Daring Cooks: Food Preservation (September 2010)

The September 2010 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by John of Eat4Fun. John chose to challenge The Daring Cooks to learn about food preservation, mainly in the form of canning and freezing. He challenged everyone to make a recipe and preserve it. John’s source for food preservation information was from The National Center for Home Food Preservation.

When I first opened this challenge, I was excited to have a reason to try my hand at something that I was exposed too when I was a young child. My grandma, mom and I used to spend hours in the kitchen canning peaches and tomatoes during the summer. My job during the canning process, especially with peaches, was to make sure that the pretty side of the fruit was facing out. I was such an eager helper, and I'm sure that this job was given to me because my smaller hands fit in the jars easier! Of course, there was always those few peaches that needed to be "tested" (read that as eaten!) for quality control. The funny part is I don't remember ever using the canned results later in the year, though I'm sure they were.

Since apples aren't quite in season yet here (give them a few more weeks!), I decided to try my hand at the bruschetta in a jar. I'm a huge fan of bruschetta and the whole process was going to be fairly quick and easy.

I had to go purchase some of the items needed for canning. I already had the jars, lids and tops because of the apples that mom and I canned last season (and I used to make pies mid-winter! Yum!). What I didn't have were the jar lifter, magnetic lid lifter and the headspace measurer. Granted, the lid lifter and the measurer were luxury items, but I found an entire "kit" for canning at Bed, Bath and Beyond for only $10. (Psst...I couldn't find the kit on the BBB site, so that link goes to the Ball canning site where you can purchase it. That site also has some great recipes.) I used my big stock pot with the pasta strainer insert as my "shock protector." It worked great!

Once I had all of the equipment and ingredients assembled, I was ready to get going. Since it was only me, I decided to half the recipe. You'll see I still came up with 5 jars of preserved goodness. I used about 10 plum tomatoes and then one "regular" tomato because I had a bit of room left in the last jar. The texture difference was pretty amazing. I'm glad I used mostly plum tomatoes.

Since I was only using half the tomatoes, I also halved the liquid recipe. For some reason, this did NOT work out. I think it may have been because I didn't pack my tomatoes in tight enough (therefore needed more liquid). BUT, the good news is that the liquid was a quick and easy thing to whip up so I just made a full recipe and had plenty (with a bit leftover in the end). You may want to make extra just to be sure you don't run out mid-canning like I did. (Advice when packing the jars: Don't be afraid to really pack the tomatoes in there...I think it worked better in the end. The liquid was a bit more tricky to get down in there, but the end product was prettier (in my opinion).)

The "cooking" process was simply to just let them boil away for 20 minutes...how easy is that! Once they were done and had rested in the hot water for 5 minutes I removed them to the counter (on a pot holder!) and waited for then signature "ping" of a good seal. I was rewarded with 5 solid "pings" before I knew it!

I've not yet tasted the bruschetta...but I'm hoping to break into a jar later this week to give it a try. I'll do my best to come back and update you on how it tasted....but honestly, it smelled wonderful going in, so I can't imagine it'll be bad. :-) Here's a glamour shot of the jars after they were done:

For other recipes and to see the wonderful results of other Daring Cooks, visit The Daring Kitchen.

The Recipe:

Bruschetta in a Jar

Recipe Source: Bernardin Canning Website

Ingredients:
Plum/Roma Tomatoes* - 3 1/2 lbs
Fresh Garlic - 5 Cloves, Minced
Dry White Wine - 1 Cup (Reminder: Use something you'd drink!)
White Wine Vinegar - 1 Cup
Balsamic Vinegar - 2 Tbl
Sugar, Granulated - 2 Tbl
Dried Basil - 2 Tbl
Dried Oregano - 2 Tbl

* Note: Although other tomato varieties may be used, firm plum tomatoes yield the best results. If using round garden-variety tomatoes, seed tomatoes and drain in colander for 30 minutes then chop.

Headspace: 1/2 “ (1.27 cm)

Processing Time:
20 minutes for altitude of 0 ft (0 m) to 1,000 ft (305 m)
25 minutes for altitude of 1,001 ft (305.1 m) to 3,000 ft (915 m)
30 minutes for altitude of 3,001 ft (916 m) to 6,000 ft (1,830 m)
35 minutes altitudes above 6,000 ft (1,831 m) to 8,000 ft (2,440 m)

Directions:
1) Place 7 clean half-pint (250 ml) mason jars on a rack in a boiling water canner; cover jars with water and heat to a simmer (180°F/82°C). Set screw bands aside. Heat lids in hot water, not boiling (180°F/82°C). Keep jars and sealing discs hot until ready to use.

2) Wash, seed and chop tomatoes into 1/2 inch (1cm) pieces; measure 9 cups (2250 ml), set aside.

3) Combine garlic, white wine, wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, water, sugar, basil and oregano in a deep stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a full boil; reduce heat. Stirring occasionally, boil gently, covered, 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

4) Pack tomatoes into a hot jar to within 3/4 inch (2 cm) of top rim. Add hot liquid to cover tomatoes to within 1/2 inch (1 cm) of top rim (headspace). Using nonmetallic utensil, remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if required, by adding more tomatoes and hot liquid. Wipe jar rim removing any food residue. Centre hot sealing disc on clean jar rim. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip tight. Return filled jar to rack in canner. Repeat for remaining tomatoes and hot liquid.

