Food Life

Disney Magic Bake oven project

Gaby received a Disney Magic Bake oven for Christmas and right after purchasing it I started looking into DIY mixes for it. Not finding any and finding other parents looking as well I decided to reverse engineer it and post the recipe.

If you haven’t yet purchased this product and are thinking about it there are a few things you should know about it. This oven competes with the Easy Bake using “cool air technology.” The advantage is that if your child is on the young, uncoordinated or  otherwise dangerous side they can’t burn themselves with this one.  Gabrielle is 2 ½ and loves to help in the kitchen. I was looking for the Easy Bake but it was sold out. This gave me the chance to evaluate Target’s other offerings and consider that the Easy Bake is supposed to be for 8 years old and up and at least the “cool air technology” is safe for 5 and up. Of course, that’s still twice her age but all that goes into “cooking” here is stirring. There is the added bonus that she has no excuse for climbing onto the counter to use the microwave and she is likely to try to use this oven while I’m occupied with the babies. In other words, if your child can handle the Easy Bake oven I would recommend you skip this product but for a very young child it’s not a bad option.

The Easy Bake oven heats and some of the other products (cupcake maker, for example) require microwave use. Not this one. This has lead many parents to ask of the online community, “how does it work and does this mean it uses dangerous chemicals?” The oven is a plastic box with a tray on the bottom to hold ice cubes. The mixes use gelatin to firm the cake in a matter of minutes. Flour attempts to lend it a cakey consistency and baking powder attempts to give rise. The result is not exactly a cake.
It reminds me of the sweet, green, translucent confections that my mother would bring home from China town. I loved them as a kid and I can still enjoy them now. But if you are expecting anything like a cupcake you are bound to be disappointed. Add to this problem that the refill packs aren’t cheap (“this taste terrible, and such little portions!”) and it isn’t obvious how to replicate them.

Understanding and improving the results of the Magic Bake mixes

As I mentioned earlier, the critical ingredient in the Magic Bake mix is gelatin. Gelatin is a protein that starts out as a solid, dissolves well in water, melts at a fairly low temperature and firms when it is chilled. Controlling the gelatin well is critical when you are using it in a recipe. Most recipes call for the gelatin to be mixed with a small amount of liquid (not necessarily warm liquid) and allow it to soften for a few minutes. At this point the water will be evenly distributed throughout the granules of gelatin. Then the softened gelatin is heated gently until it melts. You can combine the melted gelatin with other ingredients and chill it. Depending on the amount of gelatin used you could end up with a slightly firm, sliceable desert with a soft texture or you could end up with a very firm “Jello Jigglers” dessert. When flour is added you wind up with a more cakey consistency that can be soft or firm.

    For these cakes the gelatin is handled as simply as possible to make it easy for kids to use. Start with water as warm as is safe for your child to handle. Hot tap water should work; it usually cools enough by the time it gets to the table to be measured out. The softening step is skipped but because I use a bit more water than the Disney directions call for it is a little easier to distribute the water evenly. The water also needs to be warm enough to melt the gelatin for the best results.

    The cake consistency comes from both cake flour and baking soda or baking powder. The flour adds substance to the confection. It is barely stirred and I used cake flour rather than all purpose so the texture is particularly soft. In the chocolate cake the cocoa reacts with the baking soda to make bubbles. In the vanilla version (I may attempt this later if I can find the box) the baking powder supplies both the acid and the base. In both cases the reaction takes place as soon as the water is added. You have very little time to capture the rising action created before the bubbles fizz out and before the cake firms too much to allow the bubbles to aerate the cake and make it softer. I would suggest stirring just until all the mix is moistened and pouring it immediately into the pans. We did this in under 20 seconds.

    In summary: Use about 2 tablespoons of very warm/hot water, stir quickly and pour immediately in to the pans.

DIY cool bake oven recipe

 

NOTE: When I remade this from the Disney mix I decided to add a little more water and the confection was considerably softer with a texture that resembled a brownie or dense chocolate cake. I adjusted the water to add to the recipe below for similar results. Also, for both the Disney mix and the recipe below it is best to use very warm water (it should feel almost hot but not hot enough to burn you) and you need to work fast.

 

No Bake Chocolate Cake

 - makes 2 miniature cakes

4 teaspoons powdered sugar

2 teaspoons gelatin

1 ½ teaspoons cake flour

1 ½ teaspoons cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch table salt (1/16 teaspoon)

 

Combine the above ingredients. Can be stored at room temperature. To multiply the recipe, assume that the salt amount above is 1/16 teaspoon.

 

To use the mix

Put a few cubes of ice in the bottom drawer of the oven.

Add 2 tablespoons of very warm water to one recipe of the mix (or 3 Tablespoons of the mix if you made a larger batch). Stir quickly (about 10 seconds) to dissolve all of the mix. The batter should be fairly pourable at this stage. Pour it quickly into the mini pans that came with the oven and put in the oven for 15 minutes.

