French Baguettes!

Continuing on with my new bread book Artisan Breads Every Day by Peter Reinhart, it looks like French baguettes are next on the learning curve.  I was excited about trying to make the classic french bread.  I imagined pulling the long slender loaves out of the oven,  wrapping them up in brown paper, and  tucking them in my bike basket alongside a thick, wild clump of lavender.  I imagined my scarf, wound so perfectly around my neck (as only the french know how to do),  with my french skirt billowing out against the wind, while pedaling my bike leisurely along the country landscape. 

 I imagined... I imagined...

Screeeeeech!  My revelry slips back to reality!  I don't even have a bike, much less a bunch of lavendar.  And unless the letters can magically rearrange themselves, the state I am currently discovering is spelled T-E-X-A-S.  

Alrighty then, so the only part of my daydream to come true are the yet-to-be-made french baguettes.  

Turn to page 49 and let's begin.

(Self-pity note:  Still working on perfecting my food photography.  Constant rejections from FG and TS.  Feel free, any of you experts out there, to aid my slow as molasses progression in this photographic area.  Seems when I download my photos to their sites, a slight blur occurs. Grrrrrrr.)

Coming back from New Orleans from Spring Break and bringing back in tow a huge can of Cafe Du Monde coffee was a perfect accompaniment to this crusty french bread.  Delicious heady Louisiana coffee and hot slices of french bread with butter = heaven!

S. Kenney - bread loaves proofing

Classic French Bread:

Ingredients:

5 1/3 c (24oz/680g) unbleached bread flour

2 teaspoons (0.5oz/14g) salt, or 1 Tbsp. coarse kosher salt

2 1/4 tsp (0.25 oz/7g) instant yeast

2 c (16 oz/454g) lukewarm water (about 95ºF or 35ºC)

Do ahead:

Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl.  If using a mixer, use the paddle attachment and mix on the lowest speed for 1 minute.  The dough should form a coarse shaggy ball.  Let it rest, uncovered, for 5 min.

Switch to the dough hook and mix on medium-low speed for 2 min.  The dough should be smooth, supple, and tacky but not sticky.

Knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured work surface for about 1 min more, then transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl.  Cover the blowl with plastic wrap, then immediately refrigerate overnight or for up to 4 days.  If the dough feels too wet and sticky, do not add more flour;  instead stretch and fold it one or more times at 10 min. intervals before putting it in the refrigerator.

On Baking Day:

Remove the dough about 2 hours before you plan to bake.  Gently transfer it to a lightly floured work surface, taking care to degas it as little as possible.  Divide the cold dough into baguettes that will fit in your oven.  Loosely cover the loaves with plastic wrap, and proof at room temperature for about 1 1/2 hours, until increased to 1 1/2 times its original size.

About 45 min. before baking, preheat the oven to 550ºF (288ºC) or as high as it will go, and prepare the oven for hearth baking.

Score the dough just prior to baking with a serrated knife or razor.  Transfer the dough to the oven, pour 1 c of hot water into the steam pan, then lower the oven temp to 450ºF (232ºC).

Bake for 12 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake for another 15-20 min., until the crust is a rich golden brown and hollow when thumped.  Cool if you can stand it, have some yummy butter ready and serve!!

La Madeleine cakes

S.Kenney - La Madeleine cakes

With a daughter named Madeleine, you'd think I would have made these adorable cookies long ago.  It was actually for an event for my son that I tried them out for the first time.  I found a Madeleine cake mold and decided to buy it.  My son had one of his "Odyssey of the Mind" meetings so I thought this would be a nice treat for the group.  Don't worry.  My Madeleine, the newly turned 17 year old, had some put aside for her.

"Odyssey of the Mind" is a wonderful team-building group for teens.  My son enjoyed coming up with and building an invention with his group, pairing it with a skit that brought a character of a famous inventor and then competing against other teams from the Houston area.  Every single item involved in building their contraption and pairing it with their skit had to come from scraps that they found at home or in garages.  No adult intervention is allowed in giving technical or artistic advice.  It was a wonderful experience and as the team was working hard, it was probably nice to munch on dainty Madeleine cakes.

Pardon the little chick.  Isn't he adorable?  I just can't help adding him to some photos.  You'll be seeing him pop in and out as we near Easter.  Wouldn't he be so cute on top of cupcakes?  I just might try that.

S.Kenney - La Madeleine cakes

One thing that was allowed was bringing snacks to the kids.  I am good at that.  I was tickled to use this new "Madeleine"mold.  The cookies (or more like little cakes) were easy to make and had just the right touch of sweetness.  With Easter fast approaching, these would be so sweet to have on hand as Easter treats.