5) When canner is filled, ensure that all jars are covered by at least one inch (2.5 cm) of water. Cover canner and bring water to full rolling boil before starting to count processing time. At altitudes up to 1000 ft (305 m), process –boil filled jars – 20 minutes.

6) When processing time is complete, remove canner lid, wait 5 minutes, then remove jars without tilting and place them upright on a protected work surface. Cool upright, undisturbed 24 hours; DO NOT RETIGHTEN screw bands.

7) After cooling check jar seals. Sealed discs curve downward and do not move when pressed. Remove screw bands; wipe and dry bands and jars. Store screw bands separately or replace loosely on jars, as desired. Label and store jars in a cool, dark place. For best quality, use home canned foods within one year.

Serving Suggestions:
With boiling water canning, very little oil is used since the oils can weaken the seals on the jar.

For the Bruschetta, olive oil and fresh herbs can be added before serving on top of toasted bread or as a condiment to a dish.

Enjoy with Love,
Christina

Daring Cooks: The World of Pierogi (August 2010)

The August 2010 Daring Cooks' Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n' Bites and Anula of Anula's Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale.

So at first glance this challenge seemed a bit repetitive to me....much like when we made dumplings or potstickers. I wasn't overly excited about the filling choices either and didn't really have time to be overly creative. BUT, in the spirit of being a Daring Cook and wanting to participate, onward with the challenge!

Starting with the filing...I chose to make the Russian Style Pierogi. Sure it has cottage cheese in it which I'm not a huge fan of, but hey...it's cheese, it'll melt and be yummy right?! Besides...it has bacon!

The dough was pretty straight forward. Very stretchy when rolled though (again, very similar to the potsticker dough). I used the pierogi form (I found mine at Sur La Table) as a template to cut my circles. Easy enough...so onto filling. As I learned, more isn't always better in these situations and this held true. The pierogi forms are fairly unforgiving. The filling portion squeezes out the "bottom" and it difficult to get out of the form if you over fill, not to mention it doesn't squeeze together very well and "seal" the dough.

But, after a few tries I got the hang of it and realized that the recipe was going to make enough to feed an entire army....and their enemies! (Note: feel free to cut the thing in half, or even a quarter, unless you want to freeze them for later!)

The next step is to boil them. Also pretty straight forward, just remember to time them and flip them so that they cook evenly. This is also the step that you'll find out if you sealed them well enough or not. They explode pretty fast if you didn't. Makes for messy water, but not a big deal otherwise.

Verdict...they were ok like this. I wasn't a huge fan...and no, cottage cheese doesn't exactly melt and become the cheesy goodness I'd hoped for. So, the next step in trying to make them a bit better was to fry them. Also, hoping to speed up the process a bit, a large pierogi was formed and sealed using a fork. The result:

This method increased the flavor content...much better, but then again, what isn't usually better fried! :-)

To see other Daring Cooks' creations, visit: The Daring Kitchen.

Special thanks to Neil for helping me out with this challenge!

 The Recipes:
Cottage Cheese Wareneki (Pierogi)
Adapted from The Mennonite Cookbook

Dough Ingredients:
½ cup (125 ml) milk (can be whole milk, 2% or skim milk)
½ cup (125 ml) whipping cream
3 large egg whites
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
3 cups (450 gm) all-purpose flour

Directions:
1. Mix flour and salt, add other ingredients, and knead dough until you have a smooth dough. (I kneaded this dough quite a bit, and it yielded a nice, pliable dough).

2. On a floured surface roll out fairly thin (1/8” or about 3 millimeters), cut into 2” (5 cm) squares, and fill with 1 tsp (5ml) cottage cheese filling (see below).

Cottage Cheese Wareneki Filling Ingredients:
Traditional
1 lb (455 g) dry cottage cheese
3 large egg yolks
Salt to taste

Directions:
1. Mix well all the ingredients for the filling.

2. Put 1 rounded teaspoon (5 ml) of the filling in each square, fold corners to form a triangle, seal edges well using your fingers or a fork

3. Cook in salted, boiling water for 5 minutes.

Note: Boiled pierogi can also be fried after boiling for a nice crunchy dumpling.

Note: If you can't find dry cottage cheese, simply drain normal cottage cheese by nesting the cottage in a few layers of cheese cloth or a fine sieve over a bowl.

Note: You can very easy make a sweet version of Warenki - just add some fruits and sugar to the cheese filling and mix well together (strawberries or blueberries are great idea!) 

Russian Style Pierogi
Makes 4 generous servings, around 30 dumplings Traditional Polish recipe, although each family will have their own version, this is Anula's family recipe

Dough Ingredients:
2 to 2 1/2 cups (300 to 375 g) all-purpose (plain) flour
1 large egg
1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt
About 1 cup (250 ml) lukewarm water

Filling Ingredients:
3 big potatoes, cooked & mashed (1 1/2 cup instant or leftover mashed potatoes is fine too)
1 cup (225 g) cottage cheese, drained
1 onion, diced & sauteed in butter until clear
3 slices of streaky bacon, diced and fried till crispy (you can add more bacon if you like or omit that part completely if you're vegetarian)
1 egg yolk (from medium egg)
1 tablespoon (15 g) butter, melted
1/4 (1.25 ml) teaspoon salt pinch of pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Combine all the ingredients for the filling (it's best to use one's hands to do that) put into the bowl, cover and set aside in the fridge until you have to use it.

