Anchovy & Olives, Simply Delicious!!

Three types of olives, anchovy fillets, capers, garlic (lots of garlic), a little dijon, a bit of olive oil and a few good turns of the pepper mill, smash it all together add a bit of sea salt to taste and prepare for take off to the Mediterranean shores of Provence or Spain and Italy for that matter, because all of which produce the quality ingredients and have there own take of this Anchoiade.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pitted black olives (good quality)
1/2 cup pitted green olives (think quality)
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata Olives (as above)
4 oz. Anchovy Filet's (drained and rinsed)
1/4 cup Capers
2/3 cup Garlic Cloves
2 tbsp Dijon Mustard or Full Grain Mustard depending on your taste
1 cup Olive Oil more or less
Cracked black pepper to taste
Sea Salt to taste

Add all the listed ingredients to the food processor or mortar and pestle if you have one, smash or blend until smooth and well incorporated, that is it. Anchoiade is great as a spread or dip, even as an accoutrement with your favorite fish, simply delicious.
There is more to come so stay tuned. until then "Think Good Thoughts & Smile"

Recipe, Creme Anglais and some reflection.......

Ahh Creme Anglaise, that tasty cream with many uses. As we all know I am no Pastry Chef but as a chef there are a few must knows and Creme Anglaise is one of them, Sabayon is another that we shall save for another day. Creme Anglaise is a base egg & cream mixture beat into submission with a little sugar and pure vanilla, add other flavors and freeze and you have ice cream, pour it into a ramekin, bake and brulee and you have Creme Brulee, pool it on a plate, add a couple of drops of coulis, pull and you have a beautiful design to accent a dessert and the list goes on. In any case it is a very useful item of sweet goodness.

Ingredients:

6 extra-large eggs

½ cup sugar

2 heavy or whipping cream

1½ tsp pure vanilla extract

Fill a large bowl with ice-water and keep it nearby.

Separate the yolks and whites. We only use the yolks for making creme anglaise.
Beat the egg yolks with a whisk for a minute or two, until they're very smooth.
Add the sugar and whisk for about 2 more minutes, or until the the sugar is fully incorporated and the yolks are a pale shade of yellow.
Heat the cream until it is not quite simmering. Don't let it boil. You want to heat the cream until it reaches 180°F .
Very slowly pour the hot cream into the egg and sugar mixture while whisking constantly. Don't add the cream fast or the eggs will cook.
Return the custard to the double-boiler and gently heat, stirring continuously, until it reaches 185°F. The creme anglaise will be thick but still pourable.
Now set the top-part of your double-boiler into the bowl of ice-water to cool the creme anglaise. Stir in the vanilla. Stir the creme anglaise once in a while until it is fully cooled.
Makes 2½ cups of creme

As you can see it really is not that difficult to prepare, really the only part of this application that needs extra care is the adding of the hot cream. I must admit I have made scrambled eggs more than once by being in a hurry which brings me to this. I was reminded once again at work that organization and patience is key in producing a fine plate, something I have always taken pride in. When working under another chef as I have been aside from my business, I have had to learn an others style of  preparation, cooking and plating. Will it affect my style in the negative or will it push me into a different dimension, a higher place if you will.
Reflection is always good, I will return so until then "Think Good Thoughts & Smile".

Filled Puff Pastry Cup Appetizers, just one of many......

Now that we have made our puff pastry boats or cups the question of what to fill them with comes to mind. A few posts ago I posted a Fig and Onion Spread or Tapenade and said I'd be back with a simple way to present it, so let's get right to it.
In a mixing bowl using a paddle attachment  combine 1 cup of soft Goats Cheese with 1/2 cup of the Fig and Onion Tapenade, whip together on medium speed scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula a couple of times until the Goats Cheese and Tapenade are well incorporated, transfer contents to a pastry bag or bowl if you do not have a pastry bag. Now pipe or spoon the desired amount into the pastry cups, pop into a 375 degree oven for 2 mins, just until the cheese begins to soften then garnish with dried diced fig and chive.(garnish optional)
There are many many more fillings from salads to hot meat stews one could make these tasty little appetizers with, literally hundreds of combinations and recipes, go wild and get creative combining your favorite flavors, you might just surprise yourself.
Have a Great Day and "Think Good Thoughts & Smile"..........

