HHDD#20 - Choux!

Who hasn't dreamed of profiteroles and melted hot chocolate running through fluffy little balls filled with soft cream? Mmmm, you haven't... How comes?? Oh wait, you're an eclair girl/boy! Or perhaps, beignets are your thing... Not really? Gougères then. (Un)fortunately for me, I love all those, sweet or savoury, versions made from choux pastry.

Choux pastry is a double-cooked dough made of butter, eggs, flour and water (or milk), and used to make profiteroles, croquembouches, eclairs, French crullers, beignets, and gougères.

Choux has always been on my " to do" list. It didn't happen until now when choosing HHDD#20 theme. It's not like I've been intimidated, and neither should you. Choux pastry is the easiest of the French patisserie line up, and the most versatile! Those are the reasons why I chose this theme, both challenging and doable, providing enough field for interpretations and personal takes. I hope that's good enough to convince you joining me! :)

Passionfruit Cream Profiteroles
Adapted from Donna Hay's magazine, Issue 35

1 cup (8 fl oz) water (240 ml)
100 grs (3 ½ oz) unsalted butter
¾ cup (112 ½ grs / 4 oz) plain all-purpose flour
5 eggs

1/3 cup (2 2/3 fl oz) lemon juice (80 ml)
2 cups (450 grs / 15 ¾ oz) icing (confectioner's) sugar

passionfruit cream
2 cups (16 fl oz) (single or pouring) cream, whipped (480 ml)
2/3 cup (5 fl oz) fresh passion fruit pulp (150 ml)
1/3 cup (50 grs / 1 ¾ oz) icing (confectioner's) sugar

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (360ºF). Place the water and butter in a saucepan over high heat and bring to the boil. Add the flour and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Cook, stirring over low heat until the mixture leaves the side of the pan. Remove from the heat. Place in an electric mixer and beat on high, gradually adding the eggs until well combined. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with 12mm (½ in) plain nozzle and pipe 2 cm (¾ in) rounds onto baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until puffed and golden. Cool on wired racks.

To make the passionfruit cream, place the cream, passionfruit and sugar in a bowl and stir to combine. Set aside. Combine the lemon juice and extra sugar until smooth. Fill the profiteroles with passionfruit cream and spoon over the lemon icing. Makes 45.

****

The mixture was a breeze to work with but I would like to add a few thoughts:
- Sift the flour. It will be easier to be absorbed when adding it to the water. Avoid adding it all at once or it will form clumps. If some clumps remain, press them against the sides of the pan whilst cooking.
- At this stage, the dough should form a ball, looking heavy and compact. Mine was runny... I figured out that adding the eggs to such a soft dough would not do - I added a couple of tablespoons of flour to the mixture.
- Do not add all the eggs at once. Each egg should be completely combined before adding the next one. My eggs measured about 240 ml (8 fl oz).
- I strongly advise you to use an electric mixer, as the mixture asks for serious arm work. Using the paddle attachment on medium speed worked just fine.
- When ready, the pastry should look like a very thick mayonnaise.
- Do not under bake the choux or they'll deflate after being removed from the oven. Mine took a little longer than 20 minutes.
- My choux are a little bigger than Donna's. I made about 30. Baked choux can be freezed, and finished when needed.
- For the passionfruit cream just combine the whipped cream with both sugar and passionfruit pulp.

Other Donna Day's recipes:
Choux pastry (From Modern Classics 2), Profiteroles, p.46.
Fillings: crème pâtissière, p.174, chocolate mousse, p.106. (From Modern Classics 2)
Double Chocolate Eclairs (From Simple Essentials Chocolate)



All I ask is for you to use choux pastry any way you like. You can make profiteroles (aka cream puffs) or eclairs with a creamy filling of your choice, such as lemon curd, whipped cream, ice cream, custard, creme patissière, or mousse, add fruit, dip in melted chocolate, toffee, top with lemon icing or meringue and sprinkle with shredded coconut or any kind of nuts. You can also turn them into savoury bites by filling them with cheese, salmon, tuna, mayonnaise, or anything at all. But you can have a different take at it and try the beignets - deep-fried choux pastry - with fruit or vegetable filling or with savoury fillings such as crawfish or shrimp. Or simply bake gougères (aka cheese puffs). Endless possibilities, really.

But before I get to my next choux recipe (I'll be posting a savoury version soon, so stay tunned!!), here are the RULES FOR HAY HAY ITS DONNA DAY:

Hay Hay Its Donna Day is open to all food and wine bloggers.

Entries submitted for HHDD must be made specifically for this event, although photos may be submitted to Does My Blog Look Good In This.

