Cooking Friends
If you have a love of cooking, you
most likely have friends that like to cook as well. If you are just beginning to cook, search out
a friend that is interested in cooking.
These cooking friendships should be reciprocal, each learns from the
other. Even if you don’t cook, you may
have a different way of seeing things that will open the eyes of the
other. Each of us picks up family
secrets and short cuts. It is always
amazing to me to discover some easy trick, even after cooking for over 50
years.
Social Media
If this is your thing, go for
it. To be honest, I have little
experience with social media. I’m just
beginning to use Pinterest. It seems
like each month there is a new trend in social media and I don’t have the time
to explore and learn all that is out there.
My niece uses it for everything and she is the one who told me about
Pinterest. If you do use social media
and have a favorite site, explore it and follow some of the cooking
profiles. If you don’t use social
media, you may want to explore one or two sites to establish some cooking
contacts.
Cooking Groups
There are many types of groups
interested in cooking and the culinary experience. It is important to decide what you want out
of the cooking group and look for a group that will best suit you. Be prepared to have a trial and error time,
before you find that perfect group.
Supper clubs meet to enjoy a meal together. They can meet at restaurants or cook
together. These groups tend to be more
for socializing and not so much about cooking and learning about food. There can be a wide range of cooking
abilities in the group, from no cooking at all to the experienced cooks.
Cooking groups are more interesting in the
cooking. The group may cook the meal
together or they may bring part of the meal to the meeting. Sometimes they can meet at restaurants or
take a cooking class together. Again
there can be a wide range of cooking abilities and interests, but all members
should be able to cook.
Gourmet clubs are more interested in the unique
dining experience. Some cook, others
meet at restaurants. Depending on the
group, members can focus more on culinary knowledge to advanced cooking.
This Week’s Challenge
This is a simple challenge this
week. Choose one of the socializing
techniques above and add it your learning experience. If you are already doing one of these, choose
something you haven’t tried.
Tip for this Week – Baking
with eggs
Eggs
do better in baking if they are allow to come to room temperature. This is the case with the previous dishes
oven pancake and the cheesecake. This is
also true of other baking like popovers, Yorkshire pudding, and soufflés. In the recipe below, place the whole eggs in
a bowl on the counter 30 minutes to an hour before using them.
Choux
paste or pate de choux has been around for centuries and has evolved into
what we know today. Choux is cabbage in French, because the finish puff looks
like a cabbage. It is an unsweetened
pastry shell that lends itself well to both savory and sweet dishes. In order for the paste to puff, the directions
in making the dough are essential. The
paste can be piped into a variety of shapes.
Most common are profiteroles, croquembouches and eclairs, but other
shapes may be made like hearts or swans.
 |
| Profiteroles |
Profiteroles are round shapes. They may be larger for the base of cake,
medium for individual cream puffs or small (petites choux) for appetizers or
bite sized sweet treats. Technically, the savory profiteroles are called
gougere originating from Burgundy and filled usual with cheese but sometimes
with mushrooms or meat salads.
Croquembouches are a tower of small profiteroles
that are filled and held in place by syrup or lacquer. Sometimes they are enveloped
in spun sugar. They are impressive and usually served at weddings or buffets.
Eclairs
are a long shape of paste. They may be
individual sized or bite-sized. Eclairs are usually filled with Zabaglione or
Bavarian Cream and topped with Grenache.
They may be decorated or plain.
Here
are some tips for making these delicious puffs.
Bake them on parchment paper and mark the desired size shapes on the
paper. Turn the paper over and pipe the
paste. The puffs will puff up rather
than out, so they should be roughly the size of your marked shapes. In order for the puffs to be crisp, remove as
much water as possible by removing the steam.
Step three is essential to remove as much water through the steam as
possible. Step seven is also essential. By stabbing the bottom, steam is allowed to
escape. Allowing the puff to cool slowly
with the oven allows more steam to escape.
No matter what filling is used, the puff will become soft and/or soggy
if they set too long before serving. Try
to fill them as close to the serving time as possible.
