Classical Appetites: January 2012

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Winning Chocolate Éclairs with Vanilla Pudding!

I feel that these exquisite chocolate éclairs speak for themselves and nothing I can say with words could enhance their dazzling beauty or nor mouth-watering taste. Some things you just have to experience for yourself!

Warm vanilla pudding, a tender buttery shell, drizzled with chocolate ganache syrup.

Bake...Indulge...Experience...

From one hearty appletite to another...happy cooking!

Chocolate Éclairs Recipe
adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook 12th edition

Pastry Shells
1/2 cup salted butter
1 cup water
1 cup flour
4 eggs

In a medium saucepan combine water and butter. Bring to boiling. Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat. Cool for 10 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well with a wooden spoon after each addition.

Drop 12 heaping tablespoons of dough onto a greased baking sheet. Bake in a 400 F oven for 30-35 minutes or until golden. Transfer cream puffs to a wire rack; cool.

Cut tops from puffs; fill with vanilla pudding.

Vanilla Pudding
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
4 cups milk
4 beaten egg yolks
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons vanilla

In a medium heavy saucepan combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in milk. Cook and stir mixture over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more, Remove pan from heat. Gradually stir 1 cup of milk mixture into egg holks. Add egg mixture to milk mixture in pan. Bring milk mixture to a gentle boil; reduce heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more.

Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla. Pour pudding into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Serve warm or cold.

Chocolate Ganache
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons sugar

Melt chocolate and sugar with milk over a double-boiler until dissolved. Drizzle over the assembled pastry puffs.

Note: For cream puffs, skip the chocolate genache and dust with powdered sugar.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Roasted Eggplant Appetizer

Roasted Eggplant with Romano Cheese

I know many of you are thinking, "Eggplant? I did not see this coming!" And I can honestly say, "Neither did I!" I've never made eggplant before. The first and only time I've eaten it was when we were in the Jewish Quarter of Paris two years ago, waiting in line for falafels. I couldn't read the menu, so I pointed and received the most delicious falafel. Atop the warm, scrumptious dish, was what I discovered to be eggplant. Chewy, yet soft, and quite similar to a zucchini in my opinion (although it's actually a nightshade, related to the potato and tomato and hails from India).

Back to my story, I was shopping at the grocery store and there were huge boxes of eggplants as I entered. The intensely purple, nearly black, spongy vegetable made quite an impression on my 13 month old, and to make the shopping trip a bit more enjoyable, I picked one up and handed it to her, assuming I'd kissed away a dollar for happiness.

After it served its purpose to my daughter (the back of this has teeth marks), I looked up the health properties and found out that the eggplant lowers cholesterol! I don't have cholesterol problems, but healthy is healthy!

I chopped it up and sprinkled it with olive oil, salt and pepper

I oven roasted the coins at 400 F for 15-20 minutes, flipping half way through. I garnished them with finely grated romano cheese for the last 2 minutes.

So delicious! I ate more than I planned, but I figured that could only help me as my next post contains butter :)

From one hearty appletite to another...happy cooking!

Photography © Hearty Appletite

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Lemon Sour Cream Poppy Seed Muffins

Lemon Sour Cream Poppy Seed Muffins!

It's Improv Cooking Challenge time for January, hosted by Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker, and I'm so glad that the two secret ingredients are lemon and sour cream! It's like a burst of sunshine hit my kitchen, cheering up the middle month of winter when I'm dreaming of springtime and cherry blossom buds...

The beauty of freshly zested lemon: take a deep breath and imagine the smell!

Dig right in and rub the sugar and lemon zest between your fingertips until the sugar feels moist and your fingers smell fragrant and lemony!

Poppy seeds--another sign of spring to come!

Get ready to squeeze!

Divide batter into 12 greased muffin cups, or use paper liners

I made a glaze and poured it over the top...definitely makes the muffin complete!

Look at this dense, moist, cakey texture :)

Don't forget the shopping list!

Lemon (Sour Cream) Poppy Seed Muffins
from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home To Yours

2/3 cup sugar

grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sour cream

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of lemon strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and melted butter together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don't worry about being thorough - a few lumps are better than over mixing the batter. Stir in the poppy seeds. Divide the batter evenly among the muffins cups.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

*My glaze: Dissolve 1/2 cup sugar in 2 tablespoons hot lemon juice.

Photography © Hearty Appletite

Monday, January 16, 2012

Tchaikovsky's Lemon Sunshine Cookie Cake

Today seemed like a good day for a run. The sun was shining, a joyful chorus of birds was twittering, and the fresh air of a rare sunny, wintry day was begging me to come join in its glory.

I'm fairly new to running, having started last July by accident--yes, it was an accident-- and I'm not a "die hard." If it's dark, raining, too cold, or too hot, I don't run. But I really enjoy knowing that I can run and not have to throw-up afterwards, and I like the feeling of accomplishment.

