Jul 14: Daring Cooks Go Molecular (Sort of)

This month's Daring Cooks' Challenge is hosted by Sketchy's Kitchen.
The Challenge is Skate, traditional flavors powdered (slightly altered)
This is a dish from Grant Achatz, found in the Alinea cookbook - page 230.

First, thank you Sketchy for hosting this month's challenge and providing a different angle on a way to cook.

I deviated from the challenge by substituting skate with sea scallop and lingcod.

Two primary reasons:
Skate isn't readily available on the West Coast and, more importantly, skate is on the Seafood Watch List as overfished. [Ref: Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch]

Researching the internet, I found that skate was used as a sea scallop substitute (a substitute carried out by shady fish mongers) so using real sea scallops was a logical substitution. I, also, picked lingcod to try out a neutral tasting fish.

The challenge can be viewed as three parts - making the flavorful powders, poaching the seafood and plating/assembling the finished dish.

Skate, Traditional Flavors Powdered - with changes
4 skate wings
Beurre monte
300g fresh green beans
sea salt/kosher salt
1 banana
454g butter - 4 sticks
300g lemons
5g citric acid/vitamin c tablet
150g cilantro
150g parsley
100g dried banana chips
300g spray dried cream powder (or powdered milk)
100g cup minced red onion
200g capers (brined, not oil)

Making the Powders
Four powders are used for this dish
caper / onion
lemon powder
cilantro/parsley powder
'brown butter' powder

In lieu of a dehydrator or the microwave, I used my oven set on WARM which is about 150 degrees. The items were placed on parchment paper and allowed to dry overnight... about 5 to 6 hours.

Citrus Powder
The zest from 300g of lemons (Not 300 g of zest... that's a lot of lemons!)
1000g simple syrup (I used a 1 to 1 ratio of water to sugar)
5g citric acid/vitamin c tablet (Ironically, I tossed some citrus acid I used when I went through a cheese making phase. I went out and purchased some more... lol.)

zest 300g of lemons (10.6 oz), remove the pith from the zest (I found my trusty potato peeler did the job really well) and poach in the simple syrup three times. dry with paper towels and move to a dehydrating tray. 130 for 12 hours. pulse the zest in a coffee grinder, pass through chinois, and mix with citric acid/vitamin C powder.

If you do not have a dehydrator, place in microwave for 8 to 10 minutes at medium powder. Once dried, follow the other instructions.

I'm not sure what poached 3 times meant... so I poached in the same liquid for about 5 minutes each time, but I rinsed the zest strips between the first and second poaching.

On the left, the triple poached strips of zest. Weight before drying about 39 g.
On the right, oven dried zest. Weight was around 20 g.


Cilantro/Parsley powder
150g cilantro (I used only 75 g which was about 1.5 C loosely packed)
150g parsley (I used only 75 g which was about 1.5 C loosely packed)

I wasn't sure if we wanted leaves only or full stems and leaves were okay. I ended up trying to use leaves only.

Blanch the parsley in boiling saltwater for 1 second, submerge the leaves in ice water for 3 minutes. Dry on paper towels and place on dehydrator tray. 130 for 12 hours. grind and pass through chinois.

If you do not have a dehydrator, place in microwave for 30 seconds, turn over leaves and microwave for another thirty seconds. They should be dry by now, pulse in coffee grinder, pass through chinois and reserve.

On the left, the blanched parsley and cilantro leaves.
On the right, the dried leaves
No weight was takes since the leaves where water logged after blanching.


Onion Powder
100g cup minced red onions

dehydrator - 130 for 12 hours
microwave at medium power for 20 minutes.

pulse in grinder, pass through chinois

On the left, 100 g of minced red onions.
On the right, 12 g remained after drying.
NOTE: Be sure to ventilate the house really well. The fumes from the onion had us coughing.


Caper powder
200g capers (packed in brine/vinegar) [I only had 100 g of capers]

run the capers under cold water for two minutes to remove some of the brine.
dry on paper towels and dehydrate for 12 hours at 130 degrees.
microwave instructions are unclear. Dry them as much a possible with paper towels, the microwave on medium for 1 minute. Check the moisture content and stir them. repeat for 30 second intervals until they are dry. If you use this method, pleas post the time needed to dry the capers.

On the left, 108 of rinsed capers.
On the right, dried capers weighing 16 g


Caper/Onion Powder
Once dry, pulse and sift the powder. Mix the caper and onion powder together.
Since I only had 100 g of capers, I only added 50 g of onion powder.

