Nouvelle Alert: Hello, Pesto

'Ello everyone!

Busy as a summer bee this week. Midterms are just around the corner! Boy, this quarter is going by quickly.

So, it's summer time and the most common request (foodwise) is for something light, something fresh.  We should really be eating like this all year round, right? (A preview for Fall: Harvest mistakes: The Frying Pan's Bane.) So, California's nouvelle cuisine makes it all the way to our crazy-weather state.

An answer to this summertime query might go like this:

Light --- lean protein, less oil, something with a looser mouth feel

+ Fresh --- veggies/fruit, something crisp/crunchy, cold?

The whole greater than the sum(mer) of its parts

= lettuce wraps.

What a spread!

 What you're drooling at right now is a lettuce wrap with roasted chicken, accoutrements (tomato, avocado, green onions, lime), romain heart "boats",and cilantro pesto. Pestooooo.

I've already given one mention to sauce on my blog, but let me mention, again, about the wonders of sauce! Great for adding moisture when lean meats run dry, it also adds a burst of flavor so you don't have to over season your proteins. In many ways, it can make or break a dish. This past week was sauce week in school, and we learned the classic French mother sauces:  Bechamel, Veloute, Tomato, Hollandaise, and Espanole, of which all other hot sauces originate. But for the curious case of pesto, it seems to be out of the French-Classical-sauce loop. (French/Italian hostility??) In an case, I'm satisfied that it's herbacious, homogenized, and semi-fluid. ---I'll be sure to note if I learn more in class.

Pesto = herb (ususally basil), pine nuts/pignolias, garlic, olive oil, (parmesan cheese) ground to a saucy constistency.

Tips for making pestos:

1) ALWAYS, ALWAYS TOAST

 Toasting your pine nuts will result in a deeper and, if you will, "nuttier" flavor. Put nuts in a dry sauce pan on med-hi heat. Keep a close eye on these guys, agitating the pan often. Very quickly they'll get a light sheen (its oils are leeching out, yay!) and as soon as you see these beauties start to lightly brown, pull the pan off. Ambient heat from the pan will continue to toast the little guys and the last thing you want is to burn them! Burned nuts = bitter nuts = bitter pesto. (And that's not "good eats".)

2) STOCK: If the consistency is too thick after adding additional olive oil, thin it out with chicken or vegetable stock. Or, cut fat corners by using more stock and less oil.

3) SEASON: Make sure to season with salt + pepper or else it'll taste flat. 

Hope everyone can keep up with all of the summer produce coming out! Put on some Beach Boys, eat some peaches for me, and get some Vitamin D. At least 15 minutes, folks!

 CILANTRO PESTO

      ---great with chicken, fish, and veggies

1 bunch cilantro

1/3 C. pine nuts

1/2 C. olive oil

3 cloves garlic

S + P

Remove leaves from cilantro stalks, but don't throw the stalks away! Bundled, they are a great seasoning when making stocks and soups. In class, we call this a bouquet garnis. (Traditionally parsley stems, thyme, whole pepper corns, and bay leaf). Use a food processor of some type to grind it all together, and if you own a Magic Bullet, now is the time to pull it out!

nut butters are my jam, a micro entry.

(Special thanks to a dear friend, JC, for providing this evening's entertainment. A present that made its way all the way from Thailand to North Dakota to Kentucky!)

Macadamia Nut Spread, a product of Thailand.

So I get this delicious macadamia spread in the mail and I think to myself, "what's the quickest and most delicious way I can prepare and consume this?" Anyone else love toast and Nutella? Thought so. Nuked some leftover ganache, toasted some toasting  bread, buttered, and spread on the macadamia. Ooowee, it was good! I may or may not be having this for dessert the rest of the week.

In honor of summer, backyard produce, and warm weather friends, here are some pictures I have stashed from this month:

Our cherry tomato plant has literally EXPLODED. Chucking ripe AND green tomatoes at us, to boot.

 Hah! I bet you didn't think you'd be on here TWICE, now did ya, Adam?

 

Well, that's all for tonight. I hope to share my love of nuts and chocolate with everyone I meet, so it's imperative that I get that out in the blog air, too. Enjoy the summer weather when you can, folks!

As promised.

Sometimes when I sit down to a cup of coffee and want a sweet nibble, a cookie just isn't enough. But, something heavy and dense like a brownie won't float my boat either. A danish is too sweet. Donut, nuh uh.  And a week old scone is just infuriating. Bonjour, local bakery, it's pastry time!

I'll be honest, I'm not French. BUT, our kitchen doubles as a pâtisserie whenever I'm in the mood for a pastry. Give me an apron, the soundtrack to Beauty and the Beast, and flour and we're in business. (Marie! The baguettes! Hurry up!) 

Galettes! A rustic and super forgiving pastry everyone should try. The dough is very easy to make and versatile for both savory and sweet dishes. Today, I did two sweet galettes in keeping with my coffee/tea pairings from yesterday. 