Puff Pastry Cups, how to........

Puff Pastry, flaky, buttery goodness with all kinds of uses. One could make there own but commercially available puff pastry sheets are one thing worth not spending the time to make from scratch. There are other than sheets of this dough available but not always the right size for individual appetizers which we will need for the next post. Two simple ways to make individual boats or cups to be filled with the next postings filling is #1. as pictured above. Simply cut squares about 1.5" x 1.5", brush with egg wash and place in mini muffin pan that has been lightly sprayed with olive oil or greased with butter then into a 375 degree oven for 15 mins or until golden, remove from oven and cool. The second or #2 is equally as simple making a more formally appearing boat or cup. Lay a sheet of the Puff Pastry onto a lightly floured work surface or leave slightly frozen and onto parchment, which is the method I prefer then simply take a 1" or 1.5" round cookie cutter and press thru the dough making little raw dough rounds, egg wash, place on cookie sheet lined with parchment and bake for 15 mins or until golden in a 350 degree oven which results as pictured below.

I know, I know how does a round cutter give the crowned edge you might be asking, the answer is simple as well, it doesn't. The pictured ones have been cut with round crowned cutter but I think you get the idea I am trying to convey. In any case either of the methods mentioned here will give you the start of something simple yet elegant in appearance that will receive the delicious fillings coming up. Until then "Think Good Thoughts & Smile"...........

Choux Pastry, a basic recipe with many uses!!

Holidays are filled with sweets,  Cakes to Pies, Brulee to Bahmkuchen  all deliciously unique in there own way. I am not big on sweets but from time to time I do get the urge to indulge. In the kitchen I try to be semi practical and not bite off more than I can chew. A core ingredient that can be used for sweets or savory edibles is center stage in my opinion which brings us to Pate Choux or Choux Pastry. The recipe below is superb for Eclairs filled with creams, custards, jelly and jams even ice cream to Pomme Dauphine or little savory treats filled with cheeses to pate.

Ingredients for Choux Pastry

water	250	ml
butter	125	gm
flour	150	gm
eggs	4	pc

How to make Choux Pastry

• Melt the butter in the water and bring to a full boil

• Immediately add the flour all at once and stir continuously with a wooden spoon

• Cook for a couple of minutes until the mixture pulls away from the pan, forming a ball and remove from the heat

• Place the dough in the bowl or a mixer, using a wooden spoon or the paddle attachment, mix the dough for a few minutes, allowing it to cool slightly

• Add the beaten eggs gradually, in three or four additions, mixing the dough until it is smooth each time. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl until all of the eggs are incorporated

• The paste should be of a pipeable consistency and not too runny

In future posts I will share some ideas for both sweet fillings and savory fillings, please note this recipe is not of my creation but is one I use due to its simplicity and versatility.

Have fun and "Think Good Thoughts and Smile".

Red Onion & Fig Tapenade with an explanation!!

Seems like just yesterday we were gathering for Easter, in any case I hope and wish that every ones Thanksgiving was as wonderful as mine.
Three great flavors that work so well together are Goat Cheese, Fig and Caramelized Onion, wrap it all up in puff pastry, pop open a good Proceco and the party has begun. The sweetness of the fig and the tang of the caramelized onion brought upon by the port and balsamic vinegar compliment and off set the goat cheese just enough to ask the question of why this works so well. Let us begin by making up some Red Onion and Fig Tapenade. This is actually not a Tapenade as a Tapenade is classically Black Olives, Capers, Garlic and Olive Oil with spices smashed together to make a paste like spread, but as everything in the Culinary World is changing we might as well chunk off another classic and bastardize it. I get a kick out of how things are marketed by using a fancy name that really has nothing to do with the product, Tapenade is one of those words, fun fact, the word Tapenade comes from the word Tapenas which is Provencal for Capers of which we will not find in this recipe but will use the name or word to replace spread, jam , jelly, enduit or otherwise anything that can be spread upon a cracker or slice of bread. I better move on to the recipe and accept things are changing.
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Ingredients:

