AVGOLEMONO SOUP, MY WAY

Posted in Soups by sallybr

At the risk of being blocked from entering Greece, I share my version of this legendary classic. I took a few liberties with it, so be prepared. I hope they won’t confiscate my passport because Greece is one spot of this planet I want to go back to. My only visit was too long ago, back in 1994, with my very dear friend Gabi. That was one week that I can live to be 100 and will never forget. How fitting that this post is published on her day… Happy Birthday, Gabi!

AVGOLEMONO SOUP
(inspired by Jeff Mauro’s The Kitchen)

2 quarts low-sodium chicken stock
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup rice
1/4 cup red quinoa
2 large eggs, separated
1 tablespoon lemon zest plus 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Chopped fresh parsley
fried shoestring carrots for topping (optional)

In a large stockpot, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Add the chicken breasts and then lower to a simmer. Simmer until the chicken is just cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes; remove to a bowl. Once cooled, shred the chicken and reserve.

Add the rice and quinoa to the pot with the chicken stock and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and most of the lemon juice, reserving some to add later. Fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites. Once combined, ladle in some hot stock to temper the egg mixture, whisking constantly and adding the hot liquid slowly. Very slowly, add the warm whipped egg/lemon mixture into the pot, whisking constantly to prevent any curds or clumps from forming. Continue to cook over medium-low to medium heat, whisking, until the soup thickens, about 5 to 8 minutes more.

Add the shredded chicken and any reserved juices to the soup. Add the lemon zest and season with salt and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper. Taste and add additional lemon juice if needed. Add parsley and serve with fried carrots on top, if so desired.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This recipe was featured in a recent The Kitchen show, and I was intrigued by the fact that it is supposed to taste super creamy while being quite low in fat. The full amount of soup contains only two egg yolks. No butter, no cream, no sour cream, nothing. It is also very lemony, therefore the name avgolemono (egg and lemon) soup. The chicken and rice would almost be bystanders. Think of an egg drop soup, but one in which the eggs form a nice emulsion with the broth. Jeff Mauro started “messing” with the classic by adding orzo instead of rice. I say, if he can do it, so can I! Into mine went some red quinoa. But the real shocker came when I topped it with air-fried carrots.

This was so so good, I am glad I tried it. To be completely honest, credit should go to my beloved partner. I had planned to serve the carrots on the side just as added fun to our dinner. He grabbed a bunch and topped his soup with it. It looked interesting, and then his reaction made me do the same. Big wow moment! If you have an air-fryer, consider preparing a bunch of these carrots to add to soups. Or salsas, or whatever. They are tasty, and addictive. Perhaps not as Greek as Pythagoras, but I bet he would have enjoyed them on top of his avgolemono…

ONE YEAR AGO: Sourdough Chocolate Twist Bread

TWO YEARS AGO: Dan Lepard Times Three

THREE YEARS AGO: Turkey Portobello Burger

FOUR YEARS AGO: Raspberry Ricotta Cake

FIVE YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2014

SIX YEARS AGO: Whole-Wheat Pasta with Lemony Tomatoes and Spinach

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Blood Orange Duck: A work in progress

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Grilled Mahi-mahi with citrus marinade

NINE YEARS AGO: Memories of Pastéis

5Apr2019

SAKURA BUCHE DU PRINTEMPS

Posted in Desserts by sallybr

This past winter was so hard that I intend to keep celebrating the arrival of spring for as long as I can get away with it. Clearly, nothing says spring better than cherry blossoms. In this cake, my goal was to have a creamy sakura-flavored mousse involving a fruity center, as a red fruit compote. For the base of the dessert, I made a crusty layer with puffed quinoa, the new (to me) ingredient I mentioned in my last post. To finalize, a pastel-colored mirror glaze action, in pink, purple and green. Why the French name? Because it is irresistibly poetic, that’s why.

