Homemade Ricotta Cheese & Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Arugula

Can my titles get any longer? Jeeze. 

There are some mornings where I wake up and think "Do they deliver pizza at 10am?" (Translation: How do I keep from having to cook today. Alt translation: I am hungover.) Then there are other mornings where I wake up and think, "That laundry won't smell that much worse tomorrow. If a bill is already late what's one more day?" (Translation: I love cooking so much that you can't get me out of the kitchen today). Today is a "Let the mold grow on my old towels, I'm finding a home-made cheese recipe" day. 

Rich is playing dead on the couch with a tweaked back. This happens to him sometimes. He is old now. It could be worse. He could be actually dead on the couch. Not that I would know, today I'm busy being a cheesemonger. I kid. Usually I would feel bad for him, but this time I think his agonizing pain may have to do with karma and the location of his wedding band being somewhere in the middle of Melrose Avenue (read more here) but either way..... I take playing nurse very seriously and as the world's best nurse- I know that curing a man is just as easy as making him fall in love with me.... through his stomach, of course. 

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

We were at a friend's party a few months ago... you know, one of those super grown up, bring a dish to contribute, cook with your friends party. A party like that is usually my favorite kind because I can show off a bit,  but oh no. Not this time. Some girl walked in the door and announced that for her "party trick" she was going to make homemade ricotta cheese because "it's so much better to eat it fresh and warm." I bet she's an actress. I should give her some notes and make her say that again, but in a way that didn't make me want to gag. Who am I kidding, it wasn't how she said, it was what she said. I hated her instantly. I hate most people that show me up (I also hate other gingers for a similar reason. Except for Prince Harry. Rich, I dare you to lose another wedding band.) So, everyone gathered in the kitchen (I sulked in the back corner) and began ooh-ing and ah-ing at how much cooler this girl was than me. Even worse, they didn't even bother to compare her to me. Now, usually after such a traumatizing experience I would have gone home that night and made 6 batches of perfect ricotta just to repair my ginger ego... (which is as tender as ginger skin in the June sun) but this time was different. I needed a few months before I was ready to tackle this cheesy masterpiece... and today seemed like the perfect day. 

Now, had I known that ricotta cheese is literally one of the easiest things I have ever made, maybe I would have been a little bit less of an embarrassment to myself in the story above. But, alas, nobody is perfect... including Ms. Party Ricotta (worst Halloween costume ever.)


Ingredients:
4 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp kosher salt
3 tbsp organic white wine vinegar


Method:
Set a large strainer over a deep bowl. Dampen 2 layers of cheesecloth with water and line the strainer with the cheesecloth.

Combine the milk, cream and salt into a pot and bring to a full boil over medium heat. Turn off the heat and stir in the white wine vinegar. Allow the mixture to stand for a couple of minutes until it curdles. It will separate into thick parts (the curds) and milky parts (the whey).

Pour the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined strainer and allow it to drain into the bowl at room temperature for 20 to 25 minutes, occasionally discarding the liquid that collects in the bowl. The longer you let the mixture drain, the thicker the ricotta. Transfer the ricotta to a bowl, discarding the cheesecloth and any remaining whey.

That's it! So simple and it really makes such a difference to use fresh ricotta in a recipe..... like this one:

Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Arugula

I love pasta so much. I have said this 1000 times just today. My favorite pasta dishes are bright, hearty, and fresh tasting and this one is exactly that! Now, you do not have to use homemade ricotta cheese, though I do recommend it. If you MUST buy a store-bought cheese, try to find a whole milk ricotta so that you get a creamier texture. Not a vegetarian? Add some grilled chicken to this dish for a great dinner.

Ingredients:
1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
2 lemons, juiced and zested
2 cups fresh ricotta cheese (the above recipe should yield about that)
A few big hand-fulls of arugula (I used both baby and wild)
A pinch of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup reserved pasta water
Kosher Salt

Method:
Cook pasta in well salted water. Cook it to al dente- it's better that way.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil, sliced garlic, and red pepper flakes over low heat. You are just infusing the oil... do not brown the garlic or your pasta will taste bitter. Strain the garlic and pepper flakes from the oil. 