I'm also a very slow runner. Hats off to the elderly gentleman with a walker who passed me ;) However, I almost feel that it's because I don't view myself as a Runner that I enjoy it so much. It's just me getting exercise, not having to commit to doing it if I don't feel like it, not having to worry about getting better, etc. I simply lace up my shoes and throw myself out the door and down the street.

But, back to today's run, it was truly glorious: the sunshine illuminating my path, and the nip of the air reminding me of this stolen moment in January.

As a classically trained pianist and singer, I like to listen to classical music when I run. Hearing flutes and violins with lively melodies makes me feel free and light, blissfully unaware of my feet pounding the pavement.

Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto in B-flat accompanied me on my run today and, along with the golden rays, inspired this Lemon Sunshine Cookie Cake. The cookies look like little round, yellow suns, and the whipped cream is soft and light like the fresh air on my face. Good run, good cookies, good cake! I give it a standing ovation!

From one hearty appletite to another...happy cooking!

Thin Crisp Lemon Cookies
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon lemon extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

Mix together and form into 1 1/4" balls. Flatten slightly with your finger tips. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Makes 38 cookies.

Filling and Frosting
2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Whip cream until it starts to thicken. Slowly add the sugar and beat just until firm.

Assembly

Spread a strip of whipped cream down the center of a serving plate to put the cookies on. Spread a generous spoonful on each cookie and stack them on their sides on the whipped cream on the plate to make a long log.

You'll need to judge the number of cookies to use. When about 1/3 of the cream is left, stop adding cookies and start frosting the outside of the.

When the cookies are frosted and stacked, cover the entire log with more whipped cream thickly and thoroughly. Be sure to get all the way around the sides of the cookies with the cream. Cover and chill in refrigerator for at least eight hours. Slice on a diagonal to serve.

Photography © Hearty Appletite

Friday, January 13, 2012

Grasshopper Brownies

Three decadent layers

As I mentioned in my post, "Grasshopper Pie, Peppermint Style," my love of mint and chocolate has been with me from my youth! These grasshopper brownies are certain not to disappoint, both in taste and appearance. Sure to please a chocolate purist, the base of this dessert is a classic chocolate brownie, frosted with a beautifully minty buttercream, and topped with an almost ganache chocolate glaze. Decadent enough for a true dessert connoisseur, yet too grand to save for only a special occasion. I canʼt wait to add these brownies to my company dinners…or whip up for my afternoonʼs sweet tooth!

Brownies:

Your favorite brownie recipe :)

For the buttercream:
Recipe from Love and Olive Oil via Baked Explorations
3/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) butter, softened but still cool, cut into small cubes
3 tablespoons creme de menthe
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

For the chocolate glaze:
6 ounces good-quality dark chocolate (60 to 72%), coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, cut into cubes

To make the buttercream: In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the sugar and flour together. Add the milk and cream and cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally until mixture comes to a boil and has thickened, 5 to 7 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until cool. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until filling is light and fluffy.

Add the creme de menthe and peppermint extract and mix until combined.

To make the chocolate glaze: In a large non-reactive metal bowl, combine the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is completely smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir vigorously for 1 minute to release excess heat.

Pour the mixture over the chilled creme de menthe layer and use an offset spatula to spread it into an even layer. Place the pan back in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until the glaze hardens.

Remove the pan from the refrigerator, wait about 15 minutes for the glaze to soften slightly, and cut the bars with a warm knife. Cut into squares and serve immediately. Note: The bars can be stored in the refrigerated, tightly covered, for up to 4 days.

From one hearty appletite to another...happy cooking!

Photography © Hearty Appletite

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Dutch Baby Breakfast

Dutch Baby!

Dutch baby! In our family we reserve this breakfast for "special," normally making its annual appearance on Christmas morning, but it's so easy to make that it can be made at the last minute with only 4 staple ingredients!

Stick a cast iron skillet, or oven safe glass pan, into the oven with 1/4 cup butter. Preheat your oven to 425 F.

In a large bowl, mix together 5 eggs

and 1 1/4 cups EACH of flour and milk.

Remove the pan from the oven and pour in the batter. The butter will come to the top a bit.

WITH A HOT MITT (important!) put the pan back into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Look at the puff!!!

Ooh, la, la!

As it cools, it will deflate a bit, but taste SOOO delicious! A light, delicate, buttery top over a soft and creamy Dutch Baby :)

Dust with powdered sugar, syrup or strawberries and serve hot!

P.S. To make in advance, throw all the ingredients in a sealable bowl.

Shake, shake, shake 'em up!

Store into your fridge over night. I use an erasable marker to remind myself of the time and temp. (Notice the bacon?!?!)

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Double Scotch Chippers!

After making three batches of Cranberry Pistachio Sugar Cookies, that were flavored with Pistachio Pudding, I couldn't wait to try flavoring another cookie with a pudding mix. The result? Double Scotch Chippers for my butterscotch-loving husband...and for anyone else who loves the sweet, buttery morsels!