...the end marks a new beginning

After a self-imposed hiatus and at the subtle winks of friends and family, the girl is back. And she's still running with a spoon...carefully, might I add.

I've reclined under a tree out back for the ambiance that my brother's small garden creates. It's rather inspiring with its charm: simple, calm, but growing and changing ever still, bearing much fruit. I suppose that I'm describing a life goal more than I am the foliage. Ha! It's like Meg Ryan's character in French Kiss, when asked to describe a wine she ends up describing herself...

Yea, we all know it's a terrible French accent, but I'm a sucker for Meg in the 90s.

I remember starting this blog, thinking that it was going to be something strictly informative, maybe a bit cheeky at times, but for the most part a how-to. But, when I write about food, in the blogosphere or no, I can't help but bridge it and my daily life; I talk about who I am rather than just what I made. Maybe this is the profound truth behind "you are what you eat". Food is people, culture; it's intertwined in our lives in a way that provokes memories and inspires new ones. It's also one of my love languages, so deal with it. 

One week of classes left, one internship, and one portfolio to finish. I can't believe it. I had a final buffet this past week that showed off a couple items from each quarter of schooling. Breads, candies, cookies, petit fours, and a plated Bavarois.

Featuring my family's Farmer's Rose, Norwegian china.

(Played off the loops and colors a little bit for my plated dessert.)



I had great support from my immediate and extended family. I'm so blessed to have people that supported my decision to leave UK and start the pastry program at Sullivan. I'm reminded daily that my hands were created to do this work. Thanksgiving and praise for God's direction and planning!

 H

Here's a bit of sugar work that my team and I put together. We were all looking forward to Fall, so we thought the earthy tones and Autumn motif apropos.

I'm looking forward to seeing what plans the future holds. In the meantime, I'm picking up bits of different languages just in case, building a resume, and working hard at every opportunity.

Enjoy life, use real butter, and praise God for all his blessings. Ciao!



Let the bakers bake and the impatient break.

Baking 101. The introduction to the rest of my life.

My chef is stern, sarcastic, and forthwright about his opinions. But, how else do you perfect a brand new set of skills? An expertly trained eye to critique my work, an experienced brain to pick for ideas and answers, and a lack of compliments to keep work ethic at an all time high...these things are going to be SO beneficial to my overall education. I'm truly blessed to be in a detail-oriented, highly-competitive trade!

Week one: Breads.

Single knot dinner rolls (above) are from a simple eggbread recipe. Shaping rolls has been especially fun this week, and on Friday we learned double knots, figure eights, and braids. You'll notice some "stretch marks" on the rolls, which are definite imperfections in rolling technique. A cold dough/room makes a less pliable dough = more stretching than rolling happens. Our lab is used for chocolate later in the day, so a cool 65 degrees added to that problem...we're still learning how to "roll" with the punches. :)

Healthy whole wheat bread with a sprinkle of bran on top. Putting the "light" in delightful.

As opposed to Subway breads, our homemade wheat bread was actually made with WHOLE wheat. (Sorry, Subway!) It was surpisingly light and moist. No dough conditioners meant that the bread staled within a couple days, but when you're eating peanut butter toast every afternnon, you don't notice that very much. I gotta salute bread with no additives!

Facts and quick tips:

• 
  
   Fresh/active dry/instant yeasts yield no difference in flavor of bread. The pure convenience of each product is the main reasoning for preference. If you're only going to make a couple loaves of bread a week/month, there's no knead to buy a whole block of perishable fresh yeast. Active dry can be kept dormant in the fridge or freezer for months. Just use a little more in the recipe the older it is.
• 
  
  (I am shamelessly punny today.)
• 
  
  Anemic-looking bread, also referred to as "old doughs" are breads that don't contain enough sugar in order to brown properly. (Sugars caramelize, fats melt, and starches coagulate...remember?) So, let's be logical about overproofing. (Rising) More time for yeast to grow and consume sugar means 1) It will take forever for the loaf/roll to brown, so by the time it looks done, it has turned into a dry brick only good for French toast. 2) More alcoholic fermentation will create more CO2 bubbles, ethyl alcohol, and acidic by-products. AKA: The mayo on your sandwich will squish out everywhere, and a twangy flavor will have you wondering if you accidently made a sourdough recipe.

I'm working on finding some more easily "measured" recipes for breads, since most of us homebakers don't use balance scales and oz to make goodies. Let's "rise" to the occasion and warm up the house with some baked goodness, people! 