SAKURA BUCHE DU PRINTEMPS
(from the Bewitching Kitchen, inspired by many sources)

for the biscuit layer:
125 g eggs
90 g powdered sugar (I used Bakewell cherry flavored)
90 g almond flour
30 g flour
20 g melted butter
180 g egg whites
40 g sugar (superfine if available)

for the berry compote:
300 g pure of cherries and red berries
2 whole eggs
140 g honey
140 g whipping cream
6 g gelatin in sheets
60 g butter, at room temperature

for the quinoa-crisp:
113 g white chocolate
20 g pistachio paste
20 g puffed quinoa

for the Sakura mousse:
210 g milk
1/8 tsp sakura leaf powder (optional)
1/8 tsp cherry blossom essence
100 g egg yolks
110 g sugar
8 g gelatin sheets
210 g whipping cream

for the mirror glaze:
150 g glucose
150 g granulated sugar
150 g white chocolate, cut in small pieces
75 g water
100 g condensed, sweetened milk
9 g gelatin in sheets
1/2 tsp titanium oxide (optional, but worth it)
pink, purple, and bright green gel food dye

Two days before serving, make the biscuit and the cherry compote.

For the biscuit: In the bowl of a Kitchen Aid mixer fitted with the leaf blade, beat the eggs, sugar an almond flour together for 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a mixing bowl, and after thoroughly cleaning the bowl of the Kitchen Aid, whisk the egg whites until you can see if forming a trail as the whisk goes through them. At this point, slowly rain the fine sugar to form a soft-peak meringue. Add the meringue to the egg-sugar-almond mixture previously made. Mix gently with a spatula. Add the flour gently, sifting it over the mixture. Finally, add a bit of the mixture to the melted butter, make a smooth emulsion with it, and pour it into the batter. Mix as gently as possible.

Spread the batter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper as a layer a little over 1/2 inch thick, and bake for 12 minutes at 380 F. Once the biscuit is cool, cut the rectangle needed to fit the smaller buche. While the biscuit cools, make the compote.

For the compote: Soak the gelatin sheets in a bowl of cold water for at least 10 minutes. Place the eggs, honey, fruit puree and heavy cream in a bowl and whisk with an immersion blender (or use a regular blender if you prefer). Pour the mixture in a saucepan and bring the temperature to 180 F, stirring constantly and never using too high heat. Remove the pan from the stove, add the drained gelatin, and mix. Let it cool for about 10 minutes and add the softened butter, mixing again until well incorporated. Pour into the mold, then gently add the biscuit on top, pressing gently. You don’t want it to submerge, just float on the surface. Wrap the top of the mold with plastic and freeze overnight.

Make the quinoa-crisp. Bake the puffed quinoa in a 325 F oven for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the white chocolate in a microwave very gently. Mix the melted chocolate with the pistachio paste. Add the quinoa and spread in a 4 mm (1/8 inch) thickness in between two sheets of parchment paper. It will be a little sticky, try to level it as best as you can. When it is cooled down a bit, cut the exact dimension of the bigger mold you will use for the dessert. Reserve.

Make the Sakura mousse. Soak the gelatin sheets in cold water for at least 10 minutes. Bring the milk to almost boiling and add the sakura leaf powder, mixing well to dissolve. Let it sit covered for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar. Slowly add the hot milk infused with the sakura powder, whisking constantly. Transfer back to the pan and heat gently to 180 F. Do not let it go over or you will scramble the egg yolks. Transfer to a bowl, let it cool for a couple of minutes and add the drained gelatin and the Sakura extract. Reserve.

Whip the cold heavy cream to very soft peaks, do not over whip it. When the sakura custard is barely warm to the touch, add the whipped cream to form the final mousse, fold with a spatula until smooth. Pour the mousse into the large Buche mold up to 1/3 of its volume. Add the frozen insert made the day before, with the biscuit layer up. Complete the mold with mousse almost to the top, place the quinoa crisp on top, pressing gently. Wrap with plastic and freeze overnight.

Make the mirror glaze. Place the gelatin sheets inside a bowl with cold water for 10 minutes as you prepare the other ingredients. In a sauce pan, heat the glucose, sugar and water until boiling. Make sure the sugar is fully dissolved. Let it cool slightly, and add to a bowl with the white chocolate in small pieces. After a few minutes, use a spatula to dissolve the chocolate. Add the gelatin and the condensed milk, and mix gently, try to avoid incorporating air bubbles. Add the titanium oxide and emulsify the mixture with an immersion blender to get rid of bubbles. Divide the mixture in three bowls. Eyeballing is fine. Add the color and mix very gently with a spatula, do not use a whisk to avoid incorporating bubbles. Cover with plastic touching the surface and place in the fridge overnight.