Brown Butter powder

100g Dried banana chips (unsweetened if possible - many are coated in honey - the freeze dried ones would be brilliant)
300g spray dried cream powder [I had no luck finding spray dried cream or any form of dried cream powder. Instead of non fat milk powder, I used instant whole milk powder.]

If you cannot find the cream powder, you can substitute Bob's red mill non fat dry milk powder, or even carnation instant milk powder. The substitutions will alter the flavor a little, but you will still get the general idea.

preheat the oven to 350 degrees, sift the cream powder into a fine layer on a silpat or on parchment. bake for 4 minutes, then remove for heat. If it bakes for too long, it will burn. Be very cautious with all powders in the oven. They all go from browned to burnt in a few seconds.

grind the banana chips in a coffee grinder and mix with the toasted cream powder. Pass this through a chinois and reserve.
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For this challenge, the seafood is poached in oil, more exactly and butter emulsion known as a Beurre Monte.

Beurre Monte - 454g butter (4 sticks, 1 pound) cubed and cold, 60g water. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil, remove from heat and whisk in the butter 1 cube at a time. This should from an emulsion. Keep this heated, but under 195 degrees. The emulsion will not break - this is your poaching liquid.

Finishing the beurre monte. Uuuuuh! Creamy and buttery looking... Pass the popcorn! :)


Green Beans:
Slice each beans into very thin rounds (2 mm)
Bring 100g water, 100g beurre monte, and green bean rounds to a boil over high heat. Cook until the water has evaporated (about 3 minutes), when the pan is almost dry, remove it from heat and season with 3g salt

Cooking the green beans. When the water evaporated, it sounded like beans were deep frying.


Poaching Seafood
The beauty of poaching is that food is cooked and can be held for long periods without drying. Poaching is done at temperatures below boiling. With boiling, you have evaporation. Evaporation in foods means drying and toughness.

Prepare the skate - 50G v shaped cuts are recommended
(I used Lingcod and Sea Scallops - the lingcod was cut into individual serving size filets)

Bring 300g water and 300g beurre monte to simmer over medium heat, add skate wings and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and flip the wing over and let rest in pan for two more minutes. Transfer to warming tray lined with parchment and season with 5 grams of fine sea salt.

The seafood taking a dip in the butter filled jacuzzi.


Alternative Poaching Method:
When I think of molecular cuisine/gastronomy, I think of sous vide.
Sous vide is a method of cooking proteins in a vacuum sealed bag at low temperatures (under 140F) for a very long time (12 hours to 24 hours or even days).

Well... I don't have a vacuum bagging system or a fancy immersion circulator so I opted to just poach in bag (PIB). My pseudo-sous vide (PSV). lol.

Scallops were placed in a ziploc bag with about 1 T of beurre monte. I used a straw to suck out the air, which kind of-sort of worked. The main point is to remove the air so the bag doesn't float and the butter stays in contact with the scallops.


The same was done with the lingcod filet. About 2 T of beurre monte was used and a larger ziploc bag.


The bags were submerged in 170F water. The fork was used to weigh down the lingcod bag.
Cooking time was about 40 minutes (actually should have been ready after 5 to 10 minutes, but I lost track of the time). However, the end result was still a very moist tender fish and scallop.
Another advantage of poaching is a bag is that you don't need the massive amount of butter as used in the traditional method, above. Using the bag, you use less than a stick of butter.


Plating/Finishing off the Dish
Take the tip of a small spoon and make a small mound of the citrus powder, the onion-caper powder, and the cilantro parsley-powder. Swirl these around in a hurricane type pattern. I found that it is easier, and you get finer lines if you lightly shake the plate to flatten out the mounds, then swirl the spoon through it to get the pattern.

Peel the remaining banana into very think slices (3mm) fan three slices on the plate, place green beans on top and place skate wing portion on top. On the tall edge, sprinkle the brown butter powder.

The plated sea scallop dish.


The Lingcod plate

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The scallop and lingcod were moist and I enjoyed the bold flavors of the caper/onion power and the tartness of the lemon powder. The powder added flavor, but maybe not in a manner that I'm used to. My palate may not be sophisticated enough to fully enjoy this dish. I missed the flavors resulting from searing the scallop and the filet.

The reasons I joined the Daring Cooks' is that I try something new, push the envelop and try to learn something while having fun!