2. Place 2 cups flour in a large bowl or on a work surface and make a well in the center. Break the egg into it, add the salt and a little lukewarm at a time (in my situation 1/2 cup was enough). Bring the dough together, kneading well and adding more flour or water as necessary. Cover the dough with a bowl or towel. You‟re aiming for soft dough. Let it rest 20 minutes.

3. On a floured work surface, roll the dough out thinly (1/8” or about 3 millimeters) cut with a 2-inch (5 cm) round or glass. Spoon a portion (teaspoon will be the best) of the filling into the middle of each circle. Fold dough in half and pinch edges together. Gather scraps, re-roll and fill. Repeat with remaining dough.

4. Bring a large, low saucepan of salted water to boil. Drop in the pierogi, not too many, only single layer in the pan! Return to the boil and reduce heat. When the pierogi rise to the surface, continue to simmer a few minutes more ( usually about 5 minutes). Remove one dumpling with a slotted spoon and taste if ready. When satisfied, remove remaining pierogi from the water.

5. Serve immediately preferably with crème fraiche or fry. Cold pierogi can be fried. Boiled Russian pierogi can be easily frozen and boiled taken out straight from the freezer.

Other types of fillings:

Potato and Cheese Filling
Ingredients: 4 – 5 (600g – 750g) boiled potatoes 4 table spoons butter (60 g) or olive oil (60 ml) 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon (50 ml) milk 1 egg white (from medium egg) ½ cup (about 120 ml) farmers‟ cheese ( or any unripened cheese like Indian Paneer) salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Combine ingredients thoroughly.
2. Fill pierogi as instructed above.
 
Meat and Cabbage Filling

Ingredients: 200 g (7 oz) cooked meat (minced or cut very finely) 500 g (18 oz) white cabbage (chopped and simmered in a little bit of water, until soft) 1 onion (diced and fried) 1 whole medium egg 1 tablespoon (15g) butter dry breadcrumbs (add as much to hold the filling together, about 2 tablespoons) salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Combine ingredients thoroughly.
2. Fill pierogi as instructed above.
 
Soy bean Filling

Ingredients: 350 g (12 oz.) soy beans (canned, drained and minced) 2 medium eggs 1 onion (diced and fried) 100 g (2/3 cup) dry breadcrumbs salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Combine ingredients thoroughly.
2. Fill pierogi as instructed above.

Sauerkraut Filling
Ingredients: 2 cups (500 g) sauerkraut 1 big carrot, grated 1 shallot, chopped and fried with a tablespoon of butter few (about 3) wild mushrooms (I used dry ones, you can use fresh but chop them and fry on some butter before adding to the sauerkraut cabbage) salt, pepper and cumin to taste.

Directions
1. Sauté all the ingredients together until soft, cool before filling pierogi.
2. Fill pierogi as instructed above.

Seasonal Fruits
You can also fill pierogi with whole seasonal fruits for example- strawberries, blueberries, morels, grated apples etc. To prevent the fruits from „sogging‟ just add a little bit of potato flour inside with the fruit and sweeten them after the boiling on the plate rather than putting sugar inside.

Enjoy With Love,
Christina

Cookology's Baking Bootcamp #1: Pate Choux

There is a local hands-on cooking school that offers classes to the public. Cookology is located at the Dulles Town Center mall and ever since it opened I have wanted to take a class there. I just so happened to mention to the Easter Bunny that there was a baking bootcamp series coming up in the month of April, and the Easter Bunny decided to help me register! I was sooooo excited!

The instructor for the baking bootcamp is quite accomplished. Here is Brad Spates' bio according to the Cookology website:

"Brad studied at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY and the James Rumsey School of Culinary Arts. He learned his baking skills under some of the best pastry chef's in the world such as Master Chef Judeth Stains, CIA Award Winning Chef Steve Brown, and Steve Weiss, who was part of the 2000 National Gold Winning Pastry Arts Team and the Executive Pastry Chef of the Trump Taj Mahal and Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. He has travelled and studied pastries worldwide, including an in-depth study of French, Italian, and classical American Pastry. Bread specializes in unique forms of design, while using classical techniques that are practiced by very few modern chef's, such as pastillage, formed marzipan, pulled and blown sugar, and casting chocolates. He has a passion for baking and creating, and can't wait to share his talents with the students at Cookology!"

Impressive right!? I knew our first class was going to be about Pate Choux (pronouced like pat a shoe), which I had tried to make YEARS ago and had mild success. They promised a sweet and savory version.

The class started and we were put into pairs. I teamed up with a gal named Karen who seemed sweet and approached things in a similar fashion as I did (good match! *phew!*). I unintentionally stood next to Brad...which turned out to be good for my tendancy to get distracted...he kept my attention for sure!

The instruction was paced well, we were able to ask all the questions we wanted and had a great time. The recipes will follow later (he sends them out about a week after the class), but I can tell you that the end results were WONDERFUL! Yumm!! Just look at these photos:

My Savory Chees Puffs

My Sweet Cream Filled Eclairs

Inside of the Yummy Eclairs (Held by Brad)

I certainly am looking forward to next week's class on pies and tartlets!