To glaze, warm up the mixtures in the microwave for 30 to 40 seconds. Pass them each through a fine sieve to remove any residual bubbles. When the mixtures are at 98 F you can pour them in a tall pitcher, one color at a time, working fast so that the temperature does not drop too much. Glaze the frozen dessert allowing all colors to mix and mingle. Thaw the cake in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving. Decorate the sides if you like, with tempered white chocolate or candy melts.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: The dessert was assembled in a set of Silikomart molds called “Buche.” They can be used either separately, or together in a way that the smaller mold makes a component that goes inserted in the bigger one. When planning a dessert using two molds, the first thing to consider is the volume needed, keeping in mind that a great deal of space will be occupied in the larger mold by the insert previously made. The amounts I shared work well with the Buche set. The composite photo above shows the overall preparation of the insert (compote + biscuit), that I made on a Friday evening, and left to freeze until next day. You can use any type of freezer-safe container you want, as long as it allows for easy un-molding later. The biscuit recipe makes more than needed for the base, so I cut a few rounds to freeze for a future adventure.

Saturday morning I made the crusty layer using puffed quinoa. To do so, I drew a precise template of the bigger Silikomart mold, and used a sharp paring knife to cut it. It is easier to cut while it’s still just a tad warm. While the layer cooled completely, I prepared the Sakura mousse.

The mousse is poured inside the larger buche mold, then the frozen insert carefully placed in the center, with the biscuit layer facing up. More mousse is used to fill the mold almost to the top, then the crusty layer is gently pressed on top. It is important to wrap the mold in plastic wrap so that when the mousse freezes it gets nicely compacted around the insert and the quinoa top (which will become the bottom in the final presentation).

Mirror glazing is definitely the most exciting part, although still a bit nerve-wracking for me. Things can go wrong in this final step for two main reasons: first, you can pour too fast and lose track of how much glaze is being used, how much is left to finish coating; second, the temperature might be slightly off, so either the glaze slides off the cake without sticking, or it might set too fast and compromise the beautiful, super smooth surface that is the goal. When using more than one color, it gets even trickier. All components have to be just right in consistency and temperature. The glazes are best made the day before, so I made them on Saturday, kept them all in the fridge. A 30 to 40 seconds encounter with the microwave puts all glazes at around 110F. At that point they went inside my bread proofing box set at 98F, and the waiting game started. You must be patient, and remember that whisking a mirror glaze suspension is a capital sin in patisserie. Bubbles must be minimized at all cost. Allow the different colors to equilibrate to the same temperature, get your frozen dessert ready, and let your inner Monet fly.

So there you have it, the Sakura Buche du Printemps ready to be enjoyed! The cherry blossom flavor is very unique, floral (obviously) but not overpowering, as long as you exercise caution when you add it. A little too much and the mousse will be ruined. I really liked the texture of the crunchy quinoa, an idea that I cannot take credit for. I found it in this blog post and simply “borrowed” it. I will be using it again and again. It is sturdy enough to support the mousse, but easy to cut without making a huge mess on the plate. The biscuit layer could conceivably be omitted to simplify preparation, but it does add a different texture in a sea of mousse and creamy fruit. I think it makes the dessert considerably more interesting.

Before you leave, grab a pin…

ONE YEAR AGO: Clay Pot Roast Chicken

TWO YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2017

THREE YEARS AGO: Secret Recipe Club: Chicken Korma and a Bonus Recipe

FOUR YEARS AGO: Josey Baker’s Olive Bread

FIVE YEARS AGO: Almonds, A Cookbook Review

SIX YEARS AGO: Pomegranate-Molasses Glazed Carrots

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Codruta’s Rolled Oat Sourdough Bread

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Roasted Corn and Tomato Risotto

NINE YEARS AGO: Light Rye Bread

1Apr2019

IN MY KITCHEN: APRIL 2019

Posted in In My Kitchen by sallybr

I blinked twice, and three months have passed since the last virtual tour of our kitchen. This tradition started many years ago with Celia and is now hosted by Sherry, from Sherry’s Pickings. I haven’t stopped writing these posts since my first time (that was July 2011), although I do not participate every month. I prefer to let things accumulate a bit, so there’s more to talk about.

