Profiteroles ~ from Dough to Swans

The first time I made profiteroles my oldest niece, M, who is now in her early 30's, was about 4 years old.  They were at my house in NY for Christmas.  I asked her if she wanted to help make dessert and of course she did.  Her Mom just about fainted when she walked into the kitchen, because I had M on a stool at the stove helping me make the dough.  She looked as if she could've done a nose dive into the pot.  I didn't know at the time that maybe 4 year old's shouldn't be at the stove, or maybe I learned they could be because my own son has helped in the kitchen since he was 2.  But that year and every year there after, my profiteroles have turned out great!!

Since that time, I have made profiteroles about 1/2 dozen times, but this year, I fashioned the profiteroles into swans.  This is probably elementary and something many of us have eaten, but not being a pastry chef or a chef of any sort, I had to think about how this is actually done.

On Christmas Eve, I made the profiteroles and the Chocolate Sauce (sorry, this is a near and dear recipe that I don't share, so no to the Chocolate Sauce request).  I even mocked up a swan (pictured top left) so I wasn't truly winging it, no pun intended, during Christmas dessert.

On Christmas, with the help of my son C, 11, and his cousin A, 13, (I like to include kids in the process), I prepared an order form in advance and A simply asked each diner if they wanted 1 or 2 profiteroles and she just had to circle the number.  She asked what flavors and placed checks in the boxes.  The options were Peppermint Stick, Chocolate, and Vanilla.  Then she asked if they cared for Chocolate Sauce and circled Y or N.  11 for 11 on the Chocolate Sauce!

I needed the dinner plates washed in order to reuse them.  Like I always say the difference between a dessert on a dinner plate or a salad plate is $5!  That was in the works, while A tracked down the orders.  I laid out the plates so they were ready.  Then once the order sheet came in, I cut the tops off of the profiteroles and cut the tops in half.  I also laid out the number of necks I needed for each plate.

I placed a pool of chocolate sauce on the plate, scooped the ice cream flavors, assembled the swans and dusted them with powdered sugar.  C served each person once each plate was done.  Everyone loved them.  I served the 3 of us last and I can tell you a custom ala minute dessert was a hit with everyone!

Yorkshire Pudding

If you haven't eaten this, you must.  If you haven't made this, you must!  It is the most awesome food.  For Christmas, I prepare different meals from year to year, depending on who is coming, but Yorkshire Pudding is always part of the fare.  This is a very simple to make dish and is just spectacular to watch in the oven.

As a child, on Christmas, my mother made this and invariably we would hear hooting and hollering in the kitchen and all go running to see what the commotion was about.  There she was peering into the oven laughing at the Yorkshire Pudding.  It leads you to believe it's alive in there.

Once I hit high school age, I was in charge of the Yorkshire, so that would put me somewhere around 40 years in the making.  By that point, we all had big appetites so I always made 2 which was time consuming, but they always got eaten.

When I serve dinner now a days, I make sure to give the kids a sample of the Yorkshire (for short) and they always love it!

I am going to make it tonight again and will photograph it;  I was just too busy yesterday.  But here is the Yorkshire Pudding Recipe and now the photos have been added.

Preheat oven to 425 with rack in the center (or if using the oven for meat, as soon as it comes out, turn up the oven).  Bake the Yorkshire while the meat rests and is carved.

Add either 2 TBL of drippings from your roasted beef ~ OR ~ add 2 TBL of Light Olive Oil to a pie dish.  Swirl it to coat the bottom.  To a bowl, measure 1 Cup Flour and 1/2 tsp Salt.  To a measuring cup, Add 1 Cup Whole Milk and 2 Eggs.  Give the eggs a stir to break up yolks.  Add the liquid to flour and beat until smooth, about 1 minute or so.  Pour into the pie dish and immediately place in the hot oven ~ by itself.  It will take about 23-25 minutes to bake but begin to check on it without opening the oven after 18-20 minutes.  It won't look like much until that point but you will be amazed.  Once it is a dark golden brown, it's done.  Let it cool for a few moments to set up before cutting.  Using a bread knife, cut into wedges.  The more people the smaller the wedge, but I guarantee, there won't be any left. 

Gale Gand's Butter Cookie Dough (perfect for cookie cutters)

I bought the giant tree and snowflake cookie cutters years ago from Williams and Sonoma.  I also have a reindeer but he is trickier to cut and is very fragile when decorating.  I just love watching kids decorate the big cookies!!  I have added some of the smaller shapes over the years and always cut hearts where I have little bits of space on the dough.

In the next few minutes, a niece and nephew will be here to decorate.  I felt I should bake the cookies before their arrival so they'll be cool.  They are only 2 and 3 years old and will likely loose interest and I wanted them to return home with some of their handy work.

Well, I was wrong, they hung in there until we were done.  The 2 year old, W, loved working with the gum drops and the M&M's.  The 3 year old, K, loved the sprinkles and wanted no help.  Big sister, A, kept things moving along.  And of course my son, C, had a blast just having company.  While the cookies dried, we played Candyland together and then played with the Thomas Trains while the older 2 built Mousetrap.  I love the holidays, where we just "do stuff."  We had a wonderful afternoon together while Mom got a shopping errand done!!

This dough, when rolled out thick, and accommodate a stick.  Recipe soon, otherwise head to the Valentine's post with the heart shaped cookies on a stick.

