Monday, February 15, 2010

Souffle` Success!

I'm thrilled to report I tried a souffle` recipe again, and this time the results were overwhelmingly successful! What did I change you ask? First, I got an oven thermometer, and it turns out my oven was off by about 30 degrees F! Then, I decided to invest in some smaller, individual-size souffle`dishes since I realized that the life of a souffle` is really about 10 minutes after it comes out of the oven, then it begins to deflate rapidly. The recipe I tried was for roquefort souffle`s. Roquefort is a type of imported, bleu cheese that is sometimes difficult to find. Ask your local cheese monger...they will likely recommend another type of sheep's milk bleu cheese that is a good substitute.


Roquefort Souffle`
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus softened butter for the ramekins
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
Pinch of salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 ounces Roquefort cheese
5 large eggs, separated (fresh eggs are the key to your souffle` success-they will puff better during beating and cooking if they are fresh)
2 tablespoons snipped chives

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Butter four 1-cup ramekins and coat each one with 1 tablespoon of the grated Parmigiano.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the flour and cook over moderate heat for 1 minute, whisking constantly. Add the milk, salt and cayenne and cook, whisking, until very thick and bubbling, about 2 minutes. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl and whisk in the Roquefort and the remaining 1/4 cup of grated Parmigiano. Whisk in the egg yolks and chives.
3. In another bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until firm peaks form. Fold the beaten whites into the cheese mixture until no streaks remain. Pour the mixture into the ramekins, filling them three-fourths of the way; set the ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake the soufflés for about 20 minutes, until puffed and golden. Place the soufflés on plates and serve immediately.

This recipe makes 4 souffle`s. You can also halve it if there are only two people, which is what I did. This recipe was reprinted from Food and Wine Online (http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/).

Let's Make Some Candy!

Tristan and I are not huge fans of corporate-created holidays which somehow manage to force the masses to go out and purchase flowers and gifts for no apparent reason. What are we huge fans of? Candy, of course! We have never made candy from scratch before, but we decided we would try it out, and boy are we glad we did! We made vanilla caramels and marshmallows, both came out delicious! Check out the recipes below and try em' out!


Vanilla Caramels

Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
Coarse sea salt, crumbled

Instructions:
1. Line a 9-by-13-inch pan with foil; spray it with vegetable oil. In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter. Add the sugar, corn syrup and cream and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the vanilla seeds. Cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until a golden caramel forms and the temperature reaches 245° on a candy thermometer, 1 hour. Stir in 1 tablespoon of salt and scrape the caramel into the prepared pan. Let cool and set completely overnight.
2. Lightly oil a sheet of parchment paper and line 2 baking sheets with wax paper. Invert the caramel onto the parchment and peel off the foil. Using a sharp knife, cut the caramel into 1-inch-wide strips and then into 1-inch squares. The caramels can also be dipped in melted chocolate and then stored in an airtight container for about a week, maybe longer if you don't mind their increasing firmness. This recipe makes about 7 dozen caramels and takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes to prepare. Reprinted from: Food and Wine Magazine Online (http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/). 


Alton Brown's Homemade Marshmallows

Ingredients:
3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup ice cold water, divided
12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Nonstick spray

Instructions:
1. Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.
2. In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.
3. Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping.
4. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows:

-Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.
-When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later.
5. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
6. Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

This recipe makes about 6 dozen marshmallows (depending on how large you cut them) and takes about 40 minutes to prepare. As you can imagine, the marshmallow mixture is incredibly sticky, so be ready for it! Reprinted from Food Network Online ( http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes).