My first week of bake shop has come and gone. I likely consumed entirely too many calories *tasting* my cookie dough, but I think I’m going to enjoy pastry more than I expected. I’ve never had much of a sweet tooth, and always crave a nice slice of cheese before a slice of pie or cake. But I think I’ve overcome my fear of the science of baking thanks to a fabulous invention: the digital kitchen scale.

When weighing out our first recipe for banana bread I realized how much ingredients can vary when measured in cups/spoons. Sure they’re mostly accurate, but even the slightest variation can have a great impact on a recipe especially for salt and leaveners (i.e. baking soda/powder).  Some of the recipes we made this week called for only a few grams of baking soda, and getting that amount on the scale required a steady hand.  I thought back to all the times I packed a teaspoon extra tight with the powder and how much more of the ingredient that meant was in the final product.

The other epiphany of sorts that I had was about eggs. Every baking recipe I’ve used in the past has called for simply a number of eggs. But what size? Medium eggs weigh 1.75 oz while large eggs weigh 2.  Size can make a big difference.

Not being able to improvise in the kitchen is going to take some getting used to. I’ve always been good at adapting a recipe with the ingredients at hand. Our instructor brought up a great point about the difference between savory cooking and pastry. With savory you can often save a dish or alter it during the process, but with baking you won’t know if a recipe has failed until the final product.  Let’s hope my products turn out.

Cheddar biscuits and Banana walnut bread...breakfast of champions?

After nearly 2 weeks of leisure (read: LOTS of eating and drinking). I’ve been thrown back right back into the swing of things and feel a little like one of those fat guys who would willingly take a cannon ball into the stomach.

Fall quarter started this week. It is going to be intense.

I am hoping I’ll make it through 3 lab classes (15 hours/week) on top of my full time job and still have some energy to cook at home, and maybe get out of the house once in a while.  The good news is we’re creating a portfolio for our Baking/Pastry class, so that will help me keep things posted here.   I’ll get to some tales and more pictures of our travels through the Pacific Northwest and California soon.

The perfect local summer dinner.  CSA vegetables tossed with fresh pasta and some chicken from Arnold’s Farm.  For the pasta I used mix of 1/2 semolina and 1/2 unbleached all-purpose flour. It gave it a firmer texture and deeper flavor than when I’ve used all-purpose flour on its own.  I made this the night before the hubs swam in the relay of the Chicago Triathalon.  Not a bad way to carbo-load.

Fresh Pasta

1 1/2 cups semolina flour

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

4 Large Eggs

Kosher Salt (just a pinch)

1) Combine flour into a bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and crack the eggs into it.

2) With a fork beat the eggs a bit and then incorporate them into the dough using a circular motion. Once the flour and eggs are mostly combined get rid of the fork and dive in with your hands

3) Gently kneed the dough by turning it about 1/4 of a turn and pushing it up into itself from the bottom continuously. Don’t over work the dough.  If it is to dry add a tiny bit of water.  It should form a smooth ball.

4) Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 20 minutes

5) Once dough has rested roll it out with a rolling pin (I do this in 2 sets) and then run it through a pasta machine

6) Let dough dry for about 1/2 hour before cooking in lots of salted boiling water (at least 1 gallon of water for each pound of pasta)

This was the first of 2 pâtés my station partner and I were lucky enough to make in our Intro to Garde Manger class a few weeks ago. Typically this isn’t part of the certificate curriculum, but our Chef instructor was kind enough to let us give it a shot.  The Pâté De Campagne (country pâté) shown above was a big hit when served to our class with some toast points, some mustard, and of course cornichons. The recipe included liver in the force meat which added a terrific depth of flavor. The entire terrine was also wrapped in bacon, which can never be a bad thing.

Our second pâté didn’t taste quite as good. It didn’t include the liver, and instead had a pork tenderloin in the center surrounded by the force meat. I felt the flavor was bland, and the texture not as smooth.  It’s going to need some dressing up before I serve it to the husband. I’m thinking a whole grain spicy mustard, and some dark rye or pumpernickel bread might do it some good.

I’m definitely going to have to get a meat grinding attachment for my Kitchen Aid so I can remake the first recipe at home.

Last night I overcame a fear I didn’t know I had.  It was seafood night in our Intro to Garde Manger class, and all day long I was looking forward to some salty water deliciousness.

In the cafe before class I ran into my station partner, Kelly. We’re kind of inseparable at school. Anyway, she was nervous about the inevitable shucking of  clams and oysters that would be taking place. She believes she will slice her hand open. I encourage her that she will be just fine. This will be fun! And think of all the yummy oysters we get to eat (tummy grumbles).

Flash forward to the class demo where our Chef instructor is presents us with some GIANT clams. They’re approximately twice the size of my palms. Disclaimer here: I have ity bity  hands (and ears and feet – but those are besides the point). Anyway, I’m struggling to fit this baseball sized clam in my grasp and I’m supposed to jam a knife into it in the direction of my palm. I froze. A kind of weird paralyzing feeling took over me and I could not bring myself to put any amount of pressure onto the knife into the clam (or my palm). I really didn’t want to go to the emergency room.

Our chef instructor must have seen my hesitation because at that point he grabbed both my hands and with a serious amount of pressure guided the knife stiffly into the clam popping it open (and avoiding my palm). The paralysis washed away. That wasn’t so hard.

But as I reached for the rest of my clams I selectively chose  the ones that appeared to be slightly open (though still alive mind you, they would pinch shut if you tapped them.) I found these didn’t cause the same paralysis as the ones that were practically glued shut.

Claims Casino

Yield: 6 claims

6 claims in the half shell

1 piece bacon, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbs butter

2 tbs onion, minced

dash Worcester Sauce

dash Tabasco

1/4 cup bread crumbs

Directions:

1) Render the bacon in a saute pan, then set aside on a paper towel

2) saute onion and garlic in remaining bacon fat and move to hold with bacon

3) mix the onion, garlic and bacon with the butter and add Tabasco and Worcester sauce

4) add the breadcrumb to the remaining bacon fat to moisten

5) put a dollop of the butter mixture on each clam and cover with the breadcrumbs

6) bake in a 400 degree oven until golden brown on top (about 8 minutes)