 

Other Options

When Gaby started asking to bake with her oven and I wasn’t ready to make more mix we tried a few other easy options. She prepared instant pudding and poured it into a premade graham cracker crust and the dessert was ready in about half an hour. You might want to try a simplified charlotte by mixing instant pudding with a little gelatin and whipped cream and chilling it in a lady finger lined miniature cake pan.

Strawberries!

If you haven’t heard and haven’t noticed the low price, there’s been a bumper crop of strawberries this year. Strawberry season usually comes a little later but right now the fields are filled with berries! We went out to Alvin, TX this afternoon to take the girls strawberry picking at the Froberg Vegetable and Fruit Farm.
It is about a half hour drive from downtown Houston.
It took much longer than that to get everyone out the door. But once we got there I was surprised at how quickly we filled our buckets. We wound up with about thirteen pounds of berries.
Now the question is what to do with them!

    For my first strawberry project I made a sorbet which needed to set a little longer in the freezer.
Then I set aside three pounds to use for a batch of strawberry wine I’ll try to start tomorrow. Then I made some pastry cream and a graham cracker crust to make a quick tart. I decided it needed chocolate (or perhaps I needed chocolate) so I drizzled some chocolate ganache overtop.
Finally, Sam macerated a couple pints with some port, sugar, black pepper and balsamic vinegar. I had a slice of the tart and a small taste of the sorbet and I’m looking forward to trying the macerated strawberries over a little vanilla ice cream.

    We still have several pounds of strawberries to use up so I may make a charlotte or preserves.

Daring Cooks March Challenge: Risotto and Chicken Stock

 

The 2010 March Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Eleanor of MelbournefoodGeek and Jess of Jessthebaker. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make risotto. The various components of their challenge recipe are based on input from the Australian Masterchef cookbook and the cookbook Moorish by Greg Malouf.

This month’s challenge was to first make our own chicken stock from scratch and then to use that to make risotto. Neither of these tasks were new for me but it was nice to revisit them all the same. Years before culinary school I had the romantic notion that if I were ever working from home I would have a stock pot simmering on the back stove on a regular basis. As it turns out, that’s not that practical. Although making stock is a fairly simple process when I’ve made stock I always end up with more than I can use. I freeze what I don’t need but the next time I need it I usually forget to defrost the stock in time and end up using purchased chicken broth instead.

    A basic chicken stock is made from chicken bones, mirepoix (1 part celery, 1 part carrot, 2 parts onion) and some simple herbs. The recipe given in the challenge uses the whole chicken. In a professional kitchen this would be rather wasteful as simmered chicken meat is relatively unappealing and chicken bones give plenty of flavor and are readily available. But for the home cook making chicken stock on a very infrequent basis and much less likely to have bones reserved for the purpose, it is not too much trouble to use a whole chicken and reserve the meat for chicken pot pies. Another significant variance in the recipe is that garlic is used. Traditionally you would not put garlic, salt or any assertive spice or herb (such as rosemary) in a stock because these things make the stock less versatile. If the stock is reduced in a sauce, for example, it could become too salty. But for this challenge, knowing I planned to use the stock for this particular recipe I went ahead and used a whole chicken and added garlic.

    The risotto itself was fairly straightforward. I taught two classes that week that included wild mushroom risotto (no, we didn’t make the stock from scratch in class) so I decided to do a simpler version that night. Since I was cooking for the family I needed to avoid mushrooms to appease some picky eaters. Also, I decided to leave the risotto on the dry side to avoid the kids complaining about it being too saucy. If you like to have more of the sauce add more of the stock off heat at the end, just before you serve. The version I made had diced onions and gruyere and was delicious! We served it with burgers and garden fresh greens.
Here’s the recipe:

Chicken Stock

Ingredients:

1 large chicken 2-3 pounds about 1 kg

chicken bones 2-3 pounds 1 kg

2 onions, roughly diced

1 medium leek - white part only, roughly diced

2 sticks celery, roughly diced

2 cloves garlic, halved

1 cinnamon stick

1 tsp. white peppercorns ( Any type of whole peppercorn will do)

2 bay leaves (fresh or dried, it doesn't matter.)

peel of 1/2 lemon

1/4 tsp. allspice

Directions:

1.Wash the chicken and bones and places in a 5 Litre pot, cover completely with water and bring to a boil

2.Skim away any scum as it comes to the surface

3.Add the vegetables and bring back to a boil

4.Add the rest remaining ingredients and simmer very gently, uncovered for 1.5 hours

5.Carefully lift out the chicken, set aside. The chicken meat can be removed from the chicken, shredded off and used for other things like soup!

6.Simmer the stock gently for another hour. At , at the end you should have around 2 Liters

7.Carefully ladle the liquid into a fine sieve, the less the bones and vegetables are disturbed in this process the clearer the stock will be. 
The stock is now ready for use. Freeze what you don't need for later use.