La Madeleine Cakes:

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Baking time: 15 minutes

3 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup milk

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

Beat the eggs with the sugar, vanilla and half of the milk until thick and light yellow. Add the flour and baking powder bit by bit and continue mixing until smooth. Stir in the rest of the milk and the melted butter.

Carefully grease your madeleine tray if necessary. Spoon about two tablespoons of batter into each mold. Bake for 15 minutes at 375°F. Cool on a rack.

Makes 24 madeleines.

You could flavor your madeleines with different things, perhaps orange or lemon zest. A dusting of powdered sugar would look nice as well.

Golden Brioche

S.Kenney - Brioche - 2011

I adore making this bread.  If anything can send me into meditational bliss - it is the heady smell of brioche.  This bread brings back memories of my first trip to France when I was 17.  Knowing nothing of this sort of deliciousness, I hastily ordered a "bun" from a local patisserie in Paris.  Being young and always in a rush, I was mindlessly gobbling down a quick breakfast.


My young life stopped.  All taste buds went into over drive.  Every trip back to France is punctuated by that first bite of the wonderful french brioche.  I rejoice that they DO NOT readily sell it in the U.S.  I have been forced to take out the ingredients and make it myself.


I know so many of you have experienced the same near coma inducing brioche introduction.  Every trip back to France included a daily (sometimes multiple dailies) meditational indulging of this delectable bread.

S. Kenney- Brioche - 2011

I wish I could find the wonderful white chunky sugar that is always seen on brioche in France.  I look on the store shelves wherever I go but I just don't know where to find it.  If anyone out there knows, it would be such a magical touch.


Last fall, while in a small town called Valence ( 30 min. so. of Lyon), we went to their market.  I tasted a wonderful local brioche called "Dauphinoise".  It had yummy chunks of candied almonds nestled in the cracks.  I know it isn't polite but I had them cut a chunk for me and I nibbled on it and absorbed everything about that wonderful market.  I included a photo below of that loaf.

Recipe Below:  From the Bon Apetit issue February 2003
1/3 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
1/3 cup warm milk (105°F to 115°F)
2 envelopes dry yeast
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, each stick cut into 4 pieces, room temperature
1 egg, beaten to blend with 1 tablespoon water (for glaze)


Preparation:
Place 1/3 cup warm water, warm milk, and yeast in bowl of standing heavy-duty mixer; stir until yeast dissolves. Fit mixer with dough hook. Add flour and salt to bowl; mix on low speed just until flour is moistened, about 10 seconds. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl. Beat in 3 eggs on low speed, then add sugar. Increase speed to medium and beat until dough comes together, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding next (dough will be soft and batter-like). Increase speed to medium-high and beat until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, about 7 minutes.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until almost doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Lift up dough around edges and allow dough to fall and deflate in bowl. Cover bowl with plastic and chill until dough stops rising, lifting up dough around edges and allowing dough to fall and deflate in bowl every 30 minutes, about 2 hours total. Cover bowl with plastic; chill dough overnight.
Butter and flour three 7 1/2x3 1/2x2-inch loaf pans. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. Cut each dough piece into 4 equal pieces. Roll each into 3 1/2-inch-long log, forming 12 logs total. Arrange 4 logs crosswise in bottom of each prepared loaf pan. Place loaf pans on baking sheet. Cover pans with waxed paper. Let loaves rise at room temperature until dough almost fills pans, about 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Gently brush top of loaves with egg glaze. Bake until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped, about 30 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 15 minutes. Turn loaves out onto racks; cool at least 1 hour. (Can be made ahead. Cool completely. Wrap loaves in foil; place in resealable plastic bags and store at room temperature 1 day or freeze up to 1 month. Rewarm room-temperature or thawed loaves wrapped in foil in 350°F oven about 15 minutes, if desired.)

Macarons! Macarons! Macarons!

S. Kenney - Macarons with Strawberry filling

Can you tell I am just excited times three!!??

I.did.it.  The impossible.  Macarons.  Yep. Little 'ol me!

S. Kenney - Macarons with Strawberry Filling

Are they difficult to make?  Well...... Sigh.....Double Sigh.  Yes and No.  It took me 3 attempts.  Once I realized what I was doing wrong the first couple of batches, it definitely got easier after working out the kinks.  

When we were in France last fall,  I mentioned the word "macarons" to the french family we were visiting.  I mentioned that outside of Paris, they are not that easy to find.  

At this moment, we were at a home 1 hour south of Lyon.  Our host family had a son who was leaving Paris on the train to meet us later that night.  

An absolutely flurry of phone calls ensued!  Their son, Pierrique, galloped across Paris, went to the La Durée Macaron shop in PARIS, and brought us two boxes of some of the finest macarons in the world by midnight that night.  

