The Bakery in Auroville makes the best Pain au Chocolat in the world. Period.

I say this after having done decades of research in Paris. My work has not been as methodical or exhaustive, perhaps, as the arrondissment-by-arrondissment croissant sampling performed by my friend, Rich Pekelney; but it has been reasonably extensive.

It is not that the dough has the diaphanous flakiness of that little bakery on the Rue de Fourcy or uses a chocolate of the silky richness of the place on Rue Saint Louis En L'Ile. On both counts, the Auroville pains au chocolat rate acceptably, not superbly. The true measure of greatness of these pastries is largely a function of location.

There may be a place on this earth in greater need of high-quality pain au chocolat than South India; but, with all due respect for authenticity and origin, Paris is not it; and I've yet to discover it. By meeting this serious necessity with deftness and abundance, The Bakery at Auroville wins my vote for the best pain au chocolat in the world.

But I ran across something yesterday, and I just couldn't resist the urge, yes, the hideous, hideous urge. STOP ME BEFORE I BLOG AGAIN!

Anyhoo, stocks tanked today, despite central banks around the world cutting their rates, in what the Associated Press called "a rare coordinated move". Now, why do I think that these "rare" events are going to become as common as flies on a cowflop in the coming months?

They also tanked despite a late rally spurred by "bargain hunting", which is financialese for "what a flock of vultures does to a wildebeest corpse on the Serengeti plain". The cannibalistic tendencies of Wall Street make your neat thing today surprisingly timely.

I stumbled across this on the Bazillion Points blog yesterday. It's a video, courtesy of itnsource and shot mostly in "Moment of Zen"-grade silence, of a Thai baker who's evidently seen Sweeney Todd one too many times. Per itnsource:

Gruesome body parts greet customers of a bakery in Ratchaburi, Thailand. Artist and baker Kittiwat Unarrom has sculpted life-like heads, feet and hands from dough in the bakery's kitchen and exhibits them in glass cabinets in the shop. He says his edible art lures one hundred visitors a day.

Not work safe for... well, you'll see.

Watching this video raises more questions than it answers... and most of them are questions that I'd rather weren't answered, like: How did Unarrom find out that he can do this? Why did he decide to do this? And where did he learn to reproduce the textures and colors of putrefying human flesh in dough?

This video also engenders a horrid fascination in me, and awakens facets of my own personality that I'd rather disown. I mean, don't those horrid, bloated, ugly pastries look...

DELICIOUS?

Don't you just want to saunter into this bakery and sink your teeth into some guy's skull? I mean, what do they feel like? What do they taste like?

Yes, I know. I'm a freak who considers the Necronomicon to be bathroom reading. But they're my kinks and I love them.

INGREDIENTS:

There are four basic ingredients in a pie crust: flour, fat, water and salt. You can come up with numerous variations just by changing your basic ingredients, as long as you stick to the ratio of three parts flour, two parts fat, and one part liquid.

Flour: For a tender crust, choose a low-protein flour. Pastry flour, with a protein content of about 8-10%, ranks between all-purpose flour and cake flour. All-purpose flour works just fine for pie crusts, while cake flour may lack enough protein to form a workable, elastic dough. Depending upon your tastes and the recipe, you may substitute nut flours (almond flour or hazelnut flour) or whole wheat pastry flour for part of the mixture. If you’re a novice crust-maker, start with a plain all-purpose or pastry flour dough.

Fat: Flaky crusts can be made from a variety of fats. Crusts made with all butter are very flavorful, though they are generally not quite as flaky as crusts made with shortening or lard. Vegetable shortening produces a flaky pie crust that is slightly easier to work with than one made with butter, but the flavor won’t be as rich. Lard produces the flakiest crust, but processed lard can have a chemical aftertaste. If you wish to replicate your grandmother’s famous pie crust, ask your butcher to order fresh lard.

You can also make a pie crust with vegetable oil. Fans of crispier crusts use melted butter or oil for the fat, resulting in a mealier dough that bakes up in a fine-textured, crisp crust that melts in your mouth. Some of the best pie crusts are made with a combination of fats: half butter, for flavor, and half shortening, for flakiness.

If you’re using solid fats (butter, shortening, or lard), they should be kept very cold. When you “cut in” the fat, you want discrete pieces (pea-sized) that don’t blend in to the dough as you work it. These flakes of butter will expand and the liquid evaporate during baking, separating the layers of dough into a flaky crust.

Liquid: When adding liquid to the flour and fat mixture, it should be ice-cold in order to keep the pieces of fat cool and separate. Ice water is fine, but fruit juices, egg yolks, sour cream, and milk or cream add different flavors and textures to your pie crust. Always add liquid a tablespoon at a time, tossing with the flour mixture. Humidity can affect dough performance, so you may need less liquid than the recipe calls for. If your dough becomes too wet, you’ll need to add more flour to roll out the crust, throwing off your ratio and resulting in a tough crust.

