Challenging myself : Daring Cooks' December Challenge – Salmon en Croute

The 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Simone of Junglefrog Cooking. Simone chose Salmon en Croute (or alternative recipes for Beef Wellington or Vegetable en Croute) from Good Food Online.

This months challenge was not as easy as I hoped. The Recipe was amazing don`t get me wrong, the problem was that there was not the time I wanted.

And nobody wanted to eat.

At all.

I can proudly say that the whole family has been able to catch the flu, no not the swine flu. The “normal” flue.

It was horrible. As some of you know I have 3 ½ year old twin boys and the flu is dangerous for children. My husband is diabetic and so it was a problem to get the right medication and make sure he eats enough to make sure he is not getting real problems.

And there is little old me with a lung that has not more than 70% capacity on a good day.

Let`s just say the last 3 week were no picnic.

But finally we feel a little better. And yesterday I gave the challenge a try.

I wanted to make the original, but I just could not bring myself  to go shopping.

So I changed the recipe a little and hope Simone is not to broken up about it.

I used char in place of salmon, I love char if you never had one you should give it a try.

I made the short-crust pastry myself using Simone`s recipe and it tasted great but it broke a lot. So next time I will use a pasty recipe with a egg. This makes the dough more workable. I also used almonds to give the impression of scales. and to be honest I just love the taste of fish wish almonds. 

The result was tasty and I think even by husband would have eaten it, if we would eat.

I will do it again and I can only advise you to give it a try. See you next time.

Salmon en croute:

Ingredients

Mascarpone or creamcheese 5.2 ounces/150 gr

Watercress, rocket (arugula) and spinach - 0.6 cup/4.2 ounces/120 gr

Shortcrust pastry - 17.6 ounces, 500 gr. Use a butterversion such as Jus-rol which is frozen or dorset pastry. or... make your own!

Salmon fillet (skinless)- 17.6 ounce/500 gr

egg - 1 medium sized

 

Directions:

1.Heat the oven to 200°C/390 F. Put the mascarpone or cream cheese in a food processor with the watercress, spinach and rocket and whizz the lot until you have a creamy green puree. Season well.

2. Roll the pastry out so you can wrap the salmon in it completely (approx. 2-3 mm thick) and lay it on a buttered or oiled baking sheet (it will hang over the edges). Put the salmon in the middle. If it has a thinner tail end, tuck it under. Spoon half of the watercress mixture onto the salmon. Now fold the pastry over into a neat parcel (the join will be at the top, so trim the edge neatly), making sure you don’t have any thick lumps of pastry as these won’t cook through properly. Trim off any excess as you need to. Make 3 neat cuts in the pastry to allow steam to escape and make some decorations with the off-cuts to disguise the join if you like. Brush with the egg glaze.

3. Bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and browned. To test wether the salmon is cooked, push a sharp knife through one of the cuts into the flesh, wait for 3 seconds then test it against the inside of your wrist; if it is hot, the salmon is cooked. Serve with the rest of the watercress puree as a sauce.

 

Shortcrust pastry

While this is not mandatory to do, I highly recommend making your own shortcrust pastry as it is very simple to do! As mentioned in the notes; please make sure to not add too much water as that is the key to having a successful shortcrust pastry. Watch this video to check the correct consistency of the dough Making shortcrust pastry

 

Ingredients:

450 gr (15.8 ounces or 3.2 cups ) of plain all purpose flour

200 gr ( 7 ounce) cold butter

pinch of salt

 

Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. If you have a food processor you can use that as shown in the above video.

Stir in the salt, then add 2-3 tbsp of water and mix to a firm dough. Knead the dough briefly and gently on a floured surface. Wrap in cling film and chill while preparing the filling.

 

For best results make sure the butter is very cold.

 

 

Challenging myself : The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge – Cannoli

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.

As you can see I did a little MacGyver here.

 

I never had Cannolo myself, but I knew what they are and how to make them. So this Months Challenge was a nice surprise.

I love to fry thing so this was no Problem for me. But I just don`t wanted to make one of the big Cannolis, I wanted something small, cute and more like a Praline.

isn't it cute?

So the first try was with cacao and red wine. I was not really happy with it, it puffed up like mad, but believe me this cute little things filled with plain butter cream were divine.

So I had done what I wanted, but still there had to be more fun to be had.

And let's not forget the fresh Ricotta I especially made for this occasion. ( find the receipt here).

So I made this little tower with Ricotta and Mascarpone and paired it fresh pineapple. Oh believe me the crispy discs ( this time with white wine and without cacao) with the fatty creaminess were delicious. And who does not love Pineapple? 

So please try it. And don`t forget to take a look at the lovely things the others did. 

You can find the Receipt for this Challenge here.

The Fast Way: Stuffed Pasta Shells with Ricotta

Sometimes you just don't have the time.

You have to do it.

Fast.

No I don't mean the cooking, I mean the preparing. While this dish is in the oven you can do all the things that need to be done before the hungry hordes come home.

You know how it is. There is the bathroom that's need cleaning, the carped needs a little vacuum cleaner loving.

Not to forget the mountain of ironing.

So here something fast and delicious, that even looks pretty.

See you next time.

 

 

Stuffed Pasta Shells with Ricotta

 

Ingredients

50g Grated Parmesan cheese 

250g  ricotta cheese  ( I used homemade ricotta you can find the receipt here)

1 clove minced garlic

1 tablespoons chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dry basil 

salt and pepper to taste

2 egg yolks

500g Pasta shells ( I like the really big ones )

2 teaspoons Olive oil

2 c Spaghetti sauce; homemade OR purchased

1/2 c Grated Parmesan cheese for sprinkling ( I use a lot more, but I am in love with this stuff)

 

Preheat oven to 190C.

Boil pasta shells until still slightly underdone, about 10 minutes.

Mix cheeses, garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Add the Egg yolks. Drain the Pasta and fill each shell with 1 tablespoon of the Ricotta mixture. Put the filled shells into a dish large enough to hold the pasta shells in one layer. Spread the Pasta sauce over the Shells, sprinkle the Parmesan over the top, cover with foil and put it into the oven. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, get ride of the foil and give it 5 minutes more.

Serve with a nice green Salad and enjoy.

child's play in the kitchen: chocolate chip scones

 

I love to cook with my boys. They make me crazy most of the time, always opening cupboards they should not. Asking Questions and looking longingly at sharp knifes and kitchen sheers.

They are little Devils wanting to make mischief.

But how can I not call them into the kitchen?

They love to get down and dirty with the flour, love to stir the soup or wash the salad.

I come from a family in which child labour in the kitchen is a must.

I had to help, they will have to help.

And if I am lucky they will love it, just like I did.

See you next time.

chocolate chip scones

Ingredients: 

280g all purpose flour

60g sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

110g butter or lard, cold and cut into pieces ( I like to use lard)

100g chocolate chips

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

160 ml buttermilk

 

Egg white for brushing tops

 

Cinnamon Sugar:

30g sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

 

Preheat oven to 180C and place rack in middle of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a fork or two knives.

Stir in the chocolate chips. In a small bowl whisk together the buttermilk and vanilla and then add to the flour mixture. 

Stir just until the dough comes together.

Do not over mix the dough.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and pat the dough into a circle that is about 17 cm round and about 3,5 cm  thick.

Cut this circle in half, then cut each half into 4 wedges.

Place the scones on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with this egg white.

Sprinkle the tops of the scones with a little of the cinnamon sugar.

Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

Makes 8 scones.