**Editted to add recipes:
Pate' choux

Ingredients
1 cup water
3/4 stick butter (6 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon sugar plus 1/8 teaspoon salt (for sweet)
1 teaspoon salt (for savory)
5 3/4 ounces flour
1 cup eggs, about 4 large eggs and 2 whites

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Boil water, butter, and salt or sugar. Add flour and remove from heat. Work mixture together and return to heat. Continue working the mixture until all flour is incorporated and dough forms a ball. Transfer mixture into bowl of a standing mixer and let cool for 3 or 4 minutes. With mixer on stir or lowest speed add eggs, 1 at a time, making sure the first egg is completely incorporated before continuing. Once all eggs have been added and the mixture is smooth put dough into piping bag fitted with a round tip. Pipe immediately into golfball-size shapes, 2 inches apart onto parchment lined sheet pans. Cook for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350 degrees F and bake for 10 more minutes or until golden brown. Once they are removed from the oven pierce with a paring knife immediately to release steam. Fill with pastry cream, whip cream, or pastry cream.

Pastry cream
Ingredients
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 extract

Directions
In a heavy saucepan, stir together the milk and 1/4 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and egg. Stir together the remaining sugar and cornstarch; then stir them into the egg until smooth. When the milk comes to a boil, drizzle it into the bowl in a thin stream while mixing so that you do not cook the eggs. Return the mixture to the saucepan, and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly so the eggs don' t curdle or scorch on the bottom.

When the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla, mixing until the butter is completely blended in. Pour into a heat-proof container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled before using.


Cheese Mixture (to use instead of Cream Mixure)
Bleu cheese
Brie cheese
Parmesean Cheese
Cream cheese
Mascarpone
Heavy cream

Mix all ingredients in equal proportions.
(Note: We used Bleu Cheese, Parmesean Cheese and Ricotta Cheese along with the cream for our "testers.")
Enjoy with Love,
Christina

Daring Cooks: Mezze (February 2010)

The 2010 February Daring Bakers 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.

From Michele: “The challenge is to prepare a Mezze (pronounced “mez”) Table including, but not limited to, homemade Pita bread and Hummus. If you’re not familiar with mezze, it’s more of a style of eating than a specific recipe or recipes. Mezze is a bunch of small dishes served all at once—sort of like the Middle Eastern version of Spanish Tapas. It can be served as appetizers before a meal, or as the meal itself.

A simple mezze meal could be something like pita bread, hummus, olives, roasted almonds, and some feta cheese. If you want to be more elaborate you can add salads, other dips, cooked beans, roasted meat or fish, a variety of flatbreads, and on and on. The presentation is important as you want your mezze table to be just as appealing to the eye as it is to the stomach. I know that eating this way isn’t second nature to most people, but it can be a fun way to share a meal with those close to you.”

I was excited about this challenge because I have eaten mezze style before at Lebanese restaurants. The smaller portions and variety can be a fun way to try new things. I decided that beyond the required pita bread and hummus for the challenge I would add my absolute favorite olives (more on these later) and tabouli.

I had made hummus before so I knew this was going to be the easy part! The ingredients are typically on hand with the exception of tahini. Tahini is a sesame paste and can be replaced with peanut butter but I chose to purchase some at the store to make a more authentic hummus.

I whirled the (canned and drained) chickpeas in the food processor then added the other ingredients. It smelled so good.

Once I was done with the hummus I decided to make the tabouli. Instead of doing it from scratch, since I wasn’t sure I would like it and the ingredients could be a bit pricey, I bought a box mix. The instructions were very easy…pretty much just add water, olive oil and fresh tomatoes, then chill. Easy…done.

I moved on to the pita bread. As you may have read before, breads or yeasts and I have a love hate relationship. I love to attempt, but hate that I always am afraid they won’t turn out. So with some fear I got started. At the first “rest” I was still was not feeling very confident.

After I started to add more flour, I think I gave up stirring a bit too soon. As I was kneading I had to keep adding flour so that it wouldn’t stick to the counter. This didn’t seem to make too big of a difference other than I was COVERED in flour and bread dough! A messy process for sure!

Once it was in the bowl for the “rest and rise” phase, I was feeling a bit better (the smell of a yeast dough rising is amazing), but still worried it wouldn’t rise. But, it did! It was still very sticky once I went to divide and conquer the dough for the individual breads. I didn’t get any pictures of this process because again my hands were covered in flour and dough. They rolled out much like the dumplings I had made before…very springy dough.

The first batch went into the oven and I think that the oven was not hot enough yet. They turned out alright, but did not puff or balloon up as expected. I waited to put the next batch in until I knew the oven was at the required temperature and they puffed up beautifully!

All in all this challenge, though messy, was not that difficult for me but I was still glad to do it. Making your own pita bread could come in quite handy on weeks like we had last week when the snow storms create panic and the bread and eggs are gone from the grocery store. Most people that would attempt to make their own breads would likely have all the ingredients on hand or could easy purchase them during a snow panic. The hummus is high in protein and fairly good for you…it is easy to share with others as well. Just make sure that if you are sharing with a loved one you both eat it if you plan on kissing….it does pack a decent garlic punch!

