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IronGAF Cookoff (hosted by OnkelC)
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Metroid Killer
Member
----~ Designer Dessert ~---- (October)
Sea Buckthorn Entremet
Working with sea buckthorn for the first time last week, I knew it wouldn't be the last, as the berry is truly something else. I understand why famours restaurant Noma brought the berry to their menu. I thought about which flavour combinations that would work and came up with this entremet. The berry is rather sour like a twist between a passion fruit and unripe raspberry, which means you can't just pair it with anything you want. Passion fruit and sea buckthorn would be a no go, at least as the only flavour elements. I also wanted the focus of the entremet to be sea buckthorn, so I ended up with cocoa genoise layers as the sweet counter to subdue the berries, and ripe persimmons as another orange fruit element, and to add juicy bites to counter the dry cake and fluffy mousse. Overall the combination of colors, taste and proportion just works, every bite gives your mouth a rich experience, so I guess some planning really do pay off!
Collecting the berries was less fun though. Well, it was fun for the first 30 mins, but collecting sea buckthorn berries for 3 hours is a tale of agony, blood, fatigue, more blood and cold hands. The 'thorn' part of the name is no lie, you'll cut and sting yourself a lot, and when you finally get home you will discover a handful of splitters deep in your cold hands. Furthermore the berries and stuck good and hard to the branches all while being very delicate, resulting in every other berry splashing on your hands and face, not very uplifting when you have to collect 500 g of berries. I tell myself that the hard work just makes the cake taste even better, I just need to hire someone else to do that hard work!
~Recipe~
Yields: 10-12 servings
Ingredients
Directions
Sea Buckthorn Entremet
Working with sea buckthorn for the first time last week, I knew it wouldn't be the last, as the berry is truly something else. I understand why famours restaurant Noma brought the berry to their menu. I thought about which flavour combinations that would work and came up with this entremet. The berry is rather sour like a twist between a passion fruit and unripe raspberry, which means you can't just pair it with anything you want. Passion fruit and sea buckthorn would be a no go, at least as the only flavour elements. I also wanted the focus of the entremet to be sea buckthorn, so I ended up with cocoa genoise layers as the sweet counter to subdue the berries, and ripe persimmons as another orange fruit element, and to add juicy bites to counter the dry cake and fluffy mousse. Overall the combination of colors, taste and proportion just works, every bite gives your mouth a rich experience, so I guess some planning really do pay off!
Collecting the berries was less fun though. Well, it was fun for the first 30 mins, but collecting sea buckthorn berries for 3 hours is a tale of agony, blood, fatigue, more blood and cold hands. The 'thorn' part of the name is no lie, you'll cut and sting yourself a lot, and when you finally get home you will discover a handful of splitters deep in your cold hands. Furthermore the berries and stuck good and hard to the branches all while being very delicate, resulting in every other berry splashing on your hands and face, not very uplifting when you have to collect 500 g of berries. I tell myself that the hard work just makes the cake taste even better, I just need to hire someone else to do that hard work!
~Recipe~
Yields: 10-12 servings
Ingredients
Cocoa Genoise
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
150 g sugar
70 g flour
30 g cocoa powder
Sea Buckthorn Mousse
300 g sea buckthorn berries
120 g sugar
400 ml cream
5 gelatin sheets
2 ripe persimmons
Sea Buckthorn Jelly
200 g berries
70 g sugar
4 gelatin sheets
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
150 g sugar
70 g flour
30 g cocoa powder
Sea Buckthorn Mousse
300 g sea buckthorn berries
120 g sugar
400 ml cream
5 gelatin sheets
2 ripe persimmons
Sea Buckthorn Jelly
200 g berries
70 g sugar
4 gelatin sheets
Directions
Cocoa Genoise
- Preheat oven to 200°C. Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper. Then place a 30m x 40cm form on the sheet and grease the bottom. I used an adjustable form, which can be used both for baking and assembling as well as making it easier when removing the form from the cake.
- Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, salt and sugar over a hot waterbath. Continue whisking until reaching a temperature of 37°C. Then transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until the mixture has cooled and tripled in volume. The mixture should be like a thick eggnog, leaving 'ribbons' when lifting the whisk.
- Sift together the flour and cocoa powder and add 1/3 of the flour mixture at a time to the egg mixture gently folding and incorporating the flour everytime.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the genoise springs back touched, but don't overbake it as it will become too dry. Invert on rack, peel of the parchment paper and let it cool.
- Once cooled, cut into two 15cm x 20cm genoise layers.
Sea Buckthorn Mousse
- Soak gelatin sheets in a small bowl of water for 10 minutes.
- While the sheets are soaked, cook berries and sugar in sauce pan on low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Stir to prevent the sugar from burning. Once the sugar has dissolved pour the mixture in a blender and blend. Run the mixture through a fine sieve to remove seeds.
- Drain the gelatin sheets from water and stir into the warm juice until the sheets have melted. Set aside to cool to the touch.
- Whip cream to soft peaks and fold 1/3 into the juice, then fold it back into the whipped cream.