Drain the pasta, reserving 1/4 cup or so of the water, and toss the pasta with the garlicky olive oil, ricotta cheese, lemon juice and zest, and arugula. The heat from the pasta should be just enough to wilt the arugula. If your pasta is a little dry, you can add the reserved pasta water a little at a time. 

Season with kosher salt and serve. 

Pickles & Things

The Mr. and I recently joined a CSA. CSA stands for community supported agriculture.... And that is awesome. Once a week we wake up to a box on our doorstep filled with organic fruits and veggies of all kinds. Its pretty wonderful and forces us to learn how to cook using obscure new ingredients. plus, it's pretty much like getting mail in the morning...and we all know how much I love getting mail. Anywho, you will hear more about this in some upcoming posts (stay tuned) but for now we need to discuss something.

Food waste.

Look, I'm not proud, but sometimes this produce picker gets a little ahead of herself at the market and we end up with enough fruits and veggies to feed a family of six..... for a week. And then it happens. That awful day once a week where I clean out of refrigerator and find all of the things that are now past their "best by" date and moving into the trash can. So this week, with our first CSA delivery looking for room in the fridge, I decided it was a good idea to jump on that good old pickling bandwagon once again.

Now, I don't necessarily pickle the good old fashioned way. I am more a fan of refrigerator pickles.... You know, the kind that give you almost immediate satisfaction. No canning equipment, no waiting, no bullshit. And the best thing about pickling this was is that it is pretty much fool proof. You need some vinegar, some spices, some things to pickle (in my case.... all of the veggies that are about to expire) and voila. Pickles.

Basic ingredients:
1 cup of vinegar (white or cider work great, sometimes I do a combo of two..... usually I just use white)
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon of salt

And whatever of the following tickles your fancy:
Garlic
Sliced jalapeño
Sliced onions
Dill (mmmm dill.....lots and lots,  please)
Spices and herbs (mustard seeds, dill seed, coriander seed, fennel seed, peppercorns..... Go crazy!)


Method:
Slice, dice, and chop your veggies that you want to pickle to your hearts desire and arrange them in a glass mason jar with a few cloves of garlic, about 1/4 of an onion (sliced) and some sprigs of fresh dill. Have some respect for yourself and make it look nice!

In a saucepan combine the vinegar, water, salt, and spices. I usually do 1 tablespoon of yellow mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon dill seeds, 1 teaspoon celery seeds, and 1 teaspoon of coriander seeds. Bring the mixture to a boil and then remove it from the heat and pour it into the glass jar with your veggies. Cover the jar with the lid, let it cool, and put it in the fridge. That's it! Now, because these are refrigerator pickles, they must stay refrigerated! Unless you get into all of that fancy canning stuff, you cannot store these pickles at room temperature. They will, however, keep perfectly in your fridge for 2 weeks..... If they last that long!

Happy Valentines DIY....

I am having a really hard time writing this blog because all I can manage to do is sit here and stare at our FILTHY apartment. I feel I should also point out that according to Richard, "this is not filthy by guy standards." So I guess I should more accurately say, our apartment looks more like the back room of an arts and crafts store.

One corner of the living room is piled high with different colored tulle from my latest DIY project. The coffee table is covered in pearls and scraps of twine from making bracelets for my darling flower girls. The kitchen.... as usual.... has 3 different stovetop creations cooking away and the dining room table is piled high with sad looking Valentines Day decorations that are about 24 hours past their prime... which after the drinks I had at dinner last night, is also how I feel at the moment (more on this later.) Okay, in hindsight, maybe I went a little overboard this year....

But come on, a holiday that celebrates love with obnoxious pink and red sparkly hearts and cheesy sayings to fill your darling's head with? Please. I LOVE this day.... and 2 hours ago anyone that would have walked in off the streets would have taken one look at my (our) apartment and could have said with certainty one of two things: A. I robbed a hallmark store or B. At one point.... Cupid MUST have lived and /or died here.... or something along those lines.

yes, I did cut out all those hearts by hand. 

My (our) apartment looked like a scene out of any man's worst nightmare... paper hearts strung from every corner, red and white dollies (heart shaped, duh) covering every inch of space visible to the human eye, and valentines piled high on every surface...... what can I say? I'm a romantic.... and I am also someone who will take any opportunity to decorate, throw a party, or plan a totally cheesy expression of my undying love for my VERY patient and sweet fiancé.

