How many claws does a bear have?

Some products are not worth making yourself and puff pastry is one of those. One of the many fabulous things you can create at home using store bought puff pastry is Bear Claws.

It is much simpler than one would think and can be made with great success. The most important thing to know with puff pastry is KEEP IT CHILLED! It is the ice cold butter in the many layers of pastry that creates steam when baked at a high heat and causes the pastry to puff. So if I forgot to tell you later, if you are not directly in contact with the pastry, keep it in the fridge.

The process is simple.
1. Thaw your puff pastry ,in the box, overnight in the fridge.
2. On the next day, preheat your oven to 425F and make the filling and glaze (see below).
3. Once you have the filling made put it into a piping bag or large zip top bag with the corner cut off. Beat an egg in a bowl with 1 tsp. water to use a the egg wash and have a pastry brush at the ready.

You will also need to have sliced almonds ready.
4. Assemble the bear claws. Unfold the dough and if needed roll into a rectangular shape or cut into 2 pieces in order to obtain rectangles. you should work on a Silpat or parchment paper to facilitate getting the pastry onto a sheet pan. Orient the rectangle so it is horizontal in front of you. Using a piping bag or zip top bag, pipe the filling along where the middle fold of the rectangle. You can make 2-3 strips of filling depending on how much you like. 

Egg wash the bottom and sides slightly and the fold the top half of the rectangle down over the lower half so that the filling is now at the top of the folded pastry where the fold is. Press the edges closed so no filling escapes. Cut the length of pastry into individual bear claw portions. 

If you are work on a Silpat, be careful not to cut the Silpat. Separate the individual portions and cut the toes along the bottom edge.

 Egg wash the whole bear claw and sprinkle a generous amount of sliced almonds over it. Get it into the hot oven for 15-20 minutes until nice golden and delicious! remove from the oven and brush the glaze onto the hot pastries.

Bear Claw filling:
1/2 c. almond paste
1/2c. butter
2 eggs
1/3 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1/2 c. cake flour
In a mixer, using the paddle, mix half of the butter and almond paste on medium for 1-2 minutes until light and smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and mix on medium until well blended.

Apricot glaze
1/4 c. apricot jam
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. corn syrup
1 T.  brandy
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and stir until the jam is melted. Strain through a sieve into a bowl. It is ready to use once it has cooled to room temperature.
These would make lovely Christmas morning gifts for neighbors! 

Enjoy!
xo MamaP

My final day at the CIA

Sadly my time at the CIA has come to a close. I learned quite a bit at Bistro Boot Camp and am so looking forward to preparing Bistro food for my Fam!
Day 4 presented us with the challenge of desserts and baked goods. My team was responsible for cheese souffles, quiche with caramelized onions and brie, and chocolate mousse.
Since I have had experience preparing all 3, my team mates asked me to help with all 3 and they would each take 1 as their responsibility. I started by helping to prep the mis en place for the cheeses souffle.

With that done, I moved over to help with the syrup for the chocolate mousse. We got it to the point of just going from little bubbles to big and went to whip it into the egg yolks and ended up making egg hard candy.  I was totally perplexed.  So... OK,  call chef... she too was perplexed! That made me feel much better! We pulled out the hard lumps, made another syrup and ended up with much better looking stabilizer so we slowly mixed in the melted chocolate which I though was about to seize so I quickly turned off the  mixer and summoned chef again. She took it out and said the chocolate had not seized but somehow we had made the consistency of truffles. She told us to try to get the whip cream folded in but that was not going to happen. So, we scalded some cream and slowly stirred that into what was now truffle dough and voila'! We got it back to mousse base. We then let the mixture cool a bit and got it folded into the whipped cream to make an outstanding mousse, worth the effort.

As with the rest of my life,  I learned the most from my mistakes. If I hadn't had the lecture on understanding of the process of what occurred in that process of stabilizing the base, I probably would have thrown everything out at the first mistake and started again. However, continuing to push forward gave me even more confidence in the kitchen. As chef reminded us, it's food and unless it's burned to a crip, there is almost always a way of saving a mistake!
I will work on a user friendly chocolate mousse recipe to share with you later. But for now, don't give up on your mistakes and trust your instincts!
xo MamaP

CIA Day 3 Breakfast!

My favorite meal out is breakfast and that is what day 3 was all about! One would think breakfast is so simple but I learned the most by far on this day and had the most fun! My assignment was to make English muffins for our team.

Not as difficult as I first thought and very fun!  There will probably not be a lot of commercial English muffins in our house from this point forward. I have included the recipe so you can try them at home. 

Please note that all credit for this recipe goes to the Culinary Institute of America.
In addition to the responsibility of our recipe to fulfill the team's menu for the day, we each had to prepare a perfectly cooked French omelette and a perfectly poached egg.  Since I pretty much subsist on poached eggs, that one was a no brainer, but the omelette proved a bit more challenging. If you know Julia Child's story of culinary school, then you know how many omelets she prepared before success. While I would not say mine was perfect ( a wee bit of color on the exterior) I did get the inside just right and Chef was very pleased! Be still my heart!
Our presentation buffet was at least 3 dozen poached eggs in various forms of bennies. We also got puff pastry 3 ways, apple turnovers, bear claws and tomato tart. Add to that lemon soufflé pancakes, cream scones, muesli in the French style ( folded with whipped cream and fruit!) and grapefruits a la Salvor Dali! It was quite a spread again.

 Technically, we are not supposed to take any food away from the building,for liability, but somehow when I got home, I discovered 2 English muffins in my bag. I thought the Producer needed to reap some benefits for his investment! ; )
Enjoy the English muffin recipe!
Xo MamaP

My time in the CIA Day 2

The CIA is definitely. A place I like to hang out.

 We got to do some fun things yesterday. While not much is brand new to me, it is so good to learn what I am doing correctly and not. Most of all, since this is a learning situation and not a job situation, it's just really fun to don the togs and join in on the energy here! While lectures have been informative, the time in the kitchen matches nothing else. The suites next to us yesterday (where the full time students are working) were attending to their practical on flavors of Asia.  This means in addition to what our chef taught, I eavesdropped on their Shu Mai lecture and demo. Can't wait to try them at home!

We worked on classic Bistro dinner fare.

 Coq au Vin, Ravioli Provençal, Camembert crisp with apple pear compote, Burgundy braised short ribs, Moules ( mussels) Provençal , and all the fabulous sides to go with. So good. 

Of course it all goes on a buffet for us to dive into but after a few hours in the heat of the kitchen one's appetite diminishes. To add to that, we went to lunch to look at a more contemporary setting and their plating style. So we were quite full from lunch! I tell you it's rough here at the CIA!

Xo MamaP

My time in the CIA day 1

Yes it's true, I signed up for the CIA! What else does a 50 year old retired educator do? This has been a decade long dream of mine ever since I toured it decades ago with the Producer and saw all of the fun things they get to do here. The best part is I now have full privelages and access to the highly guarded third floor due to my name badge and most importantly the uniform. 

Well now that I have your attention, time to come clean. I am not entering the world of espionage ,as my young baseball coaching friend first thought! In my world CIA means only one thing! Culinary Institute of America. When I first toured those kitchens, my only thought was I want to cook here some day! 

And with much gratitude to the Producer, there is a big fat check on my bucket list...although I really don't have a bucket list for a variety of reasons! I have not gone back for a full degree because that is a HUGE time and financial commitment. Rather, I am getting my fulfillment in a 4 day Boot Camp. 

We are spending our 4 days in a mini Culinary school experience in and amongst the full time students.  Our focus for the 4 days is all things Bistro. We are broken into teams of 4 (there are 12 of us) and each team prepares 3-4 items and then we set it all out for a delicious buffet dinner. 

Yesterday we did soups, sandwiches and salads. To me the highlights were the French onion soup, and bitter winter greens dressed with a melted Brie vinagrette.

Today we are all going to lunch to look at and talk about plating. this restaurant serves large parties family style so I'm really excited since family style is my thing!

We will return to campus, don our uniforms and go to class for 2 hours of lecture. Lecture will consist of technique and recipe clarification along with some kitchen etiquette.  After lecture, we will head to the kitchen to begin mis en place and then prepare our assigned dishes. Tonight in class we will prepare classic Bistro dinner fare. I will report on the results tomorrow with some better food porn and kitchen shots. 