- If the mousse is too runny, you may want to cool it in the fridge to set it a little bit, otherwise you can start assembling the entremet.
Sea Buckthorn Jelly
- Soak gelatin sheets in a small bowl of water for 10 minutes.
- While the sheets are soaked, cook berries and sugar in sauce pan on low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Stir to prevent the sugar from burning. Once the sugar has dissolved pour the mixture in a blender and blend. Run the mixture through a fine sieve to remove seeds.
- Drain the gelatin sheets from water and stir into the warm juice until the sheets have melted. Set aside to cool to the touch.
Assembly
- Place one of the genoise layers at the bottom of a 15cm x 20cm form. Brush with some rum syrup.
- Remove the skin from the persimmons and cut the flesh into small chunks. Fold the persimmons into half of the mousse. Spread the mousse evenly ontop of the genoise. Repeat with the other genoise layer and mousse.
- Be extra careful to smooth the top of last mousse layer completely even to make sure that the jelly sets correctly ontop. Cool in the fridge for two hours.
- Once the jelly has cooled, pour over the cake and let it set in the fridge for an additional two hours or overnight.
- When serving, cut through with a sharp knife dipped in hot water and then dried with a cloth.
- Preheat oven to 200°C. Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper. Then place a 30m x 40cm form on the sheet and grease the bottom. I used an adjustable form, which can be used both for baking and assembling as well as making it easier when removing the form from the cake.
- Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, salt and sugar over a hot waterbath. Continue whisking until reaching a temperature of 37°C. Then transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until the mixture has cooled and tripled in volume. The mixture should be like a thick eggnog, leaving 'ribbons' when lifting the whisk.
- Sift together the flour and cocoa powder and add 1/3 of the flour mixture at a time to the egg mixture gently folding and incorporating the flour everytime.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the genoise springs back touched, but don't overbake it as it will become too dry. Invert on rack, peel of the parchment paper and let it cool.
- Once cooled, cut into two 15cm x 20cm genoise layers.
Sea Buckthorn Mousse
- Soak gelatin sheets in a small bowl of water for 10 minutes.
- While the sheets are soaked, cook berries and sugar in sauce pan on low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Stir to prevent the sugar from burning. Once the sugar has dissolved pour the mixture in a blender and blend. Run the mixture through a fine sieve to remove seeds.
- Drain the gelatin sheets from water and stir into the warm juice until the sheets have melted. Set aside to cool to the touch.
- Whip cream to soft peaks and fold 1/3 into the juice, then fold it back into the whipped cream.
- If the mousse is too runny, you may want to cool it in the fridge to set it a little bit, otherwise you can start assembling the entremet.
Sea Buckthorn Jelly
- Soak gelatin sheets in a small bowl of water for 10 minutes.
- While the sheets are soaked, cook berries and sugar in sauce pan on low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Stir to prevent the sugar from burning. Once the sugar has dissolved pour the mixture in a blender and blend. Run the mixture through a fine sieve to remove seeds.
- Drain the gelatin sheets from water and stir into the warm juice until the sheets have melted. Set aside to cool to the touch.
Assembly
- Place one of the genoise layers at the bottom of a 15cm x 20cm form. Brush with some rum syrup.
- Remove the skin from the persimmons and cut the flesh into small chunks. Fold the persimmons into half of the mousse. Spread the mousse evenly ontop of the genoise. Repeat with the other genoise layer and mousse.
- Be extra careful to smooth the top of last mousse layer completely even to make sure that the jelly sets correctly ontop. Cool in the fridge for two hours.
- Once the jelly has cooled, pour over the cake and let it set in the fridge for an additional two hours or overnight.
- When serving, cut through with a sharp knife dipped in hot water and then dried with a cloth.
Holy Moly that's beautiful!
GAF, I need the best recipe for (American) biscuits.
If possible with some good instructions, because I'm clueless. The thing is that it's impossible to get biscuits over here, and I've only ever had ones from Popeyes and KFC in the US. I've missed them ever since.
GAF, I need the best recipe for (American) biscuits.
If possible with some good instructions, because I'm clueless. The thing is that it's impossible to get biscuits over here, and I've only ever had ones from Popeyes and KFC in the US. I've missed them ever since.
triplestation
Member
Haha, congrats! We just went and picked apples at an orchard this past weekend (Ricker Hill in Turner, ME, check it out if you visit, gorgeous views). I'm in Seattle right now but my mother-in-law, who bakes excellent pies, is coming out so I'm hoping to have a few waiting for me when I get back.
oh my god i come back to see this reply and you know what i made
apple pie !!!
(fuji and granny smith)
it was
Here you go ( tried to fix the white balance):
Now they look appropriately delicious!
triplestation
Member
wow thanks Easy_G you are a magician!
ElectricThunder
Member
At last, relatively new cheese again---first in a short streak to come!