A mention about macarons produced these delights straight from Paris

Unbelievable act of international goodwill. Period.  Here began my macaron story...

S. Kenney - stiff peaks

S. Kenney - the ribbon stage

Basically, I was so overly concerned with the "ribbon stage" that you hear alot about in macaron world, that I over-folded the batter.  What happens when you overfold?  The batter oozes and spreads too thin.  The tops crack while baking.  At least mine did. 

Um....twice.  But, finally, this photo below shows a successful look.

S. Kenney - ready to go in the oven

 I think the best thing I learned was that I needed to let the macarons sit longer than 15 minutes on the cookie sheet.  Perhaps because it is more humid here in Texas, they needed more time to form that "skin" on top.  I think that helped them not to crack while in the oven.

S. Kenney - The foot!  The foot!  The foot!

 I think my kids and husband thought I had gone off the deep end.  Seriously!  I was obsessed.  I just HAD to make these morsels of divinity.  Forget helping with homework, forget laundry, and providing breakfast/lunch/dinner.  The dog probably roamed the neighborhood for all I knew.  


I HAD to get this!  The kids cheered me on and my husband was hanging over my shoulder by the 3rd batch.  It ended up being a true family effort.  


But....it's o.k. if all the credit goes my way.  They (the fam) will manage.  

S. Kenney - Macarons with Strawberry Filling

Who do I have to thank for inspiring this manic baking adventure in my humble kitchen last weekend??  This stunning blog at  Sprinkle Bakes.  I could not stop absorbing her photos and how absolutely perfect her macarons looked.  I just knew I had to try.  I had to be in the "macaron in-crowd". Life ceased for a day  as I prevailed in the kitchen.  I was so inspired by Heather's story of how she tackled these delectable morsels.  Macarons truly  represent  Haute Parisien couture in a cookie.

If you are destined to go off the deep end... And, if macarons are in your culinary future, here are the instructions from Sprinkle Bakes' blog that I followed. 

Shells: 
3/4 cup almond flour - I like Hodgson Mill
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 large egg whites, room temperature
1 pinch cream of tartar
1/2 cup extra fine sugar (Sarah's note: I couldn't find this so I put regular sugar in my blender)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment.
Sift almond flour and confectioners' sugar together 2-3 times. Set aside.

Whisk egg whites with a hand mixer until foamy.  Add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form.  Reduce speed and gradually add extra fine sugar.  Increase speed and beat until stiff peaks form.

Sift flour mixture over whites with a fine sieve. Discard any lumps or coarse bits that remain.  

If coloring the batter, place a bit of gel food coloring on the end of a rubber spatula before you begin folding the mixture with it.  Normally powdered food coloring is used, but a small amount of gel does not disturb the batter.  I would not recommend liquid food coloring.  (Sarah's note:  I didn't have gel food coloring.  First I used liquid on a batch.  They did NOT turn out and this may be why.  Finally, I left out all food coloring)

Fold with a rubber spatula using short strokes at first.  The batter will be very stiff.  Use bigger folds once batter loosens.  When batter is ready, it should fall from the spatula in a thick ribbon. (Sarah's note:  I had to back off on folding the batter too much.  Its true.  If the batter is oozing out of the bag, you've over folded)

Transfer mixture to a piping bag.  Pipe 1 or 1 1/2" rounds on the parchment lined baking sheets. Let piped macarons stand uncovered for 15 minutes to form a crust.

Decrease temperature to 325 just before placing the baking sheet in the oven.  Bake pans one at a time for 10 minutes, turning halfway through. (Sarah's note:  I don't know if opening the oven door cracked my first 2 batches.  I changed my oven to convection and didn't open the door at all.  No cracking.)

Note: After first batch has baked, oven temp should be increased to 375 then decreased to 325 just before the 2nd baking sheet goes in.


Chocolate ganache filling 
4.5 oz. chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream


(Sarah's note:  I did make this ganache but the photos show the strawberry filling)  The ganache is delish.
Chop chocolate and place in a small bowl.  Heat cream on the stove-top until very hot but not boiling; pour over chocolate.  Mix until smooth.  Refrigerate until ganache is of spreading consistency.  Place a small spoonful of chocolate on one shell and top with a same-sized macaron shell.

French Beach Cottage Headboard

Hi everyone, Its that time again, Make It For Monday. I didn't post for the party last week for two reasons. One I have been busy working on Gracie (for those in the know my Beach Cottage On Wheels), and two I had nothing to show. This week I have a great project to show. I call it a French Beach Cottage Headboard, this was the solution to needing a headboard for Gracie, and having a small budget. I hope it inspires.....

Don't mind the blue tape, I'm still working on Gracie. A little of the finished product.