So 3 paragraphs later we are going to get to my point (it takes longer to get there with every blog I write... which based on the other long-winded blogs I read, means I'm in danger of officially becoming a real blogger.) To my point... I swear!

A breakfast worthy for St. Valentine himself.

On the menu:
Caramelized onion and bell pepper omelets with melted jack cheese.
Heart shaped bacon bites
Fresh mixed berries
Heart shaped toast

Yes.... "heart shaped" was indeed typed twice up there..... I already admitted that I went over board, but hey..... the way to a man's heart is with food (even if that same food will slowly kill his heart), no matter what shape it may be in.

How to charm his socks off with heart shaped bacon bites:

Begin by cutting each strip of bacon in half. Then, on a lined and rimmed pan (unless you want bacon fat flooding your oven) take the 2 halves of bacon and form hearts. Each half strip of bacon will be on side of the heart. 

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 18-20 minutes.

...more heart shaped perfection.

indeed.

his and hers mugs hand crafted by yours truly.

Now, I know what you are thinking "Gosh, Sarah, you are the best fiancé ever.... how does Richard ever live up to this high standard of romance and creativity that you have set?" Well, let me tell you....

My darling fiancé proved his love to me with a stunning bouquet of broccoli flowers that he grew himself (gosh, I love him) and the most fabulous Valentines dinner date. He is a charmer. 

freshly picked form our garden. 

We had dinner at Fig and Olive and it was fantastic. Now, I am not the biggest fan of dining a la prix fixed menu, but I must say that the food definitely lived up to the hype. Everything was wonderfully prepared and the service was amazing. 

For your viewing pleasure and to get your mouth watering......

 I started with a braised veal tenderloin carpaccio with caper mayonnaise, shaved mushrooms, and pine nuts. Unfortunately I was so hungry I didn't stop to take a picture of this amazing dish.

For my main course I had a grilled free- range chicken breast marinated in fresh thyme and white truffles and served with leek confit and truffled mashed potatoes.

2 cucumber martinis later and a very full stomach later......

I am a girl who rarely finishes her plate and I may have well licked it clean last night. I even had a few bites of Richard's grass fed Filet mignon. Every single bite was to die for. I think I still smell of truffles. 

And while I've mentioned my aversion to pre-fixe menus,

the one bonus is, they INCLUDE desert. Which means you

have to eat it, right?

 

Yes, that is a plate with 3 different desserts. 

A heart shaped chocolate soufflé.

Lavender and honey madeline.

Amaretto ice cream. 

oh my. 

So, to sum up this years Valentine's Day, my first and last with my fiancé (next year he'll be my husband, yay) in one word... over-indulgence. Does a hyphenate count as two words? Either way, Valentine's Day is a holiday of excess. Excess food, excess wine, and excessive romance. And I for one, excessively love it.

Butternut Squash Soup and a Laundry List of Triumphs...errr...Excuses.....

Yes, that's right. I have reached a whole new low as a "blogger." (I am having to use quotations now because I hardly think I even deserve the title.)
I am pushing two months on my absence this time and the sad part is that it doesn't even feel as though it's been two weeks. Catering, holiday parties, our engagement party, holiday dinners, family dinners, birthday dinners.... holy hell it's been a busy few months.

Dear Holidays: You are wayyyy too needy, you bitchy little time whores.

Ok. So Let's do a quick review of that awesome/pathetic list above.

Catering.
Yup. I catered my first party... or as Richard says "My 23rd party" because apparently honesty is a sign of weakness.
My boss asked me to cater her book release party for 100 guests and it was a huge success.
I got asked for my business card several times, so now I am planning on making some.

A serious cheese spread.

Crostini with buratta and shaved black truffles.

Toast with goat cheese and fig jam with shallots and port.

Heirloom tomato bruschetta.

Melon wrapped in prosciutto. 

Our Engagement Party.

We decided to wait until the busiest time of the year to announce our engagement to our family and friends. Genius. Not only was I cooking Thanksgiving dinner for 15 guests two days later, but I ended up booking a commercial and shooting for 14 hours before our party. I am super woman.... who has a really super fiancé and best friend who helped me pull this one off.