Dairy Vale Australian Vintage Cheddar is damn fine cheddar indeed---melts to that golden deliciousness and is SO SOFT with that clean taste and equally tasty oil. Easily in the top end of cheddars at least---my only regret is I scrounged around for the smallest size I could find for like $3.80 trying to play it overly safe and now I don't know if there'll be enough left for the big pizza come Monday...
Dairy Vale Australian Vintage Cheddar is damn fine cheddar indeed---melts to that golden deliciousness and is SO SOFT with that clean taste and equally tasty oil. Easily in the top end of cheddars at least---my only regret is I scrounged around for the smallest size I could find for like $3.80 trying to play it overly safe and now I don't know if there'll be enough left for the big pizza come Monday...
Time for something a bit more modernist than some would like but its for the sake of pushing creativity.
Playing around with fall produce persimmons and eggplant are in season. Decided to make a persimmon puree seasoned with umeshu sochu and aji amarillo paste. Sauteed eggplant in rendered duck fat and glazed in char-siu sauce (chinese bbq pork). Duck was seasoned simply with salt and fat rendered slowly to get the skin nice and crispy. Garnished with crispy enoki mushrooms and garlic chives from my own garden.
Playing around with fall produce persimmons and eggplant are in season. Decided to make a persimmon puree seasoned with umeshu sochu and aji amarillo paste. Sauteed eggplant in rendered duck fat and glazed in char-siu sauce (chinese bbq pork). Duck was seasoned simply with salt and fat rendered slowly to get the skin nice and crispy. Garnished with crispy enoki mushrooms and garlic chives from my own garden.
Facetime with Dr. Bruce
Neo Member
I have no idea what either of those are but I wanna dive right into that bowl.
I've been wanting to up my vegetable game for a long time now but I don't know where to begin. Some local farmers offer a selection of seasonal produce to be sent to your doorstep once a month and I consider getting that and just start from there...
Cheddar biscuits, gravy and pale ale. Three things that are way too rare in Germany.
Threw in some bacon and an egg because I hate my body.
The gravy was interesting for me because I've never even had one before. Alas, I let my sausage go bad and had to improvise with some bacon. I also underestimated the thickening power of roux.
Thanks again, Zoe!
I would never have guessed that was your first time making biscuits. It looks delicious! The gravy, bacon, and egg with a beer seems like an amazing combo.
BriareosGAF
Member
My wife & I have enjoyed CSAs in the past for just this reason--to force you out of your comfort zone and to experiment with new ingredients. Who knew celeriac was so damn good?
Biscotti yesterday. After drying out in the oven:
Tempering chocolate. This took forever, think the use of a ceramic bowl here helped the chocolate keep its temperature for far too long; often we use a metal bowl but sometimes it gets so hot you can't hold it. This is probably because it's helpfully transmitting the heat away from the chocolate, eh? Ah well.
Finished product, with evidence of a theft by an eager six year old.
Metroid Killer
Member
They look really nice Briareos, your kitchen must have smelled nice yesterday!
I've been up to my neck in cakes the whole weekend. Been commissioned for two parties at the same weekend, so I haven't left my kitchen much... Considering that I made a lot of stuff during last week, I think I need a short cake break(just a day or two!), I just need to make these pear desserts that I working on... <_<...>_>
3 layered mousse cakes for bday party 1
30 small mystery cakes for bday party 2. Dome chocolate cakes, filled with raspberry/black currant mousse, topped with strawberry swiss meringue buttercream and puff sugar. 1/3 contain a blueberry, 1/3 a piece of kaki, 1/3 a piece of mango. The idea was that the kids had to guess what they got in their cakes.
I had so much batter and stuff leftover that I made extra chocolate cakes and chocolate balls today.
For dinner I made Stuffed Butternut Squash. Really cool dish. Love getting to know and eat new stuff, although it's very similar to pumpkin, but I only recenntly ate pumpkin for the first time in my life. I added some sliced leak, garlic and salt to the recipe.
I've been up to my neck in cakes the whole weekend. Been commissioned for two parties at the same weekend, so I haven't left my kitchen much... Considering that I made a lot of stuff during last week, I think I need a short cake break(just a day or two!), I just need to make these pear desserts that I working on... <_<...>_>
3 layered mousse cakes for bday party 1
30 small mystery cakes for bday party 2. Dome chocolate cakes, filled with raspberry/black currant mousse, topped with strawberry swiss meringue buttercream and puff sugar. 1/3 contain a blueberry, 1/3 a piece of kaki, 1/3 a piece of mango. The idea was that the kids had to guess what they got in their cakes.
I had so much batter and stuff leftover that I made extra chocolate cakes and chocolate balls today.
For dinner I made Stuffed Butternut Squash. Really cool dish. Love getting to know and eat new stuff, although it's very similar to pumpkin, but I only recenntly ate pumpkin for the first time in my life. I added some sliced leak, garlic and salt to the recipe.
nakedsushi
Member
^-- Butternut squash looks great! I like eating squashes but I'm too lazy to cook them when they're so plentiful in the fall. Something about how hard it is to chop makes me look towards other things to eat.
D
Deleted member 59090
Unconfirmed Member
No dog in any of the photos but there's 30 mystery cakes hmm...
