Toast

The Egg Puff Derby: Rough Puff to the Test

With a lot of advice and some great photos from anapestic, I made "rough"puff pastry for the first time this weekend. I now have 2 lbs of it in the freezer,as well as 6 onion egg puffs, and a mini apple tart. It worked out well, and it was fun to do.

With a significant taste differential, I think I'm ready to give up the store stuff, at least until it's possible to buy all-butter puff pastry for a reasonable price in Pittsburgh. I don't really bake with it that often. Thus, 2 lbs in the freezer is a pretty good hoard, and I think by the time I need more, I'll probably be up for doing it again.

So I decided to evaluate my product, as compared to the stuff from the shop. My first ever, "rough" all-butter puff pastry, made into Shammi's Egg Puffs, took on the store bought frozen misc. ingredients puff version in two, highly simplified categories:

I. Appearance: You can see the others here, where you can also find the link to Shammi's delightful and simple recipe for this supper/lunch/treat item. I think the all-butter homemade pastry ones are prettier, better browned and pouffier, although they are also less tidy, due to their greater lift pulling things apart a bit. I can remedy this next time, by using a larger slice of pastry for each puff. As you can see, if you follow the chain of links to Shammi's original post, hers are nicely browned and tidy looking. She didn't say what sort of puff pastry she used, except that it was "frozen." She lives in England, and probably has more market choices for readymade puff.

2. Taste: No contest, the homemade pastry is delicious and buttery and sets the filling off beautifully. The store-bought misc. ingredients one tasted dubious at best, as I noted at the time I first made them.

I've got a clear winner here, and for a bonus, a nice little tart for dessert. Not bad for an evening's work. I can't recommend the above-linked photos too highly, and it was really easy to follow the connected "rough puff" recipe. (I did experience a slight glitch due to the limited capacity of my stand mixer-there was a brief flour storm, soon controlled. It was a little preview of what I'll look like when all my hair goes white-unless I dye it. Which I will.) I also commend to you, if you do not have one, the pastry marble. It's so cool. Literally. Please excuse me, I'm a bit giddy with success.

Shammi's Curried Onion Egg Puffs

Well, I have been wanting some of these guys since I saw their picture on Shammi's blog. They are simple, they are yummy, and they are a snack or a starter or your supper. Savory, and rather smart, they are also somehow a satisfying nursery food kind of treat.

I followed her excellent recipe (including also just a very small amount of shredded lime leaf from my little tree on the porch) baked them up, and have been dipping them in cilantro chutney and (yes really) tomato ketchup. A keeper. For some reason, I particularly like them with a cup of hot tea. YUM. Thank you, Shammi.

I am afraid that I may have to learn to make puff pastry. The grocery store freezer stuff is less nice than the other, simpler ingredients in this dish. Recently, I saw that all-butter, ready made puff pastry costs some forty dollars a pound(!) at Williams-Sonoma. The market for this item does not include yrs. truly. I'm mulling this over, not being much of a pastry hand. Does anyone experienced in this brand of magic have advice for the puff pastry novice? If I do this, which recipe should I try?

Crabby Little Souffles

It was too hot to go shopping today. Besides, I took my mother out for a walk , I'm beat and I'm conserving my energy for the coming week's "vacation", which I took to paint the apartment, and (ugh) go to the dentist.

But I want a little treat for supper , and I also want to play with (and show off) my little green ramekins. There are 8 of them, and they match, and I am very tickled about this. Formerly, if I served lttle custards, or mousses or anything, they appeared in an odd assortment of not-quite-ramekins: small bowls, mugs, one proper le creuset "flame" custard cup and the like. So I feel quite elegant with my matching lime colored 6oz babies. The refrigerator is fairly bare, since I haven't replenished after my work trip last week. I want to wait to shop until Wednesday, which is farmbox day, so I can see what I have and won't buy duplicates of anything. Anyhow, I want something that feels a bit dainty, to offset my general sweatiness, what with prepainting prep, and all that.

My search of the pared down fridge revealed a 6oz vacuum packed foil sack of "claw" crabmeat, not yet approaching its stamped expiration date. There were also eggs, milk and butter. I had picked up the crab with just such an occasion in mind, although I had not actually considered what I was going to make with it. Obviously, anything seriously showcasing the crab might be a letdown. But hey, if I had beautiful freshly picked crabmeat, I'd make a really simple salad, or plainish crabcakes, and let it speak for itself.