1 cup dried Black Figs (Chopped)
2 cups Sweet Red Onion ( sliced)
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 cup Red Port Wine
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 cup Water
2 tbsp Garlic Puree
1 tbsp Sugar
1tsp fresh Lemon Juice
Sea Salt to taste

Add the water to a sauce pan and bring to boil, add dried figs reduce heat and simmer until liquid has reconstituted the dried figs. As that is going on in a saute pan heat olive oil, add sliced onions, cook over med heat until soft, add garlic cook until caramelized holding nice color, deglaze with port wine, bring to simmer, add balsamic vinegar and reduce liquids by half, add sugar, stir in the figs, cook until most of the liquid is gone, add lemon juice and a pinch of Sea Salt and stir again, remove from heat, allow to cool, once cooled place into food processor and blend until you have a smooth texture. This can be served with Goats Cheese on crackers or sliced bread but I will be back to share a way to serve this that is impressive and way to simple.
Until then Think Good Thoughts and Smile!!

Baked Scotch Apple.......

Yes I am fully aware of the hot spirited beverage that goes by the name Scotch Apple or Apple Scotch depending on where you are, this is kind of a take off of that very beverage but in the form of a Baked Apple.
I am no pastry chef, the truth of it baking and pastry is my weakest downfall as a chef but I do have a couple of things in my bag of tricks that I do, do well. Nothing fancy but certainly tasty. I find it interesting as a chef who loves Grand Manger, blowing sugar and other aspects of decorating I do not find myself pulled towards baking and pastry, guess that is why we have bakers and pastry chefs, of which I have over the top respect for. I am amazed at there patience and ability to pay such close attention to the detail of measurements that create such works of edible beauty. Bake to the apple which I am a bit embarrassed to share here but with the holiday season coming upon us it is a simple flavorful spirited dessert anyone can do.
Instead of listing all the ingredients I will just say it as I go so to speak.
First take a Red Gala Apple, (this is great with Asian Pears as well), core the seeds and soak for 2-24 hours in a more amber Blended Scotch Whisky such as Johnny Walker Red which has the perfect aged smokiness to it. After soaking the apple, pull it from its spirited bath reserving the liquids for a bit later or a little nip as the apple is baking in a 350 degree oven. Before placing in the oven take 1tbsp Raisins and chopped walnuts, stuff into the hollowed core of the apple, then into the oven.  As the apple is baking, in a mixing bowl add 2 tbsp creme fraiche, sour cream or Jocoque, 1 tsp brown sugar and 1 tsp of scotch whisky, whip together adding a pinch of Cinnamon and some Meyer lemon zest. Now the apple has baked for 30-45 mins and is soft to touch pull it from the oven, plate and pour the Creme Fraiche over the baked goodness, sprinkle a bit more brown sugar and there you have it Scotch Baked Apple, nothing fancy just flavorful and warming to the heart on a cold night. If the flavor of Scotch is not your thing one could substitute with brandy but trust me even if you dislike the taste of Scotch you will enjoy the apple that has bathed in it.
 I mentioned Asian Pear so quickly I will mention that the process is the same with a great option to Scotch, use Amaretto. Almond and Pear together needs no validation, one change I would make is to stuff the core with toasted almonds, dried cherries and a bit of marzipan leaving the raisins and walnuts to the apple.
There is nothing impressive about baked fruit, neither in technique nor presentation just simple goodness.