Metroid Killer
Member
Om nom nom! And you just reminded me that I forgot to add cherry tomatos to my dish of oven roasted veggies... Damn!
Now pulled apart and will sit in its juices overnight, and be eaten for dinner tomorrow.
Not pretty, but tasted amazing!
Now pulled apart and will sit in its juices overnight, and be eaten for dinner tomorrow.
Not pretty, but tasted amazing!
Damnnnnnn. What cut of lamb is that?
Hmm, good question. It said lamb steak on the packaging.
I know your pain, lived without an oven for 8 years
nakedsushi
Member
^-- What's wrong with the picture? Looks good to me!
I haven't had much time to cook recently, but I did re-discover how delicious hard-boiled eggs are. I've been getting bored of eating them as a snack with just salt and pepper so...dijon mustard and pepper. SO MUCH BETTER.
It's like a lazy man's deviled egg.
I haven't had much time to cook recently, but I did re-discover how delicious hard-boiled eggs are. I've been getting bored of eating them as a snack with just salt and pepper so...dijon mustard and pepper. SO MUCH BETTER.
It's like a lazy man's deviled egg.
Metroid Killer
Member
I really wished I liked the taste of egg, as you said it's the easiest food to make when you are lazy, and there's so much stuff to do with them. But I can only eat eggs if the taste is disguised really good.
Speaking of eggs...
For many years me and my girlfriend have only bought free-ranged or organic eggs, as the thought of battery caged chickens litteraly gives us bad taste in our mouths when eating eggs. We care about animal welfare, but it's not that we don't want to eat meat, we just think they should be treated with humane respect. Starting with eggs, and then sometime when we get more money we will move into free-ranged/organic meats as well.
But we recently discussed this topic and came to the conclusion, that if we are so disgusted by battery caged chickens, we really shouldn't eat the meat of them as well, we had to be honest with ourselves. And why stop with chickens? So for the last month we have only eaten meat from free-ranged/organic farming. At the same time we eat a lot less meat as it costs more, so we have been cooking a lot more vegetarian meals instead.
Feels good to finally take the step, but I'm really angry that you can't get organic bacon in any supermarkets, so I may make an exception some time...
Speaking of eggs...
For many years me and my girlfriend have only bought free-ranged or organic eggs, as the thought of battery caged chickens litteraly gives us bad taste in our mouths when eating eggs. We care about animal welfare, but it's not that we don't want to eat meat, we just think they should be treated with humane respect. Starting with eggs, and then sometime when we get more money we will move into free-ranged/organic meats as well.
But we recently discussed this topic and came to the conclusion, that if we are so disgusted by battery caged chickens, we really shouldn't eat the meat of them as well, we had to be honest with ourselves. And why stop with chickens? So for the last month we have only eaten meat from free-ranged/organic farming. At the same time we eat a lot less meat as it costs more, so we have been cooking a lot more vegetarian meals instead.
Feels good to finally take the step, but I'm really angry that you can't get organic bacon in any supermarkets, so I may make an exception some time...
Metroid Killer
Member
Felt I had to share this. I was looking around for recipes and stumbled upon the blog of Chef Benoît Violier. Look at this fucking plating this man does:
Seems to me that Zyzyxxz has some serious plating competition
But no matter what this makes me want to step up my own plating game which is more or less nonexistent...
Seems to me that Zyzyxxz has some serious plating competition
But no matter what this makes me want to step up my own plating game which is more or less nonexistent...
Felt I had to share this. I was looking around for recipes and stumbled upon the blog of Chef Benoît Violier. Look at this fucking plating this man does:
Seems to me that Zyzyxxz has some serious plating competition
But no matter what this makes me want to step up my own plating game which is more or less nonexistent...
It's artful, but I think there is a line crossed here...I want my food to look like food, not something I am afraid of ruining with the swipe of a fork.
cartoon_soldier
Member
I am with Cranky here, that looks like a museum installation and not a plate of food.
Metroid Killer
Member
I see your point, but imo this isn't quite crossing the line. Sure I don't know a good handful of the ingredients in the pictures, but I do have a clear sense of what kind of meal it is (strawberry dessert, tomato soup, avocado+veggies, shellfish, etc.).
Felt I had to share this. I was looking around for recipes and stumbled upon the blog of Chef Benoît Violier. Look at this fucking plating this man does:
Seems to me that Zyzyxxz has some serious plating competition
But no matter what this makes me want to step up my own plating game which is more or less nonexistent...
Eww, this is terrible. Almost offensive to a human.
I can understand this type of stuff for desserts and chocolates but for normal food: major turn-off.
nakedsushi
Member
I hear you. I try to get the organic free-range eggs when I can. My husband is even more extreme and only eats vegan except when he can get eggs from our friends' pet chickens or from a place that definitely does not kill their non-laying chickens.