So I settled upon this recipe, clipped, I believe, from an old Food and Wine magazine, judging from the typeface, etc. It caught my eye, as I rummaged, because of the lemon thyme, which is growing exuberently in a pot on my porch stairs. I also thought it would be nice to do a small souffle, to show off my new little dishes. It is adapted to make four 6 oz. starter or lunch servings, rather than six, as in the original. If you want to have this for a supper, which would be very nice on a hot day, it would serve 2, in 8 oz ramekins, should you have some.

This is what you do:

Separate 4 eggs, putting 2 yolks in a cup, the 4 whites in your clean mixer bowl, and 2 yolks in the fridge.

Melt 2 Tbsps of butter in a small saucepan, and whisk in 2 tbsps flour. Whisking away, slowly add 2/3 cup of milk. When it is combined and thick and smooth, remove from heat. Add the 2 yolks from the cup, and whisk it up with a pinch of sea salt. If it is not thick, put it back on a low heat, and whisk away until it is. Transfer to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and cool.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Arrange your ramekins in a roasting pan, or some pan with reasonably high sides (i.e. not a cookie sheet). Fold 6 oz of crabmeat into the cooled souffle base, along with a dash of tabasco type sauce. This last is not in the recipe, but you want it, believe me. Beat your (now room temperature) egg whites until they hold a firm peak. Stir about 1/3 of the egg whites into the base mix to lighten it. Then gently fold in the rest. Fill the ramekins to within 1/4 " of the top. Wipe rims with damp cloth. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come about halfway up the ramekins. Bake about 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve at once for maximal prettiness. If you like, you can serve these each with a small pitcher of melted butter mixed with a squirt of lemon or lime, smoked spanish paprika and minced parsley or lemon thyme. If you are having it for supper, it would be nice to have a crusty bread and a plain tomato and basil salad along with your souffle.

I hope you have not forgotten the 2 egg yolks still in the fridge. Does the responsibility for these stranded, lonely yolks weigh heavily upon you? Better make a two crust fruit pie, so you can brush the top with a yolk glaze. Nectarine/blueberry would be seasonal and tasty. It's my favorite american style pie. I'd do it myself, but I've got all this painting to do.

Lemon at Work

It is not usually easy to get Meyer Lemons in Pittsburgh. I guess they do not travel well, and they certainly do not grow around here- although we do have really beautiful apples, including a kind called Honeycrisp, which are unequaled for eating out of hand.

Like alot of other people, I am particularly fond of Meyer lemons. So last July, when I saw a really raggedy little Meyer lemon plant on sale for five dollars at Lowe's, I succumbed to a sentimental impulse, bought it, and set it on my stoop, in a sunny spot. I was more than a bit surprised when it blossomed like crazy, shortly thereafter. It was pretty as a picture, and the scent was huge and intoxicating. Reward enough. Then came little green lemons (five).

Naturally I was over the moon, but I got pretty worried when the usual non-Floridean October weather started up. I can't safely bring plants into the apartment under most circumstances. Archie the cat, though otherwise angelic, is a demon where houseplants are concerned. The cute little green lemons would have been some high powered cat magnets.

So with the help of a friend with a car, I took my little tree to the office, and set it on my extra wide windowsill there. Although the window looks out on an actual brick wall, it is in fact quite sunny. Nonetheless, the tree dropped all five lemons in very short order. I was desolated, but kept watering the plant. And, what do you know, it bloomed again., and now has 3 fruits, one of which you see before you-in front of the window/brickwall. It is at least 2" in diameter, and I have high hopes of consuming it someday when it turns yellow.

I am afraid to move my tree back to the stoop for the summer, so it is still in the office. I did get myself a pretty little kaffir lime tree for home, though. Since you eat the leaves, rather than the fruit , it will in no event be a total loss (even if it is fruitless). The other few things I grow on the stoop are either much more sensible, or just for looks.

In the meantime, what should appear at the Giant Eagle but a small bag of reasonably priced Meyer Lemons. So I bought them, and made my favorite Lemon Tarts. They are very good with regular, homemade pastry, but I used, instead, store bought puff pastry this time. Also good. A Lemon tart is a classic treat I always like. It is common, but it is uncommonly good. I've noticed that it is often a big hit with guests, too. Usually I make one big one, but this time I made four little ones instead, as I didn't have quite enough juice for a nine incher. If you want to make one big one, double this recipe, which makes four five inch tarts. You will know what to do about adjusting the lemon slices in the middle, without being bossed by me.

