Recipes Recipes Recipes

I can smell the end of this projects its coming closer to the end. I am trying to cram recipes in so I am making them for my parents lunches I am that desperate. I also discovered I had done another one of my sauces in my recipes so that crosses another recipe off with no extra work.

Iles flottantes (Floating islands) – 25/04/14

I have never been so happy to finish a dessert, the praline which was only a mere garnish took me 3 or 4 attempts. The first attempt all crystallised which I couldn’t understand as I did exactly to her instruction and watched youtube videos to clarify, still with no success. In the end I just caramelised a sugar syrup and poured it over my almonds. The creme angliase was on the verge of curdling but I saved it by adding a teaspoon of water and I resurrected it into a smooth silky custard. The Islands themselves were no trouble, made the meringue cooked them in some simmering water and all was swell. In the end the dessert was delicious but everything that could go wrong went wrong.

Poireaux vinaigrette avec oeuf poché et jambon de bayonne (Leeks in vinaigrette with a poached egg and bayonne ham) – 26/04/14

When I open a cafe this will definitely be a breakfast option on my menu, maybe with a few alterations. The leeks were tender and sweet drizzled with a punchy vignette, with a thin sheet of salty prosciutto finished off with a perfectly poached runny egg. I loved all the flavours together, it was a really simple and delightfully different breakfast which I think all of you reading my blog should give a crack this mothers day.

Tarte flambée (Onion and crème fraîche tart) – 26/04/14

Not possible, this tart was so easy but the flavours were just uncontrollably good and the base of the tart was like none other, just a stunning tart my gosh! Lets begin with the most unusual yet remarkable tart base it consisted of gar gum powder (powerful thickening agent), chestnuts flour (I subbed for ground almonds), tapioca starch, yeast, water and salt. It was so delicate before and after baking, the texture is indescribable you seriously would have to try it in order to understand. The topping was a thick layer of crème fraîche, followed by thinly sliced red onion, lardons and then sprinkled with thyme. These fabulous ingredients all melded together on top of that sensational base in which supplied crunch from the crust along with lardons crisp. Twas heavenly, one of my favourite recipes from the book!

Briochettes au dulce de leche (Dulce de leche brioche buns) – 26/04/14

This was my second attempt of brioche the first time the dough didn’t rise so I just made brioche buns which tasted lovely but were very dense, later I discovered the yeast was two years out of date. I then bought a new batch of yeast and opened it to make something that I can’t remember but didn’t read the packaging saying ‘once opened freeze or refrigerate’ so that lot of yeast didn’t activate either. I then went and bought my third batch of yeast, opened and dissolved it into my milk and butter, waited…..waited…. waited and no activation occurred. So I thought I can’t toss this out so I went with it, made my dough and put it into the fridge overnight. That night read some reviews on this recipe of Rachels and they all said ‘brilliant, dough rose to double its size in the fridge’. I woke up and no rising had occurred, I rolled it out spread the Dulce de leche on liberally, sprinkled on small cubes of apple, rolled it up, portioned it and placed it in the prepared cake tin to rise for 2 hours. FINALLY the scrolls rose to double their size, gave them a nice egg wash and baked them. They were absolutely irresistible, soft, sweet, light and airy pillows of haven!! When these turned out so spectacularly I was on the verge of tears, Hooray!!

Rouleaux de salade Niçoise (Salad Niçoise wraps) – 27/04/14

What an inventive reconstruction of the classic french Niçoise salad. This cute adaptation was clever as it still keeps the same ingredients and flavours of the salad but puts them into compact wraps to pass around at a gathering as a light appetiser before possibly beginning a rich meal. I very much enjoyed these wraps as they were packed with flavour, texture and the vinaigrette was glorious, I will definitely use this vinaigrette for my future salads.

Clafoutis versions sucré et salé (Sweet and savoury clafoutis) – 27/04/14

I made the sweet clafoutis for dessert and it was deliciously pleasant, a comforting warm dessert for a chilly night. The strawberries were plump and slightly bitter contrasting against the smooth, soft, sweet eggy batter and I dusted it all in a little icing sugar. The savoury clafoutis I made for my mother and fathers lunches at work. When the clafoutis first came out of the oven they were puffed up but when the savoury one cooled down it looked like an omelette with the cheese olives and herbs. Nothing too spectacular but a pleasant change for my parents usual sandwich or salad.

Blanquette de veau (Veal ragout) – 28/04/14

I could’t find veal belly its just not available in Victoria possibly not even Australian but I was able to source veal shanks at a dear price. It was worth it though the veal was incredibly soft and supple bathed in a light broth with a dollop of crème fraîche seasoned with orange zest. This additional dollop added an unusual depth of flavour which I am still unsure about. A great dish to celebrate this splendid protein in which I had never had before!

Les soufflés (Soufflés)

Tonight after a traditional Sunday lamb roast cooked by mother dearest I produced the goods by following a gorgeous meal with an impressive dessert. Chocolate soufflés are usually made with melted chocolate but this recipe was made with a dutch cocoa crème patissirè which was glossy and velvety and wasn’t too sweet nor rich which a tradition chocolate soufflé can often be. When the creme patisserie was folded into the sweet meringue and placed into sugar coated ramekins the dish wasn’t overly sweet at all. These chocolaty pillows were light and formed an exciting rust from the raw cane sugar used to coat the ramekins. Yum Yum.

(Cant insert the photo at the moment, will edit tomorrow)

 

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