That's why we call ourselves, "Daring Cooks!"

Jun 27: Daring Bakers' Bakewell Pudding ???

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

Bakewell tarts…er…puddings combine a number of dessert elements but still let you show off your area’s seasonal fruits. Like many regional dishes there’s no “one way” to make a Bakewell Tart/Pudding, but most of today’s versions fall within one of two types.

The first is the “pudding” where a layer of jam is covered by an almondy pastry cream and baked in puff pastry. The second is the “tart” where a rich shortcrust pastry holds jam and an almondy sponge cake-like filling.

The version we Daring Bakers are baking is a combination of the two: a sweet almond-flavoured shortcrust pastry, frangipane and jam.

Many thanks to the two hostesses for creating this challenge. For those interested in the full Bakewell Tart History and Lore, feel free to visit their blogs.
Hostess: Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict
Co-hostess: Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar

A pudding that looks like a tart? So is it a pudding or a tart?
Being an inquisitive person, I had to find out more.
In the US, pudding refers to a very soft milk based/custardy dessert. Many of us from our childhood remember comedian Bill Cosby being the pitchman for "Jel-looooooooooo Pudddddding" and "Jel-looooooooooo Pudddddding POPS"

However, according to Alton Brown, pudding in the UK refers to a cooked (baked, boiled or steamed) bready concoction, such as figgy pudding (sweet) or Yorkshire pudding (savory).

Ah... now the pudding/tart part makes sense!

The Challenge
We have two mandatory elements:
1) Sweet Shortcrust Pastry - Yes, it’s a pie pastry, with the addition of eggs. We’re encouraged to make it by hand.

2) Frangipane - It’s a rich, almondy and sweet bread-like/pudding (in the UK sense) topping.


The Recipe: Bakewell Tart…er…pudding
Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
Baking time: 30 minutes at 400F

Sweet shortcrust pastry
225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt.

Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater.

Most of us have made pies, but using a box grater to grate the butter into something that looked like mozzarella.


Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.


My bread crumb look... :)


Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes


Frangipane
125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds [by volume... it worked out to 1 1/2 cups of slivered almonds.]
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

The neat part of this challenge is grinding the almonds (using another gadget!) Ground almonds is something new to me, but I really like the taste of almonds.

Ground 1/2 C at a time using a blender.


Shake the container a little while the blender is running. The shaking will ensure the big pieces do make it to the blender blades.!


Pass the ground almonds through a sieve to strain out the larger chunks.


Comparing the ground almonds with the slivered almonds. The ground almonds looked like Parmesan cheese from the can. lol! :)


Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy.

Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle.

Really. It’ll be fine.

Sure enough... adding the egg creates a curdled appearance.


Fortunately, the egg whipped in easily.


After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

Assembling the tart
Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out.

Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll.

When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Since I'm making a tart, I trimmed the crust flush with the pie pan.


Remove shell from freezer, spread an even a layer of jam (1 Cup) into the pastry base.

1 C Raspberry Preserves (store bought)


Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart.


Smooth the top.

Using an offset spatula to smooth the topping.


Ready to pop into a 400F oven for 30 minutes.


Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

Important: Based upon my results, you need to check the tart about 20 minutes in. The sugar content of the frangipane will brown quickly. If it's too dark, you can cover with aluminum foil. Removed the foil for the last 5 minutes.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter.

After 30 minutes...


Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Oops! The center isn't quite set. Did I cut the Bakewell a tad early or should I have baked a little longer? I think it's a little of both. I should have done the toothpick test on the center before removing from the oven.


Overall
The initial bite you're hit with a very sweet taste. However, the tartness of the raspberry preserves acts to temper/counteract the sweetness. I enjoyed the almonds flavor of the dessert. I don't think the pudding was fully set and had a polenta like mouth feel. Overll, the dessert was still delicious.

Jun 14: Daring Cooks make Potstickers.

This month's host for Daring Cooks' Challenge #2 is Jen of Use Real Butter.

When read that Jen was the scheduled host of this month's challenge, I was pumped to see the challenge. I found her blog on Tastespotting a couple years back and was mesmerized by her photos and her writing so I knew good things were in the works for this challenge.

The mission is to make Potstickers - Chinese dumplings (aka gyoza in Japanese).
We are given Jen's family recipe, but we are free to explore with variations. However, the whole point of this challenge is to make the dumpling wrappers by hand.