Now, more about the olives in the glamour shot below. These olives are the best I have ever had. They simply have a flavor that others do not compete with. They are Mama Leone’s Double Stuffed Rockets. They are a green olive stuffed with jalapeño and garlic. They have a great balance of heat. I do not find them to be too hot unless you eat several quickly…but the cure for that is a swig of milk. If you would like to try these olives, they can be purchased online from Leonard Mountain. The folks that run this company are top-notch and wonderful people. I have no trouble endorsing them or their products (for free! unasked even!). Their other olives and breads are great too. Give them a try.

The Recipes:
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.

Enjoy with Love,
Christina

Daring Bakers – Vols-au-Vent / Puff Pastry (September 2009)

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

I must confess I have not worked with puff pastry much. It always fascinates me and I think that the recipes I have seen it used in are great, but never bothered to get around to it. Yes, you can purchase it in the freezer section of your grocery store…but that is not too daring! The challenge this month was to make the dough and then fill it with something of your choice. The dough itself was not difficult to make. Dump it in a food processor and let it whirl.

Flattening the butter is something that one should do to relieve stress. Since it is best to keep everything super cold, the butter does not exactly cooperate at first. But, once you start to think of those people that stood you up or that co-worker that you would prefer no longer be your co-worker, it all seems to start to come together. Heehee…just kidding about the co-worker thing…really.

Rolling the dough with the butter was not overly difficult, but geesh, butter sure does melt quickly. I only made it through the first two turns before needing to get it back into the refrigerator. Two turns seemed to be all I could get in before the butter started acting up for the next four turns (six total).

I decided to be fancy and use my flower shaped cookie cutters. I think they turned out pretty good since I had multiple sizes. The docking and egg washing went pretty smooth as well.

After they were baked I was actually fairly impressed with myself! HA! They actually rose and looked really light and flaky. They did leak butter, but they still turned out pretty and impressive looking. One was lop-sided, which I think was an error of egg-washing. I chose to try a few different fillings for my vols-au-vents. I thought I’d get “cute” and try to do a whole meal idea. I started with my Aunt Judy's Black-Eyed Pea Salsa and then moved on to a chicken salad filled vols-au-vent. The chicken salad was a fail, so no recipe on that one (ick!). The best one though was easily the sautéed apple filling! I just sautéed a red delicious apple with some sugar and let it caramelize a bit so I had a sauce. OMGoodness…I ate all of that one…heehee! Here are the glamor shots of the finished products:

Black-Eyed Pea Salsa Filling

Apple Chicken Salad Filling

Yummy Sautéed Apple Filling

My assessment of this challenge is that it was daring, challenging, yet highly successful! I’d certainly consider making my own puff pastry again in the future if I had the time. It tasted wonderful and besides being time consuming and the butter being a bit cranky, rather easy. I am not sure I would do this in the throws of summer when it is warm, but the winter months could see me making puff pastry again!

Thanks Steph!


PS...I love reading your comments....feel free to leave one at the end of this post!

Recipe: Vols-au-Vent
I’m copying this directly from my Daring Bakers site…it’s long, but worth every word!

Equipment:
-food processor (will make mixing dough easy, but I imagine this can be done by hand as well)
-rolling pin
-pastry brush
-plastic wrap
-baking sheet
-parchment paper
-sharp chef’s knife
-fork
-oven
-cooling rack
-metal bench scraper (optional, but recommended)
-silicone baking mat (optional, but recommended)
-set of round cutters (optional, but recommended)

Prep Times:
-about 4-5 hours to prepare the puff pastry dough (much of this time is inactive, while you wait for the dough to chill between turns…it can be stretched out over an even longer period of time if that better suits your schedule)
-about 1.5 hours to shape, chill and bake the vols-au-vent after your puff pastry dough is complete

Forming and Baking the Vols-au-Vent
Yield: 1/3 of the puff pastry recipe below will yield about 8-10 1.5” vols-au-vent or 4 4” vols-au-vent

In addition to the equipment listed above, you will need:
-well-chilled puff pastry dough (recipe below)
-egg wash (1 egg or yolk beaten with a small amount of water)
-your filling of choice

Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

Using a knife or metal bench scraper, divided your chilled puff pastry dough into three equal pieces. Work with one piece of the dough, and leave the rest wrapped and chilled. (If you are looking to make more vols-au-vent than the yield stated above, you can roll and cut the remaining two pieces of dough as well…if not, then leave refrigerated for the time being or prepare it for longer-term freezer storage. See the “Tips” section below for more storage info.)
On a lightly floured surface, roll the piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick. Transfer it to the baking sheet and refrigerate for about 10 minutes before proceeding with the cutting.

(This assumes you will be using round cutters, but if you do not have them, it is possible to cut square vols-au-vents using a sharp chef’s knife.) For smaller, hors d'oeuvre sized vols-au-vent, use a 1.5” round cutter to cut out 8-10 circles. For larger sized vols-au-vent, fit for a main course or dessert, use a 4” cutter to cut out about 4 circles. Make clean, sharp cuts and try not to twist your cutters back and forth or drag your knife through the dough. Half of these rounds will be for the bases, and the other half will be for the sides. (Save any scrap by stacking—not wadding up—the pieces…they can be re-rolled and used if you need extra dough. If you do need to re-roll scrap to get enough disks, be sure to use any rounds cut from it for the bases, not the ring-shaped sides.)