Other additions: Wheat germ, a pinch of spice, a dash of flavorful liqueur or cold brewed coffee are all good additions to pie crusts. Don’t forget to add a pinch of salt: the crust will taste flat without it. No matter how good the filling, the crust is the showcase: a good homemade crust takes a pie to new heights. For a sweeter crust, add a tablespoon or two of confectioners’ sugar. Granulated sugar can make the dough sticky and harder to work with.

DIRECTIONS:

Pastry Techniques

Technique is the most important aspect to making a good pie crust. As long as you follow a few simple tips, your pie crusts should turn out perfectly almost every time.

* All ingredients should be ice-cold before mixing. This is especially important for the fat you are using. Shortening can be kept in the freezer without becoming solid.
* Do not overwork the dough. Mix quickly and handle the dough as little as possible. Overworking the dough will cause it to be tough.
* Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out. This lets the flour absorb the liquid and helps to prevent stickiness when rolling out the dough. It also allows the gluten (the protein structure) to relax, making it more elastic and less likely to shrink back as you roll it.
* Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, a pastry cloth, or between two sheets of waxed paper. Roll the dough from the center outward using even, firm strokes. Turning the dough as you work, about an eighth of turn per roll, will help to keep it round.
* Use a dry pastry brush or a clean dishtowel to brush off excess flour from the dough.
* Once the dough is rolled to the proper thickness, fold it in half or roll it around your rolling pin to lift it into the pie pan. Gently press the dough down into the bottom edges of the pan. You can use kitchen shears or a paring knife to trim the crust to about a ¾ inch overhang.
* After the rolled-out dough has been transferred to the pie pan, let it relax in the refrigerator for another 20-30 minutes before filling. This will prevent the dough from shrinking during baking.
* Before pouring the filling into the unbaked pie crust, you can brush the bottom and sides of the unbaked pie crust with lightly beaten egg white or melted jelly. This will help create a seal to keep the crust crisp. To ensure that the crust stays even crisper, partially bake the pie crust before adding the filling. (This is, of course, only an option for crumb-topped pies, not latticed or double-crust pies.)

The first trick, and what I have yet to accomplish, is to master puff pastry dough. I used Kate's recipe that she has for her croissants, and I think the recipe would be just right here. However, I just did not plan far enough ahead, and leave enough time for chilling the dough, etc.  But if you look at her site and see just how fluffy she gets it, you'll see why it would be perfect.  Just follow the recipe up until you cut it into triangles for croissants.  Then fold the dough a little thicker (I think part of my problem was getting the dough too thin on top).

The original recipe called for both duck or goose pate and then an mushroom/truffle Duxelles (whatever that is!). I found at the store a duck liver mouse that combined the duck liver and truffles with port wine, garlic, and other yummy things. So I used that and saved the step of making the mushroom duxelles. (I have included that recipe just in case you want to make it.)

I cut the recipe in half, and only made two Wellingtons.  And while they weren't the prettiest, they tasted really good.

Individual Beef Wellington

Ingredients:
4 (6-ounce) thickly cut filet mignons
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 (1-ounce) slices goose or duck liver, or pork country-style pate
One recipe of Kate's puff pastry
Mushroom Duxelles, recipe follows
1 large egg beaten with 2 teaspoons water to make an egg wash

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Season both sides of each filet with ¼ teaspoon of the salt and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper.

3. Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the filets and sear for 1 minute on each side for medium-rare. Transfer to a plate to cool completely.

4. Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 14-inch square, and cut into 4 (7-inch) squares. (When using gf pastry, divide by four first, then roll out. I made the pastry, adding in the frozen butter, folding over, etc., and then rolled it into four separate sheets, still fairly thick, to keep in the fridge until I was ready for it.)

5. Spread one-quarter of the mushroom duxelles on top of each filet and top each with 1 slice of the pate, pressing to flatten. Place one filet, mushroom side down, in the center of a puff pastry square. Using a pastry brush or your finger, paint the inside edges of the pastry with egg wash. Fold the pastry over the filet as though wrapping a package and press the edges to seal. Place the packages seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the egg wash over the tops and sides of each package and bake until the pastry is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 140 degrees F for medium-rare, about 20 minutes. (I cooked it a little less and left it rare.)

6. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Mushroom Duxelles:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons minced shallots
½ teaspoon minced garlic
10 ounces button mushrooms, wiped clean, stemmed, and finely chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
2½ tablespoons dry white wine

Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms, salt, and white pepper, reduce the heat to medium, and cook, stirring, until all the liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms begin to caramelize, about 12 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring to deglaze the pan, until all the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat and let cool before using.