Starting with gifts…

We were in Brazil a couple of weeks ago, and my niece Raquel, Baker Extraordinaire, opened her many boxes of baking items and twisted my arm really hard so that I would bring a few goodies with me.

These are food dyes, colors I did not have, except for the red. But it turns out red is one tricky color, most brands require you to dump a ton of dye to get some hint of real red. Raquel really liked this brand and since she had two bottles… I did not feel too guilty bringing one with me.

Isn’t this the cutest thing you’ve ever seen? I thought so. Raquel has all sorts of mini silicone molds, from the time she was decorating cakes professionally. She insisted I should grab a bunch of them, but I decided to act with moderation and brought only this little owl. Now I need to design some dessert to feature it in all its cute glory. Oh, the struggles I face!

Most people who know me are aware that I adore elephants. Raquel always gifts me with little elephants (since bringing a live one in the plane would be awkward, and the pups might object to a new sibling). The pen holder is a few years old, but the two next to it just arrived. Inside each, lives a small additional elephant, so they are like tokens of good luck, representing new beginnings, renovation. Thank you, Quel!

From Phil…

Many years ago we were in California at a Farmer’s market, and a friend insisted we should get a bottle of their special white balsamic vinegar. It is truly delicious, but the last drop was consumed a while ago. I had no idea those could be ordered online, but my beloved husband surprised me not with one but three bottles of their vinegar: white, passion fruit, and dark. We consume a lot of balsamic vinegar, by the way.

A gift shared on my previous IMK post from our friend Cindy is now paired with a pitcher we’ve had for a while. I love how they look together, and how they make roses shine…

In our kitchen….

I don’t care for single-use gadgets at all. So why am I featuring exactly that? Because this strawberry huller is absolutely awesome and I hate doing the job with a paring knife. Life is too short for that. You press the green part in, it opens the sharp (but not too sharp) blades on the opposite end. Place that on the top of the strawberry, twist, and amaze yourself at the perfectly hulled strawberry you can call your own.

In our kitchen….

Another type of product I normally don’t fall for. These are flavored icing sugars. I read about them in a macaron-baking forum, every baker who’s used them raves about them. So many kinds available, it’s not even funny. I placed an order for two, and already tried the Cherry Bakewell on… you guessed it: macarons. Stay tuned. Very nice, subtle flavor, not artificial at all. Lemon Drizzle will be tried very soon. I ordered mine from this site.

In our kitchen….

Fruit puree made for babies. I said to myself, why not try this? Some brands have added sugar, some mix different fruits in the same bottle (and that could be also quite appropriate, depending on your cooking plans). This one is pure mango and it tastes quite bright and fresh, not “cooked” and bland. I used it to make jellied inserts for a mousse cake, but I bet it would work well as a base for macaron fillings, buttercream, all sorts of concoctions that ask for fruit puree. I don’t know why I did not think about this sooner. If you only need a small amount of puree for a recipe, consider a walk throughout the baby food aisle of your grocery store.

In our kitchen….

Freeze-dried lychee… I’ve been using freeze-dried fruit a lot lately in all sorts of desserts, and lychee seemed so wild and exciting. Reviews of this particular product were excellent, so I am now the proud owner of a little bag. Macarons are always a possibility, but who knows what the future holds for this baby?

In our kitchen….

Puffed Quinoa. I had to order it through amazon, as I had never even heard about it until a French food blogger came up with it to add crunch to a cake layer. I cannot wait to try it. Apparently the best way to use it is to toast it first in the oven, then incorporate in whatever preparation you want: melted chocolate, praline, or even just sprinkle over a layer of pastry cream. You can also just enjoy it with a bit of yogurt and fruit in the morning.

In our kitchen….

The microwave can be pretty hard on regular dishes, so we got a set of microwave-safe bowls and plates. The plates are small, perfect to heat leftovers for our lunch. The bowls are nice to melt chocolate, they don’t retain as much heat as Pyrex type bowls do. I love their pastel tones.

In our kitchen….

Yes, I am fully aware one can “easily” make preserved lemons, but I found this beauty at Marshalls and could not resist bringing it home. In case I have a preserved-lemon-emergency, I will be ready for it.

In our kitchen….

Yuzu Salt. Another Japanese ingredient that stole my heart. This stuff is incredibly tasty. I used it to season one of our favorite salads, that mixes avocado, roasted carrots and almonds. Check the blog if you missed it with a click here. I make it often, and from now on, it will always be seasoned with this magical little powder. Also amazing to season a simple carrot soup.