COMING SOON: PUMPKIN CROP SCARE, CARVING, AND (uber-yummy) BARS!

A pinch of random makes a bunch of fun.

Bonsoir mes copains!

Most importantly, here is THE NELSON CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE. What?!
 

Picture this:
You're going to Sam's club or Costco's for lunch. It's sample day, ya know. You come across the best bite in the whole store, but, the vendor is the strictest mcstricter of sample ladies. And no matter how much time you put between return visits, her hovering hand deters you from getting more.

A few days visiting the Dairy State left me with with this exact feeling! Though I am truly grateful for three day weekends and airplanes, I wanted more time!

 It's crazy to me that I can be out of class and on a plane in less than an hour, landing states away just for the weekend. I had the most wonderful time seeing family that lives across the sea and across the country. (Again, I wish I had more time with them!) We enjoyed the fishing waters and natural beaches of a northern Wisconsin lake. A little sunshine, a little sand between the toes, and a lot of ambiance. Ahhh, life's simple pleasures.

Aside from the whine: foodstuffs. Let's talk cookies!
Walking out of class and into an airplane with a bag full of goodies made for easy convo with my plane neighbors. I normally play myself to be the quiet-reader-type on planes, but man, bust out a bag of cookies and people get chatty. (It may or may not be strategic on my part...)

In this case, I hopped in the plane with some "drunken" chocolate chip cookies and spicy gingersnaps. Adding a teaspoon of bourbon (I AM from Kentucky, after all) to the famous Nelson cookies recipe adds a great note of nuttiness and background flavor to an American favorite. In a different way, adding a tsp. of cayenne to gingersnaps gives an already "spicy" cookie some extra energy! Both delicious and slightly addicting...oh let's face it, they're SUPER addicting. Plus, if you like bourbon balls, it'll put you in the mood to make/eat some of those, too!

Side note: I think I started to finally win over my chef when I cranked out these choc. chip cookies after finishing my lunch service early. He said gruffly, "I like you. You can come back tomorrow." Pretty nice, eh? 

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES a la the Kentucky Nelsons

1 C salted butter

3/4 C light brown sugar

3/4 C table sugar

2 large eggs

2 1/2 C all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 tsp bourbon (Buying a whole bottle is okay! It's a great addition to SO many dishes. Add a tsp to bread pudding, cinnamon raisin bread, in the caramel for sticky buns, cream cheese icings, chocolate/espresso cakes, boxed brownie mixes...OR, add 1/4 Cup in French Onion soup, braised short ribs, beef roast, and even in pork chop stuffings. Be creative!)

375* for 6-8 minutes

Trade secrets! Method is just as important as ingredients:

Keep the butter cold. Friction in creaming the butter and sugar together will create heat energy in the dough, so it's important to refrigerate it after incorporating the other ingredients. I may or may not freeze the dough into cylinders and cut into discs if serving company...This keeps dense, chewy cookies from becoming droopy, flat pancakes.

Use salted butter. Salty and sweet is the addicting combo kept secret in the food industry. Never underestimate the power of salt in baked goods! 

Use quality Vanilla. The 99 cent bottle you have from Kroger, Food Lion, Cubs, or other won't cut it. It's a harsh world, desserts. Every ingredient is precisely measured and when we're talking about perfecting simplicity, every ingredient should be the good stuff. Mexican Vanilla is good, but you'll mostly find premium vanilla to be a Tahitian and Madagascar blend. Sam's and Costco are the ways to go in fulfilling your premium, bang-for-your-buck vanilla needs.

Use semisweet chocolate chips. Milk chocolate might be your favorite, but trust me, cookies should be made with semi or bittersweet chocolate. The sweetness of the dough will highlight the chocolate better if the chocolate isn't fighting for the sweet spot. It's similar to the salty and sweet idea. A little contrast of flavor brings out the flavor in each, which makes for a higher quality taste. (And you look like a rockstar baker. Like, the kind with tattoos of cupcakes and whisks, bright purple hair, and a swanky bakeshop.)

Afraid of bourbon? No worries. Omit it, or replace it with a tsp of espresso/strong coffee. Watch how much liquid additives you put into your cookies, though. You don't want to change the composition of your dough too much, or confuse the palate. What I really should preach is creativity within boundaries! -the baker's dilemma.

Provecho!



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.