I had some beadboard from another project, but its not that expensive (also you can have it cut down at the home improvement store). I bought some 1x6 finished lumber.

I put it all together like this (BTW its better to nail the beadboard into the 1x6 from the back), also mitered corners look better (If you ask real nice they may do it there too, Mr. Swedish Room helped me with that).

What? Oh that, I had this laying around the house so I just put it on. I'm sure you can find something like this at the flea market or something like it at a home improvement store. You can be as fancy or plain as you want.

Add a little primer and paint, Wa La a French Beach Cottage Headboard. Go try it, I had fun. For more inspiration go see Cindy at http://cottageinstincts.blogspot.com/. Have a good Make It For Monday. I'm back to work on Gracie........

See everyone next time.......

Menu 13: A Simple Steak Dinner

Bistro-style Steak with Sauce Marchand
This is a good-sized piece of meat on a small plate. I was only able to eat about half of it. The rest will go into a dinner salad. I'll give you the recipe later this week.

2 rib steaks, ½ to ¾ inch thick or up to 1 inch
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons butter
¼ cup minced shallots
½ cup dry red wine or a bit more
Salt and pepper to taste for the sauce

1. Trim the steaks of external fat. Pat them dry; sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme, pressing the seasonings into both sides.
2. Heat a heavy nonstick skillet or cast iron frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the butter. When it has melted and is near sizzling, put the steaks in the pan, searing them for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, depending upon the thickness of the steaks and how you like them cooked. (Four minutes per side works for a 1-inch room temperature steak, if you like medium rare.) Keep the heat high, but don’t let the butter burn. (I hate testing for doneness by cutting into the steak, but sometimes you just have to do it.) When the steaks are done to your liking, remove to a warm platter and loosely cover with foil while you prepare the sauce.
3. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the pan juices. Return the skillet to the heat and add the shallots; sauté until they are translucent. Add the wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up any bits clinging to it.
4. Reduce the wine by half (it will thicken), then stir in the remaining butter. Taste for salt and pepper; add more as desired. Pour the hot sauce over the steaks.

2 servings with plenty left over 
Adapted from editors Michael Bauer and Fran Irwin’s The San Francisco Chronicle Cookbook

French Potato Salad

2 pounds small potatoes
2 tablespoons salt for the boiling water (if using the boiling method)
¼ cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoon chopped green onions or chives
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

1. Scrub the potatoes.
2. Place the potatoes in a steamer basket in a pot with water filled to the bottom of the basket. Turn on the heat and steam the potatoes for 20-30 minutes depending on their size. Test regularly with a sharp knife. They are done when the knife goes through the potato with no resistance. Check the water under the basket to make sure it doesn’t boil dry.
OR
Place the potatoes in a saucepan with enough cold water to cover. Add 2 tablespoons salt. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10-13 minutes or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a small knife.
3. Whichever method you choose, when the potatoes are done, drain and cool slightly. Peel if you’d like.
4. Cut the potatoes into quarters or sixths, depending on the size, and place them in a large shallow serving dish.
5. Pour the wine over the warm pieces and toss very gently. Set aside until the potatoes have absorbed the wine.
6. Beat together the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl until the salt has dissolved. Gradually add the oil and whisk until thickened. Stir in the green onions or chives.
7. If any of the wine is lingering in the bottom of the dish, pour it out. Then pour the dressing over the potatoes and toss gently. Recheck seasonings and adjust if necessary. Remember that potatoes often need for plenty of salt. Sprinkle with parsley.

6 servings
Adapted from The New York Times Sunday Magazine, July 8, 2001

Oven-Roasted Asparagus
This is the first asparagus of the season and I just couldn't resist passing along a recipe which many of you probably already know. It is a great easy way to prepare this harbinger of spring.

















1½-2 pounds asparagus, avoid pencil-thin if you can
2 tablespoons olive oil
Coarse or regular salt

1. Prepare the asparagus by snapping off the bottom of the stalks at the place where they break.
2. Preheat the oven to 475ºF.
3. Toss the asparagus with the olive oil. Spread out on a low-sided cookie sheet, lined with parchment paper or silpat.
4. Place the asparagus in the oven for 10 minutes. Shake to turn. Test for doneness. If the stalks are soft, remove from the oven. If not, return to the oven for an additional 5 minutes. If you use pencil-thin asparagus, decrease the time.
5. Remove from the oven, salt lightly, and serve.

Note: If something else is in the oven at a lower temperature, you can put the asparagus in there and watch it until it’s done. Of course, it will take a bit longer than the above times, but it’s just fine. When it’s done, remove it from the oven. You can return it briefly to reheat if you wish.

4 servings
Adapted from Crescent Dragonwagon’s Passionate Vegetarian