Risotto Base

Ingredients:

olive oil 2 fluid oz 60 ml

1 small onion, quatered

rice 14 oz 400g

Any type of risotto rice will do. I use Arborio but the recipe itself says Vialone Nano. Another to look for is Carnaroli.

white wine 2 fl oz 60 ml

chicken or vegetable stock , simmering 2 pints 1 L

Directions:

1.Heat oil in a pan and add onion. Fry for a few minutes to flavour the oil then discard. (We diced ours and left it in as we like onion).

2.Add the rice and stir for a few minutes to coat each grain of rice with oil and toast slightly.

3.Add the wine and let it bubble away until evaporated.

4.Add enough stock to cover the rice by a finger’s width (about an inch or two). Don't actually stick your finger in, it will be hot. Just eye it off.

5.Cook on medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon from time to time, until most of the stock has been absorbed.

6.Repeat Step 5 making sure to leave aside approximately 100 ml. of stock for the final step. .

7.Repeat, save 100ml for the final stage.

8.Once you are at this point, the base is made. You now get to add your own variation.

Pita and hummus

The 2010 February Daring COOKs challenge was hosted by Michele of Veggie Num Nums. Michele chose to challenge everyone to make mezze based on various recipes from Claudia Roden, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Dugid.

This month's Daring Cooks challenge was a pleasant reminder of how fast flatbreads cook. I love making them because they can be started late in the day. One problem I had, though, was that I didn't preheat the baking stone enough before baking off the pita and the result was a little too pale. Otherwise, the recipe worked out well, as did the recipe for hummus. I was out of tahini and used almond butter and didn't notice a flavor difference. To round out the mezze I served olives and marinated fresh cheese. I plan to make both the hummus and the pita again!

Pita Bread – Recipe adapted from Flatbreads & Flavors by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid
Prep time: 20 minutes to make, 90 minutes to rise and about 45 minutes to cook

2 teaspoons regular dry yeast (.43 ounces/12.1 grams)
2.5 cups lukewarm water (21 ounces/591 grams)
5-6 cups all-purpose flour (may use a combination of 50% whole wheat and 50% all-purpose, or a combination of alternative flours for gluten free pita) (17.5 -21 ounces/497-596 grams)
1 tablespoon table salt (.50 ounces/15 grams)
2 tablespoons olive oil (.95 ounces/29 ml)

Directions:
1. In a large bread bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. Stir to dissolve. Stir in 3 cups flour, a cup at a time, and then stir 100 times, about 1 minute, in the same direction to activate the gluten. Let this sponge rest for at least 10 minutes, or as long as 2 hours.
2. Sprinkle the salt over the sponge and stir in the olive oil. Mix well. Add more flour, a cup at a time, until the dough is too stiff to stir. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Rinse out the bowl, dry, and lightly oil. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until at least doubled in size, approximately 1 1/2 hours.
3. Place a pizza stone, or two small baking sheets, on the bottom rack of your oven, leaving a 1-inch gap all around between the stone or sheets and the oven walls to allow heat to circulate. Preheat the oven to 450F (230C).
4. Gently punch down the dough. Divide the dough in half, and then set half aside, covered, while you work with the rest. Divide the other half into 8 equal pieces and flatten each piece with lightly floured hands. Roll out each piece to a circle 8 to 9 inches in diameter and less than 1/4 inch thick. Keep the rolled-out breads covered until ready to bake, but do not stack.
5. Place 2 breads, or more if your oven is large enough, on the stone or baking sheets, and bake for 2 to 3 minutes, or until each bread has gone into a full balloon. If for some reason your bread doesn't puff up, don't worry it should still taste delicious. Wrap the baked breads together in a large kitchen towel to keep them warm and soft while you bake the remaining rolled-out breads. Then repeat with the rest of the dough.

Hummus – Recipe adapted from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden
Prep Time: Hummus can be made in about 15 minutes once the beans are cooked. If you’re using dried beans you need to soak them overnight and then cook them the next day which takes about 90 minutes.

1.5 cups dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight (or substitute well drained canned chickpeas and omit the cooking) (10 ounces/301 grams)
2-2.5 lemons, juiced (3 ounces/89ml)
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
a big pinch of salt
4 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste) OR use peanut butter or any other nut butter—feel free to experiment) (1.5 ounces/45 grams)
additional flavorings (optional) I would use about 1/3 cup or a few ounces to start, and add more to taste

Directions:
1. Drain and boil the soaked chickpeas in fresh water for about 1 ½ hours, or until tender. Drain, but reserve the cooking liquid.
2. Puree the beans in a food processor (or you can use a potato masher) adding the cooking water as needed until you have a smooth paste.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Adjust the seasonings to taste.

Chicken Satay

The January 2010 DC challenge was hosted by Cuppy of Cuppylicious and she chose a delicious Thai-inspired recipe for Pork Satay from the book 1000 Recipes by Martha Day.

My kids loved this month’s satay challenge! And an added bonus is that it takes very little time to cook. I switched out the pork and used chicen. We served this over rice with a mango chutney and peanut sauce but I think it would pair equally well with couscous which takes about the same amount of time to cook as the chicken. The flavors are easy to change up and the chicken can marinate overnight or even be frozen in the marinade in most cases.
 Marinating was the real point of this challenge. Marinating is used to add flavor and/or to tenderize. A marinade generally has an oil and an acid along with spices or other flavorings. The acid helps break down connective tissue and the oil helps transfer flavorful oils from the flavorings and coats the food (sometimes only as it comes back out of the marinade) to help with browning as it cooks. The tenderizing effect takes quite a bit of time, at least overnight. Fortunately, that aspect is rarely needed. Many meats that we marinade are tender enough to begin with such as chicken or steaks. In these cases it is the flavor enhancing aspect of marinades that we are interested in.
 For cooks in a rush it might be helpful to note that this is definitely not a very precise procedure. “Some oil, some wine and some spices” is often precise enough. Of course you want to have enough of the marinade to coat the meat and seap into it a little but an ounce more or less than the recipe calls for probably won’t make much of a difference. Be careful with hot peppers and salt, you can always add more.
For the marinade:
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 T ginger root, chopped (optional) (2 cm cubed)
2 T lemon juice (1 oz or 30 mls)
1 T soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 tsp ground coriander (5 mls)
1 tsp ground cumin (5 mls)
1/2 tsp ground turmeric (2-2.5 mls)
2 T vegetable oil (or peanut or olive oil) (30 mls)

Mix the above together and add your meat. If you are using skewers you should soak them for at least half an hour. The chicken cooked in a couple minutes under the broiler.

For the sauce:

3/4 cup coconut milk (6 oz or 180 mls)
4 Tbsp peanut butter (2 oz or 60 mls)
1 Tbsp lemon juice (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 Tbsp soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 tsp brown sugar (5 mls)
1/2 tsp ground cumin (2.5 mls)
1/2 tsp ground coriander (2.5 mls)
1-2 dried red chilies, chopped (keep the seeds for heat)

1. Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add soy sauce and lemon, mix well.
2. Over low heat, combine coconut milk, peanut butter and your soy-lemon-seasoning mix. Mix well, stir often.
3. All you’re doing is melting the peanut butter, so make your peanut sauce after you’ve made everything else in your meal, or make ahead of time and reheat.

Gingerbread Castle

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

I haven’t made a gingerbread house in years and had a wonderful time. The girls are currently obsessed with all things related to princesses so they wanted a castle.

The challenge specifies that we start with our own templates but that they need not be formal.
 I certainly wasn’t formal; I didn’t even use a ruler! My thought was that the dough was likely to shrink unevenly and royal icing can cover a multitude of sins.
To make the towers I used the canolli forms from last months challenge. I tucked some mini houses in, per Lydia’s request. I had thought they would be outside the castle walls but the kids thought they would be too unprotected so we crowded them in. Eventually they were designated butterfly houses.

When one side wall fell due to four year old forces beyond my control, as I stuck the wall back on and decided to embrace the crumbled old castle look Lydia said it was an old castle “for old people.” Along the same lines, the keep has no interior floors or interior stairs. Often these parts were made of wood and my husband explains their lack as being the result of severe fire damage.

Some construction tips: If you refrigerate the dough, allow it to warm enough to roll easily so that you can minimize gluten formation and later shrinking. The smaller the piece is, the thinner it can be rolled and still be stable. Royal icing will work well as “glue” but make sure it was beaten until very stiff. Finally, young children will try to attach every last piece of candy that they can!

Two recipes were given, here's the one I used (I didn't make the simple syrup):

Scandinavian Gingerbread (Pepparkakstuga)
from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas http://astore.amazon.com/thedarkit-20/detail/0816634963

1 cup butter, room temperature [226g]
1 cup brown sugar, well packed [220g]
2 tablespoons cinnamon
4 teaspoons ground ginger
3 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ cup boiling water
5 cups all-purpose flour [875g]

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until blended. Add the cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Mix the baking soda with the boiling water and add to the dough along with the flour. Mix to make a stiff dough. If necessary add more water, a tablespoon at a time. Chill 2 hours or overnight.

2. Cut patterns for the house, making patterns for the roof, front walls, gabled walls, chimney and door out of cardboard.

3. Roll the dough out on a large, ungreased baking sheet and place the patterns on the dough. Mark off the various pieces with a knife, but leave the pieces in place.

4. [I rolled out the dough on a floured bench, roughly 1/8 inch thick (which allows for fact that the dough puffs a little when baked), cut required shapes and transferred these to the baking sheet. Any scraps I saved and rerolled at the end.]

5. Preheat the oven to 375'F (190'C). Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the cookie dough feels firm. After baking, again place the pattern on top of the gingerbread and trim the shapes, cutting the edges with a straight-edged knife. Leave to cool on the baking sheet.

Royal Icing:

1 large egg white
3 cups (330g) powdered sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon almond extract

Beat all ingredients until smooth, adding the powdered sugar gradually to get the desired consistency. Pipe on pieces and allow to dry before assembling. If you aren't using it all at once you can keep it in a small bowl, loosely covered with a damp towel for a few hours until ready to use. You may have to beat it slightly to get it an even consistency if the top sets up a bit. Piped on the house, this will set up hard over time.