Yield: 1/2 cup

Before someone else outs me, let me come clean.  I use every beyond wrong Bronx pronunciation of commonplace Italian words. Deb from the block, my mom, raised me right.

Go on, have a taste here. enjoy hh

]]> http://cookdiegocook.wordpress.com/?p=314 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 02:11:59 +0000 mexigaf http://cookdiegocook.com/2008/10/02/a-weekday-of-autumn-baking/ A morning of pumpkin picking and craving autumn desserts
led us to seek out some ingredients. Roasting a pumpkin
was out of the question because we needed them to carve
so instead we used sweet potatoes. Here's how the evening
went.

CLICK there is MORE PICS!!! a weekday of autumn baking

Sweet Potato Pie with a Vodka Crust. I cut the water in
half and use Vodka so as to create less gluten and make
for a tender and flaky crust. A cook's illustrated trick
that has really helped my pate brisse technique evolve.

From a weekday of autumn baking

Next I made some sweet potato pie souffles! I had left over
filling and used basic souffle technique to make them. They
came out ridiculous. So tender and flavorful from the spices.
Melted Cherimoya ice cream to sauce. They sank on me
before I could get the camera because I kept opening the
oven to check the other stuff.

From a weekday of autumn baking

The last was an Apple Galette. I bought some apples at a
local nursery that were out of this world. These Adanac
apples were tender but help up pretty well to the baking.
They have a strong cider like smell that really makes then
perfect of a galette.

When I met Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson, I had no idea who they were. As far as I knew, they were the friendly, smiley couple that lived next to my good friends. The occasional hello, petting the dog when we headed out for a walk, they seemed like good, but ordinary people. One day, my friend whispered to me "you know WHO they are don't you"? Of course, I did not. "They own Tartine Bakery" she said in hushed, reverent tones. "Tar what!?" Their disappointment in my knowledge was only exceeded by their excitement for having a reason to visit immediately. I was about to be taken for an educational whirlwind of the world of pastry.

Of course, I know who they are now. Between a successful cookbook, and sellouts and lineups, Tartine Bakery is a San Francisco institution. "Tartine? They have the best...X" Everyone has an opinion. There really is no right or wrong - it's just a matter of personal preference.

Located in San Francisco's Mission District, Tartine is broken up into two distinct parts - Tartine Bakery, and around the corner, Bar Tartine. Bar Tartine, is a restaurant offering dinner and brunch, focusing on high quality fresh, local ingredients. While the food is excellent, and well worth checking out, it's nothing exceptional in a city of excellent dining. The Bakery, offers a variety of pastries, breads, baked goods, cookies, bars, along with some basic sandwiches.

Chocolate fans swear by the brownies, or the chocolate souffle cake. My cousin swears by the Lemon Tart. Breakfast fans love the morning bun - Tartine's take on the cinnamon roll. Really, you can't go wrong. Just go early, they have a tendency to run out of popular items quickly. Prices are actually incredibly reasonable for a bakery Mark Bittman considers "one of the the best on earth". They clearly love what they do, it shows in the food.

My own personal favorite? Coconut Cream Tart - the individual, divine, pie. It's a perfect blend of creaminess; a rich coconut cream, fantastic crust coated in chocolate, and the perfect accompaniment of toasted coconut and sweet cream. Im hungry just thinking about it. In the Bay Area, join the throngs and indulge yourself once in a while. It's neither ordinary, nor nice. It's fantastic. Once in a while, everyone deserves a little Tartine!

Frealthy Pastry

Engrish Photo By: Ryan

We got up, and got pastry for breakfast/lunch. After a while I wanted to go out and just chill out in a park I had recently found, and so I did. Without Sujan that is, he decided to be anti-social and just stay in the entire day. After a while Iver and Jørgen joined me in the park, and we just hang out and had some fun.

I have added some pictures of the park, as well as some others I’ve taken during my stay here. Take a look, especially at the park. I think that park is just amazing, and that I was so lucky to bump into it on my jogging trip on Wednesday.

The rest of the day, I will spend writing a letter to my sweetheart back home, and perhaps even start on some of the homework I have. Time will show!

Cherios!

Bjarte

lunch: rice, sliced fish sausages (the brown one is sardines, and the pink one is cod ova with cheese.), & cooked radish with sweet yuzu miso paste
圧力鍋があるとふろふき大根も簡単すぎて、自分が料理が上手いという錯覚に陥る

dessert: kanten (agar) topped with brown sugar syrup.  sooo gooood.
ウオコーの寒天、凄く美味しいけど、これで530円は地元の物価をぶっちぎりで無視。でも買っちゃう

dinner: miso soup & stir-fried rice with egg and leftover gyoza filling, which turned out to be an excellent idea!
餃子の具の残りでチャーハン。みそ汁の具は大根葉と豆腐とわかめ

Here are more pictures of funny fellas.