Using a ¾-inch cutter for small vols-au-vent, or a 2- to 2.5-inch round cutter for large, cut centers from half of the rounds to make rings. These rings will become the sides of the vols-au-vent, while the solid disks will be the bottoms. You can either save the center cut-outs to bake off as little “caps” for you vols-au-vent, or put them in the scrap pile.

Dock the solid bottom rounds with a fork (prick them lightly, making sure not to go all the way through the pastry) and lightly brush them with egg wash. Place the rings directly on top of the bottom rounds and very lightly press them to adhere. Brush the top rings lightly with egg wash, trying not to drip any down the sides (which may inhibit rise). If you are using the little “caps,” dock and egg wash them as well.

Refrigerate the assembled vols-au-vent on the lined baking sheet while you pre-heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). (You could also cover and refrigerate them for a few hours at this point.)
Once the oven is heated, remove the sheet from the refrigerator and place a silicon baking mat (preferred because of its weight) or another sheet of parchment over top of the shells. This will help them rise evenly. Bake the shells until they have risen and begin to brown, about 10-15 minutes depending on their size. Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF (180ºC), and remove the silicon mat or parchment sheet from the top of the vols-au-vent. If the centers have risen up inside the vols-au-vent, you can gently press them down. Continue baking (with no sheet on top) until the layers are golden, about 15-20 minutes more. (If you are baking the center “caps” they will likely be finished well ahead of the shells, so keep an eye on them and remove them from the oven when browned.)

Remove to a rack to cool. Cool to room temperature for cold fillings or to warm for hot fillings.
Fill and serve.

*For additional rise on the larger-sized vols-au-vents, you can stack one or two additional ring layers on top of each other (using egg wash to "glue"). This will give higher sides to larger vols-au-vents, but is not advisable for the smaller ones, whose bases may not be large enough to support the extra weight.

*Although they are at their best filled and eaten soon after baking, baked vols-au-vent shells can be stored airtight for a day.

*Shaped, unbaked vols-au-vent can be wrapped and frozen for up to a month (bake from frozen, egg-washing them first).

Michel Richard’s Puff Pastry Dough
From: Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan
Yield: 2-1/2 pounds dough

Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups (12.2 oz/ 354 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups (5.0 oz/ 142 g) cake flour
1 tbsp. salt (you can cut this by half for a less salty dough or for sweet preparations)
1-1/4 cups (10 fl oz/ 300 ml) ice water
1 pound (16 oz/ 454 g) very cold unsalted butter
plus extra flour for dusting work surface

Mixing the Dough:
Check the capacity of your food processor before you start. If it cannot hold the full quantity of ingredients, make the dough into two batches and combine them.

Put the all-purpose flour, cake flour, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse a couple of times just to mix. Add the water all at once, pulsing until the dough forms a ball on the blade. The dough will be very moist and pliable and will hold together when squeezed between your fingers. (Actually, it will feel like Play-Doh.)

Remove the dough from the machine, form it into a ball, with a small sharp knife, slash the top in a tic-tac-toe pattern. Wrap the dough in a damp towel and refrigerate for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the butter between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and beat it with a rolling pin until it flattens into a square that's about 1" thick. Take care that the butter remains cool and firm: if it has softened or become oily, chill it before continuing.

Incorporating the Butter:
Unwrap the dough and place it on a work surface dusted with all-purpose flour (A cool piece of marble is the ideal surface for puff pastry) with your rolling pin (preferably a French rolling pin without handles), press on the dough to flatten it and then roll it into a 10" square. Keep the top and bottom of the dough well floured to prevent sticking and lift the dough and move it around frequently. Starting from the center of the square, roll out over each corner to create a thick center pad with "ears," or flaps.

Place the cold butter in the middle of the dough and fold the ears over the butter, stretching them as needed so that they overlap slightly and encase the butter completely. (If you have to stretch the dough, stretch it from all over; don't just pull the ends) you should now have a package that is 8" square.

To make great puff pastry, it is important to keep the dough cold at all times. There are specified times for chilling the dough, but if your room is warm, or you work slowly, or you find that for no particular reason the butter starts to ooze out of the pastry, cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it . You can stop at any point in the process and continue at your convenience or when the dough is properly chilled.

Making the Turns:
Gently but firmly press the rolling pin against the top and bottom edges of the square (this will help keep it square). Then, keeping the work surface and the top of the dough well floured to prevent sticking, roll the dough into a rectangle that is three times as long as the square you started with, about 24" (don't worry about the width of the rectangle: if you get the 24", everything else will work itself out.) With this first roll, it is particularly important that the butter be rolled evenly along the length and width of the rectangle; check when you start rolling that the butter is moving along well, and roll a bit harder or more evenly, if necessary, to get a smooth, even dough-butter sandwich (use your arm-strength!).

With a pastry brush, brush off the excess flour from the top of the dough, and fold the rectangle up from the bottom and down from the top in thirds, like a business letter, brushing off the excess flour. You have completed one turn.

Rotate the dough so that the closed fold is to your left, like the spine of a book. Repeat the rolling and folding process, rolling the dough to a length of 24" and then folding it in thirds. This is the second turn.

Chilling the Dough:
If the dough is still cool and no butter is oozing out, you can give the dough another two turns now. If the condition of the dough is iffy, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Each time you refrigerate the dough, mark the number of turns you've completed by indenting the dough with your fingertips. It is best to refrigerate the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns.