Simple Syrup:
2 cups (400g) sugar

Place in a small saucepan and heat until just boiling and the sugar dissolves. Dredge or brush the edges of the pieces to glue them together. If the syrup crystallizes, remake it.

Salmon en croute

The 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Simone of Junglefrog Cooking. Simone chose Salmon en Croute (or alternative recipes for Beef Wellington or Vegetable en Croute) from Good Food Online.

I chose the salmon to save time and it did come together quickly. I wish I had spent a little more time wrapping it, it could have been prettier. But I wanted to get dinner on the table and I was trying to roll out the dough with a baby in the Baby Bjorn and while fending the other kids off my pastry.

For the filling I sauted leeks and tossed it with some ricotta. I served this with a quick sauce of whole grain mustard and cream and the flavors worked well. Below is the recipe that I didn't really follow but I did use the pastry part of the recipe.

Preparation time: Total prep time incl. cooking for the Salmon is 50 minutes
Total prep time for the Beef Wellington is 3 hours
Shortcrust pastry : 50 minutes (optional)

Equipment required:
For the Salmon en croute
oven
foodprocessor
rolling pin
For the Beef Wellington
Blender or food processor
Frying pan
15 cm crepe pan or small frying pan or griddle
cling film
oven

Salmon en croute:
Ingredients
Mascarpone or creamcheese 5.2 ounces/150 gr
Watercress, rocket (arugula) and spinach - 0.6 cup/4.2 ounces/120 gr
Shortcrust pastry - 17.6 ounces, 500 gr. Use a butterversion such as Jus-rol which is frozen or dorset pastry. or... make your own!
Salmon fillet (skinless)- 17.6 ounce/500 gr
egg - 1 medium sized

Directions:
1.Heat the oven to 200°C/390 F. Put the mascarpone or cream cheese in a food processor with the watercress, spinach and rocket and whizz the lot until you have a creamy green puree. Season well.
2. Roll the pastry out so you can wrap the salmon in it completely (approx. 2-3 mm thick) and lay it on a buttered or oiled baking sheet (it will hang over the edges). Put the salmon in the middle. If it has a thinner tail end, tuck it under. Spoon half of the watercress mixture onto the salmon. Now fold the pastry over into a neat parcel (the join will be at the top, so trim the edge neatly), making sure you don’t have any thick lumps of pastry as these won’t cook through properly. Trim off any excess as you need to. Make 3 neat cuts in the pastry to allow steam to escape and make some decorations with the off-cuts to disguise the join if you like. Brush with the egg glaze.
3. Bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and browned. To test wether the salmon is cooked, push a sharp knife through one of the cuts into the flesh, wait for 3 seconds then test it against the inside of your wrist; if it is hot, the salmon is cooked. Serve with the rest of the watercress puree as a sauce.

Shortcrust pastry
While this is not mandatory to do, I highly recommend making your own shortcrust pastry as it is very simple to do! As mentioned in the notes; please make sure to not add too much water as that is the key to having a successful shortcrust pastry. Watch this video to check the correct consistency of the dough Making shortcrust pastry

Ingredients:
450 gr (15.8 ounces or 3.2 cups ) of plain all purpose flour
200 gr ( 7 ounce) cold butter
pinch of salt

Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. If you have a food processor you can use that as shown in the above video.
Stir in the salt, then add 2-3 tbsp of water and mix to a firm dough. Knead the dough briefly and gently on a floured surface. Wrap in cling film and chill while preparing the filling.

For best results make sure the butter is very cold.

Instructions for Beef Wellington (serves 4)
Button mushrooms - 17.6 ounces/500gr (stalks removed and finely chopped)
Olive oil - 2-3 tbsp
thyme - 1 sprig
Beef fillet, center cut piece - 21.16 ounce/600 gr
English mustard - 1 tbsp
puff pastry (all butter pastry pack) - 17.6 ounce/500 gr
parma ham (prosciutto) - 3 slices
egg yolk - 1 pcs, beaten

For the herb crepes:
plain (all purpose) flour - 0.3 cup/1.76 ounce/50 gr
milk - 0.5 cup/125 ml
mixed herbs - 1 tbsp (chopped, use herbs such as cervil, chives and tarragon
butter - 0.5 tbsp