I've made potstickers in the past, using pre-made wrappers. For my post, I only show what I did. A full write-up with variations and with photos can be found here...Use Real Butter's Potsticker Recipe.

For this challenge, I stuck with the classic pork filled potsticker.
Pork Filling:
1 lb (450g) 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 (75g) bamboo shoots, minced
1/4 (55g) cup ginger root, minced
3 tbsp (40g) soy sauce
2 tbsp (28g) sesame oil
2 tbsp (16g) corn starch

This is the fun part... I enjoy practicing my knife skills. For the ginger I used a grating plate instead of mincing. Mix all the ingeredients and set aside.


Dough Recipe: That's it for the dough! Two ingredients! Gotta love that!
(double this for the amount of filling, but easier to make it in 2 batches - or just halve the filling recipe)
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (113g) warm water
flour for worksurface

Place the flour in the work bowl of a food processor. 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.


Knead the dough about twenty strokes [I kneaded about 5 minutes]then cover with a damp towel for 15 minutes. 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).

[I was actually surprised how soft the dough was. It wasn't as soft as bread/pizza dough, but it wasn't as firm as play-doh as I was expecting.] The dough was placed in a bowl and covered with a damp towel to rest.


[After a 15 to 30 minute rest...]
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). [Well... I actually used the flat of a cleaver to flatten and round the little dough balls]


Flattened and ready for the rolling pin.


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 - about 1/16th inch. Leave the centers slightly thicker than the edges.


[I was shooting for about a 3.5" diameter round of dough.]


Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper and fold the dough in half, pleating the edges along one side. Keep all unused dough under damp cloth.


[Did I mention I have troubles pleating. I think my chubby fingers are too awkward to work with fine details. I tried pleating, but ended up going the "crimping" route.]


[A crimped clam shell design... lol]


[A batch of potstickers ready for cooking.... but wait I still have a lot of filling leftover!]


[I was determined to overcome my potsticker pleating phobia (known as ppp)... so I made another batch. This time I reread the instructions and found 1) the recommendation was to make a double batch of dough or a half batch of filling... Ah... no wonder I had a lot of filling leftover and 2) Jen has instructional photos on her blog... With the new info, I set out to pleat the entire batch. No falling back to crimping this time.

After pleating 2/3rds of the batch, I found my secret to pleating. Pleat on the counter top. I've been trying to pleat holding the potsticker, but pleating on the counter top relieves my hand from having to support and balance the potsticker while pleating. The counter top does the supporting and balancing and all my fingers have to is make pleats and close. :-) ]


A pleating success!


My second batch... all pleated!


Cooking Method:
Three basic cooking methods:
Steaming, Boiling or Pan-Frying

To steam: Place dumplings on a single layer of nappa cabbage leaves or on a well-greased surface in a steamer basket with lid. Steam covered for about 6 minutes.
placing the dumplings in a steamer over nappa cabbage leaves

My improvised wok steamer... a metal pie tin with perforations (Drilled holes)


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. Pan frying to brown the bottom.


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 boil: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add dumplings to pot. Boil the dumplings until they float. I boiled about 6 minutes.

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

Dipping Sauce:
2 parts soy sauce
1 part vinegar (red wine or black) [I actually like my dipping sauce to be sour... so I used a 1 to 1 ratio of vinegar to soy sauce.]
a few drops of sesame oil
chili garlic paste (optional)
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 (up to a day, but preferably within an hour or two).



Foods up!:
Batch 1: steamed and pan fried dumplings. [I tried drizzling dipping sauce to pretty up the picture... Instead it looks like I used a dirty plate. I guess I need to work on picture composition... lol]

Batch 2: Pan fried with dipping sauce.


A look-see in the middle.


Another bite... I switched to a fork. Chopsticks just slow me down... :)



Batch 2: Boiled and added to a simple broth embellished with vegetables (Bok choi, nappa cabbage, carrots for color, bamboo shoots since I had a bunch leftover, green onion and a ginger slice are all added to the broth.)


Additional Tips...
To freeze: Assemble dumplings on a baking sheet so they are not touching. It helps to rub the base of the dumpling in a little flour before setting on the baking sheet for ease of release. 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.

Overall, a very enjoyable challenge. Potsticker wrappers are easy to make and I finally learned to pleat. The homemade potsticker wrapper creates a nice chewy potsticker versus store bought wrappers which seem to be thin noodles that are unnoticeable when you eat. A great challenge!

