Riviera

This is one of the many recipe that I really like from Piere Hermé books. The cake  has ultra smooth lemon cream which the recipe is very similar to lemon curd, and chocolate moose. Combine the two together is what making  this cake DIVINE! Of course only if you like chocolate, I know many people that don't like chocolate. Though I don't consider my self as an chocaholic, I can eat chocolate, and never turn down a piece of chocolate that someone will over me. 

This is my submission to Zorra for her event "Lemon Day". Such an appropriate event to celebrate spring season. For more detail on how to submit your entry, please visit Zorra's web site. You still have time because the due date is on the 2nd of April, you might still be able to pull out something quick and delicious, lemon souffle or lemon tart for example. They are pretty quick and easy to make. So why not making it right now and sent to Zorra?

This flourless chocolate cake came out  dry and flat as the book describe. But, tasted pretty wellso, I was not really worry about it.   The lemon cream for this cake was pretty delicious on its own (I mean, with slice of bread), I also omitted the use of butter, though the end result was not as silky, taste wise was perfect. The chocolate mousse was also pretty delightful, as I always like any kind of mouses. Though I didn't use Valrhona Manjari as suggested in the book, I still find that this brand is quite satisfying as well (I used 55% cocoa butter content), as you can see from the photographs, is not quite as dark as the one in the book. I also wanted the cake to be on the lighter side, and  made the height not more then 1½ inches, so I only used a layer of cake just for the base, top with lemon cream, the chocolate moose, then glaze the cake with Sarah Bernhard's  chocolate glaze from Alice Medrich recipe that I have been rely on for many year.

I know that many of us are the Daring Baker member, remember this post? 

Okay, this cake is very similar to that, except using lemon cream instead of creme brulee. Having said that, this cake will not be as complicated to assemble as the one that we made for the DB's challenge in December. If you don't have the book (Desserts by Pierre Hermé), Helen has the recipe for the lemon cream, and you can use this recipe (which will work better) or this one for the chocolate mousse. Hope you will like it!

Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna (Lasagne Verdi al Forno) The Daring Baker Challenge March 2009

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

I was a little surprise with the choice of March challenge, as usual I just didn't think too much about it. The point for me to  join the group is to have fun, and not to stress my self out.  And I did have fun, both making the pasta and eating it too.  It was delicious, down to earth meal, it also my family favorite. It was perfect!!!! 

All recipes below from:

The Splendid Table: Recipes from Emilia-Romagna, the Heartland of Northern Italian Food by Lynne Rossetto Kasper (published by William Morrow and Company Inc., 1992).

Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna (Lasagne Verdi al Forno)
(Serves 8 to 10 as a first course, 6 to 8 as a main dish)
Preparation Time: 15 minutes to assemble and 40 minutes cooking time

10 quarts (9 litres) salted water
1 recipe Spinach Pasta cut for lasagna (recipe follows)#1
1 recipe Bechamel Sauce (recipe follows)#2
1 recipe Country Style Ragu (recipe follows)#3
1 cup (4 ounces/125g) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Method
Working Ahead:
The ragu and the béchamel sauce can be made up to three days ahead. The ragu can also be frozen for up to one month. The pasta can be rolled out, cut and dried up to 24 hours before cooking. The assembled lasagne can wait at room temperature (20 degrees Celsius/68 degrees Fahrenheit) about 1 hour before baking. Do not refrigerate it before baking, as the topping of béchamel and cheese will overcook by the time the center is hot.

Assembling the Ingredients:
Have all the sauces, rewarmed gently over a medium heat, and the pasta at hand. Have a large perforated skimmer and a large bowl of cold water next to the stove. Spread a double thickness of paper towels over a large counter space. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Oil or butter a 3 quart (approx 3 litre) shallow baking dish.

Cooking the Pasta:
Bring the salted water to a boil. Drop about four pieces of pasta in the water at a time. Cook about 2 minutes. If you are using dried pasta, cook about 4 minutes, taste, and cook longer if necessary. The pasta will continue cooking during baking, so make sure it is only barely tender. Lift the lasagne from the water with a skimmer, drain, and then slip into the bowl of cold water to stop cooking. When cool, lift out and dry on the paper towels. Repeat until all the pasta is cooked.

Assembling the Lasagne:
Spread a thin layer of béchamel over the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange a layer of about four overlapping sheets of pasta over the béchamel. Spread a thin layer of béchamel (about 3 or 4 spoonfuls) over the pasta, and then an equally thin layer of the ragu. Sprinkle with about 1&1/2 tablespoons of the béchamel and about 1/3 cup of the cheese. Repeat the layers until all ingredients are used, finishing with béchamel sauce and topping with a generous dusting of cheese.