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| Mark the parchment paper with pencil and turn the paper over. The pencil marks will transfer to the puffs. |
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| Pipe the paste over the marked parchment paper. This is a large profiterole and a regular éclair and some bit size eclairs |
Filling ideas are only limited by your imagination.
For
more information, check out http://www.craftybaking.com/learn/baked-goods/pastry/types/choux-pastry or do more research online. I came across some
delectable ideas for raspberry cream, strawberry eclairs. So by all means check this out online.
This
Week in Punkin’s Kitchen
Choux Paste
This makes about
18-20 petites choux or six individual profiteroles or eclairs.
½ C Water
½ C Whole
milk
8 T Unsalted
butter
½ t Salt
1 C Flour
4 Eggs
 |
| The ingredients |
1. Bring
the water, milk and butter to a boil over medium heat.
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| Milk, water and butter |
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| Add the flour when the milk mixture boils |
2. Add
the flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture
pulls away from the sides of the pan.
Continue to cook and stir the mixture for one minute, to eliminate
excess moisture.
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| All of a sudden it will come together and ball up. Continue beating to release steam |
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| Stir vigorously. At first it will be lumpy. |
3. Transfer
to a bowl and let cool for five minutes, stirring constantly.
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| It is essential that as much steam is release as possible. Constant stirring releases the steam and helps cool the dough. |
4. Beat
in the eggs one at time making sure the paste is smooth before adding the next
egg. Beat the dough until is smooth and
shiny.
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| It will become lumpy. Keep stirring until the dough becomes smooth. |
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| Once the dough becomes smooth and the egg is completely bended in, add the next egg and repeat |
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| After each egg, the dough will be come lumpy. Stir until smooth and repeat these steps until all the eggs are used up. |
5. Using
a pastry bag with a round tip, pipe the paste on to an ungreased baking
sheet.
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| Put the dough in a pastry bag with a large round tip and shape your choux paste. |
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| Pipe the dough into the desired shapes. Allow room for the puffs to expand. The puff with remain in the piped shape. |
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| I pushed the points down to round out the puffs. The puffs will expand up rather than out, but the puffs will be slightly larger than the marks on the parchment paper. |
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| My finished profiteroles |
6. Bake
at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes.
7. Turn
the oven off and remove the puffs from the oven and stab the bottom of each
puff and turn them on their side of top.
Return them to the warm oven and allow them to cool in the oven.
Puff
Appetizers
I usually make
appetizers from small bite sized puffs filled with meat salad, or a mixture of
equal parts liverwurst and cream cheese.
The Pistachio Chive Dip works well with this. The filling can be added with a pastry bag,
but be sure the tip size will accommodate the lumps in the filling, i.e.
chopped nuts or vegetables. The filling
can also be spooned in.
Liver cheese
 |
| The ingredients |
This is made by
mixing equal parts liverwurst and cream cheese.
I usually add a little more cream cheese. I’m not really a fan of liver, but I will eat
it. What I like about this recipe is
that it disguises the liver. There is a
familiar flavor that is hard to place. Do not use Braunschweiger, unless you
want a stronger liver flavor. The
stronger liver flavor in Braunschweiger is not disguised by the cream cheese.
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| Continue mixing until well blended |
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| Liverwurst and cream cheese |
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| Cooled profiteroles |
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| Cut the profiterole open. Depending on how they will be filled, make the slit large or small. |
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| After filling replace the top |
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| The filling is spooned into the puff. This is a thick filling and is a little easier to spoon fill. If a light filling is used the filling can be piped into the puff through the small slit in the bottom of the puff. |
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| Place on a serving platter. These are great appetizers or a side dish with soup or salad |
Punkin’s Smoky Salmon Mousse
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| Salmon Mousse can be used a spread, dip or filling. |
8
oz. Smoked salmon
6
oz. Cream cheese
2 T Sour cream
Pepper, freshly ground
to taste
Dill for garnish
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| The ingredients |
1. Place
the salmon in a food processor and process until smooth.
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| Smoked salmon in my mini food processor |
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| Process until smooth |
2. Add
the cream cheese and continue to process.