May 30: Scallion Pancake

With work being hectic and my project to take down the tree, I've been wanting to make something in the kitchen.

I was looking through books at the library and came across a dim sum cookbook.

Dim Sum: The Art of Chinese Tea Lunch by Ellen Leong Blonder, 2002.

One recipe that looked simple to make was scallion pancakes.

Scallion Pancakes

1 1/2 C All-Purpose Flour [I weighed out 215 g]
1/2 C Boiling Water
2 T Cold Water
4 to 6 Scallions (white and green parts, thinly sliced about 1 C) [I used 1/2 green onions and 1/2 Chinese chives totaling about 3/4 C]
1T Vegetable Shortening or Toasted Sesame Oil
Salt [I used Kosher]
2 to 4 T Vegetable Oil

Sift flour into a large bowl.
Stir in the boiling water and blend well. Add the cold water.
Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 4 to 5 minutes or until the dough is firm and elastic.
Dust the dough with flout and wrap with plastic for a 30 minute rest.

Instead of sifting, I added the flour to the food processor and let it run for 10 one second pulses.
After, that the boiling water was added and pulsed ten times... The dough will appear crumbly.
The 2 T of water was added and the dough started pulling away from the sides... about 20 pulses.


After kneading, the dough was smooth and not as stiff as I expected.
Wrap for a 30 minute rest.


My toppings: Green onion (aka scallions) and chive mixture; Kosher salt and sesame oil.


After 30 minutes, the dough was divided into 6 equal portions.
The dough was rolled out to about an 8 in round.
Sesame oil is brushed on the pancake.


A couple pinches of kosher salt and 1T of the scallion mixture is sprinkled onto the dough.


Folded over sides (about thirds)


Rolled into a cylinder.


Stand on end to....


mash down for more rolling...


Roll to about a 5 " diameter.


Using the veg oil Pan-fry over medium heat about 3 minutes per side.


Cut into wedges and serve.


Overall, had a nice oniony flavor and the texture was chewy.

May 27: Daring Bakers' Apple Strudel

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

Not a lot of rules this month from our hostesses, we have complete freedom for the filling and shaping of the dough. The only thing that's mandatory is to make the strudel dough.

For additional tips and technique, feel free to go the Linda's blog (make life sweeter!) and Courtney's blog (Coco Cooks). Many thanks to them for hosting this month's challenge.

Hmmm... Apple strudel??? Isn't that the the oblong danish looking pastry that's made from an enriched dough or puff pastry? Also, doesn't it have an icing?

One of the reasons I joined the Daring Bakers was to learn new techniques and make new foods. So imagine my surprise, when I read through the challenge, that I've been wrong about what a strudel is. I don't like being wrong. :-p I know it happens to the best of them. I guess I'll have to roll with the punches and somehow carry on.

So OUT!!! with my preconceived notion of strudel...


And... FORWARD!!!! to making a real strudel...

Apple Strudel
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers

Strudel dough
1 1/3 cups (200 g) unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

1. Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface.

Lately I've been liking the food processor, especially for doughs.
Add all the ingredients into the food processor and apply ten 1-second pulses. Really simple and less mess!


After ten pulses, the dough balled up and pulled away from the sides.


2. Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally.Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).

Now the fun part... kneading and throwing/slamming the dough onto the counter top. The dough is silky smooth and kind of stiff. Throwing the dough onto the counter is supposed to help align the gluten which makes for thinner sheets. True or cooking myth?
This stiff dough is supposed to stretch out very thin? Hmmm... Well see.


While the dough is resting, I moved onto the filling

Filling:
2 tablespoons (30 ml) golden rum
3 tablespoons (45 ml) raisins
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 g) sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick / 115 g) unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 1/2 cups (350 ml) fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup (120 ml, about 60 g) coarsely chopped walnuts
2 pounds (900 g) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch-thick slices (use apples that hold their shape during baking) I used Granny Smiths.

1. Mix the rum and raisins in a bowl. In another bowl, mix the cinnamon and sugar.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high.
Add the breadcrumbs and cook whilst stirring until golden and toasted.
This will take about 3 minutes.
Let it cool completely.

Food processor again. 3 slices of whole wheat bread. I didn't have white bread so I used what I had. Again ten 1-second pulses.


Brown the bread crumbs in butter.


Stretching the Dough:
1. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.