I've gone back and forth about trying to stop eating meat, and we mostly eat vegan/vegetarian at home as you can tell, but I'm Chinese and eating all sorts of food and meats is part of my culture. Have you read Eating Animals? I haven't read any other writings of his, but I liked this book a lot and it addressed some of the issues I see with becoming vegetarian like culture class, etc. I really recommend it b/c it's pretty thoughtful.
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
For dinner, I made a tart thing with puff pastry, caramelized onions, crispy kale, and leftover tomato sauce. Tasted like a pizza.
Metroid Killer
Member
Hmm you are right, it's better suited for desserts, but I wonder why exactly? Because you shouldn't eat yourself full of desserts, thus it can be presented in a more minimalistic manner? It's interesting so many of you are turned off by those images. It's not that I'm turned on, from a eating point of view, but I'm defintely admiring the creative work that went behind it.
Yes I have actually. It's really great, and I was also greatly saddened by how little a percentage actually did organic farming (less than 1% of all farming if I remember correctly).Have you read Eating Animals? I haven't read any other writings of his, but I liked this book a lot and it addressed some of the issues I see with becoming vegetarian like culture class, etc. I really recommend it b/c it's pretty thoughtful.
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
You're not wrong, no one is wrong. Beauty and art is in the eye of the beholder. I think food means something different to everyone...I do enjoy good plating, but something as artful as that is lost upon someone such as myself.
Transformation of a dish or ingredient is wonderful, but when it's transformed like this I just think it goes a bit far in my mind. It's probably why I wouldn't fully appreciate a dinner at Alinea.
I guess I think of myself more appreciative of rustic or peasant dishes.
Metroid Killer
Member
----~ Season's Sweet ~---- (October)
Poire Belle Hélène
Oftentimes it's a simple dessert that will make a big impression on you. I hadn't poached pears before and was intrigued about how they would meassure against the canned ones. There's no comparison really. Eventhough they are poached, the pears still feel fresh, have a good bite to them, and the added taste of vanilla and lemon is amazing. Be sure to keep the liquid which can be reduced into a great pear syrup, and then kept in bottles rinsed in boiled water.
Pairing them up with a spoonful of vanilla ice cream and chocolate mint sauce, and you have a wondeful tasting dessert to be served in no time.
~Recipe~
4 servings
Ingredients
Directions
Poire Belle Hélène
Oftentimes it's a simple dessert that will make a big impression on you. I hadn't poached pears before and was intrigued about how they would meassure against the canned ones. There's no comparison really. Eventhough they are poached, the pears still feel fresh, have a good bite to them, and the added taste of vanilla and lemon is amazing. Be sure to keep the liquid which can be reduced into a great pear syrup, and then kept in bottles rinsed in boiled water.
Pairing them up with a spoonful of vanilla ice cream and chocolate mint sauce, and you have a wondeful tasting dessert to be served in no time.
~Recipe~
4 servings
Ingredients
Poached Pears
4 firm, ripe pears
½ vanilla bean
1 l water
225 g sugar
1 lemon
Chocolate Mint Sauce
100 g dark chocolate
80 ml cream
3 tsp mint extract
4 firm, ripe pears
½ vanilla bean
1 l water
225 g sugar
1 lemon
Chocolate Mint Sauce
100 g dark chocolate
80 ml cream
3 tsp mint extract
Directions
Poached Pears
- Peel the pears, leaving the stem, and remove the core through the bottom.
- Scrape out the vanilla seeds and zest the lemon, then add the vanilla seeds, the empty vanilla bean, water, sugar, zest and juice from the lemon to a large pot and bring to a boil together with the pears. Let the pot simmer for ~30 minutes or until the pears feel soft when sticking a knife into them.
- Take off heat and keep in fridge for the next day.
Chocolate Mint Sauce
- Melt the chocolate over a hot waterbath.
- Heat the cream slightly in a small saucepan and add the mint extract, take off heat. Then add the melted chocolate and stir until you get a glossy chocolate sauce.
- Peel the pears, leaving the stem, and remove the core through the bottom.
- Scrape out the vanilla seeds and zest the lemon, then add the vanilla seeds, the empty vanilla bean, water, sugar, zest and juice from the lemon to a large pot and bring to a boil together with the pears. Let the pot simmer for ~30 minutes or until the pears feel soft when sticking a knife into them.
- Take off heat and keep in fridge for the next day.
Chocolate Mint Sauce
- Melt the chocolate over a hot waterbath.
- Heat the cream slightly in a small saucepan and add the mint extract, take off heat. Then add the melted chocolate and stir until you get a glossy chocolate sauce.
Metroid Killer
Member
----~ Season's Sweet ~---- (October)
Red Wine Poached Pear Entremet
I've been eyeing this entremet for quite some time, preparing myself for the inevitable clash between my undeveloped skills and this classy dessert. And I don't even drink red wine!