DomainLA Wine Shoppe was the PERFECT place to host our party. 

We could not have been happier. 

Thanksgiving Dinner. 

The single most important meal of the entire year looked a little like this:

1 insane menu (yes, with 2 turkeys) 15 family members and close friends, probably 18 bottles of wine and 1 amazing holiday.... it could not have been more perfect and it was so wonderful to have everyone in town!

Ok.... the moment you have all been waiting for-----

I am actually going to post a recipe. 

Yes, I do remember how.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

2 pounds of butternut squash, cubed***

2 cups of chopped yellow onion

5 whole cloves of garlic

4 cups of chicken stock

Olive oil

Dash of cinnamon and nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

***Note: Peeling butternut squash makes your hands peel and get super dry. Wear gloves..... or buy it already cubed like I do. Lazy.

Kitchen Utensiles:

Immersion Blender (A regular blender will do just fine.)

Method:

Place cubed butternut squash in a glass baking dish lined with parchment paper or foil. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper and bake at 375 degrees for about an hour until very tender. Halfway through baking, add the whole cloves of garlic to the squash so that they roast as well. 

In a large pot, add about a table of olive oil and sauté the onions until they are golden brown. 

Add the roasted butternut squash and garlic and continue to brown for a few minutes. 

Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. 

Season with cinnamon and nutmeg (optional)

Once the soup has come to a simmer you can blend until smooth. I always use my immersion blender because it is SO easy, but if you don't have one, you can pour batches into a regular blender and blend until smooth that way. I just always make a HUGE mess that way.

Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Roasted Vegetable and Ricotta Pizza.... That's Amore.

Remember that time a couple of months ago when I blamed my lack of blogging to the tragedy resulting in my lost iPhone + all of my food pictures? Well..... once again I would like to blame my absence on the misfortune of losing all of my iPhone pics (yes, again) . You can't post a blog without any food porn to stare at.... after all, what are you reading this for? The articles?

However, don't worry, Ricard came home last Friday night with a new iPhone 4S for me (which I now have nightmares about losing)  so I will do my best to not deprive you of amazing recipes ever again.... plus, if I lose my phone again I will probably lose my fiancé also.

Speaking of which..... our wedding is 460 days away.... giving me hardly any time to convince myself to get to a gym so that the tag inside of my wedding dress is not in the triple digits.

Ugh. The gym.

My plan? More veggies less ice cream, pasta, and pie.... or at least maybe limit them.... just like once a day...... orrrrrr find a healthy way to make things I actually want to eat so that I don't turn into a bridge jumping, suicide note writing, bridezilla.

Roasted Vegetable and Ricotta Pizza. 

Ingredients:

Fresh refrigerated pizza dough (I used whole wheat.....because I am SO healthy now)

Sliced crimini mushrooms

Sliced zucchini

Sliced multicolored bell peppers

Sliced red onion

Artichoke hearts

1 tbsp cornmeal

1/3 cup pizza sauce 

Cracked black pepper

Sea salt

Olive oil

2/3 cup part skim shredded mozzarella cheese

1/3 cup part skim ricotta cheese

Fresh sliced basil leaves

Method:

Remove dough from refrigerator and let it stand covered for 30 minutes. You could make your own dough, but I hate making pizza dough, so I don't.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees and place pizza stone (yes, use a pizza stone.... so much better) on the lowest rack. 

Combine all veggies in a bowl and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Arrange vegetables in a baking dish and bake at 500 for 20 minutes. 

Punch dough down and roll into a 15 inch circle and place on a lightly floured, hot pizza stone sprinkled with cornmeal. Brush the pizza dough with olive oil, spread sauce over dough leaving a 1 inch border. Sprinkle half of the mozzarella over the sauce and then top with the roasted vegetables.  Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella over the vegetables and then top with dollops of ricotta cheese.

Bake pizza at 500 degrees for 12 minutes or until crust is golden. Sprinkle with basil..... and try to not make your kitchen look like this......

oops.

Perogies.

My teacher said my perogies were some of the best he had ever eaten.
Not to brag but.....
Who am I kidding-- Totally to brag- I even did a dance after he cared for my ego so tenderly.