The host will select, make and post the original Donna Hay recipe without any changes. Participants may make the same recipe as is, or put their own spin on the recipe by altering the ingredients whilst remaining with the theme or if they prefer to share a well loved recipe within the theme. Entrants must include a link to the host in their post.

Entries can be made at any time once the event has been announced but must be posted and emailed to the host by the closing date.

Deadline for all posts to be up and submitted is June 9, 2008. I will be posting the round up a week later (June 16) and voting will then begin!

Please email all your entries to gourmetsamadores[AT]gmail[DOT]com from now on till the June 9. In your email, please include the following information: your blog name, your name, your location, your recipe name, and the permalink to your entry.

Hay Hay Its Donna Day is a food event created by Barbara from WinosandFoodies and now taken care by Bron Marshall. It's brilliant, thank you, ladies!


And now, CHOUX me your entries!! ;)

Hooray!

Tuesday, May the 13th. It's almost midnight. My kitchen is finally ready after dinner (bear in mind that this is a southern European country, we eat late): the washing up is done, the books that fill every room are out of the way, the breakfast table is set for the next morning and I'm holding a cup of blackcurrant, ginseng & vanilla tea on my right hand. I'm talking to myself, complaining about my schedule for the week whilst adding some items to my errants' list. Neither my cat (who is sleeping on a couch in the living room) nor my hubby (who is working in the office) pay any attention to my usual ramblings. My computer is on because I have to check my class for tomorrow and have a final look at my mailboxes before going to bed.

You have to picture this calm home scene to understand that me laughing hysterically the next minute does not fit the portrait!! When I laugh the entire world knows. It's this 'witch's laugh' - like my husband describes it - that leaves no living thing untouched. I won HHDD!! I won! My Bacon & Fig Clafoutis was chosen from an astonishing bunch of yummy sweet and savoury clafoutis hosted by the talented Bron!

I'm so honored to have won this great food event created by Barbara from WinosandFoodies. (Go check out her AWESOME LiveSTRONG With A Taste Of Yellow Round Up) Thanks Barbara, you do a great job everyday! Thanks also to Bron, who is holding the event from now on, and HHDD couldn't have a better holder! Even though Donna's books or even her magazine are not easy to find in Portugal, I love Donna Hay with all my heart for a few years now. Special made Simple changed my food. Living literally a world away from these 3 amazing women, I can only thank for having had the pleasure to cross paths with you - you make the world a better place. :)

And of course, thank you to everyone who voted for my clafoutis! If you're around sunny Lisbon, I'm more than happy to bake it for you - Hay, Hay...you've made my day!! :)

Me and Bron will be working on the next Hay, Hay, it's Donna Day. Stay in touch, you'll hear from us shortly!

Stuffed stuff

"What's that? That's lunch, honey... Oh c'mon, I meant what's in that? Give it a try, if you guess, I'll give you a present. You're such a pain! Yeap, that's me. Do we have a deal? Yeah sure, as if I'd ever get all you've putted into this melted mess..."

My lovely husband (aka The Official Taster) is the perfect partner when it comes to food. He barely dislikes anything and he's happy with simple dishes. Plus he's a daring food lover who's ready to try new recipes without a blink. But some days eating my food asks for extra guts, specially when my creative spirit goes overboard!! It was not the case, however. Not this time! Stuffing is an old favourite of mine. I like to stuff all kind of veggies. I like sweet and sour together when stuffing. I like mushrooms and I love stuffed mushrooms. Any type of mushrooms, any stuffing.

Stuffed mushrooms can't never go wrong, the combination with grilled polenta and roasted cherry tomatoes made for a perfect weekday's lunch. Yes, sometimes we're lucky enough to be able to have lunch together at home. It takes the planets to align, trams to be on time and a fair amount of running but damn, it tastes great!

Roquefort and Dried Plums Stuffed Mushrooms with Grilled Thyme Polenta and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
Serves 2

For the polenta
1/3 cup (about 80 grs) quick polenta
1 and 1/2 cup (about 325ml) boiling water
1/3 cup Parmesan, grated
1 tsp butter
1 Tbsp fresh thyme, leaves only
pinch of salt
1 Tbsp olive oil

Sprinkle the polenta into the boiling water with a pinch of salt in a non-stick saucepan. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring continuously. Remove from the heat, stir in the Parmesan, the butter and the thyme. Pour the polenta into a rectangular baking pan and let stand for cooling (about 10 minutes). Cut the polenta into triangles or squares. Pan-fry the polenta for 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Serve hot, topped with the stuffed mushrooms.

