Crispy Braised Chicken Thighs

with olives, lemon, and fennel

Adapted from “Ad Hoc at Home” by Thomas Keller with Dave Cruz

Back in Easter, I got the “Ad Hoc at Home” cookbook from Mr. Y2K, before our dinner at Ad Hoc later that day .  We decided to try out a recipe from it and we mutually agreed on this recipe.  You can find the ingredients and directions here from the LATimes.

This was a simple recipe and I surprisingly enjoyed the fat from the chicken.  And, as always, I loved the salty olives (although I substituted the Ascolane with Queens.)

For dessert….

TOFU CHEESECAKE (adapted from Kitchen-Em’s blog)!!!  The texture wasn’t the same  as regular cheesecake, but definitely had the cheesecakey taste.  It was also a no-bake recipe.  This is a keeper if you’re looking for a less caloric cheesecake.  The only change I made was reducing the amount of gelatin to 2 tsp.  I’m thinking of reducing it even further to only 1 tsp to get the texture I’d like.

I topped the cheesecake with an almond macaron with vanilla swiss meringue butter cream, blackberries, an almond dipped in carmelized sugar, and spun sugar.  It’s not the prettiest decoration, but I had a bunch of these random items around.

Yes, I made more macarons…mac attack!

Strawberry Tart

Strawberries are pretty cheap right now.  I heard that due to the weather, they’re sprouting like crazy.  Anyway, I got a ton from Costco this past weekend and I had the sudden urge to make tarts.

Strawberry Tart

I used Dorie Greenspan’s sweet tart dough recipe (same one from my pear tart post) and the pastry cream recipe below.  These were better after chilling them in the fridge overnight.  This recipe definitely doesn’t disappoint!

Pastry Cream

Recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s book “Baking: From My Home to Yours”

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole milk
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into bits at room temperature

Method

1. Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan.
2. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the yolks together with the sugar and cornstarch until thick and well blended. Still whisking, drizzle in about 1/4 cup of the hot milk. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the milk.
3. Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking vigorously, contstantly and thoroughly bring the mixture to a boil. Keep at a boil, still whisking, for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.
4. Whisk in the vanilla extract. Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bits of butter, stirring until they are fully incorporated and the pastry cream is smooth and silky. Scrape the cream into a bowl. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the cream to create an airtight seal and refrigerate until cold or, if you want to cool it quickly put the bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water and stir the pastry cream occasionally until it is thoroughly chilled, about 20 minutes.
5. The pastry cream can be kept, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Assembly:

1. After crust has cooled, spread chilled pastry cream.
2. Slice up strawberries and place on top of pastry cream.
3. Brush some softened apricot jam on top of strawberries for a nice sheen (optional).

Japanese Cheesecake – 2 versions

This is my second time making Japanese cheesecake.  The first was for the VP’s birthday – I thought it would be nice to make him a cake that wasn’t as sweet (he’s on a low sugar diet) and was nice and fluffy.  I got the less-sweet part down, but the cake turned a bit dense after sitting in the fridge overnight.

However, this time I wanted to try a different spin to the cake.  I can’t seem to find it anymore, but I saw some posts on zebra cakes where it essentially had two different batters: chocolate and vanilla.  Anyways, I used the recipe from Diana’s Desserts.

cheesecake and butter mixture

soft peaks

egg whites folded into batter

in the oven

right out of the oven

zebra cheesecake

The zebra effect is pretty cool, don’t you think?   I did this by scooping out about 1 -2 cups of the original batter and incorporating about 3 tbsp on cocoa powder into it.  Then I poured a bit of the original batter into the pan the alternated it with the chocolate batter.  Make sure NOT to spread the batter out as it will spread on its own.  I kept alternating the batters until it filled up the pan.

The only thing I did different this time was not use a water bath during baking.  My cake came out more fluffier, but still not as fluffy as the ones sold in the Japanese or other Asian grocery stores.  It also tasted more sour.  I’m scratching my head on that one.  hmmm maybe it was super sour lemons?

Vermont Doughnut Holes

I’ve always wanted to try to make doughnuts from scratch for brunch.  I ran across this recipe on the King Arthur Flour website.