Baking and Serving the Lasagne:
Cover the baking dish lightly with foil, taking care not to let it touch the top of the lasagne. Bake 40 minutes, or until almost heated through. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes, or until hot in the center (test by inserting a knife – if it comes out very warm, the dish is ready). Take care not to brown the cheese topping. It should be melted, creamy looking and barely tinged with a little gold. Turn off the oven, leave the door ajar and let the lasagne rest for about 10 minutes. Then serve. This is not a solid lasagne, but a moist one that slips a bit when it is cut and served.

#1 Spinach Egg Pasta (Pasta Verde)

Preparation: 45 minutes

Makes enough for 6 to 8 first course servings or 4 to 6 main course servings, equivalent to 1 pound (450g) dried boxed pasta.

2 jumbo eggs (2 ounces/60g or more)
10 ounces (300g) fresh spinach, rinsed dry, and finely chopped; or 6 ounces (170g) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
3&1/2 cups (14 ounces/400g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour (organic stone ground preferred)

Working by Hand:

Equipment

A roomy work surface, 24 to 30 inches deep by 30 to 36 inches (60cm to 77cm deep by 60cm to 92cm). Any smooth surface will do, but marble cools dough slightly, making it less flexible than desired.

A pastry scraper and a small wooden spoon for blending the dough.

A wooden dowel-style rolling pin. In Italy, pasta makers use one about 35 inches long and 2 inches thick (89cm long and 5cm thick). The shorter American-style pin with handles at either end can be used, but the longer it is, the easier it is to roll the pasta. 

Note: although it is not traditional, Enza has successfully made pasta with a marble rolling pin, and this can be substituted for the wooden pin, if you have one.

Plastic wrap to wrap the resting dough and to cover rolled-out pasta waiting to be filled. It protects the pasta from drying out too quickly.

A sharp chef’s knife for cutting pasta sheets.

Cloth-covered chair backs, broom handles, or specially designed pasta racks found in cookware shops for draping the pasta. 

Mixing the dough:

Mound the flour in the center of your work surface and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs and spinach. Use a wooden spoon to beat together the eggs and spinach. Then gradually start incorporating shallow scrapings of flour from the sides of the well into the liquid. As you work more and more flour into the liquid, the well’s sides may collapse. Use a pastry scraper to keep the liquids from running off and to incorporate the last bits of flour into the dough. Don’t worry if it looks like a hopelessly rough and messy lump.

Kneading: 

With the aid of the scraper to scoop up unruly pieces, start kneading the dough. Once it becomes a cohesive mass, use the scraper to remove any bits of hard flour on the work surface – these will make the dough lumpy. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes. Its consistency should be elastic and a little sticky. If it is too sticky to move easily, knead in a few more tablespoons of flour. Continue kneading about 10 minutes, or until the dough has become satiny, smooth, and very elastic. It will feel alive under your hands. Do not shortcut this step. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it relax at room temperature 30 minutes to 3 hours.

Stretching and Thinning: 

If using an extra-long rolling pin work with half the dough at a time. With a regular-length rolling pin, roll out a quarter of the dough at a time and keep the rest of the dough wrapped. Lightly sprinkle a large work surface with flour. The idea is to stretch the dough rather than press down and push it. Shape it into a ball and begin rolling out to form a circle, frequently turning the disc of dough a quarter turn. As it thins outs, start rolling the disc back on the pin a quarter of the way toward the center and stretching it gently sideways by running the palms of your hands over the rolled-up dough from the center of the pin outward. Unroll, turn the disc a quarter turn, and repeat. Do twice more.

Stretch and even out the center of the disc by rolling the dough a quarter of the way back on the pin. Then gently push the rolling pin away from you with one hand while holding the sheet in place on the work surface with the other hand. Repeat three more times, turning the dough a quarter turn each time.

Repeat the two processes as the disc becomes larger and thinner. The goal is a sheet of even thickness. For lasagne, the sheet should be so thin that you can clearly see your hand through it and see colours. Cut into rectangles about 4 by 8 inches (10 x 20 cm). Note: Enza says that transparency is a crucial element of lasagne pasta and the dough should be rolled as thinly as possible. She says this is why her housekeeper has such strong arms!

Dry the pasta at room temperature and store in a sealed container or bag. 

#2 Bechamel
Preparation Time: 15 minutes

4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) unsalted butter
4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour, organic stone ground preferred
2&2/3 cups (approx 570ml) milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

Using a medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter over low to medium heat. Sift over the flour, whisk until smooth, and then stir (without stopping) for about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk a little at a time and keep the mixture smooth. Bring to a slow simmer, and stir 3 to 4 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Season with salt, pepper, and a hint of nutmeg.

#3 Country Style Ragu’ (Ragu alla Contadina)
Preparation Time: Ingredient Preparation Time 30 minutes and Cooking time 2 hours
Makes enough sauce for 1 recipe fresh pasta or 1 pound/450g dried pasta)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (45 mL)
2 ounces/60g pancetta, finely chopped
1 medium onion, minced
1 medium stalk celery with leaves, minced
1 small carrot, minced
4 ounces/125g boneless veal shoulder or round
4 ounces/125g pork loin, trimmed of fat, or 4 ounces/125g mild Italian sausage (made without fennel)
8 ounces/250g beef skirt steak, hanging tender, or boneless chuck blade or chuck center cut (in order of preference)
1 ounce/30g thinly sliced Prosciutto di Parma
2/3 cup (5 ounces/160ml) dry red wine
1 &1/2 cups (12 ounces/375ml) chicken or beef stock (homemade if possible)
2 cups (16 ounces/500ml) milk
3 canned plum tomatoes, drained
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

(I also added a tad of nutmeg in the sauce)

Working Ahead: 

The ragu can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. It also freezes well for up to 1 month. Skim the fat from the ragu’ before using it.

Browning the Ragu Base: 

Heat the olive oil in a 12 inch (30cm) skillet (frying pan) over medium-high heat. Have a large saucepan handy to use once browning is complete. Add the pancetta and minced vegetables and sauté, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, 10 minutes, or until the onions barely begin to color. Coarsely grind all the meats together, including the prosciutto, in a food processor or meat grinder. Stir into the pan and slowly brown over medium heat. First the meats will give off a liquid and turn dull grey but, as the liquid evaporates, browning will begin. Stir often, scooping under the meats with the wooden spatula. Protect the brown glaze forming on the bottom of the pan by turning the heat down. Cook 15 minutes, or until the meats are a deep brown. Turn the contents of the skillet into a strainer and shake out the fat. Turn them into the saucepan and set over medium heat.

Reducing and Simmering: Add the wine to the skillet, lowering the heat so the sauce bubbles quietly. Stir occasionally until the wine has reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Scrape up the brown glaze as the wine bubbles. Then pour the reduced wine into the saucepan and set the skillet aside.

Stir ½ cup stock into the saucepan and let it bubble slowly, 10 minutes, or until totally evaporated. Repeat with another ½ cup stock. Stir in the last 1/2 cup stock along with the milk. Adjust heat so the liquid bubbles very slowly. Partially cover the pot, and cook 1 hour. Stir frequently to check for sticking.

Add the tomatoes, crushing them as they go into the pot. Cook uncovered, at a very slow bubble for another 45 minutes, or until the sauce resembles a thick, meaty stew. Season with salt and pepper.

Special thank you to the host for choosing delicious savory dish for the  challenge, and let's not to forget to thank the  creator of The Daring Baker, Lisa of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice.

Norwich Sourdough

I am sending this to Yeast Spotting event created by Susan from Wild Yeast. To join this event is very easy, here is how:

• Bake with yeast (wild or baker's) or make a dish starring bread.
  
• Post about it. Please include a recipe/formula, or a link to one, or some indication of how the bread was made. Also please include the word "YeastSpotting", with a link to this page.
• Submit your post here. Please submit it during the same week it was posted.

I have posted  Norwich Sourdough before, but this time my norwich sourdough is getting better then the first time I've tried, the texture is chewier and crust is crunchier then ever,  I must say that this become my family favorite bread, and it will always be. I made bread every other day, and most of them come from Wild Yeast recipes. Sometimes, I would  add a little bit of seeds, or nuts for variation. Most of the time I like it just plain, and follow the exact recipe given. Lately, I also been experimenting by adding some  flax seed meal to this recipe, but that for my other post!

I tend to stick to one recipe once I find that the recipe is working. This apply to Norwich recipe that I found from Susan. If you haven't try to make your own sourdough starter, I really like to encourage you to try her recipe. It takes the whole week to do it, but the process is fairly simple and easy, plus she give you the time table which I found very helpful. I've only tried once, and it was successful!!!. Now I have a very healthy starter, and very greedy too, as it seems to be hungry all the time. This sourdough  starter seems very forgiving too, when I forget to feed (and this happen a lot), it doesn't loose it temper, pretend to be dead, or give me sour smell. It just look a bit sleepy and tired, but once I feed it, it start to smile again, and energetically dancing around with bubbles. 

Anyway, since I've tried many recipe for sourdough starter from so many different books and people (I wouldn't dare to name them), and very  frustrated that my hard work didn't pay off, I found that this starter is the best and really work for me. It might work for you too!

Chocolate Puff Pastry

This is what Miette wrote for me last week:

"I am very happy with your always nice messages. I propose you to make your own pâte feuilletée for another post (next week, tuesday or wednesday if you are okay) and i will make it too. That's will be as if we were neighbours. That's like a neighbours' challenge ;-). Are you with me ?"

Of course, I didn't have to think twice before I said YES!. I would never turn down such a sweet over like that.

I never made my own puff pastry before, so here I was, very excited to make the this puff pastry, and not knowing wether I could do it. Turned out, it was not as difficult as I though it would be. In fact, I found the process to be very forgiving, since I could do the "fold and turn" to fit my schedule.

I made this Chocolate Puff Pastry from Pierre Hermé book "Chocolate Dessert". I always think that I will make it one day. So, this was really a good chance for me to try out this particular recipe. It looks really beautiful in the book, you can really see the layers of the chocolate and the dough (as you can see, my layers are not like that at all. The layers almost completely blend together). If you have the book, go check it out on page 245, you'll know what I mean.

Anyway, in the past (before I have my blog) I've made many of his recipes, from both of his books (Dessert and Chocolate Dessert books) some were easy and simple, and some were a little bit more challenging. But interestingly enough, I never really tempted to make the puff pastry, I was really too lazy, discouraged by the amount of butter use in the recipe, I also thought it would be too challenging and too time consuming. Not anymore!

I am so glad that Miette invited me to make it together, a lot better then to do it alone. Merci Miette!!!! Now, I have a few recipes in mind using this puff pastry ... hmmm ...

I wanted to test wether my puff pastry was actually working, so I bake a few slices (the house smell so sweet when I bake it). They puffed so much, from ¹⁄₈" thick before baked to ¾" thick after being baked. I guess I did it!

Oh by the way, Natalia also invited me to make Columba Pasquale for Easter. I am very excited, I've already order the columba mold from fantes, they said it has been shipped.

Mendiants, A Recipe For Kaveh And Aris.

Dear reader: 

I know what you are thinking! Why do I even post this way too simple candy? Well, it is actually for my 2 nephews who are pretty much like to make their own treats  in the kitchen. The photo above is my nephews, Kaveh is 8 yrs old and Aris is 4 yrs old. I took the photo when they came to visit for christmas last year. Aren't they cute?

Since this mendiants are very easy to make, I thought I post the recipe for them. I know that they love to check my blog, and always want to try some of the simple recipe. Imagine they faces when they see this. Oh, we miss them so much. As some of you probably know, they live far far away from California. Qatar, that's their temporary home at the moment. 

Kaveh and Aris, 

make this delicious mediants, then  show them of to your friends and your teacher at school, okay? Never put them inside your pocket, remember what happen when you put your chocolate inside your pocket? 

Oh, don't forget to mention that your tante taught you how to make this delicious treats, ha..ha..ha..

There are no rules (I know how much you don't like rules) and  no precise recipe, just use your own imagination, okay? It's really fun to make!

What you need: 

• Ask mom and dad to splurge on really really good quality bittersweet, semisweet, milk, or white chocolate. Homemade (if you can) candied orange (aka orangettes), candied lemon, or any candied and dried fruit of your preference. 
• Mix toasted nuts, like pistachios, hazelnuts, almonds, or any other nuts that you like.
  

How to make it:

• Melt the chocolate, you know how to melt it, right? No? Okay, ask you mom or your dad then.
  