For the stuffed mushrooms
6-8 large fresh mushrooms (or 2 Portobello)
6-8 dried plums, stones removed
2-3 Tbsp Roquefort cheese
6-8 tsp Mozzarella cheese, grated
Salt and black ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 175ºC (350ºF). Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems and discard (keep for further use in stews or soups). Arrange the mushroom caps on a baking sheet. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Place one dried plum into each cap. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a piece of Roquefort. Top each cap with grated Mozzarella, pressing down gently to hold all stuffing together. Bake for 10-15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are cooked and the cheeses melt.

For the roasted tomatoes
8-12 Cherry tomatoes
pinch of salt
1 Tbsp olive oil

Place the tomatoes into a heatproof plate. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until soft and juicy. (Prepare tomatoes first so that you can put them together into the oven with the mushrooms)

Assemble by topping the grilled polenta with the stuffed mushrooms. Place the roasted tomatoes on the side. Serve with a green salad. Use the tomatoes juice as a warm dressing for the salad. Serve warm.



Other recipes:
Fresh Herb Muffins with Turkey Stuffing

Go Bananas!

Portugal has a close relation with Africa, not only because of its proximity with the black continent but specially thanks to the former Portuguese Colonies overseas. Not surprisingly, Portuguese food has some roots on African cuisine, sharing the love for spices and fruit on both sweet and savoury dishes. Banana breads are not traditional around here or at least not the American way and certainly not very popular across the country. It's not current to find banana bread in coffee shops or at people's places. Except when you have ripped bananas in your kitchen that cry for use, like often happens with me... then banana breads become overly popular. And what a success it usually is! I like banana bread a lot with a ball of vanilla ice cream. It always takes me to the seaside where my parents little apartment's porch makes the perfect place to eat a slice of it, facing the garden with jacarandas and hibiscus trees. For me, nothing could be more fitting to complete a summer day at the beach! This recipe has been pieced together from various other recipes over the years, adding and/or omitting some ingredients. It makes a huge cake in a large square pan or a couple of cakes using bread pans (like I used below).



Banana Bread, my way
makes 1 large or 2 medium cakes (halving the recipe works fine too)

6 medium eggs
2/3 cup cream (150 ml)
2/3 cup unslated butter, melted and cooled (about 100 grs)
1/4 cup olive oil (50 ml)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark muscavado sugar (loosely packed)
1 and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinamonn
pinch of nutmeg
1 large or 2 medium banana(s), chopped + 2 medium bananas, sliced
3 Tbsp liquid caramel

Preheat oven to 180ºC. In a large bowl beat the eggs with the muscavado and granulated sugar on medium speed until sugar has dissolved completely, about 2 minutes. Add butter, cream and olive oil, whisking all together. Slowly, mix in sifted flour with spices and baking powder. Add chopped banana(s).

Get the pan(s) ready by spreading the caramel (use a brush, if you like), covering the bottom and sides throughly. Place banana's slices. Pour in the batter, carefully not to disturb the banana. Bake for 35-40 minutes ou until cooked through. Remove from oven. Allow the cake to cool slightly in the pan before removing it to the serving plate.

NQN is holding a Banana Bread Bake off event - this is my entry for the banana bread bake off, hosted by Lorraine from Not Quite Nigella. Get ready for zillions of banana bread recipes!

The roundup is now up! Go check out those beauties here and vote for your favourite!

Is it Spring already?

The weather is such an easy subject when talk is needed between strangers. Who hasn't done it before? Every now and then, when I end up talking of how Winter never ends or why Spring seems to avoid my surroundings, I always feel like I'm doing cheap talking... But I do feel affected by it! Even if my kitchen doesn't live on sun or rain, my resolution of buying what's in season leads to "weather connected" food. And lately I've had cravings for fish skewers with a hint of ocean, I'm dying for fresh figs and I would kill for tomato jam. Now you know! But in the meanwhile and whilst August doesn't arrive, an avocado and shrimp salad will have to do, now that Spring seems to have come to my part of the world.



Avocato and Shrimp Salad with Apple and Radicchio

Serves 2

1 medium avocado, riped, halved, stone removed
1/2 apple Granny Smith, chopped
2 Tbsp red onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste
6 quail eggs, boiled
1/2 cup Radicchio, chopped
Lettuce baby leaves, for two
8 large shrimps, boiled, shells removed (keep stock for further use)

In a bowl, mix together the apple, the radicchio and the onion. Chop 2 of the shrimps and mix in. Add halved eggs to the previous mixture. Mix carefully not to break the eggs. Add salt and pepper to taste. Assemble the plates: put half an avocado in the middle of lettuce baby leaves. Sprinkle the avocado center with lemon juice. Fill with the apple mixture. Place a spoonful of hollandaise sauce and 3 shrimps on top. Divide the remaining mixtura over the lettuce, around the avocado. Add more sauce, to taste or take separately. Serve straight away.