Instructions:
1. To make the crepes, whizz the flour, egg and milk with a pinch of salt in a blender or processor until smooth. Pour into a jug and stir in the herbs and some seasoning. Leave to rest.
2. Fry the mushrooms in a little oil until they give up all their moisture and it has evaporated, leaving you with a thick paste. Add the thyme leaves and some seasoning and keep cooking for a few minutes. Cool.
3. Stir the melted butter into the crepe batter, heat a 15 cm crepe pan and oil it lightly. Pour in enough batter to make a thin layer on the base of the pan, cook until the top surface sets and then turn over and cook briefly. Remove and repeat with the rest of the batter. This will make a couple more than you need so choose the thinnest ones for the recipe.
4. Sear the beef all over in a little oil in a very hot pan. Brush with the mustard, season and allow to cool.
5. Lay a large sheet of cling-film on a kitchen surface and put two crepes down on it, overlapping a little. Lay over the parmaham (prosciutto). Spread the mushroom mixture over the ham and put the beef in the centre. Roll the cling-film up, taking the crepe with it, to wrap the beef completely into a nice neat log. Chill for 1 hour.
6. Heat the oven to 200°C/390F. Roll out the pastry, remove the clingfilm and wrap the beef in the pastry like a parcel, with the ends tucked under. Trim to keep it nice and neat. Brush with egg, score with shallow lines across the top and chill for 20 minutes.
7. Cook for 20 minutes. The best way to test if the meat is done to your liking is to neatly and carefully stick a skewer into the beef, count to three and then test it against your inner wrist. If it is cold, the beef will be raw, if it is warm then the beef will be rare and if it’s hot, it’ll be cooked through. Leave to rest for 20 minutes before carving.

Daring Bakers: Cannoli

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.

I'm finally back in the kitchen for the Daring Baker's challenge. Of course, I'm running a bit late this month with Thanksgiving in the mix but I did get a chance to make these last night. I've never made cannoli before and they were easier and faster than I expected, I think I'll make more!

I've also been dissuaded from making them after tasting them at the bakeshop. Whatever it is that is sold as cannoli doesn't come close to the real thing. For one thing, the shells are sometimes baked rather than fried and have no flavor at all. For another, the commercial filling seems to be a combination of shortening and powdered sugar. It coats your mouth and doesn't melt and makes you feel like you just ate a mouth full of Crisco. With that lovely experience, who would want to try that at home?

But the shoddy bakeshop varieties must have been cheap attempts to approximate a tantalizing original and the original is rather nice. The fried cannoli shell is a lovely contrast to the filling with a slightly spiced flavor of it's own. You don't taste the wine in the dough, the wine helps to relax the gluten that's formed to make it more manageable. I made the ricotta filling with orange and chocolate and the flavor was sophisticated and a nice compliment to the light texture of the ricotta. One drawback was that the ricotta didn't get quite as smooth as I think I would like, I might try a mascarpone version. But with the chocolate flakes stirred in you don't really notice or mind the texture of the ricotta.

Using Local Produce

Farmers’ markets are full of beautiful organic produce, varieties of fruits and vegetables that we rarely if ever see in supermarkets and delicious cheeses made in small batches. For the gourmets among us, the attraction to these markets is clear simply from the perspective of quality. But using locally grown produce also fosters a sense of community, culinary appreciation and encourages a struggling branch of our economy. Unfortunately, these advantages are often forsaken due to the inconvenience and cost of shopping at farmers’ markets. If the home cook is to join in the movement towards conscientiously supporting local farmers it will only be with good reason and armed with an easy way to overcome the inconvenience and cost barriers.

            I first heard about the movement to use locally grown produce while I was living in Chicago. Rick Bayless was an enthusiastic supporter of the cause and I heard him speak at a Women Chefs and Restaurateurs meeting on the subject. Like the other handful of restaurants that were committed to this effort, he admitted it was a struggle. The produce is more expensive, it often isn’t as pretty, although it is delicious. It was not possible at the time to use local produce exclusively in his restaurant and it probably still isn’t possible. What produce is available is produced by very small farms that cannot compete with commercial farms and operate with very small margins. Practically speaking, if they are to stay in business and continue to provide fabulous baby spinach, many of them may need to be adopted. While I was working at the Ritz-Carlton I remember a couple of occasions when we received more heirloom tomatoes or baby zucchini than we knew what to do with. Although it wasn’t on the menu and was above and beyond planned for food cost, it was bought because the crop was ready and the farmers couldn’t afford for it to go unsold.

            The Ritz-Carlton and Bayless’s Frontera Grill could, to some extent, afford to support particular farmers and they benefited from the publicity while the home cook often does not have this advantage. Yet the publicity is not only of the restaurant but of the concept of using local produce as well. What Bayless and other restaurateurs have hoped to see was a greater appreciation and enthusiasm among the general public so that at some point in the near future they would not have to buy more than they needed. If small organic farms were sufficiently profitable, it might encourage young people to go into a rapidly declining industry. With more small farms the variety of produce can also increase making it possible for restaurants and homes to buy the majority of their food from local sources.

            There are good economic, cultural and culinary arguments to be made for using produce that has been imported or grown five hundred miles away. I won’t make them here. Suffice it to say that we might not want to aim for a complete and total reliance on local producers. It is highly unlikely that we could manage it in any case. But what I would like to outline here are some of the reasons why I believe it is worth the effort for the home cook to increase the proportion of their groceries that come from local farmers’ markets.

            I already mentioned the economic encouragement that it gives to this struggling industry, making the bucolic dream a reality for more burned-out attorneys. If farmers’ markets supply only a niche market, they risk losing out to the Walmartization of America.

