Source: Gisslen, Wayne. Professional Baking. Fifth Ed. John Wiley and Sons, 2009. Print.

Lady Finger Sponge (1/2 recipe)

6 oz Egg yolks

3 oz Sugar

9 oz Egg whites

5 oz Sugar

1/4 tsp Lemon Juice

10 oz Pastry Flour, sifted

Procedure

To mixer add:

Egg Whites @ speed 2

Add Lemon juice (to stabilize the whites)

Once it bubbles move to speed 3

Add (2nd quantity of) sugar slowly

Whip to stiff peaks and pour into a bowl—set aside

Whip egg yolk on speed 3

Add sugar and whip to ribbon consistency

Cut and fold egg yolk mixture to egg whites

Sprinkle flour on top and fold in (2 or 3 batches)

Pipe with 806 tip onto a sheet pan

Bake @ 375

Mascarpone Filling

2 egg yolks

6 oz sugar

4 oz water

2 oz corn syrup

1 lb Mascarpone

1 lb 8 oz heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks

Method

In a pot add water and sugar

Add corn syrup

Heat to 220

Temper egg yolks and add to mixer. Beat at speed 3 until a sabayon (ribbon) consistency

Gently fold in cream

Layer Sponge

cut out 2 circles from sheet pan.

Cover 1st layer with coffee syrup

then add a layer of cream

add 2nd layer of sponge

cover with coffee syrup

add 2nd layer of creat

Cover with cocoa powder

I’m very lucky I get to work in an extremely casual office. We’re located in a loft in a mostly residential building and we have a full kitchen stocked with snacks and beverages.  Also, no one really takes lunch breaks, so as a perk our company has accounts at local restaurants where we order lunch in most days. Trouble is we get tired of the same restaurant fare day in and day out, and lately everyone has been a little more health conscious. So last week I took to the store and stocked our fridge and cupboards with essentials to start making lunch in house.

Usually I just throw together a salad, or people make their own sandwiches. But last week I decided to make something new for the entire office (all 7 of us). Many of my co-workers had heard of quinoa, but never prepared or eaten it. It’s one of my favorite grains so I figured it was a great chance to introduce it to the others.

They almost gobbled it all up before I could take a picture.

This dish was super easy and was done in 30 minutes. You could easily modify it a thousand different ways based on what you have on hand. It was a perfect warm lunch for a chilly fall day.

Pesto Quinoa with Apple Gouda Chicken Sausage

Recipe

1 tbs olive oil

1 med onion, diced

2 cups quinoa, rinsed (otherwise it will taste VERY bitter)

4 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

4 tbs prepared pesto

1/4 cup dried cherries

3 links Apple Gouda Chicken Sausage , sliced

Salt

Pepper

Method

Sautee onion in olive oil in a medium sized pan until soft.

Add quinoa and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Then cover and reduce to a simmer for 15-20 minutes

Meanwhile, toast pine nuts until fragrant. I chose to rough chop mine, but you could leave them in whole if you wanted.

When quinoa is finished add the remaining ingredients and mix together.

See, I told you it was easy.