Quick tips when making a galette: Keep the butter COLD, cold, cold, and make sure you allow the pastry to rest for at least 45 min. in the refrigerator before rolling out. Allow at least a 2" edge for folding crust/keeping the filling together. Be creative! Trust me, you can fill them with ANYTHING and they'll turn out fantastic. Here are two that I played around with today:

TEA TIME BERRY GALETTE

Marbled 1 tsp of finely ground black tea into the dough.

Thin layer of white chocolate and mint ganache to hopefully prevent bottom dough sogginess. Fresh berries mixed with lemon juice and about 1 teaspoon corn starch.

Seasonal berries are always, I repeat, ALWAYS a good idea! Just toss them with a little bit of acid, whether that be lemon/lime juice or white wine. Add a little cornstarch to thicken the sauce as it bakes. You can decorate with sugar crystals, berry tops, stamped edges, or use left over dough for shaped leaves or holiday shapes.

GALETTE DES CHOCOLAT

(for the "fancy" rustic pastry fans...oh, oxymoron.)

For this, I used a semisweet chocolate ganache on the bottom. For all you lamens termers, we like to call that chocolate sauce. Nothing more than equal parts melted chips and cream (use microwave or double boiler). The top layer is a chocolate custard made with milk, egg yolks, sugar, and cocoa powder. (Drizzled ganache on top for aesthetic appeal.) Allow both to cool before you start assembling the galette.

Is "scrumpdidliumptious" descriptive enough? The texture turns out almost like a loose flan/dense mouse. I ate it warm (or piping hot/right out of the oven!) with a good cup of coffee this afternoon.

This dough vehicle really is fantastic for anything you want to put in it. For a party/entertaining it's very easy to divide up the dough into personal size galettes. Try savory versions with sliced potatoes and dill, caramelized onion and goat cheese, or even brunch-style with sliced plums/dried apricots/ and almonds.

Galette Pastry Dough

1 C. flour

1/4 C. cornmeal

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

7 tblsp. cold, cubed butter

3 tblsp. sour cream (yogurt or buttermilk can be substituted,

we're really just going for a tangy dairy product here)

1/3 C. ice water

Combine first four ingredients together, and using a fork or pastry cutter, cut in the cubed butter. You're looking for a combination of pea-sized and rice-sized bits. The smaller bits will make the dough tender and the larger sized will make it flaky. Mm! It's a good idea to whisk the sour cream and ice water before incorporating into the dry mixture. Use a spatula or your hands to bring the mixture together well enough to form a ball. Divide the dough in half, flatten into 2" discs, and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for at least 45 minutes. Roll 1/4", fill, and fold! (Egg wash optional.)

400* F for 12-15 minutes

"Rain showers my spirit and waters my soul."

Long time no post! Wonderfully, I have been busy with a brand new start in culinary school. Class everyday. Hours of study afterward. Unbelievably intense instruction. In other words, DIVINE.

My skills instructor, Chef Dodd (an incredibly talented, cheeky, British man), says "And over here, Kenna is doing a fine job on her knife skills. *Harrumph* You pastry folk always seem to have a knack for knife cutting."
-"I s'pose we're just a persnickety bunch, meant for fine detail, Chef. (cheese!)"  

Dodd: "...'snickety. I like 'at."

Now, even my after school snacks don't stand a chance. Apple, you have met your match.

brunoise, julienne, sliiiice

Today is the epitome of a stormy, summer day. Cool and cozy, this type of day always puts me in a hot beverage type of mood.

mom dubbed over these flowers, "close up ladies! don't let your hair get wet!"

Coffee on the brain, I went to start a pot. Only, I had a difficult time finding the carafe. So, I flipped open our mug cabinet in an attempt to swipe a cup and whadya know! There it sat. Mom blames me for moving it absentmindedly; I blame the dog for Mom's early mornings and slumped psyche. Regardless of whose fault it is, it had Mom and I chuckling for the better part of the afternoon.

A bold, Belizian coffee warmed my tummy and (let's be honest, caffeine) cleared my head. To the point, I love coffee. BUT, is anyone else ever confused at the complex language that defines what would otherwise be called "a good cup of joe"? Who knew you could describe a beverage with words like "height" and "depth". Most confusing of all, how can coffee have notes of blackberry or vanilla? (Seriously, I just think it's marketing sometimes.) My unrefined palette can really only pick out distinct references to depth in roasting, acidity, and hints of chocolate.

(BEWARE: FOODIE GEEK-OUT)

Chocolate, Theobroma cacao or 'food of the gods', is one of 19 species that contains Theobromine, an alkaloid that (along with caffeine) has physiological effects on the body. Coffea (of which coffee originates), Ilex paraguariensis (yerba mate), and Camellia sinensis (tea) are other species in which this alkaloid exists. [This is also the toxin that makes chocolate and coffee poisonous to dogs.] My point? The coziness we feel when we consume chocolate, coffee, or tea is not just nostalgic psycology. Theobromine is known to be mood-enhancing (ooOoo), and is a known stimulant and vasodilater (a fancy reference to widening blood vessels). 

Coffee. Chocolate. A dynamite pair and a delicious comfort to us all.

Chocolate + coffee pairing recipe(s) to come in my next post!

Coe, Sophie. The True History of Chocolate. 2nd.

London, UK: Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2007. 25-31. Print.