• Prepare a cookie sheet, line it with parchment paper, or silpat. Spoon about one tablespoon of the melted chocolate onto the parchment paper, no need to wiggle the spoon, unless if you want to make dinosaur's or monkey's shape. The chocolate will drip easily, and will spread into  a round shape. Repeat until you use all of the chocolate.
• Decorate each mediant (that round chocolate shape that you've just made) with candied fruit, and toasted nut.
• Refrigerate the cookie sheet to allow the chocolate set or harden for about 15 to 20 minutes. 
• When the chocolate is set or harden, layer each of them in between parchment paper, and transfer in an airtight container. This mediants can be keep for 3 days at cool room temperature, ask mom and dad to crank up the AC. But, I am sure it will be finish before you even think about putting them in the container. Right?

Lot's of love, hug and kisses from Tante, uncle J, Tante Manik, and Kak Adit!

Pandoro di Verona

I am not excatly fond of this guy, but I heard that his recipes are good. After searching endlessly for the right recipe all over my Italian cookbooks and baking cookbooks, I visited the food network (always my last choice), and found this guy's recipe. I decided to use his recipe instead.  

The result was actually not bad, I bet there was something to do with the zest I've added. The recipe was only using 1 zest of lemon, but I've added another lemon and also used orange zest (that's a lot of zest). OMG, I couldn't even describe the fragrant that was released from this bread/cake/yeasty cake. I think I will use this recipe again for next christmas of course with lots lots of zest too!

I am submitting this to Yeast Spotting event created by Susan from Wild Yeast. To join this event is very easy, here is how:

• Bake with yeast (wild or baker's) or make a dish starring bread.
  
• Post about it. Please include a recipe/formula, or a link to one, or some indication of how the bread was made. Also please include the word "YeastSpotting", with a link to this page.
• Submit your post here. Please submit it during the same week it was posted.

Ingredients

Egg-yeast sponge:
1/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• In a small bowl, combine the water, yeast, sugar, 1 egg yolk, and 1/2 cup flour, and blend well. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place  (I put the bowl inside my oven) leave it overnight. It will doubled in bulk.
  

Cake:

5 cups all-purpose flour

8 egg yolks, plus 1 egg

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup water

2 lemon, zested

1 orange, zested

1 kaffirlime, zested

½ cup (more or less)  confectioners' sugar for sprinkling

• On a clean mixer bowl, mound 3 of the remaining cups of flour and make a well in the center. 
• In a medium bowl, beat together 4 of the egg yolks, 1/2-cup sugar, the butter and 1/2 cup water. Add the egg-yeast sponge, mix well with wooden spoon. 
• Pour this mixture into the flour well, and with low setting, gradually mix the flour into the liquids to form a sticky dough. 
• Grease  a large bowl and add the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours.
• Punch down the dough and add the remaining flour, egg yolks, 1/2 cup water, egg, sugar and lemon zest.
• Place it in a mixer bowl, and mix with dough hook on low setting for  additional 10 minutes.
• Place in a greased  bowl and cover with plastic wrap, then let rise for an additional 2 hours.
• Butter and flour two pandoro molds. Punch the dough down, divide it in 2, and form each piece into a ball. Place one ball in each of the molds, and let rise for 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 
• Bake the pandoro for 35 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Let rest for 10 minutes, then unmold and cool completely.
• Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar if desire.

Did I mention that I made this for christmas last year?

Hazelnut Praline gelatto.

Here is the gelato recipe that I've used for my DB's February challenge. The recipe is very easy and contain no egg and no cream. So it is pretty light. I also use 2% milk, of course you can use full milk if you wish. Just a bit of warning! This gelatto melt pretty quick, so please don't be disappointed with the recipe. It's taste really good, and enough to satisfy your craving of ice cream!

Hazenut Praline Gelatto

4 cups milk

1 (11 oz/312g) Hazelnut praline paste*, or make your own.

3 tbs cornstarch

*if using praline paste, make sure to stir well with wooden spoon. The oil from hazelnut tend to float on the surface, making the paste underneath very hard. It is easier to smooth the paste before adding it to the hot milk.

• Heat 3 cups of milk over medium heat until bubbles appear around the edge of the pan. add the hazelnut praline, stir well using a whisk, until smooth.
• Meanwhile, put the remaining milk, and cornstarch in a medium bowl, stir well to combine, set aside. Add this to the pan, keep stirring to make sure that the mixture is smooth and you don't have any lump left. Continue until the mixture is a little bit thicken.
• Turn off the heat and cool, but don't forget to stir from time to time. When the mixture is cool completely, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
• Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and process according to manufacture's directions.

** Note: since the gelato doesn't contain any eggs and cream, it seems to melt rapidly! It didn't bother me at all, because I like the fact that it is low in fat, yet still satisfy anybody who love ice cream (do I repeat my self here)?