they are lightly browned. Remove bacon to a side dish. Ok, bacon is back in the grease, where it belongs. This is getting much better.

Place chicken pieces into the hot oil (not crowding pan), and brown on all sides. Return bacon to the pan, cover pan, and cook slowly for 10 minutes, turning chicken once. Easy enough.

And then came my favorite part...FLAMBE!! After browning the chicken, uncover pan, pour in the cognac. Flambé by igniting with a lighted match. Let flame a minute, swirling pan by its handle to burn off alcohol; extinguish with pan cover. Check this out...

Pretty damn cool, huh?! I was a little nervous there for a second, but we managed to not burn the house down or melt the microwave. And it was a little adrenaline rush in the middle of cooking. I think all recipes should have some type of flambe element to them. This was awesome.

Next, pour the red wine into the pan and add just enough chicken broth to completely cover the chicken pieces. Stir in tomato paste, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme. Bring the liquid to a simmer, then cover pan, and simmer slowly for about 30 minutes or until the chicken meat is tender when pierced with a fork or an instant-read meat thermometer registers an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the Brown-Braised Onions and the Mushrooms.

Brown-Braised Onions:
12 to 24 small white onions (or double the amount if you want to use tiny frozen peeled raw onions)*
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste

Drop onions into boiling water, bring water back to the boil, and let boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and drain. Cool onions in ice water. Shave off the two ends (root and stem ends) of each onion, peel carefully, and pierce a deep cross in the root end with a small knife (to keep onions whole during cooking).

In a large frying pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil, add parboiled onions, and toss for several minutes until lightly browned (this will be a patchy brown). Add water to halfway up onions and add 1/4 to1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover pan and simmer slowly for 25 to 30 minutes or until onions are tender when pierce with a knife.

I have to admit that I'm not a huge onion fan. I think they're ok in recipes, but I don't want to eat a whole onion on it's own in anything. HOWEVER, these were the best little damn onions I've ever tasted! They were sweet and tender and melted in your mouth. I just wanted to eat them like candy! Fantastic!

Mushrooms:

1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, washed, well dried, left whole if small, sliced or quartered if large
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon olive oil

Prepare mushrooms. In a large frying pan over medium heat, heat butter and olive oil; when bubbling hot, toss in mushrooms and saute over high heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from heat.

There was nothing all that special about the mushrooms, but it's hard to complain about mushrooms cooked in butter. Yum.

When the chicken is done cooking, remove from the pan to a platter, leaving the cooking liquid in the pan. Increase heat to high and boil the cooking liquid rapidly until approximately 2 cups of liquid remains.

While the liquid is boiling, in a small bowl, blend the 3 tablespoons flour and 2 tablespoons softened butter into a smooth paste; beat the flour/butter mixture into the approximately 2 cups hot cooking liquid with a whisk. Simmer and stir for a minute or two until the sauce has thickened (the result will be a sauce thick enough to lightly coat a spoon - just thick enough to coat the chicken and vegetables lightly). If sauce is too thin, boil down rapidly to concentrate; if sauce is too thick, thin out with additional spoonfuls of chicken stock. Taste the final sauce, adding more salt and pepper if necessary.

My sauce was a bit thick, so I thinned it down with some additional broth. And (of course) I added a little more salt and pepper. But it didn't much messing with, it was amazing on it's own.

Shortly before serving, bring the sauce and the cooked chicken to a simmer, cover and simmer slowly for 4 to 5 minutes, until chicken is hot through. Reheat the onions and mushrooms (if necessary). When serving, pour the sauce over the chicken. Arrange the Brown-Braised Onions on one side of the chicken and the Mushrooms on the other side (*I combined the onions and mushrooms). Decorate with sprigs of parsley.

Bon appetite!!

Mel, how'd your Coq Au Vin turn out?!  Can't wait to hear all about it!