FINALLY! I got my camera fixed this week and I am liberated. I'm no longer at the mercy of my husband Z, whose extremely business-unsavvy Z Photo Studio opens only once a week for two measly hours. Now, I can bake as many cakes as I like and take my own photos (and wear out his PhotoShop!). But most exciting of all, I can now take photos of the various steps in the baking process, much like Smitten Kitchen!

Zann introduced me to this cooking blog and I became an instant fan. The blogger posts photos of her cooking process and they are absolutely pixel-sharp and delicious-looking. I'm thinking that she must have professional lights installed over her cooker and dining table - because her pix are always so gorgeously lit. Maybe she's got a husband who's always around to hold her wooden spoon or pour in her batter while she focuses her camera - I donno. Maybe she's got three hands. But I know for sure that she must have a hell of a water bill.

When I shot the making of this dish, taken from Dean Brettschneider's Global Baker, I was washing my hands every few minutes every time I had to pick up the camera. It's a bit of a drag - but hey, anything to get more hits and achieve web domination.

The recipe starts with fennel - and I had to take a picture of it. I've never seen one before in my life, and I must say, it's a curious creature. It's like an onion that woke up one day and decided to be a crab. Notice the seaweed-like outgrowth as proof of its mutational capabilities.

Stuff that goes into the quiche: (Clockwise from top left) Leek, fennel, smoked salmon, cherry tomatoes. If this baking thing doesn't work out, I can always be a master chopper.

Leeks and fennel get stir-fried with butter. Then the salmon is tossed in. Some photos are so blur they're beyond PhotoShop.

To make egg mixture, whip sour cream until smooth. Then add eggs, cream and a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg  (As if I'd actually get a real nutmeg - I just used nutmeg powder, folks).

Butter, flour and a bit of cold water form shortcrust dough, which is then rolled out to line a ridiculously expensive rectangular pastry tin (over $30 from Pantry Magic - daylight robbery, but I had to have it).

Veggie and salmon mixture is tumbled into the tin. Egg mixture is poured over. And cherry tomatoes and cream cheese placed strategically on top. Salivary glands notice something is afoot.

Ta-da! Bottom part of pastry is a little undercooked (something wrong with the recipe, I swear), but otherwise, this quiche is delish. Note to self: Always keep knife razor-sharp. A cherry tomato that is sliced through like a block of butter is so award-winning cookbook, doncha think?

lunch: gyoza!  i used finely minced cabbage, chinese chive, ginger, and a little bit of meat. i would have used celery or shiso leaves had i had them.
昼休みの時間内に包んで焼く！から忙しい。

snack: Marseille Butter Sandwich from Rokkatei. someone's souvenir from hokkaido.

dinner: hamburger & hijiki rice. the thing on top of the hamburger is grated radish and a little bit of chili pepper.  i think i've had enough meat for now...  i also had a fake beer.  it's not really beer but has like 4% alcohol and tastes like beer.
肉はしばらくもういい。

While I lived in Vancouver, Canada a couple of years ago, I had a few housemates. One of them had three cats, and she would feed each of them different food---buffalo meat, chicken fillet, and canned/solid cat food, etc.

I just heard from someone today that she's lost her job and been on welfare now, but she still spends 500 dollars a month on cat food. Although I love cats, and I was happy to thaw different meats for those kitties and take care of them whenever she was away, I just can't get my head around it. You are on the dole, but that dole money is spent on the cats' food!?  500 bucks a month is more than what I spend on my food.  I hear she would bawl whenever she receives a letter of rejection for a job application, so the other roommate has to take her out to nearby Kitsilano Beach and console her. It's melodramatically sad, but instead of bawling, what she needs to do first while still looking for a new job is change up her cats' diet a little, doesn't she?

Honestly, it almost makes me feel upset to hear that she's still struggling with the same shit. I wish she would snap out of it: out of prioritizing cats over herself, out of some weird new age religion shit and donating money that she doesn't have, or out of believing that some expensive facials she can't even afford would solve all her skin problems. I sincerely want her to be happy, but she wouldn't listen because she's too insane (and still keeps e-mailing me all the links to animal cruelty and things that I can't handle when I'm not feeling so well.). Life is full of surprises whether you like it or not. Just when you thought you've seen them all, you are presented with the next person who comes to your life and surprises you with their eccentricities and quirkiness and wonderfulness. She was one of those people for me.  Maybe I will send her a cheer-up card or something.

Well, in any case, I'm sooo glad that I live alone now. 

I took these pictures yesterday but don't know what to do with them. Maybe I'll show them little by little everyday.

Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.

After enjoying a mini birthday party at our house and then walking around in the city, we went to dinner with friends on my birthday at Mama Mia. I had cannoli and an espresso for dessert. Both were good, but the cannoli... ah... really great.