I took the recipe from Evan's blog and dumbed it down, so that I had a better chance of succeeding. Surprisingly, it turned into a relaxing experience as each component was easy to make, it just required a lot of preperation time. But it was fun, especially working with the pears. Though one thing bugged me; the glaze. I always mess up my glazes, eventhough the process is rather simple. You wait till just before the glaze sets, pour it over the cold dessert, so it sets upon contact. The possible errors are also limited. You either apply it too early, while the glaze is runny, resulting in a very thin layer, or you wait too long and the glaze has begun setting, resulting in a lumpy mess. Still, you can easily fix that by reheating the glaze to melt the lumps and wait for it to set again. It's just that I feel like an idiot after reheating the glaze for the third time. I just don't have the patience to stand and watch a liquid setting. And then there's an entire book to be written on how to properly apply the glaze, which I managed to screw up as well, as the domes were still semi-frozen, freezing the glaze, taking some of the shine out of it.
Luckily the glaze is only a small part of this beautiful entremet, and the subtle flavours of red wine and pears, go well with the elegant look of the dome.
~Recipe~
Yields: 8 domes
Ingredients
Red Wine Poached Pears
3 large pears, peeled, halved and cores removed
400 ml red wine
200 ml water
75 g sugar
½ vanilla bean
1 lemon
1/4 tsp cinnamon, grounded
Vanilla Sponge Cake
2 eggs
50 g sugar
40 g flour
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
20 ml cream (warm, but not boiling warm!)
Pear Mousse
1 pear
120 ml pear syrup
150 ml cream
2 sheets of gelatin
Juice from half a lemon
Red Wine/Raspberry Mousse
40 g raspberry, blended to purée
100 ml red wine poached liquid
150 ml cream
2 sheets of gelatin
Juice from half a lemon
Red Wine Mirror Glaze
180 ml red wine poached liquid
60 ml water
4 sheets of gelatin
Juice from half a lemon
Directions
Red Wine Poached Pear Entremet
I've been eyeing this entremet for quite some time, preparing myself for the inevitable clash between my undeveloped skills and this classy dessert. And I don't even drink red wine!
I took the recipe from Evan's blog and dumbed it down, so that I had a better chance of succeeding. Surprisingly, it turned into a relaxing experience as each component was easy to make, it just required a lot of preperation time. But it was fun, especially working with the pears. Though one thing bugged me; the glaze. I always mess up my glazes, eventhough the process is rather simple. You wait till just before the glaze sets, pour it over the cold dessert, so it sets upon contact. The possible errors are also limited. You either apply it too early, while the glaze is runny, resulting in a very thin layer, or you wait too long and the glaze has begun setting, resulting in a lumpy mess. Still, you can easily fix that by reheating the glaze to melt the lumps and wait for it to set again. It's just that I feel like an idiot after reheating the glaze for the third time. I just don't have the patience to stand and watch a liquid setting. And then there's an entire book to be written on how to properly apply the glaze, which I managed to screw up as well, as the domes were still semi-frozen, freezing the glaze, taking some of the shine out of it.
Luckily the glaze is only a small part of this beautiful entremet, and the subtle flavours of red wine and pears, go well with the elegant look of the dome.
~Recipe~
Yields: 8 domes
Ingredients
Red Wine Poached Pears
3 large pears, peeled, halved and cores removed
400 ml red wine
200 ml water
75 g sugar
½ vanilla bean
1 lemon
1/4 tsp cinnamon, grounded
Vanilla Sponge Cake
2 eggs
50 g sugar
40 g flour
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
20 ml cream (warm, but not boiling warm!)
Pear Mousse
1 pear
120 ml pear syrup
150 ml cream
2 sheets of gelatin
Juice from half a lemon
Red Wine/Raspberry Mousse
40 g raspberry, blended to purée
100 ml red wine poached liquid
150 ml cream
2 sheets of gelatin
Juice from half a lemon
Red Wine Mirror Glaze
180 ml red wine poached liquid
60 ml water
4 sheets of gelatin
Juice from half a lemon
Directions
Red Wine Poached Pears
- Scrape out the vanilla seeds and zest the lemon, then add all ingredients to a large pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for ~30 or until the pears feel soft when sticking a knife into them.
- Take off heat and keep in fridge for the next day.
Pear Mousse
- Bloom the gelatin in a bowl of water.
- Whip the cream to soft peaks. Set aside in fridge.
- Peel and removed the core from the pear and blend it. You may want to add some lemon juice to prevent color fading.
- After 10 minutes, drain the gelatin from the water and place in small saucepan together with the pear syrup. Either heat it over a warm waterbath or over low heat. Mix until the gelatin has completely dissolved.
- Pour the gelatin into the pear purée and mix. Cool until the mixture is warm to the touch. Take 1/3 of the whipped cream and fold into the puree, then add the remaining cream and fold until all of it has been incorporated.
- Add mousse to a ~20cm x 15cm tray or form lined with parchment paper at the bottom and freeze until set.
Vanilla Sponge Cake
- Preheat oven to 180°C. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a silicon mat.
- Beat eggs until you get a light and thick eggnog, then gradually add sugar while mixing till you get to thick ribbon stage, around 4 minutes of beating. Add the vanilla and mix.
- Sift the flour and salt over the egg, and gently fold
- Add 4 spoonful of the batter to the warm cream, fold to combine. Then pour it back and fold again.