Here's my setup on my round kitchen table. I had a large box (16 inches x 32 inches) that I used as a platform... something from a YouTube video. Instead of a ruining a table cloth, I purchased an inexpensive ($4) twin bed flat sheet and cut it in half. White is best. You can bleach and wash it with no problems.

Dust the cloth with flour and rub the flour in.


Wow! After an hour rest, the dough is very pliable.


Very stretchy! I'm surprised.


2. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.

I was able to stretch the dough thin enough to drape over the entire box. In fact, if I didn't use the box, I could have stretched the dough to cover a majority my dining table (41 inch diameter). No holes formed, but you can see there are spots that are almost transparent.


Thin enough to read something underneath.


Note/Hint: Few small holes in the dough is not a problem as the dough will be rolled, making (most of) the holes invisible.


Filling the Dough

1. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper).

Spread about 3 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands). Sprinkle the buttered dough with the bread crumbs. Spread the walnuts about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip. Mix the apples with the raisins (including the rum), and the cinnamon sugar. Spread the mixture over the walnuts.

I used a strainer to spread the bread crumbs and keep out the large chunks.


I thought I had walnuts, but I found pecans instead.


Mixing the apple filling


2. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.

Using the cloth to lift and roll the studel. This is like rolling a giant sushi roll.


Rolled and ready to transfer to a baking sheet.


Brush with butter and bake.


3. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.

I actually baked about 40-45 minutes. I lost track of time.
HINT: If you don't use parchment, remember to grease the pan or in this case the aluminum foil. This strudel had a stickage problem.


Now that I've made the basic recipe... This is my "creative version of strudel.

Breakfast Strudel
The rolled strudel looked like a giant burrito. So I decided to make a breakfast strudel akin to my breakfast burritos.

Supplemented the bread crumbs with crumbled bacon.
Instead of walnuts, I used sliced breakfast sausage.
No apples... Potatoes fried with onions, mushrooms and spinach.


Wait! There's more...
A layer of bacon gravy, scrambled eggs and cheese.


Rolled and baked for 30 minutes! I remembered to set the timer this time. :)


Right out of the oven, looking like a baguette.


The Finished Strudel

The apple strudel... still slightly warm. Nice apple pie-like filling with a light crust. I think some ice cream on the side would have been nice. Personally, I'm not a big fan of warm apples. To me, the strudel tasted much better strudel the next day when cooled.


My breakfast strudel... which I had for dinner. lol :)
Thinly sliced and served on more gravy, topped with a little grated cheese and hot sauce.
Tasty!


Overall, I enjoyed the challenge. The recipe was very straight forward. Originally, I had my misgivings about the dough, but that stuff stretched out very thinly. Best of all I learned something new and corrected a misconception on what a strudel is.

May 14: Daring Cooks: First Ever Challenge

This is our very first Daring Cooks Challenge!
Our hostesses for this challenge are the the founders of the Daring Bakers, Ivonne (Cream Puffs in Venice) and Lis (Lia Mia Cucina).

A message from our hostesses:
"Two-and-a-half years after the birth of The Daring Bakers, Lis and I are so happy to inaugurate The Daring Cooks with the first ever challenge! Thank you so much to all of you for joining and for supporting us!

So to do away with the suspense, we're happy to announce that the very first Daring Cooks' challenge is ... Ricotta Gnocchi!

We have chosen a recipe from the stunning cookbook by Judy Rodgers, named after her restaurant, The Zuni Café Cookbook."

I'd like to thank Ivonne and Lis for hosting our first challenge, also, for having the gumption and inspiration to form The Daring Bakers.

Personally, I'm an engineer/scientist/geek. Experimentation and learning is encoded into my DNA. Fortunately, cooking is a happy form of experimentation where the end results are edible.

Being a Daring Baker and, now, a Daring Cook gives me an enjoyable way of experimenting around with different ingredients and learning new techniques.

For our first challenge, we're making ricotta gnocchi.

Ricotta gnochhi? I've heard of potato gnocchi. In fact, I've been meaning to make gnocchi after watching PBS Italian cooking maestro, Lidia Bastianich.

My first challenge and I'm making something new and unknown to me. Gotta love it!

Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi
Source: The Zuni Café Cookbook. by Judy Rodgers and Gerald Asher
Yield: Makes 40 to 48 gnocchi (serves 4 to 6)

For the gnocchi:

1 pound (454 grams/16 ounces) fresh ricotta (2 cups)
2 large cold eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) unsalted butter
2 or 3 fresh sage leaves, or a few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg, or a few pinches of chopped lemon zest (all optional)
½ ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (about ¼ cup very lightly packed)
about ¼ teaspoon salt (a little more if using kosher salt)
all-purpose flour for forming the gnocchi


Step 1 (the day before you make the gnocchi): Preparing the ricotta.

If the ricotta is too wet, your gnocchi will not form properly. In her cookbook, Judy Rodgers recommends checking the ricotta’s wetness. To test the ricotta, take a teaspoon or so and place it on a paper towel. If you notice a very large ring of dampness forming around the ricotta after a minute or so, then the ricotta is too wet. To remove some of the moisture, line a sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels and place the ricotta in the sieve. Cover it and let it drain for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Alternatively, you can wrap the ricotta carefully in cheesecloth (2 layers) and suspend it in your refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours with a bowl underneath to catch the water that’s released. Either way, it’s recommended that you do this step the day before you plan on making the gnocchi.

For this challenge, I used store bough ricotta. The ricotta was set onto a strainer and allowed to sit overnight in the fridge.


Step 2 (the day you plan on eating the gnocchi): Making the gnocchi dough.

To make great gnocchi, the ricotta has to be fairly smooth. Place the drained ricotta in a large bowl and mash it as best as you can with a rubber spatula or a large spoon (it’s best to use a utensil with some flexibility here). As you mash the ricotta, if you noticed that you can still see curds, then press the ricotta through a strainer to smooth it out as much as possible.

Wow! This part took longer than expected. I opted to use my fine mesh strainer to press the gnocchi through. My objective was to smooth the ricotta by mashing any larger curds through the mesh.


Add the lightly beaten eggs to the mashed ricotta.

Melt the tablespoon of butter. As it melts, add in the sage if you’re using it. If not, just melt the butter and add it to the ricotta mixture.

Add in any flavouring that you’re using (i.e., nutmeg, lemon zest, etc.). If you’re not using any particular flavouring, that’s fine.

Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the salt.

Beat all the ingredients together very well. You should end up with a soft and fluffy batter with no streaks (everything should be mixed in very well).

I added nutmeg and pulled out the hand mixer. Not sure if the mixer was too harsh on the mixture, but I mixed until combined and looked "fluffy".



Step 3: Forming the gnocchi.
Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. When it boils, salt the water generously and keep it at a simmer. You will use this water to test the first gnocchi that you make to ensure that it holds together and that your gnocchi batter isn’t too damp.

In a large, shallow baking dish or on a sheet pan, make a bed of all-purpose flour that’s ½ an inch deep.

With a spatula, scrape the ricotta mixture away from the sides of the bowl and form a large mass in the centre of your bowl.

Using a tablespoon, scoop up about 2 to 3 teaspoons of batter and then holding the spoon at an angle, use your finger tip to gently push the ball of dough from the spoon into the bed of flour

Whoa! The dough is very soft, almost like a thick batter. Hmmm... I'm getting worried here. NOTE: after a few tries, refrigerating an hour helped firm up the gnocchi a little more.

I found that spoon angle is very important. Too steep and you'll end up with a splat and too shallow, you'll end up with more on your finger than the gnocchi. The ideal angle I found is the gnocchi will fall back on itself like a soft serve (ice cream) swirl.

Also, the the dough being very soft, the deep layer of flour helps. You can't pick the gnocchi up with your fingers for it will mash. However, with the thick layer of flour you can go underneath the gnocchi ball and roll.

I tried to show the progression from right to left: The initial gnocchi off the spoon. The finger tracks in the flour illustrate the technique of rolling the gnocchi from underneath. Objective... coat with flour.


either shake the dish or pan gently to ensure that the flour covers the gnocchi or use your fingers to very gently dust the gnocchi with flour. Gently pick up the gnocchi and cradle it in your hand rolling it to form it in an oval as best as you can, at no point should you squeeze it. What you’re looking for is an oval lump of sorts that’s dusted in flour and plump.

The next trick is picking up the dough ball. I found the two-handed method worked. Acting like steam shovel, you pick up the gnocchi from underneath, fingers slightly apart to allow the excess flour to fall out. Now you can transfer to one hand, gently cradle and move your hand back and forth so the gnocchi rounds off.


Gently place your gnocchi in the simmering water. It will sink and then bob to the top. From the time that it bobs to the surface, you want to cook the gnocchi until it’s just firm. This could take 3 to 5 minutes.

