Showing posts with label Pastry School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pastry School. Show all posts

Monday, April 19, 2010

I should have mentioned...


... that those popovers are really easy to make. Just use left over pate brisee (i make batches and freeze for up to 2 months in my freezer. it's something good to keep on hand especially with spring/summer berries and fruits on their way.) Roll out thicker than you would a regular pie crust (a little over 1/8") Cut into large squares. Use what you have an make it work, size isn't important. Using washed and prepared berries, peaches, apples, oranges, plums, etc.. (You can really use anything you like. Remember to clean stone fruits properly and cut up larger fruit into manageable pieces.) Add sugar and any zest, juice, spice or herb you like. I use citrus zests and juices in most of my Spring and Summer pies. The juice will not only add great taste but it will also prevent the fruit from oxidizing, preserving the brilliant colors and flavors in the finished pie. I especially like lemon and orange in Blueberry Pies. Tangelo would be amazing too. Ok before we get off track... The amount of sugar varies as I usually make these with what's around and the amount is always different. Sprinkle in enough to lightly coat the berries. Spoon the fruit onto one side of the triangle (*in the photo, I had barely any pate brisee and had to improvise with my amount and that is why I am using triangles. BUT in the theory it is the same, see how I've put the blueberries on one half of the triangle? That's what you're going for just with squares, does that make sense? Now I've gone and confused myself.) ANYWAY, leave a quarter to half inch border. Using an egg wash (1 egg + 1 TBS heavy cream (any dairy product works; yogurt, buttermilk, sour cream, etc... )You can also just use the egg.))) (<<<-----That was too many side thoughts, sorry I just want to be as helpful as possible.) Ok so brush the egg wash over those 2 borders you left around the fruit. Brush lightly, you don't want bubbles of scrambled egg in your pie, well maybe you do but I don't so easy does it. Fold the other side of the square over and seal by pressing firmly. Making sure your popover is sealed tight, move onto a Sil-Pat or foil or parchment paper line cookie sheet. Brush the entire popover with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Using a sharp knife or kitchen shear make a 1" slit in the top for venting steam. Ok that's it, you're done. Pop them into a preheated 400 oven and check them in 20 mins. When checking you want to look at the color of the dough, is it as dark as you want it or does it need some more time. If it's as dark as you like or you're worried about burning, pull out and cover with foil. Use a kitchen towel and pat down the foil around each popover. Careful don't squish it. After 30-45 mins the popover will be finished. You can test the fruit by inserting a paring knife through the steam vent and into a piece of fruit. If it is tender-soft, it's done. Pair with ice cream or homemade whipped cream and it's an easy and amazing addition to any meal. Oh but don't forget to let them cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. Gosh, sorry I'm spaced, off in mushroom land, dreaming of Morels and rain. I might have to just suck it, strip, grab a drum and some chicken bones and do a little dance. It's gotta be in there somewhere. So anyway sorry for the insanity that is this post. I hope you were able to find something useful in it. I am off to watch the Simpsons and sip a diet coke and not clean... I'll do it tomorrow... we'll see.

Friday, April 16, 2010

TGIF g-dangit.


I am thrilled that the weekend is finally here. Lot's to do, morel hunting, visiting CHIC and meeting with an admissions representative and of course cleaning. I am getting better about keeping up with the household chores but I do have a long way to go. Managing clutter is the worst, I need to head to the container store! The craftroom closet needs a complete makeover and I need to buy a garbage can (I still can't believe we don't have one... it's a little ghetto.) I had an accidental nap today and was really disappointed we didn't get more rain. Oh well, we'll see tomorrow if the tiny showers we saw this morning were enough. Because of the nap I was unable to make bread but instead used some left over pate brisee and blueberries to make popovers. They were amazing and really got me stoked for summer fruits and berries. Can't wait. Well kids have a great night and will let you know how the hunt turns out tomorrow. Have to get to sleep so I can get up at 5 and head out.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Changing the Plan is usually the Plan.

I did not get out to the woods today for some mushroom and flower hunting and a much needed hike. Instead I decided that I needed to start cleaning before I brought more things into the house. How sensible and who would have ever thought I would be sensible? I am just as shocked as you. I spent the morning tearing the refrigerator apart, scrubbing and binning some pretty disgusting stuff. I'm not sure why we had 3 open salsa containers or 5 varieties of jams and I would expect myself to come up with an excuse for the 3 half-filled apple butters but I simply can't. Such waste and as each item fell into the trash I kept thinking about the compost bin I so desperately want. Maybe I'll make one of those worm containers that you can keep in apartments but that is just one more item taking up very precious and limited space. For now I just need to be more diligent about making better use of what I have rather than being so quick to run to the grocery store. In that spirit I have started our weekly menu and plan to follow it, eat and use the leftovers and eat better! I'm very excited to start cooking on regular basis and hopefully this will get me into Martha mode with the household chores. I have been such a slacker and I really do think it has been the weather. All I want to do is sleep and watch TV. It could also be that I have been sick but now that I am feeling much better I am ready to get this apartment under control. So today I got the kitchen started and tomorrow morning I am waking up early to take Lucy foraging through Fiona's Forest with me. Yes, Lucy is getting a special trip all by her lonesome with her Pops but that's mostly because I would rather watch the surroundings rather than the dogs and the boys need my constant attention. Plus Lucy needs some 1 on 1 time, we both miss it occasionally. We're hoping to find lot's of flowers and if we're lucky we may even find some hearty Morels. Then back home for some more cleaning and if I'm up for it, I might even head into work to get some more painting done. If I don't I'll have to stay late this coming week so I'll just weigh the pros and con's during the hike. You're not fooled, eh? Yeah me either, I'll be staying late this week. No one wants to go into work on their day off if they don't have to... especially me. Speaking of work, new developments are happening in my career goals. I have become increasingly disappointed in my job. There are endless possible reasons for this but I can't seem to put my finger on it. I know that I am disappointed in my current facility and I could easily change that but haven't for a variety of excuses but there are other things that are telling me "this isn't for you." While I do want to continue working with animals and shelters, I no longer want to sit in a room for 7 hours a day, scooping poop and being barked at non stop. So what comes next? Well I've decided to go to pastry school. It mostly started on a whim, a "let's do this for fun to relieve the stress" type of thought but then I thought maybe I should be a little more serious about it. I love to bake and I'm pretty damn good at it if I do say so myself, my decorating skills are fairly good and well I think it would be fun. We'll see where this takes me but for now it's gonna be a crazy ride. Uh, how have we gone from procrastination for purification to mushrooms to a new journey? It's late, that's my only excuse. Now time for the season 1 finale of Six Feet Under. Goodnight and have a great Sunday. Get outside and explore, if you find any morels and want to share your spot, let us know.