Bob's Cookies

Ingredients:

• 300g plain flour


• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda


• 1 tsp salt


• 170g butter


• 215g light brown sugar


• 120g white caster sugar


• 1 sachet of vanilla sugar, or a little vanilla essence


• 1 whole egg and 1 extra yolk


• Chocolate chips, Smarties, nuts or other 'filling' of choice

• Prep time: 10 mins


• Chill time: 30 mins


• Oven time: Around 12-15 mins at 190° C

Instructions:

• Thoroughly mix together all the dry ingredients


• Melt the butter and add, with the eggs, to dry mix


• Mix together thoroughly, making sure there are no dry pockets of mix


• Mix in chocolate chips or other according to taste


• Cover with clingfilm and place in fridge for 30 mins (important)


• Form disks with the dough, about 1.5 - 2cm deep, and about 4cm across


• Place evenly on baking tray, allowing plenty of room for them to expand


• Bake for around 12 - 15 minutes (according to your oven)


• Allow to cool and 'set'

Accept cookies?

I have been using the same cookie recipe for years now, refined from one I found online back around ought five (which I have long since lost the link to - apologies to the originator).  This week The Husband requested a batch to keep his students' spirits up on a technical course he is delivering, and The Daughter likes to take my baked goods to lycée to share with friends, so I have been spreading joy and diabetes throughout.
I find that the trick is to remove them from the oven whilst they are still moist enough not to go too hard upon cooling, but not so moist that they fall apart on the cooling rack.  This will inevitably vary according to your cooker, so just keep an eye on them from about 10 mins onwards.
The recipe is very heavy on sugar, so I only make them as a special treat or as a bribe/thank you to someone doing me a favour. Cookies: acceptable currency in my world.

Hot Cheesy Balls Are Nicer Than They Sound

Are you bored with your balls? Do you wish for more variety, more excitement when it comes to your balls? Do you.......OK I'll stop there.
Meatballs. Sometimes I make them with ground beef, sometimes with pork.  I wanted to change things up from the norm so this weekend I decided to to stuff my balls with buffalo mozzarella.  Take small mounds of the seasoned meat of your choice (in this case ground pork with fresh basil, salt, pepper and a touch of mustard powder) and wrap it around diced buffallo mozzarella to form balls.  The mozz needs to be diced fairly small so that it melts during cooking, without the meat needing to be overcooked.
Sear your balls in olive oil-ed frying pan, then add in tomatoes, red wine etc - according to your own taste - to make the sauce.  For your balls.
When you cut into your balls the mozzarella should ooze out runnily and make a delicious contrast to the rich red sauce.  I never understood the fuss about buffallo mozz as opposed to the cheaper stuff until I tried it. So. Freakin. Worth it.  We now eat half as much mozzarella but, having tasted the good stuff, we'd rather have quality over quantity any day.
Nice balls.

When The Cat's Away The Mice Will Eat Chicken Pizza

The Husband is away this week,so last night it was me, The Daughter, 'Heathers' on dvd and a big ol' homemade pizza with chicken on.  There are many things I won't eat on pizza but chicken ain't one of 'em.  Unfortunately, The Husband is not a fan so we only have chicken pizza in his absence.  I made a standard pizza dough, and topped it with pesto sauce, garlic, strips of chicken breast and red peppers, and buffalo mozzarella. It was goooood.  Hardly worth posting a full recipe, though, so for your gastronomic pleasure today, dear Internet, I have written up my Poulet Sauce Estragon, which is a chicken dish The Husband certainly will eat.  It's worth taking the time to reduce the liquids properly at each stage of the sauce as this builds the flavour beautifully.  It's pretty straight forward and simple to make, but it tastes complicated and a bit of effort with the presentation makes it quite impressive indeed.