The total number of turns needed is six. If you prefer, you can give the dough just four turns now, chill it overnight, and do the last two turns the next day. Puff pastry is extremely flexible in this regard. However, no matter how you arrange your schedule, you should plan to chill the dough for at least an hour before cutting or shaping it.

Extra Tips From Steph:
-While this is not included in the original recipe we are using (and I did not do this), many puff pastry recipes use a teaspoon or two of white vinegar or lemon juice, added to the ice water, in the détrempe dough. This adds acidity, which relaxes the gluten in the dough by breaking down the proteins, making rolling easier. You are welcome to try this if you wish.

-Keep things cool by using the refrigerator as your friend! If you see any butter starting to leak through the dough during the turning process, rub a little flour on the exposed dough and chill straight away. Although you should certainly chill the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns, if you feel the dough getting to soft or hard to work with at any point, pop in the fridge for a rest.

-Not to sound contradictory, but if you chill your paton longer than the recommended time between turns, the butter can firm up too much. If this seems to be the case, I advise letting it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to give it a chance to soften before proceeding to roll. You don't want the hard butter to separate into chunks or break through the dough...you want it to roll evenly, in a continuous layer.

-Roll the puff pastry gently but firmly, and don’t roll your pin over the edges, which will prevent them from rising properly. Don't roll your puff thinner than about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick, or you will not get the rise you are looking for.

-Try to keep “neat” edges and corners during the rolling and turning process, so the layers are properly aligned. Give the edges of the paton a scooch with your rolling pin or a bench scraper to keep straight edges and 90-degree corners.

-Brush off excess flour before turning dough and after rolling.

-Make clean cuts. Don’t drag your knife through the puff or twist your cutters too much, which can inhibit rise.

-When egg washing puff pastry, try not to let extra egg wash drip down the cut edges, which can also inhibit rise.

-Extra puff pastry dough freezes beautifully. It’s best to roll it into a sheet about 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick (similar to store-bought puff) and freeze firm on a lined baking sheet. Then you can easily wrap the sheet in plastic, then foil (and if you have a sealable plastic bag big enough, place the wrapped dough inside) and return to the freezer for up to a few months. Defrost in the refrigerator when ready to use.

-You can also freeze well-wrapped, unbaked cut and shaped puff pastry (i.e., unbaked vols-au-vent shells). Bake from frozen, without thawing first.

-Homemade puff pastry is precious stuff, so save any clean scraps. Stack or overlap them, rather than balling them up, to help keep the integrity of the layers. Then give them a singe “turn” and gently re-roll. Scrap puff can be used for applications where a super-high rise is not necessary (such as palmiers, cheese straws, napoleons, or even the bottom bases for your vols-au-vent).

You can find lots more general tips for making puff pastry on-line, including here at Baking 911.

I encourage everyone to watch the on-line video from the PBS show “Baking with Julia” that accompanies the book.

Enjoy with Love,
Christina

Daring Cooks - Chinese Dumplings/Potstickers (June 2009)

Yes folks, you can make these yummy things at home…from scratch no less. You just have to have some time and patience. This month’s challenge of making potstickers from scratch sounded like it was going to be difficult, but honestly it was very easy.

So first, a bit about the host of the challenge, Jennifer Yu writes a blog call use real butter. I started reading her blog long before I became a member of The Daring Kitchen. In fact, it was because of her Daring Baker entries that I decided to look into the group! I feel a bit of gratitude for Jen and her wonderful blog. I aspire to one day have this blog be as beautiful, both in written and photographic form, some day.

Now, onto the challenge! The filling was easy enough to assemble once everything was minced. Take your time and actually do the mincing by hand, don’t use a food processor. According to Jen the texture will be much better this way. Besides, the ingredients smell incredible and you’ll be able to enjoy them longer. I had some trouble finding the napa cabbage, but as always, can count on Whole Foods to have my “odd” ingredients. I think my Safeway was simply out of it the day I went looking for it.

Filling Looking and Smelling Great

The next part was the dough and making the dumplings. As you’ll read in the recipe and tips, the stickiness had to be “just so.” The first batch of dough I made I used method #2 (see below), the second batch I used method #1. Personally, I like method #2 better. The dough seemed to come together better and not be as sticky. Once I followed the instructions and started rolling, I realized that this wasn’t going to be so hard.

Rolled and Ready for Filling

Honestly, the hardest part was taking the time to roll them all and then the pleating! Jen’s blog has a great demonstration of how to pleat here. GO LOOK AT HOW SHE DID IT! Mine turned out ok, but hers are simply beautiful! (I’ll wait for you to get back…) Are you back? See?! I told you she was a master!

My Pleats...Not Perfect, But Not Bad Either

Once pleated, they were ready for cooking. I decided to fry mine because, well, who doesn’t love fried foods! SO, again, following the instructions I placed my newly pleated dumplings into the oil. The next step was to add the water…BE CAREFUL! Jen recommends having the lid ready and waiting, and pouring the water in pretty fast (as in all at once!). This step makes a big mess if you don’t put the lid on quickly.

Sizzle, Sizzle, Pop, Pop, Splatter Everywhere!