1/2 package frozen puff pastry (1 sheet) defrosted for 30 minutes
2 1/2 lemons
2 eggs
2 tbsp melted unsalted butter
1 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 400. Cut the sheet of pastry into four squares, and roll each square just a little bit bigger, so that it can be dropped into one of 4 five inch false bottom tart shells. Fit each in loosely, and trim the top even with the fluted edge. Put some parchment paper and dried beans or pie weights in each to hold it down, and blind bake the shells for 15 minutes on a cookie sheet. Meanwhile, cut four thin slices from the center of one of your lemons, and set them aside. Juice the lemons over a fine strainer into a bowl. It should be 1/4 cup or so.

Zest the lemons with your trusty microplane grater, into the same bowl. Whisk in the eggs, and 2/3 cup of the sugar. Lastly, the melted butter. Now the shells are baked, so take them out, remove the beans and stuff, and very very carefully pour the lemon mixture into the empty shells. You must also be very careful when you put that cookie sheet with the tarts back in the oven for fifteen more minutes (20 if you are making the big one). While they are in there, you are mixing the remaining sugar with
1/3 cup water, bringing it to the boil, and sliding in the thin slices of lemon.

Just before you take the tarts out of the oven, carefully take the lemon slices out of the sugar solution, and put them on a little rack to drip a bit, over a paper towel. After you take the cookie sheet from the oven, you can use a spatula to move the tarts, in their pans, onto a cooling rack. You should do this at once, so any seeped juice does not cool down and become gluelike under your tarts. When they are cool, remove the little tart rings and top each tart with a lemon slice. You can serve these to your friend for dessert when she comes for dinner after work the next day. Or you can have them, one at a time, for yourself, as they last several days in the fridge. You could do both. And, of course, the fiddling with the lemon slices is optional, however they are really yummy, especially when made with meyer lemons.

These tarts are quite pretty, but they have a lurid gleam if you take a picture of them with a flash. If there are any left when the sun comes up, I may add a picture of them then.

...And here is one now. It occurs to me to point out that my lemons were quite small, so if you are juicing large ones, you will want to measure the juice. These are good at room temperature, but also cold, particularly on a very hot day. Of course, you can make them with any sort of nice lemons you like.

Sort of Samosas

So I bought a package of frozen puff pastry thinking to make my favorite lemon tart with the Meyer lemons which appeared unexpectedly in the Giant Eagle this week. I thought I would have the lemon tart for a dessert when my friend came to dinner , and write about the little Meyer Lemon tree on my windowsill at work, and this would be very nice. But a person who does not make sure she has sugar in the house cannot expect to make a lemon tart. That will have to wait.

Still, I will only need one of sheet of puff pastry to make the tart, and there are two in the box. So I decided to make some puff pastry samosas for my supper, and here they are. They are based on the ones in the excellent Indian Home Cooking by Suvir Saran. I did not have all the things for the recipe- especially I did not have the chutneys, or make them, so I made a spiced up mix of potatos and peas to fill them with instead. I have no doubt that the original would be superior, but this snack food supper was very satisfying, and I am going to take the leftover ones to work with me for lunch.

2 tbsp vegetable oil
cumin seeds
fennel seeds
mustard seeds
nigella
tumeric
garam masala
some boiled fingerling potatoes which are purple, in small cubes
some boiled potatoes which are white or gold, also in small cubes
frozen peas (potatos and peas together should total 9 heaping tbsps- vary as desired)
chopped fresh cilantro
lime juice or lemon juice
plenty of salt and pepper

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry- defrosted at room temp for 1/2 hour

an egg beaten with a little milk

Preheat oven to 400. Heat oil in a wok or heavy skillet. Toast the spices over a fairly high flame until they smell nice, then add potatoes, stirring them around. Just as you sense the potatoes are going to start browning, add the peas and stir, cooking them until they aren't frozen. Turn off heat. Toss with cilantro and citrus juice. Add salt and pepper. Be generous, as these are a tasty snack and shouldn't be too bland.

Cut the pastry sheet into 3 strips, along the fold lines. On a lightly floured surface roll each rectangle proportionally bigger, and thinner. Savir Saran rolls them to 6"X12", but I can't get mine that big. Cut each strip in 3 smaller rectangles. Brush the edges with the egg wash. Put about 1 tbsp of your filling more or less in the midddle of each, and fold each into an isoceles triangles. This which will leave you with a border on 2 sides. Fold the little borders up over the triangular packages and seal gently.

If you have trouble with your samosas sticking to your surface, you can noodge them up (also gently) with the kind of thin spatula that you use on hot cookies. Put your 9 bundles on a cookie sheet, brush with more egg wash, and bake for 20 minutes or so.

I ate three with some napa cabbage and chive coleslaw, dressed with rice vinegar and light olive oil. I think the purple potatoes look interesting with the peas, though this is accidental. I may have to eat another one or two later.