            Secondly, shopping at these markets encourages community. Many of the stands in a market are staffed by the farmers themselves who love to meet their customers. As I sit down to dinner and start with an arugula salad remembering that I shook the same hand that planted the seed perhaps ten weeks earlier, I cannot help but feel that I am participating in a larger process and that this farmer in some sense shares in our meal.

            Finally, apart from produce tasting better when it has not had to travel long distances, shopping at farmers’ markets increases our culinary appreciation. For those of us who do not do a great deal of vegetable gardening, this is an excellent means of learning about varieties of fruits and vegetables that stores don’t carry. The farmers are usually willing and able to tell you about what makes a variety they are offering different and why they liked it. Tomatoes offered in a grocery store are usually bred to look pretty and travel well, while flavor takes a back seat. But during tomato season markets carry the tomato that, without any olive oil or even salt, a single bite is sufficient explanation as to its culinary prominence.

            If we concede the economic, community and culinary advantages of local produce we are more than half way to actually using it. We need only overcome the hurdles of inconvenience and cost and we will be ready and willing to support this movement. It is difficult to surpass the convenience buying produce from a grocery store. I must admit that when I spent a few months living in ParisI was only a few blocks from the market and still did at least half my shopping at the grocery store across the street. But I will still offer the suggestion that we approach shopping for produce with the mindset that we are not merely making a purchase. When we are abroad, shopping at a market is an opportunity to engage foreign cultures and subject ourselves to an unscripted experience. The same can be said for shopping in markets at home. We can go with the expectation that we will meet new people, we can look forward to familiar faces and we can learn what items are at the peak of their season, allowing our meals to reflect the season and capture the experiences of the day.

            Some effort on our part must be made. We need to know where and when the markets are. I’ve done this part for you in the table following this article. We need to plan to go to them and plan our other shopping taking the market into account.

            For many the financial hurdle is at least as great as the inconvenience. At one market I visited on a recent trip to ChicagoI felt like it was the “$4 market” and this added up fast. While all of the farmers’ markets feature local produce, not all of them are trying to appeal to the same customer base. Houston features some markets such as the T’afia hosted one that are full of gourmet offerings, the Canino Farmers Market that is noticeably cheaper than most grocery stores and a good place to bargain if you speak Spanish, and some in between. Ecclessia on Taft Street hosts a market that allows you to sign up for a small or large box of seasonal produce that you can just pick up once a week. You don’t know what you’ll get and even the small box is a lot of produce. But it is economical if you split the box with another household.

            And now, armed with the knowledge and inspiration to make use of your local market, you can go forth and shop at your local farmer’s markets.

Market	Location	Days	Hours	Style
Bayou City Farmers’ Market	Richmond/Kirby	Wednesday Saturday	4PM-7PM 8AM - Noon	Great products, expensive
Canino's Produce	2520 Airline Drive	Everyday	6AM-8:30PM	Cheap
Central City Co-op	Montrose	Wednesday Saturday	9AM – 6:45PM 9AM – 2PM	Small, unglamorous and indoors
Houston Farmers’ Market	Heights	Saturdays	8AM - Noon	Expensive
Houston Farmers’ Market	Rice Village	Tuesdays	4PM – 7PM	Expensive
Midtown Farmers’ Market	Midtown 3701 Travis St	Saturday	8AM - Noon	Some great products, expensive

The Fate of Sage

Although sage is not a new herb in the American kitchen, it faces a questionable future. Throughout history it has been used in both medicinal and culinary contexts, even considered “the most important culinary herb in existence.”[1] Nonetheless, Waverly Root suggests that Euell Gibbons was right to complain that in the United States “Sage deserves a better fate than its present slide into obscurity and disuse.”[2] If sage is in fact an important herb, it is curious that Americans have come to neglect it. In order to understand the potential future use of sage, it is important to establish whether this neglect is merely a passing fashion or is based on the properties of the herb itself. In order to differentiate the culinary herb from the five hundred other species of salvia that are not useable as a seasoning,[3] it is important to first describe its physical appearance. Through an examination of sage’s qualities and growing conditions it will be shown why the herb has had so long a history of use. The history itself will reveal an important event that contributed to the herb’s loss of popularity in the States. In light of the history, the present disuse of the herb can be better understood but there is potential in its qualities for renewed use.

Sage, also known as salvia officinalis, is described as a perennial shrub reaching about two feet in height[4] and a member of the mint family.[5] Only the leaves are used for medicinal and seasoning purposes and the amount of stem present among the leaves determines its classification as ordinary grinding sage, fancy picked, or stemless.[6] There are several varieties of sage including Dalmatian, Portuguese, Spanish and Cyprus sage. Each of these differ slightly in appearance, taste and odor but as it is the Dalmatian sage which is the most popular and considered by the trade to be of the highest quality,[7] it is this variety that is being referred to in this text unless otherwise noted. The leaves of the Dalmatian sage are gray with green tinge, oblong lanceolate and covered with short, fine hair.[8] “The odor is strong, fragrant and aromatic and the taste is aromatic, warm, somewhat astringent and a little bitter.”[9] In comparison, the Portuguese sage is considered “practically devoid of odor and flavor.., useless by itself for flavoring purposes.”[10]