Poulet Sauce Estragon/ Chicken with Tarragon Sauce

Serves 4:

• 4 whole chicken breasts


• 30g butter


• 1 tbsp olive oil


• Salt & pepper

For the sauce:

• 2 tbsp (30ml) white vinegar


• 250ml chicken stock


• 90ml dry white wine


• 300ml crème fraîche


• 4 springs of fresh tarragon


• 2 tbsp chopped, fresh tarragon

• Time: approx 45mins


• Oven: 190

Instructions:

• Season the chicken breasts and sauté for 3-5 minutes in the butter and oil


• Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes untikl the juices run clear


• Place on a platter and cover with tin foil (shiny side in) and set aside


• Take the juices from the roasting tin and skim off the fat, then place over a medium heat


• Add vinegar and wine and bring to the boil until liquid is reduced by half


• Stir in the stock and the tarragon sprigs then allow liquid to reduce by half agin


• Stir in the créme fraîche and, once again, cook until reduced by half


• Discard the tarragon sprigs and stir in the chopped tarragon, holding back a little for presentation


• Partially slice the chicken breasts and fan them out a little


• Pour sauce over each breast and sprinkle with tarragon


• Serve with fondant potatoes (or perhaps mashed) and haricots vert

 

Ginger Snaps

Ingredients: 

Makes about 24:

• 170 g plain flour


• 1 tsp baking powder


• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda


• 100g caster sugar


• 2 tsp ground ginger


• Pinch of salt


• 60g unsalted butter


• 40g golden syrup


• 1 medium egg

 

• Prep time: 15 mins


• Oven time: 15 - 20mins at 180

Instructions: 

• Sift together the dry ingredients


• Melt the syrup and butter in a bain marie


• Add this into the dry ingredients and mix well


• Add egg and work into dough


• Divide into approx 24 balls and space evenly on a lined or silicone baking sheet


• Bake for around 15 minutes, monitoring the colour until a warm brown


• Allow to cool and harden slightly


• Hide them from husband

Better Snap To It And Write A Damn Article

Once again my updating of the site has lapsed somewhat due to life getting in the way, but there will be more Pastries Of The Week and a whole lot more now that I have my new study to work in.  Unfortunately, I don't yet have my new 'puter to replace the failed MacBook Pro, so I am banging this out on a creaky old MacMini with a crappy old French keyboard (typos ahoy8).
Back to the food.
Not much experimentation to report at the moment, due to circumstances beyond my control, but I did dig out an old Mrs Beeton recipe for Ginger Snaps . The only potential issue with this recipe is that it includes 'golden syrup' which may be hard to come by outside the UK.  I have been hoarding some since a visitor brought some over last year. (Remind me to tell you about my Marmite tax on the guest room).  I followed Mrs Beeton's recipe as closely as I could, but used butter rather than lard and added levure chimique (baking powder) to type 45 flour (a basic, plain flour).
I also used a recipe The Daughter gave me for butter-free chocolate cake, which I am hoping she will write up on here herself, but then I, of course, layered in caramel spread and Nutella and then smothered the whole thing in caramel chocolate ganache.
Restraint: I have none.

Fougasse aux Anchois

Ingredients: 

For one fougasse around 300g:

• 180g plain flour


• 110ml warm water


• 2g fresh yeast


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 10g roughly chopped anchovy filets


• 1 beaten egg


• Dish of water at the bottom of the oven

• Prep time: approx 1 hour


• Proving time: 2 1/2 hours


• Rest time: 50 mins


• Baking time: 25 mins

Instructions: 

• Make a pile of the flour directly on your workspace, with a 'well' in the middle


• Gently pour in the warm water and work into a dough


• Knead for a full 5 mins until smooth


• Form into a ball, cover with a damp cloth and leave to rest 35 mins


• Crumble in the yeast and work it into the dough for 5 mins


• Add the salt and do the same


• Work in the anchovies, the n form into a ball once more


• Cover with a damp cloth and leave to prove for 90 mins


• Once the ball has doubled in size, fold it in on itself


• Reforrm the ball and leave to rest a further 15 mins


• Roll out the dough into a rectangle approximately 3cms deep


• Place on a baking tray and slash with a sharp knife a few times, then pull at the sides of the rectangle to widen the slashes


• Leave to prove for a further hour


• Thoroughly glaze the fougasse in beaten egg


• Place in the preheated oven for 20-25 mins (don't forget the dish of water), keeping an eye on the colour