I still had the stupid chocolate ganache left over from superbowl and I’m always looking for recipes to use it up.  This was the perfect opportunity to stuff them into the doughnuts!  I also made a strawberry sauce by cooking up strawberries and maple syrup.  I made several varieties – I dusted some holes with powdered sugar, some with cinnamon sugar, filled some with chocolate ganache, and left some plain.  I think the cinnamon sugar ones were the best.  Dipping them in the strawberry sauce was also very yummy.

Verdict?  It’s definitely NOT something I’d eat everyday.  Despite the fact they were pretty heavy since they’re fried, it was still delicious.  I just have to remember not to make them too large or the middle won’t cook completely.  Having them with coffee definitely help cut through the oily-ness.

Can I haZ S’more?

I’m hosting a Superbowl and in preparation I wanted to test out a s’more cupcake recipe.  Who can resist chocolate, graham crackers and ooey gooey marshmallows?

one topped with crushed graham crackers and one toasted w/ my torch

mmm look at that ganache!

The frosting was too sweet for me (that’s not surprising) but the rest of the components were great!  I LOVE the ganache!

As this was a test batch, I cut the recipe in half and made 6 cupcakes.  I made different styles such as some with semi-sweet chocolate chunks, some without and some with a graham cracker crust (like a cheesecake) and some without.  I also tinkered with how to decorate the top.   I may just have people choose how they want their frosting and have them decorate it on their own.

Ingredients:

Graham Cracker Cupcakes

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups finely crushed graham crackers
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup milk

Marshmallow Frosting

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 egg whites
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract (optional)

Chocolate Ganache

• 4 oz semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix flour, crushed graham crackers, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and milk and beat until batter is almost smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.
4. Spoon batter into cupcake papers, filling cups about 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove from oven and cool.
5. To make the ganache: Place the chocolate in a heat proof bowl and set aside.  In a small sauce pan heat the cream and corn syrup to a simmer, stirring constantly. Once the cream is hot, pour it over the chocolate and allow it to sit for 3 minutes then mix well.
6. To make the frosting:  Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined. Use immediately.
7. Cut out a well on top of the cooled cupcake.  Remember to save the piece you cut out.  Fill the well with chocolate ganache and place the cut piece back on top.  (Don’t worry if the ganache oozes out – the frosting will cover it.)
8. Frost ganache-filled cupcakes and sprinkle with grated milk chocolate and/or graham cracker crumbs or toast with a torch.

2nd Time’s the Charm

I FINALLY DID IT!!!  I successfully made my darn french macarons!  MUAHAHHAHA!

I’ll start with the final product picture first…TA-DA!

Almond Macaron with White Chocolate Strawberry Ganache

My first attempt was 2 months ago with chocolate macarons.  It was a trainwreck to say the least.  I had problems with the center being too gooey and didn’t bake all the way through.  It was also a pain in the ass to get them off the silpat so I was left with more than half of them cracked, ugly, and in millions of pieces..UGH.  I used Tartlette’s recipe again and used these detailed instructions I found online.  However, I thought the first ones I made were too sweet so I made slight modifications with less confectioner sugar and more almond meal (each about 10 g).   I ground my own almonds the last time, which produced a lumpy batter.  My food processor wasn’t cut out to make the meal fine enough.  This time around, I used Trader Joe’s almond meal.  It saved me a lot of time and my batter was silky smooth.

Another problem I think I ran into the last time was under-mixing/folding the almond & sugar mixture into the egg whites.  Helen’s instructions say it shouldn’t take more than 50 strokes to fully fold in the mixture.  It took me around 40 or so strokes.  Instructions also say to bake at 300 degrees for about 10-12 minutes depending on the size.  I baked the first batch for 12 minutes.  The macarons still wouldn’t come off the silpat very well.  I baked the second batch an additional 2 minutes and it seemed to do the trick.  I may try baking them at a higher temperature the next time and see if that will help as well.

The feet developed the last time and also this time.  SCORE!

Anyways, I’m super stoked it came out well and my taste testers in Irvine loved them.  :)

BTW, the white chocolate strawberry ganache recipe is in the detailed instructions in the link provided above.  I just swapped the raspberry jam with strawberry.