Hollandaise Sauce

1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
50 grs unsalted butter

In a food processor, beat egg york, lemon juice and salt, until thick. Brown the butter (do not allow to burn). Add the butter to the egg mixture and blend. Keep the dressing in the refrigerator before using it.

Sweets for my sweet

Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my honey. The Searchers had a song with that title back in the 60's. I wasn't born in the 60's and as far as I remember my mum didn't care about them, so I have no clue why I would sing this over and over since I was a teen... This sweet clafoutis done in a heart bit called for a proper soundtrack. My kitchen got full with Sweets for my sweet playing out loud!

This recipe will join Bron's Donna Day, if I can still send it on time!



Red & Green Clafoutis

1 Granny Smith apple, sliced
1 cup raspberries and blueberries
4 eggs
75 grs caster sugar
2 cups cream cheese (or heavy cream)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour, sifted
butter and extra sugar for the plate
icing sugar (optional)

Whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla extract and cream cheese until fluffy. Mix in sifted flour, one tablespoon at a time, not over mixing.
Pour in 2/3 batter into a plate greased and dusted with sugar. Bake at 160ºC for 5 minutes or until solid. Remove from the oven, arrange sliced apple, raspberries and blueberries on top and cover with the remaining batter. Bake for another 15-20 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Check the great roundup at Bron's and vote for your favourite.

DB#18 or How Murphy's Law didn't apply!

"Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong". April has been packed with extra activities at work, new projects, a tennis tournament around the corner and a full planning for a trip to East Europe - all scheduled for a long time. Where was I going to fix Cheesecake Pops? From the beginning of the month, I waited for the opportunity (that eventually never came) to complete this month DB challenge... 16 hours before the posting deadline, a Saturday at 8 am, I sneaked out of bed, kissed my sweet love who turned to the other side with some unintelligible complains and moved to my kitchen to bake a cheesecake. Not even my cat cared to join me in my crazy crusade. Don't ask me how I've done it... I recall little from this step or anything else before my shower whilst the cheesecake was in the oven. When my coffee kicked in, the cheesecake looked great, golden and puffy!! I now had 5 hours before driving out of town. Considering the recipe previewed over 6 hours, plus time to mold, dip, garnish and freeze, I'd need several miracles to complete this on time...

I like to have a contingency plan. Not that I plan to use it but it gives me extra confidence to know that I always have a way out of unexpected issues. No, not this time. Any little bump on the way would have ruined everything. And in a multi step recipe that is expected to happen. For this one I've beaten the odds: the cheesecake pops recipe worked like a charm! Thank you so much Deborah and Elle for such an adorable challenge - you girls rock!!

I'm really sorry there was no extra miracle to allow me to add some fancy confetti or coloured ribbons or to make pretty photos. However, I'm more than happy with my completed challenge of a perfect recipe to welcome the spring and celebrate the new Daring Bakers forum! Go check out our bakery that Ivonne and Lisa, the brilliant minds behind this huge group, created for all of us!

HHDD#19 - Clafoutis!

My days seem way too short for what I want to do. Not much of a surprise since it's like that since... oh well, since always! But lately I just can't find enough time for all that requires my attention: family, friends, students, co-workers. And then there's the tennis - my other addiction. It's not everyday the n.1 player in the world (aka The Mighty Federer) does his way to play at my 'backyard'. So I went to Estoril, got soaked (several times) and had a sunburned nose by the end of the week... How cool is that? All for the price of one! The good thing is I got to spend time with friends I don't usually see, chitchat for hours, shot tons of pictures - oh I LOVE outdoors! - and in the end my favourite won!

Game over. Back to kitchen. It's Hay Hay it’s Donna Day time! Bron is hosting this month’s event and the super-theme she chose was clafoutis! This is my entry for this month’s Hay Hay it’s Donna Day food blogging event.

Bacon & Fig Clafoutis

For 6 small individual plates

2 eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup Parmesan, coarsely grated
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup pistachios, chopped
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
12 dried figs, halved
1/4 cup Porto Wine
bacon (about 1 cup), cubed
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 180°C (360ºF).

Soak dried figs in wine for at least 1 hour to hydrate.