- Pour onto the baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cake springs back when touched. Cool on rack.
- When cooled off cut out 8 circles with a 4cm cookie cutter, and 8 circles with a 6cm cookie cutter.
Red Wine/Raspberry Mousse
- Bloom the gelatin in a bowl of water.
- Whip the cream to soft peaks. Set aside in fridge.
- Blend or mash the raspberries, just avoid big chunks.
- After 10 minutes, drain the gelatin from the water and place in small saucepan together with the red wine pear syrup and juice from lemon. Either heat it over a warm waterbath or over low heat. Mix until the gelatin has completely dissolved.
- Pour the gelatin into the raspberry purée and mix. Cool until the mixture is warm to the touch. Take 1/3 of the whipped cream and fold into the puree, then add the remaining cream and fold until all of it has been incorporated.
Red Wine Mirror Glaze
- Bloom the gelatin in a bowl of water for 10 minutes.
- Drain the gelatin from water and add to small saucepan together with the red wine pear syrup, water and juice from lemon. Either heat it over a warm waterbath or over low heat. Mix until the gelatin has completely dissolved.
- Cool in fridge for ~10 minutes, but check on it now and then. Then take it out and wait until the mixture reaches a consistency where it just slightly coats a spoon taken out of the mixture.
Assembly- Scrape out the vanilla seeds and zest the lemon, then add all ingredients to a large pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for ~30 or until the pears feel soft when sticking a knife into them.
- Take off heat and keep in fridge for the next day.
Pear Mousse
- Bloom the gelatin in a bowl of water.
- Whip the cream to soft peaks. Set aside in fridge.
- Peel and removed the core from the pear and blend it. You may want to add some lemon juice to prevent color fading.
- After 10 minutes, drain the gelatin from the water and place in small saucepan together with the pear syrup. Either heat it over a warm waterbath or over low heat. Mix until the gelatin has completely dissolved.
- Pour the gelatin into the pear purée and mix. Cool until the mixture is warm to the touch. Take 1/3 of the whipped cream and fold into the puree, then add the remaining cream and fold until all of it has been incorporated.
- Add mousse to a ~20cm x 15cm tray or form lined with parchment paper at the bottom and freeze until set.
Vanilla Sponge Cake
- Preheat oven to 180°C. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a silicon mat.
- Beat eggs until you get a light and thick eggnog, then gradually add sugar while mixing till you get to thick ribbon stage, around 4 minutes of beating. Add the vanilla and mix.
- Sift the flour and salt over the egg, and gently fold
- Add 4 spoonful of the batter to the warm cream, fold to combine. Then pour it back and fold again.
- Pour onto the baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cake springs back when touched. Cool on rack.
- When cooled off cut out 8 circles with a 4cm cookie cutter, and 8 circles with a 6cm cookie cutter.
Red Wine/Raspberry Mousse
- Bloom the gelatin in a bowl of water.
- Whip the cream to soft peaks. Set aside in fridge.
- Blend or mash the raspberries, just avoid big chunks.
- After 10 minutes, drain the gelatin from the water and place in small saucepan together with the red wine pear syrup and juice from lemon. Either heat it over a warm waterbath or over low heat. Mix until the gelatin has completely dissolved.
- Pour the gelatin into the raspberry purée and mix. Cool until the mixture is warm to the touch. Take 1/3 of the whipped cream and fold into the puree, then add the remaining cream and fold until all of it has been incorporated.
Red Wine Mirror Glaze
- Bloom the gelatin in a bowl of water for 10 minutes.
- Drain the gelatin from water and add to small saucepan together with the red wine pear syrup, water and juice from lemon. Either heat it over a warm waterbath or over low heat. Mix until the gelatin has completely dissolved.
- Cool in fridge for ~10 minutes, but check on it now and then. Then take it out and wait until the mixture reaches a consistency where it just slightly coats a spoon taken out of the mixture.
Day -2
- Poach the pears and set in fridge overnight.
Day -1
- Prepare the other elements, except for the glaze, in the order of the recipe.
- Take out the pears, and slice thin layers to be place neatly on a dome shaped silicon mold. Chop up any remaining pear into small chunks and add to the domes. Save the liquid for later.
- Place a 4cm sponge circle on the chopped pear.
- Add red wine/raspberry mousse just so it covers the sponge.
- Once the pear mousse has set in the freezer, cut out 8 circles with a 6cm cookie cutter, and press each circle lightly onto the red wine/raspberry mousse.
- Add some additional red wine/raspberry mousse to cover the pear mousse and any vacancies.
- Press a 6cm sponge circle on the red wine/raspberry mousse, and freeze overnight.
Day of serving
- Unmold by carefully popping each cake out of the mold. Chill in fridge two hours before glazing.
- Place dome on a rack with parchment paper underneath. With a smooth confident movement pour the glaze over the domes one at a time.
- Poach the pears and set in fridge overnight.
Day -1
- Prepare the other elements, except for the glaze, in the order of the recipe.