• If the fougasse browns too quickly, lower the temperature to 180

Mi-Cuit au Chocolat

Ingredients: 

Makes four:

• 150g patisserie chocolate (75%) plus 4 x 10g squares


• 45g sifted plain flour (plus a little extra for lining ramekins)


• 3 medium eggs


• 100g diced butter (plus extra for ramekins)


• A little icing sugar for presentation

• Prep time: 15 mins


• Freezer time: At least 4 hours


• Oven time: 15-18 mins at 190

Instructions: 

• Butter the insides of 4 ramekins and place them in the fridge


• Melt the 150g of chocolate in a bain marie, adding in the diced butter and gently mixing until smooth


• Remove from heat and add in the flour and eggs,again mixing until smooth


• Take the ramekins from the fridge, dust the insides with flour


• Distribute mixture evenly between four ramekins


• Place 10g chocolate on top of each


• Place in freezer for a minimum of four hours


• Cook for 15-18 mins at 190


• Turn out onto individual plates and dust with icing sugar

Sleep? Well it's hardly as important as food, is it?

Dear Internet,
Lying there at 3am, totally unable to sleep, my head had started buzzing with food thoughts (well there's a shocker!) so I thought I might as well use it positively (I predict some napping later).
Pastry of the week?  Well I've found a recipe in a book on breads that I bought years ago but have never, come to think of it, actually used.  The recipe is actually for anchovy and black olive fougasse, so I shall attempt to adapt it accordingly.  My main concern is how to get the texture to match that of the one from the boulangerie.  I aim to post the results and recipe tomorrow (Friday).
I need to get my bum in gear and write up some more of my tried-and-tested recipes, (as well as a bazillion other things on my list) so I'll make a start this morning with Mi-Cuit au Chocolat.  This gorgeously chocolatey dessert is perfect for dinner parties, or just for when you want things prepped well in advance, so you can relax and enjoy dinner with your family.  They require at least 4 hours in the freezer before cooking, but can be made up to 15 days in advance.  Being made in individual portions means that you have a great deal of flexibilty with regards to numbers, and they look gorgeous too. They are very rich and chocolatey, so I recommend cream or plain vanilla ice cream as an accompaniment.  Even at 4am my mouth is watering at the thought of them.  Good job the new exercise bike arrives this week.......

Pastry of The Week 3rd September: Fougasse aux Anchois

Well here we are with the inaugural Pastry Of The Week (POTW) as chosen by The Daughter: Fougasse aux Anchois. Thanks. That'll be easy.
Fougasse comes in many forms, some an oiled bread similar to focaccia, some, like Fougasse Aigues Mortes, more of a cake.  The Fougasse aux Anchois is a lattice made from either pastry or dough, I'm not sure; it has a pastry-like texture on the outside, but a doughier inside, with (as you may have surmised) chopped anchovies in it, and is a speciality of the South. It is very salty, crispy on the outside and moist and more bread-like on the inside.  I recommend smearing it with cream cheese, or using it as an accompaniment to a mild soup.
At this point I have no idea how to recreate it, so I will be spending some time researching this week.  Further bulletins as events warrant.
Catch you later, special llamas!

 

Pastry of The Week 3rd September: The Results

Being confused as to the nature of the dough/pastry for the fougasse as made by my favourite boulangerie, I did want to ask the boulanger but he was frantically busy evry time I was in there this week and I have no desire to rub him up the wrong way (oo-er).  I settled for trying a bread-based recipe from a book called 'Tous les Pains' that I bought 5 or 6 years ago and have never got around to using (despite bookmarking several recipes).
Looking at the results, I am now 100% convinced that the fougasse we bought was made with pastry and I will have to find a good time to pick the boulanger's brain.  I'm feeling pretty good about the fougasse I made, however.  It looks ok for a first attempt, and we will find out at apéro tonight how well I did as far as taste.
All-in-all, I could quite cheerfully boot The Daughter around the room for choosing that as the first Pastry Of The Week.  It took hours and hours to make, which is probably why the boulanger does a pastry version.  I will update with a verdict on the taste later.  The Daughter had better bloody well like it......