In a non-stick saucepan, cook bacon with a little water until golden. Add dried figs and sliced red onion, mixing to combine. Allow to cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the wine. When resumed, remove from heat. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs with the grated Parmesan. Pour in the milk, and whisk until combined. Add in the flour, mixing continuously. Season with pepper and a pinch of salt (depending on how salty the bacon is). Place the bacon mixture evenly into 6 individual greased heatproof plates. Pour the bater on top. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios. Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Serve immediately, with a rocket salad.



Other Clafoutis recipes:
Curd Cheese Clafoutis with Cherry Tomatoes
Courgette and Feta Clafoutis


Check the great roundup at Bron's and vote for your favourite!

Pot Pies

I often struggle with my Portuguese to English translations. Because I own cookbooks in either language, I sometimes start in Portuguese and later post in English or the way around. Portuguese is a rich, more complex language when compared to English - it's not just that we have too many words for one meaning (which often happens) but also the fact that each word presents several possible meanings. And that is, from my experience, a much bigger problem! To add to that, food wise, Portuguese have the same name for different recipes depending on what part of the country you're at... I couldn't help but smile when blogging about a pot pie recipe in my Portuguese blog, I found out that there isn't a simple expression in Portuguese to name those dishes! Remember when I posted about saudade, the portuguese word that doesn't have a match in Shakespeare language? Seems like we have a tie: saudade 1 - pot pie 1!!



6 individual pot pies

1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic gloves, chopped
1 large carrot, minced
6 medium mushrooms, sliced
1 cup corn
1 cup soya beans (frozen)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup white wine (good quality)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp thyme (leafs only)
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1-2 cups vegetable stock
2 Tbsp mascarpone cheese
nutmeg, grounded
salt and black pepper
6 squares ready-rolled puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten to brush

Preheat oven to 180ºC. In a saucepan, heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil with 1 chopped garlic glove. Add sliced mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix in thyme and white wine. Cook until liquid has evaporated, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove into a bowl. Set aside.

Using the same saucepan (no need to clean it), heat remaining olive oil, onion and garlic with the bay leaf. Sautee for 1-2 minutes. Add the carrot and soya beans. Pour in 1 cup of vegetable stock. Cook for 4-5 minutes, adding stock as necessary until vegetables are tender. Mix in corn and the mushroom mixture. Remove the bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stirring, sift flour over the vegetables (liquid should be gone by now). Season with a little nutmeg. Stir with a spoon whilst adding the butter. Gradually, pour in the milk, whisking continuously. Simmer, stirring, until it thickens, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, then add the mascarpone cheese.

Divide the vegetable mixture between the 6 ramekins. Cover each top with the pastry (the squares should be large enough to cover the dishes with a little overhang). Use any leftover pastry to decorate. Don't forget to make a little hole on top of each pot pie to allow steam to come out. I've placed little pastry flowers to cover that and use the remaining pastry. Brush with the beaten egg, transfer to a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes or until pastry is golden.

Finished pot pies can be kept in the fridge covered for 2 days or can be frozen in their dishes with the pastry on top. Keep them covered with plastic wrap or put them into a closed recipient. Brush with beaten egg when cooking. Pot pies keep for up to 2 months.

Madeleines, madame?

Madeleines are shell-shaped little cakes with tiny depressions that bring a special aura to them. They're lovely tiny cakes that always make me smile. According to some stories, madeleines are named after Madeleine Paulmier, a pastry cook who worked in Lorraine in the nineteenth century. These small, feather-light, spongy cakes are eaten like a cookie. Proust loved his madeleines with tea, I love mine dipped in coffee. This recipe was baked a while ago, shortly after my adventure française to use the madeleine pans I bought in Paris.

Madeleines au Chocolat

18 unidades

100 grs dark chocolate (70% cocoa), chopped
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 medium eggs, separated
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 Tbsp honey
2/3 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
pinch of salt
icing sugar to dust

In a heatproof bowl, mix chopped chocolate with butter over a pan with boiling water. The water should not reach the bowl. Remove from the heat immediately after the chocolate melts. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar, until batter is fluffy and roughly double in volume. Mix in the chocolate mixture and honey. With a spatula fold in sifted flour. Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt in soft peaks. Fold in carefully. Cover with film. Refrigerate for at least an hour or (best) overnight.

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Grease and dust the madeleine pans, if using mettalic ones. Fill each mold almost completely full. Bake for 9 minutos or until the tops spring back when lightly touched. (Madeleines should not over bake or will get dry). Remove from oven. Cool in pan for 2 minutes. Carefully remove madeleines from pan and allow them cool completely on a rack. Sprinkle with icing sugar.