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| Cream cheese added |
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| Sour cream and seasonings added |
3. Add
the sour cream to get the desired consistency.
4. Season
and taste.
5. Refrigerate
until time to serve.
6. Serve
as a dip with crackers, crostini, toast triangles, or pita bread. This is also good as a filling for canapes and
puffs.
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| Perfectly blended and ready to use. |
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| Fill the puffs as directed above |
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| Puff filled with smoky Salmon Mousse |
Cream
puffs
For desserts fill the
puff with whipped cream, Bavarian cream, Zabaglione, or chocolate mouse and garnished with chocolate, caramel or powder sugar or drizzled with Grenache.
Flavored whipped
cream
Traditionally, cream puffs are
filled with whipped cream. Today just
about anything goes. You may try
flavoring the whipped cream with pureed fruit, chocolate, caramel, liqueurs, or
whiskeys.
This was made with banana and
chopped cashews.
 |
Cream Puff Swans
These are usually served at weddings
or bridal showers or other special occasions.
I last may them for my great niece’s 8th birthday. We had an afternoon tea for some of her
friends. The whipped cream was tinted pink. They were a huge hit.
Shape the choux paste in an oval
with a point on the narrow end (the tail of the swan) also shape some hook
shapes that will be the head and neck of the swan. It is a good ideal to bake
the bodies on one sheet and the heads and necks on a different sheet because of
the different cooking times.
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| The cooled puffs |
To assemble the swans:
1) Once
the puffs have cooled and the filling is whipped, slice the top off the puff.
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| Puff with the tops removed |
2) Cut
the top in half lengthwise. These will
be the wings of the swan.
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| The wings cut |
3) Fill
the puff with your filling.
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| Filled with plain whipped cream |
4) Place
the wings on top of the puff.
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| Dust with powder sugar |
5) Place
the hook shaped head and neck in the wide end of the puff.
Also this week: a
blast from the past: 1950s
Salmon
Croquets
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| The complete 10950s dinner |
These are fish patties that probably
originated during the Depression. It is
a good way to stretch one can of salmon to feed a large family. My family only makes these with canned
salmon, but I have heard of them made with canned tuna or mackerel. Growing up we made them with saltine cracker
crumbs, but I use any crackers I have on hand.
It always amazed me how many cracker crumbs my mother could mix in. I’m sure they just used as many cracker
crumbs as would stretch the one can of salmon to feed everyone. Also in the ‘50s we fried them in bacon
drippings. Today I usually use vegetable
or canola oil. It was a big treat to get
to eat the bones from the canned salmon. The bones are soft and edible due to
the canning process and a great source of calcium. Mashed potatoes and canned peas completed the
meal. The leftover patties are good in a sandwich, too.
Bacon drippings or oil
1 can Salmon
¼ C Onion, chopped
¼ C Bell pepper, chopped
1 Egg
1-2 C Cracker crumbs
1 T Prepared mustard (yellow)
Salt and pepper
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| The ingredients |
1) Heat
the bacon drippings in a heavy skillet.
2) Empty
the can of salmon in to a mixing bowl, juice and all. Take out the bones.
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| Dump the can of salmon in a mixing bowl. |
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| Break the salmon apart removing the bones and skin. My mother always left the skin in as it blends into the patties. |
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| Remove the bones and break up the salmon. |
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| The special treat - calcium rich bones. |
3) Add
all the other ingredients. Mix well with
your hands and form into patties.
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| Vegetables, mustard and salt and pepper added. |
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| Crush the crackers into crumbs. I used the flat side of an meat pounder. This can be done in a food processor. |
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| The cracker crumbs do not have to be even or fine. |
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| Add the crumbs and egg, Mix thoroughly. I like to let it set a few minutes so that the crumbs soak up the liquids. |
4) Fry
in a heavy skillet in the bacon drippings until golden brown on one side.
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| Shape into patties. |
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| Fry until golden on one side. |
5) Turn
and cook on the other side.
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| Drain on paper towels |
Happy Cooking!
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