In our kitchen….

Parchment paper. I have a pet peeve to share. I love the quality of King Arthur’s parchment, but it always irritates me that their half-sheet size does not fit nicely into a half-sheet pan (see first photo of composite above). Why, oh why would they manufacture them this way? I sometimes buy other brands, and even though they fit perfectly, their quality is not that good. I notice it particularly when baking sourdough bread, they might stick to the bottom of the bread in ways that King Arthur’s type never does. Not too long ago someone was raving about this brand, Lagrange. I caved. And I am so glad I did. It fits (see last photo of composite), and it performs as well or better than KA. If you like to order some, amazon is your friend. Or your necessary evil, depending on how you feel about it.

In our kitchen….

I should actually say in our basement… I finally organized all my baking gadgets, and even made a full inventory of everything. Silicone baking stuff, baking pans, and my Sprinkle Emergency Box, all living happily together.

In our kitchen….

This is a mini-bowl for the Kitchen Aid, and I consider it one of the best acquisitions ever. Some recipes call for a very small amount of “stuff”, for instance egg whites for meringue. It is a problem to make that work in a regular size bowl, so I normally would start it by hand to get some volume, then let the Kitchen Aid do its job. Now, I simply grab Minnie and let her shine, while I perform a quick version of the Happy Dance.

In our kitchen….

Have you heard of Tonka beans? In Brazil they are known as “cumaru.” Think about a very floral vanilla bean, with touches of black walnuts, or so it seemed to Phil and I. In patisserie, it is use to flavor creams and mousses. Absolutely wonderful. Amazon sells it for an arm, a leg, and an eye (with 20/20 vision). Since we were going to be in Brazil, my sister and niece helped me out and I could buy this huge bottle and bring with me. BogeyQT™ was particularly mesmerized by its fragrance.

Note added after publication: tonka beans have been banned in the US since 1954 due to its blood-thinning properties. However, the substance associated with it, is present in minute amounts in the beans, and interestingly enough other foods also contain the substance (carrots, for instance). It is all a matter of dose, as usual. The amount of benzopyrone present in tonka beans is never going to be harmful, it is used as a flavoring agent. You can read more about it here. Quoting from the article: For a fully grown adult to reach a toxic threshold, they would need to consume about 2400 plates of tonka bean flavoured desserts, in which case liver damage would probably not be their major concern.

Wait, wait! What’s all this commotion all of a sudden?

I see you included The Dalmatian in your very wordy In My Kitchen post….
Care to explain that?

Go ahead, make your case. We are all ears and very quiet tails…

Bogey, they think we’re playing favorites, but we know that’s not true!

or… is it?

Nah, those are isolated incidents.

Let’s prove the point by starting this pup-party with your brothers…

We are Bad-Asses! We patrol our backyard like nobody’s business! No bunny rabbit will hop around, no toad, no snake, no turkey, no possum, no skunk, no cable guy will step on our premises without paying a huge price for it. We are Armageddon on Four Legs.

Patrolling the backyard is hard work, and it comes with dreadful consequences at times…

Usually it’s Osky Boy who gets covered in burrs, but recently Buck decided he would pull the same trick, maybe in an attempt to get some very special grooming attention… He does take the cleaning of burrs with a lot more bravery than his brother.

Bravery? Since when a little pulling of burrs means bravery? LOOK AT ME! Come for a ride in the car, they said. It will be fun, they said. The fun I got was a poke with a needle (they called it a vaccine) and I did not care for it at all. AT ALL.

Do I hear we are next in line for this vaccine thing?

I am not listening. And I ain’t going anywhere. They can’t make me.

You can worry yourselves to death now. The torturer said that I am free of that fun for 21 doggie years! That’s pure bliss…

But, thankfully, pups live in the moment, and it seems to me BogeyQT™ and Buck are not very bothered by what will come in a month or so.

After all, there’s enough excitement in their life… There’s a lot of baking….

Constant stalking of the kitchen island….

as well as some stalking of a different kind…

Then, there’s a lot of work to be done too…

Sometimes, when we really need to cook in peace…. the big boy must be kept at a safe distance. Those long legs are a constant threat to anything sitting on countertops.