They were so good that I made them again at my dinner party that evening so that I could brag again and people could stroke my ego...again.
I kept a plate for myself in the kitchen..... my name is Sarah and I am kind of a *huge asshole.

*huge as in: very much, not very large.....unless I keep eating perogies instead of socializing.

Perogies

Ingredients:

Dough-

4 cups flour plus some for dusting

3 large eggs

2 tbsp sour cream

1 cup water, more as needed

Salt

Filling-

3 russet potatoes

2 tbsp butter, plus more to sauté at the end.

1 onion, finely chopped

1/2 cabbage, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp thyme,  minced

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced

Salt and Pepper.... a lot of salt. 

Method:

For the dough-

Mix the ingredients in a large bowl until just combined. 

Move the dough to the table and knead until the dough has a smooth surface and is not sticky. 

Let the dough rest for 30 minutes. 

For the filling-

Boil the potatoes until soft, peel, and cut into medium dice. 

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme. Cook until the onions are translucent. Add the cabbage and cook until soft. Lower the heat and continue cooking the mixture until the cabbage and onions are caramelized. Add the potato to the pan and cook until it is mashed together and the flavors are combined, about 10 minutes. Remove the mixture from heat, mix in the parmesan cheese and the parsley. Set aside to cool. 

To assemble-.

Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thick... like ravioli... and using a cookie cutter, cut small circles.

Fill each circle of dough with a spoonful of the filling. 

Fold the sides together and crimp with a fork for presentation and to keep them from coming apart in the water. Dust the filled perogies with flour and set aside. 

 

Boil in heavily salted water for about 5 minutes until the pasta is cooked. Drain. 

Heat butter in a heavy sauté pan. Sauté the perogies until golden brown on both sides. 

Serve with sour cream and relish in being the hit of the party (as usual.)

Pickled Green Beans

We have picked about 300 green beans in the last two weeks.
Well, that is before Rich killed our green bean plant (he will be in a cranky mood in 5...4...3...2.... he takes murdering our plants extremely seriously.)
I take eating our plants seriously, but even I cannot eat 70 pounds of green beans.

So.... what the hell does one incredibly smart and attractive girl do with three bushels of green beans?

trendy.

Well, that (pretty and brilliant) girl jumps on this odd trend of pickling. 

Pickling is trendy?

......I guess so. 

I mean, when mason jars and canning pots have their own display at every snooty home and kitchen store, I am going to go out on a whim and say that I just may be jumping on the bandwagon with this whole thing. 

I am not a trailblazer. 

It just so happens that you can pickle just about anything..... and the majority of those things will taste really good in a bloody mary which is right up my ally. 

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of green beans, trimmed (BS. I clearly did not weigh our harvest.... so stuff as many as will fit into a quart sized Mason Ball Jar)

1 cup white vinegar

1 cup water

1/4 onion, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, smashed

1/2 jalapeno, sliced

2 tsp yellow mustard seeds

1 tbsp white granulated sugar

1 bay leaf

1 tbsp salt

3-5 sprigs of fresh dill (fresh dill is so yummy.... you can sub for dried, but you shouldn't)

Method:

These are refrigerator pickles. You do not need to sanitize the jar. You don't need to boil it. You don't need any equipment. 

Begin by filling the mason jar with green beans, sliced onions, jalapenos, garlic, and dill. Make it look nice for God's sake..... nobody wants to eat/ look at ugly food.

In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar, water, sugar, and spices to a boil. 

Pour the hot mixture into the mason jar leaving about 1/2 an inch at the top. If there is still room at the top just add a little vinegar and water. Screw the lid on, set aside to cool and then refrigerate. The beans should be ready in a day or two and will last for a month in the fridge..... if you can muster up the will power to not devour them all in 3 days. 

Lemon Curd Pie with Italian Meringue

I have pneumonia. 

And a sinus infection. 

And bronchitis..... 

I know, right? Who gets this sick that isn't 105 years old? 

So, while lying on my death couch is kind of awesome because I am catching up on some seriously awful T.V. and some much needed blogging, my brain is not really working and the thought of coming up with clever little stories to start each post out with kind of makes me want to cry. 