I must admit, once they were done, they turned out looking great! Even better is that they tasted great! I made the dipping sauce and enjoyed my test run as lunch. Yummmmmm! I froze the rest and have not yet tried to make them from frozen yet. If I have any tips or run into any issues that aren’t mentioned in the recipe I’ll come back to edit this post. In the meantime, here’s the “glamour” shot of these delicious things!

Ready for Eating!

Thanks Jen for a great challenge!

Chinese Dumplings/Potstickers
You can (and should) reference instructional photos and discussion on Jen’s blog post here.

Pork filling
1 lb ground pork
4 large napa cabbage leaves, minced
3 stalks green onions, minced
7 shitake mushrooms, minced (if dried - rehydrated and rinsed carefully)
1/2 cup bamboo shoots, minced
1/4 cup ginger root, minced
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp corn starch

DoughNote: You will want to double this for the amount of filling listed, but it's easier to work with in two batches rather than one large one. (Jen tends to use leftover pork filling for soup meatballs.) A single batch will yield about 40 dumplings depending on size.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup warm water
flour for worksurface

Dipping sauce
2 parts soy sauce
1 part vinegar (red wine or black)
a few drops of sesame oil
chili garlic paste (optional) (I didn’t use because I didn’t have it..wish I would have though!)
minced ginger (optional)
minced garlic (optional)
minced green onion (optional)
sugar (optional)

Combine all filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly (I mix by clean hand). Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Make the dough, Method 1: Place the flour in the work bowl of a food processor with the dough blade. Run the processor and pour the warm water in until incorporated. Pour the contents into a sturdy bowl or onto a work surface and knead until uniform and smooth. The dough should be firm and silky to the touch and not sticky. [Note: it’s better to have a moist dough and have to incorporate more flour than to have a dry and pilling dough and have to incorporate more water).

Make the dough, Method 2: In a large bowl mix flour with 1/4 cup of water and stir until water is absorbed. Continue adding water one teaspoon at a time and mixing thoroughly until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. We want a firm dough that is barely sticky to the touch.

Both dough methods: Knead the dough about twenty strokes then cover with a damp towel for 15 minutes. Take the dough and form a flattened dome. Cut into strips about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Shape the strips into rounded long cylinders. On a floured surface, cut the strips into 3/4 inch pieces. Press palm down on each piece to form a flat circle (you can shape the corners in with your fingers). With a rolling pin, roll out a circular wrapper from each flat disc. Take care not to roll out too thin or the dumplings will break during cooking. Leave the centers slightly thicker than the edges. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper and fold the dough in half, pleating the edges along one side (see images above).

To boil: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add dumplings to pot. Boil the dumplings until they float.

To steam: Place dumplings on a single layer of napa cabbage leaves or on a well-greased surface and steam for about 6 minutes.

To pan fry (potstickers): Place dumplings in a frying pan with 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil. Heat on high and fry for a few minutes until bottoms are golden. Add 1/2 cup water and cover. Cook until the water has boiled away and then uncover and reduce heat to medium or medium low. Let the dumplings cook for another 2 minutes then remove from heat and serve.

To freeze: Assemble dumplings on a baking sheet so they are not touching. Freeze for 20-30 minutes until dumplings are no longer soft. Place in ziploc bag and freeze for up to a couple of months. Prepare per the above instructions, but allow extra time to ensure the filling is thoroughly cooked.

To serve: Serve dumplings or potstickers hot with your choice of dipping sauce combinations.

Enjoy with Love,
Christina

PS…Confession time…this was actually posted very late according to Daring Cooks rules…but hey! better late than never right!?

Auntie Judy's Black Eyed Pea Salsa

Last summer I needed a great take-along dish for a potluck party. The party was for about 40 people and outdoors. So, I needed something easy, that wouldn't need to be kept hot or cold. I also wanted to take something savory instead of a dessert because I was told the desserts were well taken care of.

I called in the troops (my mom) who just so happened to be with one of her troops (my Auntie Judy). They came up with this great salsa. I don't know where they got it (such as a magazine, book or if they made it up). It is really easy, the ingredients aren't full of "eye of newt" (nothing wrong with "eye of newt," but not easily found locally..heehee) and I think really yummy. It also can be customized to how hot (spicy) you like your salsa. I have changed it up a few times playing with the salsa (using all hot vs. the blend) and the jalepeno a few times...I like it hot (as in throw in the seeds and use the hotter salsa)!

What you will need:

I kept it "straight" for the party...and everyone seemed to like it. Some were like me and wanted it to have more kick or heat. Others thought it was perfect because it wasn't spicy. I have served this a few other times, but mostly I find myself making it for my own dinner more than anything! Good protein in them there beans, just have to be careful with the chips! :-)

One caution for you, that I learned the really hard way...once you cut the jalepeno, please wash your hands well. It is really incredibly painful to have jalepeno juices in your eyeballs...trust me on this one. No...really...wash well, twice.

The Finished Product

Recipe: Auntie Judy's Black Eyed Pea Salsa
1 (15 1/2 ounce) can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed, drained
1 (11 ounce) can white shoepeg corn, drained
1 1/3 cups mild salsa
1 cup medium hot salsa
3/4 cup green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
1 (4 1/4 ounce) can olives, chopped, drained
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped, seeded
1 packet Italian salad dressing mix (dry)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Mix together and serve wtih tortilla chips. I prefer Tostitos Scoops. Again, be creative...spice it up, or keep it mild.

Enjoy with love,
Christina