If your gnocchi begins to fall apart, this means that the ricotta cheese was probably still too wet. You can remedy this by beating a teaspoon of egg white into your gnocchi batter. If your gnocchi batter was fluffy but the sample comes out heavy, add a teaspoon of beaten egg to the batter and beat that in. Test a second gnocchi to ensure success.

Form the rest of your gnocchi. You can put 4 to 6 gnocchi in the bed of flour at a time. But don’t overcrowd your bed of flour or you may damage your gnocchi as you coat them.


Have a sheet pan ready to rest the formed gnocchi on. Line the sheet pan with wax or parchment paper and dust it with flour.

You can cook the gnocchi right away, however, Judy Rodgers recommends storing them in the refrigerator for an hour prior to cooking to allow them to firm up.

Finally, gnocchi formed and ready for the refrigerator for some firming up.


Step 4: Cooking the gnocchi.

Have a large skillet ready to go. Place the butter and water for the sauce in the skillet and set aside.

In the largest pan or pot that you have (make sure it’s wide), bring at least 2 quarts of water to a boil (you can use as much as 3 quarts of water if your pot permits). You need a wide pot or pan so that your gnocchi won’t bump into each other and damage each other.

Once the water is boiling, salt it generously.

Drop the gnocchi into the water one by one. Once they float to the top, cook them for 3 to 5 minutes (as in the case with the test gnocchi).

When the gnocchi float to the top, you can start your sauce while you wait for them to finish cooking.

Place the skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Swirl it gently a few times as it melts. As soon as it melts and is incorporated with the water, turn off the heat. Your gnocchi should be cooked by now.

With a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi from the boiling water and gently drop into the butter sauce. Carefully roll in the sauce until coated. Serve immediately.

Variations: For the gnocchi, you can flavour them however you wish. If you want to experiment by adding something to your gnocchi (i.e., caramelized onion, sundried tomato), feel free to do so. However, be forewarned, ricotta gnocchi are delicate and may not take well to elaborate additions. For the sauce, this is your chance to go nuts. Enjoy yourselves. Surprise us!!!

Freezing the gnocchi: If you don’t want to cook your gnocchi right away or if you don’t want to cook all of them, you can make them and freeze them. Once they are formed and resting on the flour-dusted, lined tray, place them uncovered in the freezer. Leave them for several hours to freeze. Once frozen, place them in a plastic bag. Remove the air and seal the bag. Return to the freezer. To cook frozen gnocchi, remove them from the bag and place individually on a plate or on a tray. Place in the refrigerator to thaw completely. Cook as directed for fresh gnocchi.

Tips:
- If you can find it, use fresh ricotta. As Judy Rodgers advises in her recipe, there is no substitute for fresh ricotta. It may be a bit more expensive, but it's worth it.
- Do not skip the draining step. Even if the fresh ricotta doesn't look very wet, it is. Draining the ricotta will help your gnocchi tremendously.
- When shaping your gnocchi, resist the urge to over handle them. It's okay if they look a bit wrinkled or if they're not perfectly smooth.
- If you're not freezing the gnocchi for later, cook them as soon as you can. If you let them sit around too long they may become a bit sticky.

For the gnocchi sauce:
8 tablespoons (227 grams/1/4 pound/4 ounces) butter, sliced
2 teaspoons water

However, I went more towards a piccata sauce - lemon, butter and capers. Also, I had a pan with beef fond (fancy way of saying I cooked a steak and had some nice tasty bits on the bottom). Garnished with parsley and lemon zest.

Initially, since my gnocchi dough was more like a thick batter, I was concerned that the gnocchi fall apart during the boiling. However, the results were surpisingly good.

The gnocchi was very light and airy. It was like eating a cloud or a foam. The gnocchi dissolved in my mouth leaving the light taste of ricotta, nutmeg and the sauce.

This was a fun and challenging recipe... not knowing what to expect and how the dough should look. However, the final results were very good, especially the the melt-away texture.

May 11: Music from a Tiny Violin.

Did I mention the OT has me confused about what day of the week it is?
I came home from work and wanted breakfast food.

Breakfast for dinner!
Biscuit with bacon gravy, fried potatoes with onions, mushrooms and spinach [got to have some veggies on the plate... lol] and scrambled eggs.

Ahhhh! Nice to relax to a nice breakfast, err! I mean dinner, and listen to the music from tiny violins. :)