The growth conditions for sage are easily met in the United States but the herb is native to Southern Europe, principally on the Dalmatian Coast of Austria and in Italy.[11] Dalmatian sage and other varieties are also cultivated in other parts of Europe, England, and North America.[12] Sage requires only reasonable soil and moisture, half a day of sun and some pruning to keep it under control.[13]

With such distinctive flavor and easily met growing conditions, sage has had a long history of medicinal and culinary use. The Latin name salvia, meaning to save, reflects its early medicinal use. Thophrastus mentioned the herb as early as the 4th century BC[14] and even in this century it has been hailed as having curative powers. One writer of the 1 930s claimed that sage had “a marked effect on the brain and the head. It strengthens the sinews and has been used with success in palsy.”[15] It was introduced to England in the sixteenth century and was drunk as a tea, made into wine, and used to flavor cheese.[16] It continues to be used “to flavor sausages, and to make stuffing for veal, duck and Christmas goose.”[17] In the early 1940’s sage was considered a standard flavoring in the United States and used in great quality in the meat industry.[18] 18 The use of sage was not interrupted until Dalmatian imports were suspended during World War 11.[19] This suspension led to the infiltration of other varieties of sage and these varieties began to gain a foothold in the American market.[20] Some of these varieties included the aforementioned Portuguese sage and Cyprus sage, the latter of which is described as having a “somewhat camphorous” taste and odor.[21] This infiltration may account for Elizabeth David’s assertion that “it deadens the food with its musty, dried-blood scent.”[22]

At present, sage is still used fresh, dried or ground. In addition to its continued use in stuffing, sage it is also used in many other contexts. As is grown in Italy, it is little surprise that many American cooks are experimenting with the addition of fresh sage to such Italian foods as salads, sage pesto, polenta, herb bread and focaccia.[23] Although Root, and perhaps others, prefer not to combine strong flavors, Mel Atchley encourages the combination of sage with duck and other strongly flavored foods.[24]

The characteristics of Dalmatian sage have made this herb endearing throughout history. Whether as a result of its medicinal benefits or as a flavoring, the herb has been used for well over two thousands years. The little attention it requires to grow has made it readily available in the States as well as through Europe and even China. The loss of popularity in the United States appears to be due to the infiltration of other varieties and not out of dislike for the flavor of sage. This suggests that as Americans become more accustomed to cooking the international dishes that have been recently introduced, these dishes may soon incorporate sage as well as Italian foods have.

Recipes

Polenta Ring with Chicken Livers and Sage (By Craig Claiborne)

4 cups hot polenta

2 slices bacon, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

1 pound chicken livers, halved

4 pound mushrooms, sliced

3 tablespoons dry white wine

¼ teaspoon sage

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Turn the polenta into a one-quart buttered ring mold and keep it warm in a pan of hot water. Sauté the bacon with the onion. Add the butter, livers and mushrooms, stirring often, until the livers are brown, about two minutes. Add the wine, sage, salt and pepper and cook two minutes longer. Unmold the polenta and fill the center with the liver mixture.

Fried Sage Pancakes (Adapted from the recipe of C. F. Leyel)

1 cup flour

2 eggs, separated

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

1 tablespoon sugar

3/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

16 sage leaves

Sift dry ingredients. Combine egg yolks, milk and butter. Heat skillet to medium high heat and grease. Whip egg whites to soft peaks. Mike the egg yolk mixture and the dry ingredients and fold in whites. Pour batter onto skillet making 3-4 inch cakes. While one side is browning place two leaves on top in a cross. Turn when bubbles appear on top. Cook until second side is lightly browned. Serve warm.

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[1] Parry, J. W. The Spice Hand Book: Spices, Aromatic Seeds and Herbs. Brooklyn: Chemical Publishing Co., 1945. (p. 152). [2] Root, Waverly Food New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc. 1980. (p. 429). [3] Root (p. 430). [4] Joseph K. Spices: Their Botanical Origin, Their Chemical Composition, Their Commercial Use; Seeds, Herbs, Leaves, etc: Their Botanical Origin Their Commercial Use, Miscellaneous: Technical Advises and Tables [or Spices, Seeds, Herbs...] NY:?, 1915. (p. 69). [5] Parry (p. 147). [6] Jank (p. 70). [7] Parry (p. 147). [8] Ibid. [9] Ibid. [10] Parry (p. 150). [11] Jank (p. 69-70). [12] Parry (p. 147). [13] Kovacs, Linda http://sunsite.unc.edu/hermed/culiher1.html (3/18/1998). [14] Root (p. 428). [15] Leyel, C. F. herbal Delights: Tisanes, Syrups, Confections, Electuaries, Robs, Julips, Vinaigers and Conserves. London: Faber & Faber Limited, 1937. [16] Ibid. [17] Ibid. [18] Parry (p. 152) [19] Parry (p. 149). [20] Ibid. [21] Parry (p. 152-153). [22] Root (p. 429). [23] Kovacs. [24] Ibid.