You can also look forward to me playing with these recipes and sharing my versions!

Xo MamaP

Ideas for Thanksgiving leftovers if you still have them

One must get creative the week after Thanksgiving in order to use all of those leftovers. I am a big believer in turning leftovers in to something new and exciting. Not that I never throw away food, much more than I am proud of! But, I have seen hunger and it is not an easy sight to see. On one of my trips to Kenya, I met a woman in an IDP camp who had not had any food for 5 days straight and very little water. It was very hard to tell her we did not have enough for everyone! However, I greatly appreciate the lesson and the respect for food it has given me.

I will give you some ideas based on the categories around the Thanksgiving table. I won't have any pictures for you since this is all coming right out of my head as I write this.

Turkey

First of all I hope you made stock from the carcass; if not shame on you! It's not hard or labor intensive as popular belief. I even made mine from the smoked turkey we bough and now have 3 quarts of delicious smokey broth to use in things like cassoulet, red beans and rice, jambalaya and other delicacies which call out for that yummy smoky goodness.

I couldn't make my stock the day of so I had the Producer freeze the bones for me and I made it on Monday once all of the offspring returned full and sassy to their own homes. 

Take your largest stock pot, put the carcass in, try not to put too much if any skin in, fill the pot about 1-2 inches from the top with water. Add in the bits of root vegetables you don't use ( the peel of the onion, greens of the leek, fennel fronds, celery hearts, carrot ends...) or if you don't have the bits, use the good parts of said veg. You can also throw in some garlic. I add 2-3 T. Whole peppercorn and 2-3 bay leaves and a sprig of thyme.  Put the pot on medium high and cover. When it starts to boil, take the lid off and let it simmer for at least an hour, longer is better. Let the stock cool. Strain it in a colander lined with cheese cloth to get a nice clear stock. I have been known to use coffee filters when out of cheesecloth but it does take a lot longer to strain.  Once your stock is cooled, transfer to quart containers leaving 1 inch at the top. Label the lids and freeze for up to 6 months. 

I try to make stock whenever I have bones or shells. The homemade is so much more flavorful than the boxed kind, although I use that too!

Turkey pot pie

Use the leftover turkey and any veg you have. Use your leftover gravy or add it to a Bechamel ( see gnocchi post). If you still have a crust use it on the top or just use frozen puff pastry. Don't bother with a bottom crust, it will just be soggy!

Turkey melt. I made this last night. Start with bread that gets crispy when grilled. I love whole grain sourdough.  Use shredded cheese since you need less and it melts better. Cheese should go on the inside ofeach slice to hold the sides together when melted. Add some good mustard or something like pepper spread to kick up the flavor. I added leftover braised greens in with my leftover turkey. A little butter in the pan on low/ med go low and slow to melt the cheese. A little more butter when you flip. Sometimes. I put a lid over it for just a minute to get the cheese melts before flipping. You just don't want to keep it on or your sandwich won't be as crispy.

Turkey posole

(See the posole post), add turkey, especially if it is smoked. 

White turkey chilie

Sauté  a chopped onion in  olive oil in the bottom of a medium sauce pan. Add a clove of chopped garlic, 1 tsp. cumin, and  1/4 c corn meal. Get a little color on the cormeal.  Add a quart of your turkey broth, 1 jar salsa verde, 1-2 cans white beans ( cannelini), chopped turkey. Simmer for about 20 minutes and test for salt, season as needed. Garnish with tortilla chips, lime and cilantro. 

Mashed potatoes

I like to do 2 different things with mashed potatoes. By far my favorite is to make potato cakes for breakfast. You can use the mashed potatoes as is or add some goat cheese and green onions or bacon or shredded cheese of choice. Make pancake sized patties of the mashed potatoes and crip them up like pancakes in a skillet with a little butter. Be very gentle when flipping. I like to top mine with a soft poached egg...oh my, my mouth is watering as I type!