- Take out the pears, and slice thin layers to be place neatly on a dome shaped silicon mold. Chop up any remaining pear into small chunks and add to the domes. Save the liquid for later.
- Place a 4cm sponge circle on the chopped pear.
- Add red wine/raspberry mousse just so it covers the sponge.
- Once the pear mousse has set in the freezer, cut out 8 circles with a 6cm cookie cutter, and press each circle lightly onto the red wine/raspberry mousse.
- Add some additional red wine/raspberry mousse to cover the pear mousse and any vacancies.
- Press a 6cm sponge circle on the red wine/raspberry mousse, and freeze overnight.
Day of serving
- Unmold by carefully popping each cake out of the mold. Chill in fridge two hours before glazing.
- Place dome on a rack with parchment paper underneath. With a smooth confident movement pour the glaze over the domes one at a time.
I can admire the plating for their beauty, and the skill needed for their assembly. But the dishes would have me reaching for a camera rather than a fork.
nakedsushi
Member
Pear Pikmin?
GroteSmurf
Member
I think I love meat too much to ever turn vegan...
I know we're killing animals but why wouldn't we (if it's done in a decent way).
I can't think of a dish that makes me more excited than a steak done in a proper way. I just dont get that satisfaction with a vegetarian dish...
Just my 2 cts...
I know we're killing animals but why wouldn't we (if it's done in a decent way).
I can't think of a dish that makes me more excited than a steak done in a proper way. I just dont get that satisfaction with a vegetarian dish...
Just my 2 cts...
Felt I had to share this. I was looking around for recipes and stumbled upon the blog of Chef Benoît Violier. Look at this fucking plating this man does:
Seems to me that Zyzyxxz has some serious plating competition
But no matter what this makes me want to step up my own plating game which is more or less nonexistent...
Heh I get what you are saying but that guy can have it, I use to do similar stuff at a previous job but it was nowhere near as pretentious, at least it was a bit more organic which I think is what I try to go for.
Tweezer food = cold food.
I wish I had saved those Gilt Taste primers on plating before the website shuttered, they had some great ideas and info for people who wanted to attempt at plating better.
BriareosGAF
Member
FWIW I was a vegan for six years and have been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for... 18 years now? I started eating some locally caught fish recently (seems a shame not to, living in Maine...) and frankly most of it bores the hell out of me. I think the way we (my wife and I) have grown to cook our dishes over time is very ethnic, spiced, or incredibly rich and savory, but most north Atlantic fish preparation at high end restaurants has been pretty simple. It's only the intensely flavored, smoked trout or very fatty bluefin tuna sashimi that carries any interest to me. I thought it was an surprising turn, and a little disappointing!
As to food production, we have several chickens and now dairy goats and it's very enjoyable, if you can spare the space. Eggs fresh from the cloaca, as it were, are just amazingly good. That said finding someone to house sit and care for the animals when you want to go on vacation is slightly annoying. We also spend a lot of time with local small farmers, attending livestock shows, etc., and you very quickly see what qualifies as a sort of 'agricultural tourism' vs real farming oriented towards food production. There's a lot of romanticism out there about small farming and it can be a little creepy. Anyway I'll stop now before I get into my whole rant, back to cooking
.Also pear pikmin is a great idea!
How can you not be sure that eating ethic, spiced, and incredibly rich and savory meals has shaped/skewed your palate?
Some of the best fish I have ever had was 3-4 ingredients...pan seared, salt, lemon juice and maybe some fresh dill or something else, but I can imagine that tasting plain or boring if you're bombarding your tongue with spices etc.
BriareosGAF
Member
Well, that's sort of my point, yes. After you spend so many years as a vegetarian, but still interested in high end culinary goings-on, you think, man, I'm missing out on so much technique and cooking experience, flavor, umami, etc., etc. Then you finally go to a very nice restaurant, buy a very expensive sashimi omakase, and... it's immensely underwhelming. You go to a different high end place and get some lovely baked Atlantic hake and... everything interesting about the dish is the brussel sprouts and mushrooms that come with it. Was just very surprising to me how uninteresting 'protein' had become to my palate.
Metroid Killer
Member
Personally I have nothing against the act of killing animals. I find it to be as natural as anything can be, and even the methods used in most farm are perfectly fine and humane. Where I see the problem is how industrial farms keep their livestock, it's as if they cease to be living beings but merely become a product.I think I love meat too much to ever turn vegan...
I know we're killing animals but why wouldn't we (if it's done in a decent way).
I can't think of a dish that makes me more excited than a steak done in a proper way. I just dont get that satisfaction with a vegetarian dish...
Just my 2 cts...
A whole other issue, but still related, is our consumption of meat. I've been brought up with the mindset that I need some kind of meat for every dinner. It's both expensive, bad for the evironment and plain unneccessary. But I wont preach anymore as it's about making your own choice.
Metroid Killer
Member
Reveal tomorrow
Cosmic Bus
pristine morning snow
Thought for a second that it was a delicious and lethal Danish "potato," although it's no doubt something just as tasty!
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