The story of Christmas...Fresh Cabbage turned into Cole Slaw

My tennis team adopts a family each year during the holidays.  This year I got to work directly with the mom/wife.  Her husband grows an incredible garden each season and he gave me a few HUGE cabbages from their winter garden as a token of their thanks!  Isn't that cool?  And aren't these beautiful?

The night I received them, I was roasting a Pork Loin in the oven and decided to make Cole Slaw to go along with it.  Not having a recipe, I made up a cole slaw dressing. 

First, I removed the outer leaves working with the tender lighter green leaves since it was going to be eaten raw.  Next, I removed the stem so I could fill it with water to rinse the leaves.  I turned it back stem side down to let it drain. 

Using a Bread Knife, I cut it in half which further allowed the water to run out.  So beware you have to clean it up because it holds a lot.  I used one full 1/2 Cabbage to make 6-8 side portions of cole slaw.  Using the bread knife, I cut thin slices, creating shreds.  I grated 1 Large Carrot and thinly sliced 1/2 Cup Red Cabbage that we happened to have on hand.  All of this was placed in a wooden bowl. 

Next, the cole slaw dressing.  Using a 2 Cup measuring cup, Add 1/2 Cup Olive Oil.  Add 2 TBL Rice Vinegar and 1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar.  Stir in 1 tsp Kosher Salt and 2 tsp Sugar.  Using a wire whip, add 1/4 Cup Mayonnaise and 1/4 Cup Sour Cream.  Stir to combine and season with  Pepper and Celery Seed to taste.  Add more Salt, Mayonnaise or Sour Cream if needed.

Once you have the flavor the way you want it, pour 1/4 Cup of dressing onto the cabbage mixture and toss well before adding more.  The cabbage should be coated well but not swimming in dressing.  Serve at once for a delicious cold side dish/salad.  The cole slaw may be kept in the refrigerator for a few day already dressed.  I would tend to make what is going to be eaten and make it again.  The dressing can be kept for weeks in the refrigerator.

When I saw the Mom the next day, I gave her a jar of the dressing so she could make cole slaw for her family.  Enjoy and consider adopting a family one year, too!

Salmon, Scales on, Cooked in the House

Every time I hear the word "salmon", it reminds me of an early episode of American Idol where Kellie Pickler was describing to Simon a dinner she had the night before.  She told him she a eaten saLmon for the first time, pronouncing the L.  He didn't quite know at first what she was talking about and finally he said something like, oh, salmon, saying it properly.  She looked at him dead serious and said you know there is an L in there.  It was too cute.

As my son says, moving on...
We have been cooking salmon more often than in the past and the main reason is that I have found a suitable way to cook it.  I have a previous post where I grill it and that is divine, but at times I don't want to mess with the grill.  I like my salmon just under done, firm but tender and ever so slightly, soft.  My husband wants his rare.

The first line of success is that we shop for 2 pieces of Salmon that are different thickness.  We always buy the salmon the day we are cooking it and I don't want any leftover.  The fillets should be firm to the touch, have relatively little to no smell, and be very bright in color.  The fish for dinner last night came from the Mandeville Seafood Market on Highway 59 and it was super fresh.  I think it was around $9.99 a pound.

For this preparation, I preheat the oven thoroughly to 350 and I preheat an empty pan over medium heat.  I rinse the fish and pat it dry.  I add a drizzle of olive oil to the flesh side of the fish and add S&P.
I begin with my piece of salmon.  I add it to the skillet, FLESH side down.  After about 4 minutes or so, and once browns, it will easily lift from the pan in 1 piece.  I turn it over now scale side down. 

At this time, I add the thicker piece of salmon to the skillet, SCALES side down.  I sprinkled dill on the the flesh side of both pieces.  I place the pan in the oven for 8-10 minutes depending on how thick it is.  While it is finishing in the oven, I thinly slice a lemon.  When I remove it from the oven, I place each piece of salmon on our respective plates.  I add 1/2 TBL butter to the fish and let it melt over the flesh.  Next, I layer the thin sliced lemon and sprinkle a bit more dill.  My husband likes capers so I add them at this time. I tent the plates with a piece of foil and let it rest for 5 minutes.

For this meal, I happened to have risotto that I made the day before and had that warming on the stove.  When we were ready to eat, I sprinkle my fish with a pinch of Hawaiian Black Salt that I bought this summer.  It was crunchy and really tasty.  I felt it complimented the fish well, you know, Hawaii & Salmon, a good combination.

NOTE:  If you both like the same doneness, just stick to one or the other preparation.  I hope you give this a try.  Salmon is a really great fish for a lot of reasons.  The nutritional value is superb. 

Tricia and Garth's Healthy Salad

My husband caught Tricia's new cooking show.  She and Garth were making a vegetarian salad together.  My husband decided since I was busy all weekend that he would shop and prep everything on Saturday and we would have this dish for dinner Sunday night.

He also decided since it was our dinner, that he would use her delicious salad dressing to baste Grilled Boneless Chicken Breasts.  I sliced them thinly and the slices were layered on top of the salad when served.  The cold salad, the wonderful salad dressing, plus the favor of the warm grilled chicken made a really good combination!

This was SO GOOD that I decided to add it to my blog.  When working on your menu's this holiday season, consider this tasty departure form the typical fattening fare.  It can be served as a lunch, brunch, or even as a dinner to make up for a heavy day of eating!

This recipe is a keeper and can actually be served at any time of year!!  Thanks Tricia and Garth!!

Recipe to come.