That was the longest run on sentence EVER.... I blame the infection in my lungs. See what I did there? 

Please excuse my lack of creativity and just focus on how perfect my recipes are and the fact that my pictures are stunning. Thanks. 

While you are focusing on all of my sensational blogging qualities, can someone please call my boyfriend and remind him that deep down under all of the tissues and prescription bottles is actually a pretty girl who normally showers and dresses nice and sometimes even puts on a little mascara. Someone please just remind him that I will be back to pretty soon. Thanks.... again. 

lemon curd pie topped with italian meringue.

Ingredients:

For the Crust

1/2 pound butter

3 oz sugar

1/8 tsp salt

2.25 oz eggs

12 oz pastry flour (all purpose is also fine)

For the Lemon Curd

3 eggs

3 egg yolks

7 oz sugar

zest of 2 lemons

5.5 oz lemon juice

2 oz unsalted butter

For the Italian Meringue

4 oz egg whites

8 oz sugar

2 oz light corn syrup

Water as needed

Method:

Begin by making the pie dough. Combine the butter and sugar in a kitchen-aid mixer or with a hand mixer until smooth and no clumps of butter. Add the eggs and salt. Mix in the flour. Mix everything until smooth, but do not over mix. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until consistency is workable. I was in a hurry and threw mine in the freezer for an hour and it was perfect. Once the dough has rested, place it between two pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper and roll it out to about 1/2 inch thick and large enough to fit in the pie baking dish. Mold the dough int the baking dish. Using your thumb and index finger, crimp the edges of the pie dough and trim off any extra dough. This takes practice.... visit Sur La Table if you are lazy- they have a dough cutting tool that does the same thing. FIll the pie crust with pie weights and bake in a 350 oven until golden brown. About 10 minutes. Set aside.

To make the lemon curd, combine the eggs, yolks, sugar and zest. Whisk together and add the lemon juice. Put the mixture in a double boiler (or in a bowl over a put of boiling water) and stir continuously with a spatula until the mixture thickens. This will take 8 minutes or so and the mixture should be able to lay on top of itself. Strain the mixture over butter, let the butter melt, mix gently, and pour into the pre baked pie shell. Let cool completely before topping with meringue. 

While the pie is cooling, prepare the meringue. Dissolve corn syrup, sugar, and a tiny bit of water in a pan. Bring the mixture to 220 degrees (measure with a candy thermometer.) When the sugar reaches 220, begin whisking the egg whites in a kitchen-aid mixer or with a hand mixer. The eggs should begin to start frothing and forming soft peaks. When the sugar mixture reaches 240 degrees and resembles a thick syrup, remove it from the heat and slowly whisk it into the egg whites. Continue whisking for 8-10 minutes until the egg whites form stiff, shiny peaks and the meringue has cooled. 

Spoon the meringue into a piping bag (I use ziplock bags so that I can dispose of them afterwards) and using a large star tip, pipe the meringue on to the top of the lemon curd pie. If you do not have all of the equipment, you can just spoon the meringue on top of the pie, but it will not look as pretty as mine. Using a blow torch, brown the top of the meringue. You can also do this in the oven under the broiler, but I find it makes the meringue turn grey rather than golden.

*note: the lemon curd can be jarred and given as gifts, served with other desserts, on top of ice cream.... seriously whatever. It is amazing by itself. 

I included links to all of the tools that I used to make this..... obviously they are not all necessary or as expensive as my suggestions, but if you want a kitchen as fabulous as mine, it is time to make an investment. (Cheaper versions of the same thing can probably be found, but I made sure to point out all of the ones that I want... and those are pricey.)

Creme Brulee

I have not posted in weeks (which may feel like years because you have missed me so much)
I was going through a very very traumatic time.... actually two traumatic times.

I lost my sense of taste.
After being sick for almost a month my body decided to torture me and not let me taste a GD thing for 6 days. 6 days is almost a week and that is like an eternity, let me tell you. A chef losing their sense of taste is like Richard Keith becoming a mute..... or like a singer having their vocal chords ripped out. It was a really hard time for me. I would look at the chocolate souffle that I had flawlessly created and taste it with my mind....... it was like a death sentence. A culinary tragedy of the worst kind. I missed out on pulled pork, birthday cake, BBQ, and everything else wonderful.