The other idea is to use the potatoes as the base for potatoes leek soup. Sauté some sliced leeks in butter in the bottom of a medium saucepan add in a pinch of fresh thyme.   Heat some broth in with the leeks and whisk in the mashed potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with fried leeks and crumbled bacon. If you want a smooth bisque , blend the leeks with the warm brothin a blender and strain out the bits.

Acorn or butternut squash

Use the soup idea, but you will need to blend it all ( no peels!)I like to start squash soup with both an onion or leek sautéed as well as a Granny Smith apple chopped and sautéed. I also like a little curry with squash soups.

Stuffing

Chop your stuffing up fine. Mix with some goat cheese and chopped sautéed spinach or greens. Mix it all together adding 1 raw egg. Form into bite size balls and freeze to bake later ( ie Holiday party appetizers) or bake at 350 until golden and toasty. 

Cranberries

Use them as the fruit in an upside down fruit cake ( Mario Battali) has a good recipe. Or use them as a topping on french toast, pancakes, gingerbread...

So if you read this too late and dumped those leftovers, there is always Christmas leftovers and next year!

Enjoy! 

Xo MamaP 

Gnocchi with Roasted Broccoli, Ham and Gorgonzola Mornay

Well I took a few days off for the weekend food orgy with the fam, based around Thanksgiving. We ate so incredibly well this weekend! Lamb tacos on Wednesday night, French toast from thick sliced cinnamon bread with sauteed apples for Turkey day breakfast, Thanksgiving at the vineyard (Thank you Bush Crispo family) with no less than 7 sides and 6 desserts, a beautiful meal at Molina in Mill Valley on Saturday night (where all cooked entreés come out of the 1000F oven), Puerto Rican breakfast at Sol Food in San Rafael, Southern shrimp and amazing greens and cornbread, prepared by the line cook offspring, and Ramen in Berkeley at Iyasare. OH my... we should be in a coma. It was a heavenly weekend! And really it was not all rich so I don't feel overindulged  ;) . If you want some photos and details of our Thanksgiving from the tall one's perspective,  jump on her blog hannahandhercity.blogspot.com

Today I am writing an easy quick dinner idea for you. As always you can sub out the protien and vegetable for what you already have ,or forget the protien and just make this a great vegetarian meal. Change the sauce and you have a delicious vegan entree.

Gnocchi with Roasted Broccoli, Ham and Gorgonzola Mornay sauce

Serves 4
1 package shelf stable gnocchi
1 head broccoli or 1 bag broccoli florets
4 slices good deli ham cut into  thin strips
1 c. milk
1/4 gorgonzola
1T butter
1T flour
1/2 shallot chopped
nutmeg
chopped Italian parsley

I usually by the whole wheat or sweet potato varieties and actually found these pumpkin ones to be a bit dense.

Preheat the oven to 375F.  Chop your broccoli into florets and mice the shallot. Toss the broccoli with a good drizzle of olive oil and, making sure it is all covered well, season with salt and pepper. Put the broccoli into the oven on a baking sheet with a Silpat and roast for 30 minutes until nice and browned on the edges.

Toast the gnocchi in a dry skillet on medium/high heat shaking the pan to get all the edges golden. Once the edges are golden add 1/4 water and put a lid on the skillet to let the gnocchi steam through. Turn the heat off under the gnocchi. Concurrently start the Mornay by melting the 1T of butter in a saucepan and add the shallot. Continue to cook until the shallot is softened. Add the Tablespoon of flour and cook until golden. This is making a roux which is a thickener.

You need to cook it a little so the sauce doesn't taste raw. Add the milk, whisking all the while to avoid lumps. Continue to whisk over medium until the sauce thickens.
you have now made a Bechamel. Turn the heat off and stir in the cheese (gorgonzola) and grate a tiny bit of nutmeg into the sauce. Adding the cheese turns the Bechamel into a Mornay...voila! Taste the sauce to see if it needs salt or pepper and adjust accordingly.
Assemble it all by putting the gnocchi on a platter, top with the broccoli and sliced ham, drizzle with the Mornay and top with the chopped parsley. If your Mornay seems a little too thick, put it back on low and whisk in a small amount of milk until you are satisfied with the viscosity.

Enjoy!
xo MamaP