Then after finally making amends with my body and being able to taste..... I chopped my finger off. Ok... not my finger, but I chopped off half of my nail, which is the very best part of a girl's finger-- especially right before having a week off from school when I am actually aloud to have a manicure. Ugh. I am sorry to all of the people that I have previously made fun of for bleeding at school.... owwwwie. I should not have made fun of you (behind your back) for hurting yourself because it really hurts and I have a very bandaged up finger to prove it.

So, while all of this drama was going on I managed to make it through the last week of my baking class and ace my finals (duh)
Even better than getting A's on all of my finals was biting into a creme brulee and actually tasting it.
I really love creme brulee.

(really delicious) creme brulee.

Ingredients:

1 quart of heavy cream

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

1/2 cup of sugar, split

6 large egg yolks

Method:

Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out all of the pulp. Combine the pulp and the whole bean with the heavy cream in a sauce pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Take off of heat and let the cream and vanilla bean steep (infuse) for about 10 minutes. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and egg yolks until the color begins to lighten a little bit. This makes my arm hurt. Temper in the cream very slowly..... like a few drops at a time. Whisk mixture together and strain. 

Pour the mixture into ramekins. Place the ramekins into a shallow baking dish or cake pan and fill the dish with enough water to come half way up the ramekins. Cover the dish with foil and place in a 325 degree oven for about 25 minutes until the custard has set, but is still loose in the center.... kind of like jello. Cool and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight. 

Once cooled, dust the top of each creme brulee with sugar. Using a torch, scorch the sugar until evenly brown on top and very crispy. Let sit for a few minutes before serving so that the sugar hardens.

If you do not have a torch, you can put the creme brulees under the broiler in an oven, but this heats up the custard and does not work as well. 

Kitchen Must Haves

I am going to start posting kitchen gadgets and ingredients that you need in your kitchen. Not things that I just think you need.... you actually really need these things.

Hopefully I will do better with my "Must Haves" than I did with my "Sunday Morning" breakfast posts.

soooo vanilla.

What.

Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Products. I have Powder, Beans, Paste, and Extract. Love. 

Where.

Whole Foods, Sur La Table, Williams Sonoma

Why.

Mmmmmm.

PS. You also need a subscription to Bon Appetite Magazine (as seen in the background.) And if you haven't already- you need to go buy Gwenyth's issue because she is perfect and it is amazing. (Thank you Rachel Hoffman for the last two years of my subscription.....I finally just got my own. xx)

Cream Puffs

The only thing that is keeping me from eating a dozen cream puffs right now is knowing that I have to shoot a commercial in less than a week. Working in an industry that would rather you be skinny gets tricky in baking class. THANK GOD that I get to wear a pregnant belly while I shoot, leaving me able to eat one cream puff. Maybe two. Ugh. 

for your inner fat kid.

Pâte à Chou

1 1/4 cups of water

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

4-6 large eggs

Method:

Bring water, salt, and butter to a boil over high heat. 

Reduce heat to medium and add flour all at once and mix together to form a dough. Continue mixing for about 3 minutes to cook out the taste of flour. 

Remove dough from heat and beat in eggs one at a time until the mixture is glossy and very sticky. 

Spoon mixture into a piping bag and pipe 2 inch 'puffs' onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Be sure to give plenty of space as they will rise. 

Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes until golden brown and dry. Let cool completely. 

Chantilly Cream Filling

12 oz whipping cream

Powdered Sugar and pure vanilla extract to taste

Method:

Whisk whipping cream in a large mixing bowl until soft peaks begin to form. Sift in powdered sugar and add vanilla to lightly sweeten. Spoon shipping cream into a piping bag. If you do not have a piping bag or are super lazy like me.... use a ziplock back and snip the tip off of one of the corners. This works the exact same way and then you can just toss it out after. 

Once the pastry shells have cooled, cut the top third of the puff of. This will create a little bowl which you will fill with the Chantilly cream. Replace the lid to the pastry and sprinkle with powdered sugar. 

The cream puffs have a neutral flavor that can be filled with anything......sweet or savory. 

The same dough is also used to make eclairs